Chapter 11: Help Me Take Off My Clothes

Wu Chang slowly turned his head and waved a greeting to Dr. Charles, who stood behind him with wide-open eyes, clearly not sleepwalking.

“What a coincidence, Dr. Charles. Are you sleepwalking here too?”

Charles looked even more haggard and disheveled than during the day.

From his appearance, like the other medical staff in the corridor, he had clearly been in a fierce struggle with his white uniform.

Although all his fingernails were torn off and one arm was mangled beyond recognition by the uniform, he had managed to tear several large rips in it.

The white uniform now hung loosely on him, as if a gust of wind might blow it away.

Wu Chang’s gaze swept the corridor; Charles was the only one fully awake—and the only one who had broken free from the white uniform.

He had originally thought the white uniform granted medical personnel special privileges and protected their safety, but now it seemed more like a shackle.

Charles advanced slowly, asking deliberately, word by word, “Tell me, what did you see in your dream? The viscera blooming like fascia, the grasslands swaying with maggots, the dunes boiling with fat, or pupils as deep as the ocean with no bottom in sight?”

Wu Chang stepped backward with Charles’s approach. “Sorry, I don’t dream when I sleep.”

They moved in and out, and just as they were about to step into the area where many medical staff were sleepwalking, Wu Chang stopped, refusing to retreat further.

He shouted loudly, “I report that Dr. Charles has violated Article Five of the admission guidelines and is attempting to attack me.”

At this, Charles’s body visibly trembled. He tried to turn and flee, showing that even on the brink of madness, he still revered the hospital regulations.

But after a few seconds, realizing Wu Chang’s shout had no response, the fear faded from Charles’s face, replaced by madness and triumph.

“Go ahead and shout. It’s nighttime now. They’re all trapped in sleep by the rules. No one will stop us.”

Wu Chang shook his head—so much for the rule that any doctor’s delusional behavior would prompt intervention from medical staff. The hospital guidelines seemed useless.

“Is anyone in charge here?”

As expected, his shout went unanswered again.

“Then I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”

He sighed, flicked his wrist, and the silver Dawn pistol appeared instantly in his hand from his personal space. He aimed at Charles’s chest and fired a silver bullet.

Charles hadn’t expected Wu Chang to carry a firearm. Before his expression could change, the silver bullet pierced his chest.

The burning bullet transformed into a flame on Charles’s chest. The fire grew with the wind, quickly engulfing him completely, turning him into a human torch.

Charles screamed in a chilling agony and scrambled away, rolling as he fled.

Wu Chang, accustomed to finishing off his targets, immediately gave chase.

He tried firing several more shots, but his proficiency with firearms was insufficient to hit a fast-moving target. Not only did he fail to inflict additional damage, but he also wasted two silver bullets.

——

The chase ended quickly when Wu Chang cornered Charles in a dead end.

Charles curled up in the corner. As the flames died down, his body was revealed to be charred black. The smell of roasting flesh was strong and pungent.

The scent of grilled meat made the mouths of the sleepwalking medical staff water; if they woke up, they’d surely say, “Brother, you smell delicious.”

Wu Chang was about to fire again when he noticed Charles’s trembling lessened, his screams changed to deep, relieved breaths, and a hoarse “Thank you.”

Wu Chang frowned. Why was he thanking him? Could it be he was a masochist?

A gust of wind blew away the charred surface on Charles’s body, revealing his condition.

The silver bullet had dealt significant damage, but as the flames burned Charles’s flesh, they also consumed the white uniform and his last shred of connection to it, tearing the already tattered garment completely free.

Freed from the white uniform’s bondage, Charles slowly rose, stretching his body with a look of delight.

“Thank you for your help. I am finally free of that damned thing.”

Wu Chang sensed something was wrong and fired again, but this time, the bullet only hit Charles’s afterimage.

Suddenly, a shadow flickered before his eyes, and Charles was already in front of him, grabbing Wu Chang’s neck and pushing him backward.

The next moment, Wu Chang felt as if struck by a speeding dump truck. His feet left the ground, and he flew backward five or six meters before crashing into the wall.

“What did you see in your dream?” Charles asked, holding Wu Chang against the wall by the throat.

Wu Chang was speechless.

Charles grew angry. “My patience is limited. This is the last time I ask: What did you see in your dream? If you don’t say, you die.”

Wu Chang was still silent.

Charles’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. He was about to strike.

Wu Chang gathered all his strength, raised his arm, and tapped Charles’s hand choking his throat.

Charles realized and loosened his grip, letting Wu Chang slide down the wall and sit on the floor.

Wu Chang gasped for breath and picked up a scrap of white uniform from the ground. He strung it onto a piece of wire to fashion a white flag and waved it above his head.

Charles’s attack had nearly given him a concussion.

If not for his physical attributes being nearly twice those of an ordinary person, by now he would have been figuratively rowing a small boat to the other side of the river.

A one-and-a-half crippled elite monster almost killed him with just one strike.

At that moment, he truly understood the allure of high-level dungeon stats.

Where were his teammates? His comrades? Someone, help!

Seeing Wu Chang gradually recover, Charles asked again, “What did you see in your dream?”

——

Wu Chang intended to reveal Wolf, from the basement level, and tell Charles they were on the same side. But just as he was about to speak, he noticed something strange and said hesitantly:

“I saw a person.”

“What person?” Charles’s tone turned hostile. That wasn’t the answer he wanted.

“Miss Julie.”

Charles grew puzzled. “Julie Smith? Why would you see her?”

Wu Chang pointed behind Charles. “Because she’s right behind you.”

Charles blinked in confusion.

Before he could react, a red line appeared across his neck.

The next moment, his puzzled head rolled off his shoulders.

Wu Chang sneered. Ha, foolish guy. When you have teammates ganking from behind, who fights one-on-one on the open road? If you can’t win, won’t you call for help?

Behind Charles, Julie wiped the blood from her machete, lifted the skirt of her nurse’s uniform, and slid the blade back into the sheath strapped to her lace stockings.

“Mr. Sean, according to the admission guidelines, this is not free activity time.”

Wu Chang yawned and, in a dreamy, half-awake tone, said, “Where am I? How did I sleepwalk outside the room?”

Julie shook her head with a hint of exasperation. “Mr. Sean, how did you know I would come to help you?”

Wu Chang shrugged and answered matter-of-factly, “You left the key on the floor, didn’t you? Just to let me find you.”

“How did you know it was me who left it?”

Wu Chang sniffed and said confidently, “Just a hunch.”

Julie rolled her eyes. “Well, since it’s come to this, let’s be frank. As people of the same kind, I need your help.”

Same kind of people? Were you a player too?

Wu Chang asked noncommittally, “What do you need me to do?”

Julie grabbed the collar of her uniform. “I need you to help me take off this outfit.”

“No problem!”

Wu Chang agreed immediately, then raised the silver Dawn pistol. “Shall we start now?”

Julie looked at him, puzzled.