The Dreamlike Illusion was a two-way hallucination.
Not only did those trapped inside see endless bizarre occurrences, but those looking in from the outside also saw an illusion.
It was merely an illusion that whitewashed the peace.
Countless onlookers sticking their heads out to look downstairs had not noticed anything amiss in the front courtyard, because in their eyes, a fierce battle was currently raging there.
Xia Jie was holding his own against all the Special Response Squads on the scene single-handedly, which struck even deeper terror into the hearts of the unwitting spectators.
What kind of monster was this, to actually face so many opponents alone?
Yu Jin was also shocked by Xia Jie's immense combat power. Although Special Response Squad 172 had managed to take Xia Jie down with just five people, that had been inside his own dream after all.
In reality, he had never faced Xia Jie in person, so he did not know just how terrifying the real Xia Jie actually was.
Thinking about it, a criminal who could plot and slaughter an entire Special Response Squad could never have succeeded simply by showing an innocent, childlike side.
Xia Jie was far more troublesome than he had imagined!
Watching the battle in the front courtyard fall into a stalemate, Yu Jin was filled with anxiety.
He was worried that if Xia Jie managed to escape this time, it would be extremely difficult for red-haired Yu Jin to handle the guy alone.
Not to mention how difficult it would be to find Xia Jie again, even if they crossed paths, what would his chances of winning be?
Ten percent? Five percent?
No, judging by the intensity of the scene, it might not even be one percent!
Yu Jin had witnessed the control chain of Squad 172, and even that had failed to pin down Xia Jie downstairs. If he were to face him, he would likely be in grave danger.
Yu Jin could only pray that the Bureau had not yet exerted their full strength, hoping that Xia Jie would not escape.
The prerequisite to slaying an enemy with one's own hands was being capable of doing so. If one could not, then utilizing the collective advantage to overwhelm the opponent was the most rational choice.
But the stalemated battlefield was not what made Yu Jin the most uneasy.
What concerned him the most was that Xia Jie's unexpected appearance at the hospital had tied down the vast majority of the Bureau's forces and even drawn the attention of the entire hospital. But let's not forget, Yu Jin's initial disguise as Xia Jie to lure the Bureau here was not to have them capture the real Xia Jie!
It was the Disciples of Eternal Night who had targeted the hospital, plotting some unspeakable scheme. To expose this plot without leaving a trace, Yu Jin had resorted to this desperate measure.
Yet now, all attention had been drawn by Xia Jie. If the “Wu Xintings” inside the hospital decided to make a move at this moment...
This was bad!
Startled, Yu Jin's thoughts spun rapidly as he immediately made a decision. He slapped Tang Yaoting, who was engrossed in watching the battle, and warned him:
“Xia Jie might have accomplices, so the hospital still isn't safe. With the Special Response Squads pinned down, Wu Xinting might also be in danger. Go find her, quickly!”
Tang Yaoting jolted, snapping out of it. With a loud yell, he rushed out of the room.
Yu Jin followed closely behind, but he wasn't going to look for Wu Xinting. Instead, he headed straight for the 46th floor!
He had to ensure that there were no security lapses on the 46th floor, making sure the Disciples of Eternal Night would have no opportunity to exploit in the Psychiatric Department.
Beside them, Chi Yu watched the two leave in a daze. Once the hospital room was empty, he walked to the door thoughtfully, looking up and down once again as if searching for something.
Before long, he stroked his chin and murmured in confusion:
“The gun was fired six times, but there are only five bullet holes on the ground and walls... Did it hit Xia Jie, or is there another secret?”
...
Yu Jin did not know where Tang Yaoting had gone to find Wu Xinting. The moment he stepped out, he took the elevator straight up to the 46th floor.
Abruptly appearing on the 46th floor at such a sensitive time would surely arouse suspicion, but Yu Jin had already thought of an excuse beforehand: he hadn't received his follow-up examination report yet!
Even if his excuse was debunked—since the report wasn't supposed to be collected on the 46th floor anyway—he could still claim that his mental state had become unstable after suddenly seeing Xia Jie, so he had come to request another re-examination.
This was the first time he had ever been so unopposing to a re-examination.
The elevator was empty and moved quickly, reaching the 46th floor in the blink of an eye.
Before the elevator car could even come to a complete stop, Yu Jin heard some noises outside.
Frowning in cautious vigilance, he placed his hand on his lower back, held his breath, and stood at the back of the elevator, preparing himself for any unknown surprises or risks outside.
But when the doors opened, he was greeted by the sight of a patient in hospital scrubs squatting right in front of the elevator doors. His pants were half-lowered, he held some toilet paper in one hand, and he was straining with all his might as if struggling against something.
The patient froze completely upon seeing the elevator doors slide open. With a flushed face and sheer indignation, he glared at Yu Jin and barked:
“What is wrong with you? Can't you see there's someone in here? Hurry up and leave! I was almost able to suck it back in, but the moment you showed up, it came right back out. What a pain!”
“...?”
Yu Jin was dumbfounded. He couldn't process this at all, his normal brainwaves interrupted in a split second. Driven by basic morals and manners, he took a step back and looked at the elevator floor indicator panel, where the restroom sign should have been.
Once he confirmed that he was indeed in an elevator and not some express train straight to a toilet stall, he felt a sudden, profound respect for the patient before him.
The scene before him truly exemplified the saying:
Life is a wilderness everywhere.
And one does not need to look for a restroom to answer nature's call in the wilderness.
However, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible. After all, this was the Psychiatric Department.
With an awkward expression, Yu Jin carefully sidestepped the man and walked out. Yet, after taking only a couple of steps, he saw another person squatting in front of the adjacent elevator.
This person was also straining with all his might, and his efforts were already bearing fruit. However, he didn't have any toilet paper in hand, so he anxiously reached out to the patient beside Yu Jin and yelled:
“Hey, buddy! Pass me some paper! Quick, I'm almost done!”
The face of the patient beside Yu Jin darkened, and he turned around to curse:
“Are you out of your mind? Toilet stalls have partitions! How on earth can you see me?”
The other patient blanked for a moment:
“Oh, right. Well, I'm screwed. I guess I'll have to use my hand.”
As he spoke, he reached his hand toward...
“...”
Yu Jin froze on the spot, staring at the scene before him. His mind went blank, and his scalp prickled with numbness.
Where on earth did I end up?
Is this even reality anymore?
Did I enter a dream when I took the elevator?
Has a Nightmare Disaster descended?!
He slapped his own cheeks to clear his head, furrowed his brow, and held his breath as he walked toward the ward.
Though everything before him was utterly absurd, Yu Jin didn't find it funny at all. On the contrary, his heart sank heavier and heavier.
The fact that patients could run out of their rooms and treat the elevator lobby like a restroom indicated that chaos was starting to brew on the 46th floor. It was highly likely that someone had slipped inside under the cover of this confusion.
Ignoring everything else, he shifted the Sneering Revolver from his lower back to his chest, gripping it tightly and concealing it with his jacket. He focused with absolute alertness as he crept further inside.
Just as he stepped through the entrance of the ward, a frantic-looking nurse came walking toward him.
She was peering into each of the patient rooms along the hallway, seemingly looking for missing patients.
Seeing that a nurse was still around, Yu Jin breathed a huge sigh of relief.
This meant there was still some semblance of order on the 46th floor.
He quickly waved at the nurse, gesturing that the people she was looking for might be over here.
The nurse spotted him and immediately jogged over. Her forehead was covered in sweat, her hair was disheveled, and her cap was askew. It looked like she had been searching for a long time.
When she saw the people in the elevator lobby, she thanked Yu Jin repeatedly:
“Thank you so much! I've finally found them. Sorry for causing you trouble.”
Yu Jin shook his head. Ultimately, unable to contain his curiosity, he asked with an odd expression:
“Do they always do this?”
The nurse sighed and shook her head as well:
“Not always, just occasionally. These two patients suffer from severe gender blindness. They can never distinguish between the male and female symbols.”
“?”
Yu Jin was taken aback, still trying to wrap his head around what gender blindness even meant. He watched as the nurse wiped her sweat, stepped forward, and pulled up the two men who were still straining, lecturing them:
“How many times have I told you? You're boys, so you can't use the girls' restroom. Why won't you listen!”
With that, she turned the two men around, pulled them in front of the opposite elevator doors, had them squat down again, and said with relief:
“There, that's more like it. Remember from now on, boys can only use the boys' restroom.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
All three men on the scene fell completely silent.
After a few moments, the man clutching the toilet paper muttered in extreme annoyance:
“This is ridiculous! Now I have to suck it back in all over again!”
The other man without paper reached out again:
“Hey, buddy, pass me some paper! Quick, I'm almost done again.”
The man clutching the paper was genuinely furious now and barked:
“Are you actually insane?! I already told you, toilet stalls have partitions! Can you show some respect for the laws of reality?”
The paperless man trembled from the scolding, whimpering in grievance:
“Huh? I didn't know. Do boys' restrooms have partitions too?”
“...”
Yu Jin stood there expressionless, looking at the trio, and felt as though he was the one who was sick.
He turned his gaze toward the three glowing characters behind the reception desk—'Psychiatric Department'—and realized that he had indeed come to the right place.
...
Rate on N.U.
