I’m a Max-Level Taoist Master, and You’re Throwing Me Into a Rules-Based Horror Game?! - Chapter 59

Chapter 59: The Disappointing Chosen Ones!

At first glance, the chosen ones didn’t seem to be making any mistakes, yet accidents kept happening one after another.

The audience was baffled, unable to figure out what had gone wrong.

“Why is this happening? Our country’s chosen one even double-checked the doctor’s photo—it was definitely the right doctor. So why was he killed?”

“This is fcking terrifying! Are the doctors in this eerie world psychopaths? If your hand hurts, they chop it off; if your leg hurts, they amputate it. This isn’t treatment—it’s slaughter!”*

“I couldn’t understand it earlier. If the chosen one who cut in line was killed, you could argue it was because they disrespected the doctor. Fine, I get that. But why were the ones who didn’t cut in line also killed?”

“Could there be a problem with a certain step, like the nurse’s air freshener spray? I noticed the guy from Dragon Country didn’t use it, and he seems fine for now.”

“Maybe. I think the nurse might be evil, and the air freshener is what’s killing people.”

“That doesn’t make sense. If the nurse is evil, why would she still give the chosen ones new masks?”

“You don’t get it, do you? Changing masks is a rule—the nurse has to do it. After gaining the chosen ones’ trust, she sprays the air freshener to kill them.”

“Personally, I think the doctor is the suspicious one. Maybe they’re imposters—patients pretending to be doctors. The real doctors might already be dead.”

Viewers worldwide were engaged in heated discussions, their theories growing wilder and more varied by the minute.

Yet, no clear answer emerged.

In this eerie world, anyone could be suspicious.

Some even speculated that the director who handed out masks at the beginning might be problematic—after all, he never reappeared and wasn’t listed in the staff registry.

Even the expert panels were stumped. Watching from the outside, they could only catch limited details on the big screen.

They couldn’t feel the oppressive atmosphere inside the eerie world, leaving them to piece together clues from recordings and live footage.

The mood in the eerie world shifted unpredictably. Just moments ago, it seemed like many chosen ones might survive this round.

But then, bizarre incidents started piling up, casting a suffocating dread even over those watching from the safety of their screens.

The gruesome fates of the chosen ones were too horrifying to watch.

Imagine being trapped in there, forced to make life-or-death decisions under such terrifying, surreal conditions.

It felt like a no-win scenario—whether you sought treatment or not, death seemed inevitable.

A sense of powerlessness settled over everyone.

Was this round truly unsolvable?

Just as despair began to take hold, the first chosen one successfully treated by a doctor emerged.

It wasn’t Zhang Yangqing or Mitarashi Saburō, but Jones from Kangaroo Country.

What baffled everyone even more was his condition: blistered skin, covered in red patches, dry and flushed.

Judging by Jones’ expression, the burning sensation must have been unbearable.

Yet, instead of going to the burn unit, he headed to the respiratory department—and the doctor there cured him.

“Wait, didn’t the chosen one from Kangaroo Country also refuse the air freshener? Is that really the key?”

“No, look—the veteran chosen one from Eagle Country accepted the spray, and the doctor treated his injuries without any issues.”

“Weird. Check out the detective from Sakura Country—he’s coughing up blood but lining up at the gastroenterology department instead of respiratory. What’s going on?”

“Maybe they’ve noticed something we haven’t? Maybe they’re matching their symptoms to specific departments?”

Jones had guessed right again. He was getting the hang of this.

“So that’s how it is. When I arrived, I saw a patient without burns registering at the burn unit. Now it makes sense.”

Jones was a chosen one who grew through experience—10% luck, 20% learning from Zhang Yangqing, and 70% sheer observation.

His slow progress was because he was carefully identifying the correct departments.

Those who died quickly had rushed to the departments they assumed matched their symptoms.

Rule 12 had a crucial clue: “Note: Show the doctor proper respect.”

So Jones pondered—what counted as “proper respect”?

He’d asked the nurses, but they didn’t know the doctors’ taboos.

So he reversed his approach: What would be disrespectful to a doctor?

The first thing that came to mind was pulling out your phone mid-consultation and saying, “Doc, what you’re saying doesn’t match what I read on [search engine].”

That would definitely piss off any doctor.

But obviously, no chosen one would dare do that here.

So what else could count as disrespect?

Jones kept thinking and connected the dots: Going to the wrong department might also be disrespectful.

Combined with his earlier observations of patients at different departments, he reached a conclusion:

In Smiling Hospital, outsiders inhale toxic gas, distorting their senses and making it hard to find the right department.

The best way? Follow the patients’ lead. After all, frequent visitors know best.

Since patients don’t wear masks, their choices must be correct.

With this in mind, Jones found patients with similar burn-like symptoms and joined their line—the respiratory department.

Even as he faced the doctor, his heart pounded.

But the doctor smiled, applied some medicinal liquid to his arm, and the burning vanished.

After thanking the doctor profusely, he left the room.

The veteran from Eagle Country had also caught on, following patients with matching symptoms.

Soon, others who’d figured out the pattern were successfully treated.

But 38 chosen ones had chosen wrong—nearly a third of the participants, eliminated in this round.

Mitarashi Saburō wasn’t so lucky. The line ahead of him was long, and the wait dragged on.

He tried chatting with nearby patients, but none responded, muttering to themselves instead.

Even his attempts at playing the pity card failed. All he could do was grit his teeth and wait.

Many others were in the same boat, their symptoms differing from the crowd.

Watching their struggles, countless viewers switched to Dragon Country’s live stream to see how their chosen one was faring.

Dragon Country’s chosen one had arrived at his designated department last, with a massive queue ahead.

At this rate, the virus in his body would probably erupt before his turn came.

Human nature being what it is, people root for their own country’s strong while slacking off themselves.

When another country produces a strong contender, even if it doesn’t affect them, most secretly hope for their downfall.

People rarely wish others well—they’re content only if others are slightly worse off than themselves.

So, most foreign viewers were eagerly waiting for Zhang Yangqing to meet his end in this round.

But Zhang Yangqing was about to disappoint them all.