6. Control (Seeking Support to Climb the Rankings)

Ning Changkong sat on the edge of the bed and said, “Mr. Ma, the door isn’t locked.”

Ma En pushed the door open and entered. “I have some questions I’d like to ask.”

Over the past few days, during his information gathering, he had sought out this helpful young woman more than once. And whenever he asked some basic questions, she answered calmly as if she sensed nothing unusual, as if she simply didn’t care.

In truth, that was exactly the case.

Ma En asked earnestly, “How much would it cost to be discharged, and what exactly would I need to do?”

Ning Changkong replied as if she had been expecting the question: “The attending physician, Dr. Xu, who just started here recently, has the authority to decide if we can be discharged. Normally, it would cost between 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, but…”

She paused briefly, carefully choosing her words.

“Hmm, your situation might be somewhat special. Those prices apply to patients from relatively well-off families. For those with little money, I’ve heard the starting price is 500,000 yuan. I’m not sure which arrangement they would offer you.”

“And since Dr. Xu hasn’t been here long, I don’t know if he’s fully aware of the rules. If you’re lucky, maybe he’ll give you a discount, but it could also end up being more difficult than usual.”

After their group activity, she had taken some time to look into Ma En’s background. He was probably the most ordinary patient in the entire advanced care area, which explained why Dr. Liu dared to speak to him disrespectfully.

Ma En’s only “relative,” Chen Yun, was an ordained pastor.

Normally, patients in the advanced zone pay 300,000 yuan annually for care, while Chen Yun’s yearly income was 150,000 yuan.

Fortunately, Miss Chen Yun had some church cooperative subsidies, so their annual cost was about 100,000 yuan. Still, that was a considerable expense for Ma En and his sister.

This raised the young woman’s curiosity: why would he spend so much money to stay here? Was it really just for comfort, or did he want to enjoy the “extra services” of the Victor Care Center?

But where would he get the money?

Ma En, with a grateful expression, asked, “One more thing: is there any way for me to find out who else is staying in the other wards?”

Ning Changkong didn’t question his thoughts about the price; everyone has their own difficulties.

“Normally, you could ask Dr. Liu or Dr. Xu. Doctors only handle their own patients’ cases, but the information they sell is something you could find out yourself. If they sold truly private information, no one would choose to come here.”

Ma En said gratefully, “Thank you, that’s very helpful.”

Ning Changkong replied politely, “It’s nothing. But, Mr. Ma, I actually have some questions for you too.”

“Why do you suddenly want to be discharged?”

The young woman looked at Ma En with a face full of curiosity, though her true feelings ran much deeper beneath the surface.

There were many mysteries about Ma En: why he was admitted here, why he asked those questions. But Ning Changkong didn’t care about those. What truly intrigued her was the impression he gave—his appearance, his aura.

And how he could make the auras of other beings vanish.

She had seen many strange things but never anyone whose symptoms disappeared.

He paused.

Of course, Ma En couldn’t say he was being attacked by an abnormal entity called "the Unrememberable," and that his past self had left instructions for discharge.

“I have my reasons,” he said. “But they’re hard to explain.”

Unexpectedly, the young woman seemed quite satisfied with his answer.

Ning Changkong said, “Then could you leave me your phone number? To be honest, I’m also thinking about being discharged. Outside, we’re both psychiatric patients. Maybe we can help each other sometime…”

Ma En replied, “Of course.”

He casually grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the desk and wrote down the number he had found in the secret compartment.

No matter what Ning Changkong’s intentions were, he had gained her help. And before he was discharged, he would likely need her assistance again.

The young woman took the slip of paper and looked down at it for a few seconds.

Something was off.

That wasn’t any number registered under Ma En’s name.

But she said nothing, calmly folding the paper and pocketing it.

“If you run into any trouble with the discharge process, you can always come to me. But if you want to borrow money…” She hesitated slightly, embarrassed. “Though my parents are fairly well-off, they didn’t give me much.”

Ma En was a bit surprised by her words.

They were just acquaintances, yet Ning Changkong seemed to think he might ask to borrow money, and from the way she said it, as if she would lend it if she could.

“If I need to,” he nodded sincerely.

Ning Changkong had already offered far more help than mere friendliness. Ma En, however, couldn’t deduce anything meaningful—he remembered nothing.

Had they crossed paths before? But judging by her demeanor, it didn’t seem so.

“Oh, there’s one more thing I want to ask you,” the young woman suddenly remembered something.

She got up, opened the drawer of the desk, and took out a blank sheet of paper. Then she approached Ma En.

“I found this near your room not long ago. Do you know what these symbols mean?”

Before asking Ma En, Ning Changkong had spent a long time searching online and even asked a friend specializing in history to consult various professional sources, but found nothing similar.

Ma En looked at the paper.

They weren’t symbols.

Though the writing was crooked and uneven, he instantly understood what was written.

It was six Chinese characters:

Control, Utilize, Destroy.

“I’ve never seen this before,” he said, meeting her clear eyes. “Maybe another patient scribbled it?”

Ning Changkong took back the paper and nodded naturally.

“How did I not think of that possibility?”

Of course, it wasn’t possible.

Because those symbols were something she had seen on Ma En himself.