NOVPUB
Chapter 203: Chapter 171: Black Rain
The friend Fang Cheng mentioned who had some understanding of mental illness was none other than Lin Chuqiao.
After making the call to her, it took less than half an hour for her to arrive at Jiangbei Hospital.
"Is it this young girl? How long has she been in a coma?"
Dressed in a black knitted dress and high-heeled boots, Lin Chuqiao arrived gracefully.
Her first question upon entering was to inquire directly about the patient’s condition.
Fang Cheng led her to Wen Xin’s bedside.
Wen Huixi, with a face full of excitement, said:
"Doctor, my daughter has been asleep for two days now, please, I beg you to take a look. Please..."
The others also looked on with curiosity and anticipation at this beautiful "psychiatrist."
Lin Chuqiao didn’t respond; she just stared intently at Wen Xin’s face.
Then she pulled back her eyelids to check the pupils.
While observing carefully, a faint glint of blue appeared in Lin Chuqiao’s eyes.
After a long while, her expression relaxed, and she sighed slightly in relief:
"Thankfully, the condition isn’t the most severe..."
Hearing Lin Chuqiao speak as if there was more to her words, Fang Cheng couldn’t help but look at her in surprise.
After examining Wen Xin’s physical condition, Lin Chuqiao looked up at the people around her:
"I can try to awaken the patient’s consciousness, but I need a sufficiently quiet environment. There are too many disturbances here..."
"It’s alright, it’s alright, we can leave right now!"
Ma Donghe hastily responded.
"That’s not what I mean."
Lin Chuqiao, who was interrupted, shook her head and then added an explanation:
"What I mean is that the hospital environment isn’t suitable. There are too many interfering factors. For safety, it would be best to bring the patient to my residence to start treatment."
"Ah?"
The crowd couldn’t help but feel startled by her words.
Seeing Lin Chuqiao’s serious expression, Fang Cheng then spoke up:
"I trust Dr. Lin’s capabilities. I’ll take Wen Xin with her to her place shortly."
With Fang Cheng’s guarantee, everyone felt at ease.
There was no time to worry about the discharge procedures.
Wen Huixi hurriedly put a thick down jacket and cotton pants on her daughter, wrapping her up snugly.
Fang Cheng picked up Wen Xin in his arms and asked the others to stay in the ward and wait for news.
Zhou Xiumei hesitated as she looked at the departing figure of the beautiful doctor. Then she fixed her gaze on Fang Cheng and softly cautioned him:
"Brother Cheng, be careful..."
Lin Chuqiao’s lips curled slightly upon hearing this and glanced back at the pure and lovely girl.
Did she think of her as a man-eating demoness?
Fang Cheng nodded towards Zhou Xiumei and reassured the anxious Wen Huixi again:
"Sister Wen, don’t worry, with me here, nothing will go wrong."
He then left the ward with Wen Xin in his arms, alongside Lin Chuqiao.
Under the night sky, the city was a spectacle of neon lights and twinkling stars.
A sleek red sports car moved swiftly through the relentless stream of traffic.
Inside the car.
Lin Chuqiao held the steering wheel with both hands, driving smoothly.
Fang Cheng held Wen Xin in his arms, sitting in the backseat.
"This girl has a special ability, right?"
While stopped at a crossroads awaiting the traffic light, Lin Chuqiao suddenly broke the silence with a question.
Fang Cheng was momentarily stunned, then nodded in acknowledgment.
He thought back to Wen Xin’s various past behaviors and that night in the warehouse when she struggled to awaken him from his madness.
If not for someone with abilities, how could this be done?
"That’s correct."
Lin Chuqiao nodded and said:
"According to my guess, the little girl awakened her Special Ability due to some reason, but she herself wasn’t aware of it, nor did anyone guide her properly. As a result, she overused her ability, ultimately leading to spiritual exhaustion and falling into a coma."
"Is it similar to Pan Wendi’s situation?"
Fang Cheng couldn’t help but ask.
"Wendi is a bit special..."
Lin Chuqiao hesitated for a moment, then said:
"He doesn’t come from an ordinary family; if there’s an issue with his spirit, as long as he is sent back home in time, there will be a way to resolve it."
Her answer seemed vague and evasive, as if hiding something.
Fang Cheng, however, vaguely guessed something.
After a silence, he brought up another matter:
"You mentioned earlier in the ward that Wen Xin’s situation is not the most serious, what did you mean by that?"
Lin Chuqiao looked back at Fang Cheng:
"Haven’t you heard about what happened at West Mountain?"
"I know about that."
Fang Cheng’s brows twitched slightly, replying:
"About two months ago, there was an explosion at an archaeological excavation site at West Mountain which sparked a wildfire, leading to the military quarantining West Gate District for a week."
"Your circles are too small, your information too insulated."
Lin Chuqiao said with a smile and a shake of her head, teasing Fang Cheng before she went on to explain:
"For ordinary people, neither the explosion nor the wildfire matters much, it doesn’t affect everyday life, but the black rain that followed was the most lethal and dangerous."
While saying this, she looked at the continuously flashing red lights ahead, her tone slightly more serious.
"If the explosion was just opening a Pandora’s box, then the black rain was the disaster and pandemic hidden inside the box."
"Since that rain, numerous people in East Capital have exhibited coma-like symptoms, and upon waking, their personalities drastically changed, committing terrifying acts contrary to reason, some even mutating physically into non-human forms."
"That’s why I said, if Wen Xin is only in a plain coma, then it’s relatively manageable..."
After hearing Lin Chuqiao’s explanation, Fang Cheng couldn’t help but think of what the hospital security uncle had mentioned.
The two seemed to match up.
Fang Cheng’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down at Wen Xin lying in his arms.
She appeared to be deeply asleep, her face tightly furrowed, forehead still sweating profusely, evidently in pain.
Fang Cheng extended a hand to gently wipe her sweat, secretly hoping that everything would indeed be alright.
The red light numbers flickered, changing to green.
The car continued forward.
About twenty minutes later, they arrived at a residential area.
Looking at the garden-like community environment, dozens of brightly lit high-rise apartment buildings.
Fang Cheng realised that this should be Cuihu Yipin located in Jiangdong District.
Lin Chuqiao, as a university lecturer, being able to afford living in such luxury residences costing nearly one hundred thousand per square meter, clearly came from an extraordinary family background.
After parking the car in the underground garage, Fang Cheng carried Wen Xin and followed Lin Chuqiao to swipe the card and take the elevator, ascending to Room A on the 21st floor.
Upon opening the finely crafted aluminium entrance door with a sense of quality, a spacious living room and floor-to-ceiling glass windows came into view.
The entire house was decorated with a simple and stylish aesthetic, the furniture and appliances clearly being high-end brands, but the massive space made it seem a bit too solitary for one person.
Lin Chuqiao led Fang Cheng through a hallway fitted with ceiling lamps, towards the furthest room.
At the push of the door, a pleasant "dingling" sound suddenly rang out.
Fang Cheng looked up.
He saw that the room was pitch-black, with many differently styled Praying Bells hanging from the ceiling, the previous sounds a result of their swaying.
This was a dark room, probably about twenty square meters in size.
It had no windows, no light fixtures installed, and the floor was lined with a circle of extinguished white candles.
Faintly visible were densely packed yellow talisman papers on the walls and ceiling, along with many large and small black crosses.
