Chapter 11

Suburban Hospital.
The place reeked: the metallic tang of blood, the stench of unwashed bodies, the sour rot of infected wounds, all of it mingled thick enough you could practically faint from the smell.
Most of the hospital staff had already fled; only one stubborn nurse stayed behind. But with supplies long gone, all she could do was offer a few comforting words to frantic patients.
“Miss Nurse, my son has a fever, do you have any medicine?” a mother pleaded, desperate for even a glimmer of hope.
The nurse gave her an apologetic smile. “We’re out of everything. You might have better luck elsewhere, sorry.”
The young mother’s face fell, hope draining away. She’d already tried every hospital, and everywhere it was the same: nothing left.
The nurse quietly advised, “Don’t bother with hospitals, try a private clinic. The bigger places either ran out or already got looted.”
The mother suddenly realized.
“Thank you, thank you!” she stammered, rushing out the door.
Right then, someone brushed past her, hurried over to the nurse, face tight with anxiety. “Do you have any antibiotics? I’ve been shot, my wound’s infected!”
The nurse looked pained. “Sorry, nothing left. Not a single pill.”
The newcomer’s shoulders sank in despair, completely crestfallen.
The nurse quickly looked away, unable to bear it. At this point, a wound infection was basically a death sentence. But honestly, she thought, there were plenty of people here just quietly waiting to die.
The patient asked, voice barely above a whisper, “Would it be alright if I stayed just one day?”
Before the nurse could answer, she hurried to promise, “I don’t have any money, but, but I swear I’ll pay you back once I can!”
The nurse couldn't help but smile, a little wryly. “No need to pay. The patients are all gathered in the first-floor lobby. If you want to join them, go ahead.”
“Thank you so much.” Relief washed over the woman’s face, it was Su Han.
Some luck, huh? The nurse’s smile turned bittersweet. All that was left here were patients just waiting for the end. What normal person would stick around unless they’d given up too? As for her, if she hadn’t already been diagnosed with late-stage cancer, she’d never have stayed.
Shaking off her thoughts, she merely said quietly, “Come with me.”
“Okay.” Su Han replied with a smile, though her eyes flickered slyly. Truthfully, she would’ve much preferred holing up in a private room. But she’d needed an excuse to check things out, so she’d played up the “infected and desperate” act to get in.
When she stepped into the lobby, Su Han’s pupils narrowed, her gaze caught red and yellow numbers dancing everywhere.
“Satiety: 30%, Cleanliness: 15%, Stamina: 20%. Status: Terrible. Fever. Wound infected.”
“Satiety: 20%, Cleanliness: 23%, Stamina: 26%. Status: Critical. Stomach pain and diarrhea.”
“Satiety: 34%, Cleanliness: 32%, Stamina: 31%. Status: Dire. In labor.”
The whole room was thick with the scent of death. Su Han wrinkled her nose, just barely keeping her discomfort in check.
The nurse explained, “There’s a well out back for drinking water. It’s not as clean as bottled stuff, but it’s better than the tap. Quite a few people here got sick just from drinking tap water, stomach pain, then diarrhea.”
Su Han reminded her, “The water’s out now.”
The nurse faltered, then gave an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry, I forgot.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Thanking the nurse, Su Han found herself a spot to sit and checked her stats: Satiety: 62%, Cleanliness: 58%, Stamina: 73%. Status: Stable. Wound infected.
She let out a soft sigh. She’d tried to eat and drink less to blend in, but compared to everyone else, her numbers still stuck out. A quick glance around the room confirmed it, she really wasn’t built for blending in with the crowd.
To avoid suspicion, Su Han spent the night in the lobby, putting on her best sickly, miserable face.
Day 17. Prices doubled overnight. Every shop in town had shuttered. At the same time, a contagious epidemic spread fast, anyone with stamina under 50 was considered high-risk. (Note: Players whose Satiety + Cleanliness + Stamina >200 are immune. Those infected lose 20 Stamina per day.)
Su Han’s brows shot up. Pretending to be afraid of catching something, she slipped out of the lobby. In a quiet corner, she used soap, chocolate cake, and rye bread to bump her satiety and cleanliness meters into the green. Next was some antibiotics to clear the “Infected” debuff. Once her total Satiety + Cleanliness + Stamina broke 200, and immunity was confirmed, she finally relaxed.
"Ah, !" A piercing scream echoed from the main hall, sharp enough to chill the blood. Something had clearly gone very wrong.
Su Han felt her scalp prickle. She spun on her heel and bolted. Only after ducking into a private hospital room in the next building did she start to breathe easier.
Day 18, and things were getting dire. System notification: "Prices have doubled across the board. Of the town's original 500,000 residents, around 80,000 survivors remain (players + NPCs). Infectious disease intensifies, those with low stamina are especially vulnerable. (Note: Stamina < 50 marks weak constitution; players with Satiety + Cleanliness + Stamina > 220 gain immunity. Once infected, lose 25 stamina per day.)"
Su Han glanced over her stats, Satiety: 90%, Cleanliness: 92%, Stamina: 79%. Status: Healthy. She relaxed, reassured.
Day 19, "Prices have doubled again. Infectious disease worsens, low stamina means high risk. (Note: Stamina < 50 is vulnerable; Satiety + Cleanliness + Stamina > 240 means immunity. Each day spent ill: -30 stamina.)"
Day 20, "Prices up 100%. Disease is rampant, low stamina, high risk. (Note: Stamina < 50 is weak; Satiety + Cleanliness + Stamina > 260 grants immunity. Every day sick: -40 stamina.)"
With a stash of supplies in her portable storage, Su Han managed to stay calm. But the building around her was deathly still, she hadn't seen a soul in ages. It felt like she was the only living person left, and the silence made her nerves itch.
She holed up in her room, sometimes peeking out the window to scan for movement, but firmly resolved not to step outside.
Time crawled by, second after tense, empty second.
With the instance nearly over, Su Han found the final stretch almost... easy? She eyed her supply inventory and laughed at herself, most of her stockpile was gone. So much for easy.
If she hadn’t had the idea to hide in the hospital, she never would have survived the crossfire out there.
And if she hadn't stocked up on the right supplies, soap, staple foods, the constant debuffs would've drained her medical stash long before the end. She would never have lasted this long.
In this infectious stage, the immunity requirements were brutal. If you ran out of meds and started stacking debuffs, getting those three stats over 260 was nearly impossible. Lasting until the end? Not likely.
But at last, she’d made it through.
Su Han sat with her back to the wall, curled up in a corner, quietly waiting for the game to end.
On the twentieth night, right as the clock struck midnight, the system's robotic voice chimed in: "First round complete. Congratulations, player, on clearing the Extreme Challenge."
"You have earned a bonus reward."
"All surviving players will be automatically teleported out of the instance."
A flash of white light, and Su Han found herself once more surrounded by thick white mist.
A transparent status panel appeared before her, displaying,
Name: Su Han (Real-name verified)
Level: 1 (EXP 20/30)
Class: Nutritionist (Beginner level Talent, EXP 20/30)
Satiety: 100/100
Cleanliness: 100/100
Stamina: 100/100
Su Han remembered in the game her stamina bar had only been pale green, looks like all stats reset to max at the end of each instance.
As for her experience points…
She recalled the system’s earlier explanation: Survive 30 days in an instance to gain 1 level; each new level increases all three stat caps and talent level by 100.
She’d survived 20 days this time, still needed 10 more for the next level.
Mechanical voice: "System processing, please wait."
About thirty seconds later, it continued: "You received 20 (days survived) * 5 = 100 points."
"You’ve earned an extra bonus, choose any two of the following:"
"A, EXP +5."
"B, Points +50."
"C, Increase max Satiety, Cleanliness, Stamina by 20 each."
Su Han scoffed at the overpriced shop, the real bargains were in-game. And since she didn’t need much to resupply, she picked options A and C.
Instantly, her status panel updated,
Name: Su Han (Real-name verified)
Level: 1 (EXP 25/30)
Class: Nutritionist (Beginner level Talent, EXP 25/30)
Satiety: 120/120
Cleanliness: 120/120
Stamina: 120/120
Points: 100
Once she’d confirmed her choices, the voice announced: "You have advanced. Please report for the second round of the competition tomorrow at 8 AM sharp."
With that, the player was logged out. The VR capsule opened with a gentle hiss.
Su Han blinked up from inside the pod, for a moment, she was totally bewildered. A glance at the clock: 10:38. Still time for lunch. Only then did she realize, the time flow for the full-dive game had been adjusted.
She set up her induction cooker, boiled some water, and tossed in hot pot seasoning. Once it was rolling, she loaded up thin cuts of lamb and, while lunch simmered, scrolled through the game forums.
By now, the "Limitless Survival Game" forum was absolute chaos, a hundred angry, grief-stricken posts popping up every minute.
"This game sucks! There are traps everywhere! Said we'd only lose stamina if satiety AND cleanliness both got low, so why does running out of soap ruin my stats and tank my stamina?"
"I'm supposed to be a pro, but I didn’t even make it past Day 8, this game is cursed!"
"No skills, no SMGs, no body armor?! Trash! I bartered away my food for a backpack, and the only decent knife I got was from trading, too, everything you need you have to scrounge up for yourself… Seriously, I about cried."
Clearly, she wasn't the only one who’d been blindsided.