Chapter 1185 – Making a Decision

　　”As long as one has doubts about the world, doom will come?” Chen Ge gently shook his head, “The only remaining bits and pieces of memories in my mind tell me that even if I simply live, I will be tormented by doom and despair.”

　　”It’s not the same.” Zuo Han touched the wound on his left eye, it seemed like new flesh was growing, so it was a bit itchy, “Your previous memories might have come from reality, which has always been cruel, while what you are experiencing now is more like a dream, a dream that you can’t wake up from.”

　　”I haven’t had any dreams at night since I woke up in the hospital, if we look at it from this aspect, your guess is somewhat reasonable.” Chen Ge poured a glass of water for Zuo Han, but Zuo Han didn’t even touch it, he was very cautious.

　　”Your body is recovering very quickly, and your eyes have become gentle, I know that you actually understand a lot of things, but you don’t want to admit it right now, because you have a beautiful and tasted happiness, so you don’t want to break it with your own hands.” Zuo Han was not only smart, but also extremely insightful, he could tell a lot of things from Chen Ge’s various expressions and tone of voice.

　　Hearing Zuo Han’s words, Chen Ge didn’t answer, he also always asked himself rhetorically, but there was never an answer.

　　”If this is just a dream, suspecting that it will trigger bad luck and tear apart all the beauty, but in the end, even if the dream wakes up, don’t we still have to go back to an even more brutal reality?”

　　”The beauty here is false.” Zuo Han stood up and looked at Chen Ge very seriously, “In just over a month’s time, what exactly have you experienced? The you in the hospital room was not like this, at that time you gave me the feeling of an evil ghost hiding a vengeful heart.”

　　”I didn’t go through anything very special, I just lived the simplest life, if I have to name one thing, it should be that I met Zhang Ya.” Chen Ge sat on a chair, the emotions in his eyes were extremely complicated, “She is different to me, and I would feel very at ease with her.”

　　”I originally thought it would go well, I didn’t realize that I might have to make a trip for nothing today.” Zuo Han removed his gloves and took out a crumpled note from his pocket, “Dreams will wake up one day, if you change your mind, you can come to this place to find me.”

　　When Chen Ge went to pick up the note, he realized that all the fingerprints on Zuo Han’s fingers had been worn off.

　　”I’m a wanted man now, and this is the last time I’ll come to you on my own accord.” Zuo Han saw that Chen Ge was ready to leave after accepting the note: “This city looks beautiful on the surface, but in fact, underneath its lustrous skin is full of oozing wounds, and when you’re not willing to leave on your own accord, it will slowly swallow you up.”

　　”I’ll think about it.”

　　”Eh, another thing I have to tell you, I once stole a white cell phone from the hospital, and when I opened it up, it was filled with all sorts of cursed text, and a whole bunch of little games related to curses. At first I thought it was a special case, but later I peeked at the cell phones of other nurses and doctors in the hospital and realized that everyone in the hospital had many curse-related games and apps installed in their white cell phones. If you see someone using a white cell phone in the future, remember not to get too close to him.” After Zuo Han finished speaking, he didn’t stay any longer and left through the window of the haunted house’s bathroom.

　　Closing the window, Chen Ge’s face was grim as he leaned his back against the door of the room in the toilet cubicle, his brain racing.

　　”There were originally a lot of memory fragments in my mind, it was a completely different kind of life, the hospital doctor told me that all of those memories were all delusions of grandeur on my part, but after having seen the seven glass jars in the dean’s office, I can be sure that that experience does exist.” Chen Ge was actually very clear that if those memory fragments were real, then the city he was living in now was probably false.

　　”The hospital only agreed to discharge me after they found out that all the memory fragments in my mind had disappeared, but the crux of the problem was that Dr. Sun reminded me when I was discharged, saying that the treatment had only just begun.”

　　”Erasing the memories of my past was only the first step in the treatment, next they were supposed to start remodeling my memories so that I would completely stop doubting the hospital and the world and become a mannequin living in this city.”

　　”They paralyzed me with false happiness and goodness, gave me everything I craved for so that I wouldn’t throw it away, and even turned myself into a defender of the rules.”

　　Chen Ge’s gaze was icy cold: “They had a good idea, but there were too many accidents in the middle, patient Zhang Wenyu’s escape, Zuo Han’s suspicion of the world, Dr. Sun’s help, and most importantly, it seems that some sort of change has occurred in Zhang Ya as well.”

　　He remembered very clearly that when he saw Zhang Ya in the hospital, there were blood characters converging into blood beads drilling into Zhang Ya’s body.

　　”In the beginning, the meaning of Zhang Ya’s existence should have been to make up for my regrets and fulfill my obsession, but under the influence of those blood-colored words, Zhang Ya began to have some very scary dreams every night.”

　　”Those dreams might be the reality, those dreams kept reminding Zhang Ya and I that underneath this beautiful bubble was a bloody face.”

　　”This is a wonderful world that makes me sink, but I’m definitely not the only one in my life.” A blurry figure emerged in Chen Ge’s mind, “The second personality who plucked out his heart in the brain maze, the patient still suffering in the hospital, the child who was split apart and put into a glass jar, the scarred Dr. Sun, and even Zhang Ya.”

　　Thinking back to the day they went out shopping, Chen Ge’s hands instinctively made the Zhang Ya in his heart when he was making the dolls.

　　Chen Ge, who was well-versed in doll making, had already discovered the problem at that time, the doll he made, Zhang Ya, was dressed in blood, with negativity etched all over her body, it was not Zhang Ya who had put on the makeup of a stern ghost at all, but rather, it was a ferocious god who was terrifying to the extreme.

　　The Zhang Ya made by instinct was not the same as the people around her, or the Zhang Ya in the haunted house was just a part of the real Zhang Ya.

　　Thinking of this, Chen Ge looked down at the note in his palm, which had four words written on the front – Peaceful Apartment, and the back roughly labeled the location of Peaceful Apartment.

　　”Dr. Sun helped me escape from the hospital, indicating that the way to wake up from the dream is not in the middle of the hospital, but in this city.”

　　The writer, who had the same message Zuo Han had left for Chen Ge, thought for a moment before turning around and entering the staff lounge, then walked out carrying a worn-out backpack.

　　The white cat bumbled along behind Chen Ge, and when it was about to walk out of the door of the haunted house, it was put back into the house by Chen Ge, “I’m going to a very dangerous place, you stay here and watch the house.”

　　The heterochromatic pupils looked at Chen Ge in disbelief, the white cat even had a feeling of being flattered, a moment later it ran out again, seemingly worried that Chen Ge didn’t want it.

　　”I’m not going to play this time, you take good care of the house, I’ll be back before dawn.”

　　Chen Ge didn’t bring the white cat with him in the end, and he took a taxi to a specialty restaurant closer to Ping An Apartment according to the tips on the note.

　　Cab drivers in Xinhai rarely seemed to come to this kind of relatively remote place, and when Chen Ge got off the bus, the other party was still telling him repeatedly that he should try not to come around the suburbs alone at night.

　　Chen Ge came to that restaurant with the intention of preventing him from being followed, and next he was going to walk to his apartment.

　　But it just so happened that he hadn’t eaten much all day and was hungry, so he went straight into the restaurant.

　　Ping An Apartment was in the western suburb of Xinhai, a very desolate place, Chen Ge did not expect that there would be a special restaurant here that was famous in Xinhai before he came.

　　The store was famous for its “boiled meat” and “wild game”, and later, after the city stopped the wild game business, the shopkeeper hastened to clarify with people, saying that all the meat in his store was home-raised, but because of the unique seasoning formula, the flavor would be incomparably tasty.

　　The store was not large, there were no private rooms, and the hall only held five or six short wooden tables.

　　”I’m sorry, we’re closed for business.” There at the cash register stood a big fat man, he was wearing a dirty apron and had a very obvious scar on his face.

　　”I came from downtown specifically to eat here, whatever you guys have left here, just get me one.” Chen Ge smelled the aroma of meat in the store and felt even hungrier, he found a seat and casually flipped through the menu.

　　”There are still some dishes, but there’s no more meat, I sell meat here especially fast.” The fat chef finished handling the work at hand and walked over to Chen Ge with the menu, “There are still some dumplings in the refrigerator, why don’t I get you some dumplings stuffed with wild boar meat?”

　　”I don’t really like eating wild game, just make some random dishes.” Chen Ge looked up at the chef, who also happened to look down at him.

　　The two saw each other’s faces in an instant, and then something weird happened.

　　The scars on the fat chef’s face began to twist, and his body seemed to freeze as cold sweat continued to flow down his forehead.

　　”You recognize me?” Chen Ge narrowed his eyes.

　　”Don’t know!” The chef replied decisively, and after he finished speaking, he walked towards the back kitchen as if he was fleeing for his life, but his shoulders were grabbed by Chen Ge.

　　”Really don’t recognize? Then why are you leaving? What’s your name?” Chen Ge looked like he didn’t have much meat on his body, but his hands had a lot of strength, and his five fingers seemed like steel claws as they clasped the chef’s shoulders in death, “Your body is shaking, are you afraid of me?”

　　”I’m not afraid of you, I just misrecognized you, you look particularly similar to a police officer, I thought you were here to check for wild game.” The cook didn’t dare turn around, his voice was lowered.

　　”You’re lying.” Chen Ge’s arm got even harder, “Say, what’s your name?”

　　”My name is Eat Dragon Head, just a cook, please let me go.” The cook pleaded.

　　”Eat Dragon Head? A halibut store?” Chen Ge vaguely felt something familiar as he pressed the chef against the wall and reached out to touch the scars on the chef’s face.

　　Physically, the chef was much taller than Chen Ge, but in reality, that chef didn’t even think of resisting.

　　”The wound on your face hasn’t scabbed over yet, the wound isn’t deep, it’s like you took something and scratched it out bit by bit, is this some sort of punishment?” Chen Ge’s finger touched the edge of the wound, and the chef bared his teeth in pain, “The periphery of the wound is also extremely irregular, it’s like every time it’s about to scab over, you have to scratch it again, this must be very painful, right?”

　　Hearing Chen Ge’s words, the chef’s legs went soft, and he fell to his knees, his face ashen: “Chen Ge, let’s pretend we’ve never met, okay? I’ve never seen you before, and you’ve never entered my restaurant.”

　　”And you know my name?” Chen Ge’s upper strength became even greater, he could be sure that he was meeting the dragon eater for the first time, but the other party knew him, which meant that there was some sort of intersection between the two before, and that intersection was also a proof of past memories.

　　The chef couldn’t wait to slap his own mouth, he had a bitter face and didn’t even dare to speak casually.

　　”Answer me a few questions honestly, and if you satisfy me, I’ll never pester you again, and we’ll pretend we’ve never met.” Compared to the chef, Chen Ge was the one who was more anxious, only he didn’t show it.

　　”Just ask, I’ll definitely tell you everything I know.” The chef climbed up from the ground as if he had resigned himself to his fate, and he jogged to close the restaurant’s door.

　　”First the first question, where did you meet me?” Chen Ge was most curious about this, about his past he was going to ask Zhang Wenyu tonight, but he didn’t expect to meet this strange chef.

　　”It was at the New Sea Halibut Shop, not the …… behind the door,” the chef said, the world in front of him was covered with a layer of blood color, and he felt as if his brain was being torn apart.

　　”Hey!” Chen Ge was also startled as he saw the scar on the chef’s face inexplicably tear open, and blood flowed all over the chef’s face.

　　Covering his face, the chef rolled on the floor, he endured the pain but didn’t dare to make too much noise, he could only use his teeth to bite the rag on the table.

　　There was blood everywhere on the floor, Chen Ge looked at the slowly solidifying scarlet color and did not resent or loathe it, it was as if he had been used to the color of blood for a long time.

　　When his fingers touched the blood on the floor, the sticky, warm feeling made Chen Ge feel incredibly familiar, and a thought emerged from the depths of his mind, “This is real blood.”

　　After ten minutes, the chef regained his senses.

　　He stretched out his blood-covered hand and grabbed Chen Ge’s shoes, “I can’t say it, I’ll die.”

　　”In fact, in your current state, I feel that it would be better to live than to die, perhaps you are also doing this because you have certain attachments.” Chen Ge helped the chef up, “If one day I can end the pain, I will find a way to give you a hand, you don’t have to force yourself, just tell me what you can.”

　　The chef’s body trembled from the pain as he took a rag and dipped it in his own blood to write on the ground, immediately wiping it off with every word – this was the place behind the door used to punish the patients.

　　”A place used to punish patients?”

　　Fingers twitching, the chef writes another line – don’t run away, can’t even die if you want to, save me.

　　He wiped away all the blood on the floor and covered his face as he returned to the back kitchen.

　　Ever since Chen Ge had read the bloody words on the floor, he had begun to have a very bad feeling.

　　By pursuing the truth, doom would come, and now doom seemed to have arrived.