A line of text suddenly appeared across his retina.
[Source Value +0.01 wisp]
At the sight of it,
his heart stirred.
He summoned the Primordial Plain Panel.
[Patient: Hu Long]
[Skill: Network Offense and Defense (Master)]
[Internet Speed: 8 MB/s]
[Data: 0 MB]
[Source Value: 3.01 wisps]
The illusory silver-white download panel appeared before him once more, though it had changed somewhat since before.
The Source Value entry at the bottom now read 3.01 wisps.
It had increased by 0.01 out of nowhere.
"What's the source of this Source Value?"
Hu Long's gaze shifted slightly.
He scanned the empty surroundings.
Then, as if he'd thought of something, he looked out the window.
"Could it be..."
A guess took shape in his mind, but he would need to test it to be sure.
Hu Long stayed lying on the bed, motionless, as though asleep.
Time passed.
A few gray sparrows landed on the branches outside the window, chirping noisily.
As time went on, the light shining into the room shifted.
Then Hu Long, who had been lying still, suddenly opened his eyes again.
[Source Value +0.01 wisp]
A line of silver-white text appeared, then slowly faded away.
At the same time, the Source Value on the panel increased by another 0.01.
At the sight of it,
he struggled to his feet and moved into the shadow at the side of the bed.
He waited for about the same length of time, but nothing changed.
"Just as I thought!"
Hu Long's heart stirred, and a glimmer of understanding flashed in his eyes.
By now, he was almost certain that sunlight was the source of this Source Value.
He could draw the Source Value the panel needed from sunlight.
Of course, he would need to test this several more times before he could be sure.
Time flowed silently by, and the blazing midday sun had already begun its quiet descent westward.
Vast swaths of fiery red clouds spread across the horizon, like molten gold spilled from a tipped vessel, scorching half the sky.
The brightness in the hospital room was swallowed by dusk.
Shadows slowly crept out from the corners and beneath the bed, devouring the room inch by inch.
Only a faint strip of daylight remained by the window, dimly illuminating the floor like embers about to burn out.
Click.
The small metal hatch at the bottom of the door was pulled open from the other side.
"Dinner!"
A voice echoed.
At the same time, a hand wearing a white glove set a lunchbox and a bottle of yogurt on the floor.
After that, the person withdrew their hand.
The hatch shut again with a short, cold clank.
On the bed, Hu Long opened his eyes. He had been lying there with them closed.
He hadn't slept well.
His physical condition was only part of it.
The feeling of having crossed into another world was what he found hardest to settle.
He pushed himself upright with one hand. His limbs still felt weak.
Fortunately, the bone-deep exhaustion had eased somewhat.
But evening was drawing on, and the sun was no longer as scorching as it had been at noon, leaving him a little cold.
There was a blanket on the bed, but Hu Long hadn't covered himself with it.
He'd found that covering up affected how efficiently he absorbed Source Value, slightly lengthening the time it took to gain any.
Fortunately, his clothes were thin enough that they didn't seem to make much difference.
Otherwise, he might have considered stripping naked to sunbathe.
He stepped barefoot onto the floor, which still held a little warmth from the sunlight, and slowly made his way to the door.
Bending down, he picked up the lunchbox and the carton of yogurt beside it.
Under standard procedures at a psychiatric hospital, meals were usually brought into the patient's room, or a staff member would help feed them when necessary.
The reason things were done this way was that the previous occupant of his body had explicitly requested it. Under the influence of that "ghostly thing," he'd been intensely wary of everyone.
Apart from essential procedures that required others to intervene, such as taking medication, he'd refused almost all outside help.
The lunchbox and the straw were made of soft plastic, their surfaces vaguely textured beneath his fingers.
The spoon was made of the same soft material, with rounded edges.
This was to prevent psychiatric patients from killing themselves. After all, the original owner had attempted suicide several times, and his condition had been diagnosed as extremely severe.
Hu Long lifted the lid.
There was a bowl of white rice, several pieces of braised pork coated in thick sauce, a few winter melon meatballs on the side, and a small serving of shredded potatoes.
It wasn't much, but his body wasn't in any condition to eat a lot.
He picked up the spoon and took a mouthful of rice and food.
The taste was ordinary—not bad, but not good either. Hu Long didn't mind.
This body desperately needed nourishment. It couldn't take any more strain.
He had to eat more.
Soon, he finished the meal.
Hu Long lay back down and closed his eyes to rest.
Before long, he fell into a deep sleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed before the urge to urinate woke him.
Dusk was deepening outside. The setting sun was half-hidden below the horizon, its light fading, and the room was dim.
Cicadas chirred in waves in the distance, tearing at the quiet of the evening.
A sudden, inexplicable sense of loneliness welled up inside him.
Hu Long shook his head, got up to stretch his limbs, then summoned the Primordial Plain Panel with a thought.
Silver light shimmered.
He stared at it for a long while before finally letting out a long breath.
This was all real. It wasn't a dream.
Then he stood and pressed the call button beside him.
He wanted someone to take him to the toilet.
Patients with severe mental illness like him were assigned dedicated caregivers.
The man who arrived was no stranger. It was Li Dalin, the male attendant from earlier that day.
The two made their way to the restroom.
"By the way, what time is it?"
Hu Long suddenly asked.
At this,
Li Dalin looked at Hu Long in surprise.
He knew Hu Long well.
Hu Long had been staying here for nearly three years.
At first, he'd been all right.
But as time passed, his condition had grown worse and worse.
For the past six months, he hadn't spoken to anyone at all.
Li Dalin hadn't expected him to speak up today.
He raised his hand and glanced at his watch.
"Seven twenty-one."
Then he added,
"In the evening."
Hu Long paid no mind to the unnecessary clarification, as if he were a psychiatric patient who needed everything explained.
With the sound of water splashing,
Hu Long didn't answer.
He seemed to be lost in thought.
In fact, his gaze was fixed on the Primordial Plain Panel before him.
More precisely, he was looking at the line at the bottom.
[Source Value: 3.05 wisps]
Since the panel had appeared, his Source Value had increased by only 0.05 wisps.
There was no clock in the room, but the height of the sun made it easy to guess that it had been around one or two in the afternoon.
It was summer, and the sky had only just grown dark.
At this rate, he was getting about 0.01 wisps of Source Value per hour.
That came to 0.1 a day, or 1 point of Source Value—which meant 1 terabyte of data—every ten days.
It wasn't fast, but it wasn't slow either.
Time flowed like water.
Day after day passed.
Life in the psychiatric hospital was dull, especially for someone like Hu Long, whose illness was severe. He wasn't allowed out for fresh air or to talk to anyone, let alone step outside the building.
But Hu Long didn't mind.
He had never liked noisy places. If things could stay this way, it would suit him just fine.
Of course, if that ghostly thing weren't clinging to him, he might even have been willing to stay here longer.
But with that shadow around, Hu Long knew he had to change things and leave as soon as possible.
That was assuming this hospital was a legitimate one.