Chapter 5: The Doctor
“I…” The man in the white coat appeared calmer than the others, and even the corpse on the table didn't seem to affect him. “My name is Zhao Haibo, and I’m a doctor. You should be able to tell from my clothes.”
He tugged at his soiled white coat and continued, “Before I came here, I was performing surgery on a woman. She had an intraventricular brain tumor. The tumor was growing rapidly, increasing in size over the past six months, and had already caused mild hydrocephalus. If I didn’t perform a craniotomy quickly, her life would be in danger.”
“I chose a frontal lobe surgical approach, using CT guidance to puncture directly into the ventricle. In truth, every time this surgery is performed, it carries considerable risk. But that woman, wanting to stay with her young son for the long term, chose to take the gamble.”
“Normally, to maintain a stable environment in the operating room, not even a breeze is allowed. But who would have thought that something much worse than wind would come?”
“When the earthquake struck, I had just removed the woman’s skull flap and was about to cut the dura mater. If anything went wrong at that step, it could easily cause brain contusions and leave devastating, lifelong sequelae.”
“I made an immediate decision to abort the surgery and temporarily replace the skull flap. Otherwise, in that dusty environment, the woman’s life would have been in grave danger.”
“But I didn’t expect that step to be far harder than I imagined. I couldn’t even stand steady, so how could I accurately replace a small piece of skull bone?”
“The nurse beside me kept bumping into me, and no one could keep their balance. In the chaos, I could only cover the woman’s head with a sterile sheet, then immediately turn around to organize the evacuation. But at that moment, a medical cart hit my leg, and I fell to the ground.”
“Before I could get back up, the ceiling of the operating room split open, and I lost consciousness immediately.”
After hearing the doctor’s account, everyone’s expressions were a bit uneasy.
In his story, he used many medical terms.
If any one of those terms was made up, it would be impossible for anyone else to tell.
“Dr. Zhao, where are you from?” the burly man asked casually.
“I don’t feel obligated to answer your question,” Dr. Zhao replied. “I’ve finished my story.”
The burly man opened his mouth but said nothing.
“I-Is it my turn?” a bespectacled young man asked, his eyes darting nervously. “My name is Han Yimo, and I’m a…”
“Wait.” Goat Head suddenly interrupted Han Yimo.
This startled Han Yimo, who turned around in confusion.
“Wh-What’s wrong?”
“It’s time for the ‘midgame break,’” Goat Head said with a sneer. “We’ll take a twenty-minute rest now.”
Everyone was a bit at a loss.
A ‘midgame break’ at a time like this?
Qi Xia glanced at the clock in the center of the table. Half an hour had passed since they woke up.
It was now 12:30.
“So this ‘break’ is mandatory,” Qi Xia thought to himself. “When it hits 12:30, no matter who is speaking, they’re forced to rest for twenty minutes…”
But the game had only been going on for thirty minutes, and now they were taking a twenty-minute break?
Qi Xia frowned. He knew this wasn’t something he needed to worry about.
The host of this game was a madman anyway — no point in applying normal logic.
So he just kept brainwashing himself over and over.
“My name is Li Ming. I’m from Shandong.”
Only by repeating this phrase endlessly could he blurt it out when his turn came.
Everyone sat in awkward silence, waiting.
Although it was called a ‘midgame break,’ the atmosphere grew even more oppressive.
“Excuse me… can we talk?” the burly man asked Goat Head.
“Oh, of course. This is your free time. I have no say in it.”
The burly man nodded, then looked at Dr. Zhao again. “Dr. Zhao, where are you really from?”
Dr. Zhao’s face darkened. “I’ve said it before — you seem to have it out for me from the start. Why must I tell you where I’m from?”
“Don’t misunderstand. I have no ill intentions,” the burly man said in a steady voice. “The more you say, the more credible you become. Since everyone else has stated their hometown, there’s no need for you to hide it, right?”
“The more I say, the more credible I become?” The doctor shook his head dismissively. “I only know that ‘loose lips sink ships.’ If the rules are absolute, my statement doesn’t pose any problem. Besides, I don’t trust any of you.”
“That’s a bit biased,” the burly man said. “There are nine of us here, and only one is the enemy. If you’re willing to cooperate with everyone, we can work together to flush out the liar. The more you hide, the more suspicious you become. This is the second time I’ve asked. Are you still going to hide it?”
The burly man seemed very skilled at interrogation. In just a few sentences, he had cornered Dr. Zhao logically.
His meaning was clear.
Only a ‘liar’ wouldn’t need to trust anyone, since he already knew his own identity.
If the doctor continued to hide, he would become the target of everyone’s suspicion.
But a neurosurgeon wasn’t someone to be easily cowed. Dr. Zhao gave a cold laugh and asked, “Then you answer me first — who are you? What do you do?”
“Me?” The burly man hadn’t expected the doctor to turn the tables on him, and his expression flickered.
“That’s right. Since you kept pressing me after I told my story, I can ask you a few questions before you tell yours,” Dr. Zhao said with a slight smile. “Fair enough, isn’t it?”
The burly man thought for a moment, then nodded. “You’re right. I have nothing to hide. My name is Li Shangwu. I’m a criminal police officer.”
At those words, everyone turned to look at him.
At a time like this, the words ‘criminal police’ gave everyone an unexpected sense of safety.
“You’re a police officer?!” The doctor was taken aback.
No wonder this man had been probing from the very beginning. He was also the first to suggest that ‘everyone must survive.’ Maybe he really did want to save everyone.
The doctor’s attitude visibly softened. “If that’s the case, I apologize for my earlier attitude. I’m from Jiangsu.”
At this point, the tattooed-armed man, Qiao Jiajin, had a grim look on his face. “Hey, Dr. Zhao, are you really going to trust this Officer Li?”
“Huh?” Dr. Zhao looked at Qiao Jiajin in confusion. “What are you trying to say?”
Qiao Jiajin tapped the table with his finger and said flatly, “This isn’t ‘storytelling time,’ you know… In other words, anyone can lie right now.”