【I look outside, watching those people come happily, and then I grab them, kill them, dissect them, keep a souvenir, representing another addition to my collection, perfect】
……
【I've been happy this week, but it seems someone is watching me. Who is he? A doctor?】
【The doctor says starting today he's going to perform psychological intervention on me. On what grounds? … I know what I do can't be exposed. I can't let him find out.】
【Damn it, he found out anyway!】
【This doctor is so annoying. He actually said I have delusional disorder. Does he even know what he's saying? I'm going to make him realize how terribly wrong he is. Starting today, I'm going to follow him. I will definitely kill him.】
……
【Half a month. I finally found my chance. Two days from now, April 19th, is his birthday. He'll drink a lot. I plan to take advantage while he's drunk…】
……
【The plan failed. His vigilance is too strong. But it's okay. I can feel it. He's been paranoid lately, his mental state deteriorating. I'll have another chance.】
……
【Hahahahaha, I succeeded! I killed him today! No, why isn't he dead? (A mess of scribbles), I get it! So… so that's how it is (a mess of scribbles). Then I'll do it another way, forever! Kill him forever! It's either him or me!】
The diary filled almost half the notebook. The content often jumped around; it didn't seem like it was written every day.
Yú Xìng ignored the diary entries boasting about how great his dissection skills were and directly pulled out the few more important pages.
After reading the diary, a small note fell out from the last page.
【Do you know how much I hate you? On your birthday, so many people celebrate you, but you wouldn't let me kill a single one. On my birthday… you won't live to see my birthday. I bet you don't even know my birthday. Why won't you just die? In a little over two hours, you'll be dead forever, hahahahaha】
"Oh, hates me." Yú Xìng looked at the note, his smile gradually deepening. "How pathetic."
The books in this bedroom couldn't be flipped through. He hadn't found any clues about numbers, and the diary couldn't just be there to show the killer's twisted inner world. The clue should be in the diary.
Having already guessed the relationship between the killer and the doctor, Yú Xìng fixed his gaze on the word "birthday."
"The door code is four digits, so the answer should be…"
He flipped through the diary again and softly uttered a set of numbers:
"0324."
He put down the notebook, turned around, and opened the bedroom door.
He encountered no obstacles all the way to the front door, until he entered the numbers into the combination lock and it displayed [Correct Password]. Only then did the surrounding atmosphere suddenly turn cold and ominous.
The door could be opened now.
Yú Xìng reached out—
Ding—
Just as he touched the handle, a sound of something cutting through the air came from behind him. Yú Xìng instantly recognized what it was. Without moving an inch, a scalpel that appeared out of nowhere grazed his ear and slammed into the metal door with a sharp, vibrating screech.
Yú Xìng turned around. He saw a blurry black figure standing behind him, still holding a dripping scalpel in its hand.
He casually leaned against the door, pulled the knife embedded three inches deep next to his head, and along with the one he'd taken from the dissection room earlier, twirled a beautiful little flourish with each hand: "It's useless, friend. You're destined to be the one cooling off."
"How do you know my birthday!" The black figure looked incredulous, its only visible feature—a pair of eyes— bloodshot. "There's no way you could know!"
"You're so stupid." Yú Xìng's smile faded. "I don't really like talking to stupid people. It's a waste of saliva. I'm leaving now."
Just then, a piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind.
【Deduction Hint: Speaking or writing the deduction process in any manner can increase the deduction evaluation】
The words on the tip of his tongue took a sharp turn. Yú Xìng put on a particularly pure, sunny, big smile: "But I think since there's plenty of time, I might as well be merciful and tell you～"
The black figure stared at this person whose expression changed unpredictably and who had taken two of his scalpels. The bloodshot color in his eyes deepened.
"Where should I start so you can understand…" Yú Xìng was actually thinking: where should I start so the system gives me the highest score?
"Let's start from the root.
"You and I share the same body.
"We are actually two personalities. ①
"—You know this, and so do I."
Yú Xìng had figured this out from the details. He wasn't unfamiliar with this kind of knowledge, so his reaction was quicker.
The killer didn't kill the doctor, but insisted on breaking him mentally. If you understood it as a struggle between two personalities, it made sense.
The spatial illogic, the corpses that sometimes existed and sometimes disappeared, the notes that updated in real time—all of it also had an answer.
This was all a world imagined by the killer personality. The corpses, the dissection room, the jars lining the walls—none of it existed. Probably only this bedroom had some connection to reality.
He had wanted to check if there were any clothes in the wardrobe that matched the doctor's style, but the system didn't give him the chance. Luckily, after reading the diary, he was completely convinced.
"This so-called secret garden isn't in reality. It's inside 'my' mind, or rather, the mind of this body—an area you imagined." Yú Xìng smiled at the killer personality. "You're not only a recently emerged sub-personality, but also a sub-personality that was mentally ill from birth. Every day, you look through this window at the real world outside, think you really exist, and fantasize about killing people, dissecting them, over and over." ②
Yú Xìng paused here. He had been thirsty since he first came in, but unfortunately hadn't found any water, and now he had to say so much: "People with dual personality generally don't know about each other. Coincidentally, your main personality—that is, me—happens to be a psychiatrist. I spent a week realizing my own abnormality. After finding out I had split personality, I wanted to actively find you and try preliminary treatment—"
"The first step is psychological intervention: first straighten out your twisted thinking, encourage cooperation, slowly assimilate you, let the conflict between the two personalities gradually blur. In the end, you will disappear." ③
Killer personality became agitated when he heard this. His black body seemed about to evaporate: "I knew you had ulterior motives!"
"Your motives weren't exactly pure either. Tit for tat." Yú Xìng didn't know what the doctor role originally thought, so he just shot back casually.
"Anyway, today, you wanted to kill me while I was mentally exhausted. When you found out you couldn't kill me, the problem always lurking in your subconscious erupted. You realized you're just a sub-personality. You got even angrier and decided to bring the main personality into your imagined world. And this is also your biggest weakness.
"This aggressive approach has only two outcomes. One: I have a mental breakdown, shatter and disappear, or I stay here for three hours and get assimilated by you. Two: you fail to keep me here, and instead I discover your most vulnerable mental part. With my ability as a doctor, you'll be the one disappearing immediately. Before that, no matter what, you can't hurt me.
"Because I am the main personality. And you? You're just a delusional patient."
Yú Xìng was grinning. Suddenly, he flicked his wrist, and the scalpel in his right hand flew straight through the killer personality's heart without warning.
"See? I can't hurt you either. Because this is your mental world."
The killer personality touched his chest, which was pierced but showed no mark at all. He paced back and forth irritably, his hoarse voice grating on Yú Xìng's eardrums: "No! I admit I'm a sub-personality. But I don't have delusional disorder! These—these! They're all my collections!"
He was probably referring to the corpses and the organs in the jars. Unfortunately, Yú Xìng didn't want to discuss that with him.
"Your birthday… that's even simpler. The day you were born is your birthday." Yú Xìng kept the remaining scalpel in his hand, toying with it. "The first diary entry was written on the day you were born. So… a primary school arithmetic problem?
"7+1+1+15+2. Twenty-six days. Counting back twenty-six days from my birthday gives your birthday: March 24th."
After explaining this, Yú Xìng felt he had said enough. It was just reading comprehension of the diary content, figuring out the effective number of days, and adding them up. Very simple.
This should get me a good deduction score…
Goal achieved, counting on the fact that the killer personality couldn't hurt him at all, Yú Xìng turned around, pulled open the door, and walked leisurely out into the pitch-black fog outside.
The black mist blinded Yú Xìng's eyes, making it truly impossible to see your hand in front of your face.
He took a few aimless steps, felt his eyelids grow heavy, and sleepiness washed over him.
……
"Dr. Zhèng… Dr. Zhèng!"
A clear, gentle voice sounded beside his ear. The darkness before Yú Xìng's eyes gradually faded. He felt the connection to his body again and opened his eyes accordingly.
The first thing he saw was an arm wrapped in a white hoodie sleeve. He tried to move it and realized it was his own arm, just numb from being pressed on.
"Hiss…" He sat up, flexed his arm, and felt his eyelids were very heavy, his body exhausted.
"Are you too tired? You fell asleep at your desk… Everyone just went to lunch. I saw you were sleeping, so I didn't disturb you. But you can't skip lunch. You have patients to see this afternoon."
Standing beside him was a woman in professional attire, her hair pinned up, wearing a light, approachable makeup. The pencil skirt accentuated her female curves nicely.
She looked at him with concern and placed a freshly brewed cup of coffee on the desk.
Yú Xìng opened his mouth. Before he could organize his words, a sentence that clearly wasn't his own voice burst out: "Okay, you go ahead. I'll eat later."
Huh?
I can't control myself anymore?
Yú Xìng realized this, was surprised for a moment, then calmed down.
The deduction game was almost over. This must be the phase where the aftermath is explained or the content is rounded out?
He watched the woman nod and leave, then let out an uncontrollable sigh.
His gaze swept across the desk. On it lay a business card:
【Amrolan Psychological Counseling Center Physician, National Level 2 Psychological Counselor, ACI International Psychological Counselor: Zhèng Sòng】④
Yú Xìng watched as he opened the cabinet on the right side of the desk and took out a paper file.
The file was in a transparent folder; the first page was visible.
"Zhèng Sòng, after various tests, confirmed to have Split Personality."
"Sub-personality Xǔ Jiàn, diagnosed with Delusional Disorder. Early treatment recommended."
"…" Yú Xìng just wanted to see what the doctor was going to do now.
The doctor didn't speak anymore, apparently deep in thought. After about two minutes, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to a contact surnamed N.
-Can you talk now?
Another two minutes passed. The other side replied: I'm free now.
So Dr. Zhèng Sòng made a call.
The other side answered. A somewhat lazy voice came through to Yú Xìng's ears: "Yo, what brings you to call me out of the blue?"
"I have a mental health issue I want to consult you about."
"Oh? Now that's a rarity. What kind of problem needs you to ask someone who had their psychologist license revoked long ago?"
"Níng Fēng, perhaps… I can somewhat understand what you went through back then. My understanding can't explain this. Maybe only you know a thing or two. Have you ever encountered… in a dream, being controlled by another consciousness, and waking up to find… the second personality had disappeared?" Zhèng Sòng hesitated, but finally asked.
Another consciousness? Is it referring to me? Yú Xìng raised an eyebrow internally.
On the other end of the line, the man named Níng Fēng was silent for a moment, apparently digesting the information in those words. Yú Xìng could feel Zhèng Sòng's hands trembling slightly from tension.
"Interesting." After a while, this came from the other side, then he said, "You know what happens in this kind of situation…"
"I'll resign." Zhèng Sòng's tone was firm. He raised a hand to rub his brow. "There are some things I need to verify. It's indeed not suitable for me to keep working. But I still want to understand the reason behind this—"
"Fly over to see me whenever you get a chance." Hearing Zhèng Sòng's reply, the other side seemed to chuckle lightly. His tone was still very casual, yet held a leisurely air.
The conversation ended there. A new prompt appeared in Yú Xìng's mind.
【Deduction Hint: Persona Assessment Game has ended】
【Judging in progress】
【Judgment complete. You now hold the identity of official deducer】
【Case truth restoration rate: 93%】
【Persona Alienation Degree increase: 0】
【Score: S】
【Title obtained: Terrifying Newcomer】
【Deduction Points gained: 233 (Fast Clear) (Story Comprehension) (Score Bonus)】
【Persona Mask generation complete】
……
【Persona Mask · Xìng】
【Holder: Yú Xìng】
【Basic Info: Male, Height 185cm, Weight 65kg, Age * # * # (Error Occurred)】
【Identity: Novice Deductor (233/1000)】
【Mask Composition: Calm 18%, Crazy 20%, Kindness 10%, Gentleness 10%, Indifference 10%, Evil 8%, Casual 2%, Lazy 1%, Tenacity 7%, Chaos 13%】
【Holder Description: Something is really wrong with you.】
【Persona Sacrifice: & # * | * ^ (Data Error) (Equipped 1/6)】
【Persona Alienation Degree: 50% (A Persona Alienation Degree exceeding 20% will negatively affect the deducer's persona. Your Persona Alienation Degree is too high. Please suppress evil.)】
【Deduction Mall: Select to enter】
【Wishlist: Pending entry】
【Deduction Game Direction Selection Market: Select to enter】
【Prompt: You have not yet played the main storyline. Click here for details】