Delusion

The weapon that Stop Killing was the one Zhao Yijiu had when he first entered the simulation Yugi; it was a self-defense item given to him by Zhao Mou during the novice test.

Later, after Zhao Yijiu successfully passed the test and became a deducer, this offering was truly activated and merged with Zhao Yijiu's Persona Mask, giving rise to characteristics such as silence.

And now...

As Yu Xing followed Zhao Yijiu toward the dean's office, she examined the short knife in her hand.

The appearance of the Stop Killing is still similar to before, completely black, like a shadow hidden in the darkness, extremely difficult to guard against.

He was not the owner of this offering, so he could not see its full power, nor could he use it. He could only sense the aura within the dagger from the hand holding it.

Everyone has a unique aura. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what an aura is. It's probably an intangible thing that allows people to sense the presence and atmosphere of someone even when they don't see them. Because this feeling is difficult to replicate, one can identify someone by their aura.

Yu Xing could sense that in addition to Zhao Yijiu's cold and gloomy aura, Stop Killing now possessed a violent aura that was somewhat incompatible with Zhao Yijiu's. However, Stop Killing did not reject it; on the contrary, it blended in very well.

It must be the vengeful ghost inside Zhao Yijiu.

Even the offerings beneath the Persona Mask can be affected; this vengeful ghost is probably not only indistinguishable from Zhao Yijiu, but also has other aspects to exploit...

Yu Xing called out to Zhao Yijiu, "Brother Jiu."

Zhao Yijiu didn't turn around, but her steps slowed slightly. "..."

"I heard from Zhao Mou that you can already use some of the abilities of vengeful ghosts?"

Yu Xing wasn't worried that Zhao Yijiu's vengeful ghost personality would hear about this, since the vengeful ghost personality's independent consciousness was only temporary. Once the game ended and the personality split effect disappeared, the vengeful ghost's independent consciousness would naturally disappear as well, returning to Zhao Yijiu's emotional state.

"Um."

"When you use your ghostly abilities, do you experience any emotional changes? Do you feel like you're acting like a different person?"

Zhao Yijiu paused for a moment before saying calmly, "Using insignificant abilities normally doesn't bother me. But every time I lose control, I get that feeling."

Yu Xing quickened her pace to catch up, and asked with some curiosity, "What did it feel like?"

"I am still me, but I am not me anymore." Zhao Yijiu wasn't deliberately being cryptic; he was somewhat troubled by this way of describing things. After thinking for a while, he said, "For example, normally you like the vastness of the sea, but in certain situations, you prefer the darkness of the deep sea and the sharp teeth of giant creatures."

"Hiss, that's a very poetic way of putting it." Yu Xing stroked his chin. "Perhaps it's like seeing a kitten. In a normal state, like someone who likes cats, you would want to pet it. But under the influence of the vengeful ghost, even though your mind is still yours, all you want to do is crush that furry and fragile head?"

"More or less." Zhao Yijiu said nothing more. This feeling is hard for normal people to understand, and only those who have experienced it firsthand know what it's really like.

It's me, yet it doesn't feel like me.

While they were chatting, they saw the closed door to the dean's office. The two of them stopped talking on their own. Yu Xing returned the knife to Zhao Yijiu and went forward to push open the door to make room for the unconscious dean.

"You're back." Sure enough, Ren Yi had an open notebook in his hand. Shafuri, Qu Xuanqing, and Zhao Mou didn't look at it, patiently waiting for Ren Yi to finish reading it.

He watched as Zhao Yijiu mercilessly placed the dean on the ground and asked, "Are you still alive?"

The notebook that appears when someone is near death will not disappear because the hospital director dies. The reason why no one got the notebook in the previous Fear Hospital episodes was because Ren Yi completed two identification cycles on his own before everyone came to help, thus completing some prerequisite tasks.

"Alive," Zhao Yijiu replied simply.

Ren Yi nodded, ignoring the dean, and continued flipping through his notebook.

As I watched, a subtle smile actually appeared on his expressionless face.

"Senior Ren Yi, have you discovered something?" Zhao Mou, comfortably seated in his wheelchair, asked politely upon seeing this.

Even though he has now been exposed as being on the side of Yu Xing, the big shot who is pretending to be weak, he still adheres to his way of doing things, treating every senior with politeness on the surface, making it impossible for anyone to feel dissatisfied.

Ren Yi read through the notes at superhuman speed, then handed them to Zhao Mou: "You guys pass them around; the clues in these notes are very important."

When he has companions around, he doesn't like to explain things to himself, and Zhao Mou himself prefers to read in silence, which makes the audience even more anxious.

[Damn, what clue? Share it with us!]

[I was wrong. Ren Yi explained it in such detail before, and I still wasn't willing to listen.]

[Didn't you notice? Actually, when Ren Yi alone before, although he talked a lot, most of it was about popular science and knowledge. It didn't seem like he was telling us what he was doing; it was more like he was trying to distract us.]

[Yes, all we know is where he is now, that he seems to have taken a document, and that he seems to have taken something, but we haven't said why he took it or what his next move is. He just gives us lectures with general knowledge, and wow, I don't want to listen to his lectures anymore... no, I don't want to watch his live streams, that's all.]

[The result was under his control. He was in the atmosphere this time. Damn it, is there such a big character limit for my speech because my rank is low?]

Don't I deserve to know the truth? Why? It's infuriating!

[Ren Yi may also have concerns. He might be afraid that if he fails this time, others will imitate his actions and steal the truth. After all, the truth isn't just about things coming to light; different choices can lead to different outcomes.]

[Yes, whether the Fear Hospital will close or become a chaotic mess that threatens other hypothetical worlds depends on the choice of those who reveal the truth.]

Viewers were enthusiastic, and more and more people watched the Fear Hospital live stream. After several major events were discussed and the posts went viral, everyone's interest in the Yugi was clearly pushed to its peak.

In the dean's office, Zhao Mou looked thoughtful after reading the notebook. They passed it around one after another. Logically, after Zhao Mou, it should have been either Shafuri or Qu Xuanqing, but one of them didn't care much about the truth and wasn't in a hurry, while the other would definitely let Yu Xing read it first.

After considering for two seconds, Zhao Mou handed the notebook directly to Yu Xing.

Yu Xing stepped forward and took it, feeling a rough, uneven texture on his hand. He glanced down at it.

This is a notebook with a red cover. The cover looks somewhat tattered, as if it had been violently damaged. There are crisscrossing marks from pen nibs, which is quite shocking.

He turned to the first page. The diary entries had no dates, no moods, no weather; every sentence was unusually straightforward.

[A new Doctor joined us today. He's a graduate of a prestigious university, very experienced, and I heard he performed exceptionally well at another hospital, even participating in the research and development of several new drugs. Unfortunately, that hospital couldn't retain him, and he chose our larger hospital instead. Indeed, talented people need a bigger stage to better showcase their abilities.]

I chatted with the Doctor when I had some free time, and sure enough, he's just my type. I wish I had met him sooner.

[I'm sick. Today I feel weak in my limbs and my head is foggy. Everyone says it's because I'm working too hard and wants me to reduce my workload. I laughed. They're really something... How could a hospital director like me have as much workload as these people who perform surgeries every day? They don't even know how to take care of themselves, all they do is comfort me. Oh well, I'll give them more things for the Dragon Boat Festival in a couple of days.]

[I don't know why, but over the past month, the way my dad looks at me has become increasingly strange. It's like he's afraid of me, yet also like he's dependent on me. I don't know why he's become like this; maybe it's something that sick people go through?]

[Dad is pulling me again, insisting I stay with him. I want to be with him, but I have work to do! What's with that fearful look in his eyes? Is he afraid I'll abandon him? I'm not that kind of person.]

I fainted today.

My Doctor told me that my stress levels have been rising again lately, and the psychological issues I had finally managed to resolve are starting to pile up again. She suggested that I talk to her more often. I trust her; she's been my Doctor for three years, and I'm willing to listen to her advice. I'll try to see her more often in the near future.

[Old Liu and I are already friends. I have to say, even if someone like him were working in my hospital, I'd feel it's a waste of his talent. He's been asking me out to dinner a lot lately, and I really want to talk to him more. Having someone like him who understands me makes me feel like I don't even need to see Doctor.]

[She called me a lot today, saying I haven't been to her for treatment for a month and I have to go in the next few days. Okay, even though I feel much better, I'll still go and tell her about my situation, just to put her mind at ease.]

[A murdered patient arrived today. She was already in critical condition when she was brought in. Her face was disfigured by strong acid, and her throat had been burned. She was found in an alley. The police do not yet know her identity.]

That patient died; we couldn't save him. I was planning to see a Doctor tonight, but she didn't answer my calls.

[Oh my god... how could that patient be her! It must be a fake... She's such a good person, who would murder her? The police came to question me because she's my Doctor, so am I a suspect too?]

My father's condition has worsened; he might not live past this fall. I miss him terribly, but every time I meet his unreadable gaze, I feel inexplicably afraid.

I need to find a new Doctor.

My friend invited me to dinner today, but my dad's condition is too bad, so I declined.

My father died today. I couldn't keep my promise to watch over him until he closed his eyes. He was so frightened he died... What could have made him so terrified? If I hadn't gone for surgery today, would he have been able to pass away peacefully?

Upon seeing this, Yu Xing's eyes revealed a hint of understanding.

The handwriting in these diaries is sometimes neat and sometimes messy, and although they are indeed from the same hand, there are subtle differences.

The most frequently mentioned characters are the dean's father, the dean's female Doctor, and the dean's Doctor friend. Others are mentioned briefly, but only briefly. Strangely, the Doctor friend always appears alone in the diary, as if no one other than the dean has had any contact with the Doctor friend.

He handed the notebook to Zhao Yijiu, then asked Ren Yi, "Is this dean also a graduate of a prestigious university?"

Since Ren Yi was able to find a very definite answer in the notebook, it must be because Ren Yi had more information.

"That's right." Ren Yi nodded. "Graduated from a prestigious university, with double doctorates in surgery and medicinal chemistry."

"Isn't he a specialist in surgery?" Zhao Yijiu asked Yu Xing as soon as she opened her notebook.

The only memory they had of seeing the hospital director was that of the two of them in the intensive care unit.

"So, the mystery is solved." Yu Xing chuckled, glancing at the unconscious dean lying in the room, a calm expression in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Qu Xuanqing leaned against the wall, her blood-stained clothes making her look somewhat fragile, but she didn't care about that at all, nor did she find the sticky feeling of wearing them uncomfortable.

Yu Xing, she only wanted to hear the conclusion and didn't want to think too much about it.

Upon hearing Zhao Yijiu's question, Zhao Mou immediately understood. He pondered for a few seconds and said, "You mean, the person who didn't have that so-called Doctor friend, graduated from a prestigious university, and participated in several drug research projects, is the dean himself."

"Yes, the dean's mental illness has lasted for a long time, which can be seen from the fact that he has Doctor. It also mentions 'things from the past,' but we don't know the specifics yet. What we do know is that the Doctor friend is likely someone the dean imagined in his mind after his illness." Ren Yi continued Zhao Mou's words.

Shafuri understood. She glanced at Zhao Yijiu with a seductive look in her eyes. "Is it possible that, like Cold Wine's symptoms, it's a case of dissociative identity disorder?"

"It's different," Yu Xing said. "The dean's symptoms are different from dissociative identity disorder. He consciously gives what he possesses to imaginary characters, making himself incomplete. In my opinion, he has a form of paranoia."

"The excessive pressure, stemming from what we didn't know before, caused the dean to develop a mental illness and need to see Doctor. With the Doctor's help, his condition improved, but then his father's illness put even more pressure on him, causing his condition to relapse. This time, the Doctor friend he imagined is very capable, participating in normal medical work every day, which is why the dean is so exhausted. Everyone at the hospital says he's too busy and should rest, but the dean doesn't believe he's the one doing the work." Zhao Mou had already pieced together the whole story in just a few minutes.

He paused, then continued, "Not only that, this imagined Doctor friend is no good either. He kept preventing the dean from seeing Doctor, and even murdered the Doctor when the Doctor urged him to, leaving the dean completely isolated and helpless."

In other words, it was the dean who did all of this, but he thought it was someone else who did it; his mind made him forget the mistakes he had made himself.