Chapter 28: Reaching an Agreement with the Dean

"Director Xie, the Dean requests your presence in his office."

"I understand."

Once Xie Yunjun responded, the nurse who had delivered the message let out a sigh of relief. She had heard from many colleagues that this new Director Xie was difficult to get along with. Since Xie Yunjun hadn't emerged, the nurse hadn't dared to leave, fearing that if the director was in a foul mood, she would become the target of her frustrations. After all, in the Horror World, it was perfectly normal for a powerful anomaly to devour a weaker one.

On the other side, Xie Yunjun stood up from her office chair. She glanced at the white lab coat she had tossed aside, which had already returned to a "clean" state. During daylight hours, as long as she did not actively transform, her clothes remained pristine. Therefore, Xie Yunjun wasn't the least bit worried about her "colleagues" finding out that she was the one who had slaughtered all the patient-anomalies the previous night.

After casting a smug smile toward the window, Xie Yunjun put on her lab coat and adjusted her expression into a very amiable smile. She had originally intended to rest a while longer before going out to hunt those anomalous "plays," but alas, fate wouldn't allow a hard-working laborer like her to catch a break.

Silently lamenting this in her heart, Xie Yunjun walked to the door and opened it. Seeing that the nurse at the door was merely an F-rank anomaly, she spoke softly. "Thank you for the trouble of coming to inform me."

As she spoke, her smile grew even gentler.

"No... no trouble at all! Director Xie, thank you for your concern!" The nurse stammered, waving her hands slightly. She had heard so many people say Director Xie was difficult, but... wasn't she actually quite easy to talk to? And... she was beautiful, too. Seeing the increasingly brilliant smile on Xie Yunjun’s face, the nurse lowered her head in shyness. To think that someone as powerful as Director Xie would be so kind to a low-level anomaly like her... It was simply... captivating! It eased much of the tension she had felt since learning that all the patients in the instance had been killed that morning.

"I’ll head to the Dean’s office myself. You go back to your work."

"Director Xie!"

Just as Xie Yunjun started to walk away, the nurse called out to her.

"Is there something else you need to tell me?"

"Director Xie, are you aware that all the patients were killed last night?"

Xie Yunjun shook her head, looking at the nurse with an expression of pure innocence.

"What’s wrong? Is it serious? If there's nothing else, I’ll be going now."

Seeing that Xie Yunjun didn't seem to take it to heart, the nurse became anxious. "Director Xie, you don't know! Even the two nurses and the doctor on duty were killed. Everyone in the hospital is in a panic; nobody dares to take the night shift anymore."

Hearing this, Xie Yunjun stepped back nonchalantly, a careless smile on her face. As the culprit, she certainly wasn't worried. Even now, the "ding-ding-dong" of fear-value notifications was still echoing in her mind. A second later, finding it too noisy, she had her system, Xie Yunying, turn them off.

Once everything was quiet, she smiled at the nurse. "Don't worry, the Dean and I are here to handle everything! Perhaps it was just some trick played by the players? Anyway, stop thinking about such nonsense and go back to work."

Xie Yunjun turned and walked away, ignoring the nurse. Seeing that nurse always reminded her of the young nurse she had worked with when she first started in the real world—someone who had been at it for over half a year yet remained as jittery as a newcomer. She had only been in this horror game for a few days, yet it felt as long as a century.

As a veteran psychologist, she knew that human nature was complex and fickle. She also knew that to survive in this horror world, she had to discard all her kindness and humanity. After all, the horror world always spoke through strength. Even if one was strong, going it alone was ultimately difficult. She needed to find the right opportunity to recruit a group she could trust. But for now, the priority was to develop her own strength and build her own faction.

Thinking this, Xie Yunjun teleported a few times and arrived at the Dean’s office. She knocked four times, and the word "Enter" came from within.

As she pushed the door open, the Dean set down his pen. "Director Xie, what is your take on what happened last night?"

Xie Yunjun smiled and took a seat. She now had the strength to challenge the Dean, so there was no need to cater to his whims. "Dean, out with the old, in with the new, right? There is nothing we can do about what the players choose to do."

Hearing her shift the blame, the Dean understood perfectly well who was behind it. He knew that Xie Yunjun’s current strength was not what it used to be, and she had backing. Not to mention, he still had things he needed her to do.

Consequently, the Dean didn't get angry; he simply smiled good-naturedly. "You really are a sly one. Very well, proceed as you see fit. By the way, have you received the items from the Happiness Residential Property Management?"

"I have already received them, Dean."

"Good. Once you go to that residential complex, prioritize your own safety above all else. Among all the staff, I have high hopes for you!" The Dean reached into his drawer and pulled out a photograph. "If you happen to come across someone who looks like this while you are out, remember to bring them back."

Xie Yunjun walked over to the desk, took the photo, glanced at it casually, and tucked it away. "Don't worry, Dean. I will definitely keep an eye out!"

Seeing her take it, the Dean offered a final reminder, smiling. "Oh, and be a bit more careful in the future. At the very least, don't let people find out."

"Understood, Dean. You can rest easy when it comes to how I do things."

With a final smile, Xie Yunjun left the office.

"I didn't expect our Dean to be so easy to talk to," she muttered to herself.

Hearing her self-reflection, Xie Yunying asked curiously, "Host, why are you helping that Dean?"

"Because we just reached a certain collaboration. The condition for me helping him find someone is that he has granted me the authority over all the anomalies in the hospital. Heh!"

"Yingying, let us accelerate the pace of our harvest."

With that, Xie Yunjun teleported to the office of an anomalous doctor on the next floor.

"Ah! Director, Director Xie!" The sudden appearance of Xie Yunjun startled Dr. Qi, who was in the office.

"Dr. Qi?"

Seeing that Xie Yunjun had called her name, Dr. Qi hurriedly replied, "Yes? Is there something urgent, Director, that you’ve come to see me so suddenly?"

"It’s like this, the Dean says..."

Before she could finish, Xie Yunjun teleported behind Dr. Qi and used her sharp claws to tear her in two.

"He has handed all of you over to me."

Unfortunately, Dr. Qi would never hear the second half of that sentence.