Chapter 143: All Clues Point to One Place
Wang Hailong's words didn't seem like much at first, but the more you thought about them, the more unsettling they became.
"A monster stepped on your brother's shoulder? Then its body got taller?" Chen Ge couldn't quite picture a two-meter-six-tall person standing on a child's shoulders.
"My brother wrote it down. For parts that weren't clear, he even drew pictures." Wang Hailong pulled out his phone. "This is from the last time we took him to see a doctor. The doctor asked him to draw based on his memories."
Chen Ge took the phone and glanced at it. The photo showed a very eerie drawing.
At the bottom of the white paper was a short, chubby child, taking up only about a tenth of the entire sheet. The remaining nine-tenths were dominated by the strange figure on his shoulders.
"What is this thing?" Chen Ge stared at the odd figure on the child's shoulders. It looked female in appearance, with disheveled hair, but its body features seemed male. It was extremely thin, like two bamboo poles wrapped in a white cloth sack.
"You don't know either? I saw a similar scene in your haunted house—a girl standing on a visitor's shoulders—and it immediately reminded me of my brother's story." Wang Hailong took back his phone, glancing from a distance at the haunted house, the fear in his eyes not yet faded. "Since you designed that scene, you must know something about this legend, right? And when that girl stepped on my shoulders, it felt incredibly real. If logic hadn't told me I was just touring a haunted house, I'd have wondered if I'd encountered a real ghost."
"Our haunted house uses the latest 4D technology, employing special methods to fully engage visitors' sight, hearing, smell, and touch. That's why you felt something pressing on your shoulder." Chen Ge spoke seriously, without a hint of embarrassment. "As for the ghost stepping on your shoulder, that's probably just a coincidence."
"Alright." Wang Hailong still wasn't giving up. "Then can you tell me where you got the inspiration for that scene?"
This Wang Hailong was stubborn as a mule, insisting on getting to the bottom of things.
Chen Ge thought for a moment. "There are no ghosts in this world—they're just figments of people's imaginations. I know you're worried about your brother, but rushing to find a cure won't help. Instead of asking me, you should see a psychologist. I can recommend a professional."
The amusement park might shut down in two months, and Chen Ge didn't want to waste time on other matters. He also meant well for Wang Hailong's brother, since he was just an amateur—better to leave this to the doctors.
"When I was very young, my father took my brother to see a doctor. There was a mental hospital near our hometown, and my brother even stayed there for a while, but the results were poor." Wang Hailong hesitated, then stopped.
"Brother, let me say it." Wang Wenlong supported his older brother. "For some reason, my younger brother hates interacting with doctors. Whenever he sees someone in a white coat, he screams, struggles, and even hits people. Because we know this habit, when we later took him to see a psychologist, we'd call ahead and ask the doctor to wear casual clothes."
"Hates doctors?" Chen Ge noticed another strange trait about Wang Hailong's brother. "Does the thing stepping on the child's shoulders fear doctors? So seeing one triggers it to hurt the child?"
"We don't know the reason. When we took him to the hospital near our hometown as a kid, nothing happened. But after he was transferred out of the closed ward, he started fearing doctors." Wang Wenlong added. This was a secret buried deep in their hearts, finally spoken today.
"A sudden change like that must have a cause." Chen Ge tried to help them analyze. "Could it be that during treatment, a doctor did something that terrified him?"
"Impossible. Wang Shenglong was the youngest. When he was in treatment, our whole family took turns watching him 24/7, and the doctors were very good too."
"Since it's not the doctor's problem, it might be the treatment environment. I think you should check out the place where Wang Shenglong was hospitalized. You might find clues there." Chen Ge sincerely offered his suggestion, then prepared to go have lunch.
"That hospital has been abandoned for a long time. The third ward where Shenglong stayed is completely sealed off—impossible to get in." Wang Hailong sighed. "Sorry, we were just really scared today, which brought up some of my little brother's issues."
"Third ward?" Chen Ge was particularly sensitive to the number "three" because of the black phone's missions. "Which hospital did your brother first receive treatment at?"
"It was the hospital near our hometown, in a neighboring county. We were poor back then, so he could only get treatment there. Later, when our family's finances improved, we transferred him to other hospitals."
"I'm not asking about that. What's the name of that hospital?" Chen Ge stared at Wang Hailong's face, his gaze a bit intense.
"Hanjiang Third Mental Health Rehabilitation Center, also called the Third Hospital. It's been abandoned for about five or six years now." The Wang brothers didn't understand why Chen Ge's attitude had suddenly changed.
"Does that rehabilitation center have a place called the Third Ward?" The information in Chen Ge's mind was slowly coming together.
"Oh, so that's what you're asking about. Some people call the third closed ward where my brother stayed the Third Ward—same place, just different names."
"I see." Chen Ge took a breath. "I know the best psychologist in Hanjiang. If possible, could you take me to meet your brother tonight?"
Afraid of being refused, Chen Ge invoked Dr. Gao's reputation.
"No problem, but be prepared. My brother... how should I put it? He looks a bit unusual." Wang Hailong forced a smile. "If that doctor you mentioned is coming too, tell him to wear casual clothes. My brother hates doctors."
With that, he pulled a pitch-black business card from his pocket. On the front were three words—Dragon Tiger Workshop.
"You are?" Looking at the flashy card design, Chen Ge recalled the wolf-tattooed tough guy and, combined with their tone, started to wonder.
Could these guys be from the underworld? It was Chen Ge's first time encountering such people in real life.
Seeing Chen Ge's surprised expression, Wang Hailong said modestly, "Just what you're thinking. Dragon Tiger Workshop Sichuan Hotpot City is run by my relatives. WeChat and phone numbers are on the back."
Chen Ge forced a smile and pocketed the card. "Got a specific address?"
"Come to Haiming Apartment in the old city tonight. Shenglong and my dad live there."