Chapter 71 Another Dead End, Schizophrenia?

Chapter 71 Another Dead End, Schizophrenia?

"I am Pig. The Supernatural Patient in A44 Ward is fundamentally incurable! I initially thought she merely suffered from Heart Disease and that the mission would be complete once we found the lover she spoke of. But in the end, I realized how naive I was..."

"I am Monkey. The Supernatural Patient in A44 doesn’t have Heart Disease—it’s severe Delusional Disorder!"

"I am Dog. Do not take the Supernatural Patient from A44 to the Morgue. Her lover doesn’t exist there—it’s all a figment of her imagination. Even that invisible, supernatural son of hers isn’t real. It’s just a manifestation of her supernatural ability..."

"I am Ox. The patient in A44 cannot be cured. This is a dead end. If you don’t take her to the Morgue, you die! If you take her and fail to find the lover she deludes herself into believing exists, you also die! Hahaha, go screw yourself..."

"..."

After obtaining the self-reported accounts of previous Players who attempted to treat Gu Meng and were eliminated, Ji Yan finally had his answer.

A dead end.

Another dead end...

He had lost count of how many times he’d heard those words.

The irony was that every time he faced what seemed like an inescapable dead end, Ji Yan always managed to find a sliver of a way out.

But this time, he wasn’t sure if luck would be on his side again...

He quickly analyzed the so-called Danger Zone.

The Player must help Gu Meng find her lover—otherwise, she will Blacken and kill them.

But this lover doesn’t exist. He is merely a product of her delusions, making it impossible to find.

The deadlock lies right here.

When the previous Zodiac Players realized this, some tried substituting other corpses, while others desperately concocted excuses to placate her. Without exception, they all failed and met gruesome ends!

And this only worsened Gu Meng’s delusions.

She became convinced that all the doctors in the Undead Hospital were colluding to hide some secret, that they were all setting her up, even insisting that her lover was still alive...

A patient with Delusional Disorder is self-centered.

Even if you tell her, "Your lover doesn’t exist," she will still Blacken—and it will be even worse!

This gave Ji Yan an instant headache.

Find an NPC that doesn’t exist—fail, and you die.

How the hell is a Player supposed to play this?

"Goat Doctor, why are you just standing there? It’s time to go!"

Gu Meng’s tone grew increasingly impatient.

A sinister, ink-black aura gradually seeped out, carrying a bone-chilling glint.

"Right, let’s go." Ji Yan turned toward the door. For now, he could only stall for time and try to figure out a way to break the deadlock.

But the moment he opened the door, he received a friendly reminder from the game panel.

"Warning! Your Medical Instructor is closely monitoring your treatment progress. It does not approve of its students entering the Morgue, especially the Morgue."

"If you disregard this advice, it may affect your progression!"

Ji Yan gripped the doorknob, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

Now he’s not even allowed in the Morgue? Is the Goat Supernatural Doctor hoping he’ll log off early?

Staring at the doorknob, he suddenly thought of the Lies Parchment.

If Gu Meng’s lover had a discernible appearance, he could have used "Lies Become Reality" to fabricate a substitute matching the lover from her delusions, buying himself a slim chance of survival.

But the cruel twist was—the lover in her Drawing Board had no face!

This seemed to completely sever any hope Ji Yan had thought of...

Wait!

My mission objective is simply to stabilize Gu Meng's emotional outburst.

It never said anything about curing her—that was just one path to a perfect completion.

If her delusional lover could appear by her side in another form...

And if they could be together at all times...

Wouldn’t that be enough to soothe her condition?

After all, Liu Yan didn’t cure her "Stockholm Syndrome" either. Ji Yan merely treated the symptoms appropriately, alleviating the condition.

With that thought, he released the doorknob and turned to face Gu Meng behind him.

"Miss Gu, you don’t have to go to the Morgue to see your lover right away."

"Or rather, your lover isn’t in the Morgue. He never died."

Gu Meng seemed to have anticipated this. Uncontainable joy spread across her face. "I knew it! He’s not dead—he’s alive!"

"Goat Doctor, you’re different from those wicked doctors. You’re willing to tell me the truth! Hurry, tell me—where is he?"

She eagerly stepped closer.

"Give me one minute."

"I’ll make him appear."

Even as Ji Yan made his proposal, he had already taken out the [Lies Parchment]. Gu Meng nodded quietly. She had waited in this ward for who knew how many days and nights—what was one more minute?

Turning his back, he pressed his finger against the rough surface of the parchment. A prompt immediately popped up.

Ding! Player uses "Wish Supernatural Artifact"—[Lies Parchment].

"With blood as ink, life as the wager, and lies to gamble for truth, please write your lie upon the parchment."

"If the target believes the lie, it will trigger [Wish], granting special privileges!"

As the game’s voice faded, Ji Yan felt a sting in his fingertip.

The parchment sucked at his blood like a leech. As his finger moved, bloody words formed on its surface.

But the moment he finished writing his lie, another prompt appeared.

"Warning! This lie requires significant authority. Targeting the A44 patient’s Supernatural Entity—if manifested, an equivalent price must be paid.."

A bigger lie comes with a price?

Of course, the parchment wouldn’t let you lie recklessly or abuse its power.

What was the price? With just sixty seconds remaining, Ji Yan had no time to consider it.

No cost was too great for survival now!

Tucking the parchment away, he looked up—only to find Gu Meng’s face inches from his own. Her pitch-black eyes burned with an unsettling intensity.

"Goat Doctor, the minute’s up."

"Tell me—where is my lover?"

Ji Yan took a deep breath and stepped back. "Miss Gu, before you meet your lover..."

"I must first inform you about your condition. You don’t have Heart Disease—you have a mental illness."

"Schizophrenia. You have two personalities: one is your primary self, and the other... I think you already know the answer."

"That's why every doctor has been giving you evasive answers and blocking you from seeing your lover. They were just afraid your condition would deteriorate."

"You share the same body. There was never any chance for you to meet."

Hearing this, Gu Meng remained calm.

Unnervingly calm. In fact, she even laughed.

A slender hand lightly covered that delicate face, the laughter within carrying self-mockery and numbness.

Yet in the next instant, Ji Yan felt his entire body enveloped by a terrifying Specter Power, as though an invisible hand had seized him, ready to crush him at any moment.

Ji Yan immediately unleashed all his Specter Power to resist the horrifying grip.

Looking up, he saw Gu Meng’s smile had vanished completely, replaced by a visage filled with savage killing intent, the marks of Blackening rapidly spreading across her slender frame.

"You’re just like those useless doctors—spouting the same tired, rehearsed nonsense to brush me off."

"Split personality? Do you all really take me for a fool?"

Ji Yan had anticipated this reaction. Gritting his teeth, he spoke, "I know you don’t believe me, but I have a way to prove it."

"Not only that, I can make it so the two split personalities can meet each other."

"If I fail, you can always turn me into Dye afterward..."