When Qin Nuo opened his eyes, he found himself once again in the familiar void space.

"Welcome back, Player 'Phantom', to the game."

"This time, the game instance is called—Saint Yasi Asylum!"

"Number of players: 20."

"Game duration: 15 days."

"Players will enter the asylum as caretakers, tending to clinical patients, and triggering instance tasks randomly based on patients' requests."

"Note: Since they are psychiatric patients, they might be a bit mischievous. Caretakers can tolerate them or administer punishment within the allowed range to make them behave."

"Of course, if you anger some ill-tempered or violent patients, you might be the one in trouble."

"Note: During work hours, there will be random leadership supervision. Remember not to slack off~ If caught being lazy, it might not just be a pay cut, but also some unexpected punishments!"

"Main task: Investigate the true cause of death of all employees in Saint Yasi Asylum and uncover the mastermind behind it!" (Clues can be randomly obtained by completing instance tasks.)

"Instance mode: Nightmares!"

"Mode details: Daytime is work time, but at night, don't wander around. Stay in your room obediently."

"When night falls, many old acquaintances will appear in the hospital, hunting players. Candlelight is the only thing that can save you!"

"Note: Candles can be obtained from the supervisor based on daily work performance."

"Protection Mechanism: Players can obtain a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. Upon death, they can exit the instance, be evaluated as failed, and continue the game."

"Instance completion: Survive for 15 days until the instance ends, or complete the main task early to end the instance!"

"A nightmare mode has been added."

Qin Nuo frowned.

No matter how he looked at it, the difficulty of this instance seemed unmatched with his level.

"Could it be that my high rating in the last instance allowed for an increase in difficulty?"

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"Or did they detect me cheating?" Qin Nuo wondered.

Was that considered cheating?

Not really, at most, it was just a protagonist's halo...

"This main task is somewhat similar to the last one, but it seems to be more difficult."

Taking care of psychiatric patients?

Don't kid me, even looking after a child makes Qin Nuo want to strangle them!

Moreover, these psychiatric patients aren't even human...

"Please confirm, Player, before entering the game instance!"

Qin Nuo didn't rush in. He remembered he still had a golden treasure chest unopened and a Qingyin Stone yet to be fused.

At least be fully prepared before going in.

Qin Nuo first took out the Qingyin Stone, pondering.

Currently, he had three metal-type ghost creatures.

Bone-Crushing Hammer, Butcher's Chainsaw, and Mountain-Cleaving Knife, which one to choose?

In the end, Qin Nuo chose the Bone-Crushing Hammer for two reasons.

One, enhancing the Bone-Crushing Hammer would surely make the bone nails even more terrifying.

Two, it felt just right in his hand!

Swinging a hammer at ghosts, that feeling was just nice!

"The host uses the item Qingyin Stone to fuse with the ghost creature Bone-Crushing Hammer. Fusion in progress, estimated time 6-8 hours."

After putting away the fusion panel, Qin Nuo opened the information panel and unlocked the golden treasure chest.

"Congratulations to the host for opening the golden treasure chest and obtaining items [Thorn Goddess's Whip], [Dr. Black Jack's Medical Kit], [Thunder King’s White Gloves]!"

Qin Nuo's mouth twitched.

Goodness, is this what comes out of a golden treasure chest?

Why does it feel so flashy?

Moreover, these three items seem to have some inexplicable connection with this instance!

This made Qin Nuo suspect if the system was manipulating things behind the scenes.

"A medical kit, will I need this? Shouldn't the asylum provide it?"

Qin Nuo muttered as he opened the medical kit.

"Cold medicine ×10, disinfectant gauze ×10, sedatives ×10, emergency serum ×10..."

A dazzling array of medical supplies left Qin Nuo a bit puzzled.

Are these for the psychiatric patients?

Or for me?

The point is, aren't these things just common street drugs?

Suddenly, Qin Nuo felt he had been tricked.

A golden treasure chest.

Is this it?

"Please confirm if you wish to enter the instance!"

The game voice reminded again.

Qin Nuo packed up all these miscellaneous items and then clicked confirm.

"Let's begin!"

As the words fell, Qin Nuo's entire body felt like it was being sucked into a storm, and his vision blurred.

Boom!!

The next second, Qin Nuo found himself in a long corridor.

Looking ahead, it was filled with rows of wards, and from outside the windows, a dim light seeped in.

Judging by the time, it should be around noon.

The architectural style of Saint Yasi Asylum leaned towards Western European, with paintings on the walls depicting Western scenes and some religious-like totems.

"The other players should be in by now, right?"

"There are 20 players this time. Maybe there's a pro among them who can complete the main task quickly, ending the instance early, saving me time, and letting me enjoy being carried."

Qin Nuo muttered to himself as he walked down the corridor.

The wards were pitch black inside, with iron doors giving a prison-like feel.

Moreover, each door not only had four or five locks but was also bound with two thick iron chains!

"Are the patients inside or monsters, needing such confinement?"

Additionally, each door had a large warning sign posted on it.

"Danger, do not approach!"

This was a clear warning.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen a single person or ghost yet. Without an instance NPC, how do I know which area of patients I'm responsible for?"

Bang!!

Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted Qin Nuo's thoughts.

It came from the last iron door he passed.

Qin Nuo turned his head and saw a pair of bloodshot eyes staring straight at him through the door window.

Even though he felt a chill from being stared at, Qin Nuo politely responded, "Hello, I'm the new caretaker. Could you tell me how to get to the director's office?"

The patient behind the iron door didn't respond.

In the darkness, another eye appeared, then a fourth, a fifth...

Qin Nuo's eye twitched.

His intuition told him these weren't the eyes of several people; they were all from one person...

"You should have seen the warning sign on the wall, don't get close to the wards."

A voice suddenly came from behind.

Qin Nuo turned around to find a woman in a white nun's robe silently standing behind him, a large cross hanging on her chest.

Qin Nuo said, "I just thought he seemed to need something."

Looking at the nun's attire, Qin Nuo roughly guessed her identity, the supervisor.

The nun said nothing, turned to leave, and left a sentence, "Follow me to get your caretaker uniform."

Qin Nuo followed her, glancing back at the iron door.

Behind the door, those eyes disappeared one by one, seemingly wary of the nun...