Chapter 3: Treatment
“…Worse?”
Luo Ling was slightly taken aback by these words.
Su Wan remained silent for a moment, seemingly unsure of how to explain.
Just then, Li Tianming entered the room from the doorway and said calmly,
“To be precise, Miss Luo Ling, your illness is no longer just a neurological issue. It’s highly likely that there’s also a psychological component, or even…”
“Dr. Li!”
Su Wan interrupted anxiously, but Li Tianming raised his hand, signaling her not to be too nervous.
“Ms. Su, please go outside for a moment,” Li Tianming pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, a familiar smile on his lips. “Please rest assured, I’ve brought Dr. Wu from the psychology department with me today. She’s very skilled in psychological counseling. Only by addressing the psychological root cause can we effectively carry out targeted treatment.”
The silent doctor beside him looked up and nodded at Su Wan. Luo Ling then realized it was a female doctor, as she was heavily covered.
Su Wan hesitated for a moment, then recalled Luo Ling’s behavior at the hospital yesterday, which seemed to resemble the mad woman’s. Finally, she nodded.
She stood up to make way for Li Tianming, and before leaving the room, she instructed Luo Ling,
“Xiao Ling, cooperate with Dr. Li’s treatment.”
“…Okay.”
Luo Ling nodded slightly and turned her gaze to Li Tianming.
She looked directly at him, but Dr. Li only lowered his head slightly, his gaze never meeting Luo Ling’s, hidden behind the reflective lenses of his glasses.
Why did Dr. Li seem so strange today?
A hint of doubt arose in Luo Ling’s heart. Usually, Dr. Li would look at her kindly during consultations, not like now, deliberately avoiding her gaze.
It seemed to have started yesterday, after she mentioned seeing the monster…
Could it be that Dr. Li thought she had become like the mad woman, and that’s why his attitude had changed?
However, Luo Ling herself was unsure. She knew her illness seemed to stem from some neurological problem, so she couldn’t be certain if what she saw were hallucinations.
…But what if they weren’t?
Li Tianming paid no mind to Luo Ling’s wandering thoughts. He found a chair, sat down, and asked in a flat tone,
“Miss Luo Ling, can I ask you a few detailed questions?”
“Why are we doing the treatment at my home today, and not at the hospital?” Luo Ling asked in a low voice.
“You’re asking me questions first,” Li Tianming chuckled noncommittally, then said, “On the one hand, it’s because your mental state isn’t very stable. On the other hand… psychological treatment is best conducted in a comfortable environment, such as your own home.”
Psychological treatment…
Luo Ling glanced at the so-called psychologist, Dr. Wu, who hadn’t spoken a word from beginning to end and was still standing in the same spot.
Noticing Luo Ling’s gaze, Li Tianming smiled faintly and said,
“No need to be so resistant. Everyone has psychological issues. I do occasionally… Let’s return to your condition. Yesterday, you did indeed see… a ‘monster’?”
Luo Ling remained silent.
“Let me describe it, and you can tell me if it’s accurate… The monster vaguely resembled a human infant, but its head was a deformed, fleshy mass, and its mouth—or rather, its maw—split open to about…” Li Tianming extended his finger and traced a line from the corner of his mouth to his ear. “This position.”
Luo Ling’s pupils constricted, and she looked up at Li Tianming.
But Li Tianming still didn’t meet her gaze, instead continuing in a leisurely tone,
“Then, when that poor, mentally ill woman was comforting it, it opened its large mouth—snap, and bit down.”
Li Tianming’s tone was flat, but the imagery was vivid.
“Did you see it too?” Luo Ling finally couldn’t help but ask.
“No, I only saw the woman self-harming while holding a corpse,” Li Tianming shrugged. “I was merely describing what you saw.”
Hearing this, Luo Ling lowered her eyes, her wavering thoughts returning to confusion.
She didn’t know if what she saw was real or fake, hallucination or reality.
Perhaps… she really was mentally ill.
“You’re right. I did see those things,” Luo Ling said with a bitter smile.
“Right? I wasn’t guessing.” Li Tianming said slowly, “I didn’t see those things, but… she did.”
Li Tianming pointed to Dr. Wu beside him. Luo Ling looked at the “psychologist” who hadn’t moved at all and saw that she had now removed her mask and hat, revealing her true face.
In an instant, Luo Ling understood why she had concealed her appearance.
Large, white patches covered her bald scalp, spreading across her entire face.
Her eyes were devoid of color, leaving only grey pupils, dull and inhuman.
Although traces of her former beauty could still be seen, she was now utterly hideous.
“Miss Luo Ling, your ability to see ‘grotesqueries’ is an illness, an illness that must be treated,” Li Tianming’s gentle voice turned strangely cold. “If you don’t receive ‘treatment,’ you will kill many people, a great many.”
At the same time, Dr. Wu stepped forward, reaching out to grab Luo Ling.
“What are you doing?”
Luo Ling’s gaze sharpened. No matter how she tried to rationalize it, she couldn’t imagine this scene being “psychological treatment.”
She leaped lightly to the other side of the room, her face filled with alarm and uncertainty.
“Don’t resist treatment,” Dr. Li said, his back to Luo Ling. “I’m saving you, ‘Awakened One.’”
Saving?
Is this how you save someone?
Luo Ling watched in disbelief as Dr. Wu, expressionless, pulled a bloody rib from her own chest, holding it like a sharp dagger.
Dr. Li… wanted to kill her?!
“Help! Help!”
Luo Ling didn’t hesitate and screamed.
She jumped off the bed without a second thought and rushed towards the door.
But a figure moved faster. Dr. Wu teleported in front of Luo Ling in the blink of an eye.
She casually pulled out a rib and pierced Luo Ling’s arm, pinning her to the floor.
“I am saving lives right now, saving many lives.” Li Tianming walked slowly towards Luo Ling, looking down at her. “Miss Luo Ling, you are an ‘Awakened One.’ In the future, countless people will die at your hands. I’m doing this to save them.
“However, I am a doctor, after all. I won’t kill you directly. I will use the power bestowed upon me by God’s mission to ‘treat’ you.
“Just like I cured Dr. Wu.”
Finally, Li Tianming met Luo Ling’s gaze.
His eyes were cold as a viper’s, filled with barely suppressed disgust and hatred.
No wonder Li Tianming had been deliberately avoiding Luo Ling’s gaze. He was afraid that his true intentions would be revealed through his eyes.
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