Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital!
Director Hao refreshed his Moments feed, a little disgruntled. "That guy's a real dog. He used to call me 'bro' all the time, so cheerfully, and now he's blocked me."
Lin Fan was a patient at their hospital.
He should have been the first to publicly praise Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital, but someone else had beaten him to it.
This was unacceptable.
Director Hao sat at his computer, logged into the official website's backend, placed his hands on the keyboard, and pondered for a moment.
Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital: A Case Study of Remarkable Therapeutic Efficacy
A perfect title. His fingers flew across the keyboard, the keys clicking and clacking. He had to take advantage of this opportunity to leverage his patients; otherwise, all those years of accumulating gray hairs would have been for nothing.
So you think you can take all the credit? He's still a patient at my hospital.
Back at the hospital...
Lin Fan and Old Man Zhang sat cross-legged on the bed, staring blankly at the cola and Sprite in their hands.
"This isn't cola. It tastes awful."
"This isn't Sprite. It tastes awful."
"I want cola."
"I want Sprite."
Zhang Hongmin sat quietly beside them, not daring to speak. The two psychiatric patients were clearly having an episode. They were drinking cola and Sprite, yet claiming they weren't.
The nurse standing at the door overheard their conversation, but she didn't dare say a word.
The doctor had told her, "Whatever the patients say, just agree. Don't argue with them. There's no benefit in it. Just observe quietly."
Old Man Zhang poked Lin Fan's calf and pointed at the one-eyed man. "He's a really good person."
"Why?" Lin Fan asked.
"He didn't take my watch, and he even gave me money." Old Man Zhang cherished his watch. He had spent a lot of money on it, and although it often malfunctioned, he loved it.
"Then he really is a good person," Lin Fan agreed.
The two of them gurgled down their drinks.
The one-eyed man spoke, "You promised to tell me about your situation earlier. Can you tell me now?"
"Sure," Lin Fan replied calmly.
"Do you really use electricity to stimulate your body? What does it feel like?" the one-eyed man asked. He had read Director Hao's files. Surviving multiple electrocutions was definitely suspicious.
Lin Fan thought for a moment. "It doesn't feel like much. Just numb, a little sour, dizzy. It's hard to describe."
"Why do you do it?" the one-eyed man pressed.
"I'm cultivating," Lin Fan said, looking at the one-eyed man. Then he added, "It's very effective. If he gives me a few more injections, it'll feel even better. Didn't you feel really good after he injected you twice?"
The one-eyed man looked at Lin Fan, then at Old Man Zhang, and sighed.
As expected, he had been overthinking it.
It was indeed difficult to communicate with psychiatric patients. He admitted defeat and didn't want to ask any more questions. He had been reading too much into it, thinking he could uncover something significant.
Fifty thousand yuan wasn't much; he didn't mind the loss. A loss is a blessing. He would know better next time.
The one-eyed man turned his head away, not wanting to speak to them anymore.
The sky gradually darkened.
"Old Zhang, are you hungry?" Lin Fan asked.
Old Man Zhang rubbed his stomach. "A little."
"Let's go out to eat," Lin Fan suggested.
"Okay."
The two psychiatric patients put on their shoes and walked towards the exit. The nurse guarding the door had gone to the restroom to change her sanitary pad because of her period, giving them the opportunity to slip away.
The one-eyed man watched them leave and sent a message to the group chat on his phone.
[I'll be back tomorrow. Patrol the city tonight, four in a group. Eliminate any evil creatures on sight.]
Lin Fan and Old Man Zhang strolled hand-in-hand down the hospital corridor.
A young man, witnessing this scene, felt a pang of emotion. He remembered his father holding his hand when he was a child, accompanying him as he grew up. Now his father was old, and he had grown up, but they no longer held hands like they did back then.
He felt embarrassed. He was already grown up, so why hold hands?
"Son, what's wrong?" the elderly patient asked, noticing his son's daze.
The young man said, "Dad, let me hold your hand, just like you held mine when I was little."
The elderly patient was taken aback, then smiled. "Son, hold Dad's hand."
"Okay."
A heartwarming scene unfolded, influenced by the two psychiatric patients.
Lin Fan and Old Man Zhang stood downstairs at the hospital, looking around, appearing calm yet somewhat lost.
"Where should we eat?"
"I don't know."
"Let's walk around and see."
"Okay."
In a small grove of trees not far from the hospital...
Rustle!
A dark shadow flashed, coiling around a branch.
A snake, over a meter long, with alternating red and black markings and scales that shimmered faintly, fixed its beady green eyes on the creatures in the darkness.
It flicked its tongue, hissing softly.
If the members of Yanhai City's special department saw this snake, they would recognize it as a Level 2 evil creature, the Xuan Snake. A cold-blooded and cruel creature, it was a formidable opponent, and three or four humans of the same level were often no match for it.
It lurked in the shadows, striking and killing its prey with a single blow.
Its venom was highly potent.
The Xuan Snake was angry. It resented those of its kind that could shrink their bodies and appear cute. Despite their hideous and ferocious true forms, they were adored by humans simply because they could become small.
Taking advantage of human affection, they hid deep within society, difficult to detect.
The Xuan Snake had also tried to change, but it was unlucky. After shrinking, it actively sought out humans, thinking it would be similarly loved. Instead, it was met with screams of terror as humans grabbed whatever they could find and threw it at the snake.
Later, it thought it would try to find someone brave. But the person it found just drooled at the sight of it, saying there would be snake soup for dinner tonight.
The Xuan Snake was furious, and the consequences would be severe.
"Foolish humans! Can't you see my cuteness?"
It came to the hospital and hid in the woods, patiently waiting for an opportunity. It noticed a female human occasionally pulling a male human into the depths of the woods, followed by muffled sounds.
Mmm... Mmm...
Strange sounds.
Outside the woods…
A woman who looked to be in her thirties or forties leaned against a tree, flirting and casting seductive glances at passing men. Under the dim light, she had a certain allure.
Lin Fan and Old Man Zhang were very hungry.
They had walked a long way without finding a place to eat.
"Hello, excuse me, where can we find something to eat? We're very hungry." Lin Fan saw the woman beckoning to him and, assuming she was willing to help, approached her to inquire.
The prostitute looked at Lin Fan and Old Man Zhang, smiling seductively. "Hungry, are you? I'll make sure you're nice and full. Come with me. Two at a time is just right."
"Eighty yuan each. Very cheap."
Lin Fan and Old Man Zhang looked at each other, scratching their heads. "We don't have any money."
"Eighty is still expensive? You're a handsome young man. I'll give you a discount, fifty for you. As for this old man, it'll have to be eighty. One hundred and thirty total." The prostitute continued to flaunt herself.
"We don't have any money," Lin Fan repeated.
"We're a little hungry," Old Man Zhang added.
The prostitute, seeing their expressions, realized they weren't joking. Her face changed, and she said impatiently, "Why did you come over here if you don't have any money?"
Lin Fan calmly explained, "I saw you waving and thought you would help us, so I came over."
"Yes, that's right. Don't be mean to us. We're not bad people," Old Man Zhang added fearfully.
The prostitute felt that these two seemed a little off.
She didn't want to say anything more.
In the dim light, she noticed the tags hanging around their necks. Curious, she picked them up and examined them closely.
Huh?
Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital…
"You're mental patients?" the prostitute exclaimed.
Lin Fan and Old Man Zhang shook their heads. "We're not mental patients."
"With these tags hanging around your necks, you still say you're not?" The prostitute was shocked. She couldn't believe she'd been chatting with mental patients this whole time.
It was terrifying.
And she felt a tinge of pity.