The 18th floor had nothing special about it. There were no dim corridors, no flickering lights. It looked clean and bright, just like any hospital.
Sunlight filtered through the long hallway, bringing up the white curtains by the windows, making it feel warm and peaceful.
But Zheng Wei dared not relax in the slightest. Perhaps it was his preconceived notions playing tricks on him, but this ordinary hospital corridor gave him an ominous feeling.
Zheng Wei checked the screen in his mind and found that he only had 11 minutes and 2 seconds left.
The decreasing time made Zheng Wei very nervous, and he felt his palms begin to sweat. He clicked his tongue, ran his hand through his hair, and headed toward the location marked on the map.
Rooms in the St. Philip’s Mental Hospital housing patients with violent tendencies and self-harm tendencies all had a small glass window with a curtain, making it convenient for doctors to check on these patients’ safety at any time.
Although Julian Cole showed no signs of violence, because of his special status, there was also a small window on his room door.
The small window had a curtain on both the outside and inside, with the outside made of opaque canvas and the inside made of semi-transparent white gauze. This design was meant to protect the patient’s privacy while ensuring their safety.
There was no one in front of Julian Cole’s room. There weren’t many people on the entire 18th floor, besides Julian, there were only the director and two famous professors.
Zheng Wei stood in front of Room 3, staring at the small canvas, hesitating whether or not to lift it. What kind of person was a serial killer who could kill 13 people at the age of six? This made Zheng Wei both curious and fearful.
He stood in front of the door for a while but ultimately reached out his hand to the blue curtain.
“Hey, who are you? What do you want?” Just as Zheng Wei was about to lift the curtain, a voice stopped him.
Zheng Wei quickly retracted his hand and turned to look at the person who had just arrived. It was an old man in a police uniform with white hair, who had a similar build to Andrew from earlier.
Due to Julian’s special status, since the day he arrived at St. Philip’s Hospital, the local police station has dispatched two officers to be stationed at the hospital to guard him. However, later on, due to Julian’s harmless behavior and the shortage of police manpower, the two officers became one, and those sent were all old police officers who were ready to retire.
“Oh, officer, I’m a doctor from St. Philip’s Hospital, I came here to…” Zheng Wei looked at the suddenly appearing officer and explained stutteringly.
The system had already told Zheng Wei about this situation, and he had prepared a cover story, but this was his first time lying to a police officer, and Zheng Wei inevitably stumbled.
“Enough, shut your mouth, I know what you’re here for.” The old police officer walked over with fierce momentum as if he was going to arrest Zheng Wei. Zheng Wei couldn’t help but take a step back.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen a lot of young people like you sneaking around, all wanting to come and see the ‘devil’s son’ Julian Cole.” The chubby police officer walked up to Zheng Wei and stared at him as he spoke.
Zheng Wei tightly pursed his lips, not knowing how to respond. In a way, what the officer said was not wrong.
“Hey hey, you’re new here, aren’t you?” Just as Zheng Wei was wondering whether to run away, the police officer suddenly changed his attitude.
He patted Zheng Wei’s shoulder and smiled, “I know all the doctors in this hospital, you know why?”
Zheng Wei was confused by his attitude and shook his head blankly.
“Because every one of you doctors, the first thing you do when you come here is to come over and see Julian Cole, without exception. Yesterday I heard that a new doctor had arrived at the hospital, and I was wondering when you would come over. It seems you’re more patient than I imagined. I thought you would come over last night.”
Zheng Wei looked at the smiling fat police officer and thought to himself, “Officer, you’re not wrong. I did come up here as soon as I arrived.”
“Hello, little Easterner, you can call me Old John. I’m a police officer. What about you, what’s your name?” This police officer not only had a physique like Dr. Andrew but also a similar personality, very enthusiastic.
“Hello, Officer John.” Zheng Wei smiled awkwardly. “I’m a new doctor, you can call me Zheng.”
“Okay, Zheng.” Old John sat down on the bench.
“Tell me, what are you here for?”
Zheng Wei thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth, “Just like you said, I want to meet the famous Julian Cole.”
“Hahaha, everyone wants to meet little Julian.” Old John laughed and said, “I mean, why do you want to see him? To study his mind? You doctors all like to do that.”
“No, just want to take a look. I’m not curious about his mental state, just curious about him as a person.” Zheng Wei spoke truthfully. He didn’t have the ability to study someone’s mind. He just came to see what Julian was doing and keep an eye on him to prevent him from killing anyone.
“Oh, that’s strange.” Hearing what Zheng Wei said, Old John scratched his head.
“Are you a so-called ‘devil worshipper’?” As he spoke, Old John’s eyes changed, showing a mix of curiosity and caution.
“I know some people have established a religion around that guy, and some even want to marry him or sacrifice for him. Tsk tsk, people these days.”
“No, I don’t worship any demons or deities.” Zheng Wei quickly shook his head. “I’m an atheist.”
Although Zheng Wei’s current situation could be described as unreal, he still didn’t believe in ghosts and gods.
“Oh, you little easterner.” Old John looked disapprovingly at Zheng Wei after hearing his answer. He said, “I know, easterners, and doctors like you, don’t believe in the existence of gods. But let me tell you, that’s wrong.”
