"These young people nowadays..." Director Hao shook his head. The Common Sense Theorist he just met seemed a bit off. If he hadn't been recommended by an old friend, he would have suspected the man wasn't quite right in the head. He even considered giving him a thorough examination.
Ring ring ring!
"Huh! Why's he calling me? Don't tell me he's trying to squeeze some money out of me now that I've secured funding."
The call was from One-Eyed Dragon. In Director Hao's mind, One-Eyed Dragon was nothing but a money pit. If One-Eyed Dragon knew what he was thinking, who knows what his reaction would be. He'd probably slam all his bank cards on Director Hao's desk and roar, "Open your damn eyes! See these bank cards?!"
Director Hao answered the phone, forcing a chuckle. "What made you think of calling me?"
Before, he would never have answered the phone so boldly. That student, Liu Kai, was still in the hospital, and he was afraid One-Eyed Dragon would come asking for more medical expenses.
But now, he wasn't afraid at all. Money emboldens. He could ask for whatever he wanted; as long as it wasn't more than ten thousand, they could talk.
"Get serious. I have something to tell you." One-Eyed Dragon's voice on the other end was grave, unlike his usual tone. He sounded like he was in the middle of something serious, no time for jokes.
"Four of my team members were killed by an unknown evil entity. We found the bodies. One had their head crushed, another had their heart ripped out, and another's neck was twisted into a pretzel. Judging by the footprints around the scene, we suspect it's a humanoid evil entity."
"Does this ring any bells?"
Director Hao's expression turned serious. "A humanoid evil entity? You don't mean that incident from thirty years ago, do you?"
One-Eyed Dragon said in a low voice, "April twentieth."
Ordinary people wouldn't recognize such a date, might not even know it. But for them, it was a nightmare they could never forget. If they could, they would erase it from their memories altogether.
Even though they were young back then, they could still feel the pressure of that time.
Director Hao said, "Impossible. That evil entity died back then, dead as a doornail. It can't have reappeared. Don't scare yourself. You know I'm the director of Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital. My nerves are constantly on edge. I can't handle being frightened, alright?"
"I hope I'm overthinking it," One-Eyed Dragon said.
After he said that, both sides fell silent.
After a long while, Director Hao said, "Why don't you investigate further?"
"I'm coming back," One-Eyed Dragon said.
"Huh? You're coming back already? Can't you be a little more responsible?" Director Hao almost launched into a lecture on "Responsibility and Principles."
One-Eyed Dragon said, "If it really is that, I might not make it back at all."
"You have a point. After all, you're on your own. Back then, it took over a dozen powerful individuals, with more than half of them killed or injured, to barely manage to kill it. If you really encounter it, I might actually have to attend your funeral, give some condolence money, and shed a few tears of friendship." Director Hao said half-jokingly.
"Can you be serious? I'm telling you something important!" One-Eyed Dragon was so angry he wanted to strangle Hao Ren.
Director Hao said, "I am being serious. Besides, what good is it asking me? I'm just the director of a psychiatric hospital. Even if you're short-handed, you can't expect me to release my patients to be your cannon fodder, can you?"
Beep beep!
One-Eyed Dragon hung up.
"I really don't understand how people think these days." Director Hao shook his head. He understood One-Eyed Dragon's feelings. When encountering something unknown and terrifying, people like to talk to their friends about it. But talking too much was useless. They weren't in the same line of work; there was no overlap.
He pondered over One-Eyed Dragon's words, lost in thought. If it was what he suspected, things wouldn't be good at all. That thing was terrifying. And very hard to kill.
Maybe he should talk to his generous sponsor, ask for a few hundred million more, and move the entire Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital to a safer location.
This matter required careful consideration.
In the corridor, Chen Xiang looked aloof. As a Common Sense Theorist specializing in psychiatric patients, he had a unique pride. After all, he was among the first batch of Common Sense Theory graduates in the country.
Highly educated, new profession, a talent in high demand nationwide.
He had just spoken briefly with the director, and he felt the director had a nonchalant disregard for his profession. If the director wasn't a friend of his school's principal, he would definitely give Director Hao a good lesson.
He would make him understand what a professional Common Sense Theorist was.
A salary of five thousand was an insult. Ten thousand was barely acceptable.
Li Ang was curious about this new colleague. He asked, "I heard you studied Common Sense Theory. I also graduated from a professional school, but I've never heard of that."
Chen Xiang said with a deadpan expression, "Which esteemed institution did you graduate from?"
Li Ang loved meeting new colleagues. It wasn't that he was particularly sociable, but every new colleague's circle of friends seemed to include unattainable goddesses.
Where did these resources come from? Naturally, from knowing more people.
"I graduated from Changsong Medical College," Li Ang said.
"Oh, Changsong. I've heard of that college. A very ordinary one. Back in high school, some of my classmates who weren't good at studying went to Changsong. I heard it's quite chaotic, poor academic atmosphere. It's hard to find a job after graduating from there."
"The fact that you got hired at Qingshan means you have some connections. Family introduction?"
As Chen Xiang spoke, he looked around at the environment. It was alright. The largest psychiatric hospital in Yanhai City was just like this. Compared to those in larger cities, it was quite a gap.
For some reason, Li Ang found Chen Xiang's words rather irritating.
"Haha, assigned by the school," Li Ang endured. For the sake of meeting new goddesses, he could tolerate some unnecessary things.
Chen Xiang said, "Seems your school has some pull."
Then he looked at the name tag on Li Ang's chest.
"Orderly? I thought you were a doctor. Well, it makes sense. Although a psychiatric hospital isn't a regular hospital, the requirements for doctors are still relatively high. It would be quite difficult for Changsong Medical College to produce a doctor."
His words weren't explicitly insulting, but to Li Ang's ears, they were incredibly grating.
Had this guy taken the wrong medication?
He had tried to connect with him, intending to kindly warn him that the two psychiatric patients he was about to meet were the most dangerous in Qingshan. He should learn to protect himself, no matter what. Even though he hadn't been there long, he could offer some tips on how to interact with them.
But now...
He didn't want to say anything more.
Keep pretending.
Let's see how long you can keep it up.