Crunch—
A palm-sized spider was pinned dead against the wall.
“Just a normal spider.” Xu Jie pulled out his Short Blade, having initially mistaken it for an Aberration.
This Instance was truly bizarre.
Even ordinary spiders could grow that large.
Xu Jie grew increasingly curious about the Dungeon Boss hiding in the shadows—the one cooperating with him.
Sheathing the Short Blade, Xu Jie removed his clothes, revealing a well-defined but not overly exaggerated chest and eight-pack abs. The lines flowed smoothly, with his Adonis belt disappearing into the front of his hips, extending toward a prominent bulge.
Wen Shi silently turned off the surveillance feed and flipped through Little Huang Mao’s Points watch to review the mission background.
The background was about the Dungeon Boss—that is, Wen Shi’s own identity.
According to the background, he was the illegitimate son of a top-tier billionaire.
After offending a powerful underworld figure,
Wen Shi brought disaster upon his parents, relatives, lover, friends, and assistants.
Even a neutered pet cat named Ode Biao—Brother Biao—was wiped out.
Before his lover died, they arranged an escape route for Wen Shi, allowing him to survive by sheer luck.
Having survived, Wen Shi moved to an unfamiliar city and opened a clinic.
With all his loved ones dead, Wen Shi fell into deep depression. Later, a head injury from a fire caused him to lose his memory.
Amnesiac, he yearned for familial love, romantic love, and friendship.
“Quite the elaborate fabrication.” Wen Shi glanced at it briefly before losing interest. He crushed the Points watch and tossed it into the trash.
The story background in Little Huang Mao’s Points watch was largely similar to what Players who had tried to strategize against Wen Shi over the years already knew.
The only difference was the lover.
Previous versions hadn’t mentioned the ‘lover’ arranging an escape route for Wen Shi.
Just as Wen Shi was about to sleep,
the bathroom door suddenly swung open.
A strong wave of perfume hit him, and Wen Shi sneezed.
“Do you have a cold?” Xu Jie leaned against the wall and asked.
Never one to wear perfume, he had sprayed some for the first time because of Wen Shi’s earlier comment, preening like a peacock to show himself off.
Wen Shi sniffled. “No.”
Seeing him sneeze repeatedly, Xu Jie assumed Wen Shi was allergic to this particular perfume. So he went back to shower and applied a fresher scent.
After several rounds of this, he nearly scrubbed his skin raw, successfully marinating both himself and Wen Shi in fragrance.
In the end, Xu Jie wore no perfume at all.
“Can I share half your bed?” Xu Jie asked, standing at the head of the bed and looking at Wen Shi lying on the far side.
Wen Shi gripped the Scalpel in his palm. “No.”
Logically, he should be actively trying to please Xu Jie, raising his Favorability to 100% within seven days.
But how could he allow someone else to snore beside him?
Especially someone who intended to kill him.
No Player would willingly share a room with a stranger when other rooms were available.
This was 【Divine Descent】—a place teeming with the wicked and Specters.
Not a youth hostel.
“Hiss, it’s a bit cold in here.” Xu Jie rubbed his arms. “Wen Shi, do you know where’s the warmest spot?”
He was heavily hinting at the bed.
Wen Shi replied flatly, “The corner.”
Xu Jie: “Huh?”
He glanced at the corner.
There was neither an air conditioner nor any heating equipment—the only source of warmth was the quilt on the bed.
Wen Shi: “The corner has ninety degrees.”
Xu Jie: “…”
Why not suggest the floor?
Just tell me to lie on the ground—that’s a full one hundred eighty degrees.
“Can I sit on the chair?” Xu Jie pointed to the only chair in the room.
Wen Shi said “suit yourself” and closed his eyes to rest.
Xu Jie placed the chair behind the door and sat slouched in it.
He crossed his legs, propping his chin with one hand as he quietly watched Wen Shi. The more he looked, the more he liked him; the more he gazed, the more his heart stirred.
He was determined to protect this person. Once they left this Instance, he decided to take him back to his hideout and keep him there.
“Wen Shi,” Xu Jie said to himself, “do you believe in love at first sight, in an instant connection?”
“No,” Wen Shi replied. “So-called love at first sight is nothing more than being attracted to someone’s appearance. In psychology, it’s called the primacy effect.”
Xu Jie leaned against the door. “You know a lot.”
Wen Shi fell silent, too lazy to respond.
The more he spoke, the more mistakes he might make. It was a doctor’s occupational habit—always subconsciously correcting medical misconceptions.
Every time he read about relatives giving each other blood transfusions in novels, it gave him a headache.
Direct blood transfusions between close relatives weren’t life-saving; they were life-threatening, capable of causing acute hemolytic reactions, liver damage, and various other complications.
In the middle of the night, Wen Shi suddenly heard the sound of footsteps. His eyes snapped open, and he rolled out of bed.
Xu Jie, sitting behind the door, had already woken up. He raised a slender index finger to his lips, signaling Wen Shi to stay quiet.
“Open up! It’s your turn to be on duty today.”
The door was pounded with deafening force, and a thick, pungent smell of blood wafted in from outside.
Wen Shi gripped his Scalpel and approached the door. “I’m asleep. Can’t get up.”
“Get up, get up, get up—” The banging grew louder, and several cracks appeared on the door. “If you don’t take your shift, do you even want to live? Get out here now!”
The voice outside grew increasingly aggressive.
Xu Jie sneered. He kicked the chair aside, drew his Short Blade from his waist, and placed his well-defined hand on the doorknob. “Disturbing the peace in the middle of the night—I’ll cut it down with one slash.”
He was already annoyed, and whatever was outside, whether human or ghost, was howling like a Specter.
Xu Jie wasn’t in the mood to be patient.
Just as he was about to turn the doorknob, Wen Shi’s slender, pale fingers rested on the back of his hand. “Don’t go out.”
Instance Rule 4: After 10 p.m., nurses will randomly select a lucky individual to assist with the night shift.
Other Players might open the door upon hearing the words “night shift.”
Wen Shi himself was the Dungeon Boss. Unless he gave the order, his employees wouldn’t dare to summon him outside.
Besides, whoever was outside wasn’t one of Wen Shi’s patients or employees.
It was probably an Aberration from a neighboring area that had wandered in.
If Xu Jie hadn’t been present, Wen Shi would have already dealt with the intruder.
“Do you know whether it’s human or ghost outside?” Xu Jie felt a slightly cool touch on the back of his hand and secretly delighted in it. He twirled his Short Blade.
“It’s not a nurse’s voice,” Wen Shi deflected the question. “Aren’t you the Dungeon Boss? Can’t you recognize your own employees?”
Xu Jie sheathed his blade and rubbed his nose. “Whether it is or isn’t, if it disturbs you, it deserves to die.”
Wen Shi: “…”
What did that have to do with him?
A few seconds later, the footsteps outside gradually faded away.
Wen Shi returned to bed. “You’re not the Dungeon Boss, are you?”
Regardless, it was better to clarify the other’s identity first to make it easier to conceal his own.
“If you say I’m not, then I’m not,” Xu Jie replied, sitting back in the chair and closing his eyes for a short rest.
Remembering how Wen Shi had touched his hand earlier, he felt immensely pleased. “I’ll keep watch. You sleep peacefully.”
Since gaining self-awareness, Wen Shi had never had a good night’s sleep.
Whether his eyes were open or closed, all he saw were Players, patients, or those neighbors who coexisted with the [Grave].
Sleep was a luxury to him.
Xu Jie had come to kill him, and Wen Shi didn’t believe he could fall asleep.
The next day, Wen Shi was awakened by a piercing scream.
He opened his eyes to find the sky already bright, astonished to discover he had actually slept soundly through the entire night.
“Awake?” Xu Jie stood up. “Something’s happened. I’ll go check.”
No sooner had Xu Jie left than a bloody severed hand pulled open the window of the room and suddenly flew right in front of Wen Shi.