The golden-haired Holy Son had gathered every search team in the mental asylum’s dining hall, consolidating all the information they had so far.
Then the cold mechanical prompt rang out overhead.
[S-rank Thriller Trainee Zhuge An has cleared the instance.]
Silence fell.
No one could put into words what the remaining trainees inside the asylum were feeling after hearing that announcement.
Stunned.
That was probably the only way to describe it.
Not just the trainees—even the viewers watching from an omniscient perspective were equally dumbfounded.
[What the hell? How did Master Zhuge solve it? What happened in the last ten minutes?]
[They disappeared for a bit and suddenly the system says he cleared the instance. I’m so confused right now.]
[WAIT WAIT WAIT WHAT??? It’s not even halfway through the second day and this is practically an S-rank difficulty instance!!]
[I’m literally kneeling while watching this broadcast. Too insane.]
[Do you people live under rocks? Think back to what Master Zhuge did in “Cursed Mask.” If anything, this clear speed isn’t even surprising. Otherwise how do you think he got Rank 3?]
[But why can he leave early without surviving the full duration? Is this some special condition?]
“Zhuge An cleared the instance?!”
After several seconds of dead silence, the room finally erupted into hushed, disbelieving discussion.
At that moment, Qin Ye also returned with the teams that had been searching Basement 1.
“Those two newcomers found new information in the washroom earlier.”
He pointed behind him. “You two. Explain it.”
“Y-Your Holiness…”
The loudmouthed newcomer from before was visibly nervous now, stammering badly under the pressure.
“Relax,” Messiah said gently. “Just tell us what you discovered.”
“A little while ago, Xu Wenji and I were searching the washroom on Basement 1.”
The newcomer swallowed hard before continuing.
“There was one stall door that wouldn’t open. We were about to force it when it suddenly opened by itself. Then… that dark-haired S-rank and the pretty E-rank walked out together.”
The implication was immediate.
A cramped bathroom stall. Two men hiding inside together.
Several people exchanged meaningful looks.
Messiah’s brows slowly furrowed. “I understand. Thank you for your hard work.”
On its own, the information sounded harmless.
But combined with the system announcement, its significance became impossible to ignore.
“Earlier at the stairwell, Zhuge An and that white-haired E-rank were moving together too.”
He Jianlan stared down at his reflection in a spoon. “That brat definitely gave Zhuge An the S-rank clue. Otherwise there’s no way Zhuge An could’ve cleared the instance this quickly.”
If Zhuge An had possessed the ability to leave on his own, he would have done it long ago. There would’ve been no reason to drag things out until now.
“In my opinion, the priority now is bringing that E-rank back.”
Jiang Yuan sneered from the side. “The clue he has must be critical—probably directly tied to the core plotline of this instance.”
Meng Tianlu nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. We’re missing essential information right now. Since someone has already cleared the instance, that means the clue connected to the S-rank prop is extremely important.”
More than a few veterans were still secretly eyeing the black iron box they had seen in the operating theatre.
Now that the first clearer had appeared, nobody knew whether Zhuge An had already taken the mysterious S-rank prop.
And if he hadn’t…
“Your Holiness, we can’t afford to drag this into the third day.”
“Exactly. Nobody knows what’ll happen on Day 3. And there are too many newcomers here who can’t protect themselves. We veterans are already struggling just to stay alive.”
“Please reconsider. That clue matters to all of us.”
Under normal circumstances, how could an E-rank possibly protect an S-rank clue?
Treasure only belonged to those strong enough to keep it.
Honestly speaking, if Messiah hadn’t been protecting him, the veterans would’ve already used force to pry the clue out of the white-haired boy. There was no way they would’ve allowed an E-rank to swagger around untouched.
Murmurs spread through the dining hall as everyone turned toward Messiah.
With no leads and no direction, the Holy Son had once again become the center of everyone’s attention.
People needed someone to point the way forward.
And when survival was on the line, people often became ugly.
Zong Jiu was only an E-rank. No one could guarantee that these veterans wouldn’t secretly go behind Messiah’s back and use harsher methods to force the clue out of him.
Under the weight of countless gazes, Messiah slowly closed his eyes.
At last, he spoke.
“He’ll rejoin us.”
Zong Jiu pushed open the ward door.
The high school student waiting outside immediately looked past him.
“Jiu-ge!”
“Did you hear the system announcement just now? Zhuge An cleared the instance!”
Sheng Yu’s face was full of genuine shock, his arms even flailing unconsciously in excitement.
The white-haired young man gave him an unreadable look.
“Yeah,” he replied flatly. “I’m shocked too.”
Truthfully, Zong Jiu didn’t care that much whether Zhuge An cleared the instance or not.
What mattered was that he had already gotten the information he wanted.
What truly surprised him was Sheng Yu’s acting ability.
From the very beginning, Sheng Yu and Zhuge An had been the two people Zong Jiu least suspected of being the mole.
The reason Zhuge An had been excluded was simple enough.
As for Sheng Yu—
That was because this person didn’t even exist in the original novel.
Originally, Zong Jiu had assumed Sheng Yu was merely a butterfly-effect variable caused by his own transmigration.
But now, he was no longer so certain.
Why?
Because Sheng Yu’s behavior matched the novel far too perfectly.
Then why had Zong Jiu become suspicious of him later?
Because of how the character canonically died in the original story.
In the novel, “Zong Jiu”—the cannon-fodder pretty boy—had gone to the washroom with another newcomer and encountered the first major horror event in the mental asylum instance.
The exact details of the death were never clearly described.
Authors of horror stories usually handled first deaths this way: they avoided concrete explanations and instead focused on atmosphere, fear, and the horrifying aftermath in order to preserve mystery.
Even so, Zong Jiu still learned something extremely important from the original plot.
In the novel, the canonical “Zong Jiu” entered the stall alone while the accompanying newcomer stood guard outside.
Because he was scared, he deliberately left the stall door open.
And halfway through peeing—
His head came clean off.
The newcomer outside heard the heavy thud but was too terrified to investigate. He immediately fled in panic, only to die moments later after glancing back.
Afterward, the newcomer’s corpse vanished entirely.
Meanwhile, the original “Zong Jiu’s” severed head was turned into a grotesque human-head mop and stuffed into the filthy sink.
According to the original plot, both people who entered the washroom were supposed to die.
But Sheng Yu survived.
Not only did he survive—he also accurately described what happened when the glasses-wearing man entered the washroom.
At that time, Zong Jiu had silently tightened his grip around the ballpoint pen hidden beneath his sleeve.
Would a monster really spare one person while killing the other?
Especially when it clearly had enough time to kill both?
The discrepancy was too obvious.
That was when Zong Jiu truly began suspecting Sheng Yu.
To test that suspicion, he deliberately snuck into the washroom connected to the alternate dimension.
Actually, Zong Jiu had already vaguely suspected the existence of another dimensional layer in this instance.
The original novel had briefly touched upon Basement 2 from Vincent’s perspective.
At first, however, Zong Jiu believed Basement 2 was the only gateway into that alternate space. He hadn’t realized that people could also be forcibly dragged into it under certain conditions while alone.
Inside the alternate-dimension washroom, Zong Jiu found the corpse of the glasses-wearing man.
And the wound on the neck was extremely clean.
Too clean.
Not like the work of some supernatural ghost.
More like the work of a human being.
Though He Jianlan’s reasoning was riddled with holes, he had accidentally stumbled onto the truth.
The glasses-wearing man had been murdered.
And the murder had not happened on the hour.
At that point, the mole’s identity had already become painfully obvious.
But that still wasn’t the end.
There was another mole hidden within the instance.
Zhuge An probably hadn’t realized it yet, but Zong Jiu had.
Because after kicking open all three stall doors in the washroom and confirming they were empty, he had also inspected the sinks.
The mop there was ordinary.
There was even a thick spiderweb beneath the faucet. If someone had hidden a head inside the mop, the web would’ve been broken.
More importantly, when Zong Jiu first entered the washroom, the glasses-wearing man’s head had not yet been turned into a human-head mop like in the novel.
Yet later, after Messiah led the veterans to investigate, the head had mysteriously appeared inside the mop.
Which meant someone had moved it afterward.
Meaning Sheng Yu had an accomplice.
Even without Sheng Yu existing in the original story, the system had still issued a side mission related to “moles.”
That alone was enough to prove another mole existed among the trainees in the original plotline.
Who was it?
As Sheng Yu chattered beside him, Zong Jiu silently turned the question over in his mind.
Meanwhile, Sheng Yu was enthusiastically recounting everything that had happened at the stairwell.
When he finished, he lowered his voice.
“Jiu-ge… have you noticed those two?”
Further down the corridor, two newcomers were walking toward them.
Whether intentional or not, their expressions practically screamed: We’re watching you.
Sheng Yu whispered, “I think they’re tailing us. What do we do?”
Zong Jiu shrugged lazily.
“What else? Both our sugar daddies abandoned us, so why not head to the dining hall and see what’s happening?”
From all available evidence, the mole identity Sheng Yu possessed clearly carried extremely high authority.
Otherwise, there was no explanation for how an F-rank could casually murder someone and transport the corpse into the alternate dimension before Zong Jiu even arrived.
Sheng Yu definitely possessed the “key” Zhuge An mentioned—the item capable of freely opening the alternate dimensional space.
And if he had the key, then he also had access to the decrypted plaintext hidden behind the Vigenère cipher.
As long as someone obtained the key, they could clear the normal identity-card mission.
Zhuge An himself was proof of that.
What Zong Jiu really wanted to know was this:
What exactly was Sheng Yu trying to accomplish?
And what was the mole card’s true objective?
If Sheng Yu simply wanted to kill people—or wipe out all the trainees—then he could’ve easily killed Zong Jiu back in the washroom.
He could’ve stabbed him before Zong Jiu even pieced together the inconsistencies in his story.
But Sheng Yu hadn’t done that.
Not only had he refrained from attacking, he hadn’t even shown the slightest sign of hostility.
Instead, he perfectly played the role of a clueless high school student.
Trailing behind him.
Calling him “Jiu-ge.”
Acting harmless.
Zong Jiu didn’t believe for even a second that Sheng Yu had no ulterior motive.
But the situation did remind him of Zhuge An’s final prophecy before leaving.
“Where are you going?”
A low voice suddenly drifted down from above.
A man in a white coat slowly emerged from the shadows.
Under the dim lighting, his ordinary silhouette somehow carried an oppressive depth—like a devil crawling out from the abyss itself.
The doctor’s gaze swept leisurely across the four people before lingering on the white-haired young man for an unusually long moment.
A chill ran up Zong Jiu’s spine.
It felt like being stared at by a venomous snake.
“The nurse has been searching for you for quite a while,” the doctor said mildly. “It’s time to go upstairs and take your medicine.”
Sheng Yu blinked in confusion.
“Medicine? Don’t we only take medicine at night?”
Dr. Chu said nothing.
He merely pointed behind them, the smile on his face growing stranger.
Everyone turned.
The clock mounted on the wall above the oil lamp pointed directly at ten o’clock.
Ten o’clock.
Sheng Yu and the other two newcomers stared in disbelief.
How was that possible?
They clearly remembered that lunchtime hadn’t even arrived yet.
The livestream comments exploded instantly.
[WHAT THE HELL? Why is it suddenly 10 PM?!]
[Wasn’t it just noon a second ago??]
[Does this instance involve time manipulation? But earlier Master Zhuge concluded it was a spatial puzzle instance!]
Zong Jiu stood silently to the side, eyes darkening.
The glasses-wearing man had died at exactly ten o’clock.
And Zong Jiu himself had been dragged into the alternate dimension at ten o’clock as well.
That time was almost certainly linked to the opening of the alternate space.
His eyes snapped upward.
Yet Dr. Chu still stood there calmly, and the surrounding scenery remained completely unchanged.
“Hurry and take your medicine,” the doctor reminded them pleasantly. “Everyone is waiting.”
Then he added meaningfully:
“It’s unwise to wander around in groups.”
“Oh, right.”
He glanced casually at the gold watch on his wrist.
“Room inspection is about to begin. The head nurse should already have informed you that nighttime wandering is forbidden.”
As he brushed past Zong Jiu, the malice hidden behind those gold-rimmed glasses slowly surfaced.
“Disobedient patients…”
“…will be punished.”
Only after the white coat vanished into Basement 2 did Sheng Yu finally exhale shakily.
“Jiu-ge… why did it suddenly become ten o’clock? What do we do now?”
Keep acting.
I’ll just quietly watch the performance.
Zong Jiu calmly tossed the question back.
“What else can we do? Let’s head upstairs and find the Holy Son.”
The group returned to the dining hall under the watchful eyes of the nurses and once again went through the medication process.
As Zong Jiu discreetly palmed the pill into the pocket of his hospital gown, he overheard two nurses talking nearby.
“Tomorrow will be the third day since this batch of patients arrived. Looks like we’ll have another holiday period soon.”
Oddly enough, this was the first genuine conversation any trainee had ever heard from the nurses.
Their flat voices echoed faintly down the corridor.
Several newcomers visibly trembled.
The atmosphere inside the dining hall was grim.
Fear and anxiety hung over everyone’s faces so heavily that few even noticed Zong Jiu entering.
Messiah’s expression was dark.
“Time has accelerated.”
The veterans stayed silent.
Their faces looked terrible.
Just moments ago they had still been discussing plans for exploring Basement 2 that afternoon.
Then suddenly the nurses appeared with medicine trays and informed them it was nighttime medication time.
Ten entire hours had vanished without warning.
Even worse—
Nobody knew why.
Was it because Zhuge An cleared the instance too early?
Or had this variable existed from the beginning?
“We can’t delay any longer,” Messiah said at last. “Tonight, everyone goes to Basement 2 with me.”
The newcomers immediately paled.
“We—we have to go too?”
“Didn’t you hear the nurse?” He Jianlan said coldly. “If this drags past tonight, nobody knows what happens on Day 3. Once midnight passes, it’ll officially be the third day.”
“But…”
“To be honest,” one veteran snapped impatiently, “if His Holiness hadn’t insisted, we wouldn’t bother protecting you newcomers at all.”
“This isn’t some ordinary instance. Thriller Trainee is survival of the fittest. Helping rookies here gives us absolutely nothing.”
“In fact, you’re just burdens.”
“Whether you live or die has nothing to do with us.”
Messiah shot the veteran a reprimanding glance before turning back toward the newcomers.
“If you remain in your rooms tonight, your chances of survival are low.”
“Come with us.”
“I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”
As he finished speaking, Messiah’s gaze drifted toward the dining hall entrance.
Everyone followed his line of sight.
The white-haired young man stood there calmly, openly accepting the barrage of looks aimed at him.
Concern.
Greed.
Envy.
Suspicion.
Zong Jiu ignored all of it.
He merely stretched lazily and yawned.
Some veterans immediately looked ready to explode, but Messiah stopped them.
The Holy Son looked at him sincerely.
“Now that Zhuge An has already cleared the instance… join us again. Alright?”
Logically speaking, Zong Jiu had no reason to agree.
Leaving Messiah’s group and cooperating with Zhuge An had been a carefully calculated decision.
And yet—
“Sure.”
He agreed instantly.
The livestream comments erupted again.
[HUH??? He agreed just like that??]
[I thought he’d at least pretend to resist.]
[Good-looking people really do live differently. First he rode the Holy Son’s coattails, then Zhuge An’s, and now the Holy Son still wants him back. I’m so confused.]
[What happened to “I’d rather die than submit”? My ship is dead.]
Not only did Zong Jiu agree—
He even volunteered new information.
“Actually, telling you that clue won’t help much anyway.”
Everyone stared.
Then say it already!
Zong Jiu spread his hands.
“Think about it. Our main mission is to survive three days, right?”
Everyone nodded.
“But Zhuge An left before even two days passed.”
He paused deliberately.
“So why do you think he could leave early?”
“Obviously…”
“…because he’s the mole.”
The room fell silent.
At first everyone looked doubtful.
But the more they thought about it, the more sense it made.
Why else would Zhuge An be allowed to leave early if everyone supposedly shared the same mission objective?
That could only mean his identity card and mission were different from theirs.
Zong Jiu sighed dramatically.
“You all misunderstood me before.”
“That shameless old fox Zhuge An pretended to cooperate with me just so he could trick the clue out of me.”
“The moral standards of society are really declining.”
He even looked genuinely aggrieved.
“Honestly, now that the mole already escaped, I’m guessing the S-rank prop has probably been taken too.”
He raised a hand and pretended to wipe nonexistent tears from his eyes.
“The clue I have isn’t useful anymore anyway. So sharing it isn’t a big deal.”
“But I really didn’t expect all of you to still be willing to bring me along.”
“You’re such kind people.”
Even though Zong Jiu rarely acted, if he ever changed careers, nothing would stop him from becoming a superstar.
The moment everyone heard the S-rank prop had likely been taken away, their expressions turned ugly.
The veterans exchanged glances.
Objectively speaking, with Zhuge An gone, Zong Jiu could now fabricate almost any version of events he wanted.
And unfortunately for Zhuge An—
His reputation made the lie believable.
Unlike Messiah, Zhuge An was never viewed as a spotless saint.
He moved freely between light and darkness.
Unpredictable.
Cold-blooded.
Absurdly intelligent.
Known for using people as disposable pawns.
Many trainees hated him for exactly that reason.
So the idea that Zhuge An had pretended to cooperate only to steal the clue fit perfectly with everyone’s impression of him.
Not to mention—
He had already been the prime suspect for the mole identity from the beginning.
Thus, with Zong Jiu skillfully throwing the blame onto him, most people accepted the story without much resistance.
Even the livestream audience was convinced.
[Holy shit, so THAT’S why he dragged the newbie into the ward corner and used the S-rank prop.]
[Poor E-rank honestly sounds traumatized.]
[I KNEW Zhuge An was suspicious from the start.]
Messiah, however, seemed relieved.
“It’s alright.”
“We didn’t ask you to rejoin us because of the clue.”
The golden-haired Holy Son smiled gently.
“Welcome back.”
Since Messiah had spoken, the others could only suppress their dissatisfaction.
After all, Zong Jiu’s explanation genuinely made sense.
Otherwise there was no way to explain Zhuge An’s early departure.
The corners of Zong Jiu’s lips curved slightly.
Internally, he offered Zhuge An his sincerest thanks for being such a perfect scapegoat.
At this point, Zong Jiu could’ve simply gone searching for the key himself and prepared to clear the instance.
There was no need whatsoever to follow Messiah into Basement 2 for another pointless exploration.
But clearing the instance wasn’t his only goal.
He also needed survival points.
The white-haired young man’s gaze drifted quietly toward the high school student standing slightly behind him.
Zong Jiu had always been greedy.
And when conditions lined themselves up this perfectly—
Why wouldn’t he complete the side mission while he was at it?
At present, this instance was a battle of intellect.
And once it ended—
He would restore his hands.
He would let playing cards dance between his fingers again.
And then…
The Magician would reclaim his former glory.