Chapter 4: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part 4)

Chapter 4: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part Four)

"Found it— He Xin!"

The hospital's reading room is expansive, housing four to five shelves filled with books on brain research, accompanied by various newspapers and magazines.

Right at the entrance, on a newspaper rack, lies a brochure titled "Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital Overview", a thin booklet produced by the hospital itself. It vividly illustrates the basic information of the Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital, bearing a resemblance to the frequent advertisements for men's health clinics seen on the streets.

Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital is a private facility, established ten years ago. The director, named Chen Xiangyuan, is a neurology Ph.D. who returned from abroad. Pictures depict him as rather scholarly, with a half-page under his photo listing numerous honors in both English and Chinese, clearly indicating his eminent stature.

Over these ten years, the hospital has treated hundreds of patients, boasting a high success rate with ninety percent being successfully discharged.

Flipping further, there are five to six pages filled with thank-you letters from families.

There are testimonials about patients with manic disorders being successfully discharged in two months, those with autism being released in half a year, and even instances of children admitted by parents due to internet addiction.

"'Ever since my child returned from treatment at Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital, he hasn't touched a computer again and his academic performance has soared. Thank you, doctors, for giving my child a future'... Damn, could there be a successor of the Thunder King in this hospital?" Xue Kai commented cynically.

"This is also quite strange, 'My brother was previously introverted, unwilling to speak, and had no friends. Since undergoing treatment at the hospital, he has become sociable and willing to interact with others. Thank you, doctors.' Is introversion a mental illness now? How was it treated?"

"And this one, a teenager was admitted for being in a relationship too early, and after discharge, they focused solely on studies, avoiding conversations with the opposite sex. It seems the parents are the ones who are actually ill, right?"

Everyone continued to leaf through the brochure while making sarcastic remarks, following the letters of appreciation was the "Outstanding Doctors of the Hospital" section, featuring photos of three doctors.

Chief Physician - Han Qi.

Deputy Chief Physician - Ge Juan.

Intern Doctor -

"He Xin! It must be this one! The hairstyle of the doctor NPC outside matches exactly with the one in this photo!"

Although the He Xin in the photo doesn't seem exceedingly handsome, at least he appears to be a normal person at first glance.

But the one outside...

The thought alone sent shivers down everyone's spine.

These were the contents of the brochure, and Qi Chanyang felt something was off after flipping through it.

Gu Shanshan, a corporate white-collar worker involved in publicity, quickly perceived the issue at hand.

"This brochure seems like a promotional pamphlet, but if it were, it's missing the most vital page: It lacks the hospital's address and contact information."

Qi Chanyang paused, reopening the booklet.

Indeed, the entire brochure was vigorously promoting how excellent the hospital is and how obedient the patients become post-treatment, almost urging readers from the very first page to seek treatment at Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital if they have a patient at home. Yet, it omitted the most critical information.

It resembled a talent show contestant fervently shouting "Vote for me, vote for me" on stage, without mentioning their contestant number or how to cast a vote for them.

Qi Chanyang examined the brochure once more, eventually finding traces of a torn page towards the end.

Whoever tore it was incredibly meticulous, making it nearly imperceptible unless closely inspected.

What might be on the missing page?

"The address and contact details aren't complex, half a page or even a whole page should suffice. What could be written on the other side?"

Gu Shanshan pondered for a moment, "If I were the one printing this brochure, I would probably include more information about the hospital's infrastructure, such as the equipment, land area... perhaps even a detailed floor plan of the hospital."

Since entering the instance, they had only wandered around the first floor; indeed, having a floor plan could be a significant aid.

"Everyone, let's look around to see if we can find that page in other books or drawers when we have a moment." However, the likelihood wasn't high, pages torn like this are usually not easily found again.

Qi Chanyang glanced at the digital clock hanging on the wall: "We have to head back to rest at ten o'clock. For now, each of us will choose a bookshelf and search for any clues in the books there. We will consolidate our findings at nine-thirty."

Everyone responded in agreement, dispersing like birds and beasts.

Qi Chanyang sat next to the newspaper rack, browsing through the publications.

This group of newcomers had already surprised him plenty, but expecting them to find any crucial clues on their first instance venture might be a bit unrealistic.

Qi Chanyang chose the publications, the most likely place to find clues.

The reading room's newspaper rack consisted of five rows, mostly filled with medical journals. Upon opening them, it was evident they were primarily in English, which Qi Chanyang couldn't understand, so he set them aside casually.

Soon, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that another person had sat down beside him, picking up a medical magazine to flip through.

Qi Chanyang was taken aback.

"Can you understand it?"

Xie Fangcheng shook his head, "Not really."

"..."

Qi Chanyang had lost the will to probe this peculiar newcomer further.

He even began to feel that this psychiatric hospital somewhat resembled his own home, as this person seemed somewhat abnormal no matter how he looked at him.

With these thoughts in mind, Qi Chanyang continued browsing through the newspaper.

Finally, amid a pile of English texts, he found a mathematics textbook.

Fourth Grade, Second Semester.

Qi Chanyang furrowed his brows.

Are there patients as young as this in the hospital?

Opening the textbook, the first page contains the owner’s class and name.

Fourth Grade, Class One, Liu Hanyue.

The handwriting is immature; it is evidently written by a child.

This child named Liu Hanyue clearly excels at her studies. Inside the textbook, a test paper was tucked in, scoring a full hundred marks. The paper also contains remarks from the class teacher: "Liu Hanyue has always been hardworking in her studies, a well-behaved and understanding child who shows kindness to her classmates. However, her physical education grades are not up to par; hopefully, the parents can take her out for more physical activities during her free time."

Qi Chanyang, who has a younger sister, couldn't help but smile knowingly at this moment.

However, his sister differs from this young Liu Hanyue; his sister is overly fond of physical activities.

He wonders how she is doing now.

Qi Chanyang flicked through the paper with a melancholy expression, his gaze then became stern.

Following the teacher's remarks, a parent responded to the teacher in blue ink.

"Thank you for your concern, teacher. My spouse and I will certainly take Xiaoyue out for more physical activities."

"Parent: Ge Juan."

— Ge Juan.

Qi Chanyang immediately pulled out the hospital's promotional brochure, flipping to the page where the outstanding doctors were featured.

Associate Chief Physician: Ge Juan.

Biography: A doctoral student from XXX University, 41 years old, has won numerous awards domestically and internationally during her university tenure. Joined the city hospital post-graduation, later recruited by Lanshan Psychiatric Hospital as a physician. During her tenure at the hospital, she consecutively earned the title of "Most Popular Doctor Among Patients" for three years.

Compared to the other two doctors, whose photos were amiable and friendly, Ge Juan's photo seemed particularly stern.

And at 41, this age cannot be considered old, but certainly not young either.

In the picture, Ge Juan is wearing glasses. It is still evident that there are no bags under her eyes and her skin is smooth; judging by the photo alone, she seems no older than thirty.

Could the photo possibly be of Ge Juan at thirty?

That shouldn't be the case, the other doctors are also around forty years old and their photos match their ages; why is only her case so peculiar?

Just then, the person who was engrossed in an English journal beside him leaned in, remarking, "Huh? All three of them have received the 'Gold Conceive' award, you know."

"What?"

Qi Chanyang furrowed his brows, scrutinizing the accolades received by the three doctors.

Each of their profiles featured a long list of accolades spanning half a page. A quick glance revealed all English text; it wasn't something that caught their attention when they were reviewing it earlier.

Taking a closer look now, indeed, there was a line mentioning the Gold Conceive in each profile.

Qi Chanyang quickly flipped back to the first page, sure enough, this accolade was listed in the dean's honors as well.

"What kind of award is this?"

Qi Chanyang, not proficient in English, perceived these intricate words as potentially a significant international award in the scientific community.

Xie Fangcheng chimed in from the side, "Uhm... Golden Idea?"

"..." Suddenly, the whole situation seemed to resemble a segment from a Spring Festival Gala.

Qi Chanyang gave him a glance, then placed the test paper and the brochure together, pondering over the connection between them.

Ge Juan is 41 years old, married, and has a daughter.

The daughter is at least in fourth grade, meaning she is no younger than ten. She performs excellently academically at this age, although not so in physical education.

Both the dean who established the hospital and the three doctors have been recipients of the same award.

An idea seemed to dawn on Qi Chanyang as he lifted his head, gazing at the five shelves full of books in the reading room.

Is it customary for a psychiatric hospital to house this many neurology books?

Just then, Lu Xiaqin approached, holding a book.

"Qi ge, I found some annotations in this book."

It was a hefty English book, with an image of a human brain printed on the cover.

Qi Chanyang opened to the page with the annotations, where amidst the dense English text, a large section had been blacked out with a marker.

The person who obliterated this section seemed to be in a frantic state, leaving hasty annotations at the side.

"False! False! The experiment results are incorrect! The data is wrong!"

Qi Chanyang asked, "What does this section say? Can you understand it?"

Lu Xiaqin shook her head, "I can't decipher it."

Someone from the side interjected, "This page discusses an experiment involving the reconnection of neural pathways in a monkey's brain after a section had been removed. The blacked-out portion likely describes the procedural details."

Qi Chanyang looked at him, "Didn't you say you couldn't understand it well?"

"Oh, I was being modest."

Qi Chanyang: "…"

Qi Chanyang then placed this book aside as well.

The clues were not yet quite apparent, but Qi Chanyang was beginning to harbor a faint suspicion.

This psychiatric hospital seems to be engaged in some illicit human experiments, spearheaded by the dean, Chen Xiangyuan. Along with three doctors, they masquerade their operations under the guise of treating mental illnesses, deceiving the trust of the patients' families and conducting brain experiments on the patients.

What kind of experiments could these be?

Could these experiments be related to Ge Juan’s athletically challenged daughter and Ge Juan’s unusually youthful appearance?

Gold Conceive...

Qi Chanyang hurriedly shared the clues with everyone: "The hospital's dean and three doctors have all received an award called Gold Conceive. Keep an eye out for any clues regarding this award while searching."

Everyone responded in agreement.

Qi Chanyang prepared to sift through the pile of incomprehensible magazines. Just then, as he turned his head, he saw Xie Fangcheng holding a paper in one hand and a book in the other, apparently comparing the annotations in the book with the handwriting on the paper.

Although this newcomer is peculiar, the things he occasionally points out are quite useful.

Qi Chanyang hesitated for a moment before he couldn't help but approach him: "Have you noticed something?"

Xie Fangcheng placed the paper on the book and pointed to the annotations, "Look, don't the words in the book resemble the handwriting on the paper?"

Qi Chanyang scrutinized the annotations and flipped the paper over to look at Ge Juan's parental signature on the paper, his brows furrowing.

"I can't tell, perhaps Ge Juan was in a good mood when signing the paper, hence the neat handwriting. But she might have been agitated while reading this book, which would explain the scribbled handwriting."

Xie Fangcheng shook his head, "I'm not talking about Ge Juan's signature."

"Hmm?"

Xie Fangcheng flipped the paper back to the page with the teacher's signature.

"I was referring to these lines of the teacher's signature."

The teacher's signature?

Qi Chanyang looked closely, his frown deepening the more he observed.

The teacher's notes on the paper seemed quite casual, but indeed bore a striking resemblance to the handwriting in the book's annotations.

But how could this be?

If indeed penned by the same individual, this implies... that Ge Juan's daughter's class teacher is also affiliated with the Lan Shan Psychiatric Hospital.

Is it a doctor?

That seems unlikely; how could someone manage being both a doctor and a primary school class teacher simultaneously? Both jobs are demanding.

If it's not a doctor, then who could it be? A cook? A security guard? Or even a patient perhaps?

With these questions in mind, Qi Chanyang continued to sift through magazines and newspapers.

Before they knew it, the time had swiftly approached half past nine.

Regardless of the hospital's secrets or potentially dangerous experiments, their priority was to safely get through the first day.

“First, heed the instructions of the doctor NPCs as much as possible.”

“Second, if any abnormalities occur, try not to reveal your awareness. If you accidentally do, claim that you misperceived the situation.”

“Third, tonight the doctors might administer medication to everyone.”

As he spoke, Qi Chanyang pulled out eight cicada-shaped paper pieces from the system backpack.

"Generally speaking, there are no fatal rules on the first day. According to experience, adhering to the NPCs' words should allow a safe passage through the first day. However, if we unluckily encounter a fatal situation on the first day, being number one, I should be the first to take the medication. If we cannot gather during the medication time, I will use this to alert everyone regarding the safety of consumption."

"This is a one-time use tool, allowing group communication for half an hour upon activation. Tear it open if we confirm that we are separated during the medication time. However, I only have eight of these."

Qi Chanyang's gaze shifted to Xie Fangcheng: "You are number nine, presumably the last person to take the medicine. Hold onto this."

He handed over a badge to Xie Fangcheng.

"This is one of my skill items, called 'Broken Shadow Man'. I will try to inform you as soon as possible whether the pills are safe to consume. Try to stall for time before I notify you. If you can't delay any longer or if the NPCs show signs of aggression, squeeze this badge tightly. The shadow will help shield you for a short duration."

"But this shadow can only last for six minutes, during which you must find me for a rendezvous."

"I'm not certain about the NPCs' strengths, the shadow might dissipate before six minutes, so move quickly!"

In the end, Qi Chanyang looked at the eight newcomers before him.

"Of course, none of these measures guarantee complete safety. If you find yourself in danger, run. Running anywhere is better than remaining stationary and getting captured."

The reading room fell into silence, everyone exchanging wary glances as the palpable pressure of potential demise hung heavily above them.

Qi Chanyang turned his attention to the entrance of the reading room.

The doctor was still wandering aimlessly in the corridor, but perhaps due to the nearing ten o'clock, he peeked into the reading room countless times while passing by, his evidently non-human eyes darting rapidly, resembling a gourmet selecting ingredients.

Qi Chanyang calmly turned his head away.

"Let's go, newcomers. Prepare to face your first night in this replica."