Alien Hotel.

Chapter 502 Jinglin Sanatorium

Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood rode two Shadow Wolves with temporary license plates through the old streets and alleys of the old city. They jumped into the "Shortcut" from a nearby underground parking lot and quickly got on the fast lane. After traveling for thirty minutes through the spatial network that covered the entire city, the Shortcut automatically took them to a special exit.

A tunnel that seemed to have appeared out of thin air appeared. Outside the tunnel, the sky was somewhat gloomy. Shadow Wolf leaped out of the tunnel entrance. Yu Sheng, riding on the wolf's back, looked back and saw that the tunnel, which had been brightly lit and supported by reinforced concrete just a moment ago, had turned into a huge tree hole. A huge withered tree that looked like it would take ten people to hug stood quietly. The tree hole, which served as the shortcut exit, was near the roots of the withered tree.

Eileen cradled Yu Sheng's head, curiously looking around. She saw a forest surrounding the withered tree, with tall, unnamed trees stretching to the horizon. The sky was overcast, as if it were about to rain. A path wound through the forest, and at the end of the path stood a large, gray-white building, quietly standing in a clearing in the forest.

"Wow..." the little doll exclaimed, "There's such a large forest in the Boundary City?"

“This forest is also part of the Jinglin Sanatorium—we’re no longer in Jiecheng,” Little Red Riding Hood’s voice rang out from the side. “Come with me, but don’t stray too far. This is already the outer alien space of the sanatorium. If you wander off, you might be identified as a lost patient and forcibly teleported to a ward.”

Yu Sheng rode his wolf and followed Little Red Riding Hood, walking with her through the forest path. Under the gray sky, the forest breeze was slightly cool and damp, several degrees lower than the temperature in Jiecheng. At the edge of the woods and the clearing, he saw several huge signs standing on the ground, with words such as "Welcome to Jinglin Sanatorium", "Enter happily and go home healthy", and "Stay away from the depths of the forest, beware of trees lying".

As they approached the sanatorium gate, Little Red Riding Hood put away her shadow wolf, while Eileen, perched on Yu Sheng's shoulders, asked curiously, "Should I play dead later?"

“No need,” Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. “Jinglin Sanatorium is not open to ordinary people. It’s only open to spirit detectives, investigators and special agents.”

As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the entrance of the sanatorium. Yu Sheng looked up and saw that the large building consisted of three main buildings and interconnected strip-shaped buildings. The main building in front of them was almost a whole wall made of concrete from top to bottom, and there wasn't even a single window on it.

Even the side buildings on both sides of the main building only have a very limited number of narrow windows, and they are all located at the corners of the building. In addition, 90% of the building's exterior walls are a uniform cement structure.

Yu Sheng didn't know what the "sanatorium" looked like from other angles, but just looking at it from the front was enough to make him feel extremely depressed.

Even the usually carefree Eileen couldn't help but mutter, "...Such a big building with hardly any windows, wouldn't a normal person go crazy living in there?"

“The environment inside the sanatorium is normal. The ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ of this building are not the same. You’ll see when you go inside,” Little Red Riding Hood explained from the side. “The windows are not visible from the outside to prevent unauthorized eyes from entering the wards, and also to prevent some patients with mental illnesses from jumping out of the windows to escape.”

Yu Sheng blinked, thinking he had misheard, and felt that the girl in front of him seemed to have said something subtly wrong—but before he could ask a question, he saw the only gate under the high concrete wall opposite him opening.

The black metal door creaked and groaned, revealing a brightly lit hall inside. A particularly tall figure appeared at the entrance, slightly bowing, seemingly there to meet Yu Sheng and his party.

Yu Sheng looked at the tall figure, and his expression suddenly changed to one of surprise.

The other person was over two meters tall and wore a striking white coat, but instead of a human head, a spherical fish tank was perched atop the collar of the coat. The tank was filled with clear water, bubbling with tiny bubbles, and a palm-sized goldfish was swimming slowly in it. Numerous tiny electrodes and probes were attached to the sides and bottom of the tank, with several bundles of wires extending from the ends of the electrodes and probes, running down the collar and into the white coat.

In addition, the entire body of this "fish tank monster" was completely wrapped up, and he was wearing a pair of extra-thick leather gloves.

“This is the ‘Dean’,” Little Red Riding Hood whispered in Yu Sheng’s ear, snapping him out of his daze. “The ‘Dean’ is an entity generated by the ‘Jinglin Sanatorium’—and its true form is that goldfish.”

Yu Sheng: "...?!"

He listened, bewildered. The words "dean," "entity," and "goldfish" swirled in his mind, but he couldn't figure out how they could be combined into a sentence. Just then, the "dean" walked over, and Yu Sheng saw the spherical fish tank swaying in his field of vision. The goldfish inside circled a few times in the water before stopping, its bubble eyes staring directly into his eyes—

The "dean" bent down slightly, extended her hand, and a slightly hoarse, languid, gentle yet charming female voice entered Yu Sheng's ears: "Hello, I've heard about you from the director—I'm the fish in charge here."

The voice startled Yu Sheng for a moment before he realized what was happening and reached out to shake hands with the other person. He touched the rather thick-looking leather glove and felt its soft, pulsating interior, as if... filled with water.

“I hope my appearance hasn’t bothered you,” the husky, alluring female voice came from a sound-producing structure beneath the fish tank. “Most people—I mean those who are mentally sound—are startled when they first come here. They seem to have a hard time accepting that a fish is the director of this sanatorium, but I’m actually doing a pretty good job in this position.”

Yu Sheng had just recovered from his daze and didn't know what to say. He could only mumble a few perfunctory "uh-huhs." He thought to himself that he had dealt with so many strange things and creatures and was quite knowledgeable and adaptable, but this "dean" in front of him was still beyond his expectations. For a moment, he didn't even know where to begin his critique. After a long pause, he could only sigh inwardly, "No wonder it's the border region—this damn place is truly a land of outstanding people and resources. What on earth is going on here..."

Moreover, this director is a "physical entity" generated by Jinglin Sanatorium... So it turns out that physical entities can communicate with people like this, and even cooperate stably with people?

A question flashed through Yu Sheng's mind, but his gaze involuntarily fell on the numerous electrodes and probes surrounding the spherical fish tank—were these devices installed by the Secret Service? Were they there to maintain the "Director's" stability and enable him to communicate with people?
A flurry of guesses rushed through his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to ask directly. He could only suppress his curiosity and greet the other person normally. However, he had clearly forgotten that there was someone else present who couldn't hold back—Eileen, who had been staring at him for a long time. At this moment, "Teng" suddenly stood up from Yu Sheng's shoulder and pointed at the dean opposite him—or rather, at the goldfish in the fish tank: "You're really a 'physical entity'? This is the first time I've ever seen one like you! Why can a physical entity not only communicate with people but also cooperate with the Secret Service?"

"Because I've never beaten Baili Qing," the languid and charming female voice said.

Yu Sheng: "...?"

“Then she put me in this device,” the director continued, sounding completely nonchalant, as if he were talking about someone else. “Ah, that was almost half a century ago.”

Yu Sheng blinked and turned to look at Little Red Riding Hood.

"Actually, I'm not very familiar with this place either," Little Red Riding Hood muttered. "A lot of the information was only found last night..."

Just then, the "dean" raised his hand again, making an inviting gesture: "Please come with me. The person you want to see is in a deep ward. I will show you the way."

Yu Sheng quickly gathered up his various chaotic thoughts and, together with Eileen and Little Red Riding Hood, followed behind the director and stepped into the Jinglin Sanatorium building.

Upon entering the main gate, you are greeted by a spacious and bright hall.

Bright lights overhead, a clean and spacious environment, clearly marked signs and rest areas on both sides of the lobby, and a general information desk directly opposite the entrance. Inside the lobby, you can see medical staff in sanatorium uniforms, as well as patients walking around accompanied by medical staff. No matter how you look at it, the interior of this building, which has an oppressive and eerie exterior, is surprisingly normal.

But upon closer inspection, Yu Sheng eventually discovered some... unusual things about this place.

He followed the dean through the hall, his gaze sweeping across the nearby walls, where he would occasionally spot the "reminders" posted there.

After curfew, no one is allowed to cross the red beam of light at the information desk in the lobby;
Medical staff are prohibited from having unattended contact with patients requiring level two or higher care.
All wards are single rooms. When there are two or more people in a ward, an alert will be triggered to materialize the alternate personality.
The "Dean" will not be active in the corridor between midnight and 4:00 AM daily. If the "Dean" is spotted in the corridor during this time, immediately press the nearest large red button...

These kinds of reminders wouldn't appear in a normal health facility.

Led by the "director," Yu Sheng walked slowly forward, recalling the notices that Baili Qing had sent to his phone halfway there—"visitors" must abide by various visiting rules in Jinglin Sanatorium, certain floors and wards marked with special colors are off-limits, sanatorium staff have their own duties and will not talk to visitors casually... and so on.

The rules are not complicated, and the Jinglin Sanatorium, with a depth of only L-1, is relatively safe compared to other alien realms.

But this place... is indeed an interesting place.

(End of this chapter)