As he followed the stream of patients toward the cafeteria, Shen Yu’s expression remained calm, but his mind worked rapidly.

The rules were becoming clearer.

The way to survive this dungeon was simple in theory, yet terrifying in practice.

Play the role of a mental patient.

That was the answer.

The headband values were proof of it.

Whenever someone acted in a way that contradicted their assigned identity, the number displayed on the headband dropped.

The lower the value fell, the more the contaminated world overlapped with reality.

Shen Yu had experienced it firsthand.

The distorted hospital room.

The impossible monsters.

The hallucinations that felt more real than reality itself.

Everything had appeared after his value decreased.

The behavior of the patients might not always be a reliable reference.

After all, mentally ill people could act unpredictably.

But the headbands never lied.

The numbers reflected the dungeon’s judgment.

As long as the value remained stable, he was walking the correct path.

As long as it dropped—

He was approaching death.

"Tsk."

Behind him, Yu Ji clicked his tongue.

His eyes followed Shen Yu’s retreating figure.

A trace of regret appeared on his face.

"Sharp instincts."

"He figured it out faster than most."

The long-haired man’s gaze narrowed.

"But what a pity."

"An E-Rank talent."

"No matter how clever he is, he’ll eventually hit his limit."

The others exchanged glances.

No one responded.

In horror dungeons, talent determined far more than intelligence.

Without strength, survival could only take one so far.

A few minutes later, the group arrived at the second-floor cafeteria.

The moment Shen Yu stepped inside, he frowned.

The place was revolting.

The cafeteria was far larger than the first-floor lobby, yet looked as though it had not been cleaned in decades.

Greasy yellow stains covered the walls.

The fluorescent lights overhead were coated with thick layers of oil.

Black grime stuck to the floor beneath every table.

Every step produced a faint sticky sound.

Occasionally, rats darted across the room, leaping over chairs and disappearing beneath tables.

The smell was even worse.

Rotten meat.

Cooking oil.

Disinfectant.

And something metallic.

Blood.

The odors mixed together until breathing itself became unpleasant.

"Everyone sit in your assigned seats."

Yang Jin’s cold voice sounded from behind the serving counter.

"No picky eating."

"No rejecting food."

"Maintain the Clean Plate Policy."

Her eyes swept across the room.

"Every patient must finish their meal."

The patients obeyed immediately.

The veteran players followed suit.

Soon, Shen Yu, Yu Ji, Fujia, Yan Bing, and the others found themselves seated at the same table near the corner of the cafeteria.

No one spoke.

Everyone was observing.

Watching.

Learning.

The grotesque nurses moved between tables carrying metal trays.

At first glance, the food appeared surprisingly normal.

Eggplant.

Chicken drumsticks.

Slices of watermelon.

Nothing seemed unusual.

At least from a distance.

Around them, the patients were already eating.

Many even wore expressions of enjoyment.

As though the food was delicious.

As though there was nothing wrong at all.

That alone made Shen Yu even more cautious.

In a place like this, anything that appeared normal was usually the most dangerous thing in the room.

Just then—

Several grotesque nurses carrying meal trays began approaching their table.

Before they arrived, however, a familiar voice interrupted them.

"Wait."

The cafeteria fell silent.

Yang Jin stepped forward.

"I’ll serve his meal personally."

The entire table froze.

Then all eyes landed on Shen Yu.

Xiao Kongxu’s face twitched.

"Damn."

"Special treatment again?"

"Is this guy some hidden quest NPC?"

Even Yan Bing looked slightly jealous.

Fujia’s brows furrowed.

No matter how they looked at it, Yang Jin was treating Shen Yu differently from everyone else.

Far differently.

However—

The envy lasted only a few seconds.

Because Yang Jin wasn’t carrying a food tray.

Not even a plate.

Instead, she stopped directly beside Shen Yu.

Then, under everyone’s gaze, her pale hand slipped into the opening of her pink nurse uniform.

Rustle.

Rustle.

A wet sound echoed.

The next moment—

Something emerged.

Wriggle.

Wriggle.

Wriggle.

Three severed human fingers lay in her palm.

Fresh blood dripped from the broken joints.

The flesh twitched.

The fingertips curled and stretched like living worms.

One finger suddenly spasmed and scratched against another with a sickening sound.

The metallic smell of fresh blood instantly spread across the table.

Everyone’s expressions changed.

Even Yu Ji’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Yan Bing nearly stood up.

Xiao Kongxu’s face turned pale.

Yang Jin lowered her gaze.

Her beautiful eyes locked onto Shen Yu.

Then she extended her hand.

Offering him the fingers.

Like a caring nurse delivering breakfast.

"This is your meal."

Her tone remained calm.

Cold.

Almost gentle.

As though she were presenting a freshly prepared delicacy.

The severed fingers dangled inches from Shen Yu’s face.

Blood dripped onto the table.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

The sound echoed in the suffocating silence.

Shen Yu’s heartbeat accelerated.

His scalp tingled.

For the first time since entering the dungeon, he genuinely felt cornered.

Refusing Yang Jin’s order?

That was almost certainly suicide.

But eating human fingers?

Even he had limits.

The others silently watched.

No one dared interfere.

No one dared speak.

Because everyone understood one thing.

Yang Jin’s attention could be either a blessing—

Or a death sentence.

And right now, no one knew which one Shen Yu had received.

Yang Jin tilted her head slightly.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

"Why?"

"Don’t you like the breakfast I prepared for you?"

The wriggling fingers moved closer.

Close enough for Shen Yu to smell the fresh blood.

Close enough to see the twitching tendons beneath the skin.

And for the first time, even Shen Yu couldn’t immediately determine whether Yang Jin was helping him...

Or testing him.

Shen Yu’s expression remained calm on the surface, but his thoughts were racing.

The wriggling fingers dangled inches from his face.

Blood dripped slowly from the severed joints.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound echoed in the deathly silent cafeteria.

Every player’s gaze was fixed on him.

Waiting.

Watching.

Some pitied him.

Some envied him.

Most simply wanted to see what would happen next.

After all, receiving "special treatment" from the head nurse of an S-Rank dungeon rarely ended well.

Yang Jin remained motionless.

Her slender hand continued holding the three fingers before him.

Her beautiful face showed no emotion.

"Eat."

The command was simple.

Yet it carried an authority that allowed no refusal.

Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

At this distance, he could clearly see the details of the severed fingers.

The skin was pale.

The nails were neatly trimmed.

They looked almost fresh.

As if they had been cut from a living person only moments ago.

Most horrifying of all—

They were still moving.

The fingertips twitched occasionally.

The joints bent unnaturally.

Almost as if they were trying to crawl away.

Disgusting.

Shen Yu admitted that much.

Even with his experience in the dungeon world, eating human fingers wasn’t exactly something he had prepared himself for.

But another part of him was analyzing the situation.

Calmly.

Logically.

Almost mechanically.

The cafeteria rules were clear.

No rejecting food.

No wasting food.

Clean Plate Policy.

Those rules had been repeated twice.

In a dungeon like this, repeated rules were rarely decorations.

Breaking them usually led to death.

His gaze drifted briefly toward the other tables.

The patients were eating happily.

Smiling.

Laughing softly.

Some even fought over food.

Not a single person appeared disturbed.

As if everything being served was perfectly normal.

That realization made Shen Yu’s heart sink.

Because it confirmed one thing.

To the patients of Qing Shan Mental Hospital—

Nothing here was abnormal.

Only the players thought it was.

Role-playing.

Once again, the answer returned to that word.

The more accurately one acted as a patient, the safer they became.

The more they resisted the hospital’s logic...

The closer they moved toward contamination.

At that moment, Shen Yu noticed something.

The numbers on several nearby patients’ headbands.

They were stable.

Not decreasing.

Some were even slowly increasing.

Meanwhile, one frightened participant at another table had unconsciously recoiled from his tray.

Immediately, the number on his headband dropped by one point.

The decrease lasted only a second.

But Shen Yu saw it clearly.

As expected.

The headband never lies.

Across the table, Fujia also noticed.

Their eyes met briefly.

Neither spoke.

Neither needed to.

They had reached the same conclusion.

Yang Jin’s voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Why aren’t you eating?"

The temperature in the cafeteria seemed to drop several degrees.

Several grotesque nurses turned toward him simultaneously.

The bandages covering their faces squirmed.

Something beneath them appeared to be smiling. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Shen Yu immediately felt a dangerous pressure.

The atmosphere had changed.

If he hesitated much longer, something bad would happen.

Very bad.

Yet another temptation surfaced.

A familiar temptation.

One that had followed him ever since obtaining Infinite Revival.

What if I refuse?

What if I deliberately die?

His heart beat slightly faster.

Curiosity.

Dangerous curiosity.

The kind that killed people.

Or in his case...

Perhaps didn’t.

But Shen Yu quickly suppressed the thought.

Not now.

There were too many unknowns.

Too many veteran players watching.

Yu Ji.

Yan Bing.

Fujia.

Every one of them possessed abilities he didn’t understand.

If his resurrection became public knowledge here...

He might survive the dungeon only to become someone’s experiment afterward.

A faint smile almost appeared on his lips.

For perhaps the first time in his life—

Being immortal felt inconvenient.