Jiu Tian looked at the place where the female player had left and let out a soft sigh.

He knew the torments of this game. Aside from the guy with the red mask, who seemed to be doing just fine, no one else was comfortable. Even Kirk’s face had occasional injuries.

The mental torment, the terrible living conditions, and the physical harm that could occur with just one mistake.

Considering what the big guy had said earlier about being... well, you know, plus the fact that she was a woman...

And, this game hadn’t provided any food or water for the players! They hadn’t had a drop to drink or a bite to eat all day.

Tsk, except for that guy with the red mask, who had food and drink... how special is this guy?

Jiu Tian shook his head. As an official, he knew the girl’s background.

She was just an ordinary player who had barely managed to clear two games and gotten some rewards.

When she saw that it was a Hell Mode game, she initially thought about running away, but then she realized that as long as she survived, if others cleared the game, she technically did too, so she decided to just hang on.

Forget it...

"Ah, it’s a pity, but quitting is fine," Jiu Tian said with a sigh.

Lu Ce, who was beside him, looked at the pile of vomit the female player had left on the floor and nodded in agreement, "Hmm, it’s a bit of a pity."

After a brief hesitation, he suddenly slapped himself hard, quickly turned, and walked off to the side.

Jiu Tian: ??

What’s wrong with this guy...

On the other side, Kirk, unusually, walked over and continued speaking:

"There’s nothing to feel sorry about. In this kind of game, surviving is already quite lucky. This isn’t a place for her level."

As he spoke, he slowly scanned the room, then continued:

"Now, the ones left seem to be somewhat fitting."

Two perfect completion players, one high-level player with a special official status—these are the ones worthy of this Hell Mode game.

Of course...

Kirk glanced at Lu Ce, who had collapsed in the distance in a ‘太’ shape on the floor, and asked:

"This friend, who’s been pretending to be mad, really isn’t planning to quit the game?"

"My supernatural ability is mental interference, and I’ve already used it on you many times. Most of the time, it backfired."

"Your confusion isn’t just pretending to be mad anymore. Even if you explain it as self-hypnosis... you won’t be able to hold out much longer."

"At the rate you’re going, you might end up forever lost here, trapped in a permanent state of insanity."

Kirk pressed on, getting closer and closer to Lu Ce, as if he was delivering a death sentence to the person lying on the ground.

In the distance, Jiu Tian furrowed his brows, watching the two of them. This time, he didn’t intervene or try to mediate; he silently waited on the sidelines, observing how things would develop.

"Your ability is to eat? I’ve been asking since the beginning what your goal is, and I still want to know..."

"But I think, as a normal human, that’s not a good choice."

"I’ll ask you again, are you really not planning to quit? Don’t tell me you’ve run out of exit tokens."

At this point, Kirk had walked right up to Lu Ce. Just as he was about to move forward, suddenly, a huge sense of danger locked onto him.

Lu Ce, who had been lying on the ground in silence, suddenly spoke.

"I suggest you don’t get too close to me right now."

Kirk’s footsteps faltered, and a strange premonition kept warning him inside his mind—don’t move forward!

"Haha."

Chuckling, he withdrew his steps and turned to leave.

"Feeling confident?"

"I’m just worried. If you don’t quit, my game might be hard to complete..."

Lu Ce remained silent. He was currently bearing the immense internal energy surges and the overwhelming, chaotic thoughts.

He didn’t want to speak. Soon, he lay back down and fell asleep.

Jiu Tian didn’t say anything else. He didn’t even bring up discussing what they had learned today.

He knew these two probably wouldn’t listen.

The three hungry individuals sat far apart in the empty room, either sitting on the floor or leaning against the wall, sleeping through the night.

Yes, it was a night of endurance. It was an excruciating night!

The entire hospital had gone without food all day. No food, no medicine.

By nightfall, the place was filled with wails, and even several iron doors couldn’t suppress the sounds. The hungry souls were slamming the doors and walls, making the hospital feel more like a haunted house than anything else.

Kirk relied on self-hypnosis to ensure his sleep, Lu Ce had long since collapsed and was already lying down to sleep, while Jiu Tian couldn’t sleep at all.

He sorted through the information his colleagues had sent him, reflecting on the sudden tension between Kirk and Lu Ce, and he suddenly felt a cold shiver.

An inexplicable sense of danger had enveloped him, making his thoughts race with similar ideas.

This Hell Mode game seemed to lack physical torture, but there was something that felt deeply wrong, a kind of fear that started to wrap around him.

The entire night felt like the atmosphere of a haunted house. The next day arrived, and the game continued.

Kirk continued to race against Lu Ce, one trying to grab food, the other hoping to at least get some medicine.

But this time, Jiu Tian, with a clear purpose, stood in front of a room.

It was Long Wu’s room—the first patient Lu Ce had met. Jiu Tian instinctively felt that the source of his fear was here.

Entering the room, he saw Long Wu, who looked extremely frail and weak. At that moment, Long Wu appeared listless.

"Someone else came? Changed person, huh..."

"Hello." Jiu Tian was surprised to find that Long Wu’s mental state was surprisingly stable, so he got straight to the point.

"Do you know who the most seriously ill person in this hospital is?"

"Heh, familiar question. This is what you should be asking..." Long Wu trembled as he twisted on the ground, looking at Jiu Tian.

"No, the answer is no. There is no one who is the most seriously ill."

"Who doesn’t get sick? You will get sick too. One day, you’ll get sick and you’ll stay here forever..."

Jiu Tian frowned at Long Wu’s cryptic words and was about to speak when he suddenly froze.

The same fear that had wrapped around him all night returned, and in that instant, his thoughts became terrifyingly clear.

His colleagues had shared the information gathered from Lu Ce and Kirk. He knew everything, except for their psychological activities. He knew about every patient and what they had said.

From Long Wu, he learned that the later arrivals were innocent, while those who came before them were guilty, so they had to ask the earlier patients questions, torturing them.

The earlier patient had been tortured mercilessly by Lu Ce, but Lu Ce had been going mad the whole time. So, he had been the one asking, "Are you asking who the most seriously ill person is?"

They even planned to play games, and Lu Ce said that he was different from the "previous" person.

Why did that patient know about the questions? Was it part of the game setup?

And what did "previous" mean?

Also, Kirk’s questions had revealed that the hospital was divided into two groups: the earlier batch were guilty, and the later batch were innocent!

When Kirk asked why the later group was here and why they stayed, the person had gone insane... completely lost their mind!

And now, Long Wu was telling him that we can’t find the answers, and eventually, we too will get sick and stay here forever.

And this person is named Long Wu. The person Kirk spoke to is named Long Liu.

Could it be...?

The reason the earlier person had guessed what Lu Ce wanted to ask was because someone had already asked before! Not just once!

The hospital’s patients were split into two groups—the earlier batch were the real patients, and the later batch were the ones who came to ask them questions.

And this later group never got answers. They never found out who the most seriously ill person was, so...

They stayed here forever.

A bold speculation formed in Jiu Tian’s mind, lingering and refusing to leave.

Could it be that... these people were once players too?!!

"Have you... heard of the Chosen’s Paradise?"