Virus King - Chapter 104

Chapter 104: The Han Family’s Bloodline Mystery! Embodiment of Fear!

TL: YYang

The process of waking up from a dream was naturally a bit hazy.

But as they opened their eyes, the two figures froze almost simultaneously.

Chen Bai’s face and Meng Meng’s sudden appearance left them both somewhat stunned.

“White Emperor!? Old Dream!? I’m Crow, Zhao Zhen! You can all just call me Crow!”

It was Zhao Zhen who tried to break the silence, while Han Xiao showed the bashful expression typical of an online acquaintance meeting for the first time—his face turned bright red, and he hung his head, too shy to speak.

Despite this being a dream!

Chen Bai and Meng Meng nodded in greeting.

“I’m Chen Bai.”

“Meng Meng, nice to meet you.”

After a few brief pleasantries that dispelled some of the initial strangeness, everyone began to reveal their true personalities.

In his previous life, the Fear Sovereign Zhao Zhen had been a cold, terrifying, and famously eccentric emperor figure, known for his chilling demeanor.

Yet now, perhaps because he hadn’t yet acquired formidable powers that might alter his nature, he came across as rather amusing.

As for Han Xiao, he seemed to finally release the repressed emotions he’d been bottling up over the last few days of the apocalypse, resuming his cheerful, chubby demeanor.

“Alright, let’s skip the small talk,” Meng Meng cut in. “Maintaining this Dreamscape requires energy and has a limited duration, so let’s go straight to Red Star Psychiatric Hospital!”

In this dream world, which was an extension of Han Xiao’s own dream, there were very few zombies and not a single Evolver in sight. As they traveled, Han Xiao explained what he knew about the psychiatric hospital:

“After my father’s death, I found some documents at home that I’d never seen before, and only then did I learn our family has a history of mental illness!

“My aunt was a patient at Red Star Psychiatric Hospital, and that’s when I was assigned this family mystery quest. But when I got there, I discovered that the hospital had already transformed into a hidden realm instance!”

The emergence of quests, according to the Cosmic Will, was largely random.

They only needed to be triggered.

Chen Bai cast a glance at Han Xiao.

“What level is this quest?”

The chubby man didn’t hide anything and shared the quest details with the team so everyone could see the mission screenshot:

[Family Mystery (S)]

[The early awakening of your talent signifies an inherently strong spiritual force. But why? You have no idea! In your father’s journal, you found clues about the whereabouts of an aunt whom he never mentioned. To uncover your family’s secret, you must enter the hospital and investigate!]

[Quest Objective: Obtain the quest item ‘Han Family Medical History’]

[Quest Reward: ???]

Interesting!

Chen Bai smiled slightly. In his previous life, Han Xiao had died early, yet in this lifetime, with Chen Bai’s influence, he was alive and well amid the apocalypse.

It seemed the ripple effects were proving quite fascinating!

Could this family history be connected to some kind of bloodline?

To possess a spiritual strength powerful enough to warrant a unique quest as the 007th talent-awakening Pioneer, this chubby guy was certainly exceptional.

Red Star Psychiatric Hospital was located in the outskirts of Magic City.

Han Xiao lived in the outskirts as well, so it wasn’t too far away.

The hospital was a massive complex, its main building towering roughly four stories high.

To ensure safety, psychiatric hospitals typically weren’t built very tall, and every window was densely latticed with welded iron bars.

Even in this dream world, the hospital had a sinister, inexplicable aura.

Psychiatric hospitals weren’t pleasant places by nature.

People with genuine mental illness and those deemed mentally unwell alike were housed there.

At the rusty, broken iron gates bearing the words “Red Star Psychiatric Hospital,” a swirling vortex spun slowly.

Interestingly, the plaque beside the gates displayed two Arabic numerals: “16.”

“Sixteen? Is that a street number?” Chen Bai raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued.

The four of them stood before the vortex.

The undulating dreamscape could not disrupt the rotation of the hidden realm’s entrance.

[Enter Nightmare-level Instance ‘Red Star Psychiatric Hospital (Lv. 5-12)’?]

[Yes!]

The four figures stepped forward as if entering the gaping, bloody maw of a giant beast.

Han Xiao looked nervous, his eyes fixed intently on the swirling vortex ahead.

Then he followed them inside.

It felt as if the entire world had suddenly turned unbearably dark.

They still appeared to be within the hospital grounds, with what seemed like a gigantic sun still hanging outside, yet there was a pervasive darkness and horror that was hard to explain.

How could such a low-level instance feel so eerie?!

Chen Bai’s heart sank slightly. From his decades of experience in the apocalypse, this secret realm dungeon seemed extraordinarily unique!

But what exactly was unique about it, he truly couldn’t say.

“Be careful! Something’s off here!”

Chen Bai whispered a low command, his gaze shifting to the staggering humanoid figures wandering within the manor as they stepped into the secret realm.

‘Spiritual Perception!’

Activating the skill Meng Meng had gifted him earlier, Chen Bai immediately saw what these figures actually were:

[Frenzied Attendant of the Red Star Psychiatric Hospital (Level 7)]
[Strength: 17]
[Agility: 15]
[Constitution: 10]
[Spirit: 21]
[Skill: Terror Howl!]

Even a mere minion like this had such high attributes and level?!

Chen Bai narrowed his eyes slightly. At that moment, Crow grinned slyly and asked, “So, who’s going first?”

Chen Bai had already noticed Crow itching for action.

“Go ahead,” he replied.

With a chuckle, Crow instantly summoned a flurry of dark shadows shifting and swirling behind him.

“Tremble in terror! Fear! Scream!”

In an instant, to the shock of the other two, a massive scarecrow over three meters tall, cloaked in shadows, appeared behind Crow.

Embodiment of Fear!

The attendant, who had initially been frowning as he stumbled toward them, froze instantly upon seeing the scarecrow. His eyes were completely enveloped in darkness, devoid of any hint of life.

Ignoring Crow’s theatrics, Chen Bai’s thoughts drifted back to the eerie Red Star Psychiatric Hospital.

This asylum had, in his previous life, stirred up quite a lot of strange rumors on the regional forums of Magic City.

Instinctively, Chen Bai glanced back at the plaque under the sign for Red Star Psychiatric Hospital.

For some reason, his eyes lingered on the rusty, house-number-like Arabic digits:

16?

…