After being poisoned by mushrooms, all the strange creatures became fascinated by me.

Knowing it was someone she knew, Tang Li wasn't so afraid anymore.

However, she still didn't dare to get too close, after all, Lao Ding's mental state seemed to be quite problematic.

Tang Li stopped in a spot where she could easily retreat and run away, and called out, "Do you need help?"

Old Ding looked at Tang Li, as if he knew she wouldn't come over again, and lowered his hand.

"It itches..." He looked at Tang Li and suddenly burst into tears, tears streaming down his face. "It itches! I'm itchy!"

Tang Li took a step back, and the goosebumps that had just subsided reappeared in large patches.

On the one hand, it was because Lao Ding was an extremely tall man, estimated to be around 1.9 meters tall, but at this moment he was like a baby, unable to control himself, crying out in a pleading tone.

On the one hand, it's because...

The voice that Lao Ding made at this moment was high-pitched and thin; it was a girl's voice.

Old Ding looked at Tang Li and wanted to walk towards her, hoping to seek her help.

But his face was still clearly facing her, and the direction of his toes hadn't changed. Old Ding kept staring intently at Tang Li as he walked back and forth, trapped within the area of ​​two floor tiles, moving back and forth between the two walls.

He also realized that the distance between him and Tang Li hadn't narrowed. Tears flowed even more freely, and he desperately quickened his pace, his shoulders slamming against the wall with each turn, but he was going in the wrong direction, and it was all in vain.

He was like a pathetic soul trapped in a hamster wheel.

Tang Li realized she had to leave. Old Ding was clearly having mental problems; he needed medical staff more than she did.

Tang Li said, "Wait a minute, I'll go get someone."

"No! No! No!" Old Ding cried out as if he had heard something terrifying, shaking his head desperately. "Help me! Help me! It itches! Ahhhhhh, I'm so itchy! So itchy! So itchy!"

Under Tang Li's astonished gaze, he suddenly grabbed the collar of his hospital gown with both hands and forcefully tore it open to both sides.

A tearing sound, like cloth being ripped.

Tang Li was momentarily stunned into not realizing what was happening before her eyes.

Old Ding doesn't have a beer belly, nor does he have a loose, fat belly.

Old Ding's belly was bulging high, and his skin had become a thin layer. So thin that you could see the blood vessels under the skin, so thin that you could see... the outline of the "thing" inside his belly.

A full forehead, a straight nose, eyes, and a constantly opening and closing mouth.

It was a woman's head.

"It itches so much! Let me out! Help me! Help me!"

Tang Li suddenly realized that the female voice she had heard came from here.

So... what is Old Ding saying with his lips that keep moving?

Tang Li tried her best to listen.

Beneath the shrill female voice lies a deep, sorrowful male voice.

"No, no, no... don't leave me."

Tang Li rushed out of the corridor.

Her mind was a jumbled mess, a chaotic jumble of thoughts. A bewildering sense of disorientation gripped her heart: of all the things she saw in Old Ding, which were real and which were fake?

She was initially convinced that Lao Ding had mental problems, but later she saw a face protruding from his stomach that could only appear in a hallucination.

Could it be that Lao Ding is actually a normal person, and he's just standing in the corridor smoking?

Her hallucinations conjured up a wandering figure and the voices of men and women.

She needs the help of others, and she needs more people to vouch for her.

Tang Li looked around, hoping to spot a familiar nurse. Instead, a figure in a white coat walked towards her.

Is that even possible? A doctor is needed, and a doctor arrives immediately?

"Excuse me." A smiling voice rang out; the person had beautiful features and a gentle demeanor.

"Didn't you see a patient?" he said lightly. "He ran this way when the nurses weren't looking."

The voice was familiar, but the face was one I had never seen before.

Tang Li paused slightly, quickly searching her memory, then suddenly realized: "Dr. Jiang?"

"Ah, yes," Dr. Jiang smiled slightly, "My surname is Jiang."

However, he did not intend to reminisce further and continued to press on the previous topic, saying, "The patient is tall and wears a hospital gown. He may question, ask for help, or yell at passersby, but he is not aggressive."

He stared into Tang Li's eyes, then suddenly blinked. "Did you see a patient like this just now?"

"He has been diagnosed with a mental illness and often confuses his gender and identity, so," he emphasized the last few words, "he will encounter... danger."

Who will be in danger?

He has already made it clear that Lao Ding is not aggressive.

So the one who will be in danger is not someone else, but Lao Ding.

In a flash, Tang Li understood Dr. Jiang's implication. She spoke, her tone flat and unremarkable: "I didn't see him. There's no one in the corridor over there."

"Oh dear, I wonder where they've gone." Dr. Jiang turned around, put one hand in his pocket, and walked in the opposite direction. Suddenly, he called out, "Let's go! We've looked all around here, no one's here!"

Around the corner behind Dr. Jiang, another doctor appeared.

Tang Li suddenly realized: Dr. Jiang did not come to see Lao Ding alone.

So even though he had spoken with Tang Li on the phone before, he didn't show any familiarity with her at this moment.

Before the newly arrived doctor could even get a clear look at the situation, Dr. Jiang grabbed his shoulder, turned him around, and easily led him away, without even having a chance to see who Tang Li was.

After the two had walked away, Tang Li hurriedly returned to the corridor she had been in before.

However, Lao Ding has disappeared without a trace.

The two floor tiles that had trapped Old Ding were still gleaming, except for one spot. Tang Li squatted down and picked up something that looked like a strip of cloth from the ground.

It was a wristband issued by the hospital to inpatients, with a scribbled number "3" written on it in blue ballpoint pen.

3?

Fifth floor.

Tang Li found Jiang Hui, who was idly leaning against the wall outside the clinic, and quietly told her everything that had just happened.

"You mean, you just ran into Old Ding?" Jiang Hui asked Tang Li slowly.

Tang Li nodded, almost impatiently: "I've already said so much, are you still confirming this with me?"

Of course I need to confirm this.

Jiang Hui thought to herself.

Old Ding is dead.

I watched him die with my own eyes.