[He is waiting for this day.]

[Ah, this scene feels so familiar.]

[Laughing my ass off, why is it always someone else holding players hostage to threaten the evil god?! What’s wrong with you guys!?]

[Black Cat, you can’t even beat an old man, hmm…]

If Black Cat could see the bullet comments in Druid’s live stream, he would definitely retort fiercely. It’s clearly this old man who’s acting suspicious! He’s ridiculously strong, damn it!

No one understood better than Black Cat, who had experienced it firsthand, how powerful this seemingly ordinary old man was. At first, he didn’t even notice someone was behind him, and by the time he realized, it was too late. But the most important thing was the confrontation between the two systems’ assessments during the fight.

He clearly passed the test, but was still knocked to the ground. What does this indicate? It indicates that the opponent’s strength completely crushed him, which is absolutely ridiculous!

How could this old man, who is so thin he is just skin and bones, be so strong? Where are his muscles hiding?

No one paid attention to Black Cat’s inner complaints. Ranen and Old Luke faced each other. Ranen’s expression remained unchanged, but he was actually thinking about why the investigator, who was clearly helping the players in his previous life, was now an adversary to him.

Oh, he’s possibly an evil god? Then it’s fine.

“Let go of the person next to you, and then leave this place,” Old Luke said.

“Are you sure?” Ranen curled his lips and slowly released his grip on Archie. As his fingers slowly withdrew, Archie, who had been calm until now, began to get increasingly restless. His eyes, filled with murderous intent, scanned everyone in the room except Ranen.

Just before he was about to explode, Ranen grabbed his hand again, and Archie calmed down.

“You saw it yourself. Without me, he would only go wild and kill all of you,” Ranen said calmly. “Do you want me to let go and test it?”

“Why don’t we all be honest with each other? After all, our goals should be the same, right, Mr. Luke?” Ranen looked at him. “You’ve been hiding in the hospital for years, haven’t you? All to stop the Outsider’s scheme, right?”

“I remember now!” At this point, Black Cat, who had been silent, suddenly exclaimed, looking at Old Luke in shock. “You’re the one mentioned in Archie’s father’s notes!”

“You’re also an investigator!”

The bullet comments quickly flashed across the screen.

[Luke!?]  

[Hmm? Who’s that?]  

[Oh shit, I remember now, isn’t this the guy from Archie’s father’s notes?]  

[Exactly, I just dug it up, it’s him!]  

[He’s also an investigator from the Inspection Bureau. He was the one who supported Archie’s father when he was undercover!]  

[Hiss, so did he release the patients on the third floor? He must’ve been pretending to be crazy for all this time to stop the Outsider’s plot?]  

[Shit, I thought he was dead.]

“Investigator…” A faint trace of nostalgia crossed Old Luke’s eyes. “I haven’t heard that term in a long time.”

“Why are you here?” Black Cat asked.

“You’re not the only ones fighting the Outsider,” Old Luke said.

Druid became excited: “So, the Inspection Bureau? You’ve been secretly investigating and fighting against the Outsider organization?”

Hearing the term “Inspection Bureau,” Old Luke’s expression clearly soured. “No, no… it’s just me.”

After saying this, he didn’t want to answer any more questions from Druid and the others. He turned to look at Ranen:

“How ironic,” Luke said in a hoarse voice. “I never expected that one day, I’d be standing on the same side as someone like you.”

Clearly, he had been observing for a long time before confirming Ranen and the others’ intentions.

Hearing this, Ranen relaxed slightly. His biggest fear was that Luke would judge him as a possible evil god and then act recklessly, but it seemed like he still had some sense of reason, or at least knew the priorities.

An investigator who had been pretending to be crazy and undercover in a mental hospital for so long might be supported not just by justice.

But also… a determination for revenge.

Ranen tugged at the corners of his mouth, subtly probing, “Indeed, just like how you never expected to receive a stab in the back.”

Luke’s brow visibly twitched.

“I suggest you put down the glass. A single life isn’t enough to threaten me,” Ranen said leisurely. “Besides, if you want to take down the Outsider, you’ll need our help.”

Everyone could see that clearly. After all, Luke was alone now, and whatever he wanted to do, he lacked the strength. Otherwise, in the original plot, he wouldn’t have assisted Druid.

Luke: “How do I know you’re not the next ‘Outsider’?”

Ranen smiled, raising his hand to stroke Archie’s hair as he spoke slowly, “I trust you can see his condition and understand that notebook… I think that should be the best evidence.”

Archie had previously told him that a significant portion of his thesis was inspired by the notes left by his father, which clearly provided two different lines of thought. At that time, the only person who could have provided Archie’s father with such insights was Luke, who was responsible for supporting him.

Archie’s method involved psychology and a bit of hypnosis, incorporating his father’s original ideas. Ranen didn’t believe Luke couldn’t recognize this.

Unlike the brainwashed players, Luke should be able to tell that Archie entered this state voluntarily and chose him as the “anchor,” rather than Ranen intervening to make him this way.

In other words, from beginning to end, Ranen never harmed Archie; in fact, he had earned his trust.

And Archie was the child entrusted to Luke by his comrade.

Luke fell silent, let go of Black Cat, and gave him a push.

“One day, I might regret this deeply.”

“Then I hope that day never comes,” Ranen said with a smile.

[What? They’ve reconciled?]  

[Figures. Luke has been undercover in this hospital for so long; he must be determined to destroy the Outsider. I wonder if he knows about the Inspection Bureau. Did they send him here to go undercover, or was it his own choice? If it was voluntary… that’s just too sad.]  

Ranen had the same thought but didn’t voice it, only pondering it silently. Any hint of pity at this moment would be an insult to Luke’s conviction.

Besides, Old Luke wasn’t just any old man.

His eyes still burned with the fire of revenge.

Ranen: “You’ve been undercover at the hospital for years. Surely, you weren’t just pretending to be crazy the whole time.”

“Of course, I know much more than you all,” Old Luke snorted, succinctly sharing his findings. “The reason the Outsider chose this hospital is no coincidence. The layout of the hospital’s courtyard is very special, which is why Hogg chose it.”

“As for why it’s special, I haven’t been inside. It was sealed off to outsiders long ago, and it’s the most heavily guarded place in Arkham Hospital.”

“The courtyard…” Ranen frowned slightly. “We didn’t see a courtyard when we passed through the hospital.”

“That’s because it’s hidden,” Old Luke said. “And I’m sure you can guess how it’s hidden.”

The director’s authority, perhaps.

In the end, they had to overthrow Director Soren’s position, or they’d remain perpetually passive. Without the ability to leave the hospital, they were at others’ mercy.

Ranen looked at the remaining doctors and nurses.

The Butcher of Flesh Mountain’s massive frame stood out, alongside the chief doctor resembling a mad scientist, the inpatient doctors with bull heads and horse bodies, and many other bizarre figures that Druid and Black Cat couldn’t even name.

Of course, many were injured now, and their intimidation wasn’t as strong as before.

“Mr. Ranen, what should we do now?”

“Have you forgotten the information you found?” Ranen reminded gently.

Black Cat immediately remembered, “Oh, oh! Right!”

He nearly forgot why they were there. Rushing to Druid’s side, under the watchful eyes of the orderlies and nurses, Black Cat shouted, “Listen to me! You’ve all been deceived by that so-called director. He’s not your director at all. I have evidence!”

With that, he gestured to Druid, and they both held the documents high.

Hearing this, the nurses and doctors exchanged glances.

“Hahahahahaha, yes, yes! I’m the director! I’m the real director!” 

A hysterical laugh echoed from the entrance. The nurses and orderlies stepped aside, revealing a middle-aged man in a patient gown scrambling over to them. He rushed up to Black Cat and snatched the documents.

He moved so fast that Black Cat didn’t react in time. Upon closer inspection, he realized this was the ‘director.’

The ‘director’ excitedly waved the documents, pointing to the signatures and photos, and shouted at the chief doctor and nurses, “See this? See this? The evidence is irrefutable—I’m the director of this hospital!”

“The current director is a fraud! He’s a thief who stole my identity! Look at this!”

The ‘director’ excitedly yelled at all the medical staff, but to his surprise, all the doctors and nurses just stared at him coldly.

The players felt their hearts sink. What is going on?

Why is this not turning out as they have imagined?

“Why are you all just standing there? Call the police and arrest that impostor, and restore my position! What did he do to brainwash you all? Do you believe I won’t fire you?”

The ‘director’ was shouting at the nurses and doctors, his irrational behavior making Black Cat frown.

Doesn’t he see the terrifying appearance of these doctors and nurses? How could he dare to yell at them? Is he not afraid for his life?

Druid, noticing Black Cat’s confusion, quietly reminded him, “‘The director,’ like the other psychiatric patients, can’t see the night-time scene of the hospital. I find it strange too, as he clearly isn’t insane.”

At this moment, something Ranen had mentioned in the archives room hit Black Cat like a lightning bolt. He quickly looked at the patients on the third floor, especially the strange aspects of their bodies. Adding the doctors’ avoidance, their rejection of the director, and Ranen’s subtle hints that the director was unpopular, it all made sense.

Black Cat: “Those patients on the third floor… are they victims of the illegal procedures?”

Ranen looked at Black Cat, nodded, then shook his head, “Those two patients are already dead. As for the current patients on the third floor…”

He glanced at the strange figures who seemed to fear him and said, “They are likely the nightmares within this dreamscape.”

“The guilt, remorse, and nightmares of the informed doctors and nurses created them.”

The essence of the night-time hospital was, in fact, the collective ‘dream’ of all medical staff. They were the pillars and core of this instance, which explained their ‘undying’ characteristic. Their obsession with hospital rules had led to the various rules governing the hospital.

Including the director’s place in their minds, which made him the de facto ruler of the night-time hospital.

Black Cat grimaced, “So even if we find evidence, it’s impossible to overthrow that fake director.”

He shared his deduction with Druid, who also wore a grim expression. Silently, they moved closer to Ranen. Though they said nothing, their eyes clearly conveyed:

“Boss, what do we do now?”

Ranen pondered briefly. In his past life, solving this instance was actually quite straightforward.

At that time, Director Soren appeared and initiated his plan. Faced with an external threat, the doctors and nurses of Arkham Hospital begrudgingly acknowledged the ‘director’s’ position. However, it was too late, and the ritual was already underway.

Nevertheless, this showed that if the current ‘director’ could gain the forgiveness of the doctors and nurses, it was still possible to overthrow Soren’s position as director. With Soren currently entangled by the players and unable to return to the hospital, and with the time far from the day of the lunar eclipse, they still had time to work on persuading the medical staff.

Moreover, many doctors and nurses in the other wards were likely uninformed. If Ranen stepped in to persuade them and implemented a voting system, reinstating the ‘director’ to his original position might still be feasible.

The only problem was, if they really did that…

Ranen glanced at the chief doctor, the patients on the third floor, and the silent doctors watching them.

It would undoubtedly leave these people disheartened.

“Stop making a scene, you muddled director,” Old Luke sneered. “Haven’t you realized yet that your crimes have already been exposed?”

The ‘director’ showed a flash of nervousness in his eyes but stubbornly insisted, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m saying you’re a fool who can’t see the reality of the situation, a moron being deceived without realizing it!” Old Luke rasped. “Don’t you see? The situation now is that no one in this hospital acknowledges you! Evidence of your crimes has been found, and you’re about to be thrown in prison!”

“Impossible!” the director shouted. “What evidence? Show me if you have it! I haven’t committed any crimes!”

Druid held up the document for him to see.

The ‘director’ glanced at it and then laughed, “You really are all lunatics. There is no such document. I knew you were trying to trick me; you’re all trying to deceive me!”

As expected.

The ‘director’ had never believed that they had any real evidence, because in reality, there was none left behind from the things he had done.

His reaction confirmed it—this document only existed in the eyes of those who could see the night-time hospital.

Ranen sighed and looked at the doctors and nurses. “So, this evidence is something you wanted us to see, right? It doesn’t exist in reality.”

The chief doctor silently nodded.

The ‘director’ wasn’t an idiot. Having risen to his position not long ago, he was greedy, ruthless, and cunning. If he dared to get involved in such shady dealings, he would have been very careful.

In reality, he left no trace, let alone such decisive documents. Only a fool would store them in the archives, waiting to be discovered.

The reason the documents appeared real to Black Cat and Druid was because someone in the hospital wanted them to find it.

Druid was taken aback, “So, if we return to reality, we won’t be able to punish him?”

“That’s likely,” Ranen replied.

Now Black Cat and Druid understood why the doctors and nurses here refused to accept this ‘director.’

He seemed to live in the surface world, unable to see the reality beneath the hospital’s undercurrents, or rather…

He was rejected by this world.

This place, infinitely close to the realm of dreams, suggested that the dream was not merely the hospital, or not just the hospital, but all the medical staff.

They were the pillars of Arkham Hospital, the foundation of this ‘night-time hospital.’ Those rejected by them were not allowed to enter or see the night-time hospital.

In other words, they did not recognize this person as their director in their hearts.

Why was the director’s position so high in Arkham? Because in reality, the director indeed controlled the hospital. This fact reflected in the night-time hospital, in the dream formed by the Dream Rift, meant that even if they were unwilling, the doctors and nurses had to follow the director’s orders.

This fact left the players speechless.

If they acknowledged the director’s identity, he would regain his original position during the day, and some dark, evil evidence would never surface. But if they didn’t acknowledge it, the players wouldn’t be able to leave this instance, and they would have to wait for the Outsider’s plot to succeed.

What a classic trolley problem.

“Is there no other way?” Druid asked unwillingly, “How about we beat him up and force him to confess his crimes?”

Ranen looked at the chief doctor, who shook his head, “He has a lot of influence in Arkham. Those people will protect him.”

The doctors didn’t want to take that risk, nor did they want the truth about those ugly matters to remain hidden forever.

Druid tried to persuade them with reason and emotion to first recognize the director and promised that the Fourth Disaster would definitely act to take down the director afterward, but all attempts failed.

In this world, infinitely close to a dream, all love and hate were extremized and purified, showing the original form of desires.

Simply put, love became more intense, and hatred deepened.

At this moment, Old Luke glanced at Ranen, a complex light flashing in his eyes.

Ranen: ?

The director still hadn’t grasped the situation, or perhaps to him, everything seemed inexplicable. After all, he couldn’t see the night-time hospital. In his eyes, the current situation was just a few seemingly mentally ill people leading a bunch of hospital staff to spout nonsense. He didn’t understand it, nor did he comprehend why the world had become like this.

“Haha, I get it now. This is all a prank, right? You’ve intentionally found a clown to replace me, then tied me up and treated me like a lunatic. I’m going to call the police. I’ll sue you all! You lunatics better prepare for court summons!”

Ignoring his shouting, Old Luke looked at him with a trace of pity in his eyes, “I’ve reviewed Arkham Hospital’s regulations. A long time ago, there was a rule still retained today: if Arkham falls into chaos, the hospital is in disarray, and the director is absent with no one to manage the situation, a deputy director can be elected, right?”

The chief doctor thought for a moment and said, “Yes, that rule exists.”

“And the deputy director is elected, requiring the consent of all medical staff,” Old Luke said in a low voice, looking at Ranen.

It was obvious that the only person capable of achieving this, the one who could get all the doctors and nurses to agree, was none other than Ranen.

Ranen naturally understood Old Luke’s implication, and his smile froze. “I…”

He is to become the acting director?

Wait, was this how the original plot developed? Wasn’t the original director supposed to apologize…

Ranen looked at the director, only to see him standing with arms crossed, wearing an expression of disbelief, as if saying, “Let’s see what kind of trick you can pull off.”

It was hard to imagine how much time Druid in the original plot must have spent trying to make this stubborn old man bow down. Oh, wait, it seemed Druid eventually used his fists to persuade him—never mind.

Old Luke met Ranen’s calm gaze and couldn’t help but smile bitterly in his heart. He must have foreseen this day long ago.

What Ranen didn’t know was that this was not the first time Old Luke had seen him.

Old Luke had been lurking in Arkham Hospital for quite a long time, and he was aware of every little movement within the hospital. One day, he overheard one of the nurses who was taking care of him mentioning that a very beautiful patient had arrived at the hospital.

When talking about this patient, whether it was nurses, caretakers, or anyone, regardless of gender, their faces were all filled with a unified expression of longing and obsession. This strange behavior raised Old Luke’s suspicion, so one day, when the caretakers weren’t paying attention, he sneaked out of the psychiatric treatment area and went to the inpatient building.

He stood downstairs, seeing the young man leaning by the bed in the ward.

Even though more than ten years had passed, Old Luke was still a sharp-eyed investigator. Unlike rookies, he had a unique method of identifying non-human beings.

A normal human face, no matter how delicate, can never fully captivate another human being. It’s simple—everyone has different tastes. Some prefer thin lips, others like fuller lips, some like deep features, and others prefer smooth skin.

If a person stands there, and out of a crowd of one hundred, thirty people turn their heads, that person is considered beautiful. If fifty people turn their heads, they could be an idol. Seventy people turning their heads, and they could be on the world’s beauty pageant stage.

But if everyone, regardless of age, whether busy or relaxed, turns their heads in perfect unison, and each person’s eyes are filled with the same obsession, that is abnormal.

And Ranen…

He didn’t need to stand there. People would automatically rush to his hospital room door.

They would pour out the troubles of their day to him, just to receive his gentle comfort and advice. To be honest, from Old Luke’s perspective, this was no different from making a deal with the devil.

What was even more unusual was that Ranen had an excellent reputation among the nurses and doctors. Even the patients praised him, saying he was a wonderful young man who was very helpful, worried that he might feel lonely, and often came to chat with him (before he gave up while investigating the hospital).

In Old Luke’s eyes, this was practically a clear sign—Ranen must know the true nature of the hospital.

Perhaps… he is aiming to become the director of Arkham Hospital?