Qi Dengzui opened the door. Last time, the nurse had clearly placed great importance on the medication. After having one batch of drugs destroyed, they had learned their lesson this time they directly pinned Qi Dengzui down and forced the medicine down his throat.
Only after personally watching Qi Dengzui swallow the pills did the head nurse cheerfully gesture for the nurses to carry their trays and leave.
Once the commotion died down, Qi Dengzui spat out the medicine from his mouth. “This stuff is pretty bitter. Come on, let’s go check out 101.”
It was time to find the examinee No. 1 who had never appeared since the exam began.
Room 101 was the farthest from 103, making it extremely difficult to explore.
There was no one in Ward 1 completely empty. But compared to Ward 3, Room 101 looked even more run-down, with fine bits of plaster dust clinging to the walls, crumbling off at the slightest touch.
Qi Dengzui flipped through the patient’s medical records as usual, but his pupils contracted sharply the moment he saw the diagnosis.
Patient gender: Male
Patient symptoms: Dissociative Identity Disorder
Patient number: 1
Patient room: 101
Dissociative identity disorder?
Wasn’t that his symptom?
Could two players in one exam have identical symptoms? If we were really talking about compatibility, dissociative identity disorder had a far higher compatibility with him than bipolar disorder.
So, was it possible that he wasn’t actually Patient No. 3 at all?
But if he wasn’t No. 3, why had he woken up in Ward 3? Where had the real No. 3 gone? Why couldn’t the head nurse recognize that his face wasn’t No. 3’s?
And if he was No. 3, why was there another examinee with dissociative identity disorder? The exam had been going on for so long, why had the real No. 1 never shown up?
More and more doubts piled up. Qi Dengzui opened the wardrobe in the room and froze on the spot.
“Brother Qi, what’s wrong?”
Qi Dengzui was silent for a long moment before saying, “One of No. 1’s personalities seems to have, a cross-dressing fetish.”
Guan Si: “Huh?”
Just then, the head nurse arrived at 101 to deliver medication.
Through the peephole in the door, Qi Dengzui saw that it was the same group of nurses who had come to 103.
“Brother Qi, there’s no time! There are so many dresses in this room, why don’t you pick one and put it on to deal with the head nurse?” The little white grass light orb wobbled, its voice urgent. “Anyway, it’s all for the mission. Brother Qi, no need to be embarrassed.”
Qi Dengzui let out a light chuckle. “Why bother with all that trouble? Might as well just knock them all”
Before he could finish his sentence, Qi Dengzui lost consciousness.
Guan Si: “…” It’s over.
The one who suddenly took over the body, Guan Si, went pale.
Great. Just great. The Qi Dengzui who could take down the head nurse was gone, replaced by a frail, weakling version of himself.
The head nurse outside had already grown impatient and barged in with the nurses.
And then they saw, the person in the room was wearing a red qipao, with waist-length hair flowing soft and natural, wearing a mask, expression cold yet seemingly carrying a hint of humiliation. “Give it to me. I’ll take the medicine now.”
Ignoring the system-configured face, from the back, they looked like nothing less than a stunning beauty with long hair in red.
In the sea of consciousness, the black light orb representing Qi Dengzui’s consciousness swelled slightly, letting out a teasing laugh. “It’s all for the exam. No need to be embarrassed.”
Guan Si: “…” So embarrassing. Way too embarrassing.
Unexpectedly, the head nurse didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Instead, her demeanor was gentle and considerate, her expression nothing like the abnormal one she’d shown in 103. She actually seemed like a kind-hearted little nurse.
She gently placed the medicine on the tray beside Guan Si, her voice soft: “101, I’ve put your medicine on the tray. Don’t forget to take it.”
As she left, she even closed the door quietly.
Her movements were meticulous to the extreme.
〈What’s going on? The one with dissociative identity disorder must be the head nurse, right? The favoritism is unreal.〉
〈This makes the 103 side look so dumb lol.〉
〈103: Sorry for existing.〉
Guan Si let out a sigh of relief. “Why are they so trusting of No. 1? That head nurse treats No. 1 like her own daughter, all gentle and tender, but the moment she comes to our side she goes crazy.”
“She seems more normal right now,” Qi Dengzui said. “It’s very possible that Patient 101 has a special identity someone the head nurse can’t afford to offend or question.”
“There’s another possibility.” Qi Dengzui looked at the medicine on the tray, his gaze briefly sweeping across the entire ward. “There’s nothing in 101 that can trigger her mania.”
【Attention all examinees, we interrupt with an announcement.】
【Every night after delivering medication, the head nurse returns to the nurses’ station to rest. During that time, the ward corridor will be empty. Examinees are free to explore and solve puzzles.】
【To advance the exam progress, time will now be accelerated by 6 hours, entering midnight.】
The moment the broadcast ended, a classical clock face larger than his own body appeared before Guan Si’s eyes. Its hands spun at lightning speed, and hours slipped away in the blink of an eye.
Guan Si opened his eyes again, lying in bed. The fragrance in the room had grown even more intense, making his head spin. He just sat up when his gaze landed on the vase and he froze.
“Brother Qi, wake up.” Guan Si roused Qi Dengzui, who was sleeping in the depths of his consciousness.
Qi Dengzui gave a soft grunt, his voice tinged with hoarseness. “What’s wrong?”
“Brother Qi, look at these flowers. When we saw this bouquet during the day, were they blooming this vigorously?”
His drowsiness instantly vanished. Qi Dengzui squinted in the darkness, examining carefully, then said, “No, they definitely weren’t this lush. Wait during the day, only three had bloomed. Now there are five.”
A chill ran down Guan Si’s spine.
It had been barely an hour since they entered this examination room. Even factoring in the six hours accelerated by time, that was only seven hours total. How could a bouquet have produced two entirely new blooms in such a short span, blooming so luxuriantly at that?
These flowers were clearly problematic!
Qi Dengzui recalled the scene when they first saw the bouquet. “Guan Si, this vase has a crack this big. Watering it daily would definitely leak.”
“Unless,”
“It only needs to last one day. No watering required.”
Qi Dengzui said in a low voice, “These flowers are suspicious. Let’s toss the vase out first.”
“Don’t throw it yet.” Guan Si quickly interjected. “Brother Qi, this floral scent probably has some special effect. If we get rid of it and the head nurse comes to deliver medicine in the morning, she might get angry if she finds the flowers gone.”
Qi Dengzui said, “We don’t know what the flowers do. They can’t stay here. By morning, our bodies would be cold.”
The situation was a catch-22: throw away the flowers and risk angering the head nurse in the morning certain death. Keep the flowers and they might not even survive the night, still certain death.
Guan Si said, “There’s no choice, Brother Qi. The system accelerated time and made these flowers bloom this fast. It’s clearly telling us to end this quickly.”
Qi Dengzui’s expression turned grave. “We might have to check the second floor first. Guan Si, let’s head out.”
Guan Si was stunned. “I’m going out looking like this?”
Qi Dengzui let out an ambiguous chuckle. “Isn’t that perfect? We can’t switch back right now anyway, and this form can throw others off.”
Guan Si asked, “What about Pei Su and He Zhu? Should I tell them who I am?”
Qi Dengzui thought for a moment, then said, “We’re too different. In the normal world, personalities can be faked, but in the examination room, danger can strike at any moment, fights might break out. Especially since your body will be several times weaker after the switch, it’ll be hard to hide from the others.”
He added, “Telling them is fine. There are only four people in this exam room. Your sudden appearance is an unknown variable. it’ll actually be more intimidating.”
Guan Si grabbed a pair of high heels from the room and slipped them on. “But if they find out I have zero combat ability, we’ll be in even more danger.”
Qi Dengzui said, “Then you’d better pray for yourself.”
Guan Si: “…”
Pei Su crept forward, moving inch by inch with muffled steps.
〈What’s he doing? Sneaking around like a thief.〉
〈Looks like he’s trying to peep into Room 103.〉
〈Peeping? Pei Shen is scouting, don’t you get it?〉
〈Still calling him Pei Shen? Pei Su already has fans this fast? Is the person above Pei Su’s dream stan or something?〉
〈Pei Su’s movements are so sketchy, I’m dying of laughter.〉
In the darkness, he bumped into something. His nose bridge collided with a hard object like a stone, the pain making him want to hiss.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and covered his mouth. The warmth of the palm made his whole body tremble.
Just then, the door creaked open.
Guan Si opened the door, and before his foot even crossed the threshold, he locked eyes with two dark figures outside.
He Zhu was still holding his hand over Pei Su’s mouth. Both of them froze in shock. It wasn’t until Pei Su impatiently pulled his hand away that He Zhu snapped back to reality, his face darkening.
Guan Si: “…”
The moment Pei Su saw Guan Si, his pupils dilated in shock. He stared at the figure before him, flowing red robes, long hair, full-on femme fatale aesthetic, combined with that utterly ordinary face the system had generated. The comedic effect was off the charts.
He swallowed hard, as if something were stuck in his throat, and forced out with great difficulty: “Never would’ve guessed. You’re into this kind of thing.”
Guan Si: “…”
He finally understood why He Zhu never gave him a decent look. This guy was just asking for a beating. If he weren’t so outmatched in a fight, he’d love to land a punch on him.
Suppressing the humiliation, Guan Si said coldly, “I’m not Qi Dengzui. I’m his alternate personality, Guan Si. Brother Qi has gone to rest.”
He Zhu raised an eyebrow. “Alternate personality? Qi Dengzui has dissociative identity disorder?”
Guan Si’s tone turned icy: “Yes. So what are you two doing here?”
Pei Su answered without hesitation: “Came to check on you two. If you fell for that pill from earlier today, I’d take the letter from Room 103. If you didn’t, that proves you’ve got real skill and I wouldn’t want an extra opponent.”
His words were frank and open, which actually eased Guan Si’s suspicion by a fraction.
“Now it seems you’re a worthy partner to work with.” Pei Su extended his hand and said, “Let me reintroduce myself. I’m Pei Su, a tactical formation mage. I’ve already passed two exams, and this is my third. I hope we can cooperate well.”
Guan Si glanced toward He Zhu and asked Pei Su, “What about him?”
Sensing Guan Si’s hostility, Pei Su made a surrendering gesture and said with a smile, “I happened to run into Brother He on the way. What do you think, Brother He?”
Guan Si: “Happened to?”
Pei Su lowered his hand and teased with a helpless tone, “You should ask Brother He whether he’s planted a GPS on me, or if we have some kind of telepathy. Wherever I go, I run into him.”
Unexpectedly, He Zhu replied in all seriousness, “Yeah, coincidence.”
That truly left Pei Su speechless.
“I can’t fully trust you two.” Guan Si looked at them, shaking the letter in his hand.
“But this letter, I can show you.”