Chapter Seventeen: Choose Your Patient
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Lu Yuan pulled his head under the blanket, leaving only his eyes fixed on the television beside him. The screen displayed nothing but black-and-white static.
In the next moment, several lines of blood-red text appeared on the screen.
“Dear psychologist, greetings. You have become a member of the World of Strange Nightmares. To help these malevolent entities develop a healthy and positive mindset, please choose one of the two entities below for psychological counseling.”
“We will reward you generously afterward.”
Counsel a malevolent entity? Lu Yuan swallowed hard. This was the biggest joke he had ever heard—far more absurd than talking to a cow about music.
He remained silent. The figure beside the TV seemed to sense the change on the screen, shifted slightly, then froze again.
“Entity 1: Zhuo Yan.”
“Level: Resentful Malevolent Entity.”
“Self-description: ‘I always feel there is another soul inside my body. It takes control when I sleep and does terrifying things. I feel like I’m sick.’”
“Task: Cure Zhuo Yan and help her sleep peacefully.”
“Entity 2: An Shi.”
“Level: Resentful Malevolent Entity (currently evolving)”
“Self-description: ‘It’s so noisy every night when I sleep. The people I killed whisper beside my ears. Damn it! I only killed a few people! What’s the big deal?’”
“Task: Treat An Shi and obtain forgiveness.”
The screen suddenly filled with text. Lu Yuan’s eyes blurred from reading, but he forced himself through each line despite the discomfort.
He knew more about Zhuo Yan. An Shi had once mentioned that Zhuo Yan had sought him out, and he even tried hypnosis therapy on her, but it failed.
To be honest, Lu Yuan had the least confidence in curing Zhuo Yan. He knew his own abilities were no match for An Shi’s. If An Shi couldn’t cure Zhuo Yan, his efforts would likely be in vain.
Moreover, he had once attacked Zhuo Yan with a fruit knife. She must harbor deep hatred for him now; this could easily turn into a medical disturbance.
Lu Yuan shifted his gaze to An Shi’s description. Everything was understandable except for one thing: what did "currently evolving" mean in the parentheses?
He hesitated. If given a choice, he wouldn’t want to treat either, but reality left him no option—he had to pick one.
Before Lu Yuan could decide, loud noises came from outside the bedroom.
His eyes narrowed but he remained still.
After a moment, the figure beside the TV stirred and moved toward the bedroom door. The face remained indistinct, only a vague silhouette visible.
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“It’s not Zhuo Yan.”
A jolt ran through Lu Yuan’s heart.
Zhuo Yan was slender, but the figure by the TV was clearly bulky. He faintly heard water dripping onto the floor.
Creak...
The bedroom door swung open.
The living room outside was pitch black, the lights off.
Lu Yuan could only rely on his limited vision to judge that the bulky figure had left the bedroom.
Only then did Lu Yuan turn his gaze back to the TV screen. After a few seconds of thought, he made his choice.
“I choose An Shi.”
His low voice echoed softly in the bedroom.
Perhaps it was what adults told him as a child—that if you hide under the blanket, ghosts can’t catch you. Lu Yuan’s sense of safety now came almost entirely from the blanket.
Even the security offered by the fruit knife in his hand was less than half that of the blanket.
Heavy footsteps retraced their path.
Lu Yuan curled up like a cat, leaving only his eyes visible outside the covers. His palm, gripping the fruit knife, started to sweat.
“Will he come in?”
Lu Yuan felt anxious.
Just as he prepared to spring from under the blanket for a surprise attack, a new sound came from the living room—this time clearer.
It was a woman’s scream.
“From the bathroom.”
Lu Yuan roughly pinpointed the source.
Hearing the scream, the figure at the bedroom door left again, this time heading toward the bathroom.
New blood-red words appeared on the screen.
“Please perform the first treatment on An Shi within one hour. If successful on the first attempt, you will receive a substantial reward.”
After reading this, the screen suddenly went black, showing no image.
In an instant, the entire bedroom plunged into total darkness.
Surprisingly, Lu Yuan felt little panic. His night vision seemed to have improved considerably.
He cautiously lifted the blanket, got out of bed, and using his memory of the room’s layout, groped his way to the door.
Lu Yuan’s memory was sharp; he recalled the villa’s floor plan and slipped out of the bedroom, feeling his way to the sofa.
The woman’s screams from the bathroom grew louder.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Heavy pounding sounds followed.
Along with the pounding, the woman’s sharp screams gradually turned into muffled whimpers.
“There are three people in the villa, including myself.”
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“Oh, no, one person and two malevolent entities.”
Lu Yuan hid in the darkness, his mind racing. These entities weren’t living humans; they might possess certain special abilities, like ghosts.
But Lu Yuan was human.
His only weapon was a fruit knife.
Time was tight.
Only one hour!
He needed to find An Shi first, then treat him.
After a while, the bathroom fell silent; the woman’s screams vanished as if they had never existed.
The bulky figure squeezed out of the bathroom doorway, accidentally knocking his head off.
The massive skull rolled on the floor, scraping loudly.
The figure paid no mind, stooped painfully to pick up his head, and placed it back on his neck.
Then he turned toward the bedroom.
Once inside, he locked the door from the inside.
Lu Yuan felt a chill of fear.
If he stayed hidden in the bedroom, he and the figure would be trapped in the same room with no escape.
But Lu Yuan still did not move.
In the darkness, his hearing sharpened greatly. Only when the bedroom fell completely silent did he cautiously tiptoe toward the bathroom.
The bathroom light was off.
He dared not turn it on.
The noise of the switch might lure the figure out of the bedroom.
Lu Yuan trembled slightly, overwhelmed by intense fear and excitement. Inside the bathtub lay a woman.
He recognized her instantly—it was Zhuo Yan.
Her body was covered in wounds, the fatal injury to her heart clearly visible.
His guess was right.
The figure in the bedroom was An Shi, and the pitiful screams from the bathroom belonged to Zhuo Yan.
Lu Yuan alone could not confront An Shi; he needed an ally.
The next moment, Lu Yuan covered Zhuo Yan’s mouth.
Zhuo Yan, weak and listless, suddenly woke up. Seeing Lu Yuan, she was shocked and didn’t resist.
Lu Yuan dipped his finger into the blood in the bathtub and wrote a line on the wall:
“Help me.”
“Let’s deal with An Shi together.”