Chapter 149: Nine Patients, Ten Wards
Chen Ge pushed open the door to the restroom on the first floor. The mirror on the wall was covered with black cloth, and the stall doors were sealed shut.
"Tourists visit during the day, and the blood door in the mirror only appears at midnight. Under normal circumstances, the two can't coincide. But that doesn't rule out someone with ill intentions sneaking into the haunted house late at night and accidentally opening the stall door—like Zhang Peng back then." Chen Ge removed the black cloth and stood before the mirror.
He knew nothing about the bloody world behind the mirror, not even the reason for the door's formation, let alone how to close or destroy the door within the mirror.
"My parents once said the door in the Third Ward was opened again, which means it was originally closed. There might be a way to close it hidden in the Third Ward. If the door in the Third Ward is the same as the blood door in the mirror, then this trial mission becomes even more crucial for me."
Chen Ge waited until midnight. The moment the clock struck twelve, the blood-red door in the mirror appeared right on time.
Within a single minute, all sorts of strange sounds came from the stall. Compared to before, it seemed more things had wandered near the door.
"Maybe after I return from the Third Ward, I can completely close this blood door in the restroom."
Back in the staff break room, Chen Ge couldn't sleep. He sat at the desk, pen in hand, listing what he needed to prepare for tomorrow's livestream.
"A bloodstained butcher knife, a live rooster, salt..."
He deleted and revised until 1:50 a.m., still sitting at the table. He felt no drowsiness, checking his watch every few minutes, a faint, indescribable emotion spreading within him.
"It's still not safe enough. A three-star horror scenario should be several times harder than the two-star Muyang High School. I'm going in alone, so I have to be fully prepared." Chen Ge reviewed the notes he'd written on the white paper. Before he could finish, his phone suddenly vibrated.
"It's almost two in the morning. Who would call me at this hour?"
Chen Ge picked up his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and immediately answered: "Dr. Gao? You're looking for me?"
"Sorry to bother you so late." Dr. Gao offered a polite apology, then got straight to the point: "I got Wang Shenglong's past medical records and case files from his father. Cross-referencing them with our internal patient database, I found something strange."
"What is it?" Chen Ge perked up. For Dr. Gao to call him late at night, it had to be important.
"This Wang Shenglong is actually very dangerous. He was even involved in a murder when he was very young."
"Murder?!" Chen Ge couldn't believe it. That silly, chubby kid could do something like that?
"Listen to me. This is very odd." The sound of keyboard typing came from the other end of the line. Dr. Gao seemed to be searching for something on his computer: "Wang Shenglong was first taken to the hospital for treatment at age six. The hospital was called the Third Mental Health Rehabilitation Center—a private hospital operating under a public banner, located in a remote suburb. It was shut down four or five years ago."
"I've heard about that hospital from Wang Hailong. His family was poor back then, and the Third Hospital was close to their home, so they got treatment there. That shouldn't have anything to do with murder, right?" Chen Ge said over the phone.
"When he was first admitted at just six years old, Wang Shenglong showed intense, extreme emotions. He couldn't control himself and attacked doctors and family members."
"Even if a six-year-old acts aggressively, he wouldn't pose much of a threat to an adult, would he?"
"I thought the same, but the records show that when the kid went berserk, he bit off a finger from a fellow patient in the same ward. I have a picture here. Want to see it?" Dr. Gao sent a photo without any blurring.
Chen Ge glanced at it. It was a case report rating Wang Shenglong as dangerous and recommending temporary isolation.
"The injury was just the beginning. To protect other patients, the hospital transferred six-year-old Wang Shenglong to the Third Closed Ward. What happened after that was even more terrifying." Dr. Gao clicked his mouse, selected a few pages that could be shown without violating patient privacy, and sent them to Chen Ge via social media: "In the second month of Wang Shenglong's stay in the closed ward, a horrific murder occurred there. A nurse on duty was killed. After investigating the scene, the police determined that the killer wasn't just one person—the murder was likely a joint act by all the patients in the Third Closed Ward!"
"Patients working together to kill a nurse?" The matter Dr. Gao mentioned was related to the Third Ward, and since it was internal information, Chen Ge listened intently: "Dr. Gao, can you tell me more about this case?"
"I don't know the specifics. I'm a doctor, not a cop."
"Then can you find information about the other patients in the Third Closed Ward?" Chen Ge wanted to know everything related to the Third Ward.
"Why are you asking about this?"
"Just out of curiosity. Don't worry, I won't leak anything."
Chen Ge persisted for a while until Dr. Gao finally agreed.
"The Third Ward of the Third Mental Health Rehabilitation Center had ten rooms housing nine patients. All of them were considered dangerous and were isolated for treatment."
"Room One housed Wang Shenglong, diagnosed with Happy Puppet Syndrome, also known as Angel Syndrome. Symptoms include frequent laughing, spasms, lack of language ability, and intellectual disability. He was the youngest in the Third Closed Ward and had the lowest risk level."
"Room Two housed a woman. Her name was blacked out, and there were no photos. Only a damaged case sheet remained. She suffered from severe depression caused by Dorian Gray Syndrome, characterized by excessive self-focus, heavy use of cosmetics, multiple plastic surgeries, and a deep fear of natural aging. Many female celebrities have similar conditions."
"Room Three of the Third Ward was empty. I'm not sure if it ever had a patient."
Hearing this, Chen Ge suddenly thought of the note his parents had left him, which specifically pointed out the third room of the Third Ward: "No records don't necessarily mean no patient. That room is a big problem!"
"You have a point, but the room numbers are based on risk levels. Even if there was a patient, they wouldn't be particularly dangerous. Maybe the hospital just overlooked it." Dr. Gao took a sip of tea and continued.
"Room Four's patient lost an arm in an accident and developed phantom limb syndrome. After the amputation, he felt the limb was still there and could even sense heat, cold, and itching."