Liu Congyi's ability to struggle against those bugs for three months was truly remarkable.

"I never knew that injuries sustained in the instance couldn't be healed even after returning to Peach Blossom Land," Mo Bai whispered.

Liu Congyi was a very proactive person. Seeing Mo Bai's obedient expression and knowing that she was just a member of the Observation Group, she guessed that this player hadn't seen much of the world. So she didn't mind telling this lamb-like Observation Group player about the dangers of the instance. Of course, her main purpose was to scare Mo Bai and use Mo Bai's frightened expression to alleviate the pain in her lungs.

Liu Congyi grinned mischievously and whispered in Mo Bai's ear, "There are many dangers in the instance. Besides parasitic injuries like mine, curses, poisons, mental trauma, and symbiotic injuries are all unhealable. I've even heard that players who don't leave the instance after it ends might not die, but might live a life worse than death."

Seeing that Liu Congyi was trying to scare her, Mo Bai cooperated by putting on a frightened expression. Her already sickly face turned deathly pale, and her eyes looked as helpless as a startled deer.

With the mindset of 'if I suffer, then others should suffer with me', Liu Congyi felt as though the terrified Mo Bai had eased the pain in her chest. She patted Mo Bai's hand and said, "It's okay, I'll protect you."

Mo Bai discovered that simply pretending to be scared could make Liu Congyi feel better and help alleviate her pain. Since that was the case, Mo Bai didn't mind pretending a little longer. She wouldn't lose anything, but the benefits Liu Congyi gained were real.

"Then, Sister Liu, what does symbiotic injury mean?" Mo Bai asked.

Liu Congyi said, "The black worms in my lungs were born inside my body. The original mother worm in the instance is already dead, and the remaining worms will die once they leave my body. If I were ruthless enough to entirely remove my lungs and then buy artificial lungs from the system, I could kill all these worms. It's also called parasitism.

But symbiotic injuries mean that the monsters in the instance and the player coexist, with both sides fighting for control of the body. Unless one side can completely devour the other, there's no way to get rid of the monster by any means. The monster will die if it leaves the player, and the player will die if it leaves the monster."

"Wouldn't that mean bringing instance monsters into Peach Blossom Land?" Mo Bai exclaimed. "Wouldn't Peach Blossom Land become unsafe?"

Liu Congyi explained, "No. Players like us who return to Peach Blossom Land with injuries are extremely rare, probably less than 0.5%. And once we return with an abnormal status, the system doesn't allow us to directly contact other players, nor does it allow us to enter daily instances. Even if we want to seek help online, the system only allows us to log into the 'Special Forum for Players in Abnormal Status.' Only players who have experienced or are currently experiencing abnormal status can log into this forum.

Moreover, players who haven't encountered this situation don't even know that players like us exist, so they have no idea about our circumstances. Only by resolving this status can we live a normal life."

"How do we resolve this status?" Mo Bai asked.

Liu Congyi replied, "If you ask me, it's probably by cutting out the lungs and killing all the bugs. Players with cursed or symbiotic statuses can only wait patiently for healing-type or blessing-type cards to appear on the trading market, or enter the next forced instance as soon as possible."

"Enter a forced instance with this abnormal status?" Mo Bai asked.

Liu Congyi smiled and said, "You should know that the system needs to maintain order in Peach Blossom Land, and it doesn't want players like us there. So it will try to solve this problem, either by resolving our injuries or by eliminating us. That's why, in the next forced instance for players in an abnormal state, there's usually a way to resolve the abnormal status. I also saw the background explanation that the system provided. I suspect that the toxin the system mentioned, if used properly, can heal my injuries."

"But that toxin is extremely dangerous," Mo Bai said.

Liu Congyi's expression became serious. "Fortune favors the bold. If I don't take the risk, am I supposed to keep living with these bugs? Cough, cough, cough!"

She coughed violently again. This time, Mo Bai didn't hand her any tissues, so Liu Congyi covered her mouth with the wide sleeve of her uniform.

After coughing hard for a while, two more bugs were coughed up by Liu Congyi.

This time, Liu Congyi didn't crush the bugs. Instead, she wiped away the blood with her uniform sleeve and held the two bugs in her palm for Mo Bai to see. "Look, without my blood, they'll die soon."

Mo Bai looked over, and sure enough, the two bugs crumbled into powder the moment they were exposed to air and disappeared.

Mo Bai wasn't afraid of such things, but she felt that Liu Congyi had deliberately put the bugs in front of her just to scare her.

Mo Bai was very considerate. She frightfully covered her eyes and pretended not to look.

"They depend on my body to live," Liu Congyi said as she crouched down and patted Mo Bai's head. "They won't parasitize anyone else. The truly scary ones are the symbiotic types. A few days ago, I saw a post on the Abnormal Status forum about someone who was symbiotic with a plant. Flowers bloomed in both of his eyes. That was really terrifying."

Mo Bai: “…”

Seeing Mo Bai's expression change, Liu Congyi thought she'd scared her again and felt a slightly twisted sense of happiness. She didn't know what was wrong with herself. Whenever she saw Little Mo get scared, a surge of strength rose in her heart, enough to sustain her through this instance. (T/N: Xiao Mo = Little Mo Bai)

But she couldn't really scare Little Mo too badly. If Mo Bai got so scared that she refused to team up anymore, Liu Congyi's special spiritual support would be gone.

"Don't be afraid," Liu Congyi said, patting Mo Bai's hand to comfort her.

Mo Bai looked up past Liu Congyi and said, "I'm not scared. There's someone wearing sunglasses standing behind you."

Liu Congyi was startled. As a combat-type player, she prided herself on her keen perception. Even if someone held their breath, she could still hear their heartbeat. How could someone be standing silently behind her without her noticing at all?

She didn't turn around immediately. Maintaining her posture, she quickly pushed Mo Bai's wheelchair forward a few steps to create some distance, then smoothly leapt and turned.

Mo Bai clearly saw that at the instant Liu Congyi turned, a flash of bluish-black passed over her fingernails, disappearing just as quickly.

That color change seemed related to Liu Congyi's ability.

After retreating to a safe distance, Liu Congyi noticed that the person behind her hadn't followed and didn't seem hostile.

It was a man, about 170 cm tall, with an unremarkable face but well-proportioned build. At a glance, he looked like someone skilled in combat.

He was also wearing a gray test subject uniform. What set him apart was his bright green hair, grayish-white skin, and some cracked patterns on his face that looked a bit like tree bark.

With his hands behind his back, he looked at Liu Congyi and snorted. "Gossiping about people behind their backs, such a petty behavior!"

"Who's gossiping about you behind your back?" Liu Congyi snapped and adopted a fighting stance.

The man in sunglasses said, "Who else? You were just saying someone had flowers blooming in their eyes."

Mo Bai: “…”

Liu Congyi: "…"

So the person symbiotic with a plant was you?!

"No wonder I couldn't hear your breathing or heartbeat," Liu Congyi said. "If you're symbiotic with a plant, do you even still breathe or have a heartbeat?"

The plant-symbiotic man touched his wild-grass-like hair. "Half and half, I guess. During the day, it does photosynthesis; at night, my heart and lungs take over again."

"Does it hurt?" Mo Bai asked, looking at his bark-like skin.

"How should I put it… It doesn't really hurt," the plant-symbiotic man replied leisurely. "I've just been moving slower and slower, gradually losing my appetite, and preferring sunlight and rain. When I see soil, I even want to take a bite. Oh, and I used to have a terrible temper. If I'd heard her gossiping about me in the past, I should have punched her already. But now? I'm not angry at all. I'm becoming more and more Zen."

Mo Bai: “…”

That's not being Zen. That's becoming more and more plant-like!

Liu Congyi asked, "You're also a player. Do you want to team up with us to clear this instance? The survival rate here is only 30%, but if we can uncover the research institute's hidden secret, we won't be constrained by it. Either we die gloriously, or we live comfortably. I'm sick of this stifling life!"

"Honestly, it wouldn't matter much if I kept going like this," the plant-symbiotic man said slowly. "I don't feel particularly miserable. But I just got a girlfriend. Ever since the last instance, we haven't seen each other again, and even our contact methods have been blocked by the system. Sigh… she wouldn't think I'm dead already, would she? I still want to see her one more time."

"Then I'll take that as a yes to cooperation. What's your name?" Liu Congyi gave her own.

The plant-symbiotic man said, "My name is Symbiotic Flower."

"I wasn't asking for your plant's name!" Liu Congyi snapped.

He scratched his head, thought for a long time, and finally squeezed out a name. “Zhuang Xiangyang.”

He could hardly even remember his own name.

Zhuang Xiangyang continued, "Teaming up is fine, but I'm also starting to forget what my ability even is. I stumbled into this instance in a daze. My AI assistant told me that if I can't recover in this instance, I'll turn into a true symbiotic flower and stay here forever. I don't have many requests. If any of you manage to leave this instance alive, could you help me check on my girlfriend? Tell her about my situation, and tell her not to wait for me anymore."

"There are actually people like you in the Infinite World," Liu Congyi said coldly. "After not contacting her for so long, she probably already thinks that you're dead. Telling her or not doesn't really matter." Still, she asked, "What's her name? Where does she live?"

Zhuang Xiangyang answered immediately, "Her name is Ke Suxin. Nice name, right? She lives in the Newcomer District, Building 1, Room 316. Please, I'm counting on you."

He had to think hard to remember his own name. Yet, his girlfriend's name and address came out instantly, as if he'd repeated them countless times in his heart, just waiting for the next instance to ask someone else to pass the message along.

Mo Bai's heart completely softened.

She looked at Liu Congyi, who was crouching and coughing again, then at Zhuang Xiangyang. Her right hand unconsciously rested on the bracelet on her left wrist.

In her inventory, she had Blessing of the Puppets.

She could save both of them, but she only had one A-rank card, and she needed to save it for Sheng Yan and herself.

At first, she thought that a single-use card like Blessing of the Puppets didn't deserve an A rank. But now, she felt it was far too precious and scarce.

"Are there no healing-type players in the Infinite World?" Mo Bai couldn't help asking.

"I've heard there are," Liu Congyi sighed. "But they're in Neverland."

"Advanced players?" Mo Bai asked.

Zhuang Xiangyang had also searched for a lot of relevant information on the forums recently. "Basic healing potions provided by the system are enough under normal circumstances, and players in normal states don't get sick anyway, so there are no hospitals in the Infinite World. Situations like mine don't need healing abilities. I need higher-level abilities, such as blessings or exorcism. Those are abilities that only players who have evolved to advanced levels can possess."

"Neverland…" Mo Bai murmured.

She had heard that name countless times already.

In the minds of Peach Blossom land players, Neverland was a holy land, like the immortal realm sought by cultivators. Every player wanted to become a high-level player, leave Peach Blossom Land, and go to Neverland, as if going there meant entering a fairy-tale world of immortality, invulnerability, and perfect health.

Neverland had everything.

Only Mo Xiangyou, who had seen the future, completely lacked any desire to level up or go to Neverland.

It was almost time for medication. Test subjects began filing out of their rooms, most keeping their distance from strangers and standing alone. Very few were chatting quietly in groups like Mo Bai's trio.

The three of them were eye-catching. The other test subjects were system NPCs who only wanted to test drugs and cure illnesses, not socialize. The only ones who paid attention to them were players or other beings with ulterior motives.

Mo Bai had wanted to keep a low profile. But considering her striking face, the conspicuous wheelchair, Liu Congyi's violent coughing, Zhuang Xiangyang's green hair and sunglasses, plus Sheng Yan's crane-among-chickens height, there was no way they could be low-key. It was better to openly form a mutual-aid team of test subjects, which could also intimidate the hidden Phantom Butterfly.

Because the three were so conspicuous, Sheng Yan spotted them as soon as he stepped out. He walked over naturally, placed both hands on Mo Bai's wheelchair, and drove Liu Congyi away with a fierce glare.

Even though Sheng Yan's abilities were sealed, the aura of strength he had accumulated over the years was still intimidating. Liu Congyi didn't want to leave Mo Bai since she could acquire spiritual strength from her, but under Sheng Yan's pressure, she had no choice but to step away.

No one knew that Sheng Yan, strong on the outside but hollow within, had been anxious all along. Only when his hands rested on Mo Bai's wheelchair did he finally feel at ease, like a big dog that had finally found its owner.

In less than half an hour, four players had gathered.

Since the system required the seven investigators to assemble as soon as possible, they didn't hide their identities. They stood together conspicuously, waiting for the remaining three players.

Before long, a player claiming to be cursed approached them and introduced himself as Mao Juncai. In his previous supernatural forced instance, he had been cursed, and his back had grown a human face identical to his own.

At first, he thought it was just a mole. Over time, it grew larger and eventually became a face.

Once fully formed, the face began to move from the center of his back and steadily toward the front. Currently, it has already reached his shoulder.

Mao Juncai searched the Abnormal Status forum and learned that in human-face curses, if the face reaches the player's own face, the player's identity will be completely replaced. The one who survives will be the instance monster.

Instance monsters are thrown back into instances by the system and won't appear in Peach Blossom Land.

But no one knows whether the consciousness of the surviving monster would be that of the original player or of the cursed face.

After learning about the experiences of Liu Congyi, Zhuang Xiangyang, and Mao Juncai, Mo Bai and Sheng Yan exchanged a glance. Compared to these three, their own situation seemed trivial.

Mo Bai asked each of them when they had applied for the forced instance, trying to determine who had activated this mutated instance.

After asking, they found that among the five of them, Liu Congyi had signed up first, but when she did, there were already two players in the instance. That meant the player who activated the mutated instance wasn't among the five. It was someone else.

Mo Bai waited a bit longer. Even when the researchers came to take them for injections, the remaining two players still hadn't joined them.

Those two players who activated the mutated instance clearly didn't want to team up.

There were 300 test subjects and 30 researchers, each responsible for 10 subjects. Test subjects could choose which researcher to sign up with.

Since the test subjects didn't know the researchers, most signed up randomly. Mo Bai deliberately chose the plainest-looking male researcher and took the five-person temporary team to sign up with him.

She chose him mainly to eliminate the possibility of the Phantom Butterfly.

From observing the previous instance, Mo Bai had gained a preliminary understanding of Phantom Butterfly's personality.

Phantom Butterfly was a monster that craved attention. It wanted to be the focus of everyone's gaze and couldn't stand being ignored.

Admiration, jealousy, hatred. It accepted all attention without discrimination.

A monster like that couldn't tolerate being overlooked. It might become someone very distinctive but ugly, harvesting sympathy and disgust. But it would never become a completely forgettable face like this researcher, who looks like someone you couldn't find again in a crowd.

Mo Bai felt that the personalities of instance monsters often contradicted the abilities and roles given to them by the instance.

The Homebound Corpse Mom longed for family and could forcibly form families with other monsters. Yet, her personality drove her to kill her family over and over.

The Enhanced Mutant Dad possessed immense destructive power, yet his dream was to protect the Phantom Butterfly.

Count Leon had the right of inheritance to a castle and was required to be dignified, yet privately enjoyed petty schemes and undignified puppet shows.

Phantom Butterfly could transform into anything, camouflage itself into the environment, and silently blend in without being noticed, but its personality was flamboyant and desperate for attention.

It seemed that the monsters were also resisting the rules in their own way.

The five-person group was assigned to Group 16 under Researcher No. 16.

Researcher No. 16 led them to the testing site. Mo Bai saw a massive hall divided by reinforced glass into small rooms. There were a total of 300 rooms, each containing one test subject.

After entering a room, a mechanical arm would extend from the ceiling to inject the experimental drug. After the injection, the subject would remain inside for half an hour of observation. Once abnormalities subsided, they would be sent back to their rooms to rest.

From their glass rooms, they could see changes happening to people in other glass enclosures.

This was clearly an extremely unscientific and sloppy experiment. Proper experiments should eliminate emotional interference and prevent subjects from seeing others' reactions. Yet here, everyone was forced to watch.

Researcher No. 1 spoke into a microphone. "Our experiment is entirely voluntary. Before injection, you may call it off at any time. Anyone who calls it off will be sent out of the institute immediately. Once the first-stage drug is injected, you must cooperate with subsequent monitoring. You may only stop the experiment after three days. Does anyone want to stop now?"

Players would never call it off. They knew that stopping meant being thrown into the Lost Forest to die. Moreover, each of them had their own reason for staying in this instance. They simply had no choice but to remain.

Liu Congyi, Zhuang Xiangyang, and Mao Juncai had already realized that this new drug was their hope of healing.

Mo Bai subconsciously touched the tooth on the lower left side of her mouth. The serum was hidden there. If she couldn't survive the first phase of the drug, she had to use it immediately. The serum only lasted for three days, meaning she had to clear the instance within three days, or she would surely die.

This time, Mo Bai had no idea what everyone would become after the injection.

After waiting a while and seeing that no one withdrew, Researcher No. 1 instructed everyone to enter the glass rooms.

Mo Bai's group lingered before entering. By then, some subjects had already been injected, and they watched nervously.

One subject had lost his left arm. After entering the room, a mechanical arm extended from the ceiling and injected a tube of purple liquid into his carotid artery.

Immediately after the injection, he clutched his left side and screamed in agony. The cries were terrifying, but everyone could see a white bone gradually growing from the empty space where his arm had been. His arm was regenerating.

Researcher No. 1 said calmly, "Everyone, please don't be afraid. I believe all of you have gone through growth periods and experienced growing pains. Even growing a few centimeters over two or three years can hurt. For a test subject to regenerate a severed limb in such a short time, intense pain is inevitable. But this is joyful pain, isn't it?"

Hearing this, more people quickly entered the glass rooms, obediently sticking out their necks, waiting for the robotic arm to inject them with the drug.

Mo Bai's group still didn't enter. Liu Congyi lay on the ground coughing, and the others pretended to tend to her, lingering a bit longer.

Then they saw a man with a hugely swollen belly receive the injection.

There was a tumor inside his abdomen that couldn't be removed. He could only rely on this new drug.

After injection, he also clutched his stomach and rolled in pain. But this time, instead of disappearing, his belly grew larger and larger until it burst.

The tumor expanded rapidly. In less than a minute, the man vanished, leaving only a massive, ever-growing tumor in the glass room.

Just as it was about to shatter the glass, a mechanical arm shot out from the ceiling and swiftly cut off a piece of the tumor.

Then several flamethrowers descended from above, spraying flames at the tumor until it was burned to ashes.

The five players: "…"

The researcher responsible for them approached calmly. "He was terminally ill. The tumor's strength exceeded his body, so the drug acted on the tumor rather than him. That was unavoidable. Our experiment always involves both risks and opportunities. You've been delaying... Are you planning to give up?"

The five looked at one another, but none dared to take the first step.

In the end, Mo Bai turned her wheelchair forward and said, "Of course I'm going to try."

With that, she entered her assigned room first. Only then did the others enter their own glass rooms.

Mo Bai looked up at the mechanical arm extending from the ceiling. Calmly, she tilted her head and exposed her neck, making it easier for the mechanical arm to inject the drug.