Chapter 953: All Is Normal

Lu Mi turned his gaze back to Old Wang and Old Ding, both wrapped head to toe in white bandages, carefully examining their condition and the surrounding details.

“Don’t disturb the patients,” the nurse who had led Lu Mi and the others into the ward said, then stepped out and returned to the nursing station.

At that moment, the patient who was presumably Old Ding woke up, influenced by the conversation between his family and Xu Xinyang, slowly opening his eyes.

Against the backdrop of the surrounding white bandages, Old Ding’s dark brown eyes appeared noticeably duller than normal, taking a long while to regain focus.

Lu Mi detected no notable abnormalities.

Xu Xinyang walked to the bedside and greeted Old Ding, who spoke weakly and incoherently.

Lu Mi listened for twenty to thirty seconds, glanced at Old Wang still asleep, then stepped back slowly, unobtrusively reaching the ward’s entrance.

He immediately studied the doctor and nurse information posted outside the ward:

“Attending Physician: Huang Puda.

“Head Nurse: Qi Fang.”

From the photo, Qi Fang was clearly the nurse who had just led Lu Mi and the others into the ward.

A name not mentioned in the records… the naming style matched a “native” of the Dream City, not an “outsider”… nothing seemed amiss… Lu Mi returned to the ward and joined Captain Xu Xinyang in further greeting Old Ding and the two family members.

They did not linger, to avoid disturbing the patients’ rest.

As they passed through the corridor and the nursing station toward the ward’s main entrance, Lu Mi casually scanned the promotional boards on the walls.

One side displayed scientific achievements and introductions to certain diseases and injuries; the other listed brief profiles of all doctors and nurses in the ward, arranged in several rows.

Lu Mi’s gaze settled on the topmost photograph.

It depicted a plump female physician with decent features and slightly brownish eyes, appearing to be in her forties.

Her profile read:

“Roland, Deputy Director…”

Lu Mi's first thought was, "Isn't that Franc's surname?" Then his spine chilled, nearly causing him to shudder.

He remembered another Roland.

It was a prominent name he had heard while investigating the Prayer of the Sea ritual in the port city of Sangtagang in the Kingdom of Fenepot:

“Mother Earth’s” High Mother Roland!

That was equivalent to the Pope or Patriarch of other orthodox divine churches!

The “Cultivator” Path included the “Physician” Sequence; as High Mother of the “Mother Earth” Church, Roland was almost certainly an Angel of that Path—meaning one of the strongest physicians in the real world—and serving as Deputy Director of this hospital, Chief of Surgery, was entirely fitting and aligned with the “Fool”’s subconscious cognition… yet the problem was, this was Mu Shu Hospital… Lu Mi naturally lowered his gaze, his expression unchanged as he followed Xu Xinyang toward the ward’s exit.

He recalled that the Major Arcana’s files made no mention of Roland having a corresponding dream image.

Was it unknown? Or deemed unimportant—a mere NPC? Had Roland’s dream image been woven by the “Fool”’s subconscious to represent his cognition, or had Roland’s own dream image been exploited by the “Great Mother” due to her Path? Or was this simply one of Mu Shu Hospital’s “achievements”? If High Mother Roland was Deputy Director, then who was the Director? Lu Mi decided he must report this to the Major Arcana.

This did not contradict his original plan to first conduct personal “tests” and gather his own results—he merely feared that if the dream image malfunctioned, it might affect the real-world High Mother Roland, and he wished to warn the Major Arcana.

After exiting the ward, Lu Mi asked curiously:

“Captain Xu, what’s the name of Mu Shu Hospital’s Director? I’ve never seen any news about him.”

Xu Xinyang stepped into the elevator lobby and thought for a few seconds:

“Strange… I’ve never heard of him either.

“I only know that Huang Zong had a close relationship with this hospital in the past—he donated them a lot of money and helped establish it.”

Money… a lot of money… donations… Lu Mi suspected this had occurred during the time when Luo Saier still bore the “Great Mother”’s corruption.

That also made Mu Shu Hospital wealthy and powerful, seemingly unconcerned with financial issues—unlike the Painted Hotel of the Fantasy Society, which still had to exploit the Blessed and believers for renovations.

While waiting for the slow elevator, Lao Xia suddenly asked Xu Xinyang:

“Captain Xu, do you think Old Wang and Old Ding can recover to their former selves? They used to be so tough.”

“Are you eyeing their positions?” Xu Xinyang asked with a smile.

In the Indus Group, the Security Department wasn’t just about guards—it included real security personnel tasked with protecting Huang Zong’s family and important guests, providing security for the company’s jewelry exhibitions, antique shows, arms deals, and safeguarding key mines through cooperation with local armed forces.

Old Wang and Old Ding were among these security personnel, earning far higher salaries than ordinary guards, with additional allowances if deployed externally.

“Not me—I can’t risk it, and I don’t have the ability,” Lao Xia waved his hands rapidly, looking terrified.

Xu Xinyang turned to Lu Mi and smiled:

“I originally wanted a sixty-year-old man for this assignment, but HR shoved me the youngest one—thankfully, Director Green was satisfied.”

“Why a sixty-year-old?” asked Lao Xia, who himself looked to be in his thirties or forties.

Xu Xinyang chuckled:

“Security is a service role—you’re too young, not smooth enough, and can’t bring yourself to act like a beggar.

“Think about it: if you had a conflict with a building employee, which of you would lie flat on the ground, clutch your chest, scream in pain, and cry you can’t breathe? A sixty-year-old has no such inhibitions—he’ll lie down, scream, and extort. Then, will the other side dare to argue or escalate? An elder at home is a treasure!”

Lu Mi finally understood: Xu Xinyang was reprimanding him, implying that his first-day altercation was a sign of inexperience.

Xiao Zhao didn’t catch the subtext and asked dumbly:

“Then why not just hire someone over seventy?”

“What if he has a heart attack on the job?” Xu Xinyang scolded Xiao Zhao, “You don’t care about Huang Zong’s money, do you?”

Xiao Zhao chuckled and didn’t argue.

At that moment, the elevator finally stopped at their floor, already packed with people.

As they entered and the elevator slowly descended, Lu Mi suddenly felt as if they were sinking into a dark ocean floor.

It was an illusion brought on by his spiritual sensitivity.

The illusion vanished quickly as the elevator halted at the next floor.

As the elevator continued stopping at various levels, Lao Xia muttered:

“It’s cold—this air conditioning is too strong…”

But you didn’t say that when we took the elevator up… is it because we’re descending, nearing the lower basement levels? Lu Mi observed the others in the elevator, noticing they all looked slightly pale from the icy draft.

Nothing else seemed amiss.

When the elevator reached the first floor, Lu Mi suddenly felt it would plummet freely—he instinctively stepped out quickly.

The sensation of overpowered air conditioning vanished instantly.

Lu Mi pinched his nose, then followed Xu Xinyang and the others toward Mu Shu Hospital’s main entrance.

Just now, he had smelled a hint of blood.

Outside the hospital building, the sunlight—only slightly weaker than before—immediately brought warmth and clarity.

“I hate hospitals,” Lao Xia muttered.

Lu Mi half-turned, gazing at the bustling lobby and the upper floors, mentally summarizing:

“There are indeed some odd details, but most doctors, nurses, and patients here seem normal…

“If they were all corrupted, the city would be far worse off—and the ‘Fool’’s subconscious would have reacted by now…”

As thoughts flashed through his mind, Lu Mi suddenly saw a face pressed against a glass window on the twelfth floor.

The face was wrapped in strips of white bandages, leaving only the eyes, nostrils, and mouth exposed.

He seemed to have seen Lu Mi too—he thrashed wildly, then was forcibly dragged away from the window as if pulled by unseen hands behind him.

Before Lu Mi could react, he vanished.

But Lu Mi recognized him.

He was Old Wang, who had been asleep the entire time during their visit.

Lu Mi turned back, pretending he had seen nothing.

If not for his planned meeting with Anderson tomorrow night, he would have stormed the twelfth-floor ward right now to save Old Wang and see what changes might occur.

For Lu Mi, this wasn’t impossible—but it had to wait until most of his experiments were complete.

…………

Inside a beef offal hotpot restaurant.

Xu Xinyang had booked a large private room with two tables, holding bottles of baijiu and beer as he smiled at Lu Mi:

“Can you drink?”

“A little,” Lu Mi replied nervously.

“Good—you can drink. Alcohol reflects character; drinking habits reveal true nature. Those who won’t drink can’t fit into our Security Team Two,” Xu Xinyang gestured to his subordinates, “Everyone’s here except those on duty, deployed, hospitalized, or on leave—show your best.”

Lu Mi had heard from Fu Lan Ka that many companies held welcome gatherings for new hires primarily to test obedience and crush their spirit, making them learn to obey—and drinking was the most common method.

“I—I’ll try,” Lu Mi forced a strained smile.

Two hours later, surrounded by piles of empty bottles on tables and in corners, Lu Mi held a bottle of strong liquor and grinned at Xu Xinyang:

“Captain Xu, drink up—why stop?

“Come on, let’s finish the rest.”

Xu Xinyang’s face was pale, his movements clumsy:

“No… no more… later… I have to… give the… household allowance.”

Around him, Lao Xia, Xiao Zhao, and others lay slumped on tables or curled in corners, asleep; some had just vomited and staggered back; some huddled together, babbling endlessly; others sat silent and motionless…

(End of Chapter)