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Chapter 438 Sacrifice of Life [4000 words]

[Late night of the fourth day, the neonatal reception room of the county hospital]

Golden light lifted the withered chrysanthemum into the air, and the scales of the Libra began to shake rhythmically, emitting a soft humming sound.

Looking at the scales suspended in mid-air, Chen Kong's eyes seemed inexplicably dazed.

He subconsciously reached out, wanting to touch the golden chrysanthemum floating on the scale.

"hiss!"

As soon as Chen Kong's fingertips approached the range of the light, they were suddenly repelled by an invisible force.

What followed was a burning, stinging pain in my palm.

The sudden pain brought Chen Kong back to his senses instantly.

Strange, why would I have done that?

Looking at the golden chrysanthemums so close at hand, Chen Kong frowned.

For a fleeting moment, Chen Kong felt as if he were being influenced by something, causing his body to act uncontrollably.

Something's not right. What just happened...something's very wrong.

"Kong, that thing shouldn't be touched casually."

Just as Chen Kong was pondering why he had suddenly 'lost control', Vivian suddenly spoke up.

Her eyes swept over the golden chrysanthemums and the scales, and then a line of ancient star script appeared in her field of vision.

"Equivalent exchange. Life as the starting point."

Vivian murmured unconsciously.

"Life as the guide?"

Mi Yao lowered his head and repeated the sentence for a moment, then seemed to understand something and said, "Could this mean that we need to sacrifice enough lives in exchange for the withered chrysanthemum to regain its vitality?"

Vivian turned to look at him, pondered for a moment, and nodded, saying, "That should be it, because it's just like when we were at the bank, the bank staff used small bills to exchange for the life cores we had."

"If I'm not mistaken, when the chrysanthemum's vitality recovers to a certain extent, this unbalanced scale will regain its original balance, and we will be able to take it off the scale."

"Where are we going to get the vitality that these chrysanthemums need?"

Faced with Chen Kong's question, Mi Yao replied without hesitation, "Where else could we go? Listen outside."

Reminded by Mi Yao, Chen Kong immediately began to pay attention to the activity outside the newborn reception room.

The once quiet corridors of the county hospital are now filled with the sounds of hurried footsteps and low growls.

Although Chen Kong didn't go outside to check, he immediately guessed what was outside the door.

If nothing unexpected happens, the life force that the golden chrysanthemum needs is outside.

"Now that we have a direction, let's act quickly to avoid any unforeseen complications."

Mi Yao stood up and stated his decision directly.

Chen Kong and Vivian exchanged a glance, neither choosing to refute.

To the two's surprise, after saying all that, Mi Yao didn't rush to leave, but instead picked up his game console and started fiddling with it.

With a touch of curiosity, Chen Kong looked down at his game console.

On his game console screen, a so-called 'mission progress bar' was found.

"What are you doing?"

Seeing Chen Kong's curious expression, Mi Yao calmly said, "A sense of ritual."

After saying that, Mi Yao gripped the pixelated longsword in his hand and walked towards the reception room.

Chen Kong watched his retreating figure, then turned to Vivian, who was still deep in thought, and said, "Let's go. This hospital is a bit strange. It's best to leave as soon as possible."

Vivian nodded, then turned to look at the golden chrysanthemum floating in mid-air and the scales trailing it, seemingly lost in thought.

boom!
Just as Chen Kong and the other two stepped out of the reception room, the doors to the wards on both sides of the corridor slammed shut.

In the dimly lit hospital corridor, only the emergency exit indicator light at the end was lit in red, resembling a classic scene from a horror movie.

The three stood by the door of the reception room, their expressions extremely solemn.

The battle that follows will not be so simple.

Before the three could catch their breath, countless vines cascaded down from the cracks in the ceiling, completely blocking the passage.

Immediately afterwards, the roars of a large number of rotting vine corpses came from all directions.

They seemed to be drawn by the light of the golden chrysanthemums and were gathering towards the third floor.

"I'll break through head-on, you and Vivian will provide cover on the flanks."

As the strongest of the three, Mi Yao decisively took on the most difficult and arduous task.

Right now, the three of them are all in the same boat, so there's no need for them to scheme against each other.

After all, while the county hospital was indeed dangerous, their real crisis lay in the ever-repeating time loop of Changsheng Island.

They cannot leave Changsheng County unless they break this time loop.

Naturally, they were also unable to board the new Federation ship that was scheduled to pick them up soon and leave this dangerous occupied zone.

Bang bang bang!
In the dimly lit passage, Chen Kong switched the Void Weaver to rapid-fire mode, and star energy bullets formed a barrage in the passage, temporarily repelling the approaching Rotting Vine Corpses.

These monsters are even more bizarre than the construction workers outside the hospital; their festering sores can spurt corrosive fluids that will burn and cause blisters if they come into contact with the skin.

Mi Yao swept his pixelated longsword horizontally, the blade cleaving through the oncoming vines, but it was entangled by the core petals of the rotten vine corpse.

"These guys' petals can absorb star energy, so we must finish this quickly; my star energy won't last much longer."

He suddenly drew his knife, and the diamond luster on the blade dimmed slightly.

Vivian's second-hand rapier transformed into a streak of light, precisely severing the head of a rotting vine corpse, where the second energy core was hidden.

As her mechanical joints spun at high speed, her figure transformed into a silver afterimage, constantly weaving through the vines.

With each dash and each strike of her sword, she took the life of a rotting vine corpse, maximizing her efficiency.

They killed many rotten vine corpses, but even more rotten vine corpses came.

Furthermore, they were also unsure exactly how many they needed to kill to meet the conditions for the chrysanthemum's revival.

It would be ridiculous if they waited until their star energy was exhausted before the golden chrysanthemum could revive.

After fighting for a full three minutes.

Vivian, seeing the 'sea of ​​corpses' that showed no signs of diminishing, shouted, "There's an operating room on the east side of the corridor. It's spacious and suitable for a struggle. Let's go there first!"

"Okay!" (in unison)

The three fought and retreated, leading the rotting vine corpse towards the operating room.

Mi Yao set up a pixel trap at the entrance. The moment the Rotten Vine Corpse stepped on it, pixel spikes suddenly popped out from the ground, pinning the three monsters to the ground.

Dust seized the opportunity, and the Void Weaver's bullets accurately hit their core petals, splattering green juice all over the operating table.

Upon arriving at the operating room, Chen Kong quickly found himself engaged in a fierce battle with the horde of zombies.

During this process, they quickly noticed the chrysanthemum pattern that suddenly appeared on the back of their hands.

The pattern is now about one-fifth filled with gold, leaving four-fifths of the area blank.

If they are not mistaken, once the chrysanthemum pattern is completely covered in gold, they will have met the conditions for the chrysanthemum to revive.

just
"This is too slow, and their numbers are increasing. We may not be able to hold out until the end."

Mi Yao watched as the rotting vine corpses kept pouring in through the cracks in the door, then pulled a pixel grenade from his backpack. "I'll blow open the ventilation ducts, then we'll retreat to the top floor!"

“The top floor offers a wide view, and from there I have a way to gather them together and clear them out.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Mi Yao decisively threw out the Star Energy Grenade in his hand.

The loud explosion of the grenade shattered the ventilation duct. Mi Yao used his pixel light shield to block the falling rocks, and the three of them climbed up the duct to the top floor.

Moonlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the construction debris piled up on the rooftop platform.

The area was already covered by vines, and a dozen or so rotting vine corpses were lying on the edge, as if guarding something.

Meanwhile, a large number of rotting vine corpses continued to pursue them along the pipes.

The other rotting vine corpses ran wildly from the hospital corridors toward the rooftop.

The three fought and retreated, soon leaving behind a pile of rotting vine corpses on the ground.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that after these corpses die, tiny golden specks emerge from their bodies, penetrating the walls of the county hospital and converging in a certain direction.

However, as the star energy was depleted, coupled with the vigorous vitality and fearless nature of these rotten vine corpses, the situation worsened.

Chen Kong and Vivian gradually became exhausted.

"Mi Yao, haven't you finished yet?!"

Chen Kong forced back the few rotting vine corpses in front of him and shouted to Mi Yao behind him.

The very next second after Chen Kong finished speaking, Mi Yao suddenly raised the game console in his hand above his head, releasing his star energy without restraint.

Game Visualization: Pixel World: Turret Matrix!
Countless pixels reassembled in the air, forming three green turrets that fired wildly at the ever-surging rotting vine corpses.

Boom boom boom!
Under the bombardment of the pixel matrix turrets, a vacuum suddenly appeared on the rooftop from the zombie horde.

This is what happened on the rooftop. If they were indoors, they would have to worry about whether the artillery emplacements would damage the county hospital building and bury them inside.

However, although the cannon was quite powerful, it required a certain cooling-off time and would stop firing after a while.

Fortunately, Mi Yao wasn't alone.

Whenever the turret enters its cooldown phase, Chen Kong and Vivian will decisively take action to stop the remaining zombie horde and buy time for the turret.

As the corpses of the decaying vines piled up like mountains below the platform, their life force was continuously absorbed by the light of the golden chrysanthemums, and the golden light coming from the direction of the reception room grew stronger and stronger.

Finally, a burst of golden light suddenly appeared on the backs of Chen Kong and the other two's hands.

The decaying vine corpse illuminated by the golden light disintegrated and vanished on the spot in front of Chen Kong and the others, just like ice and snow encountering the sun.

Before long, the horde of corpses on the rooftop, along with the numerous corpses of the rotting vine corpses, completely vanished under the golden light.

"Finally done."

Mi Yao slumped to the ground, his face pale from exhaustion of star energy.

"Yes."

Chen Kong wiped the sweat from his forehead and echoed with a wry smile.

If it weren't for Mi Yao's powerful matrix turret, they might not have been able to hold out until now.

It has to be said that Miyao's Star Source 'Game Master' is indeed quite remarkable, with excellent versatility.

After a short rest, the three of them returned to the entrance of the newborn reception room via the same route they had come from.

Click!

Before Chen Kong and the others could reach out, the door opened slowly and automatically in front of them.

What appeared before the three of them was a faint but warm golden light, which shone comfortably.

Inside the neonatal reception room, the withered chrysanthemum had fully bloomed, its petals a warm golden yellow, its central stamen exuding a rich life force, suspended below the scales.

Chen Kong stepped forward, and this time there was no invisible force to stop him.

He easily grasped the golden chrysanthemum.

The next second, a warm current flowed into his body through his palm, and the fatigue from the previous battle instantly dissipated.

"That should be enough, right?"

Looking at the golden chrysanthemum in his hand, Chen Kong said subconsciously.

Mi Yao stepped forward and said seriously, "Things are probably not that simple. After all, we haven't figured out the purpose of this golden chrysanthemum yet."

"Where do we go next?"

According to the original plan, after completing their exploration of the county hospital...

They would then try to explore the underground vault of the county bank.

After all, this is one of only two places in Changsheng County that they cannot set foot in.

They explored the rest of the area thoroughly.

If there is a way out of Changsheng County, it must be in one of these two places.

"No rush, let's explore this county hospital first. Maybe we can find a way out of the county here."

"And this golden chrysanthemum?"

"Keep it with you for now. After all, its origin is unknown, and I dare not handle it casually."

Chen Kong: "."

No wonder you deliberately came in last; so that's what you were planning.

Once again, Chen Kong sensed Mi Yao's 'caution'.

But it must be admitted that perhaps it is precisely because of this caution that Mi Yao has come to where he is today.

After leaving the newborn reception room, Chen Kong and his two companions began a thorough search of the county.

Thanks to the presence of the Golden Chrysanthemum, no more Rotten Vine Corpses appeared in the county hospital. The monster workers who came to lead the hospital were also frightened away by the light emitted by the Golden Chrysanthemum and disappeared somewhere.

After some exploration, dawn arrived before we knew it.

Then, a shocking scene unfolded before Chen Kong and the others' eyes.

As the first rays of morning sunlight shone on the county hospital, the once dilapidated and old hospital slowly shed its decay and returned to normal.

A clean hospital lobby, smooth hospital walls, and a brand-new calendar.
At this moment, the county hospital seemed to have been renovated by the 'sunshine' and quickly transformed into what a normal hospital should look like.

"It seems that the day and night in this place are not just a simple alternation of day and night, but also have some other special effects."

Seeing the changes in the county hospital firsthand, Chen Kong couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"Let's not talk about things that are obvious at a glance. Tell us something we don't know."

Mi Yao showed no respect for Chen Kong and immediately began to mock him.

Chen Kong didn't bother arguing with him about it.

After all, if it weren't for Mi Yao last night, it's uncertain whether he and Vivian would have even been able to leave alive, let alone obtain the Golden Chrysanthemum.

"Alright, since we haven't found the passage we're looking for here, let's go back first."

"If I'm not mistaken, the key channel is in the county bank."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mi Yao was the first to step out of the county hospital gate in the morning sunlight.

After exchanging a glance, Chen Kong and Vivian immediately followed.

(End of this chapter)