Chapter 962: Psychiatric Ward (Beginning of Month, Requesting Monthly Votes)

Using the parents ahead as cover, Lu Miang covertly observed every move of Zarathustra.

After listening to Aina’s introduction for a few minutes, Zarathustra nodded, left the entrance of the Business English class, and went to inspect other current training sessions.

“He hasn’t done anything yet…” Lu Miang felt puzzled but remained alert.

Only after Zarathustra finished touring the Dream Tutoring Center, and Aina escorted him and his attendants out before returning to the Business English class, did Lu Miang sit back in his original seat and mutter to himself:

“He just left?”

“Did he come solely to recognize Zhou Mingrui and establish initial contact, or has he already done something covertly that I failed to notice? For instance, has he already controlled Principal Ai, or secretly used some ability to achieve his goal from just a few meters away?”

After pondering, Lu Miang picked up his phone and sent a message to Jianna:

“Ask Rosan to remind the target via WeChat to pay attention to his condition today, don’t drink any water brought to the tutoring center, and buy new water later.”

This was an indirect, subtle warning to Zhou Mingrui—and also an experiment to see if hints delivered through a dream character during daylight would trigger anomalies in themselves.

A few minutes later, Zhou Mingrui, attentively listening to the lecture, felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

He pulled it out, lowered his head, unlocked the screen, and saw the message was from Rosan:

“Remember to examine yourself three times daily, and don’t drink water brought from outside.”

What did that mean? Out of nowhere, utterly bizarre… Zhou Mingrui grumbled inwardly for a moment, then sensed the hidden warning.

He still hadn’t fully determined whether Rosan was good or bad, whether her intentions toward him were mostly benevolent or malicious—but following the suggestion to regularly assess his state and avoid drinking the current water wouldn’t hurt, even if he acted on it.

In matters like this, better to believe it exists than to ignore it!

Zhou Mingrui replied with a single “OK,” slipped his phone back into his pocket, and lifted his head again.

He no longer looked at the bottle of mineral water on his desk.

Outside the classroom, Lu Miang re-examined Zarathustra’s earlier behavior:

“He only stared at Zhou Mingrui from a few meters away, made no attempt to approach…”

“Whether or not he did something covertly, this behavior suggests he dares not engage Zhou Mingrui deeply or act openly in front of that person…”

“Combined with Fuyanka’s morning account of being kicked out of the dream and the covert struggles over the lottery incident, it’s clear that Mr. ‘The Fool’ has some control over the dream—at least not much weaker than the Celestial Sovereign. Under these circumstances, if Zarathustra provokes him and gets identified or locked onto, he’s very likely to be turned into a puppet or expelled from the dream…”

“In this dream metropolis, it’s not just us who must be cautious—Even the Celestial Sovereign’s subordinates must follow the same rules…”

Thinking this through, Lu Miang’s mind cleared considerably.

He stood up, paced along the corridor, pondering details of various issues while waiting for the possible consequences of the indirect warning to Zhou Mingrui.

Reaching the end of the hallway, he casually glanced outside through the window.

He suddenly saw Zarathustra emerge from the opposite building, accompanied by a young girl, followed by his attendants and several unfamiliar faces.

The girl’s appearance was familiar to Lu Miang.

The Major Arcana card “The Hermit”—“Star Queen” Gardelia!

“The Hermit’s role in the dream metropolis is Huang Jiajia, Huang Beibei’s roommate, who lost a bet and has since called Huang Beibei ‘Dad’… Mr. ‘The Fool’s’ subconscious has woven some interesting relationships…”

“Huang Jiajia’s family runs Star Tutoring Center, a competitor of Dream Tutoring Center, so she lured Zhou Mingrui to enroll at Dream with a high reward to spy on the enemy…”

“Is Zarathustra going all out, inspecting even Dream’s competitors, or does he intend to do something to The Hermit’s dream image?”

“By the way, the dried mushrooms that prevented Zhou Mingrui from drinking the ‘Seducer’ beverage came from Huang Jiajia—they were grown by Li Keji, Star Tutoring’s biology teacher, whose prototype is the ‘Legendary Druid’ Frank Lee… No wonder those mushrooms had supernatural properties; in Mr. ‘The Fool’s’ subconscious, any mushroom product from Frank Lee might be dangerous…”

Lu Miang stood by the window until he saw Zarathustra enter a black business car, while Huang Jiajia and the others waved goodbye from the roadside, then prepared to return to the Enlightenment English class.

Suddenly, he heard a beeping sound.

It was an ambulance, parked at the entrance of Star Tutoring Center; nurses and police officers jumped out.

What happened? Did Zarathustra cause this? Lu Miang stopped walking and kept watching from afar.

Soon after, police and nurses carried out a man from Star Tutoring Center—he wore a white shirt and military-green suspenders, had long brown hair, thick body hair, his hands were cuffed behind his back, and his limbs and body were tightly bound.

He was lifted out and shoved into the ambulance.

Lu Miang recognized this man.

He was Li Keji, Star Tutoring’s biology teacher—the prototype of the “Legendary Druid” Frank Lee!

“Why was he arrested? And why with an ambulance…”

“Did the mushrooms cause trouble?”

“Or is this the problem Zarathustra brought—eliminating Frank Lee’s dream image to prevent future interference from some mushroom?”

Lu Miang quickly pulled out his phone and scrolled through local news and videos.

Within minutes, he saw a related post:

“Folks, can you believe this? I just went for a biology tutoring session, and my teacher got arrested as a mentally ill terrorist!”

“Is studying biology this dangerous?”

“He even said if I did well on this test, he’d give me a bag of new mushroom varieties!”

After scrolling through several similar videos, Lu Miang confirmed Frank Lee had been seized by the Celestial Sovereign’s side under some pretext—first sent for psychiatric treatment, then whatever else followed.

“But judging from the latest volume of ‘The Great Adventurer’ and Zhou Mingrui’s dried mushrooms, the probability that Li Keji’s mushrooms were harmless is extremely low… This is… what’s it called? Endangering public safety by dangerous means? Arresting him is actually reasonable…” Lu Miang had just thought this when he received a message.

It was from “Grene of Intis Group”:

“There’s something you must handle personally.”

What could possibly require the Godchild’s personal attention? Lu Miang replied via voice input:

“Is it urgent?”

“Not too urgent,” Grene replied quickly.

Lu Miang thought for a few seconds:

“Then I’ll handle it after I finish watching the kids.”

In front of the Mother’s followers, he should display more maternal radiance, making them more certain of his identity.

“Understood, please attend to your duties first,” Grene replied with profound humility, showing no trace of his position as Intis Group’s Head of Security, while Lu Miang was merely a lowly guard.

Seizing this opportunity, Lu Miang informed Jianna about Zarathustra’s actions and Frank Lee’s fate.

After the Business English and Enlightenment English classes ended, Lu Miang politely bid farewell to Zhou Mingrui, took Ludvig with him, and left the Dream Tutoring Center for the gray sedan driven by Anthony.

Only then did he send a message to “Grene of Intis Group”:

“Time and place.”

Just seconds later, Grene replied:

“I’m waiting for you at the entrance of Mushi Hospital.”

Mushi Hospital… Lu Miang frowned slightly.

…………

Under the blazing sun, Lu Miang saw Grene standing beneath a tree’s shade.

The Head of Security for Intis Group had changed into a light-colored striped shirt and wore sunglasses, effectively disguising himself.

“What’s this about?” Lu Miang walked past Grene straight toward the entrance of Mushi Hospital.

Grene followed beside and behind him, smiling as he spoke:

“You’ll see when you get there—this is likely one of the Mother’s reasons for sending you.”

The way you say that makes it sound like you dug a trap and waited for me to jump in… Lu Miang gave a slight nod and asked no further questions.

Asking too much would reveal I have no real connection to the “Great Mother.”

Grene quickened his pace, passed Lu Miang, and led the way.

He guided Lu Miang around the main building to a three-story structure with a lawn and garden, surrounded by tall walls.

“This is the Psychiatric Ward,” Grene said, verified his identity with the guard, and passed through the iron gate.

Lu Miang nodded thoughtfully.

The two quickly entered the building; as soon as they reached the second floor under the nurse’s guidance, they heard a patient banging on an iron door and shouting:

“Let me out!”

“I’m not insane! I fought two Supreme Beings to the edge of the universe before losing—I was captured, but I’m not mad!”

“This is my puppet, this is my paper doll—look, I’ve got them all with me, I’m not crazy!”

“I divined it—no danger, truly no danger! That voice is normal—don’t you hear it?”

“Let me out! Let me out!”

Lu Miang raised an eyebrow at the noise:

Which “Fortune Teller” path adept is this? At least a “Puppet Master”…

Lu Miang immediately recalled the “Puppet Master” who never intervened when they killed the resurrected corpse, and the madman found near Mingyue Mall the next morning, sent to the hospital.

Is this the mad Puppet Master? He’s been sent to Mushi Hospital’s Psychiatric Ward… What voice did he hear? What drove him mad? As Lu Miang pondered, he kept walking, following the nurse and Grene to the end of a deserted corridor.

The nurse stopped at the door of the deepest room and said to Grene and Lu Miang:

“The patient is inside. You may observe him through the window—don’t put your hands in.”

With that, she turned and left without further instructions.

After watching the nurse disappear down the stairs, Grene smiled at Lu Miang:

“Godchild, Li Keji is inside.”

Li Keji… Frank Lee? Lu Miang had anticipated it, but still felt a jolt.

ps: Beginning of the month, requesting monthly votes~

(End of chapter)