Chapter 40: The Ear-Deception Tactic

"Weiyu, can you still see?" Xia Shou asked loudly.

"I... I can still see. My vision went a bit dark just now too, but it went back to normal as soon as I picked up this key."

Xia Shou felt his hand being pulled, and a cold, hard, intricate object was placed into his palm.

The moment he touched the key, his pitch-black field of vision lit up with light once again.

Su Weiyu stood right in front of him, staring blankly ahead into the empty air without any focus in her eyes. Now, she had become the blind one.

Xia Shou tried letting her grab half of the key. "How is it? Can you see?"

"Nothing. It seems only one person can have sight at a time."

When Xia Shou let go of the key, his vision dimmed, and Su Weiyu regained her sight.

"It really is that way! The person holding the key can see, but if multiple people touch the key, ownership won't transfer unless the original possessor lets go," Su Weiyu analyzed.

Nearby, Wang Long was still shouting, "I can't see! Why can't I see anything anymore?!... Xia Shou? Why aren't you saying anything?!"

"Wang Long, calm down! The attending doctor on the first floor has already been dealt with. Losing vision is the effect triggered after his death, but he left behind a key. The person holding the key keeps their sight, so I'll keep the key for safekeeping," Xia Shou explained.

Hearing this, Wang Long nodded tiredly, his emotions slowly settling.

He reached his hands forward, felt the wall, sat down right against it, and asked in utter despair, "So now it's just the two of us, is that it?"

"Yeah, just the two of us left. You stay on the first floor, I'll go up alone."

"I'm so tired. Maybe I should have just stayed back there from the start," Wang Long laughed bitterly.

Although he had known in his heart from the very beginning that almost no one survives entering a sealed domain, he still held onto a sliver of hope. What if, by some chance, he happened to be that exception? After all, such exceptions had occurred in history.

But now, looking into Liu Guangyao's eyes right when he died, Wang Long suddenly woke up to reality... No one is an exception; everyone has to die. They had all clung to the slim hope of surviving, struggling bitterly until the very end, only to die abruptly.

"Do you think we can get out?" Wang Long asked into the darkness.

Xia Shou glanced at the man, took the Dojigiri from Su Weiyu's hand, and began carving into the floor tiles of his own accord.

The sharp blade effortlessly left gouges in the ceramic tile.

***

Hearing this strange movement, Wang Long felt a surge of confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving the information behind. The eye doctor on the first floor is invisible, along with the method to crack the puzzle. While there's a chance it won't survive, there's also a tiny probability it will. If we fail to make it out, and a latecomer reaches this place, the message I leave behind might just help them survive."

Wang Long fell silent. He hadn't expected Xia Shou to act with his own death as a foregone conclusion.

"All right! In this short amount of time, this is all I have time to write."

Xia Shou handed the sword back to Su Weiyu and said quietly, "Based on what Liu Guangyao said before he died, we can roughly deduce the combat mechanics of these five doctors.

The doctor in charge of the eyes cannot be seen and can strip away others' vision after death.

Then the remaining four doctors can presumably strip away the ear, hand, foot, and heart respectively.

The second floor is a completely pitch-black room. This kind of environment setup is definitely a disadvantage for us and an advantage for the enemy. Based on the rule that the eye doctor is invisible, the second floor will most likely be the ear doctor, who won't make a single sound."

Losing vision in a dark environment, if hearing were to be stripped away as well, the danger index would multiply exponentially, Su Weiyu analyzed, leaning on the katana like a blind person.

"But what kind of abilities would the hand, foot, and heart be?"

"There's no time to think about it. The diary states, 'Non-staff members within the sanatorium will all become raw materials for Idlisu's medical use.' That sentence probably isn't just an empty threat.

Stalling for time is definitely not a good strategy, and just imagining things is useless anyway. What if we even guessed the department of the ear doctor wrong?

We can only play it by ear and deal with things as they come."

"But if killing a doctor means losing the corresponding physical ability—blindness, deafness, paralysis of the hands and feet are still somewhat acceptable—what about the heart doctor at the very end? If we kill him, our hearts will stop beating. What should we do then?"

"After killing the heart doctor, only the person holding the key will keep their heart beating.

We can use Blood Riot to maintain blood circulation, so it won't matter even if the heart stops.

My plan is to bring Wang Long up with us before tackling the final floor. As soon as the battle ends, you hold the key to keep your heartbeat going, and I'll use my skill to maintain blood circulation for myself and Wang Long. That way, we should be able to clear it successfully," Xia Shou said calmly.

Su Weiyu smiled, her voice somewhat nervous, "It feels like walking a tightrope."

"Yeah, although we have the eye key, the second floor's environment seems no different whether we have this key or not. Let's hurry."

Xia Shou took Su Weiyu's hand, walked to the stairwell, groped for the steps in the darkness, felt along the handrail to reach the second floor, and finally touched a cold door.

***

"This is the only entrance left now. Have a look," Su Weiyu shoved the key into Xia Shou's palm. The darkness before his eyes quickly receded, and he could clearly see the surrounding environment.

Just as Liu Guangyao had said, the stairs ended at the second floor, and the only path available was the door right in front of them.

"Weiyu, I have a tactic."

"What tactic?"

"If the one behind this is the ear doctor, referencing the eye doctor we killed earlier, his ability should be that his movements make no sound.

And in a dark environment, whether we breathe or walk, we might make noise.

I want to gamble on a possibility—gambling that his hearing is still at a normal level and his ability simply means he makes no sound!"

"Right, it really is a gamble," Su Weiyu nodded.

Because they had no way of knowing whether the previously killed eye doctor possessed exceptional vision.

"Assuming his hearing is also at an ordinary person's level, we can try to deceive him. So my tactic is... I'll carry you on my back as we go in," Xia Shou said seriously.

"I see. Turning our footsteps into just one person! If the opponent's hearing is average, they won't be able to distinguish two heartbeats and two breaths, and might misjudge us," Su Weiyu immediately grasped Xia Shou's intention.

"But we certainly won't be able to communicate with words anymore, so we must set up some signals. Anyway, jump on and try it first." Xia Shou returned the key to Su Weiyu and bent down.

He waited for a long time, but there was still no movement behind him, prompting him to ask, "What are you doing?"

"Ah? I, I... I'm just adjusting the position of the Dojigiri so it doesn't... poke into you later," Su Weiyu's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzzing, and by the end, it was almost inaudible.

The next second, weight suddenly settled onto Xia Shou's back. Against his shoulder blades, a soft and massive pressure pressed firmly into him.

A pair of arms reached over his shoulders and wrapped around his neck.