Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood rode on two Shadow Wolves with temporary plates through the old streets and alleys of the old city district, leaping from a nearby underground parking lot into a "shortcut." They quickly got onto the fast lane—after traveling through the spatial network covering all of Boundary City for thirty minutes, the shortcut automatically delivered them to a special exit.
A tunnel seemingly appeared out of nowhere, with a sowhat gloomy sky outside. The Shadow Wolf leapt out of the tunnel entrance. Riding on the wolf’s back, Yu Sheng looked back only to see the tunnel, which was well-lit and supported by steel and concrete just a second ago, had already turned into a giant tree hollow. A massive withered tree, appearing almost large enough for ten people to encircle with their arms, stood quietly, with the tree hollow serving as the shortcut’s exit near its roots.
Erin held onto Yu Sheng’s head, curiously surveying the surroundings. She saw a forest around the withered tree; naless towering trees extended to the edge of her vision. The sky was gray, like it was about to rain at any mont, and a path led through the woods, ending at a large gray-and-white building standing silently in the forest clearing.
"Wow..." the little puppet exclaid, "Is there such a big forest in Boundary City?"
"This forest is also part of the Jinglin Sanatorium—we’re no longer in Boundary City," Little Red Riding Hood’s voice ca from beside them. "Follow and don’t stray too far; this is the sanatorium’s outer Exotic Realm. If you wander off, you might be identified as a lost patient and be forcefully teleported to a ward."
Yu Sheng then rode the wolf and followed Little Red Riding Hood, passing through the forest path together under the gray sky. The breeze in the forest carried a slight chill and moisture, noticeably a few degrees lower than the current temperature in Boundary City. At the edge of the forest and clearing, he saw several large signs standing on the ground, with words like "Welco to Jinglin Sanatorium," "Enter with joy, leave with health," and "Stay clear of the depths of the forest, be wary of deceptive trees."
As they approached the sanatorium gate, Little Red Riding Hood retracted her Shadow Wolf, and Erin, sitting on Yu Sheng’s shoulder, curiously asked, "Shall I play dead later?"
"No need," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. "Jinglin Sanatorium isn’t open to ordinary people—only Spirit Realm detectives, investigators, and Special Service Bureau employees are inside."
As they spoke, the three had already reached the sanatorium entrance. Yu Sheng looked up and saw that the large building consisted of three main bodies and interconnected strip-shaped structures. The main building facing them was almost entirely a high wall made of concrete from top to bottom, with not a single window.
Even the side buildings flanking the main building had extrely limited narrow windows, all located at the building’s corners. Apart from that, ninety percent of the exterior walls were a uniform concrete structure.
Yu Sheng couldn’t say what the "sanatorium" looked like from other angles, but just from the front view, it made people feel overwhelmingly oppressive.
Even Erin, usually carefree, couldn’t help but murmur, "...such a big building with so few windows, wouldn’t it drive normal people inside crazy?"
"The interior environnt of the sanatorium is normal; the ’inside’ and ’outside’ of this building aren’t consistent. You’ll see once you go inside," Little Red Riding Hood explained from the side. "The windows are not visible from the outside to prevent unauthorized glances into the wards and to prevent so patients with ntal disorders from jumping out."
Yu Sheng blinked, montarily thinking he misheard, then feeling like the girl before him might have uttered a subtle freudian slip—but before he could ask, he saw the only large door at the bottom of the concrete high wall beginning to open.
The black tal door creaked, revealing a brightly lit hall inside. An exceptionally tall figure appeared at the door, slightly bending over, seemingly there to greet Yu Sheng and the others.
Yu Sheng looked at the tall figure and was taken aback.
The figure was over two ters tall, wearing a striking white coat, but what topped its neck wasn’t a human head—above the coat’s collar was a spherical fishbowl, filled with clear water and tiny bubbles. A palm-sized goldfish was swimming slowly in it, and nurous small electrodes and probes were attached to the side and bottom of the fishbowl. These gathered into several wire bundles, extending into the white coat.
Apart from that, the whole body of this "fishbowl-headed figure" was tightly wrapped, with even its hands wearing a pair of exceptionally thick leather gloves.
"This is the ’Director,’" Little Red Riding Hood whispered in Yu Sheng’s ear, awakening him from his daze. "’The Director’ is an entity generated by the ’Jinglin Sanatorium’—additionally, its true form is that goldfish."
Yu Sheng: "...?!"
He listened, bewildered, while "Director," "entity," and "goldfish" turned over repeatedly in his mind. Despite mulling over these words for a while, he failed to understand how they could be strung into a sentence. Just then, the "Director" approached, and Yu Sheng saw the spherical fishbowl swaying in his line of sight. The goldfish inside made a few circles in the water and then stopped, its bulging eyes fixing on his gaze—
The "Director" slightly bent down, extended a hand, and a sowhat hoarse and lazy, yet gentle and captivating female voice reached Yu Sheng’s ears: "Hello, I’ve heard about you from the Director-General—I’m the responsible fish here."
The voice puzzled Yu Sheng again, and then he reacted, reaching out to shake hands with the other.
He touched the apparently thick leather glove only to feel its interior soft and fluid, as if...filled with water.
"I hope my appearance hasn’t troubled you," the husky yet charming female voice emanated from so sound structure beneath the fish tank, "Most people—by which I an those of sound mind—are usually startled when they first see here. They can’t quite comprehend having a fish as the head of this sanatorium, but honestly, I do a rather decent job in this position."
Yu Sheng had just snapped out of his bewildernt, unsure of what to say, so he responded with a few casual grunts. He thought he had seen many strange things and beings, considering himself quite open-minded, but this "head" stretched his imagination. For a mont, he didn’t even know from what angle to start comnting. After holding back for so long, he could only marvel in his mind: truly, this Boundary Land is extraordinary—what on earth is going on...
Moreover, this head is an "entity" generated by Jinglin Sanatorium... So entities can communicate with people like this, or even cooperate stably with them?
A fleeting doubt crossed his mind as Yu Sheng’s gaze fell on the array of electrodes and probes around the spherical fish tank—is this Special Service Bureau’s doing? Are they set to maintain the "head’s" stability and enable conversation with people?
He had a slew of speculations but didn’t dare to ask outright, so he suppressed his curiosity and greeted the head normally. However, he apparently forgot there was soone present who wasn’t holding back—Erin, who had been wide-eyed and watching for a long ti, suddenly sprang from Yu Sheng’s shoulder, pointing at the head—strictly speaking, at the goldfish in the tank: "Are you really an ’entity’? I’ve never seen anything like you! Why can an entity not only communicate with people but also work with the Special Service Bureau?"
"Because I’ve never fought against Baili Qing," the lazy, alluring female voice replied.
Yu Sheng: "...?"
"And then she had installed inside this device," the head continued nonchalantly, as if talking about soone else’s affair, "Ah, that was about half a century ago."
Yu Sheng blinked, turning to glance at Little Red Riding Hood.
"I’m not really familiar with this place myself," Little Red Riding Hood muttered, "I only found a lot of information last night..."
At that mont, the "head" raised a hand and made an inviting gesture: "Please follow . The person you wish to see is in the deep layer ward. Let lead the way for you."
Yu Sheng quickly gathered his scattered thoughts and followed the head, along with Erin and Little Red Riding Hood, stepping into the building of Jinglin Sanatorium.
Upon entering, they found themselves in a spacious and bright lobby.
Bright lighting overhead, clean and ample surroundings, with conspicuously marked guide signs and rest areas on both sides. Facing the entrance was a comprehensive information desk, and in the lobby, dical staff in sanatorium uniforms and patients accompanied by staff could be seen—despite the building’s oppressive and eerie exterior, the interior was unexpectedly normal.
However, upon closer examination, Yu Sheng ultimately noticed so...unusual aspects here.
Following the head across the lobby, his gaze flicked to nearby walls, where those "reminders" posted on them stood out—
No one is allowed to cross the red beam at the inquiry desk after curfew;
dical staff are prohibited from alone contacting patients with a care level above level two;
All wards are single occupancy. If occupancy in any ward reaches two or more, a secondary personality materialization alert will be triggered;
The "head" will not roam the corridors between midnight and 4 AM. If the "head" is seen during this ti, press the nearest oversized red button imdiately...
Normal sanatoriums would not display such reminders.
With the "head" leading, Yu Sheng slowly moved forward, recalling so of the notes Baili Qing had sent to his phone mid-way— "visitors" in Jinglin Sanatorium must adhere strictly to various visitation rules, certain floors and specially colored wards are off-limits, and sanatorium staff stick to their duties, not engaging willfully with visitors... Details like that.
The rules weren’t complex; the L-1 depth of Jinglin Sanatorium ant it was relatively non-threatening compared to other Exotic Realms.
But indeed... this place was quite intriguing.
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