"The patient in Room Five is named Xu Tong. He suffers from Fregoli delusion—full name: Fregoli delusion syndrome. He believes that everyone around him is actually the same person in disguise, and that he's living in a manipulated world."
"The patient in Room Six is named
"Han Bao'er stayed in the closed ward for only two and a half months before someone checked her out. She suffers from an extremely rare condition—body dysmorphic disorder."
"She constantly exaggerates defects in her appearance, firmly convinced that some part of her body is ugly, unable to accept even the slightest flaw. During her hospitalization, she even wanted to chop off her own finger because she couldn't cut her nail symmetrically."
"The patient in Room Seven left no name. He suffers from Cotard's delusion—believes that his body and internal organs have changed. He claims his viscera have rotted away, that he's actually already dead. He says he once saw the real world, and that the reality we live in doesn't actually exist."
"Room Eight has a specially reinforced iron door. The patient inside is named Xiong Qing. He used to be a doctor in Building Three. Perhaps because he witnessed too many anguished and twisted patients, he developed hemispatial neglect at the age of thirty."
"The patient loses the ability to focus equal attention on both sides of a space. People with this condition, when drawing a person, often leave out the arm and legs on one side. When asked about it, they'll say it looks perfectly fine."
"Strictly speaking, this condition isn't that serious, but Xiong Qing is a perfectionist. So whenever he sees patients with intact limbs, he can't control the urge to 'correct' them."
"The patient in Room Nine is named
"Some doctors believe Wu Fei has Asperger's syndrome—in layman's terms, autism without intellectual impairment. His memory is extraordinary, and in certain areas he possesses abilities far beyond ordinary people. He never communicates with anyone, probably because he considers everyone around him to be fools, his treating doctors included."
"During therapy, he once confessed to having done many crazy things—some of them serious enough to involve the police. Unfortunately, after investigation, it turned out most of those incidents were fabricated. The few that actually happened had already been solved, with a complete chain of evidence pointing to the real culprit, who had nothing to do with Wu Fei."
"Wu Fei never harmed anyone inside the building, but the hospital still decided to confine him to Room Nine. It was a decision made jointly by the hospital and the police."
"In terms of danger level, the most dangerous should be Room Ten. The patient in that room has no name—I checked every file, and the name field just reads 'Number 10.' The doctors never mention his name. In the case files, he's usually referred to as 'the Devil.'"
"This patient suffers from Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, also known as self-mutilation syndrome. During episodes, he uses all kinds of objects to disfigure his face beyond recognition. His perception of reality is completely different from a normal person's, and he possesses an extremely powerful destructive urge."
"Number 10 is mostly kept locked to his bed. When he does go out, he's strapped to a wheelchair and guarded by designated staff."
"In fact, people with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome rarely live past twenty. This Number 10 is probably already dead."
Dr. Gao recited the files on all nine patients, and
He stared at what he'd written, feeling more and more uneasy as he read: "Dr. Gao, do you know where these nine patients transferred to after leaving Building Three?"
"Except for Wang Shenglong, Xu Tong, and Han Bao'er, who have medical records at other facilities, the others seem to have vanished completely. There's no trace of information about any of them."
"Do you have any contact information for them?" Chen Ge wanted to get a fuller picture of Building Three before the livestream started.
"The contact details in the files are basically all unusable. Even if I gave them to you, it wouldn't help." Dr. Gao politely declined Chen Ge's request. "The reason I called this late is mainly to tell you that Wang Shenglong could be very dangerous. Many patients are one way when lucid and a completely different way when an episode hits. Absolutely do not provoke them—if you're the one who provokes them first, even if they hurt you, the legal consequences would be very light."
Dr. Gao's meaning was simple: don't go looking for trouble. After Chen Ge's fall, when he noticed the carpet was flat without any wrinkles, he suspected Chen Ge hadn't tripped on his own but was knocked down by an outside force—which was why he called in the middle of the night to warn him.
"I understand. I'll be careful from now on." Chen Ge thought for a moment, then added: "Dr. Gao, if you come across any more information related to Building Three, let me know. I'm very interested in that hospital."
"Your interests really are… unique. Alright, get some rest early. If I make any new progress on my end, I'll notify you right away."
After hanging up, Chen Ge tidied the papers on the desk, his mind turning over the nine patients.
"Ten rooms, but only nine patients. If the room numbers correspond to danger levels, why is Room Three specifically left empty? Did anyone ever actually stay in it? Or did the patient in Room Three meet their end inside the building?"
Chen Ge didn't even know when he'd fallen asleep. He hadn't changed out of his clothes, and the next time he opened his eyes, dawn had already broken.
He checked the time—just six o'clock. Chen Ge went out to wash his face, opened the haunted house doors, and rode a shared bike from outside the park to the nearest farmers' market.
The sky had barely lightened, but the market was already buzzing with noise. Chen Ge squeezed into a crowd of elderly shoppers, standing out conspicuously.
First he bought a live rooster, then he ran over to the pork stall and stood there watching eagerly.
The moment the shopkeeper finally had a free moment, he hurried over.
The pork seller was a man in his forties, and he'd already noticed Chen Ge long ago: "What do you want?"
Now that the moment came to actually say it, Chen Ge felt a bit embarrassed: "I'd like to buy your pig-slaughtering knife."
"You came here to buy a knife from me?" The man thought Chen Ge was pulling his leg, and his face darkened.
"I'm completely serious." Chen Ge set money right on the chopping block. "Name your price."
After a long explanation, the pork seller finally understood why Chen Ge wanted the knife. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It's not that I don't want to sell it to you—nowadays they use specialized electric equipment to slaughter pigs. Besides, all I have here are bone cleavers, boning knives, and regular meat knives. If you want an actual pig-slaughtering knife, you'd need to go to a slaughterhouse."