Chapter 115 The Bright Sanatorium and a creature that seems only capable of wagging its tail and begging for mercy...

The two stopped at the top of the stairs as they stepped onto the fourth floor.

Building No. 1 is a U-shaped building. Previously, the restaurant on the west side was essentially a separate establishment, with the entrance at the top of the stairs, and it was not connected to the other three sides. However, after the water room was unlocked, the U-shaped structure on the fourth floor was connected into a large single-level space. You can still see the glass dome on the roof when you look up, but the central atrium no longer provides a view down to the lobby on the first floor.

"Can you still see the roof from the third floor?"

Jiang Yang meant that from the layout of the third-floor U-shaped building, what one could see was either the floor of the fourth floor or the glass roof.

"have no idea."

Ji Yang shook his head. After unlocking the water room, he and Jiang Yang went straight upstairs.

"Let's go check out the water room first."

The restaurant and Ji Yang's unconscious state were no different from before they went downstairs.

The glass doors isolated the restaurant from the presence of any living people, and the black mist seemed to be frozen in the air.

The water room is located in an inconspicuous corner on the right side of the restaurant.

On the white wall next to it hung a wooden sign with peeling paint; the four characters "No Trespassing" were worn and blurred.

Jiang Yang curled her fingers and tapped lightly on the door. Her fingertips struck the cool door panel, making a few crisp sounds.

He took two steps back and stood there for two minutes. When there was no sound from inside the door, he slowly pressed the doorknob.

The lock cylinder turned, and the metal door hinges made a creaking sound, as if it hadn't been opened in a long time.

As soon as the door opened, the unique dampness of the water room, mixed with the slightly astringent smell of rust and the stuffy smell of accumulated dust, rushed out in an indescribable odor.

Jiang Yang placed her finger under her nose, her brows furrowing and trembling slightly.

Ji Yang opened his mouth but didn't say anything, and silently moved his feet closer to the door.

The smell dissipated quickly. Jiang Yang lifted his eyelids and could only see Ji Yang's unchanging jawline. A smile flashed across his eyes. He lowered his hand and tugged at Ji Yang's sleeve, whispering, "Fool."

There's still space behind, so if you really mind, you don't have to wait in front of the door.

Ji Yang was afraid.

Jiang Yang suddenly remembered that he had asked Ji Yang when he went upstairs.

"By the way, why did you save Ma Liang?"

"Because I don't want you to feel any guilt about the decisions you make, I will back you up."

But Jiang Yang didn't know what Ji Yang was afraid of.

[Card Skill: Resentment]

[Instructions for use: The Fool's backpack is filled with memories and regrets. If you feel pain, you can choose to seal your memories. When using it on others, both parties need to sign an agreement.]

[Number of uses: 2/3]

[Reset Instructions: Reset is possible when the usage count reaches zero. Memories returned after a reset cannot be stored again.]

Jiang Yang used it once before Train Zero arrived at the No Man's Land.

When his finger hovers over the card, it reveals the date of the memory he sealed away, which ends exactly before the car accident he and Ji Yang had when he was 18.

Jiang Yang remembered it clearly. That day, he was taken to the warehouse. During the struggle, someone hit him on the back of the head with a stick. Then everything went black. The double images created by the blow, along with countless scenes, flashed quickly in front of him like a fleeting glimpse.

So, standing at the age of 18, he saw the moments that would haunt him for the next ten years.

"Sigh... the outcome was predetermined anyway... I might as well just die now."

The image froze, and a malicious voice rang in his ears. He struggled to look up and find the source of the voice.

Yes, it always ends up like this.

A pair of hands tore open his shirt, and hot cigarette smoke was pressed against his back.

Before him were rows of grotesque faces that mocked his suppressed pain, and he gave a bitter smile.

But I'm never willing to give up.

"Oh dear, this is the last time. It's better to die sooner or later, right?"

The sound was exaggerated, and the hands reached for the buttons on his pants.

Mad dog!

So what!

On that familiar yet unfamiliar land, he was never fighting alone.

He and his friends were working towards their ultimate goal, so what reason did he have to desert?

Taking advantage of the man's relaxed state, he kicked him in the groin with all his might.

The man roared in anguish, "Kill him! Kill him!"

He was kicked over, and enduring the pain of broken ribs, he rolled to a section of steel pipe not far away.

A group of people lay on the ground; he became the sole victor in this conflict.

He couldn't quite put his finger on what he was feeling; it was as if he had simply completed a routine task.

Numbness, confusion, emptiness.

He thought he would at least feel relieved.

The silent film, frozen in time, suddenly rewound, and this time he saw a face filled with anguish and despair as it waited atop the tower.

He vaguely remembered that the man had a handsome smile.

Is this also his friend?

He didn't have time to think it through, and then it was as if he had rehearsed it countless times in his mind.

The moment he was lifted up, the sharp temple of his glasses was forcefully plunged into the man's neck.

The hatred and resentment in his eyes prevented him from even glancing at the man's face clearly.

All I heard the man say was, "Is this how you take down everyone else? Wow, you're the real hero."

How silly...

How could he be friends with an idiot...?

Oh, and he's a nameless idiot.

Out of consideration for the fool who saved him, Jiang Yang stayed in the sanatorium ward for several days, biting his pen.

He scribbled on the draft paper, "How about your name is Ji Yang?"

Ji means sunshine after rain, Yang means sunlight falling to the ground.

He's leaving.

Giving a name to a fool is a way of saying goodbye.

Ji Yang cried out in pain.

But almost a week has passed, and the wound is almost scabbed over, so there's no pain anymore.

He didn't want to admit it, to admit that Ji Yang was using various methods...

Try to persuade him to stay.

"Can we not leave?"

Ji Yang squatted by the bed like an abandoned puppy.

"Then take me with you."

He doesn't like dogs.

"How can I be with you?"

What can you do with a silly dog ​​that looks like it only knows how to wag its tail and beg for mercy?

“I don’t know either. I’ve never left the sanatorium. Munashe said the outside world is different.”

Yes, there are people outside who eat dogs, and even... they might eat people.

“But Jiang Yang, you’re only 18. We can take some different kinds of photos.”

No, no, no, he was going to die at 28. I don't think he lived past 28.

He respects his predetermined fate.

His rejection of Ji Yang stemmed from his unwillingness to escape the fate that was rightfully his.

But seeing the dog's darkened eyes, he inexplicably thought of that face again.

The man knelt in the stone chamber, his fingertips stained with blood.

"Okay, it's okay, I have money."

The airbag deployed and hit him on the forehead. In the dizzying spin, he couldn't tell whether he should cry or laugh first.

Factory, 007, Ji Yang, Mu Na She, sanatorium.

Actually, dying at 18 wouldn't be so bad. He was very fortunate that at the age of 18, he and Ji Yang were able to become Jiang Yang together.

Alzheimer's disease, Ji Yang's passing, and the days spent working as a caregiver in the nursing home.

He didn't die until the ticket to No Man's Land appeared, and his last timeline was reset.

He boarded the train, the pile of memories pressing into his fragile nerves.

That year, an extra audio track appeared in the noisy silent films, mixing in his month with 007, completing all the connections between him and Ji Yang.

He felt guilty.

Unable to face the truth, he meticulously unraveled the mystery, digging deep into the anchor points he had set in past timelines, and finally made a bold decision.

He has amnesia.

Of course, it was all an act at first.

However, given his Alzheimer's disease, he performed quite skillfully, and apart from the Hanged Man, no one doubted him.

"A player has reported that you engaged in bugged behavior during the Zero Train trial..."

He was so angry he gritted his teeth. He knew without even thinking who did it, but it didn't matter; it was expected.

He had planned this step long ago when he decided to lose his memory.

[Player Jiang Yang uses a memory card]

[For player Jiang Yang]

[This period of data sealing applies to individuals aged 18-26]

[Confirmed sealed memories]

Train Zero was nearing its destination, and as it slowed down, the train swayed twice.

He frowned, seemingly reluctant, and moved the time back again...

One month.

In the real world, only in the last timeline do his memories of that one month belong to him and Ji Yang; in the other timelines, she plays the role of "savior" and "boyfriend" by his side...

Oh.

【confirm】

Using his amnesia as a pretext, the bug fixing department didn't give him any trouble, and everything seemed to be going exceptionally smoothly.

Only... Ji Yang... was responsible for monitoring him at Un Entertainment, 007.

In his years of dealing with unclaimed lands, Ji Yang has always remained composed when needed and measured when not.

But when faced with 007 so close to him, Jiang Yang couldn't imagine how he could describe him except as an "idiot."

No, now we need to add another one: "leprosy".

That mangy dog! He hates dogs the most!

Where are you?

Blackrock City.

The wind and sand in the wilderness were really strong, and the tent that Mou Guang pitched in the wild wasn't very soundproof.

After Ji Yang explained what the trial of undeveloped resources was, all that remained between them was the sound of the wind whistling past their ears.

Ji Yang asked, "You have amnesia?"

He stiffened as he lay flat on the folding bed. "Hmm."

"How about I pursue you again?"

Fool...

He was unable to respond.

Damn! Why keep that one month's worth of memories?!

Damn it! Why go out with an idiot?!

He remembered the orphanage director celebrating his 18th birthday.

The dean said earnestly, "Jiang Yang shouldn't always be alone."

"I just like one person, so what!"

He slammed his fist on the table so hard it made a huge noise. Now that he thinks about it, if the dean had known he had someone else with him, he would have been laughed at to death.

He thought this to himself, but he knew he couldn't bear to disappoint Ji Yang every time.

So, by consuming points to close the observation room, he avoided the "eyes and ears" of the no-owner land and briefly got close to Ji Yang.

"I'm sorry, Jiang Yang, the camera is broken."

They took a lot of photos at the time.

The usually steady and meticulous man now possesses a youthful spirit.

Losing his memories of the past in the no-man's-land prevented him from quickly empathizing with Ji Yang, but he could sense the man's clumsiness in dealing with emotions, as well as the fear and unease hidden beneath that clumsiness.

“Jiang Yang, I’m not stupid,” Ji Yang turned around and quickly pinched Jiang Yang’s face. “Do what you want to do, I’m here for you.”

Jiang Yang turned off the control panel and naturally took Ji Yang's hand, which was hanging at his side.

It's okay, they'll take more photos in the future.

The washroom was small, and with the help of the outside light, large patches of peeling paint could be seen on the walls, with blackened mold spots embedded in the exposed blue bricks.

Jiang Yang tentatively felt around on the inside wall of the doorway, and with a click, the incandescent light in the center of the roof turned on.

The two carefully avoided the water that had been accumulating on the ground for who knows how long as they walked in. Further inside, against the wall, were several tin buckets with peeling paint. One of them had a hole in the bottom, and water was dripping down through the hole.

Tick...tap...

Tick...tap...

The lights flickered twice.

"who!"

"What's wrong?"

There was a cracked mirror on the wall, its surface covered with a layer of dust, making it too blurry to see any reflection.

"Just now, I think I saw someone in the mirror..."

Jiang Yang wasn't quite sure; it seemed like there was a hunched, dark figure standing there, but upon closer inspection, all she could see was a stain.

But until they reached the small door at the innermost part of the water room, which was covered by a curtain, there was nothing else unusual.

Incidentally, I also found a cell phone in the small door, not the old-fashioned flip phone that new players in Borderlands use to activate the system panel.

This means the phone's owner is not a player.

The screen lights up, and a six-digit password appears on the lock screen.

"Is this why we were lured to the washroom?"

"The restaurant is closed, and the water room near the restaurant is unlocked. Perhaps the tower wants us to discover the restaurant's secrets."

"But it's still strange. The tower didn't seem to care whether we could clear the level or not."

"This shows that clearing customs is not the goal."

Ji Yang paused for a moment, then added, "Survival is the only thing that matters."

The problem is that it's unclear who's playing the game behind the scenes.

Inside the tower, a figure standing by the window glanced down at the notification sound coming from the panel.

"Hurry up, you little rascals, I can't hold on much longer."

"What if the final choice is the garden?"

Jiang Yang continued to ask, and after asking, she seemed to realize something, and she and Ji Yang exchanged a smile.

If there are any clues in the garden, why don't we go and take a look?

Ji Yang reminded him, "We need to hurry."

However, this time none of them knew what was behind the door, and the person who went to open the door was replaced by Ji Yang.

A key hung on the small door. The rusted keyhole was difficult to turn. Ji Yang pulled the doorknob and pried it open with a combination of twisting and prying.

It is the kitchen connected to the food serving window.

From a distance of five or six meters, Jiang Yang saw the person on the chair who had been shrouded in black mist inside the window.

The black mist inside the restaurant seemed to be awakened by the presence of living people. Apart from that, perhaps due to the machinations of the person behind the scenes, there were no other unusual occurrences.

"I'll go close the window."

Ji Yang was referring to the glass window where the food was served, and then he ran over there as fast as he could.

The black mist hit the glass, and Ji Yang waved to Jiang Yang, who hadn't reacted yet, "It's okay."

He's a bit pretentious; maybe all taxi drivers in Mouguang are born pretentious.

Jiang Yang couldn't help but mutter a complaint in her heart before following after him.

"It's a woman?"

As Jiang Yang approached, she saw the person's face clearly and couldn't help but ask a question.

The person's eyes are closed and their body is stiff.

The arm that Ji Yang had severed with a single stroke was still hanging in mid-air.

"She is dead."

Ji Yang was the first to answer the question that Jiang Yang hadn't yet asked.

Jiang Yang bent over, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked down along the thin blue rope around the person's neck.

The metal buckle at the end of the rope was empty, but it wasn't hard to guess what was originally hanging there.

"There should be a work permit."

Ji Yang immediately took action and began searching the kitchen.

Jiang Yang added, "If the phone was dropped at the door, the work ID should be on this road too."

After making the arrangements, he didn't rest. His eyes darted around, and he tentatively pinched the woman's fingers on her only remaining arm.

Gently tap the fingerprint sensor on the bottom of your smartphone.

Indeed, technology improves life.

The phone is still on the chat screen.

[January 7th - Afternoon]

The car broke down on the road, and we're currently in a sanatorium.

[A Travel Group (Go Wherever You Want): Send me your location, and I'll arrange for a repairman to come over as soon as possible.]

[Send Location]

[January 8th - Evening]

[A Travel Group: The Repairman Has Already Set Off]

【receive】

[January 9th - Morning]

[A Travel Group (Go Wherever You Want): The mechanic has arrived, but all we see is the car. Where are you people?]

It was clear that the woman had been taken to the kitchen early on.

“She’s a tour guide,” Ji Yang said, holding a work ID in his hand.

Jiang Yang guessed, "If there's a tour guide, will there also be a driver? A normal tour group should have several people, right?"

Following his train of thought, Ji Yang thought, "There are 39 people in the sanatorium: 15 patients and 19 caregivers. There are five left over."

The young man blinked.

He quickly typed a line of text on the screen with his finger.

We're trapped in a nursing home! Help!

This bus was originally headed to the circus, so why was it stopped by the sanatorium halfway through?