They all rolled dice, and the entire reconnaissance team passed. So, before deciding to go to the empty room on the third floor, they noticed a boy, about ten years old, sitting in the rest area. He was attentively observing their every move.
When they looked at the boy, he paused for a moment. However, he didn’t show the typical shyness of a regular child. Instead, his gaze became even more intense, boldly staring at them.
After that, he walked straight towards them and said to everyone, “You’re staying here overnight.”
Shen Lin: “?”
After saying this, the boy turned to leave.
Shen Lin asked him, “Why?”
The boy confidently replied, “Why.”
Zheng De stepped forward to stop him, and the boy looked at them warily, asking, “What do you want to do?”
Zheng De said, “I want to intimidate him. Kids of his age listen to nonsense. Intimidation works best.”
“…He’s just a child,” Han Qianqiu said. “Should I charm him?”
Zheng De looked at Han Qianqiu strangely and returned the words as they were, “He’s just a child.”
Shen Lin said, “Logic.”
KP secretly threw a dice with an unknown result. Afterward, Shen Lin noticed that the boy showed no signs of fear or any emotional fluctuations when they tried to stop him—no fear, no apprehension, nothing.
A tough nut.
He guessed that neither intimidation nor charm would work on this boy.
Shen Lin thought for a moment and asked him, “How did you end up here alone?”
“You mind your own business,” the boy said. “I warned you all. You’re staying here overnight.”
Shen Lin said, “I am the doctor here. Sometimes I need to be on duty at night. If you can tell me why you can stay overnight here, I can find a convincing excuse for them and get the night shift.”
The boy hesitated.
Shen Lin continued, “I assume your persuasion is well-intentioned, but some things are hard to avoid. You know, the adult world often needs an excuse. Can you help me with this?”
“You’re just like those adults,” the boy admired Shen Lin. “They treat me like a child, but I know more than every one of them.” He glanced disdainfully at the others, then took a step forward, hooking Shen Lin’s fingers. “I’ll only tell one person, follow me.”
The boy’s hand was cold, and his frame was slender. Shen Lin felt like touching a piece of ice where the boy held him. However, without hesitation, Shen Lin firmly held the boy’s cold hand with his own large palm.
The boy paused for a moment but soon continued, leading Shen Lin to a secluded corner.
They stopped at a wall corner, and the boy, looking serious, said, “At night, something terrifying appears here. The whole body is shrouded in black mist, randomly appearing in a corner. There’s a giant black scythe, the blade dripping with fresh red blood, floating in midair, constantly moving. The blood drips down in a rhythmic pattern, forming a line behind it. Finally, it enters a ward, uses the scythe to cut open the person’s body, and takes away their soul.”
Shen Lin: “…………”
Shen Lin: “Logic.”
KP rolls the dice.
Shen Lin sensed that the boy’s attitude was very serious and saw through his lie.
The boy had sharp observational skills. Shen Lin only hesitated for a moment, and the boy caught that brief moment, his eyes becoming colder. He looked guarded. “Do you believe?”
“I believe,” Shen Lin nodded. “I was just frightened. You described it very vividly. I’ve never heard of such a thing here.”
The boy relaxed his expression slightly but remained skeptical. “Do you really believe?”
“Of course, I believe,” Shen Lin earnestly replied. “Why would you think I don’t? It sounds genuine.”
“Because they don’t believe,” without finding any suspicious points anymore, the boy let go of his guard. He said expressionlessly, “They are stupid adults.”
Shen Lin asked, “Is there anyone else who knows about this?”
“Yes,” the boy nodded. “I saw it with my own eyes. I told Sister Xiaoning, she didn’t believe. I told Uncle Wang, he didn’t believe either. So, I won’t tell anyone else.”
“It seems I am an exception,” Shen Lin smiled. “Thank you for your trust. What’s your name?”
The boy hesitated for a moment and said, “I’m Liu Xiaotao. What about you?”
“Shen Lin.”
“Little brother Lin,” the boy glanced at Han Qianqiu and the others, who were curiously looking in their direction, and said, “Will you tell them about this? They will tell Sister Xiaoning and Uncle Wang, and I’ll be locked up.” After struggling for a while, he added, “But you must persuade them not to stay here overnight; it’s dangerous, really dangerous.”
“I will do my best,” Shen Lin said. “But I can’t guarantee that the adults will listen.”
“I know,” the boy snorted. “That’s why I hate these adults. They think they know everything.”
“Liu Xiaotao!” A young nurse rushed down from upstairs. She nervously checked Liu Xiaotao’s condition and sighed in relief, “Why did you run out again? You should have told Sister in advance; Sister would have worried about you.”
“I left a note,” Liu Xiaotao took a few steps back, noticeably leaning toward Shen Lin, “I just came out for some fresh air. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Talking nonsense again. How can we not worry about you?” The nurse looked at him helplessly, waved, and said, “Okay, go back with Sister Xiaoning. We still need to check your condition later. If your condition is good, you might need less medication. Be obedient.”
So, he’s a mental patient here, Shen Lin thought, now understanding his condition.
Liu Xiaotao reluctantly looked back at Shen Lin, and Shen Lin patted his head, asking, “In which ward? I’ll come and check on you later.”
“205!” Before Liu Xiaotao could answer, the nurse, eager, asked, “Dr. Shen, are you coming later?”
“Yes,” Shen Lin responded.
“I’ll take him upstairs for an examination first,” the nurse held Liu Xiaotao’s hand. Shen Lin noticed that even though she was holding it, she only hooked her fingers with Liu Xiaotao’s, avoiding excessive skin contact.
Shen Lin rejoined the others. Han Qianqiu asked curiously, “What’s going on? What did the kid say?”
“Nothing,” Shen Lin, considering breaking the agreement with Liu Xiaotao, said, “He asked me to persuade you not to stay here overnight. It’s dangerous.”
“Why is it dangerous? What might happen?” Zheng De asked.
Shen Lin said, “I made an agreement with him. If he finds out that I told you and the others, he will be on guard against me.”
“This is not fun anymore,” Zheng De said. “It’s a team-based game; we need to share information. If he finds out, it’s over.”
Shen Lin maintained a stern expression, sticking to his decision.
Zheng De clicked his tongue and shrugged, “Fine, suit yourself. So, are we still going to the room on the third floor?”
“Sure, why not?” Xia He rubbed his hands together eagerly. “I’m most interested in this. Shall I go ahead?”
“Sure.”
The group headed towards the third floor. The corridors on each level were deserted. Occasionally, they saw patients, and the nurses in blue and white uniforms walked lazily, lacking any enthusiasm.
Shen Lin remarked, “Let’s conduct an anthropology study on these nurses.”
Anthropology is the skill to recognize and understand a person’s lifestyle and behavior through observation.
Shen Lin rolled the dice: 65/50, success.
Observing closely, Shen Lin noticed that the nurses’ laziness was ingrained in them. They belonged to the type who “hold on to their dead-end jobs, waiting for retirement,” showing no passion for their work.
“That seems right,” Shen Lin said. “This psychiatric ward recently received an award, the city-level Outstanding Psychiatric Ward Award. The nurses’ lax attitude is in line with that.”
They eventually reached the third floor. The signboards indicated the navigation for the various sections with similar symptoms. In the distance, there was a nurse station, and the nurse at the front desk was painting her nails. To reach the room Zhao Xin mentioned, they had to pass through this area.
Zheng De said, “I’ll try sneaking.”
He rolled the dice and succeeded.
Zheng De crouched low, sneaking under the nurse’s nose and disappearing behind the nurse station. He stood in a safe spot, waved to the others, and mouthed, “Come.”
The others also rolled for stealth, and Han Qianqiu and Yan Xiu failed.
Han Qianqiu said, “…You guys go. I’ll go somewhere else with Brother One.”
“That works,” Xia He said. “It’s best to split up. While time keeps moving forward, sticking together may not reveal all the clues.”
Shen Lin remembered Liu Xiaotao he had seen earlier and the image described by him. There was something peculiar about it. “I’ll go too. I’ll go to the second floor.”
“Then we’ll follow you to the second floor. What’s wrong with the second floor?” Han Qianqiu asked.
“I’ll go on my own. You guys check out other places,” Shen Lin said.
Yan Xiu looked at him curiously. This time, the character he created for Shen Lin suited him well. The young man with gold-rimmed glasses had a doctor’s demeanor, meticulous thinking, a calm mind, and the white coat looked both sacred and cold.
Yan Xiu withdrew his gaze. He had his plans. “I’ll go to the first floor.”
“Ah? What’s wrong with the first floor?” Han Qianqiu, living the life of ‘a hundred thousand whats,’ felt a bit confused; he hadn’t grasped the essence of the game yet.
“Going to check the doctor’s information hanging on the wall?” Shen Lin guessed. He reminded Han Qianqiu, “We find the clues ourselves, make good use of our skills. KP occasionally provides us with hints, but how we proceed depends on us. Try more, communicate more.”
Han Qianqiu widened his eyes and nodded repeatedly. “I understand. So, I’ll go with Brother One to the first-floor lobby. There’s more information there, and I’ll help check.”
After they left, KP asked Shen Lin, “You want to find Room 205, right? You’re not very familiar with the second floor. Let me provide navigation.”
Shen Lin didn’t choose navigation and just kept the default 10 points.
He casually rolled the dice: 10/7, success.
KP: “…”
He quickly found Room 205 on the second floor. The room was at the far end, with a small side door. It wasn’t easy to locate, considering the geographical layout. They needed to pass through this navigation to reach the room Zhao Xin mentioned.
Standing at the door, Shen Lin looked at the sign hanging on the wall outside.
[Room 205]
Attending Doctor: Wang Jing’an.
Attending Nurse: Fang Ning.
He knocked on the door, and a nurse’s voice came from inside, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Shen Lin.”
The room fell silent for a moment. After a while, the young nurse with a red face opened the door for Shen Lin, “Dr. Shen, you’re here?”
Shen Lin nodded and, with a fleeting glance, looked at Liu Xiaotao sitting on the bed.
Liu Xiaotao appeared very calm. He always had this composed look when expressing emotions. However, since Shen Lin appeared in his line of sight, he had been staring in this direction, eyes unwavering. Shen Lin read a trace of welcome and anticipation from his gaze.
Beside him stood a tall, slender doctor, using a stethoscope to check Liu Xiaotao’s heart rate. Nurse Fang Ning said to Shen Lin, “Dr. Shen, let’s step outside and let Xiaotao undergo a checkup.”
“Alright.” Shen Lin nodded.
Fang Ning and he sat on chairs outside the room. Shen Lin asked, “What’s his issue?”
Fang Ning said, “Split Personality Disorder. He displayed mild paranoid symptoms, more severe before but significantly improved after some treatment. Now, he’s much better.”
“Paranoid symptoms? What kind of delusions did he have?”
Fang Ning smiled helplessly, “He said he saw the Angel of Death, draped in black mist like a cloak, descending on the hospital at night. It would carry a black scythe, cut open the chest and abdomen of patients here, and take away their souls. His description was so vivid, even the dripping blood seemed like he had seen it firsthand. The child’s imagination is truly extraordinary.”
Shen Lin asked, “When did this start? Has it always been like this?”
“About half a month ago,” Fang Ning recalled. “Nothing recently.”
Listening to Fang Ning, Shen Lin found it challenging to determine whether Liu Xiaotao had truly seen what he described or if it was a false imagination existing in his delusional world.
At that moment, the door opened, and the tall, thin young doctor came out. His gaze fell on Shen Lin’s face, then glanced at Fang Ning, who was blushing beside him, revealing a sarcastic smile.
“…” Shen Lin, thinking about the most solid shape in the world, was momentarily puzzled.
