“Chapter 6”

"Chapter 6"

"When Albert walked into the police station with Lan En, they inevitably attracted everyone's attention."

"A middle-aged policeman with a ruddy nose blurted out, 'Hey, Aiken, who's this handsome young man? This is the first time I'm hearing that you have such taste.'"

"'Knock it off, Old Mike,' Aiken retorted with a laugh, 'Watch your mouth. He's my junior from university, and I brought him here to help. Has the suspect spoken yet?'"

"Old Mike shrugged, 'Same as always. Those bastards don’t respect us cops at all, demanding a lawyer before they'll talk.'"

"'Got it, I’ll go check it out.'"

"Saying this, Albert quickly led Lan En inside, not waiting for others to react."

"His decision was wise, as soon after he left, younger officers began to react. One female officer exclaimed, 'My goodness, did you see the person following Chief Aiken? I thought he was a celebrity at first.'"

"'Yeah, he's incredibly handsome,' another female officer recovered from her daze, 'Now, all those stars on screen seem just so-so to me.'"

"Old Mike scoffed, 'Are you serious? Although the guy is handsome and seems friendly, he's not exactly TV material.'"

"He had barely finished speaking when he received pitying looks from the two."

"'What now?'"

"'I feel sorry for your taste in beauty.'"

"Meanwhile, Lan En followed Albert, weaving through the police station. Passing officers stared at his face in awe."

"Lan En had experienced enough of being the center of attention in the hospital and was no longer surprised by it. He curiously asked, 'The 'he' you mentioned to that person earlier, is that why you brought me here?'"

"'Yes, he's quite a headache,' Albert said, 'Do you know about Black Poker?'"

"Lan En: '...I don’t quite remember.'"

"'Alright, I forgot about your accident. Black Poker is a gang in our city, yes, the kind you're thinking of,' Albert readily provided an excuse for Lan En, 'Their members tattoo different poker cards on their bodies. The higher their rank, the higher the value of the card tattooed. So if you see someone with a poker tattoo on the street, it's best to avoid them.'"

"Lan En nodded, silently noting this information."

"Led by Albert, Lan En soon arrived at an interrogation room. As they entered, other policemen in the room looked at them."

"The interrogation room was similar to what Lan En had seen in movies and TV shows in his past life. A large one-way mirror divided the room, allowing clear observation of the suspect. One police officer would interrogate the suspect, while the others observed from behind the mirror."

"Besides the police, there was also a young man in a white lab coat in the room. He had black hair and eyes, looked no more than 28, with a stern face, prominent cheekbones, a somewhat harsh and cold demeanor, and wore silver-rimmed glasses. He was jotting something down while intently observing the suspect's facial expressions. Hearing the door, he turned his head to look at them."

"His gaze met Lan En's as he followed Albert into the room, and both visibly paused."

"Surprise flashed unabashedly in the former's eyes, while Lan En was filled with deep astonishment."

"Because he realized he seemed to know this person."

"Noticing their prolonged eye contact, Albert coughed, stepped between the black-haired youth and Lan En, and introduced, 'This is Lan En, my friend, and this is Archie Hayes, the police department's criminal psychology consultant.'"

"Archie Hayes."

"Lan En's eyes widened slightly. There was no mistake, that was indeed the name."

"The name and face were deeply etched in Lan En’s memory."

"Because the person was a famous key NPC in the later stages of the game."

"Question: In a Lovecraftian game where investigation is the main selling point, what NPC is most important? A professional mentor? A faction leader?"

"No! It's the psychiatrist capable of restoring sanity and pulling characters out of madness!"

"Once a player’s character card falls into permanent insanity, it becomes unusable, so veteran players cherish their powerful old cards."

"In old-school tabletop role-playing games, investigators usually receive a sanity recovery bonus after completing a dungeon. But in this game, this aspect was made too realistic. The only way to recover from temporary insanity was to visit a psychiatrist, preferably a highly skilled one."

"Therefore, Archie became highly sought after. Many players wanted to build a good relationship with him to receive treatment promptly. Plus, his tsundere, sharp-tongued personality, handsome looks, and mysterious past added three buffs, making him very popular among players."

"Of course, this NPC wasn’t always so popular. In fact, due to his difficult and sharp-tongued nature, he was once voted as the 'most disliked NPC' on player forums."

"By the way, during that time, Archie was also a frequent subject in the fanfiction community, especially in darker and more mature content."

"This changed after a storyline involving Archie's past was revealed."

"[How could I possibly forget him?]"

"[In my heart, I never left that burning city!]"

"This was a line from a dedicated player who focused on raising Archie’s affection level. It's part of an exclusive side quest about Archie's past that unlocks after gaining a certain level of trust with the NPC."

"Players were thrilled to find that Archie's exclusive side quest was linked to the famous storyline of Arkham's destruction, only narrated from Archie’s perspective. Although the outcome was the same inevitable failure, experiencing the game's most famous dungeon from another viewpoint, and completing many side stories and character arcs, was a treat for many."

"Some players shared information about the side quest, sparking widespread attention and discussion. Soon, detail-obsessed Sherlock Holmes-esque gamers gathered clues, pinpointing the 'him' in Archie’s words to a photo frame on his office desk."

"That photo had always been kept underneath others."

"As if the people in the office dared not directly face the person in the picture."

"If one sneaked into the office when Archie was away and lifted the frame, they would find a photograph of two people. Based on the information Archie revealed, the person in the photo was likely his childhood friend who died under mysterious circumstances in Arkham City."

"Afterward, Archie seemed to be incessantly investigating his friend’s death, unable to accept the reality of his passing."

"To the players, this undoubtedly seemed like Archie’s inability to move on from the shadow of his friend’s death."

"Such a poignant storyline was classic in tabletop RPGs."

"When Archie’s exclusive side quest was released, it instantly attracted a lot of fanfiction writers on forums. After a surge in fan works, Archie's popularity soared, transforming from the least liked NPC to everyone's favorite character."

"Even though Lan En wasn’t much into the fanfiction scene in his previous life, he was aware of Archie’s immense popularity there, along with many famous memes."

"Like, 'Archie, you don’t want anything to happen to your dear friend, do you?'"

"Pfft! Not that kind of meme!"

"Lan En shook his head, trying to rid his mind of those inappropriate thoughts… Wait, Archie’s friend was supposedly a police officer."

"Lan En suddenly turned towards Albert, scrutinizing him closely. Albert, noticing his gaze, though puzzled, tried his best to flash a bright, sunny smile."

"...It can't really be you, can it? The eternal crush from fanfiction redemption stories!"

"Although Lan En had never seen that photo, he couldn’t help but recall tags like 'Little Sun' and 'Spicy Blonde Man', and he involuntarily scanned Albert's shoulders, waist, and hips."

"...Yes, definitely spicy."

"At this moment, Archie had recovered from his initial astonishment, casting a strange glance at Albert, then turned back with a cold tone, 'Same as always. I’d advise you to give up early. This guy’s a tough nut to crack. It’s unrealistic to expect to extract information from him with just questioning.'"

"After speaking, he didn’t forget to curl his lip slightly, 'Of course, if you agree to let me use some... special methods, there might be a chance.'"

"'Cough, cough, certainly not. The human rights watchdogs are strict these days. Not just physical actions, even intimidating language could land us in court next week,' Albert said with a frown."

"'Then I can’t help. Don’t waste time on this, just give up.'"

"'But I’m concerned about the recent movements of Black Poker...' Albert coughed, 'So I brought another psychologist to assist you...'"

"The black-haired young man’s expression immediately turned cold, a mocking smile on his lips, 'Did I hear wrong, Albert? You brought someone to replace me?'"

"'No, I never thought that,' Albert waved his hands quickly, 'It's just that Black Poker's recent actions are too bizarre. There must be changes we’re unaware of. If we can't figure out the cause, we’ll be at a disadvantage later.'"

"Archie ignored him, turning to Lan En, 'How many years have you been practicing?'"

"Lan En was startled, not expecting Archie to talk to him, and hesitated before answering, 'I’ve just started, less than a year.'"

"If he counted his previous life's experience, he had been officially in the field for about five or six years. But his current self had only just graduated from school, saying less than a year was being generous."

"Archie caught the nuance in his words, glanced at Lan En's youthful face, understood immediately, and snorted, turning away, 'Charlie, show them out.'"

"A nearby policeman looked awkwardly at Albert and the others."

"Lan En wasn’t offended; after all, he wasn’t specialized in criminal psychology. This was Archie’s territory, so it was natural to leave it to the expert. Besides, his current self was just a fresh graduate with no experience, so it was no surprise he wasn’t trusted."

"But Albert seemed to misunderstand Lan En’s silence, turning to reassure him, 'Don’t worry, Lan En, regardless of the outcome, your pay for today is assured.'"

"Archie: 'I don’t remember the police station being a charity organization.'"

"'Archie, come with me for a moment, I need to talk to you,' Albert said, stepping forward to put his arm around Archie’s shoulder, ignoring Archie’s cold demeanor as he guided him towards the door."

"As soon as they stepped out of the interrogation room, Archie quickly shrugged off Albert’s hand and took a step back, straightening his lab coat irritably, 'Don’t touch me like that. Have you lost your mind, bringing a novice to the interrogation room?'"

"'He’s not exactly a novice,' Albert tried to justify."

"'Right, a little rabbit fresh out of the ivory tower, thinking a bit of textbook knowledge makes him fit for this line of work. He’s not even an amateur,' Archie scoffed coldly, leaning against the wall and eyeing Albert, 'What about you? Don’t tell me you're so naive as to believe he can be effective. It’d be more reasonable for him to sell his looks than to be in a psychological treatment room. Don’t tell me you did this because you’re infatuated with him.'"

"At this, Albert remained silent for a long time, prompting Archie to frown and scrutinize him, 'Don’t tell me you really…'"

"'Actually, I came to ask for your help,' Albert changed the subject."

"'What, if you're going to give him a chance or something...' Archie glared threateningly."

"'It’s not that,' Albert shook his head, hesitating before saying, 'Actually, I brought him here because I want you to assess Lan En’s psychological state.'"

"'What do you mean?'"

"Albert hesitated, then said, 'I feel Lan En has been acting a bit strange since he recovered from his injuries.'"

"Archie frowned, 'Any specific examples?'"

"'For instance, he hasn’t regained his former memories,' Albert mused, thumb propped against his chin, 'And... his behavior patterns seem slightly different from before...'"

"After a few seconds of hesitation, he shook his head again, 'Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I’m worried the fire might have left a psychological trauma. I tried to indirectly suggest psychiatric consultation in the hospital, but he was very resistant. Lan En is a psychology graduate himself. If he’s on guard, forced psychological intervention is pointless.'"

"'So that’s why you brought him here?' Archie raised an eyebrow, somewhat accepting the explanation, 'But I refuse.'"

"'Why?'"

"'First, my field is criminal psychology, not an expert in psychological disorders. Second,' Archie looked at him, 'even if he does have psychological issues, what does that have to do with you? I don’t remember you being this kind of good Samaritan.'"

Albert opened his mouth, but under Archie's gaze, a blush slowly crept up his ears, his eyes unconsciously darting away.

"...Hey, you're not really..."

"Please, Archie," Albert said, "You're the only expert in the psychological field I know. Only you can help me."

Archie was silent for a moment, then looked away: "I'll do a psychological analysis for him, but I can't guarantee the results."

Albert sighed in relief: "That's enough, then."