Medical dispute.
Reassignment.
Dismissal.
Retention pending review.
Every word on the bulletin board,
and the two known rules,
kept rearranging themselves in Chen Mo's mind.
At last, they pieced together a vague outline.
Doctor Wen Li had been young and accomplished, a rising star in medicine with a limitless future.
Because of a dishonest patient and a medical dispute against which he could not defend himself,
his entire life as a doctor had been ruined.
So he hated.
He hated the patients who lied to him.
He hated those who dared question his professional authority even more.
After the "Tide Cry," his overwhelming resentment had finally erupted.
It had turned Doctor Wen into a monster obsessed with perfect medical care.
In the end, he had created a medical order that was absolutely perfect in his eyes.
He played the perfect doctor.
That meant he needed perfect patients.
The first rule.
Play the role of a patient.
The second rule.
Do not lie to the doctor.
Then what was the third rule?
Chen Mo sorted through his thoughts as he followed the corridor.
He slowly made his way up to the second floor.
The smell of disinfectant grew stronger, stinging his nose.
Ward 204.
Chen Mo pushed open the half-closed door.
It was a room with two hospital beds.
Snow-white sheets covered the beds.
The quilts had been neatly folded into blocks.
Chen Mo walked inside and sat on the bed by the window.
His mind was racing.
Consultation, diagnosis, and then... surgery.
This process was a precise, closed loop. Every step was essential.
He had already reached the "waiting for surgery" stage.
Next came the so-called "Cerebral Nerve Ablation."
The name alone made it clear that it was nothing good.
Just as Chen Mo was racking his brain,
soft footsteps sounded at the door.
Chen Mo looked up. He froze.
It was not Doctor Wen.
A figure in a pink nurse's uniform walked in.
A second supernatural entity?
The "nurse" was tall and moved stiffly.
He came in one step at a time.
The nurse carried a stainless-steel tray.
On it sat a glass of water and a white pill.
"Time for your medicine."
The nurse approached and set the tray on the bedside cabinet with a clang.
That voice...
It sounded so familiar.
Yet there was something indescribably strange about it.
As though he were forcibly squeezing his throat to produce it.
Chen Mo raised his head, fixing his gaze on the figure.
That voice unmistakably belonged to Doctor Wen.
The "nurse" wore a mask and watched Chen Mo with a smile.
Chen Mo studied the face beneath the mask.
It was covered in a thick layer of cheap, deathly pale foundation.
Chen Mo's mind stalled...
"Go on, take your medicine."
Seeing Chen Mo sitting there in a daze, the nurse urged him again.
Chen Mo's heart gave a violent jolt.
He did not know what the pill was or what would happen if he took it.
Take it?
Or refuse?
The nurse began trembling slightly.
His eyes gradually widened into a bulging stare.
Even through the mask, Chen Mo could see his face growing increasingly distorted.
If he refused, he would die right now.
Disobeying medical advice meant breaking a rule.
He wrestled with the decision for a moment.
A second before the "nurse" lost the last of his patience,
Chen Mo finally picked up the pill and swallowed it with water, struggling to get it down.
When the "nurse" saw him take the medicine, the distorted face beneath his mask
slowly regained its former kindness and broke into a satisfied smile.
Then he turned around.
He picked up the tray and slowly walked out into the corridor.
He even thoughtfully closed the door behind him.
Chen Mo sat on the bed, feeling his eyelids grow heavier and heavier.
At last, instinct overcame reason.
His head tilted, and he collapsed onto the bed.
An unknown amount of time passed.
A bright light woke Chen Mo.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The distinctive overhead lamp of an operating room filled his vision.
The light stung his eyes, sending tears streaming down his face.
A familiar figure stood quietly beside him.
Doctor Wen had changed back into his spotless white coat.
He held a gleaming silver scalpel.
"You're awake?"
Seeing that Chen Mo had woken,
Doctor Wen gave him his signature gentle smile again.
He was as tender as someone soothing a frightened child.
"Don't be nervous. It's just a very minor prefrontal lobotomy."
"It'll be over soon. Just have a little sleep."
"Once the surgery is done, you'll never feel anxious, lose sleep, or have nightmares again."
"You'll find... complete peace."
Prefrontal Lobotomy!
Chen Mo immediately tried to sit up.
To his despair, he discovered
that several leather straps had secured his limbs firmly to the operating table.
Now Chen Mo truly panicked.
More terrifying than death
was the prospect of being turned into a complete and utter idiot!
Doctor Wen ignored his struggles.
He picked up a transparent syringe filled with liquid from a nearby tray.
He pressed the plunger with the needle pointing into the air until a thin stream of liquid spurted out.
Watching Chen Mo, he spoke slowly.
"Hold still. I'm about to administer the anesthetic."
The cold needle slowly pierced Chen Mo's arm.
Chen Mo felt an even stronger sense of weakness.
It spread rapidly from his arm through his entire body.
His mind raced.
He searched for a way out.
A complete treatment system!
Doctor Wen's obsession was to establish a perfect medical environment, free from doubt, where he held absolute authority!
A patient came in and went through consultation, examination, diagnosis, treatment...
And after treatment?
What was the final step?
Recovery!
Discharge!
Only then would the loop in his twisted world be perfectly complete!
This idea was the only last resort Chen Mo could think of!
"Doctor Wen!"
Chen Mo summoned the last of his strength.
He bit the tip of his tongue, regaining a sliver of clarity.
As Doctor Wen turned to pick up the scalpel,
he spoke to him.
"I... feel much better!"
"I think I've already recovered."
"I want to be discharged! The medicine you gave me cured me, Doctor Wen!"
Doctor Wen froze.
He stood rooted to the spot.
The smile vanished from his face, replaced by an almost blank look of bewilderment and confusion.
The eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses lost focus.
It really worked!
Chen Mo continued.
"Doctor Wen, after taking that medicine and having a nap, I feel much better."
"You're such a good doctor."
The hand holding the scalpel trembled slightly and unnaturally in midair.
The patient said he had recovered and wanted to be discharged.
The patient's doomsday syndrome required surgical treatment.
Chen Mo's heart rose into his throat,
as he stared fixedly at the trembling scalpel in Doctor Wen's hand.
He did not know which way this entity's logic would ultimately lean.
At last,
the bewilderment faded from Doctor Wen's face.
He put that gentle, professional smile back on his face.
He set down the scalpel.
"All right."
"Since you feel you've fully recovered, you can be discharged."
As he spoke, he bent down and unfastened the straps binding Chen Mo's limbs.
The instant the restraints fell away, Chen Mo mustered his last shred of willpower and rolled off the operating table.
The moment his feet touched the floor, his legs gave out completely.
The anesthetic had taken full effect.
He could no longer even stand steadily.
But his survival instinct drove him to crawl toward the door like a madman.
One step.
Then another.
He made it out through the operating room doors.
Turned into the corridor.
And tumbled all the way down the stairs.
He no longer had the strength to get back up.
Chen Mo used both his elbows and his knees,
Dragging himself toward the clinic's entrance, inch by inch.
It was only twenty meters away.
Yet it had become a journey he could never seem to finish.
His body grew heavier and heavier.
His vision began to blur into overlapping images.
Chen Mo could sense Doctor Wen behind him.
Just standing there quietly, watching him crawl.
He did not stop him.
Nor did he help.
Almost.
Almost there.
Three meters.
Two meters.
One meter.
"That's not right..."
A voice sounded behind him.
"You haven't recovered!"
"You're lying!!"
Chen Mo summoned the last of his strength.
Gripping the door handle, he shakily pulled himself to his feet.
He opened the clinic's front door.
Doctor Wen's shriek shattered the clinic's stillness.
The conflict between Doctor Wen's rules had ended.
But he had chosen the worst possible outcome.
His logic collapsed, and his resentment ran wild!
Chen Mo sensed it clearly.
A sense of extreme danger.
Locked firmly onto the back of his neck.
There was no time to think.
Instinctively, he raised his right hand.
And held it behind his neck.
Squelch.
A surge of excruciating pain shot through him.
Before you continue