"The best way is to wander aimlessly and occasionally make some inexplicable movements."
"During this process, I can document the structure of these scenes."
Discovering a breakthrough point made Wen Xishu very excited.
He began to move around randomly.
Sometimes, Wen Xishu would even walk up to a door and suddenly stop, but wouldn't open it, just standing there motionlessly.
Other times, he would suddenly lift his head and stare straight at the ceiling.
Of course, most of the time, he would walk straight to the end of a corridor, and after touching the wall, he would return, back and forth several times.
He looked like he had lost his mind, but Wen Xishu was mentally mapping out all the routes in the process.
Meanwhile, he was also using his peripheral vision to observe if there were any Easter eggs around.
In a grand homage, some special game props were placed throughout the Deceit Tower District.
Wen Xishu indeed discovered something.
This object was gray, resembling a rune.
It lay quietly at the corner of the second-floor ward's stairway entrance; these homages in the game could only be seen by Wen Xishu.
In a sense, it could be regarded as an airdrop support from Scorpio.
Wen Xishu continued his illogical and patternless movements, while thinking in his mind about what the gray rune symbolized.
He seemed to have figured it out…
"It's that thing! This is indeed a crucial item."
Wen Xishu recalled in a highly entertaining free game on a battlefield river path — various runes existed, each granting enhancements upon contact.
Red represented speed, blue represented damage, green represented recovery, yellow represented illusion, and gray represented stealth.
"This is indeed a good breakthrough item."
Wen Xishu did not immediately pick it up; he was still observing the surroundings. At this moment, Wen Xishu had already reached the hallway on the first floor.
Everything was going smoothly for now; feigning madness was a simple task for Wen Xishu.
But soon, he was almost discovered.
In the first-floor hallway, Wen Xishu encountered a bizarre scene. As he moved erratically, several people in white coats carried the "corpse" of the tea-selling old man down from the second floor, heading towards the courtyard outside the hallway.
Instinctively, Wen Xishu wanted to observe.
But it seemed he sensed something…
The three people in white coats abruptly stopped, stiffly turned around, and looked at Wen Xishu.
Their initially vacant eyes gradually showed some confusion.
In the first-floor hallway, Wen Xishu's steps moved forward, while the three in white stood silently at the entrance to the courtyard, watching him.
If Wen Xishu continued walking, he would only get closer to the three in white.
At this moment, Wen Xishu could choose to turn around. But he already had a premonition of danger…
He was sure he was being watched. If he turned away now, he might be seen as fleeing, which would make sense.
Sure enough, one of those in white suddenly took a step forward, and the corpse of the old tea-seller seemed irrelevant.
All three in white began to walk towards Wen Xishu.
The aura they emitted shifted from indifference to increasing vigilance and caution.
Then an even eerier scene unfolded; the tea-selling old man on the ground suddenly began to twitch.
An old man who appeared to be lifeless, seemed to have died, suddenly came to life at that moment.
From his mouth, he began to chant a series of peculiar but familiar words to Wen Xishu:
"Attend promptly when called by parents. When commanded, act without sloth. When instructed, one must listen respectfully. When reproached, one must obey graciously."
The elderly voice recited these words that Wen Xishu had recently heard in the light symptom area.
It was at that moment that Wen Xishu noticed —
The tag on the old man's body, labeled "Treatment Completed."
Meanwhile, the three in white coats had completely surrounded Wen Xishu, pressing their ears against his body.
The scene was exceedingly strange.
In the dim hallway, there was only a hint of light at the entrance leading into the courtyard.
In the darkness, the three in white, like they were listening to a heartbeat, remained motionless, pressed against Wen Xishu's chest. Not far away, an old man twitched while chanting eerie lines.
Wen Xishu knew that if he couldn't quickly decipher the meaning of this behavior…
He would immediately face danger.
And he soon found the answer.
Wen Xishu gazed vacantly forward, emptying his mind as he looked at the slight glow ahead, thinking of nothing.
That familiar and nauseating feeling surfaced.
The sensation of something crawling wildly inside his body appeared. The three in white finally ceased their guard. That crawling noise, like the rustle of hundreds of roaches, allowed Wen Xishu to stay alive.
Wen Xishu continued his erratic movements, but soon, his body was bound by the three in white.
He did not panic; during the close contact, he emptied his mind, letting the white-gloved figures carry him.
The tea-selling old man slowly walked toward the courtyard. Still using his elderly voice, in a cheerful tone, he recited that passage from "Rules for Disciples."
Evidently, the tea-selling old man was no longer the tea-selling man but had become "them," or rather, had turned into what we call "Good People."
The term "Good People" now gave Wen Xishu the impression not of kind humans but of non-humans adept at disguise.
At this moment… Wen Xishu suddenly understood.
"I get it now, I was completely wrong! The light symptom area is actually the severe symptom area, and the severe symptom area is the light symptom area!"
Wen Xishu was soon brought back to the bed, this time bound with ropes, unable to move. Fortunately, he was safe at that moment.
The three in white no longer seemed to be observing him.
Though unable to move, Wen Xishu had gained much.
Whether it was exploring the terrain, or the stealth rune. At the same time, he understood the principle behind that sound.
If there really was something inside the body making such a loud noise when crawling, a person would have died long ago.
This was something Wen Xishu hadn't understood earlier, but now, he seemed to have a direction for thought.
Simultaneously, a familiar prompt appeared.
[The current character is in a safe state and is unlikely to draw "their" attention in the short term, meeting the conditions for switching characters. Would you like to switch to the Hero or the Benevolent?]
Wen Xishu also needed to verify his hypothesis.
"If my hypothesis is correct, then Britney is now surrounded by a group of Good People. She is the one in the most dangerous situation."