CHAPTER 93: CHAPTER 24: THE AGE OF TURMOIL

Wushan Psychiatric Hospital.

In just over a week, the psychiatric hospitals throughout Dorne City were nearly filled to capacity.

Even Gotham’s psychiatric hospital probably wasn’t this crowded.

This is considered to be the largest psychiatric hospital in Dorne City, about ten kilometers from the Roman Imperial Palace, located in the southwest corner of Wushan. It covers a substantial area, surrounded by high walls on all sides, and is equipped with armed guards.

"Are you Investigator Sean?"

"Hello! I’m Mary. I’m the director here."

A woman in her fifties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, walked over with a serious and somewhat rigid expression, deep lines etched into her face.

She exuded a strong sense of authority and had an assertive presence.

Shawn extended his hand, saying, "Hello."

"I represent the police to conduct a routine check on the patients’ mental states."

Director Mary signaled the guard to open the electrified gate, and greeted, "Please follow me."

"Currently, the patients’ emotions are relatively stable."

Shawn nodded slightly and walked into the psychiatric hospital.

Led by the guards, he passed through several iron gates and finally entered a building that was almost completely sealed.

This place resembled a prison.

However, those confined inside weren’t all criminals; some were patients who suddenly went insane, and a few had special professions that required Shawn to see them personally.

"Please follow me," said a middle-aged woman dressed as a caretaker.

Shawn nodded slightly, adjusting his confusion, without finding anything unusual.

There were no traces of eerie contamination here.

The first room held a frail young man whose emotions were relatively stable, though he incessantly wrote something in a notebook. The caretaker took the notebook and handed it to Shawn, saying, "He has been writing novels continuously."

"Takes medicine on time, sleeps on time, goes outside on time, emotions are relatively stable."

"But he can’t be deprived of his pen and paper, or his emotions become very agitated and unstable, even attacking the guards here."

A crazy writer.

Shawn took off his confusion and looked at him for a moment. After confirming nothing was wrong, he picked up the notebook.

—"Journey to the Center of the Earth."

The handwriting on it was very messy.

It’s a novel that couldn’t be considered brilliant; the writing was average, the story dragged on, the structure was loose, and it didn’t have many exciting points. The horror atmosphere was fairly well rendered, with the protagonist group having lost two members, suggesting only the protagonist would survive in the end.

It seemed that madness hadn’t sparked a burst of inspiration, which was fortunate because inspiration from the Bizarre Realm could be dangerous.

Shawn quickly flipped through; the monsters attacking them were a group of mutated large spiders, and the demon in the darkness was a half-human, half-spider creature.

"Influenced by the Lady of the House? Seems like a mental imprint was planted."

Shawn put down the notebook, glanced at the disheveled young man who didn’t lift his head and kept writing furiously, nodded slightly and said, "Take me to the next one."

The second room was filthy.

Paint was splattered everywhere on the floor, making it hard to clean.

Inside was a haggard middle-aged man with a large beard; he looked like an artist, with the corners of the room’s walls filled with bizarre graffiti. The patient’s emotions were unstable, evident by the self-inflicted wounds on his wrists.

"He tried to use his blood to paint; we had no choice but to use sedatives," the caretaker explained.

The whole room was filled with eerie graffiti, reminiscent of Picasso’s style—looking deranged. Viewing them together revealed the outline of a Grand Pendulum Clock, seemingly reflections of actual objects, with a monster standing on the Grand Pendulum Clock, half-human half-spider, the twisted form and peculiar lines making one’s scalp tingle. (For Picasso’s art style, you can google it.)

Shawn stared for a while, still not seeing anything unusual.

There were no traces of supernatural powers here.

"This one needs special attention; someone should keep watch twenty-four hours," Shawn said softly.

The nearby caretaker guard silently nodded.

Here detained a total of six individuals with special professions. The conditions of the first few were worse, while those in the latter were somewhat better, capable of conversing clearly. They were different from the frenzied thugs, more like they had seen scenes beyond reality.

If they could be salvaged, they would be of great use in the future.

About half an hour later.

Shawn walked out, exhaling deeply, and said to Director Mary beside him, "There doesn’t seem to be any problem currently."

"I’ll report to my superiors then."

Shawn still didn’t know exactly what happened; there were no signs of pollution on these individuals.

Among them, some were witnesses to the Grand Pendulum Clock incident, yet showed symptoms of madness within just a day or two, with those inclined towards the art domain more severely affected. The insane painter even experienced various hallucinations, claiming to have seen another real world.

According to Shawn’s understanding of the Bizarre Realm, these individuals likely triggered a mandatory inspiration check upon seeing the Lady of the House.

They weren’t investigators, nor were they transcendents.

Hence, a severe breakdown in rationality occurred, manifesting as serious mental illness and temporary insanity symptoms.

As for how to treat mental illness, Shawn was unable to provide assistance; he wasn’t a psychologist. His main purpose in coming was to see if there was anything unusual about these individuals, whether supernatural eerie powers had influenced them.

Currently, it appears not; they couldn’t withstand the intense mental shock, showing signs of madness similar to investigators who failed an inspiration check.

On that day.

The Lady of the House on the Grand Pendulum Clock imprinted her shadow in many people’s memories.

Dean Mary watched as Shawn’s figure departed.

A few minutes later, a young man dressed as a doctor came over, looking at Shawn’s back, and softly said, "Is he one of those rumored special individuals?"

"The ones responsible for handling bizarre incidents."

Upon hearing this, Dean Mary glared at him and sternly replied, "Don’t ask what you shouldn’t."

A moment later.

The young doctor stood on the balcony on the second floor, gazing at Shawn’s departing figure. His eyes revealed a hint of excitement as he murmured, "Those rumors are indeed true."

"Does that mean I can become a Transcendent too?"

The situation can no longer be hidden.

Too many people in Dorne City witnessed the out-of-control Lady of the House. The current turmoil in Dorne City is like the entire city underwent an Inspiration Check of varying difficulties—some people were unaffected, but for some, it seemed to have awakened something.

The dark madness deep within people’s hearts is slowly growing!

The more they understand the truth of the world, the more madness they must endure.

Currently, many people in Dorne City are exhibiting mental disorders characterized by amnesia, mania, hysteria, extreme paranoia, violent tendencies, and so on—symptoms of madness that appear when Investigators fail the Inspiration Check.

The most extreme cases lead to outright insanity, like those initial madmen and the insane, most of whom have already been eliminated.

Night Watch Headquarters.

There have been a few too many violent incidents recently, and murder cases are surging, so Shawn has had to help the police handle some tricky matters.

At that time, at least ten thousand people in Dorne City triggered a mandatory Inspiration Check, with many experiencing subliminal impacts. The Grand Pendulum Clock is a landmark in Dorne, and the crowd around it is just too large, making it difficult to complete the screening.

For now, the situation can only be suppressed as much as possible, maintaining the current social Order.

At the staircase of the archives.

Shawn saw Hank returning from his vacation, in good spirits, his large beard shaved off, making him appear several years younger.

"Is the Wharf District situation dealt with?" Hank greeted.

Shawn nodded, "Yes. It’s been cleaned up."

"How about on your side?"

Hank shook his head, "Quite troublesome. There are more cases involving mysterious rituals lately, and some long-lost cult organizations seem to be reviving."

"These mysterious events recently have all been caused by ordinary people."

"After seeing that monster, some began to question everything about reality."

In the past, laypeople were mostly curious about the occult and largely unbelieving, but now everything is different, with many secretly exploring the other side of the world.

But this is the Bizarre Realm!

Here, it isn’t a place where one can gain Extraordinary Power just by training. All Extraordinary Essence here originates from bizarre creatures, with their source being from the ancient and unnamable.

The result is predictable for ordinary people recklessly pursuing Supernatural Power.

"Are there any out-of-control ones?" Shawn frowned.

Hank shook his head, "Not yet. The last batch of Extraordinary Relics secretly flowing into Dorne has been completely intercepted."

"Worried someone might accidentally complete some ancient Summon ritual."

That wouldn’t be good.

Not all Transcendents rise by acquiring Extraordinary Relics dropped by killing monsters. There are many ways to ascend, and some Transcendents receive gifts from bizarre creatures to obtain Supernatural Power.

This way of ascending is even worse.

When a monster transfers a part of its Extraordinary Essence to you, it can toy with you whenever it wishes.

This is the ascension path of the Ancient Race.

Extremely dangerous.

Shawn took a deep breath, gesturing Hank to the corner, and whispered, "The situation is becoming a bit uncontrollable."

"Why isn’t there an arrangement from above yet?"

Hank paused for a moment, lit a cigarette, and frowned, "Perhaps they’re having trouble above too."

"I’ve heard it’s not just the Dorne Region. There’s trouble in Dele too."

Dele?

Daisy’s hometown?

Does that mean similar incidents have erupted in many places?

What is the intent?

Is someone trying to unveil the lid of the real world, letting everyone see the harsh truth of the Bizarre Realm?

How many would go insane from that? How many would die?

"Once this issue erupts, the number of Transcendents will increasingly grow."

Hank showed a wry smile, "The peace of reality is shattered, and restoring it won’t be easy."

Shawn remained silent.

Though not everything is clear, the increase in Transcendents is almost inevitable.

The original Order of the real world is being broken.

.........