Chapter 49: Desperate Measures

“She’s not in immediate danger, but she’s not out of the woods yet… She lost too much blood. We need to get her a transfusion as soon as possible.”

Li Xiaobai wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned against the wall, letting out a long sigh.

I touched the massive bite mark on my arm and gently placed Mo Xiao’ai’s head on my lap to make her more comfortable. Her face was still deathly pale, but at least she wasn’t clammy and ashen like before.

Although she was unconscious, her breathing had steadied. She was as weak as could be, pale as paper, as if she could shatter at any moment.

“Xiao’ai…” I stroked her head.

She often mocked me and took extreme measures, but deep down she was kind. She had helped me several times. Seeing her go from that cold, reliable girl to lying here, life hanging in the balance, filled me with a mix of sorrow and unease.

“We need to take her to a hospital as soon as possible.” Li Xiaobai stood up, walked over to Director Huang’s three corpses, and crouched down. He picked up their wristbands and sneered,

“Heh, each of them has 11 hours… Scumbags. And they said they wouldn’t kill? They were ‘helping’ us?”

He came back, helped the unconscious Mo Xiao’ai up, and walked over to the trio’s bodies again. He raised her wristband and his own to take the time from the corpses, then turned to me and said, “We’ve gathered enough time to pass. The last one’s yours. Hurry up, we need to move.”

With that, he supported Mo Xiao’ai and walked into an ordinary hospital room.

“Oh, right.” I quickly walked over to the young man’s corpse, claimed the eleven-hour reward plus one hour of teammate time.

Then I turned and followed Li Xiaobai.

Xiaobai walked to a clean hospital bed, gently set Mo Xiao’ai down, and felt her forehead with his hand. He let out a soft sigh, then collapsed against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor, looking utterly drained.

“Huff… huff…” He held his head in his hands, taking deep breaths… His black claw knife fell from his pocket and clattered to the floor.

“Xiaobai?” I asked, surprised.

This boy might look simple on the outside, but he killed without hesitation. He was clearly the type who wouldn’t start a fight but would finish it—if you provoked him, he’d annihilate your entire family.

Even when shot by a crossbow, he’d grit his teeth and smile through the pain. A real tough guy.

But right now, he looked completely drained. It wasn’t physical exhaustion—it was mental.

“I’m… fine. Just let me rest a bit. Take care of Mo Xiao’ai first.” His voice was low.

“Okay.” I didn’t press. I sat by the bed, held Mo Xiao’ai’s hand, and watched them both with concern. If I were a girl, I thought a hug might instantly lift his spirits.

But alas, I’m a man, not a woman. (Though I think a hug from me would work just as well.)

The room fell into silence. The unconscious Mo Xiao’ai, the half-broken Li Xiaobai, and I—we were all caught in a delicate atmosphere.

After a while… Li Xiaobai lifted his head again. His eyes were still vacant, but he seemed to have regained some composure.

He glanced at his wristband and said softly, “We have enough time to last until the game ends… But that woman might not survive the next ten-plus hours…”

“What do we do?”

I was relieved he could recover so quickly, but his words made me anxiously look at Mo Xiao’ai, unconscious on the bed. My heart twisted with pity.

“I don’t… know. I think we should first head to the first floor and see if there’s a way out…” He slowly stood up, then suddenly shouted at his wristband, “Hey! You’re watching us, aren’t you?!”

“Huh?” I was confused. What was he doing?

“Hey! You murderer! You can see us, right?! We want to leave the hospital! Do you hear me?!”

“Xiaobai…”

“Hey! Can you hear me, you bastard?!”

But the wristband didn’t react. It only showed the time. I was speechless, just watching him silently. He stared at his wristband, then slumped back into the corner.

“Looks like there’s really nothing we can do.” He seemed to have given up.

I held Mo Xiao’ai’s hand, staring blankly at her. My vision blurred, and tears trickled from the corners of my eyes.

But just as we were both on the verge of despair, our wristbands actually responded.

“Crackle crackle~ Crackle crackle~”

“Good afternoon, surviving contestants, hehe~ Even though you’re surrounded by darkness in this hospital, I can tell you that outside, it’s broad daylight~”

“But unfortunately, the game has gone on long enough that more than half of you won’t see tomorrow’s sun.”

“I’m here to bring you good news… I’ve grown tired of watching you kill each other. Meh, I’ve decided to end this game quickly and go home to sleep.”

“Though each of the surviving contestants has a fair amount of time, not many have gathered the 24 hours needed to pass.”

“Hehe~ From now on, I’m changing the rules.”

“There are two contestants who have already exceeded 24 hours… Hehe, two people who surprised me greatly. They’re on the same team, and even their remaining teammate is just a few minutes short of the 24-hour mark…”

“The new rule is simple: change from mutual slaughter to a hunt! If they can make it to the front door on the first floor, the door will open and let them escape!”

“Then the game ends! All remaining contestants lose! All bombs will detonate immediately! But if you kill them all, then all remaining contestants win, and everyone can leave here alive!”

“Now, let me tell you about your prey: an ordinary young man. But his two teammates should be easy to recognize—an unconscious high school girl and a pretty nurse in white. Their current location is on the third floor!”

“Alright~ The final moment has come! Now, I wish you all a happy game!”

“Crackle crackle~ Crackle crackle~” The wristband’s crackling voice faded away.

“Did you hear that, Xiaobai?” I was frozen in shock. I hugged Mo Xiao’ai to calm myself, but I was still trembling, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably.

“I heard it. Seems he heard me.” He crouched in the corner, speaking coldly.

“Then… what do we do?”

“Looks like he doesn’t want us to survive at all. A dead end…”

“Is there… no way?” I was in despair.

“A way? You know… Now I finally understand the importance of law.” Li Xiaobai picked up the black claw knife that had fallen beside him and smiled. It was a helpless, almost hysterical smile…

“Huh?” I was puzzled. Why bring that up now?

“I used to think the law was just a weapon and tool for the rich and powerful to use against people like us—the powerless and poor. It made me cynical, antisocial, gave me excuses to feel out of place…” He leaned against the wall, rambling.

“…” I was silent, just listening.

“I was naive. Too short-sighted. Without the constraints of law, humans are no different from beasts. The only difference is that they become smarter, more cunning, more selfish—beasts driven solely by desire. The most terrifying monsters.”

He slowly stood up, reached behind him, and pulled something out, placing it in front of me.

I focused my eyes and was stunned.

It was a black gun.

“I won’t let you die… But I need your help.”

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