Chapter 52: Broadcast

Zhang Xiaoli slapped her thigh upon hearing this: "No wonder I felt the number of people going to the restroom increased drastically a while ago. The queues were so long every time I went, and our water consumption went up rapidly too."

Liang Dan smiled: "It seems such a simple bug was discovered long ago. If it were me, I would observe while inside the restroom and carry some water to pretend I was using it."

Liang Dan asked: "When did what you mentioned happen?"

Zhang Xiaoli replied: "Half a month ago, I suppose. Ever since half a month ago, I felt many people in the hospital were acting rather strange... Don't look at me with that skeptical gaze; we psychiatric patients actually look much more normal than you players."

Liang Dan asked: "A whole half a month? Did they not commit any extreme acts during this time?"

Zhang Xiaoli said: "That old man who asks people to kill him every day—he is the most extreme one. Other than that, no. It seems it's only starting today that these people suddenly went crazy to this extent."

Liang Dan asked again: "During this half a month, was the lawn still there? Was the building opposite still there?"

"Yes," Zhang Xiaoli said, "I went downstairs for a stroll just last night!"

Zhang Xiaoli asked: "Can you guess why?"

"I can," Liang Dan said, "because all the players have arrived."

Liang Dan continued: "Our mission this time is to find all the players. Therefore, one could say the game only officially started after all the players gathered.

"The previous days were merely their preparations for playing the game, and I am presumably the very last player, or part of the final batch."

Liang Dan asked: "Do you know how many people there are in total in this building, added together?"

Zhang Xiaoli answered: "Around 200."

Liang Dan gasped: "How many?"

Zhang Xiaoli exclaimed: "There are 40 patients just on our fifth floor alone, plus the patients on the remaining three floors, plus the doctors and nurses across these floors—don't you think that totals around 200?"

"But when I looked just now," Liang Dan swiped open the identification screen, "there only seemed to be a few dozen."

Liang Dan scrolled to the bottom of the name list and found another full page of names popping in. Liang Dan scrolled to the bottom again, and yet another page appeared!

Zhang Xiaoli asked: "What's wrong with you?"

Liang Dan felt like crying without tears: "I previously thought there were only a few dozen because I didn't scroll to the bottom. There are two whole pages left underneath!"

Liang Dan had a sudden flash of insight: "No wonder that old man couldn't wait. To confirm someone's identity, he has to see that person in the flesh.

"Even if he confirmed one person's identity a day, it would take him 200 days.

"Yet during these 200 days, what about the people at the front of the list? They would probably have been killed by other players long ago, leaving not even their bones behind!"

Zhang Xiaoli frowned: "In that case, isn't this mission terribly difficult to pass?"

Liang Dan said: "It's indeed very difficult for others, but for me, I just need to tap them one by one."

*

Liang Dan spoke as she designated the vice president.

"The peerlessly benevolent Liang Dan, failed to identify a player. You are dead!"

*

Zhang Xiaoli said: "You lagged for 0.1 seconds again."

"Yes," Liang Dan said, "my innate skill is infinite resurrection within the game. The lag you just mentioned means I failed an identification and died once."

Zhang Xiaoli calculated: "0.1 seconds per person, 1 second for ten people, 10 seconds for a hundred people. That means you only need 20 seconds to leave this world. No, I mean successfully complete the mission and return to the real world."

Liang Dan nodded: "In theory, yes."

Zhang Xiaoli widened her eyes: "Then what are you still standing there dazed for? In the time it took the two of us to talk, you could have already gone back!"

"But," Liang Dan said, "do you think out of these 200 people, there are 20 other players?"

Zhang Xiaoli said: "Probably more."

Liang Dan lowered her eyes: "How can these twenty-odd people, who don't have a skill like mine, possibly manage to identify all the players?

"You know, players will die if they fail their mission."

After saying this, Liang Dan let out a self-deprecating laugh: "Am I being a bit foolish?"

"Just a little."

Zhang Xiaoli replied: "Since you have so many lives and are guaranteed to complete the mission anyway, you can certainly afford to do some things you want to do."

Liang Dan's eyes lit up: "Then, should we go back to the president's office and broadcast again?"

"That is indeed a way to notify all the players, but there's a problem."

"What problem?"

"You're too weak; you can't stop anyone."

Zhang Xiaoli pointed out: "The moment other players hear the broadcast, they will either rush to the president's office to kill the person broadcasting, or go kill the players mentioned in the broadcast.

If you want to tell everyone who the players are via broadcast, you must achieve two things:

"First, protect us in the president's office from being killed—primarily me.

"Second, protect the players whose names we mention from being killed. But that is very difficult."

Liang Dan sighed: "If Yang Liuqing and Shen Si were here, they would definitely find a way. Though Yang Liuqing probably wouldn't support this idea of mine. Well, Shen Si might not necessarily support it either."

Zhang Xiaoli smiled: "Are they your teammates from the previous world?"

*

"Yes."

"That being the case, you can still look for a few teammates."

Liang Dan frowned: "But the players in this world are too fierce; they seem to only think about killing."

Zhang Xiaoli asked: "If those two teammates of yours were in this world, could you guarantee they wouldn't kill people?"

"I... cannot."

Zhang Xiaoli smiled: "Therefore, enemies are often just teammates placed in the wrong spot, while teammates are often just enemies placed in the wrong spot.

"As long as you can find a way to gain the trust of a single player, you can proceed to develop many player teammates."

Liang Dan raised her head: "You should find a safe place to hide. You shouldn't take risks with me anymore."

Zhang Xiaoli said: "Ever since my world turned into an instance game, there hasn't been a safe place anywhere."

Liang Dan said: "I've thought of a way. Perhaps I can find some people just like me."

*

President's Office.

Liang Dan lay motionless on the floor, blood splattered all over the vicinity.

Zhang Xiaoli lowered her voice: "Attention all players, attention all players."

Zhang Xiaoli paused for two seconds, then burst into loud laughter: "Hearing my voice, does it sound exceptionally unfamiliar? Are you extremely curious about where the previous broadcaster went?

"Come on, great broadcaster, let everyone hear your voice."

Zhang Xiaoli held the microphone, waving it around a few times near Liang Dan.

Zhang Xiaoli clicked her tongue: "Our great broadcaster, who sacrificed herself for other players, why aren't you speaking?

"Oh my, what is this thing?

"It seems to be our great broadcaster's finger, ouch..."

Liang Dan suppressed her voice: "Ah—"

She muffled her own mouth, preventing her miserable screams from leaking out.