"We can't merge too early; doing so holds no meaning. We must first understand the three areas before we can escape."
Thinking of this, Wen Xishu finally chose to open his mouth. He looked as though he couldn't think, his gaze vacant, only hesitating slightly as he opened his mouth.
The male doctor scrutinized him for a while:
"Seems like I was overthinking. The drug is taking effect."
The instant the white pill dissolved at the back of his tongue, the ceiling suddenly became covered with vein-like patterns.
Wen Xishu wanted to scream, but found his vocal cords had become waterlogged cotton.
The woman dabbed the corner of Wen Xishu's mouth with a cotton swab to remove the drug stain. Wen Xishu saw something bizarre—there was a suture on the woman's neck, and something moving under the skin.
Them.
Although he didn't know exactly what these doctors were, it was certain they weren't human.
Wen Xishu's strong heart left his expression unchanged, still looking like a fool, his gaze vacant. This reassured both the male and female doctors.
"Let's go feed the others their medications."
The man and woman left.
Wen Xishu wanted to induce vomiting, but at that moment, he suddenly received a rule prompt.
[Unlocked Rule Two: Vomit from the human body has a special smell. Don't let them smell it.]
The drug had already begun to be absorbed.
Wen Xishu's brain started to become sluggish. It felt as if he were drunk, his mind becoming dazed and heavy.
"Hero unconscious... Wise is an idiot..."
Wen Xishu's current feeling was like Xiahoudun looking at Louis XVI, unable to see a way out; this challenge seemed harder than imagined.
He just felt that his brain had a problem, and his inner thoughts even had a voice.
[Unlocked Rule Three: After the drug is digested, all your thoughts will come out of your mouth and last for five minutes. They are highly sensitive to the murmurs of thoughts.]
At this time, Wen Xishu realized this wasn't a brain problem; he was really hearing voices.
This meant that if he carefully thought through the next five minutes, with seamless logic and no encoding... these thoughts would come out as murmurs, heard by "them."
Fortunately, the statement about Hero being unconscious and Wise being an idiot likely wouldn't reveal much.
"Hahaha, hahahahaha..."
Wen Xishu now had to act like an idiot for five minutes; he had to appear as a fool, with chaotic thoughts, letting his mind go blank.
"Heh hey, hehe hehe."
"Wooo wooo wooo..."
If a camera captured this moment, it would surely become a black mark on Wen Xishu's history.
Although in such a terrifying environment, if Wen Xishu saw his own performance, he'd probably find it hard to hold in laughter.
Luckily, five minutes isn't too long.
When the five minutes were up, Wen Xishu felt a bit of pressure relieved.
"This start is too harsh. The Hero has lost consciousness, and this Wise is almost losing his mind."
"But the characteristics of the Wise are clear; with two rule unlocks, he can see the complete rules."
"This is the Wise's ability. If the Wise approaches the Hero, he could likely help the Hero interpret the first rule."
"And the Hero likely has excellent physical resilience, able to withstand torture in the intensive care area."
"But for now... it's not yet time for contact."
The drug's second effect arrived; as the five minutes of divulging thoughts ended, fatigue set in, and Wen Xishu had to face heavy drowsiness.
"It seems I need to switch to Benevolent. I don't know what Benevolent's characteristics are."
Just before falling asleep, he wouldn't draw their attention, so Wen Xishu met the conditions for switching again.
In the cold ward, Wen Xishu's vision gradually blurred and compressed.
And in the next instant...
He opened his eyes to see bright sunlight. Sunshine streamed through the window, feeling healing and warm, starkly different from the previous scene.
This was the Mild Illness Area.
But even in the Mild Illness Area, it shouldn't feel like this.
"When parents call, respond without delay..."
Wen Xishu suddenly uttered this line.
Then his gaze fell on the children in the study room.
This group of children also began to chant, "When parents call, respond without delay..."
One child wasn't reciting along. He looked very frail, his lips somewhat cracked, as if he hadn't had water in a long time.
At that moment, the sunlight outside the window was suddenly obscured.
Wen Xishu instinctively looked over and found it was a "doctor."
The doctors here, Wen Xishu already knew, weren't human. They were "them."
The doctor's eyes were fixed on that child with cracked lips and frail body.
"He's disobedient, Britney, I'm going to take him away!"
Memories began to flood in.
"My name is Britney... I'm a language teacher, and I have a very privileged background, but not long ago, I started to feel depressed when my parents got in a car accident."
His brain began to ache, but Wen Xishu forcibly endured the pain without showing it on his face.
At this moment, the "doctor" entered the classroom, intending to take the child somewhere, perhaps transferring him from the Mild Illness Area to the Moderate Illness Area.
But at this moment, Wen Xishu suddenly realized he could do something.
He decided to try:
"Please don't do this. Give me more time."
The "doctor's" footsteps halted. He looked at Wen Xishu, or rather, at Britney.
There was greed in its eyes, and finally, it nodded:
"Just this once."
They left.
The child, who was trembling with fear, lifted his head and looked gratefully at Wen Xishu.
Wen Xishu understood:
"Britney's memory gives me a feeling of gentleness and astonishing beauty. Her beauty even works on them?"
"Benevolent is the least threatening persona. Because of this, Britney can be more free, sometimes even making requests to them..."
[Unlocked Rule Four: They like xxx's things; their xxxxx desires, xxx when reaching the limit, xxxxxxx]
Another rule that's incompletely decoded.
Wen Xishu hasn't completely understood the characteristics of the three personas, but he has a rough idea.
"Wise can interpret rules, Hero can 'make mistakes' because his body can endure some punishments, and Benevolent can temporarily blend with them, even make requests of them."
"That rule might be saying they like beautiful things? They might accommodate Benevolent before their desires reach their peak?"
After briefly experiencing three perspectives, Wen Xishu began contemplating how to escape.
"Assuming this is a prison... the exit is likely in the intensive care area. Otherwise, Chris could simply ignore it, as there's no need to enter the intensive care area."
"So, how do I transfer the other two personas to the intensive care area?"
"It's worth noting that if Wise frequently takes medicine, he might lose his wisdom, and if either Wise or Benevolent enters the intensive care area due to 'deteriorating condition'..."
"It could very likely start with a set of electrotherapy, which only Hero can withstand."
"Moreover, if Benevolent's condition worsens... it might also trigger their desires, and it's unknown what they might do to Britney then."
"Very troublesome."
In the memories Wen Xishu currently possessed—Britney, Zhou Fei, and Chris had no interactions.
A student, a foreign language teacher, and a retired soldier didn't connect. Plus, their areas were different.
This task feels unrelated to Gemini to Wen Xishu.
"Figuring out which zodiac area's involved isn't urgent right now; the priority is still figuring out... how to find a breakthrough."
As Wen Xishu pondered all this, another prompt appeared.
[Chris is about to enter the isolation room and might encounter danger.]
Wen Xishu felt the pressure. If he can't leave here, settle Britney in a temporary safe time...
Then he can't switch, and Chris may encounter danger in the isolation room.
"The goal is to achieve an ending where all three survive."
Thinking of this, Wen Xishu had to first find a place for Britney to enter a relatively hands-off safe state.
At the same time, he realized:
A slight mishap could lead to the death of any persona because of poor arrangements. In some sense, he could die twice; the mission has a high fault tolerance rate...
But if he wants to achieve a high completion ending with significant future impact, he must ensure all three survive.
As Wen Xishu was lamenting the difficulty of this task—
Wen Xishu found an Easter egg.