Chapter 16: The Good Show Begins

Wu Chang toyed with the Eye of Laiman; having left the altar, the Eye of Laiman had taken on a gemstone texture, like a piece of jewelry meticulously carved by a master, yet its touch remained as soft as flesh.

With eyes closed, the Eye of Laiman no longer emitted evil thoughts or malice, but instead revealed a hint of serenity and compassion.

"Item Name: Eye of the Evil God (Sealed)"

"Item Type: Instance Item"

"Item Grade: Unknown"

"Item Skill: Unknown"

"Note: The left eye of the Evil God Laiman, containing the Evil God Laiman's vast divine power and endless curses."

Although the Eye of Laiman was in a sealed state and its grade and attributes could not be displayed, it was, after all, the eye of an Evil God; it had to be at least an A-grade item, no matter how you looked at it.

Wu Chang tossed the eyeball in his hand, then threw it into his backpack space.

Having discovered the secret of the Moonlight Sanatorium and obtained the Cursed Gold, it was now time to clear the instance.

Before leaving, he casually took a book from the underground library to use as a prop, reading as he walked back to the sanatorium.

The content of the book mostly introduced several famous forbidden cults, the characteristics of Evil Gods, and how to respond and fight when encountering them; it could be said to be a newcomer's manual for the Secret Technique Knights.

One page was marked as a key point and given extra emphasis.

When encountering events related to Evil Gods, do not believe, do not think, do not listen, do not look, and do not let it become reality.

Wu Chang closed the book and wrinkled his nose; the existence of Evil Gods seemed even more troublesome than he had imagined.

Returning to the sanatorium building, he headed straight for the basement and opened the white door of the pharmaceutical room.

As soon as he opened the door, he greeted Wolf, who was pacing back and forth in the room: "Yo, Mr. Wolf, just finished dinner and out for a stroll?"

Seeing him again, Wolf no longer had the composure he showed at their first meeting; he was now agitated, his brows knitted together, his eyes darting toward the ceiling from time to time, and his facial muscles twitching slightly, giving him a somewhat ferocious expression.

It seemed this fellow couldn't keep up the act much longer.

Wolf lunged in front of Wu Chang and asked, "You've come at the right time, what happened upstairs?"

"Upstairs?"

Wu Chang put on a look of confusion and said innocently, "I was just in the Director's office and don't know what happened; it was probably an earthquake."

Wolf had only asked casually and hadn't intended to learn anything from Wu Chang, so after hearing Wu Chang's response, his attention was instantly diverted.

"The Director's office, did you see Randy?"

Wu Chang took out the silver crossbow bolt from behind his back and said, "I have already met Director Randy and initially gained his trust. Director Randy's views are deeply rooted, and I cannot convince him that the Evil God truly exists for the time being."

"If there were more direct evidence, would Randy believe it?" Wolf's tone turned strange.

"I suppose so."

No sooner had Wu Chang finished speaking than he felt a black shadow flash before his eyes, and Wolf's hand grabbed his shoulder, lifting him off the ground.

An irresistible, immense force came from his shoulder, leaving him unable to even struggle.

Wolf narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Since you are so trusted by Randy, then this matter will have to be entrusted to you as well."

Seeing that Wolf was about to take action, Wu Chang shouted out the last words from the resentment behind Wolf.

"Wait, Priest, don't do it, we're on the same side!"

"Hmm?"

Taking advantage of Wolf pausing his movements, Wu Chang unleashed the fastest speaking speed of his life, rattling off his prepared identity like a rapid-fire monologue.

"The glory of the Lord does not just shroud one place, nor even just one plane; I actually come from another world and am also a believer of the Lord."

"We received an oracle and arrived in this world specifically to retrieve the Lord's power. I have a companion who entered the sanatorium before me, but I lost contact with him; if you can find him, he can prove our identity."

Hearing Wu Chang mention a companion, a flash of embarrassment crossed Wolf's face, and the murderous intent in his eyes softened, though his tone remained unfriendly.

"Do I need help from trash like you?"

Wu Chang continued, "The prophet of our church sacrificed their life to predict the location of the Lord's sealed power, which is where the Cursed Gold is. Once the Lord is resurrected, I am willing to share the secret with you, Priest, and split the Lord's bounty."

Wolf said with dissatisfaction, "Split?"

"Four-six, no, three-seven, I only want thirty percent, and you, Priest, get to choose first."

Wolf let go, threw Wu Chang to the ground, and said in an unquestionable tone, "Two-eight."

"Fine, two-eight it is."

"Go find Randy; the evidence he wants, I can give him right away." Wolf waved his hand and turned to walk toward the cave on the inner side.

Watching Wolf's back, Wu Chang raised an eyebrow; all the actors were in place, everything was set, and he wanted to see what kind of play Wolf was prepared to perform.

Relying on the pass, he successfully reached the Director's office without Zhu Li's help.

Inside the office, Randy was already prepared.

He wore a hunting jacket lined with leather armor, carried a thick smoothbore gun in his right hand, rested a rapier at his waist with his left, and had an ancestral golden crossbow slung over his back.

Wu Chang inadvertently revealed the book he was holding and, looking flustered, spoke first:

"Director Randy, I was just checking documents in the backyard when I suddenly felt the whole earth shaking. On my way back, I vaguely saw several mysterious people in black robes entering the sanatorium; the Church of Tranquility seems to be making a move."

Randy said in a deep voice, "Do not worry. I know that studying medicine cannot save White Stone Town, so I also studied marksmanship, swordsmanship, and combat. Even in the worst-case scenario, I am confident I can take you out of here." With a three-meter-tall physical version of Lu Xun standing in front, Wu Chang suddenly felt a sense of complete security.

Just as he was about to say something, an explosion and violent tremors came from beneath their feet, and as the floor collapsed, the two fell directly from the fourth floor to the first.

Amidst the ruins, Wu Chang brushed off the debris on his body and stood up, cursing.

What was Wolf doing? That nearly killed him.

"Director Randy, are you alright?" he shouted to his surroundings.

With a boom, Randy cleared the ruins covering him and emerged from behind Wu Chang; he patted the dust off his body, and a large cloud of smoke and dust instantly engulfed Wu Chang.

"I am fine, where are you?"

Wu Chang: "In front of you."

Randy looked down and finally noticed Wu Chang, "Sorry, didn't see you there."

Wu Chang spat out the dirt in his mouth and asked, "Director Randy, the Church of Tranquility's operation seems to have begun; can you fight now?"

"My equipment is all fine, but the explosion came too suddenly, and I didn't have time to take the medicine for my delusional disorder." Speaking of delusional disorder, Randy's demeanor was somewhat hesitant.

Wu Chang took a paper packet from his bosom and threw it to Randy, "I have some here."

"Many thanks." Randy took the medicine, glanced at it, and swallowed it directly.

While Randy was taking the medicine, Wu Chang surveyed the surroundings; they had fallen into a prayer room at the edge of the first floor, and after briefly identifying the direction, he led Randy toward the first-floor lobby.

If Wolf wouldn't come to find them, then they would go find Wolf.

The explosion Wolf created had collapsed eighty percent of the sanatorium; the area where the Director's office was located was actually the least affected.

The closer they got to the lobby, the more severe the building's collapse; judging by the degree of the explosion, the blast point should be in the first-floor lobby.

But when the two arrived at the lobby, they found it shrouded in a bizarre magic array, with dense runes covering the floor and walls, leaving the lobby almost intact.

No sooner had they stepped into the magic array than they saw hundreds of figures swaying as they emerged from the shadows.

Their bodies were twisted and deformed, mostly rotten, and they were still wrapped in straitjackets they hadn't had time to take off.

If he wasn't mistaken, they were all patients locked in the high-dependency ward.

Besides the high-dependency patients, figures in ordinary hospital gowns and even medical staff attire could be seen among the zombie horde.

All the delusional disorders in the entire Moonlight Sanatorium were detonated at this moment.

Randy turned to look at Wu Chang and asked in confusion, "What is this?"

Wu Chang bit the bullet and explained, "They are all patients from the high-dependency ward. Hallucinogenic drugs have eroded their brains, making them sluggish and causing them to lose most of their senses and consciousness; they only blindly follow the instructions of those who give them medicine."

"But their bodies..."

"Medicine lowers their immunity, causing self-inflicted wounds to fester and fail to heal; this is normal," Wu Chang replied with a calm face.

Randy: "I mean those deformities and mutations."

Wu Chang looked blank, "Mutations? Sorry, I don't see any mutations."

"Damn it, the medicine hasn't taken effect yet; it must be my delusional disorder acting up," Randy smiled awkwardly.

He closed his eyes and patted his cheeks with both hands, trying to clear his head.

"Calm down, stay steady, look closely, they are all normal people."

Following Randy's muttering, the exorcism array beneath the sanatorium was activated, and transparent flames ignited on the zombies; amidst their screams, all mutated organs that exceeded human limits turned to ash.

When he opened his eyes again, the mutations on the zombies had indeed disappeared.

Randy breathed a sigh of relief and said to Wu Chang, "It really was a hallucination."

Wu Chang was speechless; he turned his back to Randy and gave a thumbs up.

As expected of a tough guy who had witnessed all the events in the Moonlight Sanatorium and still firmly believed that mysticism did not exist; his ability to self-persuade needed no questioning.

"Director, I have always trusted your judgment."

Facing the zombies surrounding them from all sides, Randy initially wanted to hold back and only use blunt force attacks.

But after trying a few times, he found they had no sense of pain or fear, like living dead; even if their limbs were broken, they would crawl over to take a bite out of him.

Seeing that these high-dependency patients could no longer be considered living people, he drew his rapier—which was a two-handed sword for a normal person—and began to slaughter them.

Under the blessing of his mystical talent, Randy's sword emitted white light, easily slicing through the zombies it touched.

Combined with his massive physique and the delicate, exquisite technique that contrasted with his body, it was as if he were playing a "Musou" game.

In less than ten minutes, he had slaughtered all hundred-plus zombies.

Just as Randy was about to sheath his sword, a violent explosion came from below, tearing a large hole in the lobby floor.

Amidst the dust, the half-human, half-insect Wolf crawled out of the hole and said excitedly, as if meeting an old friend:

"Randy, you finally decided to come out!"

Randy rubbed his eyes, looked up at the insect-man Wolf, who was half a meter taller than him, and whispered to Wu Chang:

"Is this also my hallucination?"

(End of chapter)