Beyond the White Door is a staircase leading down, and at the end of the stairs is another white door.
As soon as Wu Chang stepped onto the stairs, his vision blurred, and inexplicable hallucinations rushed towards him. The hallucinations were composed of countless fragments of images, the content of which was jumpy, chaotic, and frantic, like the images that flood the mind of a mental patient just before a complete collapse.
He violently shook his head, relying on his high Will to break free from the hallucination.
The moment he regained his senses, he noticed a red key embedded in the wall beside him.
Someone had placed the key to the fourth layer of the Sanatorium here.
For this, they even specially set up a layer of trial.
If one's Will was not strong enough to break free from the Illusion Mirror, they would only pass through the corridor in a daze, without noticing the red key on the wall.
It seemed his Will had passed the judgment.
He stored the key in his Portable Space and quickly walked to the White Door below, pushing it open.
Behind the door was a room resembling a clinic, where a refined middle-aged man in a White Coat sat behind an office desk, writing out prescriptions.
Wu Chang’s heart skipped a beat; it was bad—he had walked right into a trap.
No one told him the room behind the door was the night doctor’s duty room. Now he had violated the rules and was caught on the spot. He hoped the punishment wouldn't be too severe.
Hearing the door open, the middle-aged man looked up. Upon seeing Wu Chang instead of the familiar Jinton, his brow furrowed involuntarily.
“Who are you?”
Wu Chang subtly glanced at the doctor’s Name Tag and replied in a Well-behaved manner, “Hello, Doctor Wolf. I am a new patient.”
Doctor Wolf’s gaze swept over Wu Chang. Wu Chang remembered something and instinctively covered the Walker's Amulet hanging at his waist.
“You killed Jinton?”
As soon as Wolf uttered this, the atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing point.
Wolf’s question carried no emotion; it was impossible to tell if it was sorrow or Anger. Wu Chang froze in place with a Well-behaved expression, unsure whether to answer truthfully or to strike first and shoot Wolf in the head with the Silver Dawn.
It was now Wu Chang’s turn to be Sweating profusely.
After a brief silence, he quickly assessed the Situation. Whatever was behind the White Door made even the Veteran doctors wary, so rashly starting a fight was unwise.
“Jinton lost a bet.”
This was the truth, but only part of the truth. The unspoken part, he left for Wolf to imagine.
“That’s truly wonderful!”
Upon hearing the news of an acquaintance’s death, Wolf did not get angry; instead, he revealed a brilliant smile, as if he had heard the best news imaginable.
Just then, the whistling sound of a kettle boiling came from the back of the Office.
“My medicine is ready. Come with me, we can talk as we walk.”
Wolf opened a door behind him and enthusiastically beckoned Wu Chang.
Passing through the Office, the two arrived at a huge Cave. Contrary to the neat Office, the Cave was very crude, resembling the nest of some large insect.
Upon entering the Cave, Wolf’s Body began to tremble. His skin rapidly Swollen and tore, and his entire form inflated like a balloon. The part below his ribs transformed into a swollen worm covered in pustules.
In just a few seconds, the refined middle-aged doctor had turned into a half-man, half-insect Monster.
“I apologize. The smell from the Pharmacy is too alluring; it makes it hard for me to control myself.” Wolf scratched his head with his right hand, which had turned into an insect limb, and showed an apologetic look in his blood-red eyes.
“It’s all Jinton’s fault and those Demons. They brought the damned Delusion Syndrome and caused me to become like this. I hope I haven't scared you.”
Wu Chang shook his head and said in an encouraging tone:
“Doctor Wolf, you’ve been inside for too long and don't know that society now embraces diversified aesthetics. The notion that ‘only those who look human are normal’ is outdated. Your current form is what truly defines aesthetics. If you went to a certain White Tower country, you could easily be a beauty pageant contestant.”
“Beauty… pageant contestant?”
“Of course. In the White Tower, not only is aesthetics not defined, but gender cannot be defined either. For example, my gender is Attack Helicopter.”
“Huh?” Wolf was completely thrown off, staring blankly at Wu Chang, as if he were the one who had transformed into a Monster, not Wolf.
What did that mean? Was this kid mocking him, or had the outside world already succumbed to Delusion Syndrome?
It wasn't until they reached the innermost part of the Cave that Wolf recovered from his Confused state.
Deep inside the Cave, a giant Metal pot was being heated over a fire, its pale yellow liquid boiling violently.
Wolf turned off the fire, skillfully poured the liquid onto gauze, wrung out the moisture, leaving a clump of pale yellow powder, and placed it in a metal bowl.
Then, he grabbed a sack from a Corner and took out a large handful of various herbs, chewing them in his mouth.
Under the effect of the herbs, colorful pustules grew on Wolf’s bloated worm Body. He squeezed the pustules, letting the pus drip into the metal bowl, then ground the pus and the powder clump evenly with a pestle, and put it into the drying oven.
He then took out a tray of dried powder from the drying oven, sifted it twice through a fine sieve, and filled it into pre-made capsules.
Witnessing the entire manufacturing process, Wu Chang stared at the familiar-looking capsules, his scalp tingling, and asked, “Doctor Wolf, what are you doing?”
Wolf replied matter-of-factly, “Making medicine. Didn't you see when you came in? This room is the Pharmacy.”
Looking at the colorful pustules on Wolf’s Body, Wu Chang felt a surge in his stomach. Thankfully, he hadn't taken the Special medicine issued by the Sanatorium yet.
He really wanted to ask Wolf who the hell taught him to make medicine like this.
Wolf put the finished capsules into a medicine bottle and turned around to ask, “Where were we just now?”
Wu Chang: “We were talking about how Jinton and the others turned you into this.”
“Thank you very much.”
Wolf looked down at Wu Chang and said slowly, “You are a new face. As an Outsider who managed to get here, you must also be a treasure-hunting Hunter.”
“You can think of it that way.” Wu Chang didn't know the setting for a treasure-hunting Hunter, but seeing that Wolf seemed harmless, he agreed for now.
“Unfortunately, the Cursed Gold you are looking for does not exist. It was all a scam; you and we have all been deceived.”
Wolf sighed and recounted the Past of the town in a reminiscent tone.
The place where the Moonlight Sanatorium is located was called White Stone Town, a small town almost as old as the Kingdom’s history, which had always been managed by the Anderson Family.
In the beginning, White Stone Town was the White Stone Territory.
The patriarch of the Anderson Family, who was a farmer, earned this territory through war merits worthy of being recorded in epics.
The descendants of the Anderson Family, through the unremitting efforts of generations, successfully developed the vast territory into a small town.
A small town on the verge of bankruptcy, at that.
The dire financial Situation forced the Anderson Family to seek outside help, but opening the door to assistance also brought a wolf into the house.
The Vinuo Family from Forest City possessed dozens of large Factories and astonishing wealth, and they were skilled in management. They claimed to value the long history of White Stone Town and couldn't bear to see it decline, so they offered assistance.
Under the magic of gold coins, the Vinuo Family quickly gained control of White Stone Town. They built Factories, explored mineral deposits, and established schools and Churches in the town.
For a time, the town flourished, and the Villagers’ lives became prosperous.
But in reality, this was all a Conspiracy.
Besides being wealthy merchants, the Vinuo Family had another identity: members of the Church of Serenity, a group of madmen who lived in an industrial society yet devoutly believed in Mysticism and magic.
The remote White Stone Town was the experimental field for the Church of Serenity.
Under their covert manipulation, the town’s water supply and air became polluted, and the Physique of the Villagers deteriorated, leaving them frequently afflicted with illness.
To escape the diseases, they had to seek help from the Church, gradually accepting the Church of Serenity.
Under the guidance of the Church of Serenity, their Spirits began to be affected, and they contracted a contagious mental illness called Delusion Syndrome.
As the condition worsened, the afflicted began to go mad and attack others.
To control the spread of the disease, Randy Anderson, who had returned from studying medicine in the capital, and Wolf converted the town's oldest Grand Cathedral into the Moonlight Sanatorium.
Hearing this, Wu Chang looked up at Wolf and asked in surprise, “So, you are one of the founders of the Moonlight Sanatorium?”
Seeing Wu Chang’s surprise, Wolf showed no pride on his face; instead, he said mournfully:
“I am also one of the creators of this tragedy. Randy and I were both wrong. Mysticism truly exists, and the Church of Serenity used the gathered patients with Delusion Syndrome to complete some kind of terrifying magic Experiment!”
“They succeeded and used the Strength gained from the Experiment to Seal this Sanatorium, Torturing the patients inside, twisting their Spirits and Flesh, turning them into inhuman Monsters. Just like…”
“Just like me.”
“I was transformed into this state because I investigated too deeply and was discovered by them. They also kept sending Jinton to keep surveillance on me.”
Wu Chang stared at Wolf’s worm Body and asked, “Does Dean Randy know you turned into this?”
Wolf shook his head and said, “Since the Sanatorium was Sealed, Randy hasn't left the Four layers. I guess his Situation isn't optimistic either, but he is our last hope.”
“Poor and pitiful Outsider, you are now caught up in this too. If you want to get out, you must help me! I cannot distinguish which medical staff are Believers of the Church of Serenity. I can only trust you Outsiders.”
“The Tranquility Sect has grasped the power of the Evil God and is using this power to twist Reality. You must let Randy know about the Conspiracy of the Church of Serenity and find a way to Prevent all of this!”
Wolf finished speaking excitedly. After waiting a moment, he didn't hear a response from Wu Chang.
He scratched his back with his insect-limb-like arm and asked, “Outsider, is there something on my back that you keep staring at?”
Wu Chang looked at the Faint red resentment that Wolf was scratching and shook his head in response, “There is nothing.”
Looking at the Last words within the resentment, and then looking at Wolf, whose expression was sincere and tone natural, he clicked his tongue.
What an actor. If it weren't for the information in the resentment, he might have actually fallen for Wolf’s act and believed the Monster before him was a tragic Hero.
His Gaze fixed on the resentment, and a line of ordinary Last words appeared within it.
【I didn't expect you, a seemingly honest pharmacist, to be an Evil God Follower just like me. Wait, Priest, don't attack, we are on the same side!」