Huang Shengjie originally wanted to push the door open and enter the lounge, but this strange feeling gradually intensified, even making it difficult for him to move.

The more he endured, the stronger this terrible feeling became.

Moreover, all the negative emotions in him seemed to be constantly magnified, and the hunger that had almost disappeared after taking the O-class medication resurfaced.

Unknowingly, Huang Shengjie sat on the ground, shivering and curling up in a ball, and it took him a long time to recover.

Because he didn’t take the medication to relieve the pain, by the time Huang Shengjie reacted, the time to open the door had already passed.

Fortunately, Huang Shengjie had enough medication on hand, so missing a round of entering the lounge wasn’t too much of an issue.

That unpleasant feeling subsided a little, but the suppressed sense of hunger made a comeback once again.

"So hungry...

"Maybe I should eat a little something to fill the stomach.

"Eating a little something should be fine."

Huang Shengjie managed to stand up and walked to the vending machine to check.

Typically, even in longer games, most players wouldn’t buy too much food.

Partly because of the cost, and partly because they fear that consuming too many carbohydrates would slow their reaction time and dull their thinking.

After all, no matter how long the game is, it’s at most four or five hours, and enduring it isn’t a big problem.

But this time, the situation was different.

The food and drinks in the game were very cheap, even cheaper than in the community, and perhaps due to enduring pain, physical energy was consumed rapidly.

So having a little something to replenish energy and shift focus is a natural thought.

"Just a small bite is fine."

After some consideration, Huang Shengjie didn’t choose those seemingly sumptuous dishes or rice bowls, nor did he choose other full meals.

He only selected a small bowl of instant noodles and a small piece of cream bread to curb his hunger.

Soon, steaming instant noodles appeared at the collection port below the vending machine, filling the room with a wonderful aroma.

Originally, Huang Shengjie didn’t feel that hungry, but now he couldn’t resist anymore and quickly picked up the chopsticks next to the instant noodles to eat voraciously.

Before long, both the instant noodles and bread were finished.

But the hunger in Huang Shengjie didn’t just vanish; instead, it became even more intense.

Truth be told, this hunger wasn’t entirely from his stomach; it felt more like it came from deep within his soul.

As if there was a huge void that couldn’t be filled no matter what.

Huang Shengjie felt extremely unhappy, thinking, after enduring so long and so much pain in this terrible place, was he only allowed a small bowl of instant noodles?

Didn’t he deserve to enjoy normal food?

They were even cheaper than the prices in the community.

Pills couldn’t be taken too much, but what harm was there in food? These foods themselves surely wouldn’t have any side effects, after all, the game rules didn’t mention it, and imitators couldn’t possibly break the fundamental rules of Walkway by poisoning or setting traps in these foods.

Anyway, the time to meet other players had long passed, so staying in the room during this round of the game for ten minutes would be as good a time as any to forget everything and have a proper meal.

Almost driven by instinct, Huang Shengjie bought another portion of fried chicken and an alcoholic drink from the vending machine.

Afterward, he didn’t even bother with the disposable gloves that came with it and directly grabbed the fried chicken, devouring it voraciously.

...

Just like that, the time for one round of the game quickly passed.

Unbeknownst to him, that unpleasant feeling had already vanished, but Huang Shengjie continued eating and drinking.

When he came to his senses, he only felt his stomach was full, like it was about to burst, and all the food seemed to be stuffed up to his throat, almost ready to spill over.

It was only then that he realized he was completely overstuffed.

He looked at the assorted foods on the coffee table, which he had devoured leaving hardly anything remaining, a quantity that even shocked him a little.

Unknowingly, he had eaten a lot.

Just then, he felt the pain come over him once again!

This pain was still the ordinary pain, which normally wouldn’t have been a big deal.

Originally, Huang Shengjie intended to take an I-class medication, but under the effect of pain, he suddenly felt his stomach churning and rushed to the bathroom to throw up.

Pain, hunger, depression... all the negative emotions surged back into his heart.

Relying on instinct, Huang Shengjie grabbed an I-class medication, swallowed it down, and covered his mouth, forcing himself not to vomit again.

Thankfully, the medication worked quickly, and Huang Shengjie sat on the bathroom floor leaning against the wall, gasping for breath.

But soon, that feeling of pain like ants crawling all over his body reappeared, and Huang Shengjie’s mood plummeted once more.

He resisted the urge to take another O-class medication, struggling to stand up, press the flush button on the toilet, then went to the sink to wash his face, rubbing it vigorously.

Afterward, he looked at himself in the mirror, feeling lost and suddenly regretting his earlier actions.

"No, I shouldn’t have binged...

"Is it because my appetite was magnified?

"Or did the pain weaken my willpower, making it impossible to suppress this desire?"

It was obvious that binging didn’t fill that void, but only made the situation worse.

...

Huang Shengjie pushed the door open and entered the lounge, the other players also entered one after another.

He noticed that Zhou Xiaoying also showed signs of discomfort.

But unlike Huang Shengjie, Zhou Xiaoying chose not to endure and directly took out another piece of medication from a bottle, immediately swallowing it.

After taking out the last piece of medication, the bottle was already empty.

Zhou Xiaoying didn’t choose to throw away the empty bottle, instead, she put it back into her pocket, as there might be a situation of trading medication by the piece later on, and an empty bottle could still serve as a container.

Nevertheless, this also indicated that Zhou Xiaoying had taken more O-class medication than Huang Shengjie.

Zhou Xiaoying also noticed Huang Shengjie’s abnormal state.

Huang Shengjie hadn’t appeared in the lounge in the previous game, and at this moment, he looked pale, his body trembling, and cold sweat constantly seeping from his forehead.

This reaction was even more severe than just experiencing special pain.

Because special pain vanishes completely at the start of a new game, even though it hurts at the time, players can gradually recover.

However, Huang Shengjie was enduring real pain at this moment.

Zhou Xiaoying was a bit surprised and approached to ask, "What’s wrong with you? Have you been chosen as an infected again? Don’t you have special medication with you?

"Just take the medication? Don’t endure it stubbornly."

Seeing Zhou Xiaoying’s condition, Huang Shengjie was finally certain that the problem lay with the O-class medication.

Clearly, this pain like ants crawling wasn’t part of the game’s ’ordinary pain’ or ’special pain’ rules.

It was a side effect of the O-class medication.

More precisely, it perfectly fit the definition of ’drug addiction’, being ’withdrawal pain’.

"Stop taking the medication.

"Haven’t you realized yet? O-class medication has an addictive effect!

"The game’s rules only encompass ordinary pain and special pain, which is felt during a random one-minute period in the last two minutes of each game round.

"Apart from that, the pain and discomfort you’re feeling isn’t part of the game mechanism but rather a side effect of the medication!

"Taking more medication may temporarily solve the problem, but it will only worsen the pain because this isn’t just pain, it’s an effect of drug addiction!"

Zhou Xiaoying was stunned. Apparently, she hadn’t thought this far before, simply taking the stabbing pain as an extension of some game mechanism pain, resolving it by taking medication.

After all, a pill wasn’t expensive, and once taken, it immediately eliminated all pain, even improving her spirits and clearing her mind.

The two of them simultaneously looked at Qian Li.

However, Qian Li’s expression remained unchanged, completely without any reaction.

"Why are you looking at me? I’m an infected too, I’ve taken the medication as well."