Chapter 1 Quite Cooperative

"Number 3232 is quite cooperative today."

"Hmph... that kid's very cunning; I advise you to be careful."

"That's true... I heard that last week a temp almost had his eye poked out by him."

"That's considered lucky... you haven't been here long enough, you probably don't know... before this kid was put in isolation, he stole a pipe wrench from a toolbox when the electrician was fixing something, and then beat another patient half to death with it."

"Whoa! That serious?"

"You bet. That's why... dealing with these nutjobs, you better watch your back. Some of them look more refined than the doctors, but once they go crazy, they're like rabid dogs... they'll pounce and bite you to death."

The two orderlies talked as they strapped Feng Bujue to the restraint chair.

They discussed these things right in front of Jue-Ge, not caring in the slightest. In their eyes... mental patients were akin to out-of-control animals, and there was no need to consider their thoughts or dignity.

"Gentlemen..." After a few seconds, Feng Bujue joined the conversation. "Could you possibly tell me..." He paused briefly. "Where is this? Who am I?"

"Ha!" Hearing this, the orderly who sounded like a veteran chuckled and replied, "You've forgotten even that? This is Buckingham Palace, and you're the Prince of England!"

The new orderly next to him laughed at this. "Yeah, we're your servants. We're just about to shave you."

As they said this, they secured Feng Bujue firmly to the restraint chair.

The chair was made of metal, with leather covering the seat and back, and it was very large. Adjustable restraint straps were attached to various parts of the chair... clearly, the design was meant to accommodate patients of all sizes.

"I'm not joking with you..." Although the two didn't give him a serious answer, Feng Bujue remained calm and spoke again. "I really want to know where I am and who I am..."

"White Sand Mental Hospital." This time, before he could finish speaking, the veteran orderly interrupted him impatiently. "As for your name... I don't know. You've been here longer than I have. I only know your code is 3232, anything else... you'll have to ask your own messed up brain."

He paused for two seconds, then picked up an electric shaver from the workbench in front of the chair and added, "Now, I suggest you sit there and don't move... let us finish our work, and then... you can go back to your room and think about your life."

…………

Fifteen minutes later…

Feng Bujue didn't do anything out of the ordinary during the shave, so the two orderlies smoothly finished and sent him back to his room.

On the way back, Feng Bujue requested to see his attending physician.

But the orderly's reply was, "The doctor is busy. You'll have to wait until your scheduled check-up."

Jue-Ge immediately asked him when his next check-up would be.

The answer he got was—"Tomorrow."

After this exchange, the two orderlies left.

In the small room, only Jue-Ge was left again.

Feng Bujue sprawled on the floor, using his hands as a pillow, and began to ponder the situation.

First of all, the most important thing he needed to figure out was—whether he was still in the game world.

Based on the available information, the answer to this question was more than 90% likely to be… no.

In the game world, he could open the game menu, but now he couldn't. In the game world, he could force a disconnect, but now he couldn't. In the game world, he couldn't take off his pants, but he had done so quite smoothly earlier.

Also, things like his knapsack, equipment, skills, Soul Intent... he couldn't use any of them. Even in terms of physical fitness, he had done some simple tests, and the conclusion was—his current physique was worse than an average person, even worse than his real-life self.

Of course, there was still a 10% chance—he was in a script world that went beyond the usual connection methods.

However, so far, Feng Bujue hadn't found any evidence to support this hypothesis…

So, he began to think about the second question—assuming he wasn't in the game world, but in reality, could this situation be classified as "transmigration"?

For example… his soul had arrived in the "reality" of another universe, and he was no longer a projection, but was truly controlling a certain body.

If this hypothesis held true, then he would have to face a third question—how could he return to his own world?

Finally, beyond all these questions and assumptions, there was the worst, but seemingly plausible, guess.

—This, was the real… real world.

Feng Bujue didn't delve too deeply into this hypothesis, because he thought… the possibility was basically zero.

After all, the vast amount of knowledge in Jue-Ge's mind, as well as the thinking abilities acquired through training, were all real and could be verified at any time.

These could prove that… at least on a conscious level, he was "Feng Bujue," not the "patient number 3232" who had been locked up in a mental hospital for many years.

…………

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and another sound came from the door.

Feng Bujue looked up and saw someone open a panel at the bottom of the door and slide a tray of food in.

"Time to eat." The veteran orderly's voice sounded again from outside the door.

Previously, because he had been concentrating on thinking, Feng Bujue had ignored his physiological needs, but now… when he smelled the aroma of the food, he belatedly realized… he was actually a little hungry.

"Hmm… another setting that shouldn't exist in a 'game world'." Feng Bujue muttered thoughtfully as he moved toward the door. "According to this 'getting hungry and thirsty' trend, I might even have to go to the bathroom later."

Regardless, he still had to eat…

Since the room was small, Feng Bujue simply didn't get up. He casually rolled over, scooted across the floor a few times, and was soon behind the door.

Looking closer, he discovered that even the cutlery here was designed to be "suicide-proof": the plate for the food was light green and made of a memory-state material. This material could bend to a certain degree like rubber, deform under pressure, and return to its original shape and maintain a certain hardness when no external force was applied… If you used this thing to hit someone's head, it would probably be no different than using a child's baseball bat, not as hard as a human fist.

As for the cutlery for eating… it wasn't chopsticks or knives and forks, but a special "fork-spoon." Its color and material were the same as the plate, and its hardness… was definitely higher than the food, but not enough to hurt anyone.

"They've thought of everything…" Feng Bujue muttered again after picking up the fork-spoon. Then, without ceremony, he started eating.

He had to admit… the food at this mental hospital was much better than Jue-Ge had imagined. They didn't feed the patients cheap, mushy slop like in some movies and TV shows. Instead, they provided the same standard of meals as the employees—two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, rice, and soup.

Soon, Feng Bujue had cleaned the plate, then he put it behind the door, leaned back, and lay down.

"Ah—" After letting out a satisfying burp, Jue-Ge couldn't help but exclaim, "If these days continue, I'll almost become Ji Chunsheng…" Speaking of Ji Chunsheng, he had to use the man's lines to make a joke. "Although the conditions here are a bit poor, as the saying goes—'A broken hut can keep out the rain, eating and drinking for free is sweet even if it's hard'~ This opportunity to train my will and undergo trials is also quite rare..."

…………

Feng Bujue fell asleep.

He didn't know how he fell asleep, but it was probably due to the drowsiness after eating his fill.

He didn't know how long he slept either, but when he woke up, the plate behind the door was gone, and… the lighting in the room had changed.

Previously, the lights in the ceiling emitted a soft white light, but now, the light was a night-blue, and its brightness was very low.

"Is it evening…" Seeing this, Jue-Ge muttered to himself, still a bit dazed. "Or… did they find me sleeping through some hidden camera and turn off the lights for me…"

At this point, he no longer considered things like "you can't fall asleep in the game world," nor did he consider "how much time has passed" or "how is the me in the game pod."

Human instinct made him start to adapt…

To adapt to the current environment, to adapt to this strange "reality."

…………

At some point, the lights came on again.

Feng Bujue was awake, thinking, but he didn't open his eyes.

After another period of time, the panel at the top of the door opened, and a voice came from outside, different from the orderly from yesterday. "3232, wake up."

Feng Bujue opened his eyes and replied, "Can I see the doctor now?"

The person outside the door was silent for a few seconds after hearing this, then replied, "Your check-up is scheduled for ten o'clock. Now… come with me to wash up first."

Jue-Ge didn't say much, just stood up, stretched his limbs, and waited quietly behind the door.

He heard the sound of someone pressing the code lock outside the door, and then the door opened.

Waiting for him in the corridor were still two orderlies, but both of them were unfamiliar faces.

"Did those two from yesterday have a day off today?" Feng Bujue asked another question as he faced the two men.

"None of your business." The other party replied coldly, then grabbed his arm.

Just like yesterday, Feng Bujue was restrained by two burly male orderlies on either side and led toward his destination…

…………

"Are you still listening to me?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice entered Feng Bujue's ears.

"What?" This sudden change took Jue-Ge by surprise, and he instinctively replied with these two words.

The next second, he was surprised to find that… he was already sitting in an office.

The office looked spacious and bright, with a window facing outward, but there were iron bars on both the inside and outside of the window.

At this moment, Feng Bujue was secured in a restraint chair. In front of him was a desk, and sitting across the desk from him… was a middle-aged man in a white coat and black-rimmed glasses.

"I just asked you…" Hearing Jue-Ge's response, the middle-aged man showed a hint of impatience. "Yesterday, did you tell the orderly… that you wanted to see me?"

"Are you…" Feng Bujue continued, "…are you the doctor in charge of me?"

As he asked, he thought to himself: How did I get here? I was clearly still in the corridor just now… Could it be memory loss?

"Sigh…" A second later, the man across the desk sighed. "Yes, I'm Doctor Yuan. Don't you remember me?"

"Sorry, I think… I don't remember." Feng Bujue replied. "But from now on, I'll remember."

"I hope so." Doctor Yuan shook his head, paused for two seconds, then said, "So… do you remember asking to see me?"

"I remember." Feng Bujue said with a solemn expression. "I have many things I want to ask you."

"What things?" Doctor Yuan replied.

"My name, age, date of admission, condition… In short, any information about me, the more the better." Feng Bujue replied quickly.

Before he could finish speaking, Doctor Yuan exhaled from his nose. "3232, the question and answer process for the regular check-up is decided by me… I ask, you answer, understand?"

After observing Doctor Yuan’s expression, Feng Bujue thought for a moment, then replied, “For every piece of information you tell me about myself, I’ll answer one of your questions… how about it?”

“You’re bargaining with me?” Doctor Yuan’s tone immediately took on a hint of threat.

“Doctor.” Feng Bujue was not to be outdone. He looked the other in the eyes and continued, “My current mental state… is very, very stable. I am confident… that this conversation can lead to a breakthrough in treatment.”

“Heh…” Doctor Yuan replied with a smile that wasn’t really a smile. “Alright… you want to hear it, right? I won’t play any one-question-for-one-question games with you. If you want to hear it, I’ll just tell you.” He paused, took a deep breath, and said, “Your name is Feng Bujue. You’re twenty-four years old this year. When you were ten years old, you were arrested by the police for a serious assault. After consultations and evaluations by many experts… you were diagnosed with severe delusional disorder and have obvious violent tendencies and anti-social personality disorder. So, you were sent here. In the past fourteen years, you’ve fantasized that you were a high-IQ genius juvenile criminal, a novelist, a detective, a superpowered being… In short, in these past years, your symptoms haven’t lessened at all. On the contrary, they’ve worsened… For example, in the regular check-ups in the past few months, you’ve started to tell me about a story called ‘Thrilling Triad Game,’ and you… are the protagonist of this story.”