Starting with dissecting ghost stories

On the highway, an ambulance was driving smoothly in the emergency lane.

The ambulance was escorted by a police car on its left and front and rear. Inside the ambulance lay a girl who appeared to still be unconscious. Xu Le from the Ninth Detachment sat in the ambulance, accompanying the journey. A gun was tucked into his waistband, and sitting opposite him was the head of neurosurgery from the provincial department. The head of neurosurgery seemed to have not accompanied an ambulance in a long time, and coupled with the intense surgery he had just performed, he was currently dozing off opposite him.

The paramedics kept a close eye on the equipment inside the ambulance, while the head nurse from the First People's Hospital who had come along also observed the patient's condition.

Xu Le was bursting with frustration. He desperately wished he could sit in the escort convoy next to him, so he could at least have a smoke.

Now, he couldn't find anyone to talk to. What if he accidentally caused trouble by chatting? Xu Le didn't know anything about medical technology, so he could only keep his mouth shut and try not to disturb the professionals in front of him.

"Um?"

The head nurse made a somewhat puzzled sound, and Xu Le, who was in a daze, looked up at the head nurse.

"What's wrong?" Xu Le asked in a low voice.

"Her hand... seemed to move slightly?" The head nurse was a little unsure, because the vehicle occasionally bumped a little, and she wasn't sure if she had seen wrong.

"It moved?"

Just as Xu Le was about to ask some further questions, the paramedic said urgently, "His heart rate has increased!"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the green line on the electrocardiogram monitor suddenly turned into a dense jagged pattern, and the alarm sounded. Upon hearing the alarm, the neurosurgeon was awakened as if by conditioned reflex.

Wang Xinran opened her eyes, her eyeballs trembling slightly, and the whites of her eyes were bloodshot.

Her back lifted off the mattress, her body arched upwards, and she swung her left arm violently, tearing off the adhesive tape from the indwelling needle in her arm, and began to struggle frantically.

The sutured area on her forehead, lacking skull support, rapidly swelled outwards, pushing up a piece of dark red flesh and staining the gauze red.

"Hold her head down! You! Help!!" Although the director had just been jolted awake, he reacted quickly. He rapidly directed the paramedics and Xu Le, then looked at the nurse and said, "Propofol!"

The head nurse knelt inside the vehicle, her gloved hands quickly preparing the anesthetic drugs. Xu Le didn't care about anything else; he and the paramedics pressed down hard on Wang Xinran's head to prevent it from moving any further.

It wasn't until the anesthetic was slowly injected that Wang Xinran's tense muscles gradually relaxed, her breathing began to calm down, and she fell back into a deep sleep.

Xu Le was panting heavily. He was startled by the sudden situation and was at a loss for what to do.

"Heart rate 110, it's come down." The paramedic released his hand from Wang Xinran's temple and said.

"You can relax now." The director waved his hand and said, "Use an airbag to assist her breathing... We should have an anesthesiologist accompany her in the ambulance."

"She's awake?" Xu Le removed his hand from Wang Xinran's forehead and looked at the director, asking, "She's awake? What do you mean? Does that mean she'll wake up again after the anesthesia wears off?"

"Hmm." The director nodded, but quickly shook his head again and explained, "But judging from the situation just now... it's not very optimistic. I estimate that he will need to continue with the micro-infusion pump after returning to the hospital, pending new test results."

"What do you mean?" Xu Le pressed.

"Simply put, she needs hibernation therapy. She can't control her emotions, and if she wakes up like this again... you need to be prepared. The patient may become extremely paranoid and aggressive; she may have already lost all self-control."

Xu Le had already taken out his phone, but after hearing the director's answer, he still seemed a little confused.

"...Director, could you explain in more detail...oh no, could you explain it in simpler terms? In a way that even a child could understand?" Xu Le asked somewhat awkwardly.

"She's missing half of her frontal lobe, which will cause 'frontal lobe syndrome.' The frontal lobe governs personality, morality, empathy, and self-control..." The old doctor sighed, looking at Xu Le's bewildered expression, and began to explain again:

"Simply put, her emotions might be out of her control. She might become incontinent, binge eat without restraint, go around stabbing people with a knife, or lose some higher-level emotions, such as pain, fear, and sadness." Hearing this, Xu Le nodded and said, "Observe... just like a baby?"

"The baby doesn't cause as much damage as she did... You can think of it this way: after she wakes up, there's a chance she'll become an animal with human habits and memories." The director closed his eyes again, seemingly unwilling to continue talking to Xu Le.

"Thank you." Xu Le nodded, then dialed a phone number.

"Feeding? Yes, Wang Xinran is awake. But the doctor said she might become like a madwoman, an animal with human memories... Okay." Xu Le put down his phone, looked in the direction of the director, and asked, "Then, when can she accept some questions?" "My suggestion is that if she is still like this when she wakes up next time, you should wait three to six months, until the swelling has completely subsided and the repair surgery is completed, before you try to communicate with her again," the director said.

"Boss, the director said three to six months," Xu Le said, picking up his phone. A moment later, he put the phone down again. "Director, what's the earliest you can get it?" Xu Le asked the director again.

"Is it urgent?" The director frowned slightly. He knew this patient might be someone important, judging from the police cars lining the surrounding roads. "It's urgent," Xu Le nodded.

"After the tests are completed and it's confirmed that stopping the medication is okay, you can try to communicate with them," the director replied. No matter how urgent the other party was, the patient's life was the top priority.

"Okay, thank you."

Xu Le relayed the director's words to the person on the phone, and after receiving the new instructions, he hung up the phone.

The ambulance traveled on the highway for about four hours, arriving at the top-tier neurology hospital in the provincial capital before 6 p.m. Wang Xinran was still asleep. Propofol is currently the strongest short-acting anesthetic in clinical practice; its direct effect is rapid sleep, but the patient will wake up shortly after the injection stops.

However, because Wang Xinran had almost injured her brain and gone crazy before, the director asked the anesthesiologist to intubate her and put her on a micro-infusion pump to prevent her from waking up again and injuring herself.

She was wheeled into the ICU, while members of the Ninth Detachment were already on high alert around the hospital.

About an hour later, Lu Lingyun appeared at the hospital entrance.

After learning of Lu Lingyun's arrival, Xu Le went downstairs and led Lu Lingyun to the outside of the ICU ward.

Logically speaking, Wang Xinran should continue to receive hibernation therapy and shouldn't wake up so early, but Lu Lingyun seems to have a reason to wake her up sooner, and he himself is even waiting in the lobby outside the intensive care unit.

About an hour later, footsteps echoed down the corridor of the intensive care unit. A nurse pushed open the door, looked at Lu Lingyun and Xu Le standing in the doorway, and said, "The tubes have been removed. She's awake and seems relatively calm now. Would either of you like to come in and talk?"

"Me." Lu Lingyun's expression was serious. He got up, followed the nurse to change his clothes, put on a mask and gloves, and was then led into Wang Xinran's ward.

At this moment, Wang Xinran was lying on the hospital bed, not as agitated and furious as she had been on the phone. She was just lying there calmly, her eyes open, her gaze vacant.

This time, the nurse was no longer allowed to listen in; Lu Lingyun asked her to leave.

Lu Lingyun stood beside the hospital bed, looking at the girl with vacant eyes, and said, "Wang Xinran?"

Wang Xinran did not react.

"My name is Lu Lingyun, and I'm from the provincial department..." Lu Lingyun introduced himself and began reading out the names and resumes of Wang Xinran's parents and younger brother, trying to bring Wang Xinran back to her senses.

But whether she heard her parents' names or her younger brother's name, Wang Xinran's expression did not change. Her eyes remained empty as she stared at the ceiling, seemingly with no intention of focusing on Lu Lingyun.

For a moment, Lu Lingyun thought he was talking to a person in a vegetative state. In fact, Wang Xinran's hands, feet, and even brain were restrained on the bed, so she couldn't move even if she wanted to.

"I'd like to hear your story about what happened after that chandelier came to your house. Would you like to talk about it?" Lu Lingyun was not discouraged and continued to try to communicate.

After several attempts, Lu Lingyun still couldn't get Wang Xinran to speak.

Wang Xinran is not suited to remain awake indefinitely, as she could go berserk at any moment, and staying awake could easily lead to her death.

Lu Lingyun had no choice but to call another psychology expert in the team. Wen Yan, who was more professional, was not available, so she had to seek help from others.

About half an hour later, the psychologist arrived, looking travel-worn. After briefly learning about the situation from Lu Lingyun in the corridor, he changed into an isolation gown and followed Lu Lingyun into the ward.

Initially, the psychologist, like Lu Lingyun, repeated the names of Wang Xinran's family members several times, but received no response. However, the psychologist quickly changed the subject and directly mentioned a name.

"Do you still remember Shen Xing?" the expert asked softly.

Wang Xinran remained silent.

Lu Lingyun and the expert exchanged a glance. Then, the expert took a deep breath and continued to try other things, but he only glanced at the information and could say very little.

What they didn't know was that Wang Xinran was now in a state of cognitive dissonance.

In her mind, countless memories intertwined, playing out rapidly like a slideshow.

She could only passively absorb and digest this information.

In these memories, she was a street vendor, a criminal, a police officer, a doctor... In just a few seconds, she experienced several lives. However, she showed no emotion towards these memories, nor was she affected by them; she simply observed them all indifferently.

Finally, seemingly annoyed by the noise around her, she slowly shifted her gaze and calmly glanced at the two people beside her.

Her throat bobbed, but she seemed to have forgotten how to speak. After a long while, she opened her mouth slightly and asked a question that was somewhat indistinct.

"Hand...who is it?"

"Your name is Wang Xinran, and you live in Building 3, Unit 802, Xingfu Garden, Anning Street. Do you remember me?" Lu Lingyun gave as much detail as possible. Wang Xinran?

One of the many memories that had been swirling in Wang Xinran's mind surfaced.

But as the memories continued to play, she seemed to have a premonition that something bad was going to happen. Although she couldn't move her body, her heart rate kept rising.

So I didn't die after all.

"Do you remember anything?" the expert asked softly.

"Mm," Wang Xinran replied calmly.

"We found a diary in your brother's room. In it, he wrote, 'The people I see are all monsters. Only the three of us humans are left.' Who else is among the 'three humans' he mentioned, besides you and your brother?" Lu Lingyun asked.

Wang Xinran did not answer the long string of questions. She continued to stare blankly at the ceiling, sorting through the chaotic memories in her mind.

After trying to communicate for another ten minutes without receiving any response, the expert left the intensive care unit with Lu Lingyun.

"What do you think of her current condition? Can you assess it?" Lu Lingyun asked the expert.

"...She suffered physical damage to her brain, and I'm not sure what her condition is now... But if we disregard the effects of the physical damage," the expert paused, then continued, "I think her current state is very similar to severe schizophrenia." "Schizophrenia?" Lu Lingyun frowned slightly.

"Yes, when she looked at us, her neck didn't move at all. Even when we were talking to her, she could maintain a posture staring at the ceiling without moving or blinking. This is very similar to the waxy flexibility of severe schizophrenia."

"In all this time, she only asked one question, 'Who am I?' and otherwise showed no reaction to the conversation, nor any indication that she still had her previous memories."

"If we disregard physical injuries, I might think she has severe schizophrenia or is experiencing somatization disorder..." Upon hearing this, Lu Lingyun interrupted, "So you mean there's basically no possibility of her 'cooperating' right now?" "She probably doesn't understand what the word 'cooperation' means," the expert succinctly stated.

Upon hearing this, Lu Lingyun took a deep breath, looked through the glass in Wang Xinran's direction, and clenched his fists.

Currently, underground at the Ninth Detachment's temporary research institute, a chandelier with a honeycomb-like structure is being sealed within a multi-layered acrylic enclosure. Countless tiny white dots have begun to emerge from the black honeycomb surface... Upon seeing the dense clusters of tiny white dots appearing on the monitor, Lu Lingyun and the other researchers already understood.

Conventional methods simply cannot restore the people of Anning Street to normal.

Even many members of the Ninth Detachment who went to the scene were infected...

What should we do if the only person who has the ability to control this sealed object—Wang Xinran—is now missing half of her frontal lobe and is in a state of extreme mental instability?

Meanwhile, in the radiology department of the hospital.

A doctor was holding a freshly developed film and scratching his head.

She handed the film aside and asked, "Teacher, take a look, is the machine broken? Why are there so many white noise spots?"

"Let me see? ...Parasitic infection? Just take the films over there, don't waste time, have them do a lumbar puncture."

"Okay, teacher."

The resident physician took Wang Xinran's brain CT scan and ran towards the neurosurgery office.