Chapter 1: Zeroing

Luo City, in the heart of autumn.

Within the empty office, under the stark, pale glow of the incandescent lamp, the middle-aged physician adjusted the bridge of his spectacles.

"Chen Ji, good. I need to ask you some questions now. Please answer them, and based on my judgment, I will score your responses across five levels: 'none', 'very mild', 'moderate', 'severe', and 'very severe'. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Do you wish to end your life?"

"...End whose life?"

"Your own."

"None."

The middle-aged doctor hesitated for a moment. "Do you harbor grudges? Is it very difficult for you to forgive those who have harmed you?"

"I do not harbor grudges."

"Do you often forget things? Do you still retain any memories from when you were around twelve years old?"

Across from the doctor, eighteen-year-old Chen Ji's gaze drifted to the black night outside the window. "Twelve years old? That summer, my desk mate, Ma Kai, secretly took my eraser. I was quite fond of that eraser because it had a Uchiha Itachi design on it."

The doctor's gaze returned to the previous question regarding grudges. He crossed out "1 point, none" and wrote anew: "5 points, very severe."

He seriously appraised the young man seated opposite him. Eighteen-year-old Chen Ji still possessed a rather handsome countenance. Perhaps due to his prolonged confinement indoors, his skin was fair and clean, and his gaze was clear and sincere.

"Next question, can you endure loneliness?"

This time, Chen Ji finally paused to consider the question seriously. After a long silence, he answered, "I can."

...

...

The inquiry continued for half an hour. When the hand of the wall-mounted quartz clock ticked to ten o'clock at night, the doctor spoke. "One last question. Do you feel that someone wishes to harm you?"

Chen Ji replied, "None. My family is quite good to me."

The doctor's eyelid twitched subtly. He quickly jotted down in his notebook: 168 points for positive symptoms, 67 positive items, factor score 3.8. The patient, having suffered the loss of his parents in a car accident, exhibits severe 'post-traumatic stress disorder' and possesses violent tendencies.

"Chen Ji, the diagnosis indicates severe post-traumatic stress disorder. You need to remain in the hospital for observation. A nurse will escort you to the sixth-floor ward shortly. Your mobile phone will need to be surrendered to me, as external information could cause interference and affect the treatment's efficacy."

"Oh," Chen Ji seemed unsurprised.

"Please wait here for a while. I need to inform your family of these results." The doctor rose, clutching the diagnostic report.

"Wait!" Chen Ji called out to him.

"What is it?" the doctor turned back to ask.

"I haven't given you my mobile phone yet," Chen Ji retrieved a mobile phone from his pocket and handed it to the doctor.

"I'll just keep your mobile phone for you temporarily," the doctor tucked the device into his own pocket, turned to leave, and closed the door tightly behind him.

In the empty and dimly lit corridor outside, only a middle-aged couple remained, both with anxious expressions.

The man stepped forward. "Old Liu, how did it go? Did he... did he suspect anything?"

"None. He still believes you are all quite good to him," Doctor Old Liu nodded. "Here is the diagnostic report. You can go to court and apply to have him deemed a 'person without civil capacity'."

The middle-aged woman offered an awkward smile. "Thank you, Old Liu. We'll treat you to a meal later."

Doctor Old Liu's smile didn't reach his eyes. "A meal is unnecessary. I don't know why you wish to have him declared mentally ill, nor do I wish to ask. However, when the court reviews this, I can also overturn my diagnostic report."

Chen Ji's second uncle, Chen Shuo, hastily produced a bulging file bag from his black briefcase. "Count it."

Doctor Old Liu opened the file bag and glanced inside. "Alright. You may leave. I will arrange for his hospitalization. I see no inclination in him to resist, but for safety, I will call over two male nurses."

"Understood. Then we will depart," Chen Shuo led his wife, Wang Huiling, towards the elevator.

In the dim corridor, Wang Huiling, while walking, lowered her voice to question her husband. "How much did you give him?"

"Fifty thousand."

"You gave him so much? He just sat there and asked a few questions. What right does he have to take so much?" The plump Wang Huiling widened her bovine eyes.

Chen Shuo grew impatient. "Do you truly believe inviting him for a meal is sufficient? Fifty thousand yuan is a paltry sum compared to Chen Ji's house! Go to court tomorrow immediately and submit the application. Once he is deemed a person without civil capacity, transfer the house to our names first to avoid any complications."

Wang Huiling said softly, "Is Old Liu reliable? What if Chen Ji escapes from the hospital?"

"Rest assured, I've heard the sixth floor of Qingshan Hospital is like a prison. He cannot escape. Let's not discuss these matters in this eerie place. I always feel a gloomy presence here."

As they exited Qingshan Mental Hospital, Chen Shuo, as if possessed, turned back to look.

In the night, twisted, dense ivy wound around the building, almost completely obscuring the windows. When his gaze swept across, shadowy figures swayed within the gaps in the ivy, as if many 'people' were watching him there.

...

...

Individuals who find themselves in mental hospitals are either too foolish or too intelligent.

They become entangled within a world of their own paranoia, endlessly unable to extricate themselves.

Chen Ji harbored a certain respect for the mental hospital.

Thus, when he saw that sketch, he suddenly felt the world begin to transform, becoming mysterious. "My head is itching. It feels like a brain is growing! Old man, did you draw this?"

"I did not draw it, but I can take you to see the one who did," the old man untied Chen Ji's restraint straps. All the patients made way for them, creating a path.

At the end of the path, a young man sat foolishly by the bedside, staring blankly out the window.

"What is his affliction?" Chen Ji asked.

"Severe delusion. He constantly claims to live in another world, and that this world is his dream. Later, dissociative symptoms appeared, and he became completely lost," the old man answered.

"When did he arrive?"

"He arrived a year ago. He said you would appear today, proving he didn't lie."

Chen Ji looked at the old man in surprise. "What is your illness? Your thinking is remarkably clear."

"I have no illness," the old man said.

"That sounds a bit like the pronouncements of a mental patient..."

The old man became displeased. "I truly have no illness. I previously committed a minor transgression and hid here. If you don't believe me, ask me using the paranoid thinking scale."

Chen Ji asked, "Like father, like mother?"

Old man: "Like mother."

Chen Ji: "..."

He approached the delusional young man. "Hello?"

But the young man only stared fixedly into the darkness outside the window, remaining silent.

Old man: "He hasn't spoken in half a year."

"What is his name?"

"Li Qingniao."

Chen Ji felt a touch of regret. He carefully studied the blank-faced Li Qingniao and asked in a low voice, "Old sir, has he mentioned what the world he lives in is like?"

"No," the old sir shook his head.

Chen Ji asked again, "Old sir, has he received treatment since entering the hospital? Are there any means to help him regain consciousness?"

"Treat what? Those living on the sixth floor are all considered beyond treatment. Being alive is enough."

"Ah? Is there no attempt to help? Just in case he could recover."

"There have indeed been recoveries," the old sir rubbed his chin.

"How did they recover?"

"There was a young girl with severe depression who lost over thirty *jin* after being here for just over a month. Later, her father won over twenty million in the lottery and took her out of the hospital. Her illness simply vanished."

Ah?

Chen Ji slowly turned his head to look at Li Qingniao. "I'll also give you twenty million."

The silent Li Qingniao, who hadn't spoken for half a year, suddenly said, "You are also going to that world."

Ah?

The old sir's eyes widened.

Chen Ji hastily continued to ask, "How does one go to that world?"

Li Qingniao fell silent again.

Chen Ji: "I'll give you another twenty million!"

Li Qingniao: "The people of North Kuril will be responsible for the smuggling."

Chen Ji: "Another twenty million... What is that world like?"

Li Qingniao paused for two seconds. "Your card only has a total of just over four million."

Chen Ji: "???"

Brother, are you not actually pretending to be ill?

He reached out to pinch Li Qingniao's cheek, but no matter what he did, Li Qingniao remained silent.

The old man straightened up, hands behind his back, and asked, "Young man, why did you come here?"

Chen Ji replied, "My parents passed away, and I've been rather withdrawn these past six months, so my second uncle and second aunt sent me here."

The old man's eyes narrowed slightly. "Young man, how much inheritance did your parents leave you?"

Chen Ji: "One house worth over twenty million, and several million in deposits."

The old man mused thoughtfully. "Then you must be wary of your second uncle and second aunt. Should they apply to the court to have you deemed a 'person without civil capacity', your property may not be safe."

Chen Ji's expression was submerged in the dim light of the ward. "How is that possible? They are my relatives."

Outside the window, the wind rose, causing the ivy to sway. Moonlight filtered through the shadows of the leaves, resembling black flames flickering and dancing on the ground.