Wang Hailong's words didn't sound like much at first, but the more you thought about it, the more terrifying they became.
"A monster stepped on your brother's shoulder? And then its body grew taller?" A two-and-a-half-meter-tall figure stepping on a child's shoulders —
"That's what my brother wrote. For the parts he couldn't describe clearly, he even drew pictures." Wang Hailong took out his phone. "This is what the doctor had him draw from memory during his last visit."
Chen Ge took the phone and looked. The photo showed a deeply unsettling drawing.
At the very bottom of the white paper was a short, chubby child, occupying roughly a tenth of the page. The remaining nine-tenths were taken up by the strange figure standing on his shoulders.
"What is this?" Chen Ge stared at the figure on the child's shoulders. From its appearance, it seemed female, with long disheveled hair, but its body characteristics looked more like a man's. It was extremely thin — like two bamboo poles with a white cloth bag slipped over them.
"You don't know either?" Wang Hailong asked. "I saw a similar scene in your haunted house — a girl standing on a tourist's shoulders. That's what reminded me of my brother's story." He took his phone back and glanced at the haunted house from a distance, the fear still lingering in his eyes. "If you're able to design a scene like that, you must know something about this legend, right? And when that girl stood on my shoulders, it felt incredibly real. If my rational mind hadn't told me I was visiting a haunted house, I would have honestly wondered whether I'd run into an actual ghost."
"Our haunted house uses the latest 4D technology. Through special methods, we stimulate the visitors' sight, hearing, smell, and touch from all angles — that's why you felt the pressure on your shoulders." Chen Ge didn't so much as blink, delivering this with a perfectly straight face. "As for the ghost stepping on your shoulders, that was most likely just a coincidence."
"All right." Wang Hailong still wasn't convinced. "But can you at least tell me where the design inspiration for that scene came from?"
This Wang Hailong was stubborn as a mule — he wasn't going to let it go until he got to the bottom of it.
Chen Ge thought for a moment. "There are no ghosts in this world. They're just things people imagine. I understand you're worried about your brother, but desperation is no reason to grasp at straws. Rather than asking me, you'd be better off seeing a psychologist. I can introduce you to a professional."
The amusement park might be forced to shut down in two months, and Chen Ge didn't want to waste time on other matters. He was genuinely trying to help Wang Hailong's brother — after all, he was just an outsider, and these things were better left to doctors.
"When my brother was very young, our father already took him to see doctors. There's a psychiatric hospital right next to our old hometown. My brother even stayed there for a while, but it didn't help much." Wang Hailong hesitated, as if wanting to say more but holding back.
"Brother, let me explain." Wang Wenlong supported his brother. "For some reason, my brother absolutely hates being around doctors. The moment he sees anyone in a white coat, he starts screaming, struggling, even throwing punches. Because we knew about this, whenever we took him to see a psychologist afterward, we'd warn the doctor in advance and have them change into casual clothes."
"He hates doctors?" Chen Ge had discovered a second strange thing about Wang Hailong's brother. "Could it be that whoever stepped on the child's shoulders is afraid of doctors? So seeing one triggers them to hurt the child?"
"We don't know the reason either. When we took him to the hospital near our old home when he was little, nothing ever happened. But after he was transferred out of the closed ward, he started becoming afraid of doctors." Wang Wenlong added. This was a secret hidden in the hearts of the brothers — and today it finally came out.
"There must be a reason for a sudden change like that." Chen Ge tried to help them analyze. "Could something have happened during treatment — a doctor doing something that frightened him?"
"Impossible. Wang Shenglong was the youngest. When he was being treated, our whole family was there around the clock, and the doctors were perfectly fine."
"Since it's not a problem with the doctors, then it's most likely the treatment environment. I think you should go back to the place where Wang Shenglong was originally hospitalized — you might find some clues there." Chen Ge offered this suggestion with genuine sincerity. Afterward, he was ready to go eat lunch.
"That hospital was abandoned long ago. The third ward where Shenglong stayed has been completely sealed off — there's no way to get in." Wang Hailong sighed. "Sorry about this. We got so scared today that it brought back some memories of our little brother."
"The third ward?" Chen Ge, because of the black phone's missions, was particularly sensitive to the number three. "Which hospital was your brother initially treated at?"
"The one right next to our old hometown, in the neighboring county. Our family was poor back then, so we could only go there. Later, when our financial situation improved, we transferred him to another hospital."
"That's not what I'm asking. What's the name of that hospital?" Chen Ge stared at Wang Hailong's face, his gaze a little unsettling.
"The Jiujiang Third Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center — also called the Third Hospital. It's been abandoned for five or six years now, I think." The Wang brothers couldn't understand why Chen Ge's attitude had suddenly shifted.
"Does that rehabilitation center have a place called the Third Ward Building?" The information in Chen Ge's mind was slowly falling into place.
"Oh, so that's what you wanted to ask. Some people did call the third closed ward where my brother stayed the Third Ward Building. It's the same place — just a different name."
"Understood." Chen Ge took a deep breath. "I know Jiujiang's best psychologist. If it's all right, could you take me to see your brother tonight?"
Afraid they might refuse, Chen Ge invoked Dr. Gao's name.
"Sure, but I hope you're prepared — my brother, well… how should I put this? He looks a little bit… unusual." Wang Hailong forced a smile. "If the doctor you mentioned is coming too, make sure he wears casual clothes. My brother really hates doctors."
After saying that, he pulled a pitch-black business card from his pocket. On the front were three characters — Longhu Fang.
"Who are you people?" Looking at the flamboyantly designed business card, Chen Ge thought of the muscular man with the wolf tattoo. Combined with the way these people spoke, suspicion crept into his mind.
Could these guys be connected to the underworld? This was the first time Chen Ge had encountered anything like that in real life.
Seeing the startled look on Chen Ge's face, Wang Hailong said with great modesty, "What you're probably thinking — the Longhu Fang Sichuan Hot Pot Restaurant is owned by one of our relatives. My WeChat and phone number are on the back of the card."
Chen Ge grimaced slightly and pocketed the card. "Do you have a more specific address?"
"Just come to Haiming Apartments in the old district tonight. Shenglong and my dad live there."