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The first group to reach their destination is the group led by Mu Jiashi, arriving at the hospital Mystic talked about.
They walked carefully along, but as the hospital was only a dozen minutes or so if in a straight line, they reached it in almost no time.
Though here, Mu Jiashi furrows his brows and stops, just a few metres short of the entrance to the hospital.
But because they can about see the inside right now, Mu Jiashi comes to a stop.
Shen Yünjü asks, “what’s wrong?”
Mystic looks at Mu Jiashi, then back at the hospital again.
Mu Jiashi seems a little stunned as he says, “it’s that psychiatric hospital.”
“That what?”
Neither Shen Yünjü nor Mystic have any idea what he’s talking about; then Mu Jiashi remembers that, in Xü Beijin’s Nightmare, it was he, Fei, Wu Jian, A-One and A-Two who went to the psychiatric hospital.
The psychiatric hospital… that was studying the madness.
So neither of his companions knew.
Well, it had a passing mention when they were chatting earlier, but they didn’t go into details about what the hospital looked like or whatnot.
Mu Jiashi explains to them what the psychiatric hospital was doing.
It’s the first time the viewers of the stream have heard about the brain being studied in esoteric methods, and even episodes about insane doctors trying to perform brain replacement surgery… the comment barrage is flooded with exclamation marks.
Xü Beijin has a somewhat complicated complexion seeing that. He has things he wants to say about the Apocalyptic madness and extremism in human society… but he stays silent.
On the stream, Mu Jiashi continues, “the way the hospital building is laid out, and the style here, it’s completely the same… the same as the one we saw in that Nightmare.”
Shen Yünjü seems quite surprised, asking, “so this… is that psychiatric hospital?”
Mu Jiashi replies, “quite possibly.”
Shen YĂźnjĂź finds this quite odd, and he is able to place his finger on what exactly is odd after some thought.
Then, he decides to put the idea out after thinking, “possibly… just hypothetically, what we experienced before in Xü Beijin’s Nightmare, can it be like a sort of trial preparing us for this mission in the Ultimate Nightmare?”
Mystic then adds, “He Shujün’s high school… was also there, when she and I were in that man’s Nightmare.”
Mu Jiashi knits his brows. He can’t determine whether this is completely coincidental or artificially manipulated.
The first point, is that Xie Zhijin’s neighbourhood, where Fei and Wu Jian are heading, was never visited in Xü Beijin’s Nightmare.
So if they are going to draw this line of comparison, could it be that Xie Zhijin’s neighbourhood is actually a wrong answer entirely?
But to rule this out as simply being a coincidence… Two-thirds is too high a ratio to occur.
So if it’s intentional, the question becomes, who decided where they went in Xü Beijin’s Nightmare? Is it the eponymous bookstore owner? Or NE?
If it’s the latter…
NE isn’t on their side, right?
Mu Jiashi cannot understand.
The only explanation he can conjure, is that Xü Beijin was helping them – being his Nightmare, he might have some control over where they went, so he could also hand clues of Nightmares over to them.
The problem is why he doesn’t tell them anything.
The information is so important, but no clues, not even hints in his language. When Mu Jiashi asked him about what to do in the Ultimate Nightmare, all XĂź Beijin would say, is that they need to stay sane and awake in the Ultimate Nightmare.
Mu Jiashi doesn’t think that Xü Beijin would still be keeping secrets when it’s all come down to this.
Which means, XĂź Beijin must think that keeping their wits about them is the only thing they need to do to ensure success.
Well, that would make what they’re doing right now, still helpful to the overall cause, hopefully?
Hopefully…
Mu Jiashi suddenly comes up with another possibility.
Perhaps, it is the case that, XĂź Beijin is unable to tell them more.
They’re closer and closer to the truth, to a successful escape, but they also seemed to have forgotten along the way, that something has trapped them in this damned game. Perhaps ‘they’ are still watching.
It’s possible Xü Beijin has no way of telling them more information, even if he has them, and knows the truth.
He can only tiptoe where it is allowed, to give them as much information as possible, on how to behave inside the Ultimate Nightmare.
Which would of course… be a bare minimum expected of them, as it were.
XĂź Beijin has always been this way. Never speaking clearly and concretely, or telling them the truth exactly as it were. Everything was up to them to discover and find out.
The same still holds in the Ultimate Nightmare.
Mu Jiashi can cast aside all his doubts and hesitation now. In fact, he finds himself invigorated in his mission, and hopeful. He realises now, that they had to at least do something in the Ultimate Nightmare.
That Xü Beijin couldn’t tell them more is precisely proof that there is ‘more’ to do.
They can do so much more in the Ultimate Nightmare, more than what XĂź Beijin told them to do, to stay sane and awake.
What Ye Lan said is resonating in his mind.
“Fate is in our own hands,” Mu Jiashi mumbles, “we can’t be sitting ducks. We shouldn’t wait for luck to come to us.”
Shen YĂźnjĂź and Mystic are quietly waiting for him.
Mu Jiashi takes a deep breath and says, “let’s go…” he pauses, and then adds, “if this really was the psychiatric hospital we were in before, then… I think where we need to look for, has already been revealed to us, in that Nightmare.”
Mu Jiashi narrows his eyes to recall the route, and then says firmly, “Operating Room 3.”