Later, Mo Bai's room became rather crowded.

The main system did not respond to Mo Bai's message, seemingly waiting for her evidence.

The next person to arrive was Liu Congyi.

She had spent the entire afternoon hanging around public areas, chatting with test subjects who liked to talk. She had spoken with dozens of people in one go, so many that her throat was practically smoking.

She immediately asked for water upon entering. Sheng Yan was also drinking water, and the two of them took turns gulping it down like a pair of water buffalo.

"I talked to more than a dozen people at first. After that batch left, another dozen came. All in all, I spoke to over twenty people this afternoon, about one-tenth of the total number," Liu Congyi shook her head, seemingly dissatisfied with her performance.

But Mo Bai praised her. "That's already very impressive. We're not actually chatting with NPCs; these test subjects are living, breathing people. If you try to blend into a group and strike up conversations with everyone you see, talking to over a hundred people in a single afternoon, it would definitely arouse suspicion. No one would tell you anything genuine. What we need to do is filter out the talkative ones among these two hundred-plus subjects and focus on them. This afternoon, you basically got acquainted with all the ones who like to chat. That's an incredible achievement that no one else could've done."

Liu Congyi was overjoyed by the praise. "Of course. I've been a social butterfly since I was little."

"Did you learn anything important?" Mo Bai personally poured her a glass of water and handed it over.

Liu Congyi drained it in one gulp. "I'm not sure whether it counts as key information."

"Let's hear it. Any clue could be crucial," Mo Bai said.

Encouraged, Liu Congyi began to ramble on: "Among these test subjects, six or seven out of ten come from the same small town. They're all ordinary residents, and in their free time, they like going to the circus to watch performances…"

"The Smiling Circus?" Mo Bai asked seriously.

"Yes, the Smiling Circus. Have you been talking to test subjects too? How do you know the name?" Liu Congyi asked.

"I heard about the Smiling Circus in another instance. That's not important; go on," Mo Bai replied.

Liu Congyi continued, "The townspeople said that they used to live happy lives. But at some point, people in town started falling ill one after another.

A small number recovered, but most people's conditions gradually worsened and turned into incurable diseases.

To seek treatment, they went to the best hospital in town, but the more they were treated, the worse things became.

At that point, they saw flyers about new medicine from a local biological research institute. With a 'nothing to lose' mindset, they signed up to become test subjects.

They said there had already been several batches of subjects before them, and none had returned. They were actually quite scared and had almost given up on signing up.

But then Professor Yang personally held a free clinic at the hospital and handed out medicine at no charge. Many people felt their symptoms ease after taking it. On top of that, Professor Yang had a great reputation in town, so quite a few people registered."

"Professor Yang?" Mo Bai asked. "Did you ask specifically about him?"

"Of course. So many people came because of him; how could I not ask?" Liu Congyi replied. "Professor Yang was born and raised in that town. He got into a university in a big city and earned a doctorate, but he didn't stay there after finishing his studies. He returned to the town, got married, had children, and worked at the local hospital to treat the residents."

"He even has a family?" Sheng Yan interjected.

Liu Congyi shot him a glare, and Sheng Yan zipped his lips.

She went on, "But seven years ago, Professor Yang encountered a medical dispute. A patient died on the operating table, and the patient's family repeatedly caused trouble at the hospital.

Professor Yang had explained many times that the surgery's success rate was only fifty percent. He didn't even intend to perform it, but the family begged him desperately, so he agreed to try. The risks had been clearly explained beforehand, and the family had consented. But once the surgery failed, they turned on him.

They refused to listen to his explanation. One night, on his way home from work, one of them threw sulfuric acid on him."

"What kind of monsters are they?!" Sheng Yan slammed his fist on the table.

Liu Congyi sighed. "It didn't stop there. After attacking Professor Yang, that enraged family member went even further. Taking advantage of the darkness and the fact that Professor Yang lay injured on the roadside with no one helping him, he went and set fire to the professor's home.

Professor Yang's wife died on the spot, while the professor and his only daughter were rushed to the hospital. The daughter fell into a vegetative state while Professor Yang survived. But the acid destroyed his muscles, nerves, and tendons, and over forty percent of his skin was burned. He was barely recognizable as human and was never able to hold a scalpel again."

The room fell into suffocating silence.

"What happened next?" Mo Bai asked.

"After that," Liu Congyi said, "Professor Yang removed the oxygen tube sustaining his daughter's life and left with her. It is said that he went to search for a way to cure both himself and his daughter.

No one knows where he went during those seven years. But this time, he reappeared at the free clinic. He looked exactly the same as before the accident, as if he had never been hurt and hadn't aged a day.

When the townspeople asked how he recovered, he said he had gone to Biological Research Institute No. 7, serving both as a test subject and a researcher. After years of treatment, he was cured.

He also said that the institute's new medicine could treat everyone's illnesses and urged them not to be afraid. He claimed that ninety-nine percent of subjects could be cured.

Before the accident, Professor Yang had an excellent reputation in town. People trusted him. So even though they knew previous batches of subjects never returned, many still signed up."

"Did you ask what happened to the family member who committed the crime?" Mo Bai asked.

Liu Congyi nodded. "I'm too smart not to ask. He was arrested for intentional injury and endangering public safety. He was sentenced to death with a three-year reprieve. After the reprieve, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and he remained in prison.

But he escaped about a year ago, and no one knows where he is. When the townspeople saw Professor Yang again this time, they even warned him to watch out for that fugitive."

She took another large gulp of water. "That's all I managed to find out. I'm not sure whether Professor Yang is connected to the institute's secrets."

"He definitely is," Mo Bai said, handing her the printed schedule. "Professor Yang is mentioned here, too. If it's the same Professor Yang, then he's a key authority figure in this institute."

Liu Congyi's face changed when she saw the schedule. "This institute can track test subjects' genetic data? Then what about Mao Juncai and Zhuang Xiangyang? They went to steal the drug…"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about them. Should we warn them?" Sheng Yan asked belatedly.

Liu Congyi's IQ was clearly much higher than Sheng Yan's.

"No need," Mo Bai sighed. "This schedule was extracted from the chip of the surveillance robot assigned to handle them. The robot was destroyed by a stray attack during their fight with the guardians."

"Then how are they?" Liu Congyi asked with concern.

Though she disliked Mao Juncai, they were still fellow players. Their fate reflected her own, so she couldn't help but care.

Mo Bai shook her head. "I only know they're still alive. As for how badly they're injured, my companion is checking. We'll know when he returns."

"You've got another companion now?" Sheng Yan and Liu Congyi asked in unison.

Mo Bai was just about to explain when someone else pushed open her door.

It was the Phantom Butterfly with a very pale face.

He wanted to talk to Mo Bai alone, so upon seeing that the room was full of people, he was startled and instinctively stepped back.

But Liu Congyi smiled brightly. "Is this your new companion? He's so handsome. Come in and sit!"

Sheng Yan cooperatively pushed forward the only chair in the room.

Mo Bai sat in her wheelchair, while Liu Congyi was perched on the bed. Sheng Yan had been sitting in the chair, but when Phantom Butterfly arrived, he gave it up and casually plopped down on Mo Bai's bed instead. He even smiled to himself, thinking no one noticed.

Little did he know that his smile couldn't escape Mo Bai's sharp observation, Liu Congyi's competitive instincts, or Phantom Butterfly's keen sensitivity to human emotions.

Phantom Butterfly accepted the chair, hesitating over whether he should just turn and run.

Mo Bai said, "Let me introduce him. This is our companion, one of the two investigators who survived from the previous batch, Lin Xiafei. He's been lying low inside the institute all this time and has gathered a lot of intelligence. He's someone worthy of respect!"

"Wow! You've been undercover in this instance for that long? That's incredible!" Liu Congyi said admiringly.

She walked over, pressed Phantom Butterfly down into the swivel chair, pushed him fully into the room, and casually shut the door behind him.

Phantom Butterfly: "……"

It couldn't handle three players at once! And he was an intelligence-type monster, good at hiding, poisoning, bewitching, and deceiving players. He wasn't a combat-type monster like Du Ying!

Most importantly, the male player named Sheng Yan gave Phantom Butterfly a strange feeling, both dangerous and irresistibly attractive.

If Mo Bai knew what he was thinking, she would have understood the contradiction.

Most insect-type creatures are phototactic. Sheng Yan was a nature-type ability user who controlled fire, so his soul attribute carried light and heat. Light that lured moths to the flame, and heat that meant danger. By nature, Sheng Yan was the Phantom Butterfly's counter.

If this weren't a mutated-level instance, it would have been easy for Sheng Yan to kill the Phantom Butterfly.

Unfortunately, plans don't always go as expected, and this instance was far too complicated.

Mo Bai maneuvered her wheelchair closer, deliberately placing herself between Phantom Butterfly and Sheng Yan.

Once a little farther from Sheng Yan, the Phantom Butterfly finally felt somewhat protected, and his heart steadied.

Mo Bai adjusted her mindset, trying to cultivate a feeling of "caring for a fool." She studied Phantom Butterfly's handsome face and, after some effort, managed to summon a trace of tender pity.

She poured a glass of water and handed it to him gently. "You must be exhausted. Here, have some water."

The Phantom Butterfly sensed her pity. Though it wasn't quite the deep affection he had imagined, he was still pleased, so he took the cup and took a big gulp.

On the surface, he drank with his mouth. Under his mimicry, however, he was actually drinking through the two antennae on his head.

After finishing the water, his fright eased slightly. He looked at Mo Bai and said, "Stop trying to team up with Test Subjects 025 and 251. Give up on them. They won't live much longer."

"Are those the two you mentioned before?" Liu Congyi asked.

Mo Bai nodded. "I asked Xiafei to check on them."

Hearing Mo Bai call the Phantom Butterfly "Xiafei" made Sheng Yan cough loudly.

Mo Bai poured him another cup of water and stuffed it into his hand. "If your throat's uncomfortable, drink more water. Once you're done, stop coughing. Understood?"

Sheng Yan felt that Mo Bai had been bewitched by Lin Xiafei's fox-like handsome face. Extremely dissatisfied, he took the cup and sipped it reluctantly. He had already downed seven or eight cups since coming in, and this one was genuinely difficult to finish.

"Don't be afraid. Tell me what you saw." Mo Bai took Phantom Butterfly's hand, offering him bravery and strength to encourage him to speak.

From Du Heng's description, the Phantom Butterfly seemed even more frightened than when he saw Du Ying. Could those two test subjects really be more terrifying than Du Ying?

The Phantom Butterfly had originally been confident. With his understanding of the institute, he thought he could move in and out freely.

But after seeing Du Ying grow stronger, unease had taken root.

Then, upon seeing those two test subjects, memories from when he had still been a moth resurfaced. Fear overwhelmed him as he gradually fell into despair.

He suspected he had overplayed his hand this time and that he wouldn't make it out.

And then Mo Bai appeared before him.

The effect of her Observation Group title, which granted strength to the despairing, took hold of him.

From her, he felt power.

She was so calm and so formidable. She was a player who, even when she had been very, very weak, had defeated the Enhanced Mutant and driven him out of the Count's Castle. She possessed the ability to defeat the strong while being weak.

The trait that once made Phantom Butterfly grit his teeth in hatred had now become a ray of light in his despair.

He tightened his grip on her hand, as if drawing strength from her.

"Those two were probably just infected by the Schizophrenic," he said. "So they awakened a second personality. But after being injected with the extract, both personalities were strengthened at the same time. Now, they're splitting into two separate people."

"You know about the Schizophrenic?" Mo Bai asked. "The system told us it also escaped from Biological Research Institute No. 7."

"He didn't escape," Phantom Butterfly said. "He was released by the institute. I saw it myself."

"Tell us in detail," Mo Bai said calmly, soothing him.

"When I was being experimented on… while infiltrating the institute," Phantom Butterfly continued, "I learned that they were also studying another kind of psychic virus while researching the drug.

The institute wanted to create a contagious schizophrenia virus. They repeatedly injected substances that induced schizophrenia into human bodies, then cultivated viruses in their brains. After countless test subjects died, they finally succeeded in creating a viral host, the super A-Rank monster Schizophrenic.

"All other test subjects failed. They developed schizophrenia themselves, but couldn't transmit it. They were destined to be destroyed.

Only the true super A-Rank Schizophrenic was what the institute wanted. They released him so he could continue spreading the virus, which allowed them to obtain more schizophrenic test subjects."

"Can those infected by the host infect others?" Mo Bai asked.

Phantom Butterfly shook his head. "No. Only the host can spread it. Psychic viruses are special, so they're not easily transmitted."

"Why would the institute create a viral host and release it?" Liu Congyi asked.

"To obtain more schizophrenic subjects for experiments," Mo Bai answered.

Phantom Butterfly nodded. "Yes. After the Schizophrenic left, more and more schizophrenic test subjects appeared in the institute. After two phases of reagent injections, they uniformly split into two people. One became a grotesque monster while the other remained a normal human."

"How normal?" Liu Congyi asked.

"If a player is infected," Phantom Butterfly said, "after splitting, the 'normal' one would be so normal that even their extraordinary abilities would disappear."

"What are they trying to achieve with all this?" Liu Congyi asked. "Does someone have schizophrenia, and they need more subjects to research a cure? If it's not a player, then reaching this stage of the research is already a success, right? After all, the other one is already a normal person."

Mo Bai said, "If I'm not mistaken, splitting is only the beginning. After the second phase, which is after they split into two, the institute's next step is to research how to fuse them back together."

The Phantom Butterfly glanced at her and reluctantly admitted, "You're truly clever. Their next goal is perfect fusion: giving the split monster human intelligence, normal thought patterns, and a human appearance, while granting the normal human with the monster's power."

"How did you figure that out?" Liu Congyi asked, puzzled.

She considered herself a smart player with strong analytical skills, the type who enjoyed the occasional puzzle-based instance. But standing next to Mo Bai, she felt that her own intelligence and analytical abilities were too weak.

Mo Bai replied, "I suspected it from the start, and Xiafei's investigation confirmed it.

This schedule, Sheng Yan's recording with the associate professor, the story you learned from the other subjects, and Xiafei's information about the Schizophrenic. These pieces already outline this Instance. There's only one final puzzle piece left. Once I have it, I'll finally uncover the true purpose of this instance."

Just then, the door opened again.

Like the Phantom Butterfly, Du Heng was stunned to see so many people in the room.

Liu Congyi saw Du Heng's face and instinctively glanced at the clock. "It's only seven. Isn't that a bit early for room inspection?"

Since Du Heng was their assigned researcher, the assumption was natural.

Mo Bai extended her hand. "Let me introduce. He's the other survivor from the second batch of investigators, and also our companion."

"Like him?" Liu Congyi asked, glancing at Phantom Butterfly.

Mo Bai nodded.

Du Heng looked at Phantom Butterfly and swallowed the words Isn't that the Phantom Butterfly?

"I locked the door when I closed it earlier," Liu Congyi said. "How did you just walk in?"

"I gave him the passcode," Mo Bai replied calmly.

"How did you gather so many companions in one afternoon?" Sheng Yan muttered, and it was unclear whether he was praising or complaining.

"I didn't seek them out," Mo Bai said. "They came to me on their own initiative, right?"

Under her all-seeing gaze, the Phantom Butterfly felt oddly guilty. He stood up and squeezed onto the bed with Sheng Yan and Liu Congyi, and pushed the swivel chair toward Du Heng. "You sit."

"Yeah, sit," Sheng Yan added.

Du Heng pulled the chair closer. Looking at the Phantom Butterfly sitting shoulder to shoulder with the players felt indescribably strange.

"Sit," Mo Bai said. "We're just waiting for your information. How are Mao Juncai and Zhuang Xiangyang? They should still be alive. The institute probably plans to let them continue with the experiment. What did Du Ying eat from them? Was it something that could read their memories?" Mo Bai asked continuously while tapping her brow.

Du Heng sat down and replied wearily. "You've guessed everything. There's hardly anything left for me to say. They were sent to solitary confinement for treatment and were returned to their rooms after recovering. They've become dull and vacant, clearly unable to remember anything. But they're still scheduled to continue the experiment."

"As I expected," Mo Bai took a deep breath, "I already know this instance's true secret."

 

 

 

Author's Note:

Sheng Yan, Huan Die, and Du Heng: The three of us running into each other like this… does this count as a showdown?

Mo Bai: And how exactly are you three planning to have a showdown?

Sheng Yan, Huan Die, and Du Heng simultaneously squatted down.

Xiao Qi: What showdown? They’re just three big dogs fighting for attention! When it comes to being a pet, none of you can compete with me! The electronic pet!

Mo Bai: Shut up, I don't have that kind of kink.