Chapter 155 Mental Hospital Nineteen

After releasing all the passengers, Ning Wei started searching from the sixth floor. She searched every office and finally confirmed that the nurse's office was on the second floor. Coincidentally, this small room was the one that had many people in it during the day. The room was hidden in the back, and if she hadn't been watched for so long during the day, she might not have noticed this place at all. It was a hidden door; with a push, a side could be opened. The room was small, with a filing cabinet and a desk. On the desk was a cup with half a cup of unfinished water. At the bottom of the cup were some white powder. Ning Wei reached out and touched it; it was a mixture of medicinal powder. Looking up, she saw that the plaster on the ceiling was peeling, and a piece fell onto Ning Wei's face. No wonder the nurse didn't care about the powder in the cup; the ceiling was about to fall, and since the powder had no taste, she wouldn't suspect that patients would come out at night to administer medicine. Ning Wei returned the cup to its original position, leaving no trace. She went to the filing cabinet. On top were many books on mental health. The bottom row contained file bags. Ning Wei opened them and found records of each person's physical condition, detailing their heart, spleen, and corneas. Seeing these papers, Ning Wei had a vague suspicion. Li Ye leaned against the doorframe. "Anything found?" Ning Wei handed him the paper. "When you see this table, what's your first guess?" Li Ye scanned it quickly. "Organ trafficking?" Ning Wei nodded. "We can assume so for now, but we need to verify it in the basement." This was a new discovery. She went to Tang Tang's ward and told everyone about her suspicions and findings. Zhu Yulian chimed in, "No wonder one patient kept pointing at his stomach and saying he was in pain during the daytime free time." "Did you lift their clothes to check?" If organs were being trafficked, there would surely be stitch marks. Zhu Yulian shook her head. She didn't take it seriously at the time. After all, they were in a real mental hospital; who knew if what they said was true? But it didn't matter; they would soon verify it. While Ning Wei and Li Ye were busy gathering information, their group was not idle. At first, they searched for information in the wards, and then they began to observe other patients. Based on their experiments over several nights, they found that the patients at night wouldn't wake up no matter what sounds they heard. Ning Wei also found many sedatives in the office, so to avoid incidents at night, they must have secretly given sleeping pills to the patients. What was strange, though, was why their group hadn't been given any. Ning Wei recalled the file. "Taking too many pills affects the mind. Perhaps they wanted to keep our organs in normal condition so they could sell them for a better price." This was the only plausible guess. To verify this hypothesis, everyone followed Ning Wei to search from the sixth floor. As expected, the ward doors were opened, and the patients didn't react, as if they were in a coma. Mei Nan and the others stood around the beds, ready to prevent patients from waking up suddenly. Ning Wei lifted each patient's clothes, and a small number of them did have signs of surgical stitching. However, most of them had already scarred over, indicating that the mental hospital hadn't sold organs for a long time. They had a lot of gains tonight, and everyone returned to the ward with excitement. The next morning, Ning Wei, having not taken any medication, woke up very early. She could finally have breakfast. As she had guessed, the breakfast was very rich, with so many dishes she couldn't finish them all. The head nurse looked at her kindly. "It's okay if you can't finish, just make sure you eat enough." Ning Wei nodded obediently, but in her heart, she wondered how many more "last meals" she would have to eat. The head nurse was particularly busy today. After bringing Ning Wei her breakfast, she left the rest to another elderly nurse. Ning Wei sat by the window, gazing out at the sunlight. The other nurse also came to check on her condition, asking if she felt sleepy or dizzy. Their impatience made Ning Wei feel that the time to go to the basement was approaching. Not only did they eat well today, but the patients were also allowed to go out for fresh air and sunshine in the afternoon. Ning Wei tentatively said she didn't want to go, and the nurse responsible for her immediately changed her expression. "I'm not as young and soft-hearted as Mu Qing. You must do as I say, understand?!" The nurse's face was expressionless, and her hands tightly gripped Ning Wei's arm. She used so much force that Ning Wei's arm would likely be bruised again. Ning Wei pretended to be terrified and slowly walked out with the nurse. Reaching the small garden, she glanced at the office on the second floor. Different people were walking back and forth there, and the place, already small, seemed particularly crowded. Ning Wei felt like meat on a chopping board, with those people as buyers, slowly selecting organs from her body. Recalling the wounds she saw on other patients last night, Ning Wei felt a twinge of pain. The nurse led her to a bench with the best view. Ning Wei again expressed that she didn't want to sit there, but the nurse, with her immense strength, pressed Ning Wei's shoulders down. Ning Wei was forced to sit on the bench. After being treated unkindly twice by the nurse, she acted extremely fearful. This reaction suited the nurse perfectly. Before leaving, she warned Ning Wei, "Don't step off this bench, or I'll break your legs." Ning Wei, like a little rabbit, placed her feet on the bench and hugged herself protectively. This was something she had observed in other patients; when frightened, they usually froze, hugged themselves tightly, and buried their heads between their legs, like ostriches. The deterrence was enough, and the nurse left them with satisfaction. Soon, Ning Wei noticed more intense gazes falling upon her. It wasn't just her; the other passengers felt it too. They stood in different places, but they exchanged glances behind the nurses' backs. Real patients ran around in the middle, and they ran with them. Except for Ning Wei, everyone else had some freedom. Ning Wei silently cursed her bad luck. She had considered getting up, but the nurse's gaze was like a knife on her. She sat on the bench for over an hour. Under the sun, she leaned against the backrest and felt drowsy. On the way back, Ning Wei also avoided the nurse. Since they wanted her to be afraid, she had to play the part well.