Shen Jiyue

Shen Jiyue

After the game pod delivered Mu Sichen to this small town, he had seen plenty of strange and terrifying things. He considered himself fairly experienced by now. Even so, he had not expected to see this when he opened the door, and it truly startled him.

This was different from risking a direct look at Big Eye.

Back then, he had made ample mental preparations and run through every frightening thing he could imagine in advance. The greatest shock Big Eye gave him was the impossible gulf in power, not a visual or psychological scare.

This time, he had just seen the rules downstairs stating that the four identities of medical staff, volunteer, family member, and patient could be exchanged. At the time, Mu Sichen had naturally assumed that the patient would be the same as him, and might even be able to communicate.

He had never imagined he would see this the moment he opened the door. Mu Sichen suffered an enormous shock. The new Self Sticker instantly went up in smoke, but his SAN remained relatively stable and did not change.

He leaned against the doorframe, steadied his racing heart, forced himself back into Rationality, and continued thinking this through.

Just then, Mu Sichen felt an itch in his palm. He looked down and saw two small blisters growing there. The blisters were white, with a black dot in the center. They looked very much like fish eyes.

Mu Sichen: "..."

He finally understood why the Follower at the door had not checked whether he was Fallen, or whether the personal profile he had filled out was true.

Because there was no need.

The gatekeeper Follower had said the name "Sha Big-Eyes" sounded lovely. That was because people who believed in Big Eye developed an intense fondness for eye-related words and objects. The name "Big-Eyes" alone was enough to make the gate guard feel favorable toward him.

If a family member who believed in Big Eye opened the door and saw a patient like this, their first reaction definitely would not be to get frightened and shut the door. They would walk forward to admire the dead-fish-eye blisters all over him.

That was a kind of protection.

Mu Sichen did not have that layer of protection. Under the huge emotional fluctuation, he lost the protection of the Self Sticker and was contaminated by this patient at the same time.

He had clearly made no direct contact, and he had kept a sufficiently safe distance, yet he had still been contaminated by psychological shock.

Could it be that the stronger the negative emotions, the higher the chance of being contaminated?

In that case, the Followers who sincerely loved eyeballs would instead be unaffected.

Mu Sichen worked hard to control his emotions. He told himself to keep a normal mind. Even if he could not like that appearance, he at least had to look at the patient as a normal person.

Unfortunately, he could not do it.

He only recalled the scene he had just seen inside the ward, and his scalp went numb. At the same time, two small blisters appeared on the back of his hand.

This was going to be the death of him.

The more he thought about it, the stronger his negative emotions became. The stronger his negative emotions became, the more blisters appeared on his body. The more blisters appeared on his body, the more he could not help remembering what the patient looked like and fearing that he would turn into that too. Then his negative emotions grew even stronger.

This was a negative feedback loop that struck straight at the deepest fear in a person's heart.

Mu Sichen did not know how patients changed into other identities, but he already understood very well how the other identities became patients.

If this went on, he was afraid he would become a patient too.

Mu Sichen thought back to his Advanced Mathematics textbook from last semester. Astronomically obscure mathematical symbols surfaced in his mind. A question he had failed to solve on last semester's final exam appeared with perfect clarity. Although he still did not know how to do that problem, his emotions had already stabilized.

When he did not know the math, he simply did not know it. The problem had not been solved at all. But as for what he should do next, Mu Sichen had an idea.

Two methods.

First, wait another twenty minutes. By then, his MP bar would have recovered to one-third of its earlier level, and he might be able to use the "Undermine" skill on the patient. At that point, whether he changed the patient's state or obtained a Self Sticker, he would be able to save himself.

Second, actively search and ask questions inside the sanatorium to find a way to change identities.

Mu Sichen was not the type to sit around waiting for death. He decided to take both approaches. He would make full use of the twenty minutes while waiting for his MP bar to recover and figure out the sanatorium's rules.

But how should he explore the sanatorium's rules? Should he look for medical staff and volunteers? Or should he secretly sneak into the sanatorium's offices and rummage for files?

For a moment, Mu Sichen found it difficult to decide. He tried his best not to look at the blisters on his palms and the backs of his hands, silently reciting mathematical formulas over and over, letting rational thought occupy his mind.

Within that rational thought, Mu Sichen realized something.

He had been away from the ward for a while now, but the patient had not chased him out. Either the patient could not leave the ward, or the patient did not actually have the ability to attack on his own.

Patient... sanatorium...

Wait. This was a psychiatric sanatorium, not a hospital for treating physical diseases. In other words, the sanatorium's purpose was not to treat the patient's body covered in blister-eyes, but to treat his mind.

Under ordinary circumstances, most people would believe that treating mental illness meant restoring someone to normal. But things were different here. This was the Town of the Eye, a strange town ruled by Big Eye.

To town residents who believed in Big Eye, growing a body covered in blister-eyes would only make them feel blessed by Big Eye and fill them with happiness and joy. That was what the Town of the Eye recognized as "normal."

Then disgust toward and resistance against blister-eyes must be the "mental illness" inside the Town of the Eye.

Mu Sichen turned around and looked back at the ward door. His hand fell on the doorknob, trembling slightly.

Even after reaching a conclusion, opening this door and going inside of his own accord was still somewhat difficult.

Mu Sichen tightened his grip on the flashlight, gritted his teeth, and pushed the door open.

The patient was still sitting on the bed. Aside from his rather distinctive appearance, he showed no aggression. He merely looked at Mu Sichen with those huge eyes that had almost fallen out of their sockets, a ring of moisture clinging around them.

An extraordinarily unconventional pair of dewy big eyes.

This time, Mu Sichen also saw clearly what the bloody, mangled thing in the patient's hand was. It was actually a red fresh-meat packaging bag, and there was still half a piece of bread inside.

The fishy stench came from the blisters that had burst on the patient's body. Half the blisters on this patient's face had ruptured and were oozing yellow pus. The smell was not pleasant.

Mu Sichen shifted his gaze. His eyes fell on the name badge on the patient's left breast. It read, "Patient: Shen Jiyue."

What a clear-moon-and-fresh-breeze sort of name, for someone who had ended up like this.

Mu Sichen tentatively said, "You need to cooperate with the doctor's treatment. Don't resist, and you can be discharged sooner."

Shen Jiyue glanced at him with pity, lowered his head, and took a vicious bite of bread. As he ate, he said, "If you don't want to die, stay the hell away, you broken-brained things!"

The force of that bite tugged at the wounds on his face, and pain made him grimace. But he did not make a sound. After his expression twisted for a while, he kept gnawing on the bread, though his movements were much lighter.

This man's attitude reassured Mu Sichen considerably. He tried approaching Shen Jiyue, and when he found he was not attacked, he slowly relaxed.

Above the hospital bed hung a stand for IV bottles. A small handwritten notebook was hanging from it, recording the patient's medication.

Mu Sichen mustered his courage and came to the bedside. While staying alert for Shen Jiyue, he took down the small notebook and carefully read its contents.

Patient: Shen Jiyue

Diagnosis: refractory Fallen syndrome

Clinical presentation: Although he has already received the Great Being's grace, he refuses to accept it. He has self-harmed many times, attempting to destroy the Great Being's bestowal. Although he clearly has the potential to become an Apostle, he stubbornly resists and is a difficult-to-treat patient.

Treatment record: 1. Purification. The Feather-Eyed Apostle and Double-Pupil Apostle were invited in succession to purify him, but due to the Great Being's gift, purification was unsuccessful. Treatment failed;

2. Mental baptism. Medical staff and volunteers recited the Great Being's deeds day and night, but due to his refractory Fallen syndrome, it did not succeed. Treatment failed;

3. Family-member persuasion. Treatment is ongoing. One family member is sent each day to persuade him. After a family member persuaded him yesterday, that family member successfully received the Great Being's blessing and returned to the Great Existence's protection. The patient personally witnessed the sacred scene of the family member being accepted by the Great Being, was greatly moved, and his mind showed signs of loosening. Treatment effective. Continue observation.

Mu Sichen: "..."

He no longer knew what words he should use to describe the contents of this treatment record.

So the so-called family member was one ingredient used to treat the patient!

Who knew what Shen Jiyue's mind was made of? Even after becoming like this, he still maintained human thinking, kept living with incredible strength, and had even tried to save himself by destroying the blister-eyes. Unfortunately, he had failed.

He had even withstood the Feather-Eyed Apostle's purification and did not fear the Followers' daily brainwashing, remaining steadfast from beginning to end.

Only when a mentally normal family member mutated because of his mental contamination had Shen Jiyue's mind shown signs of loosening.

This was actually a person with an extremely noble spirit. Just now, Mu Sichen had nearly been frightened by Shen Jiyue's terrifying appearance and had almost smashed Shen Jiyue's head with the pickaxe.

Mu Sichen set down the patient chart and tentatively said to Shen Jiyue, "You should thank the Great Being. Without Him, we would have no food, no clothes, and no warm town."

Shen Jiyue's "dewy big eyes" rolled upward in unbearable exasperation. He said with righteous indignation, "There is no such thing as getting something for nothing in this world. You have all been deceived. A truly good life must be built with one's own hands, not conjured up for you by waiting for that evil thing. The Town of the Eye has long since become hell. Only Xiangping Town offers a slim chance of survival. I came here to help you!"

Mu Sichen went still.

Although he had heard the familiar name "Xiangping Town," Mu Sichen remained cautious and continued, "You're the brainwashed Fallen one. After the Cataclysm, the one who protected us was the Great Being. If you continue to be influenced by Fallen ideology, you will be abandoned by the Great Being."

When Shen Jiyue saw "Sha Big-Eyes" being so stubbornly deluded, he could not be bothered to keep talking to him. He continued gnawing on the bread and said resentfully, "If I weren't keeping myself alive to wake up people like you whose brains aren't completely broken yet, I would never eat this food full of contamination."

After he finished the bread, the blister-eyes Shen Jiyue had scratched open on his face recovered quite a bit, and the fishy stench around him faded by a great deal as well.

Seeing him so alert, Mu Sichen did not directly reveal his identity to Shen Jiyue. Instead, he said mildly, "I'll go ask the doctor about today's treatment plan."

"Is that treatment for me, or 'treatment' for you?" Shen Jiyue looked at Mu Sichen. "Yesterday, I was affected by you people because my will wasn't firm enough. Today, I won't be affected."

Mu Sichen swept a glance over Shen Jiyue's waist. There was a chain around it, binding him to the bed and preventing him from leaving this room.

Mu Sichen said nothing. He turned and left the room, preparing to look for a doctor.

He already understood the functions of patients and family members. He still needed to figure out the exact situation with volunteers and medical staff.

Only by grasping everything could he uncover the rules and restrictions hidden behind it all, save himself, and rescue Shen Jiyue at the same time.

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Author's Note:

Qin Zhou: I bet that when he heard the words Xiangping Town, Mu Sichen definitely thought of me! I heard it! I even glanced at him!

Mu Sichen: I did think of you for a moment. I admit it.