"Hey, Silas!"
Basking in the sunlight, just as Silas was about to reflect on what had just happened, he heard Rosanne's voice calling from the front desk.
She was leaning forward over the counter, waving at him.
"What's up?"
Silas walked over and asked.
"The captain had to step out.
Before he left, he told me to remind you to get that psychiatric evaluation certificate done as soon as possible.
It'd be best if you finish it before the welcoming dinner for new members."
"Oh, right, I forgot about that."
Silas suddenly remembered.
So many things had happened since joining the team that this had completely slipped his mind.
The welcoming dinner was on Friday night, and today was already Wednesday. He didn't have much time left.
"Got it. I'll head to the asylum tomorrow then."
Silas casually agreed.
At that moment, he noticed Rosanne's expression was strange, as if she had something to say but was holding it back uncomfortably.
"What is it?"
"Silas, I heard that Old Neil gave you his property. Is that true or false?"
Rosanne's eyes gleamed with gossip.
"You already know about that, huh?"
Silas couldn't help but chuckle. Rosanne's information network was impressively efficient.
"Wow, that must be worth a huge sum of money!"
Rosanne had actually been quite intimidated by him at first, but after getting to know him better over the past few weeks, she'd gradually loosened up.
Hearing Silas confirm it, she immediately showed an envious expression.
"That's so nice. If I had that kind of money, I'd invest it and definitely make a fortune."
"Invest?"
"Yeah! Look, it says in the newspaper that they've discovered a massive iron mine in the Hornacis mountain range.
They're planning to establish a company to develop it and are recruiting investors to buy shares.
The return rate is supposedly really high." As Rosanne spoke, she handed him a copy of the Tingen City Honest Man Gazette. "Don't you want to consider it? Make your money work for you?"
Thanks to Roselle, the concept of "stocks" had also become widespread in this world.
Many companies used this method to rapidly raise capital. Some investors made fortunes, but there were also cases of people losing everything.
Silas glanced through it briefly. The newspaper's description matched what Rosanne had said.
In addition, the advertisement included a photo of the mine site and a portrait of the mining company's director.
He was a young man with a full forehead and black hair. His appearance was ordinary, he wore glasses, and his smile looked quite enthusiastic.
"I think I'll pass."
Silas smiled and shook his head. "Investing has risks. I'd rather just lie back and collect rent."
***
The next day.
Silas raised his head, his expression complicated as he looked at the building before him.
A wall twice a person's height enclosed a large area. Through the iron gate, he could see the lawn and activity square inside, and beyond that, a three-story building.
People in hospital gowns were scattered about. Some stood vacant and dazed, some were quiet and withdrawn, some screamed and giggled. The scene was both lively and eerie.
Many doctors and nurses moved among them, looking exhausted and appearing less healthy than the patients themselves.
This was the Greenhill Mental Sanatorium, commonly known as the Tingen City Asylum.
"How nice. It's like coming home."
He laughed self-deprecatingly.
Reviewing the memories of the original Silas, he recalled many visits to this place.
His parents' strained faces as they spent considerable money, his sister's tearful face after being frightened by the lunatics in the courtyard, and himself, locked tight in a straitjacket, being force-fed various medications.
Later, when there was simply no therapeutic effect, his parents had reluctantly given up on treatment and stopped coming here.
So when Silas said visiting the asylum was "like coming home," it wasn't entirely wrong.
"Silas, don't say things like that!" Cecilia, who had come along with him, immediately interrupted. "You're a healthy, normal person, not a lunatic!"
"Okay, okay, I'm normal." Silas comforted his sister. "Aren't we just going to have a doctor confirm that I'm normal?"
Cecilia said nothing more but wrapped her arms around his, following him as they crossed through the iron gate into the asylum.
Silas could feel her hands trembling slightly. She was still afraid of crazy people, just like when she was little.
"Do you want to wait outside?"
He asked quietly.
Cecilia shook her head.
Earlier at home, when she'd learned Silas was going to the asylum, she'd insisted on coming along no matter what. Silas could understand his sister's feelings.
She was probably worried something might happen to him. He'd finally recovered, but what if going to such an unlucky place caused him to relapse after being provoked by another patient or a doctor?
It was this kind of worry, unscientific but stemming from genuine concern deep in her heart.
Silas could only grip his sister's hand and walk toward the dark treatment building, just as the young Silas used to hold Cecilia's hand when crossing the street.
Cecilia gradually stopped trembling.
The lunatics were making noise around them, crying and shouting, yet Silas felt very peaceful inside.
Entering the treatment building, after explaining their purpose to the nurse at the entrance, the latter showed obvious surprise.
After checking the medical records and confirming that Silas truly was a patient, her astonishment deepened even further.
"Could you please take us to see Dr. Chris Wilder? He was my attending physician back then."
Silas said.
"Ah, yes! Dr. Wilder is in his office on the third floor. Go up these stairs, turn left, first door."
Under his gaze, the nurse pointed out the way somewhat flustered.
Silas had thought the nurse's attitude was already quite excessive, but he didn't expect Dr. Wilder's reaction to be even more dramatic.
After completing the full examination and setting down his measuring instrument, he looked utterly shocked.
"All indicators are completely normal! How... how did you manage this?"
By dying once.
"I had an accident, went through some things. After I survived, my mental illness was cured."
Silas brushed it off casually.
"Mr. Londor, please be serious. Your case could potentially become a new method for treating mental illness."
Wilder was somewhat angry.
"Please don't be angry, Dr. Wilder. My recovery from mental illness was purely a coincidence.
It can't be replicated in others, and the specific reasons involve official secrets, so please forgive me for not being able to tell you." Silas said.
"Just hurry up and write me that certificate of recovery. I need to get home."
"Home? You can't go home tonight."
Unexpectedly, Wilder flatly refused the request.
"Why not?"
Silas almost suspected he'd misheard. Beside him, Cecilia immediately became agitated. "My brother is fine now, and you still want to keep him here?!"
"Please don't misunderstand, Miss Londor."
Dr. Wilder explained. "Your brother's current condition is indeed normal, but he's had episodes of relapse in the past.
As the final part of the examination, I need to observe him for one night to see if he'll have an episode. This is my responsibility as a doctor."
Cecilia glared at him. "What if we refuse to stay?"
"I'm very sorry, but then I won't be able to sign the certificate. I must be responsible for my patient.
Please understand, I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. If you're dissatisfied with me, you can come back the day after tomorrow.
By then, other doctors qualified to issue certificates will be on duty, and you can ask them to sign.
But if you're asking me, you must pass my complete testing protocol."
Wilder made it very clear: either stay in the hospital for one night, or wait until the day after tomorrow to find another doctor with less stringent requirements.
What should he do?
Silas fell into hesitation for a moment.