Unlike the lively west wing with its neurotic patients, the east wing seemed almost devoid of human presence. The three of them circled the visitor room, not encountering a single soul, just one tightly locked door after another along the corridor.

"So I still don’t understand."

Halfway through, Chitanda finally couldn’t help but speak.

"Who’s really mad? Who’s the doctor? Whose account is correct?"

"Usually, hospitals should have records of both doctors and patients, right? If we find the files, can’t we determine who’s lying?"

Banai expressed his own perspective.

However, Duanmu Huai seemed uninterested.

"What difference would it make to confirm that? Suppose those locked-up patients are actually the doctors here, could we break in and spring them all out?"

"What about calling the police?"

"Do you think they’ll even give you the chance to make a call?"

"That’s true...

During this era, there were no cell phones; everyone used landlines. Just cut the phone lines, and you’d be isolated from the outside world.

"Knock, knock, knock."

But just then, one of the doors beside them suddenly resounded with a knock, startling the trio. They turned their heads to look at the door, but the knocker simply rapped on the door and then fell silent again. Afterward, the three saw a piece of paper slide out from under the door.

A sheet of paper?

Duanmu Huai walked over, picked up the slip, which had a question written on it.

[Who are you?]

[Please write your response with the pencil on the paper]

At this point, everyone saw a slender sharpened pencil beside the paper. The three exchanged glances, then Chitanda stepped forward.

"I’ll do it."

Speaking as she picked up the thin pencil, Chitanda cautiously wrote on the paper.

[We are here to visit.]

She then pushed the paper back underneath the door, and moments later, the paper was slid out again.

[Don’t lie to me; if you came to this ghost place by mistake, you won’t be able to leave.]

Seeing this, Banai and Chitanda were both alarmed, while Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow.

[Why?]

[They’re all mad; everyone here is mad! Doctors, nurses, patients, everyone! There are no sane people here! They’re just performing for you! You must’ve encountered a patient claiming he’s the director; they’re just messing with you! This is their favorite game, where we are the prey! We think we’re just spectators, but that’s not true! They’ve banded together to mock and tease us, no matter what choices we make; they derive pleasure from it!]

"This.........

Reading the words on the paper, Chitanda looked dumbfoundedly at Banai, who was equally at a loss, while Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow.

Well, it turns out we’re part of their play too?

Is there such a concept?

But to be honest, it’s quite fascinating.

"Go on, ask them what we should do?"

Following Duanmu Huai’s suggestion, Chitanda wrote down the question.

[There’s no way! No way! Once you step into here, you’ve entered their stage, for their amusement! Whether you flee, resist, or submit, it’s all meaningless!]

............

Duanmu Huai took the pencil from Chitanda’s hand and continued writing.

[Then who are you?]

[I am you. I am just like you, seeking the truth here! But I was wrong; truth! Rightness! Morality! None of it holds any meaning here! No matter what you are trying to find, you will never find what you seek! Ultimately, you will become like me! A clown! A part of this absurd spectacle, twisted and struggling!]

Upon seeing this, Banai and Chitanda exchanged a glance, shivering. They obviously hadn’t forgotten the reason they came here was to uncover the mystery of the asylum fire. Although the notion of time travel seemed rather fantastical, they thought it was a worthy opportunity—after all, what’s more convincing than "invited, just got off the bus, live on-site"?

But what they hadn’t anticipated was how dramatically the situation had unfolded beyond their expectations.

The current circumstances of this mental hospital alone presented three differing accounts.

And each one was completely plausible.

Just like the owner of this piece of paper, despite his words seeming to reflect "truth," according to the director’s view, mentally ill people find joy in delusions, it’s possible that this was just another hallucination, and he was simply playing this game with Duanmu Huai and others, chuckling at their perplexity.

This, therefore, represented the most elusive aspect of the situation.

Three narratives, each viable, yet merely the identity of being patients makes all their statements dubious.

Even doctors, nurses, or staff are no different.

[So, you telling us these things, is it also part of the show?]

Duanmu Huai penned the question and slipped it back under the door.

Afterwards.........

"Bam! Bam! Bam!"

The door resounded with thunderous strikes, as though they would smash it apart. Banai and Chitanda backed away in terror, while Duanmu Huai merely glanced at the booming door and then averted his gaze.

"Alright, there’s nothing left to investigate here, let’s head back."

Under Duanmu Huai’s guidance, the group returned to the reception room. Duanmu Huai plopped down on the sofa and casually picked up a newspaper to read.

"Xiao Ai, what should we do now?"

Chitanda asked.

"What to do? Toss it in a salad!"

Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes.

"These idiots think they’re amusing us, but they don’t know who the real joke is."

"But this way, we can’t investigate the truth, can we?"

"Then what do you think the truth is?"

Facing Duanmu Huai’s question, Chitanda was momentarily speechless.

The truth?

Does such a thing really exist?

Is this a delusion of the patients, or their own delusion? Or perhaps even being here is a fantasy in itself? What are they really thinking? What are they really doing? Why...

Chitanda felt as if the world before her eyes was starting to distort, as if an invisible hand was gripping her thoughts and twisting them forcefully. She desperately tried to straighten everything out, but felt herself getting trapped in an incomprehensible vortex. Gradually, Chitanda began to feel like everything around her was deforming along with it...

"Ai Liu? What’s wrong?"

Banai’s voice came from beside her, as if a drowning person had held onto a life ring. Chitanda instinctively widened her eyes, only to see Banai watching her curiously.

"An, Anan? I was... ah, sorry, I seemed to have zoned out just now."

"I know, I know, Ai Liu, you must be hungry, right?"

Upon hearing Chitanda’s response, Banai giggled, then pulled out the backpack he had been carrying and opened it.

"I knew this would happen, so look, I brought so many snacks! Can’t think on an empty stomach; let’s fill up first!"

Looking at the variety of snacks, lettuce, fruits, and bell peppers Banai pulled out of his backpack, Duanmu Huai didn’t find it strange at all.

He had long suspected that Banai’s backpack wasn’t filled with hiking gear.

And Duanmu Huai’s suspicion proved right.

"Anan, are you going to eat the bell peppers?"

"Yeah."

"Raw?"

Watching Banai bite into the bell pepper as if it were an apple, Chitanda was utterly shocked.

"Yes, it’s actually quite tasty this way."

Banai’s bite produced a crisp sound that made one doubt their sanity.

Especially the sight of her savoring it with delight.

"Bell peppers are cheap, nutritious, and delicious; they’re good raw as well. The white core inside is a bit bitter, but it has its own unique taste."

As Banai spoke, she pulled out a bell pepper.

"Ai Liu, want to try?"

Perhaps because of Banai’s overly natural response, Chitanda began to doubt if it was her common sense that was off. She stared at the bell pepper in Banai’s hand, hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take it, and cautiously took a small bite.

"Cough cough cough!!"

It turns out that humans are indeed different from Banai.

But thanks to Banai.

"Well done, Banai."

"Huh? What did I do?"

"Nothing, just that."

Looking at Banai, Duanmu Huai smiled slightly and shook his head.

In fact, he had already figured out what was going on here. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Duanmu Huai was sure he had encountered this kind of aura somewhere before.

Cunning Deception.

Thinking, reasoning, imagining.

Cunning Deception excels at plotting and enjoys change. Whether the schemes succeed doesn’t matter because everything is part of the plan. Right now, Duanmu Huai and the others are caught in this trap. No matter what truth they seek, as long as they think and search, they’ll be drawn in and assimilated.

Duanmu Huai noticed this and decisively withdrew. In contrast, Chitanda was too curious about the matter, leading her to fall into it uncontrollably. If not for Banai’s bell pepper remedy, Duanmu Huai would have had to use violence to snap her out of it.

And the solution to the current predicament was quite simple for Duanmu Huai.

Duanmu Huai opened his backpack and took out a small gas stove and a hot pot.

"Given the situation, let’s eat first."

Then he looked at the two and spoke.