I’m a Max-Level Taoist Master, and You’re Throwing Me Into a Rules-Based Horror Game?! - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: It’s Strange Precisely Because It’s Too Normal!

“Beautiful nurse, I was wondering if the doctors here have any particular taboos or things to avoid?”

While changing his mask, Mitarashi Saburo seemed to be fishing for information from the nurse.

If anyone knew the doctors better than the patients, it would be the nurses.

Compared to other chosen ones, Mitarashi’s approach was far more meticulous.

He was subtly gathering intel while meticulously recording every detail around him.

One thing puzzled him: the nurse was wearing high heels.

When helping passengers change their masks, he deliberately positioned them in different spots and noticed the nurse’s footsteps were quite loud.

Yet, there didn’t seem to be any other shoes or nurses in the station. Could it really be her?

The reason Mitarashi doubted this was because he observed that in Smile Hospital:

• Outsiders wore masks.

• Nurses wore masks.

• Doctors did not wear masks.

• Patients did not wear masks.

The nurses would chat with him and help him change his mask, while the doctors and patients largely ignored the chosen ones.

This made him instinctively view the nurses as allies, even feeling a sense of reliance and goodwill toward them.

And, well, the nurse was quite pretty—except for the one at the front desk.

“Each doctor has their own preferences. I’m not really sure,” the beautiful nurse replied offhandedly.

As she replaced Mitarashi’s mask, she casually sprayed him with a cleaning agent, seemingly to eliminate odors.

Boldly, Mitarashi lifted his mask slightly and sniffed—it did smell like cleaning solution.

Most chosen ones didn’t refuse this service, assuming it would reduce their exposure to the toxic air.

And indeed, after the spray, they felt noticeably better.

Only Zhang Yangqing and Jones declined.

Jones, a homeless man, disliked the smell of cleaning agents.

Besides, since the rules didn’t mention whether it was safe, he preferred not to risk it.

Zhang Yangqing had his own cleaning supplies and saw no need.

In the world of rule-based anomalies, anything not explicitly mentioned in the rules warranted caution.

Rule 5 stated: The hospital contains lethal substances. Do not touch them carelessly.

Until he confirmed the safety of these items, Zhang Yangqing wouldn’t accept them.

Next was determining the nurse’s allegiance.

For most chosen ones, this was impossible to discern—until it was too late.

But Zhang Yangqing knew how to test it, and only he could do so.

He needed to find a point of conflict between the nurses and the patients.

In other words, he had to identify something both groups could evaluate—then compare their responses.

If one side praised it and the other condemned it, verifying its true nature would reveal which faction was trustworthy.

The only thing Zhang Yangqing had for this test was the air freshener.

“Nurse, let me ask you something. Is spraying this on me beneficial?”

The beautiful nurse replied, “Of course. It reduces the harm from toxic gases.”

Nodding, Zhang Yangqing pressed further: “Do you know what fruit the director likes?”

“Yes, the director likes apples.”

“Where can I get one?”

“Sorry, I don’t know that.”

After a brief exchange, Zhang Yangqing had what he needed and left.

Jones also learned how to access the safe room: Bring the director an apple, and you’ll earn both protection and proof of the nurse’s honesty.

But the question remained—where to find an apple?

There were no fruit markets nearby, and searching the hospital grounds was risky with the toxic air outside.

Wandering room by room seemed impractical, too.

While others struggled, Zhang Yangqing headed straight for one location: the inpatient ward.

His reasoning?

If there were apples in the hospital, they’d most likely be there—left by visiting families.

Since the anomaly’s rules required an apple, the inpatient ward was the only logical place to look.

It would also help him verify the cleaning agent and the nurse’s true role.

Meanwhile, other chosen ones began strategizing based on the rules.

Rule 12 warned: Only doctors may treat patients. If someone claiming to be a doctor treats you, RUN.

With toxic gas building in their bodies, they’d soon need medical attention.

But how to confirm if a “doctor” was real? Asking directly wouldn’t work.

Fortunately, hospitals have staff directories—listing names, photos, positions, and credentials.

By photographing the directory, they could cross-check any “doctor” they encountered.

When Mitarashi found the directory, he frowned.

So did the others.

The odd part wasn’t the staff listed—it was that they looked too normal.

After seeing so many smiling, eerily-behaving doctors, nurses, and patients, the directory’s ordinary portraits felt wrong.

In an anomalous hospital, you’d expect the directory to be just as creepy.

“Does this mean they only started smiling after being infected?” Mitarashi mused.

But even if true, this clue was useless, so he quickly moved on.

Their goal was simple: survive long enough to find the cafeteria, eat, and escape—not investigate the gas’s origin.

After some thought, Mitarashi decided to head for the inpatient ward.

Along the way, he photographed every staff directory he found, just in case.

Yet he remained wary. Since the earlier barks, the hospital had grown even more unsettling.

Just as viewers thought the chosen ones were being cautious—and that many might survive—disasters struck.

Screens turned black, one after another.

• South Korea’s chosen one, suffering from skin burns, went to the burn unit—only for the “doctor” to peel his skin off.
  (Technically, he no longer felt the burns.)

• The Camel Country contestant, coughing blood from breathing issues, visited respiratory medicine—where the “doctor” cut his throat out.

• Rooster Country’s chosen one, complaining of stomach pain, went to gastroenterology—where the “doctor” sliced him open and removed his organs.

…But didn’t stitch him back up.