Chapter 57: Collective Accusation
Jiang Yunxiao smiled and said, “Sister, you’re mistaken. Not all players are as despicable as that one. At the very least, our esteemed broadcaster lady is kind and compassionate.”
Jiang Yunxiao asked, “Miss Liangshan, what are your instructions? On behalf of all the remaining players, I am ready to follow your arrangements.”
Liang Dan said, “I know no one trusts me, but I mean no harm. I only want everyone to leave this dungeon alive. So, shortly, I will identify each player’s identity and hope you’ll help me confirm them.”
Jiang Yunxiao asked, “Everyone, did you hear that clearly?”
Together, they answered, “Yes, we did.”
Jiang Yunxiao smiled, “Please begin.”
Liang Dan asked, “Let me ask you first: do you know how many players are in this dungeon?”
Jiang Yunxiao replied, “Thirty.”
Liang Dan asked again, “Can you untie their ropes?”
“That’s not possible, but don’t worry, we can help identify them,” Jiang Yunxiao said.
Jiang Yunxiao instructed, “Those still alive, please stand up. Players stand to my left; the ordinary natives stand to my right.”
Once he finished, the group quickly arranged themselves.
“Good,” Jiang Yunxiao said, “all players, bring up your identification panels and face us.”
At that moment, Liang Dan saw a flood of panels floating before her eyes.
She said, “Zhang Xiaoli, Yao Meng, please help the others with identification.”
Han Yuan asked, “What about me?”
Liang Dan was momentarily speechless, mainly worried about Han Yuan’s mental state—she feared Han Yuan might send every player away.
While pondering her reply, Liang Dan heard Jiang Yunxiao laugh and say, “You watch me.”
Han Yuan smiled, “Alright.”
Liang Dan breathed a sigh of relief.
She swiped through the screen and began identifying one by one from the start.
After failing ten times and dying repeatedly, Liang Dan finally succeeded on her first successful identification.
She said, “The bespectacled male nurse on the first floor.”
Yao Meng and Jiang Yunxiao tapped the air.
Yao Meng and Zhang Xiaoli began cautiously helping the trembling players identify themselves.
Once everyone in the group finished identification, a heavy sigh of relief swept through them; the atmosphere in the corridor lightened considerably.
***
A bald man collapsed on the ground, shouting, “Don’t forget me! If you want to save the players, you can’t leave me behind!”
He brought up his identification panel.
Zhang Xiaoli stepped forward, “Let me help you identify yourself!”
The bald man’s eyes widened as he backed away, “No! I don’t want you to identify me! I don’t need your help!”
Zhang Xiaoli lightly tapped, “Oops, I clicked the wrong button.”
The bald man’s panel suddenly flashed bright red letters:
“Ordinary petty villain Zhao Wu, failed to identify player; you are dead!”
In the next instant, he crashed headfirst into the wall, blood flowing like a river.
Zhang Xiaoli covered her mouth, “Sorry, I accidentally got you killed!”
Liang Dan bowed helplessly, “Rest in peace.”
Then she continued with the identifications.
***
After several dozen minutes, most players had been identified successfully. The surviving players wore expressions of disbelief.
They couldn’t believe that, tied up and trapped here, they could still complete the mission.
Even more shocking was that everything they’d heard over the broadcast had been true all along.
There really was someone selflessly helping them complete the task.
Liang Dan carefully counted. After successfully identifying the 29th player, she grew cautious.
She said, “From now on, before I identify any player, I will give you a warning.
“If I fail to identify a player, I will tell you not to identify them. If I succeed, I will immediately leave this world. You just need to continue identifying the players I successfully identify.”
“The bespectacled male nurse on the first floor.”
“Peerless benevolent soul Liang Dan, failed to identify player; you are dead!”
***
Han Yuan, standing nearby, suddenly collapsed.
Jiang Yunxiao rushed to support her, “Han Yuan, what’s wrong?”
Han Yuan opened her eyes, dazed, “I’m back?”
Liang Dan put down her screen and hurried over, “Are you alright? Why did you faint suddenly?”
Han Yuan looked at her, “I’m not… I’m not Han Yuan.”
Zhang Xiaoli said, “Maybe you should take your medicine? Don’t worry, once these players leave, our world will return to normal, and there should be medicine available.”
Han Yuan hurriedly said, “I’m not called Han Yuan. I’m not even a patient. I’m a nurse at the pharmacy in the next building!”
Zhang Xiaoli widened her eyes, “You’re a pharmacy nurse? How come I’ve never seen you before?”
Han Yuan looked anxious, “Usually, other nurses deliver medicine to the wards, but today, for some reason, they all went on strike, so I had to deliver it.
“As soon as I arrived here, I felt strange, like my consciousness wasn’t under my control!
“My consciousness has always been present, but I couldn’t control my actions. That person had been inside my body and only just left.”
Liang Dan gasped, “You’re not 403-1?”
The woman irritably tore off the paper strip on her wrist, “In our hospital, patients don’t wear gowns on each floor, and they definitely don’t wear these on their wrists. They’re too restless to keep anything on their hands.”
Liang Dan’s heart raced as Zhang Xiaoli’s earlier words echoed in her mind:
“This game can’t have your players constantly suffering physical manifestations. There must be medicine in this building, or something similar.”
Liang Dan felt helpless and tearful: damn it, there really is medicine in this building!
Everyone hearing this was left with no doubts.
One player had disguised herself as a native, tricking them all.
“But,” Liang Dan said, “why doesn’t she use her hands to click when identifying players?”
Chu Yunxiao ground his teeth, “The system exists within the consciousness; it can be operated purely by thought.”
Yao Meng added, “We use our hands and display the panels only to prove to you that we didn’t identify players before you.”
Liang Dan took a deep breath, “Then where did her patient gown come from?”
Yao Meng explained, “You’re new; you don’t know the dungeon can yield all sorts of strange items. It might have come from a previous dungeon run.”
Chu Yunxiao said, “There’s a type of treasure chest called a ‘Dungeon Custom Chest.’ It can only be opened after entering the dungeon and grants items related to that dungeon.”
“So,” Liang Dan looked up at the pharmacy nurse, “you’re not really sick.”
The nurse said, “I’m skinny because I’m sick, but it’s not a mental illness.”
At last, Liang Dan believed that Han Yuan was truly a deceiver.
She thought for a moment and smiled.