But I Preferred Being Called Doctor Gao

Yan Hua was towering. When she stood, she could block out all the light. Gao Ming looked as fragile as a chick before her, as though one punch could kill him, yet the fist that had smashed countless faces simply refused to fall this time.

The "Executioner," with thirteen consecutive wins in underground boxing, had not hesitated like this in a long time.

Yan Hua was not a bad person. By any measure, she could hardly be called one. But if left alone to follow the game's original plot, she would be dragged down by her uncontrollable Desire to attack and her festering heart, eventually becoming one of Hanhai's most dangerous serial killers.

"No matter how much you train your body, it won't help, because your soul is still trapped in the shadows of your childhood." Gao Ming leaned back in his chair. The back of his clothes was already soaked with cold sweat, but he showed no trace of panic, as if he had anticipated everything. "Killing and violence can't actually give you a sense of security. They'll only twist you further."

"Who told you all this?" Yan Hua's suit had burst at the seams. Hideous Giant Ghost designs covered her body, making her look like a demon that had crawled from the depths of hell.

"Your older sister, Yan Ling." Taking out a lighter, Gao Ming lit a cigarette. "Why don't we... sit down and talk?"

At the sound of her sister's name, Yan Hua's eyes filled with disbelief, and her expression involuntarily softened. That name held a special meaning for her.

The few happy moments in her childhood had all come from her sister. Those fractured scraps of color were what had allowed Yan Hua to hold on until adulthood.

"She's still alive?" By the time Yan Hua came to her senses, she was already sitting down. Without realizing it, she had done exactly as Gao Ming asked.

"Yes. She asked me to take good care of you, to free you from your pain and let you have a life of your own."

"Where is she now? Take me to her!" Yan Hua believed Gao Ming because no one except her sister knew about her childhood. Only someone who had earned her sister's trust could have learned from her about the past they least wanted to remember.

His sleeve brushed the tabletop, inadvertently exposing the Black Ring on Gao Ming's wrist. "I want to see her again too, but she's trapped somewhere else. Only through an anomaly event can we enter that world shrouded in shadows and find her."

"What are you talking about?" Yan Hua frowned. Even a madwoman like her thought Gao Ming had gone insane.

"The horrors of strange tales will engulf the city. Sinister Ghosts could appear at any moment. A great catastrophe is coming."

Gao Ming's words left Yan Hua speechless. He was so thoroughly "insane" that even this potential psychopathic killer had no idea how to respond. After a long while, Yan Hua shook her head slightly. "Stop beating around the bush. Tell me what I should do."

"When you woke up, there should have been a Black-and-White Posthumous Photo beside you. That's the best proof." Gao Ming took a sip of hot water. "I promised your sister I would look after you and help treat your illness. All you need to do is follow me, cooperate with my treatment, and wait patiently for news."

"How long do I have to wait?"

"The places connected to anomaly events are unpredictable. They won't necessarily lead to where your sister disappeared. Those places are also extremely dangerous, so we have to be incredibly careful every time we go in to investigate. This isn't something we can rush." Gao Ming deliberately changed the subject. "Compared with finding your sister, healing the wounds in your heart is the more urgent task."

"I'm in pain, but I can control myself."

"You don't have to keep everything under control. Your childhood was when the seeds of your criminal impulses were planted, but what truly made those flowers of evil bloom was the endless torment, the all-too-familiar violence, and the nightmares that went on so long there was no end in sight." Gao Ming stubbed out his cigarette. "The way to get through the night isn't to wait for dawn, but to adapt to the darkness. I can cure the illness tormenting you and pull out the thorn in your heart."

The heavy rain cut the restaurant off from the city. It felt like a corner the world had forgotten.

Yan Hua knew the desires in her heart better than anyone. That surging bloodlust and pain were on the verge of swallowing everything she was.

"There are actually better solutions than killing. Your hatred comes from your stepfather. Simply letting him die won't heal you. We should make him suffer a real punishment." Gao Ming recalled all the strange tales he had read. "Let me help you. I'll give you a treatment plan you'll be satisfied with."

"Why do I get the feeling you're even sicker than I am?" Yan Hua slowly lowered her hostility and guard. "What should I call you?"

"My name is Gao Ming." Gao Ming left his contact information, smiling. "But I prefer being called Doctor Gao."

"Doctor Gao?" Yan Hua worked to memorize Gao Ming's phone number. "I've seen therapists before, but none of them ever said anything like this to me."

"Because I'm on your side."

Gao Ming walked to the counter, picked up two bowls of noodles, and left the restaurant.

Back in the Investigation Bureau's car, Gao Ming made no attempt to hide anything. He handed one bowl to Zhu Miaomiao, and the two began eating in the car.

"Gao Ming, that friend of yours is so muscular! She's really intimidating. Aren't you scared to be friends with someone like that?" Zhu Miaomiao took big mouthfuls of noodles. She was starving too.

"What's there to be scared of?" Only after getting into the car did Gao Ming realize his back was completely soaked and his neck was still breaking out in cold sweat.

"I have nothing against tattoos, but she's covered in evil Ghosts. I thought only high-ranking gang members could get tattoos like that."

"Have you been watching too much television? Hurry up and eat. We still have another place to go." Gao Ming received another message from the Investigation Bureau. They had located the second "criminal," who happened to be in the East District as well.

After they finished the noodles, Zhu Miaomiao drove Gao Ming to the vicinity of Saint Louis College in the East District.

This college was unusual. Established by the Hanhai Charity Federation, it had been built years ago with donations from people across all walks of life. It had once enjoyed a measure of glory, but the quality of its teaching had deteriorated, and it had gradually become Hanhai's most chaotically managed private college.

The East District brought together Hanhai's wealthiest and most powerful people, but many impoverished families also struggled to make a living there. They could not afford the tuition at elite private schools, nor could they secure places at public schools, so their only choice was to send their children to colleges like Saint Louis.

"Hello, we're investigators from the Lishan Investigation Office. We'd like to ask you about someone." Zhu Miaomiao approached the school's security booth, but the elderly guard seemed a little hard of hearing. He kept his head down, reading the news.

Taking out five hundred yuan, Gao Ming held the money out at the window. "Was a student repeating his final year of high school beaten up in an alley yesterday evening?"

The guard saw the money, nodded, and reached for it, but Gao Ming grabbed his hand.

"Huh?" The guard tried to struggle, but he could not break free. "What do you want?"

"Pull up yesterday's surveillance footage and tell me what happened. Don't leave anything out." Gao Ming's expression was grave. "That kid is very dangerous!"

After Gao Ming's persuasion, the old guard finally began cooperating, but part of yesterday's surveillance footage had been deleted.

"You even deleted the footage to leave no evidence. You've got some nerve." Gao Ming gave a cold smile. Tragedies could often be prevented, but one link of thoughtless malice after another ultimately pushed their victims into the abyss.

The guard might have deleted the footage on someone's orders. Faced with a choice between helping conceal the truth and following his conscience, he had chosen to assist evil.

Perhaps the old guard believed he had not directly taken part in anything wrong, but in reality, he too had become a link in that chain of evil.

Entering the school, Gao Ming followed the information provided by the Investigation Bureau and headed to the third floor of the high school section.

"Gao Ming, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to just barge in?" Zhu Miaomiao now understood why Director Chen had told her to accompany Gao Ming. Without someone watching him, there was no telling what this investigator might do.

"He's not in the classrooms." Like a newly appointed dean of discipline, Gao Ming stopped at every classroom window on the third floor, staring fixedly at the students. Even the teachers at their lecterns grew nervous under his gaze.

"Shouldn't we speak to the school administration first?"

Zhu Miaomiao grabbed Gao Ming's clothes, trying to pull him away, but just then, they heard a male student's voice coming from the restroom.

"Quick, record this! Wan Qiu snuck into the girls' restroom during class! He really is a pervert!"

(End of chapter)