Chapter 1165 – Exchanged Identities

　　Lying on the bed in the mental illness treatment center, Chen Ge was perfectly integrated into the environment at this time, no matter whether it was his expression or the words he said.

　　”You’re still a good person during the day, how come you’re so sick at night?” Zuo Han sat back on his own bed, separated from Chen Ge by a long distance: “I’m a forensic scientist, and after so many years of schooling, I’ve never heard of frequent stimulation being able to activate memory.”

　　”You study forensics to deal with corpses, the situation of living people may be more complicated.”

　　”Do you know how low your body temperature was when you were offended just now? The only difference between you and a dead person at that time was that you still had a heartbeat.” Zuo Han had initially wanted to cooperate with Chen Ge and we would all escape together, but he was now gradually realizing that this roommate of his was very dangerous and might at some point take himself out as well.

　　In Zuo Han’s opinion, Chen Ge wasn’t just as simple as having a disease, there seemed to be other secrets hidden in him.

　　”Could it be that this hospital has been conducting human experiments?” Zuo Han tried to use his knowledge to find an answer, but the more he thought about it, the more confused he became, science was having trouble explaining Chen Ge’s state, it was already in the realm of theology.

　　”Zuo Han, can you tell me a few ghost stories to listen to? Be the scariest kind.” Chen Ge lay on the bed and twisted his head to look at Zuo Han, full of expectation.

　　”Are you sick? What ghost stories are you listening to all of a sudden?” Zuo Han blurted out, he realized that he couldn’t see through Chen Ge at all, “To listen to a patient wanting to tell a ghost story in the wee hours of midnight, you’re wondering with what kind of mindset you can say such a thing?”

　　”I just want to try and see if the emotion of fear can stimulate me to recover my memory or not.”

　　Hearing Chen Ge’s words, Zuo Han also felt that there was so much truth in it, the corners of his eyes gently twitched, then he told Chen Ge a few ghost stories that he knew.

　　”Any feeling of being scared?”

　　”No, your stories don’t excite me at all.”

　　”Whoever listens to ghost stories won’t get excited!” Zuo Han climbed up from the bed, and he dragged his hospital bed in a direction away from Chen Ge until he reached the door before stopping.

　　At this distance, if Chen Ge turned against him, he could immediately open the door and run out.

　　”Has anything really horrible ever happened to you?”

　　”Yes. I was put in a mental hospital, and my patient asked me to tell him ghost stories at night.” Zuo Han couldn’t understand Chen Ge’s behavior at all, it was hard to explain it medically and occultistically.

　　”Your ghost stories aren’t scary at all, how about ……” Chen Ge reluctantly raised his own hand, “How about we play some psychic games? Like Pen Fairy, Ouija Board or something?”

　　There was no need to think, something had already been engraved in his body, and Chen Ge was very familiar with these words.

　　”Didn’t you lose your memory? How come you know so much about these strange things?” Zuo Han realized the problem.

　　”I was under the impression that I had been the owner of a haunted house, but the doctor said that I had substituted someone else’s identity and that my story was made up.”

　　”The doctor may be deceiving you, judging from all your weird behavior tonight, you are keen on seeking excitement, love the feeling of fright, and are familiar with horror games like Pen Fairy, Ouija Board and so on, it is likely that you used to run a haunted house!” Zuo Han stroked his chin in contemplation.

　　”But why did the doctor lie to me?”

　　”How would I know?”

　　”Then let’s play the pen fairy game? I should be able to remember something slowly.”

　　”No game, no pen.”

　　”What about Ouija board? I also know a horror game called Back to Back, which is when one person lies on the bed and one person hides under the bedpan …… “Once he thinks deeply, Chen Ge’s brain seems to be torn apart, so whether he speaks or acts in a certain way, it’s all instinctive.

　　Zuo Han didn’t talk to Chen Ge anymore, he lay on the bed on his side with a cold face, turned his back to Chen Ge and started to think about how to escape from the hospital.

　　After lying in this position for a while, Zuo Han inexplicably felt uneasy inwardly, he thought back to Chen Ge’s words, and always felt that something was wrong: “Is it possible that he is pretending to be sick? I have my back to him, could he be standing behind me right now?”

　　Goosebumps popped up on his neck, Zuo Han rolled over violently and realized that Chen Ge had already fallen asleep.

　　”The sleeping look looks quite normal, I can’t imagine he would say such horrible words.”

　　The ward was quiet, and at more than two o’clock in the morning, a strange sound suddenly came from somewhere in the hospital, as if something had exploded.

　　Chen Ge and Zuo Han were all awakened, and before they could react to what was going on, footsteps suddenly sounded again outside the corridor.

　　”Someone is coming over!”

　　The door to the ward was gently knocked twice, and before Chen Ge and Zuo Han could get closer, the footsteps went away again.

　　When Zuo Han opened the door, there wasn’t even a single figure in the corridor outside: “Who knocked on the door?”

　　”Right, when you went out to check last night, someone also came over and knocked on the door, but he only knocked once.” Chen Ge realized that when he recalled his memories after waking up in the hospital, his brain didn’t hurt, but if he recalled his memories before he went into a coma, his head would produce a tearing sensation.

　　”Knocked once yesterday and twice today? It seems that the other party is specifically running over and is doing this purposefully.” Zuo Han stared at Chen Ge, “Do you know other patients in the hospital?”

　　”I don’t remember, from the time I was hospitalized until now, it seems like I’ve been in a coma many times. Every time I wake up, the memories from before the last coma become blurry.”

　　”Is it possible that this is the case? The hospital wants to make you a ‘normal person’ that meets their standards, but every time the treatment fails, so they can only keep ‘rebooting’?” The more Zuo Han thought about it, the more he thought it was possible, “You may have experienced a similar treatment process many times, only you didn’t realize it yourself.”

　　”But what does this have to do with that knocker?” Chen Ge lay on the bed, he tried his best to control himself not to think, grasping for time to recover his body.

　　”Could the relationship between you and the knocker be the same as the relationship between us?” Zuo Han boldly speculated, “He should be your former patient friend, you were ‘rebooted’ because of the failed treatment, while he was hidden, the knocking on the door could be some kind of agreement between you, or maybe he was hinting at something?”

　　”Makes sense.” Chen Ge nodded.

　　”It’s possible that he’ll show up again tomorrow night, so let’s find a way to get in touch with him then.”

　　”Good.”

　　The hospital was not peaceful this night, there were footsteps in the corridor all the time, and Chen Ge fell asleep when it was almost dawn.

　　At eight o’clock in the morning, the door to the ward was pushed open, and Dr. Gao and Xu Wan entered the ward together.

　　”How was your rest last night?” Dr. Gao once again ignored Zuo Han, who was lying on his side in bed, and walked directly to Chen Ge’s bedside, who looked a bit tired.

　　”Not too good, it seems like something exploded in the hospital last night, a loud bang scared me awake.” Chen Ge looked a little weak and spoke slowly.

　　”There was a problem in the hospital boiler room, it’s not a big deal.” Dr. Gao sat on the bed in the middle of the ward, “Did you have any dreams last night?”

　　”No.” Chen Ge shook his head, “I feel as if I’m forgetting something, some vague fragments of memories in my mind are being overwritten by new memories, I’m very conflicted, I don’t know which one is the real me.”

　　”The fact that you can realize this means that your condition has improved significantly, don’t force yourself, let’s take it slow.” Dr. Gao was very patient, “You can’t be in a hurry to treat mental illnesses, you have to accept it, recognize it, and then overcome it.”

　　After saying that, Dr. Gao turned his head to look at Zuo Han for the first time, “Chen Ge, I heard from the caretaker that someone was wandering around in the corridor last night, you and your roommate didn’t leave the ward last night, did you?”

　　Hearing Dr. Gao’s words, Zuo Han’s eyes opened, but he was lying on his side with his back to Dr. Gao, so neither Dr. Gao nor Chen Ge noticed.

　　”We’ve all been in the room, but I did hear footsteps in the latter part of the night, it was very chaotic, like there were a lot of people outside.” Chen Ge didn’t continue with this topic, instead, she grabbed onto the incident where she was scared awake just now and talked about it, “Dr. Gao, I also discovered a very strange point last night.”

　　”You say.”

　　”When I was awakened by the sound of an explosion last night, the thrill that arose in that instant seemed to run through my entire body like an electric current, and I was so disgusted with that feeling of panic that my body constantly trembled.” Chen Ge hit his hands on his chest and his face was very pale.

　　Dr. Gao listened patiently, while Zuo Han, who pretended to be asleep, skimmed his lips.

　　The madman who could stare at the mental patients inside the door with a perverted smile on his face was now actually saying that he was disgusted by the feeling of panic?

　　”It’s as if I’ve been thrown into a boundless nightmare all at once, my head hurts, my heart palpitates, my body is covered in cold sweat, I can’t breathe, and there’s even a sense of weightlessness and near-death.” Chen Ge covered her head and spoke in a hurried tone, “My past memories seem to be filled with fear, and when I was startled again, that deep feeling of powerlessness invaded my entire body, I hate my past memories and want to completely erase them from my mind! Dr. Gao, can you help me?”

　　Before Dr. Gao, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, could say anything, Zuo Han’s eyes widened first, he already knew what Chen Ge wanted to do.

　　”Fear makes you disgusted and squeamish about your past memories?” Dr. Gao slowly nodded, “I’ve communicated with you before, the story you deluded yourself into is indeed scary, it was definitely a very bad memory.”

　　Eyes blank, Chen Ge giggled as he looked at the ceiling, “It’s really too painful, I hate myself when I’m caught up in fear.”

　　”This is a normal reaction, the fact that you would feel this way means that you are gradually being healed.” Dr. Gao took out the medicine bottle from his pocket and poured out two pills, he watched Chen Ge eat them before turning to leave, “I’m going to modify the treatment plan, in a moment you follow Xu Wan to breakfast.”

　　After Dr. Gao left, Xu Wan helped Chen Ge up and helped Chen Ge wash up before bringing Chen Ge to the hospital cafeteria.

　　”This is the third ward’s cafeteria, when your condition stabilizes a bit more in the future, you can come here to eat on your own.” Xu Wan fixed Chen Ge’s meal before leaving.

　　”This scene is very familiar to me, in my memory she often brought meals for me as well.” Chen Ge muttered to himself, he had no friends and sat alone in the corner of the restaurant, occasionally looking up at the patients around him.

　　”The third ward of Xinhai Central Hospital is a treatment center for psychiatric patients, the same as a certain place called the third ward building in my memory.”

　　Memories interspersed with reality, firmly intertwined, Chen Ge held a spoon and gently tapped the tabletop.

　　His face was expressionless, and he was thinking about something in his mind.

　　”Dr. Gao said that self-knowledge is extremely important to mental patients, the word Self-Knowledge Key had surfaced in my head some time ago, and the memories that surfaced along with this word were also the Third Sickness Building, and even though I don’t remember what I did in the Third Sickness Building, there is one thing that I can be sure of, that there is some sort of connection between the Self-Knowledge Key and the Third Sickness Building. If the Third Sickbay that I fantasized about is the prototype of the Third Sickbay in reality, doesn’t that also indirectly mean that the Self-Knowledge Key is hidden somewhere in the Third Sickbay?”

　　The spoon twisted out of shape in his hand, and the pain tortured Chen Ge’s nerves, but he held on with a terrifying will.

　　”Dr. Gao said that my past memories were all fabricated stories, and that anything impressive in my memories could be found as a prototype in reality, so I’d like to see what the Self-Knowledge Key in my memories looks like in reality.”

　　At the same time Chen Ge remembered the self-knowledge key and the third sick building, another memory fragment naturally surfaced in his mind, “Self-knowledge is important to mental patients, the self-knowledge key is related to the mental hospital, this arrangement is not accidental, it feels like someone behind the scenes intentionally set this up, it’s as if he predicted that I would be locked up in a mental hospital one day, and set up this thing called the Self-Knowledge Key in advance.”

　　Every time the brain operated, it was as if countless needles had been passed through it, and this kind of pain was simply unbearable for ordinary people.

　　”The Self-Knowledge Key is like a node that triggers a memory, pointing a direction for my thinking.”

　　Twisting the spoon that was about to be deformed, Chen Ge endured the severe pain and ate his meal one bite at a time.

　　He was slowly getting used to the pain, using this dumbest and cruelest method to face his past head on.

　　After finishing his meal, Chen Ge crutched on his armpit crutches and went to the garden outside the hospital, “No matter what, I can’t be locked up in the isolation ward again, I’ll play the role of whatever kind of person the hospital wants me to be so I can have a chance to investigate the truth.”

　　Sitting on the bench, Chen Ge looked at the gazebo in the distance, Zhang Jingjiu did not come over.

　　”Should I be punished so harshly just for saying a word to me?” The sun shone on Chen Ge’s face, but he didn’t feel the slightest bit of warmth.

　　”It looks like Zhang Jingjiu won’t be coming.”

　　A few minutes later, the flower bush was arched open and a cat’s head was exposed, the stray cat seemed to have been waiting for Chen Ge, but of course Chen Ge was probably waiting for it as well.

　　Burrowing out of the flower bush, the white cat bit out Chen Ge’s pants leg and yanked him towards the fence, and Chen Ge didn’t resist.

　　Only this time was not quite the same as the last time, after the white cat led Chen Ge to the fence, it purred a few times at Chen Ge, and then it directly climbed out along the gap in the fence and ran to the paradise across the road.

　　”It’s asking me to wait for it here?” Chen Ge didn’t have any impression of this cat, no matter if it was in his past memories or his current memories, there was no figure of this cat.

　　Ten minutes later, just as Chen Ge suspected that he had been stood up by a cat, the white cat reappeared, and it was followed by a woman in red.

　　”Zhang Ya?”

　　The woman wore severe ghost makeup and froze slightly when she heard Chen Ge call out her name.