Bai Liu and Liu Huai were belatedly carried downstairs by the nurses.
It was destined to be a chaotic night. Mu Ke ran frantically behind them. The child monsters in the hospital seemed to have been frightened by the massive explosion in the field and had disappeared.
The treatment was brief and unprofessional. Bai Liu and Liu Huai were two of the few patients who hadn't suffered direct injuries from the explosion. They had simply lost too much blood, so after a cursory procedure, they were quickly wheeled out of the operating room and returned to their original wards.
In fact, the nurses had wanted to transfer them to the ICU, but it was already filled with other patients. Compared to the rest, Bai Liu and Liu Huai's injuries were relatively minor, so they could only remain in the general ward.
For example, Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang were severely injured and had been placed in the ICU on the second floor. They were still in a coma and unlikely to wake anytime soon. Of course, Bai Liu had briefly considered going downstairs to assassinate them. Unfortunately, the ICU was currently packed with nurses, making it impossible for him to get close.
Moreover, they had no offensive capability at the moment.
Liu Huai had lost both arms, and Bai Liu's physical strength and health were nearly depleted. Mu Ke was in slightly better condition, but he only had six health points remaining.
Even if Mu Ke used a dagger while Miao Gaojiang lay unconscious, he could slash for an entire hour without breaking through Miao Gaojiang's high defense.
Worse, if they accidentally woke the two men, it might be them who died first. For now, staying put was their safest option. After all, their objective had essentially been achieved.
Both Bai Liu's and Mu Ke's rooms had been blown up. They couldn't return, and wards were extremely scarce due to the explosion Bai Liu had caused. There was even a chance they would be forced to share space with other monster investors.
After some coordination, a nurse arranged for the three of them to stay together in Ward 501—Liu Huai's room.
Liu Huai lay on the bed while Mu Ke and Bai Liu tore sheets of paper from books to spread on the floor, preparing to make do for the night.
Yet instead of lying down after settling in, Bai Liu took a pen from the drawer and placed the torn paper across his lap, casually writing and sketching as if lost in thought.
Mu Ke leaned over curiously. "Bai Liu, what are you writing?"
"I'm organizing the current clues—both inside and outside the game," Bai Liu replied.
"Oh! Speaking of clues, Bai Liu!" Mu Ke suddenly remembered something and straightened up seriously. "When I was looking through the medical records, I found something about the Life Recovery recipe. It said children with 'pure blood' are the best choice. That should mean children related by blood, right? But when I checked the case files, I noticed that most of the children selected by the investors had no direct blood relationship with them, yet the treatment effect was relatively good, correct?" Bai Liu wrote calmly without looking up. "Players like us, who are directly related by blood to the children, are actually the minority."
Mu Ke blinked. "Yes."
"According to common sense and the actual situation, most investors couldn't possibly use children related to them by blood. Nor are they searching welfare homes for biological relatives."
Bai Liu casually sketched a small building resembling a welfare home. Around it, he drew several thin figures labeled "investors," then wrote between them: likely no blood relationship.
He tapped the pen lightly against the paper. "So, 'pure blood relationship' in the Life Recovery recipe is only one interpretation—likely tailored to players whose systems assigned them NPC children related by blood. But for other investors and entrepreneurs, in reality, 'blood purity' clearly has a different meaning."
"In other words, the children suitable for the Life Recovery medicine aren't just biologically related children, but those who meet some other standard of 'blood purity,'" Mu Ke said, nodding. Then he frowned again. "I just can't figure out the exact criteria the investors use to choose which children to draw blood from."
"I thought it might refer to matching blood types," Mu Ke continued. "But regardless of ABO or Rh factors, the selected children's blood types don't consistently match the investors'. I went through the blood test indices—biochemical markers, hemoglobin levels, background information, and even geographic origins. I can't find a clear pattern. I don't understand what 'blood purity' actually means."
The more he spoke, the more confused he became.
"Then, after reading and memorizing a large number of medical records, I noticed something very strange," Mu Ke added quietly. "Most of the children chosen for blood extraction… weren't healthy."
"They all had various defects or congenital diseases, didn't they?" Bai Liu's gaze fixed on a certain point on the paper. "You find it strange that the investors avoid healthy children and instead prefer those with illnesses."
"Yes." Mu Ke nodded quickly, glancing at Bai Liu in surprise. "How did you know? I only discovered that pattern after reviewing countless case files."
"I considered it before," Bai Liu said evenly. "But I dismissed it as the kind of twisted speculation someone with an abnormal brain like mine would make. It sounded too absurd. Then Liu Jiayi's background confirmed it."
He drew a small girl inside the welfare home and shaded in her eyes with a pencil. His voice turned faintly strange. "For this so-called 'pure blood,' things like blood type, biochemical markers, or hemoglobin levels are irrelevant."
At the mention of Liu Jiayi's name, Liu Huai struggled to sit up in bed. His eyes locked onto Bai Liu.
Bai Liu continued looking down at the girl on the paper.
"This blood purity refers to children who have maintained 'ethical purity' of blood."
"They are children born from close relatives. They are filled with congenital defects because they were born of incest."
[System notification: Congratulations to player Bai Liu's main identity line for unlocking hidden side information—the true meaning of blood purity.]
[System notification: Among all the children, there is one special child. Their blood alone is enough to save an investor player. No additional blood or corresponding blood relationship is required. TA is the universal antidote in the game of Love Welfare Institute. Guess who the TA is?]
After Bai Liu finished speaking, the ward fell into silence for several minutes.
A chill ran down Mu Ke's spine. "…No way? These investors deliberately searched for children with congenital diseases?"
Bai Liu casually drew a square and a circle on the paper, connecting them with a straight line. Beneath each symbol, he wrote Aa and Aa. Mu Ke recognized it at a glance—a basic genetic inheritance diagram.
"Generally speaking, even a seemingly healthy person has a probability of carrying certain recessive abnormal genes," Bai Liu explained calmly. "Inbreeding increases the likelihood that these recessive genes will pair up and be expressed, resulting in congenital malformations. This probability is known as the coefficient of inbreeding."
"I only have basic medical knowledge," he added. "But I read some related material when designing games. Reproduction between close relatives significantly increases the chance of chromosomal abnormalities."
Mu Ke's expression grew complicated. He couldn't help wondering what exactly Bai Liu usually read while developing games. No wonder most of his projects had failed review…
"The 'pure blood' children the investors want aren't simply synonymous with 'deformed' children," Bai Liu continued evenly. "Inbreeding does raise the probability of congenital defects, but that doesn't mean every child with a defect was born from close relatives. The two conditions are neither necessary nor sufficient."
Mu Ke fell into deep thought. He subconsciously touched the child at his side and frowned. "Besides, many of these children arrive at the welfare home nameless, with no background information. How can the investors possibly determine that they're 'pure blood'?"
"There is a screening mechanism." Bai Liu slowly raised his eyes. "They adopt children with specific diseases—such as albinism, or conditions like Liu Jiayi's. Then they screen the 'pure blood' children from among them."
Mu Ke frowned. "But the children's parents and background information are unknown. How can they determine who is 'pure blood'? There's no direct way to verify close-kin relationships…"
"There is a way," Bai Liu replied lightly. "Haven't you already seen the screening process?"
Mu Ke froze. "I've seen it…?"
Realization struck him. He turned abruptly to the paper in Bai Liu's hand. Bai Liu had drawn a mushroom shaped like a reishi—its cap veined like tangled blood vessels.
Mu Ke's lips parted in disbelief. "The welfare home poisoning incident…"
"Blood ganoderma lucidum is a parasitic fungus that feeds on children's blood," Bai Liu said calmly. "It requires the blood of a 'pure blood' child to grow properly. That makes it an excellent screening tool."
He idly shaded the mushroom. "After ingestion, children can be parasitized without obvious signs of poisoning. But if mild anemia appears, it proves the ganoderma is actively feeding on them. Those children meet the standard of blood purity."
"In reality, mushroom poisoning incidents occur from time to time in welfare homes. I suspect those cases are controlled screenings. The dosage is carefully managed to avoid large-scale deaths. As for the children who show no poisoning symptoms—those who meet the blood purity standard—after investors conduct a simple confirmation on June 1st, Children's Day…"
Bai Liu's tone turned lazy. "They disappear."
"I don't know whether they 'ran away' on their own, or whether they were quietly selected and smuggled into investors' homes to serve as living blood banks."
Goosebumps spread across Mu Ke's skin. He rubbed his arms and asked hesitantly, "If that's the case… then Liu Jiayi's poisoning incident doesn't make sense…"
"Yes!" Liu Huai suddenly joined in, his expression dark with fear. "When Jiayi's incident happened, there were no investors screening children at the welfare home. Why was there such a large-scale poisoning?"
Bai Liu lifted his eyes to look at Liu Huai. "In reality, the welfare home was on the verge of bankruptcy. No one was willing to take over these abandoned children—the 'goods.' But the actual value of these goods is extremely high."
He tilted his head slightly. "If you were the custodian of such goods, what would you do?"
Liu Huai stared at him in shock, clearly unsettled by how calmly Bai Liu compared children to merchandise.
Unmoved, Bai Liu continued, "If I were the dean, I would try to extract greater value from the goods in my possession. I would initiate the screening process myself—select the most valuable goods and eliminate the ones that consume resources without profit. Then I would use the high-quality goods as bargaining chips to negotiate with new investors."
He glanced at Mu Ke.
Mu Ke suddenly remembered that his father had once planned to invest in this welfare home. He waved his hands frantically. "My father might not be perfect, but if the dean made that kind of proposal, he would never agree! He has moral boundaries!"
"Really?" Bai Liu lowered his voice and leaned closer. Mu Ke instinctively shrank back under his gaze.
In the dim ward, Bai Liu's eyes looked almost ghostly—focused, penetrating, as if trying to hook the ugliest thoughts from the depths of someone's mind.
"If I told your father that five children were about to be drained dry by the blood ganoderma lucidum and would soon die. That if he called the police, I would kill them immediately—and all he would accomplish is wasting their remaining lives…"
"You're aging. Cancer or some other illness is inevitable. Shouldn't you prepare a safeguard for yourself? Your child has heart disease, too. This blood ganoderma can cure any illness—including your son's."
"Let these children live happily for their final days. They are deformed. They can't integrate into society. Their future is narrow and painful."
"Some of them suffer from severe depression and suicidal tendencies. We tried everything. It didn't help. They won't live long anyway. They volunteered. We promised them cakes and toys. They were so happy."
"You would only prolong their suffering for twenty years. The older they grow, the more pain they'll endure. Isn't it kinder to let them remain simple and joyful?"
"This is a welfare home," Bai Liu whispered softly, his voice almost coaxing as Mu Ke shrank into the corner. "We love these children more than you do. How could we harm them? We are saving them. Giving them better lives. Sending them toward something better in the next life."
Bai Liu slowly raised his eyes again. "Now—how would your father choose?"
Mu Ke felt numb beneath that gaze. His mouth opened, but no words came out.
"We can't rely on morality to restrain people from pursuing profit," Bai Liu said, leaning back into his seat. "Morality only reshapes the method. It doesn't eliminate the desire."
Liu Huai sat stiffly on the bed, paralyzed. A long-forgotten fear clawed at his chest. "Bai Liu… Jiayi was selected by that mushroom. It's sucking her blood. If we don't find a solution soon, then Jiayi will—"
Bai Liu said nothing.
He lowered his head and returned to the drawing.
On the paper, the small black-and-white girl sat curled up with her knees drawn to her chest. Beside her, Bai Liu wrote:
Health: 50 (?)
It meant Liu Jiayi's health value was unknown—and steadily declining.
—————————————————
Love Welfare Institute, Wednesday, 3:45 a.m.
Handicrafts Classroom
Except for Bai Liu, the teacher had locked the remaining four children inside the handicrafts classroom at the back of the welfare home.
The room had no windows on three walls. The only window faced the corridor; directly opposite was the restroom. Caregivers and teachers frequently passed by, making it an ideal holding cell for children who attempted to escape.
Canvases, glue, cloth doll heads, and craft supplies were scattered across the floor. This was where they had once made gifts for investors. But the current mess wasn't from yesterday's activities—it was the result of Miao Feichi's panic.
He had swept everything onto the ground and was pacing frantically. Miao Gaojiang watched him silently until Miao Feichi suddenly spun around and roared, "Think of something! Tomorrow they'll draw our blood! We're finished! We'll die!"
Miao Gaojiang opened his mouth to respond when the classroom door suddenly creaked open.
The teacher returned with pale-faced Liu Jiayi and Mu Ke from the infirmary.
Liu Jiayi had coughed up blood. Mu Ke had experienced heart pain. After examination, both were declared "fine" and sent back—locked into the classroom to prevent escape.
"You two are fine," the teacher said flatly. "Stay obediently here. When the investors arrive tomorrow, they'll take you to a private hospital for treatment. I don't want to see anyone trying to run."
She closed the door behind her.
Mu Ke gasped and clutched his chest as he sat down to rest. Liu Jiayi leaned weakly against the wall, sliding slowly to the floor. Her lips were pale, nearly colorless. Neither of them looked "fine."
The moment Miao Feichi saw them, fury twisted his face. He raised his hand and stormed forward. "If it weren't for you two, we could've escaped!"
Seeing the slap descending toward Liu Jiayi, Mu Ke instinctively stepped in front of her. He grabbed Miao Feichi's wrist. "We wouldn't have made it even without us! There were monsters outside!"
Liu Jiayi slumped against the wall, breathing shallowly through her fingers. She looked far worse than Mu Ke.
Miao Feichi's gaze lingered on her fragile figure. He swallowed hard.
Roughly shoving Mu Ke aside, he stepped closer to Liu Jiayi, his Adam's apple bobbing as he licked his lips.
"Damn it… if I'm going to be eaten tomorrow," he muttered hoarsely, "at least let me taste something I actually want first…"