Chapter 27: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part 27)

Chapter 27: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Twenty-Seven)

Gu Shanshan's heart jolted abruptly, and she couldn't help but take a step back.

Xie Fangcheng glanced once at the skull, then turned to ask Gu Shanshan, “What does it mean?”

Gu Shanshan was momentarily stunned, “What do you mean, 'what does it mean'?”

“The things you mentioned earlier.” Xie Fangcheng was somewhat embarrassed, “I didn't understand.”

Gu Shanshan summarized for him, “In essence, I suspect that the current Ge Juan is not the real Ge Juan. This person is impersonating her.”

Xie Fangcheng uttered a long, “Oh,” then inquired, “How did you figure it out?”

“Previously, Ge Juan had signed on Liu Hanyue's papers. At that time, Ge Juan's handwriting was very clear, showing a deep concern and affection for her daughter even between the lines. How could such a loving mother bear to harm her own daughter?”

Xie Fangcheng responded with another, “Oh.”

Gu Shanshan observed his expression, somewhat helpless, “Brother Xie, did you still not understand?”

Xie Fangcheng waved his hand magnanimously, “It doesn't matter, you can just tell me directly who needs to be dealt with.”

Gu Shanshan: "..."

This is reliability on a whole different level.

Just at that moment, hesitant knocking sounds emanated from the doorway.

Gu Shanshan had a realization.

Why was this impostor Ge Juan working as a cleaner, and why did she have to keep the floor clean at night?

Gu Shanshan turned her head slightly, cautiously eyeing the terrifying skull.

This object would fall onto the reading room's floor at midnight, and Ge Juan had come to clean it up.

On the other side, Xie Fangcheng had already flung the door open with one move.

Upon seeing him, Ge Juan didn't utter a word, abandoned her work, and turned to run.

“Hey!” Xie Fangcheng was frustrated.

What was going on with these NPCs? Each one reacted to seeing him as if they had seen a ghost.

Meanwhile, Gu Shanshan had bravely approached the skull.

The skull, which had been burned countless times, was covered in charred marks, completely obscuring its original appearance.

Where had this skull fallen from?

Gu Shanshan looked up.

The bookshelves in the reading room were quite tall, seemingly connected to the ceiling.

But upon a careful inspection now, Gu Shanshan noticed that the very top of the third row of bookshelves seemed to be slightly shorter.

“Brother Xie, it seems like it fell from there.” Gu Shanshan pointed out.

After pointing, she looked around.

There were no scaffolds in the room. The shelves were so high, how could they possibly see what was on top of them?

Xie Fangcheng glanced over and calmly stated, “There is a ladder in the kitchen, I will go get it.”

Gu Shanshan hurriedly said, “I will go with you.”

The two exited the reading room, the corridor was eerily quiet, save for their footsteps.

The sound of footsteps seemed even more terrifying in this ominous and frightful environment. Gu Shanshan couldn't help but make conversation to break the silence, “Brother Xie, how did you know there was a ladder in the cafeteria?”

“I was here yesterday.”

Subsequently, Xie Fangcheng proved that he truly had been here before.

Upon reaching the cafeteria's entrance, Xie Fangcheng skillfully pulled off the lock from the cafeteria door and tossed it aside, then opened the door, greeting, “Hey, I came to borrow something from you.”

In the back kitchen, the kitchen NPC was preparing the meals for the next day.

Upon hearing those words, the NPC turned stiffly, let out a shriek, and transformed into a swarm of bats that fluttered up to the ceiling, curling up together.

Gu Shanshan: "..." What on earth did Brother Xie do yesterday to scare every single NPC like this?

Xie Fangcheng seemed unbothered. As he walked to the back kitchen, the bats on the ceiling dispersed like a flock of sheep being driven away, avoiding the spot where he stood.

Sure enough, there was a ladder leaning against the wall in the back kitchen. Xie Fangcheng carried a rod in his left hand and the ladder in his right, both were kitchen tools.

The NPC on the ceiling spoke softly: "The dean doesn't allow taking kitchen items out..."

"He dares to dictate me?" Xie Fangcheng was astonished.

The NPC remained silent.

Gu Shanshan thought to herself that this was quite arrogant.

As they reached the door, Xie Fangcheng suddenly turned around and shouted at the bats clinging to the ceiling: "Also, don't prepare the same dishes for us every day, okay? Put some thought into the menu, won't you? Take your job seriously!"

The chef NPC: "..."

Gu Shanshan: "..."

.

Once in the reading room, Xie Fangcheng set up the ladder and climbed it, pausing for a moment.

Gu Shanshan asked from below, "What's up there?"

Xie Fangcheng hesitated before saying, "Burnt remains, do you want to come up and see?"

Gu Shanshan nodded eagerly, "Yes!"

After climbing up, Gu Shanshan exclaimed involuntarily, "It's so shattered??"

The top of the bookshelf housed countless fragmented bones, looking as if they had been deliberately smashed by someone.

Suppressing a feeling of nausea, Gu Shanshan reached into the pile of bones to explore.

Shortly, her fingertips brushed against something metallic.

Gu Shanshan pulled it out.

It was a lady's ring. After wiping off the layer of ash on it, she held it up to the light in the reading room to see the inscription on the ring.

"…CXY?"

Gu Shanshan froze for a moment, then quickly realized: "Chen Xiangyuan!"

Gu Shanshan descended the ladder with the ring in hand, and closely examined it in front of her eyes.

"The ring looks quite new, with only a few scratches, it doesn't seem like it was burned with this pile of bones. It's more like someone hid it within the pile of bones deliberately."

Gu Shanshan furrowed her brow.

This lady's ring, engraved with a name, appears to be a couple's commitment ring.

Could it belong to Chen Xiangyuan's lover? Who is this person, and who left it here?

What about the skull and these shattered bones? Do they belong to the original Ge Juan?

If the current Ge Juan is not Ge Juan, then who is she?

Gu Shanshan’s gaze swept over the shelves in the reading room. She seemed to have thought of something, abruptly standing up and walking briskly to a certain book, pulling out the thick volume.

On their first day searching for clues in the reading room, Lu Xiaoqin found a book with some handwriting in it.

After comparison, the handwriting in the book belonged to Liu Hanyue's homeroom teacher — at that time, Gu Shanshan assumed that it was written by Liu Hanyue after having her teacher's hand transplanted...

But perhaps there's another possibility.

"Is it possible that the writing in this book was actually penned by Liu Hanyue's homeroom teacher?"

Gu Shanshan thought quickly: "This person was also researching the head transplant surgery, and they are also in this hospital..."

— Perhaps the current Ge Juan... is this homeroom teacher!

Ge Juan's job is cleaning, she is clearly an associate chief physician, yet unlike Han Qi and He Xin, she isn't dressed in a white coat working as a doctor but is instead working as a cleaner.

Maybe it's because... the current Ge Juan doesn't have the qualifications to be a doctor, and she needs to be the first to clean up the head that falls off at twelve o'clock every day.

Why the rush to clean it up?

Is it to cover up something?

Gu Shanshan frowned deeply in thought, opening the hospital’s promotional brochure once more and flipping to the page with Ge Juan's personal information, she quickly pieced together a clue.

"Brother Xie, let's make a trip to Liu Hanyue's room!"

In Liu Hanyue's room, the medicated Liu Hanyue had disappeared without a trace.

The two of them searched thoroughly, but found no hints of the clue Shanshan hoped to find in the books on the table.

Gu Shanshan pondered for a moment before pulling open a drawer.

Liu Hanyue's desk was meticulously tidy and clean, with her stationary neatly arranged in the first drawer.

Gu Shanshan took out several well-used erasers. Eventually, upon unwrapping one of the square erasers, she found a few lines of tiny characters on the back of the wrapping paper.

It seemed to be a subtle way kids might use to pass notes secretly.

"Should we give flowers to Teacher Gu for Teacher's Day?"

—— Absolutely, she's really great.

"Of course you think she's great, she's always stern with us but shows particular concern for you."

—— Hehe!

Teacher Gu.

This Teacher Gu might be Liu Hanyue's homeroom teacher.

Only one last step remains...

Gu Shanshan tore off a piece of paper, throwing it onto the ground, and waited silently.

There was no sound of knocking coming from the doorway.

Gu Shanshan placed the ring on the table, the clues in her mind finally coming together.

"I've figured it out…"

Xie Fangcheng hastily asked, "What?"

Gu Shanshan first spread open the promotional brochure, flipping to the page with Ge Juan’s details.

"Everyone’s left and right sides of the face have slight asymmetries, take a look, Brother Xie."

Xie Fangcheng looked closely and quickly noticed the issue.

"Ge Juan's left and right sides of her face are identical?"

"Yes." Gu Shanshan folded the page in half, revealing only the left half of Ge Juan's face. "In the photo, Ge Juan's right face is a mirror image of her left."

This hospital specializes in head transplantation surgeries, but such procedures necessitate keeping one-half and replacing the other. The half of Ge Juan's face that is visible is intact, the other half, marred by sulfuric acid, remains a mystery, as no one knows its true appearance.

Why wasn't the half of the face marred by sulfuric acid repaired?

In this bizarre hospital, even when Han Qi was struck with a rod by Xie Fangcheng, he managed to recover quickly.

Therefore, there is only one explanation: the current Ge Juan has had half of the original Ge Juan's face transplanted onto her.

"Also, I suspect that the current Ge Juan isn't the Ge Juan from before, and the hospital director is unaware of this." Gu Shanshan touched the ring, "Because... Ge Juan might be in a romantic relationship with the hospital director."

"What??" Xie Fangcheng exclaimed in shock.

Gu Shanshan analyzed, "Earlier in the reading room, Ge Juan arrived quickly after the appearance of the skull, and she hesitated significantly before knocking, clearly worried that you might be in the room. Despite her concern, why did she still knock? Because the skull is crucial, she couldn't risk anyone else finding out."

"In this hospital, Ge Juan's capabilities surpass those of Han Qi and He Xin, comparable to Liu Hanyue's. The only person who could potentially restrain and pose a threat to her is the hospital director."

"Therefore, her immediate arrival to clean up the skull is likely to prevent the hospital director from finding out. Why keep it from the director? Because she is impersonating Ge Juan, and she cannot let the director know that the real Ge Juan is dead."

"And this ring found in the pile of bones... It is a platinum ring, not adorned with any diamonds, probably a part of a couple's matching rings. That is to say, this ring belongs to Chen Xiangyuan's partner."

"If the NPCs of this replica have already appeared, given the clues we have, I'm inclined to believe that Ge Juan was involved with Chen Xiangyuan, possibly even before her divorce."

"That skeleton is Ge Juan's remains."

Not only that, but there are also a great many details pointing towards this conclusion.

"Ge Juan" claimed that she hasn't seen Liu Hanyue in a long time. If she really is her biological mother, and given that her flesh and blood is in the hospital and she has the freedom to move around at night, why can't they meet?

There's only one explanation: Liu Hanyue's abilities are comparable to this current Ge Juan, who is deliberately avoiding her.

Although she transplanted half of Ge Juan's face, Liu Hanyue is Ge Juan's daughter and might very well uncover this secret.

Has Liu Hanyue already found out?

Does she know that this Ge Juan is not her real mother?

After finishing her analysis, Gu Shanshan lifted her head and fell silent for a moment.

"It's alright, Brother Xie, if you don't understand, it doesn't matter. Being able to fight is enough." Saying this, Gu Shanshan gripped the ring in her hand, "Perhaps this is the key to clearing the level."

.

The next morning.

As the players woke up one after another, they exchanged glances, followed by a moment of silence.

Perhaps due to consuming two pills, the changes in Qi Chanyang were the most prominent.

He ran his fingers through his hair that now reached his earlobes and let out a bitter smile, "This is the first time my hair has grown this long."

Not only was his hair much longer, but his limbs had also grown quite a bit.

Lu Xiaoxin was pale, having taken the most pills among them - two and a half in total. Due to her severe injuries yesterday, even though there were signs of mutation, she still needed assistance to move.

Hearing Qi Chanyang's remark, Lu Xiaoxin fished a hair tie from her bag and handed it to him.

"Brother Qi, do you want to tie your hair back?"

Qi Chanyang took the hair tie and examined it. It had a little plastic bear on it, looking exceedingly cute.

Qi Chanyang hesitated, "This is a bit too cute, isn't it..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Xie Fangcheng had already approached Lu Xiaoxin: "Do you have another hair tie?"

"Ah, yes..." Lu Xiaoxin rummaged through her bag and pulled out another one.

This one was even cuter - a plastic little rabbit holding a carrot adorned it, with the cartoon rabbit's ears being fluffy to the touch.

Xie Fangcheng thanked her and without further ado, replaced his tight hair tie with the new one.

Qi Chanyang: "..."

Jie Fangcheng noticed his expression and explained, "The elasticity of this one isn't great. If I loop it twice, it's too loose, but three times, it's too tight."

He said, then shook his head demonstratively, "But this one fits perfectly!"

Qi Chanyang watched, somewhat bewildered, as this big shot - who had been chasing NPCs all over the place - now sported a hair tie adorned with a small white rabbit, feeling as if his vision was beginning to swirl... and it wasn't just a feeling.

Qi Chanyang furrowed his brow, "Everything I look at seems to be curving somehow."

Lu Xiaoqin nodded in agreement, "I wanted to say earlier... I, I see this table, and it has a kind of subtle wave-like form. And for some reason..."

Lu Xiaoqin cast a cautious glance at He Xin who stood at the door.

Today, both of He Xin’s arms had disappeared. He stood rigidly at the entrance, his head bowed, lost in thought.

Realizing he was being observed, He Xin slowly lifted his head.

Lu Xiaoqin, usually timid, would instinctively avert her eyes in the past.

But this time, she held her gaze firmly on He Xin.

"I think... he doesn't seem as terrifying anymore."

Qi Chanyang nodded, "Yes. After taking that medicine, I feel I could easily overpower He Xin now. My strength is probably on par with Ge Juan's."

Understanding dawned on Jie Fangcheng.

It seemed that the medicine indeed brought the players increasingly closer to the monsters, while also enhancing their capabilities.

Whether this was good or bad remained unclear.

After their meal, they gathered again in the reading room. Once Gu Shanshan finished recounting the discoveries from yesterday, Qi Chanyang’s brow knitted in deep thought.

"Let's consolidate the information we have at the moment."

"Liu Hanyue’s mother was originally Ge Juan, who later divorced her husband. Now this Ge Juan — is Liu Hanyue’s class teacher, Teacher Gu. Utilizing a face transplant surgery, she adopted half of Ge Juan's face. To prevent the dean from finding out, she hid Ge Juan's corpse in the uppermost cabinet of the reading room."

"...But there are still inconsistencies."

Qi Chanyang recalled, "When I faced Liu Hanyue yesterday, the young girl herself said that she despises Ge Juan, even going as far as throwing sulfuric acid on half of Ge Juan's face. If the face transplant had already taken place by then, Liu Hanyue would have undoubtedly noticed. Therefore, the victim of the acid attack must have been the real Ge Juan."

"Liu Hanyue's hatred for Ge Juan is genuine. What did Ge Juan do to incite such hatred from her own daughter?"

At this point, Jie Fangcheng interjected, "Liu Hanyue has a functioning right eye, while Liu Hanxi has a functioning left eye."

Qi Chanyang frowned, "Could it be... Ge Juan had one of her daughter's eyes transplanted to Liu Hanxi?"

"It's very likely," Gu Shanshan nodded, "In Liu Hanyue's photo album, there's a page where her left eye looks very odd, and from that page onwards, she never smiled again."

Qi Chanyang still felt that something was amiss.

"I can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong with this situation... but no matter what, we might be able to get through tonight safely."

"What do you mean?"

"With this ring, we might be able to use it to handle the Dean tonight."

The players have already taken the drug twice, it's impossible to take it a third time tonight, and they will definitely face the Dean in the evening.

But the only person capable of defeating the Dean, Xie Fangcheng, cannot see the Dean. Even with Qi Chanyang controlling the shadow people to guide from the side, it still seems excessively dangerous.

Having this ring might just be like how Wang He recorded his wife's name in his diary, potentially preventing the Dean from attacking them.

At this moment, Xie Fangcheng, who was listening by the side, raised his hand, "How about I just take two pills directly and face the Dean with you guys? Would that work?"

Qi Chanyang shook his head.

He took two pieces of paper, tore several holes in one, and laid it on top of the other, explaining, "We are currently in a branch instance, which is like this current state. We can see the entire situation of the branch instance and some of the main storyline.

"The main storyline is like the paper underneath." Qi Chanyang removed the torn paper, "This paper represents the base. Meanwhile, we in the branch instance are affected by it, thus creating blind spots in the main storyline."

"Oh," Xie Fangcheng nodded, "I didn't get it, but it won't work, right?"

Qi Chanyang was quite patient, "What part didn't you understand?"

Saying this, he good-naturedly tore the paper in his hand a bit more, seemingly ready to demonstrate once again.

Xie Fangcheng quickly replied, "I got it."

Qi Chanyang: "…"