Chapter 558: Chapter 558: Conventional Pain Worsening

Zheng Chunhua’s expression appeared somewhat melancholic:

"Actually, Chen Guangming said the same thing to me, but I wasn’t convinced.

"But when these words come from the mouths of a doctor and patient, that’s a different matter.

"Chen Guangming is a malicious player; stopping him from succeeding in this game can be seen as a form of primitive justice, which I completely recognize.

"However, are those patients who would rather believe Chen Guangming than us really worth the sacrifice we’re making?

"As players, who among us isn’t burdened with the pressure of visa time?

"In this damned place, not committing evil without a special identity is already a sign of high moral character. We’ve done enough as it is!"

Qin Cheng was silent for a moment, then said, "Uncle Zheng, I know what you want to say.

"You want to say that this is just a game, and even if there is real drug addiction or real player deaths, many things aren’t within our control.

"Yet isn’t this precisely the outcome the imitator wants to achieve?

"Think about it, why did the imitator design this game?

"The ultimate goal is to reap all the players’ visa time.

"And Chen Guangming’s actions are essentially aiding the imitator.

"If everyone thinks this way, then the game truly becomes unsolvable, allowing the imitator to easily achieve the ’perfect crime’ he envisions.

"Conversely, the more players like us who persist, the fewer victims in the game, and the less visa time the imitator can harvest.

"Muddy waters enable fishing; the clearer the water, the harder it is to manipulate.

"If all players quickly compromise, accept such game rules, and cater to them, it will only stir up waves, and the chance of catching malicious players or the imitator will approach zero.

"But if most players are able to persist, malicious players and the imitator will be unable to resist making bigger moves, possibly exposing themselves."

Qin Cheng paused slightly, and continued, "No matter what, I will still stick to my previous stance until the game ends.

"I will only give patients M-type medication.

"I am not the designated core of the game in the community, so my demands and orders aren’t mandatory, Uncle Zheng, you can decide on your own what strategy to adopt.

"Regardless of your decision, I won’t blame you.

"It would certainly be great if you can persist like me; if not, a majority of players would make the same choice. For me, there’s nothing unacceptable about it."

Zheng Chunhua sighed with some hesitation: "Ah, alright, I’ll persist a little longer. I’ll, I’ll think about it some more..."

...

Meanwhile, Huang Shengjie took an I-type pill from the medicine bottle, preparing to take it.

After obtaining O-type medication from Qian Li in the 5th round, Huang Shengjie took it consistently for three rounds, and at the start of the 9th round, confirmed through pain level that he was no longer in the identity of an ’infected’.

Since he had returned to normal pain, he didn’t need to take the precious special medication, but could continue taking the previous basic I-type medication.

The game had reached the 12th round, and the process during this period was quite dull. In the lounge, everyone just chatted casually without proposing any particularly constructive suggestions.

Up until now, Huang Shengjie had spent quite a bit on medical points and couldn’t see any possibility of earning them back.

This game was likely a pure loss.

However, thinking about how he had just brushed against death’s door, nearly dying from severe pain due to lack of special medication, he felt that this loss was entirely acceptable.

"The game is about to enter the 3rd hour soon. I wonder whose misfortune it will be to be chosen as the infected..."

Every hour, the system would designate a player within the area as the new infected.

But now, distinguishing the infected became very difficult, one might even say impossible.

Because these players have already obtained special medication, even if they become infected, they can completely manage the pain, making it hard for others to judge through physiological reactions and expressions.

In the 2nd hour, which is from the 7th round until now, surely there had been a player becoming infected, only Huang Shengjie couldn’t decipher who from their behavior.

He could only minimize trading actions to reduce the probability of being infected again.

...

However, at that moment, Huang Shengjie suddenly felt something was wrong.

"It’s odd, why is it still so painful?

"This seems different from the initial normal pain.

"It feels similar, but the degree of pain has clearly intensified? When did it start?"

I-type medication cannot completely eliminate normal pain; after taking a pill, there would still be slight stinging and burning sensations, and taking two pills wouldn’t make a noticeable difference.

Originally, such stinging and burning sensations were within an acceptable range, so Huang Shengjie hadn’t paid much attention.

But at this moment, he suddenly found that this pain had significantly heightened.

Or it could be said, the pain-relieving effect of I-type medication had weakened.

"The game rules clearly stated that if pain couldn’t be fully managed, normal pain would continuously worsen, eventually transforming into special pain.

"Is this a sign of deterioration?

"Does it mean... in subsequent games, even if I’m not chosen by the system as an infected, nor infected by other players, I might still become infected due to the deterioration of normal pain?

"Moreover, the exchange of medication would trigger cross infections; surely the demand for medication would surge greatly..."

Huang Shengjie furrowed his brow in worry again.

The normal I-type medication couldn’t fully manage pain, indicating that normal pain would slowly turn into special pain over time, transforming players into infected.

Besides, given the presence of special medication, players would undoubtedly lower their guard, becoming less cautious about every trading behavior, allowing ’infected’ to spread unnoticed.

At that time, special medication might still face shortages.

"If I could meet a doctor and purchase special medication at a lower price, stockpiling some wouldn’t be a bad idea.

"But now... why has the doctor been unwilling to see me until now?

"What exactly is he thinking?"

Up until now, there were still many aspects of this game that puzzled Huang Shengjie, and this was one of them.

In these rounds, he continued trying to send requests to the clinic, sometimes offering more medical points, sometimes fewer.

But whether the points were more or fewer, the clinic door never opened, and all these points were returned.

Huang Shengjie couldn’t figure out why, but under the current game mechanism, it seemed he couldn’t do much.

Soon, the pain subsided, and the game was about to move into the next round.

Huang Shengjie felt much relieved. He got up, still sending a request to the clinic first, and, receiving no response, headed to the lounge.