My left and right hemispheres fight each other.

"Knock...knock...knock..." The atmosphere inside the room dropped to freezing point. Chen Xin, who was only ten inches away from the door, was at a loss. Su Ruier, who was slumped on the ground and kept pulling on Chen Xin's clothes, was also trembling and speechless. But the soul-stirring knocking sound came as promised, continuously. Even the position and interval of each knock were as mechanical as if they were on the spot, without any deviation.

Moreover, as Chen Xin stood frozen at the door listening, he suddenly realized that the source of the terrifying knocking sound was clearly below the door, not even reaching his knees!

This means that the person knocking on the door was either lying on the ground, or... it wasn't even a person!

"Gulp!"

A sudden, abrupt swallowing sound rang out in the otherwise quiet room. Chen Xin slowly turned his head and looked down, meeting Su Ruier's bulging, fearful eyes in silence for a moment. He finally made up his mind.

He reached out with trembling hands, turned open the closed peephole above the door, and, after mustering his courage, tentatively looked out.

There were no eyes meeting his gaze as I had imagined.

The living room and his bedroom, which were no different from any other room, were completely normal. He saw nothing strange or eerie.

This only made Chen Xin more terrified. If he could see a glimpse of the strange creature, at least he would have some idea of ​​what it was like. But now, the unknown was the most unsettling and terrifying thing.

"Knock...knock...knock!" The knocking was sudden and startling, but he still turned his gaze, trying his best to look down at the door. But his hopes were dashed. He even stood on tiptoe, reaching the limit of what the peephole could see, but he still couldn't see anything except the clean floor.

"This also proves that the thing was definitely not a person lying down, otherwise I would have seen its legs long ago." Chen Xin thought to himself, realizing that he had calmed down and was no longer letting his emotions dominate his mind.

"Hehe, it seems that thing can't get in for the time being anyway, so now is a good opportunity to sort out my thoughts." The thought came to mind at just the right time, which made Chen Xin feel at ease.

"You're right, as expected of you." Chen Xin praised himself and others. He reflected, "The series of anomalies made it impossible for me to think things through, so I was led by the nose. This is not like a normal event, but rather someone deliberately guiding my emotions."

"It's like hypnosis," the inner voice echoed.

"That's right, I noticed it earlier. I subconsciously believed the information from Su Ruier's reaction, no matter how unbelievable the information was, my instincts contradicted common sense."

"A creature capable of climbing to the thirteenth floor, Su Ruier who turned into a monster after being discovered to have broken the agreement—now it seems, I've actually come to subconsciously believe that this is a very real possibility."

"From my common-sense perspective, this is basically a therapist constantly guiding and suggesting things to me!"

"However, this hypnosis process was very long and quite subtle. This person must know me very well and be able to observe my emotional changes and every move at all times. I'm afraid his skill level is no less than mine."

At this point, Chen Xin's heart tightened: "These conditions are all indispensable, but this is far too difficult. What is his purpose in doing this?"

"Where's the difficulty? Looking at your usual carefree attitude, where is there even a hint of vigilance? Heh, easily believing others' suggestions is a major taboo in psychology." The voice inside was full of mocking sarcasm.

"You talk as if you're clueless," Chen Xin scoffed disdainfully.

"You're not me, how do you know I wasn't alert?"

"Oh? Then tell me, what method did they imply to me? I've been racking my brains for so long, but I still have no clue." Chen Xin glanced sideways.

The voice in his heart remained silent for a long time before he finally spoke: "I also committed a major taboo in psychology."

"I've figured it out, you're just here to liven things up," Chen Xin said with a shake of her head and a laugh.

After all, in modern society, where is there a need for people to be constantly on guard against such crises? Being so tense will drive you crazy sooner or later!

That's practically paranoia.

"But I guess I'm a madman to begin with. I already have schizophrenia, so adding paranoia doesn't seem so bad." Chen Xin laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Brother Chen." A girl's voice came from below. Chen Xin glanced at her with a puzzled look, only to see Su Ruier asking in confusion, "What... are you laughing at?"

"Cough, it's nothing." Chen Xin turned her gaze back and realized that the eerie knocking had stopped at some point.

"Brother Chen, I'm so tired. That thing should be gone. Let's go eat." Su Ruier stood up, her voice still whispering, almost speaking with her breath, as if afraid that the thing would hear her and return.

"Actually, it's okay if you speak a little louder, just don't be too loud. After all, people outside can't hear you when you speak normally." Chen Xin said helplessly. To be honest, in that situation, his instinctive reaction made him afraid to move or speak, and he had almost forgotten about this matter.

Su Ruier shook her head, stubbornly refusing to speak loudly.

"But, Ruier," Chen Xin's expression turned serious. He bent down slightly, put his hands on Su Ruier's shoulders, and asked, "Do you know what was outside just now? What did you see outside the window? Tell me, okay?"

Su Ruier opened her mouth, looked around uneasily, and said in an anxious but hesitant tone, "Brother Chen, I'm sorry, I... I don't dare to say it."

"Don't dare? What are you afraid of? I'm here, I'll protect you, but you have to tell me so I can come up with a solution." Chen Xin frowned, trying her best to keep her voice gentle.

"I'm sorry, I really don't dare..." Su Ruier seemed about to cry. She hesitated for a long time but still didn't say anything.

"You knew perfectly well, yet you didn't tell me. Am I not the person you trust the most?" Chen Xin straightened up and said with some disappointment.

"I..." Su Ruier gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, but ultimately fell silent.

"Are you afraid, or unable?" Chen Xin ignored these questions and questioned him sternly.

"..." Su Ruier lowered her head and remained silent.

Time seemed to freeze, condensing into tiny drops that flowed silently. Chen Xin finally sighed and patted her shoulder: "Although you clearly have information concerning our safety, you haven't said it, which makes me very angry, but... never mind, maybe you really have some unspeakable difficulties. After all, we can't put ourselves in your shoes."

"I believe you, just as you believe me."

Su Ruier flinched, raised her head, her eyes almost blurry with tears, and hesitated for a while before finally saying, "Thank you..."

"Shall we...go eat?"

"I would say so if I could."

She spoke these words as if she had mustered immense courage, and the determination within them was utterly genuine.

Chen Xin's breathing became heavier. He nodded silently, then turned and looked outside through the peephole again.

There were still no abnormalities.

He grasped the doorknob; its touch was icy cold.

He gently pressed down and slowly opened the door a crack.

Fresh air wafted in through the cracks, bringing a sense of tranquility and peace.

Nothing happened.

Chen Xin breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door with the help of the force.

"No!!" Su Ruier's scream suddenly rang out, startling Chen Xin, who subconsciously turned around to look.

But there was no one behind him.

The space was completely silent except for the man's heavy breathing. Chen Xin was extremely vigilant, but couldn't figure out what had gotten into her. She could only mutter to herself, "What's going on?"

He scanned the room but found nothing.

"Damn it," Chen Xin cursed bitterly, turning away unwillingly and walking out of the therapy room into the lobby.

But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when he froze.

Between the foyer and the main hall, a blood-red figure stood upright.

The figure resembled a jumbled mess of corpse fragments, with various limbs scattered in places that didn't belong to it, and blood gushing out wildly from the disconnected joints.

A bloody, mangled, grinning face was embedded in his chest, its empty eye sockets wide open, staring resentfully at Chen Xin, who stood frozen in place.

"What the hell is this?!" Seeing is believing. Suddenly, Chen Xin's worldview, which had just given himself the mental suggestion to "follow common sense," shattered, and his materialistic mind collapsed.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" The urgent yet familiar sound echoed in Chen Xin's mind, briefly recalling his will.

His gaze followed the sound, and finally, it froze.

The monster's body, where the legs should normally be, had arms that, though stained with blood, were still clearly delicate and fair.

The arm had been stripped of much flesh, revealing the underlying bones through its pitted and uneven surface.

The pale white bones twisted and contorted, forcing the arm to rise high as if alive, swinging the wrist and the mutilated hand and fingers, striking the cabinet beside him.

"I...cook...you..."

"Boom!" A swift blood shadow flashed by, so fast that Chen Xin had no time to react. When he felt a gust of wind, he subconsciously reached out and touched his chest.

"Intact...undamaged..."

"Ha." Chen Xin laughed with extremely complicated feelings.

"But why... is it so cold... so... empty?" His hand traveled down his body, but he only touched scalding blood and churning internal organs.

His abdomen was ripped open with a huge gash, as if it had been torn apart by a ferocious beast, and half of his waist was missing.

The wound was enormous, as if the wound had been severed in half.

With the sound of blood gushing out and splattering on the floor, and the agonizing sound of his internal organs collapsing against his exposed hip bones and falling downwards, his body collapsed as if losing all strength.

Chen Xin lay on her back on the ground, wanting to say something, but only foam came out of her mouth.

Only when the numbness subsided did the excruciating pain return.

"It fucking hurts!" He wanted to howl, but his mouth felt like it was blocked by metal, filled with the taste of rust, and he couldn't make a sound.

"Why am I still alive? It hurts! It's so painful! Just die already!"

Only then did he truly understand that what the ancient books wrote was true: being cut in half at the waist was indeed a terrible tragedy.

His vision went black, his brain was being paralyzed, and excessive blood loss prevented him from thinking much. He couldn't concentrate at all, focusing entirely on the coldness of his intestines touching the floor and the pain at the cut.

"It really is...heartbreaking!" Even in this moment, he couldn't forget to find a bit of sweetness in the bitterness, laughing self-deprecatingly.

"Chen Jing, even you... couldn't react?" he asked in a daze, devoid of any emotion.

The voice in my heart seemed to fall silent, offering no response.

He gave a bitter smile and quietly awaited his death.

"Thump...thump...thump..." The terrifying sound seemed to still linger in hell, stimulating Chen Xin's brain for a long time, unwilling to die.

"Damn it, so noisy! Can't you let me die in peace for a while?!" Chen Xin suddenly opened his eyes, his face filled with rage. Only then did he realize that his eyes were actually so wet.

"Is it blood? No, after being exposed to the outside for so long, blood no longer feels like this."

"I actually cried? But... it doesn't matter."

"Right now, all I want is to tear that fool who knocked on the door to pieces!"

"However... it seems it was originally 'torn to pieces'. Damn it! That doesn't matter!"

Casting aside his increasingly neurotic and chaotic thoughts, Chen Xin strained to raise his head. He wanted to see why the monster was still knocking on the door. Was it just to torment his mind?

Then he saw the monster standing in front of the door of the therapy room, which had been closed at some point, and knocking on it as it had done before.

"ha?"

Chen Xin stared at the scene in disbelief, his gaze seemingly penetrating the walls to see everything unfolding inside.

He handled everything meticulously, as if he were right there in the room, experiencing it all firsthand.

"When I heard the first knock, I didn't immediately realize it was coming from the other side of the door. It turns out that the first knock wasn't actually coming from there."

"Then there was a knock on the door of the therapy room! But I was instinctively misled, subconsciously assuming that all the knocking was coming from the same place!"

"This is the constancy of perception!"

The chill of impending death swept over his entire body, winding and coiling around his soul.

But Chen Xin actually burst into laughter at this.

"So this is the power of psychological suggestion."

His expression was manic, with an exaggerated smirk at the corners of his mouth.

"I already know what's going on with you."

"I have explained all the methods!"

"Thump...thump...thump..."

"Thump...thump...thump..."

The sound draws out, and the image recedes into the distance.

There were no angelic songs, no demonic cries.

All that remains in the world is a soft laugh.

"hehe."

……

"Thump...thump...thump...thump..." The beating of his heart and the ominous knocking on the door strangely overlapped, pumping out a few strands of strength into Chen Xin's powerless body.

He felt his senses returning and suddenly looked up.

"Oh!" Su Ruier's cry of pain rang out from above, then plummeted to the bottom of the valley.

Chen Xin looked at Su Ruier, who was squatting beside her with her mouth covered, and then saw that she was sitting peacefully on the table and chair in the psychotherapy room. She immediately realized what had happened.

He glanced at a drool stain on the table, then looked at Su Ruier, both amused and annoyed, and said, "Don't put your face on someone's head when they're asleep next time."

"Okay..." Su Ruier covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face from the pain, and said in a muffled, aggrieved voice, "It's because Brother Chen was sleeping so soundly that I couldn't help but want to take a closer look..."

"Let me see, how serious is it?" Chen Xin asked in a warm voice.

Su Ruier obediently leaned forward, pouting and revealing two white marks where her upper teeth had struck her lower lip.

"It's quite serious, I'm sorry, I'll go get you some medicine." Chen Xin patted her head, while his other hand quietly wiped away his own drool to cover it up.

Su Ruier grumbled a few times, "Brother Chen, shouldn't you go check who's knocking on the door? It's been so long!"

Chen Xin's steps faltered as he stood up. He looked at the wide-open door of the psychotherapy room and carefully discerned that the knocking sound was indeed coming from outside the security door.

"Thump...thump...thump..."

"Then go get the medicine yourself. It's on the top shelf of my bedside table. I'll go see which clueless person is knocking with such a strange rhythm." Chen Xin was still angry and strode forward.

"Okay..." Su Ruier blinked, not quite understanding why a simple knock on the door would cause Chen Xin such a strong aversion.

But just as Chen Xin was about to step out the door, he stopped again, without turning back, and said in a calm, almost indifferent voice:

"Rui'er, tell me, when did I fall asleep?"

Su Ruier thought for a moment, and although she didn't understand why Chen Xin would ask that, she still obediently answered:

"When I woke up from treatment, Brother Chen was already asleep."

She didn't forget to show concern for him, adding with a hint of teasing, "Brother Chen, did you not sleep well last night? Or did your power diminish greatly from treating me? You were so tired you just collapsed and fell asleep, drooling all over the table, it stinks!"

"Is that so?" Chen Xin's expression was inscrutable. He merely tilted his head slightly, revealing his eyes, which were filled with warmth. He retorted:

"You're lying!"

"My saliva doesn't smell bad at all!"

"And you're sniffing other people's saliva, are you a pervert?"

"Hehe!" Su Ruier stuck out her tongue and smiled mischievously.