# 278
Chapter 278 – Patient Lin Qiye
Beep—beep—beep—!!
A shrill alarm echoed through the medical research institute while red lights flashed. Everyone inside froze for a second, then instantly burst into frantic motion.
“Abnormal brain-wave pattern detected!”
“Heart rate and blood pressure spiking!”
“Forbidden Ruins energy index skyrocketing!”
“Massive mental-flux fluctuations!”
“…He’s waking up!”
Doctor Li strode to the central screen and stared at the image of the boy strapped to a chair. The boy’s eyelids were twitching at high frequency, his brows knitting as though he might open his eyes at any moment.
“He’s finally coming around…,” Doctor Li murmured, delight flickering in his eyes.
The alarm was silenced, the strobing lights steadied, and every researcher crowded in front of the screen, watching breathlessly.
In the image, the seated boy’s lowered head lifted slightly; the frantic trembling of his eyelids suddenly stopped.
The next instant, a pair of golden eyes slowly opened…
Buzz——!
The picture rippled like an old TV with bad reception, flickered, then snapped back to normal.
“He can actually force the Mortal Divine Realm past the Suppression Stele and affect the outside world… Is this the terrifying sequence-003 God’s Ruins?”
Doctor Li turned to a nearby researcher. “How’s his condition?”
“Heart rate, blood pressure, brain waves, and mental flux have all normalized—stable, no anomalies, except…”
“Except?”
“His mental strength is a lot higher. The moment he woke up he stepped straight from Pond to River Realm.”
Doctor Li nodded. “He’s kept the Mortal Divine Realm running inside his head for a year. After that kind of non-stop tempering, a breakthrough isn’t surprising.”
On the screen, Lin Qiye’s calm gaze swept the room. When he saw the restraints, his brows drew together.
Doctor Li straightened his coat and walked toward the door. “Open it. I’ll talk to him.”
……
A… hospital?
Lin Qiye looked away from the straps and took in the dizzying array of medical equipment, confusion clouding his face.
And these restraints look awfully familiar—standard psychiatric-ward gear.
They’ve brought me to a mental hospital?
He set the thought aside for the moment. Night-colored light flashed in his eyes as he tried to open the Darkness God’s Ruins and tear the straps apart.
But his God’s Ruins felt caged, unable to leave his body.
He recognized the sensation. Back in training camp, instructors had used suppressive relics to seal Forbidden Ruins; there, his Darkness God’s Ruins could still push outward a little, but here it couldn’t even manage that.
The suppression here was on an entirely different level.
He tried Merlin’s Illusory Demon God’s Ruins—same result. Only the Mortal Divine Realm could leak out faintly, drifting in tiny golden motes.
He snapped his fingers; a shimmer of gold flickered and two straps unbuckled themselves.
He stood—then lurched, almost collapsing before catching the wall. He stared at his legs, bewildered.
Long disuse had left them thin and weak; his whole body felt far frailer than he remembered.
How long had he been asleep?
A soft hiss sounded as the silver metal door slid open and a familiar figure walked in.
Lin Qiye blinked. “You’re… Doctor Li?”
Doctor Li was startled to see the boy free and standing. He hurried to support him, smiling. “It’s me. Sit, let’s talk.”
He eased Lin Qiye back into the chair. “Where am I?”
“The deepest level of the Purification Chamber—codename: Sunshine Psychiatric Hospital,” Doctor Li answered plainly.
“Purification Chamber…” Lin Qiye echoed. He vaguely recalled Cao Yuan mentioning the place—a prison for Forbidden Ruins owners. How had he—?
Wait!
He looked up, stunned. “A psychiatric hospital?!”
“Exactly.”
“Why am I here?”
Doctor Li gave him an odd look. “You’re in a psychiatric hospital because you’re mentally ill.”
Lin Qiye: …
“I’m not—”
“I know—every patient says that.” Doctor Li solemnly pulled a file from his pocket and began to read:
“Patient Lin Qiye: prolonged dissociative state, vacant stare, unfocused pupils, unresponsive to external stimuli, frequent muttering to empty air, subconsciously deploys Mortal Divine Realm altering surroundings. During treatment, Forbidden Ruins rampaged, destroying medical equipment valued at over half a million…
Diagnosis: severe delusional disorder with self-isolation, extreme danger to others. Classified as high-risk chronic psychiatric case, admitted for long-term care.”
Doctor Li read for a full two minutes, then closed the file and met Lin Qiye’s dazed eyes. “So, Patient Lin Qiye—anything to say?”
Lin Qiye was speechless.
Everything sounded… accurate.
“Even if I was like that… I’m fine now!” he insisted.
“That’s what they all say,” Doctor Li replied evenly. “Recovery isn’t self-declared. Severe cases rarely vanish overnight; you’ve only just left your catatonic shell. That doesn’t mean your mind is clear.”
Lin Qiye: …
“So I…”
“You’ll stay for observation until we’re certain you’re stable, symptom-free, and no longer a hazard. Then you can leave.”
A bad premonition crept over him. “How long, roughly?”
Doctor Li glanced at him. “About a year and a half.”
Lin Qiye: …