17. The Lockpick (Asleep)

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Ma En stood before the door of room 721, recalling Ning Changkong’s “painting.” It depicted a beautiful woman in her thirties, and her attire matched almost exactly what Ma En had seen himself. Beyond that, there was no other information.

Click.

Li Fen looked at Ma En with a hint of surprise, but quickly assumed a serious expression.

“What did you do?” Her tone was much gentler than it had been downstairs.

Ma En said, “He committed suicide, and it was his own choice. Have you ever met Lü Yide before?”

She replied, “I haven’t met him, but I know that not long after you left his room, Lü Yide shot himself in the head. If you insist this has nothing to do with you…”

“Ma En, you can be completely honest with me about what happened. Our company never reports its own employees or partners, and that bastard deserved it anyway.”

He shook his head. “No, if you ask Doctor Liu, you’ll find that Lü Yide mentioned during our first meeting that he wanted to kill his second personality. But you’re right.”

“I didn’t do nothing.”

Li Fen gave him an encouraging look.

“He talked to me, expressing his desire to end his life,” Ma En answered. “I only gave him a little push.”

“Is that so…” She sounded puzzled.

If what Ma En said was true, then it all came down to luck? He’s been in there for half a minute now, and hasn’t collapsed foaming at the mouth. At least that proves Ma En hasn’t used telepathy on him yet.

No, I need to say something that will make him take me seriously and see if he reacts differently.

“If that’s the case,” Li Fen said, “we can proceed with the original plan. You’ve already been to Xu Wen’s office, and you saw the safe, right?”

Ma En asked in confusion, “You mean the really obvious one on the cabinet?”

She nodded. “Yes. But don’t underestimate it. Doctor Li didn’t hide it for a reason.”

“This safe isn’t something you can just buy with money. Its unlocking difficulty far exceeds what you imagine, and anyone trying to forcibly open it will trigger automatic destruction of its contents. That’s why Xu Wen hasn’t gotten the notebook yet.”

“Theoretically, your former attending physician couldn’t have bought this safe. It falling into his hands was probably an accident.”

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There are always competitors in the company who don’t follow the rules.

Speaking of which, she pulled out a small metal device.

It had a complex mechanical structure, somewhat resembling a bizarre spider, but with a modern industrial aura.

“This is a specialized lock opener,” Li Fen said. “You just press it against the combination lock, and it will crack the safe in three minutes. You just reach in and take out the notebook.”

It had other functions as well, but Ma En didn’t need to know them.

He took it. “But how do I…”

Li Fen said, “We can solve that problem. When the time comes, you’ll naturally know.”

He still hadn’t used telepathy.

Could it be that he’s just overthinking it?

As long as the information bomb hasn’t been triggered, it means his mind hasn’t been invaded. It seems Ma En is basically not a telepath.

I can relax now.

Ma En showed a puzzled look. “I have a question: what exactly is this thing that can take down Xu Wen?”

Li Fen said, “It’s a trade secret, but I can assure you that whatever’s inside is definitely capable of eliminating Xu Wen.”

That was the conclusion from colleagues in the prediction department, who mainly focused on helping the company avoid various issues, occasionally predicting stock market trends.

If it weren’t for the special nature of the Victor Sanatorium, the company would have sent many more people rather than diverting such important resources from the prediction department.

“Then may I ask,” Ma En continued, “what bad things has Xu Wen done? What special abilities does he have? And why are you targeting him?”

Sounds like the kind of questions someone newly involved in the abnormal world would ask.

Li Fen answered lightly, “Before he was admitted, Xu Wen killed over a dozen people, including Doctor Li, because he wanted to take his former teacher’s position.”

“As for what he can do, it’s not important. You just need to know he’s very dangerous to you, and I can easily deal with him—that’s enough.”

The real issue isn’t how dangerous Xu Wen is—no matter how tough the enemy, as long as there’s enough backup, they’re not a problem.

But the Victor Sanatorium is different.

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“Why does he want that position?” Ma En asked. “Isn’t he already an ability user?”

His message mentioned the abnormal nature of the sanatorium itself but didn’t explain why.

Li Fen explained, “Because there’s a rule here: patients can’t attack doctors. That’s why I haven’t just gone to Xu Wen’s office and taken him out.”

If she tried to ambush Xu Wen, she was fairly confident she could subdue him.

But before she could act, the Victor Sanatorium would consume her.

Doctors and patients cannot attack each other—that’s one of the rules Victor established when founding this hospital.

Unless other company employees can be hired into the sanatorium’s staff, they’ll have to rely on laws and rules to force Xu Wen out—and the prediction department colleagues believe Doctor Li holds evidence strong enough to take him down.

Ma En remembered.

His second message said, “It’s best not to resist the doctor’s arrangements. Both you and he need to follow the rules set by Victor.”

But judging by the tone, his past self didn’t seem especially afraid. Is it because the doctors also must obey the sanatorium’s rules?

Li Fen added colorfully, “I’ve also heard about those patients and doctors who broke the rules—their souls are trapped inside the Victor Sanatorium, never to find peace.”

“If you want to know more, I can tell you after we handle this.”

But Ma En didn’t intend to stop there.

“And what about you? What are you?”

That was a good question.

Should she tell Ma En that she belonged to the Eastern Federation Biopharmaceutical Company—the world’s top abnormal drug manufacturer, with shape-shifting corporate spies infiltrating every industry, whose products have directly or indirectly caused countless human tragedies?

Of course not.

Li Fen smiled and said, “I can’t answer that right now, but you’ll know soon enough.”

Once he no longer has any use.