North Shore of Conquest Sea, Varna.
In the northern suburbs of the small coastal City of Varna, Dorothy, who was sightseeing, was preparing to return to the City when she discovered a large walled courtyard at the foot of a hill. With Dorothy's keen observation, she noticed that the iron frame on the large iron gate of this courtyard had some issues.
From the comparison between the inside of the screw holes on the iron frame and the cleanliness of the iron frame itself, Dorothy judged that there should have been a sign hanging on the iron frame not long ago, but it had been temporarily removed recently. This situation made Dorothy curious, so she controlled a Corpse Puppet to enter the buildings within the courtyard for a simple look around, but the result of the inspection confirmed Dorothy's surprise.
Through the text posted on the pillars inside the building, Dorothy learned what this courtyard was. This was the North Gang Mental Hospital, the second mental hospital Dorothy had encountered in Navaja.
Just yesterday, after Dorothy dealt with Massimo, on her way back to the City from the seaside, she encountered an Ansica Mental Hospital. At that time, Dorothy, upon seeing that mental hospital, had sighed that the scenery there was good, which was beneficial for the recovery of mental patients. However, she did not expect that only a day later, she encountered a second mental hospital on the outskirts of this City.
On the quiet road below the hill, after Dorothy and the family Corpse Puppet stood in front of this new mental hospital for a while, Dorothy continued walking forward without much delay, heading towards the City. However, her expression had changed from relaxed to slightly solemn.
'Varna... From the results of my overlooking the City from the hill just now, the size of this City shouldn't be too large. It can't even compare to Igwinte. It's questionable whether the entire City has a population of 100,000. Does a City of this size need two mental hospitals?'
Walking on the road, Dorothy thought this in her heart. In her impression, even Igwinte didn't seem to have a dedicated mental hospital. It was a bit strange that this City actually had two.
'Moreover, the sign of this North Gang Mental Hospital just now seemed to have been removed not long ago... So, what could be the reason that caused them to temporarily remove the sign? Was it broken and needed to be replaced? Or was it some other reason?'
With a hint of doubt, Dorothy, walking on the road, controlled the small Corpse Puppet still inside the mental hospital to begin a simple reconnaissance. In the initial reconnaissance, Dorothy found that although the doors and windows of the North Gang Mental Hospital were closed, it was still in operation.
Using the small Corpse Puppet's vision, Dorothy saw many patients wearing patient clothes in the wards on both sides of the long corridor. They were male and female, old and young, all thin and haggard. Everyone was either lying on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling or sitting by the window staring foolishly out of the window. Everyone had big dark circles under their eyes.
Dorothy quickly scanned several buildings in the courtyard using the small Corpse Puppet and found that there were about forty to fifty patients here. Everyone's expression looked dull and lifeless. All the patients had very heavy dark circles, as if they hadn't slept well for several days. All the patients were very listlessly lying, sitting, or climbing. Although this mental hospital had a spacious courtyard, not a single patient chose to go outside to move around. They all stayed in their wards.
There were over a dozen staff members in the entire mental hospital. Under Dorothy's observation, they were very diligently taking care of the patients, helping them eat and wash their bodies. Some patients would occasionally scream hysterically, and they would immediately go over and restrain them.
Dorothy returned to the City while observing the situation of the mental hospital with the Corpse Puppet. After observing in various places for more than an hour, she did not find anything overly abnormal about this mental hospital. She overheard the conversations of the caregivers here and found that they seemed to be just ordinary people living in Varna, talking about work and life's trivial matters, and had nothing to do with secrets. There were no extraordinary traces in the entire mental hospital.
If there was anything abnormal about this mental hospital, it was that the symptoms of the patients here were too similar. In Dorothy's opinion, the symptoms of mental patients should be varied and strange, and there should be all sorts of manifestations. However, the patients here were relatively strange. Everyone looked like they had neurasthenia and senile dementia, and they all had dark circles under their eyes, as if they hadn't slept well.
If one or two patients had these symptoms, that would be understandable, but if all the patients in the entire mental hospital were like this, then it was a bit strange.
'Could it be that the people in this City are uniformly suffering from the same mental illness...'
After roughly inspecting the entire North Gang Mental Hospital, Dorothy thought this in her heart. If the symptoms of the patients here were more diverse, Dorothy might have thought there was no problem here, but the key was that the patients here gave Dorothy the feeling that they were suffering from the same mental illness.
And mental illness is not a contagious disease, so how could there be batches and batches of identical conditions?
For a moment, Dorothy felt doubtful. With this doubt, she continued to observe this mental hospital for another two hours, but still couldn't obtain more useful information. However, Dorothy learned from the staff's conversation how the sign at the entrance was removed. According to them, the municipality was undergoing some beautification projects and required the sign to be replaced. The time it was removed was yesterday afternoon, and the new sign had not yet been delivered.
After failing to obtain more information, Dorothy withdrew the small Corpse Puppets scattered throughout the North Gang Mental Hospital. After recovering them, she continued to rush to the City. At this moment, the sky had gradually darkened, and the new night was approaching.
After returning to the City, Dorothy quickly found a seemingly good restaurant. After ordering some local specialties, she slowly began to have dinner.
'The mental hospital during the day, although it looked fine overall, the almost identical symptoms of the patients there are still a bit concerning. Is this kind of mental illness prevalent in this City?'
Sitting at the dining table, Dorothy gnawed on Castile ham while thinking about what happened during the day. Due to her long-term involvement in the secret world, she was extremely sensitive to such suspicious points.
With doubt in her heart, Dorothy decided to ask. While eating, she also controlled the Corpse Puppets that had been sent out during the day to look for the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild to return. Although these Corpse Puppets failed to find the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild, they could now help Dorothy inquire about the mental hospitals.
Thus, under Dorothy's control, several Corpse Puppets began to chat with the surrounding Navaja residents under various pretexts, and intentionally or unintentionally inquired about matters related to mental hospitals during the conversation.
After some inquiries, Dorothy learned some slightly valuable information from a snack stall owner.
"Ah? Guest, you're asking me about those mental hospitals outside the City?"
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"Yes... When I was walking outside the City yesterday, I saw that this City actually has two mental hospitals, and I felt it was a bit strange. I am from Faloro, and my hometown is about the same size as this City, but there isn't a single mental hospital. So I'm very curious why there are so many as two here? Could it be that mental patients from other cities are sent here for treatment?"
At the entrance of a small alley, under Dorothy's control, the traveler Corpse Puppet licked a round candy slice he had just bought while talking to the stall owner who sold him the candy slice. The stall owner also pondered and replied after listening.
"Hmm... It's rare that you've visited so many places on your first day after getting off the boat, but actually, you're a bit mistaken, Guest. We don't just have two mental hospitals in this City, but three, and these mental hospitals are not for receiving patients from outside. The patients inside are mainly from our own Navaja."
"Three mental hospitals, and all the patients inside are from Navaja? How... is it easy for people in this City to develop mental illness?" Listening to the stall owner's words, the traveler Corpse Puppet controlled by Dorothy spoke unexpectedly, and the stall owner also nodded silently.
"Yes... In our City, from time to time, someone in some family will suddenly become very dull and strange. A person who was originally very normal will suddenly become silly and dazed, occasionally going crazy and shouting loudly, especially after dark when they are very restless and completely unable to rest, making it impossible for people to sleep well...
"According to the old people in the City, this is a unique illness in our area called'Sleeping Sickness'. It has occasionally occurred since a long time ago, so everyone is used to it. If someone in a family gets this illness, they can only consider themselves unlucky."
"Sleeping Sickness? So this illness has been here for a long time?"
"Yes, but in the past, not many people got this illness. It wasn't even one a year. But I don't know if it's because the population has increased or for some other reason, but in the past seven or eight years, the number of people in the City who get this Sleeping Sickness has slowly increased. Because of the increase in patients, the City specially built mental hospitals to accommodate the patients, one, two, three. Because the number of patients is increasing, we have built three mental hospitals in the past seven or eight years alone. There are many whole families who have gone in together, which looks quite scary. Some young people who feel scared have run away to Truva."
The stall owner said to the traveler Corpse Puppet with a sigh. After listening to the stall owner's words, the traveler Corpse Puppet nodded and then gave the other party a few more coins.
"Thank you for your answer, Mr.. Please have another slice."
Out of the idea of taking care of the source of information's business, Dorothy had the traveler Corpse Puppet ask for another candy slice. After the stall owner received the money that was handed over, he also smiled and took out a new candy slice. After the traveler Corpse Puppet took it and looked at it, he found that it was a crescent-shaped candy slice.
"Wish you a good dream, Guest."
"Good dream? Heh, what a strange way of blessing."
"Haha, it's just our local custom. When eating this moon candy slice, we always say this. When I was little and wanted to ask my parents for this moon candy slice, I always said 'I want a good dream, I want a good dream'."
The stall owner continued to explain to the traveler Corpse Puppet. After listening to the traveler Corpse Puppet's words, the traveler Corpse Puppet couldn't help but examine the crescent candy slice in his hand, and then murmured.
"A good dream?"
After inquiring about the mental hospital from the citizens, Dorothy began to recall all the Corpse Puppets. Dorothy, who was having dinner, couldn't help but frown while thinking about what she had encountered since coming to Navaja.
'Sleeping Sickness? Listening to this uncle... This mental illness seems to have existed in this City for a long time. It is a disease that local residents are very familiar with, but in the past seven or eight years or so, the incidence of this disease has suddenly increased. In order to cope with the rapidly increasing number of patients, so many mental hospitals have been built one after another...
'Tsk... I always feel like... something unusual is hidden behind this...'
Finishing the Castile sausage in her hand, Dorothy thought seriously in her heart.
...
Evening, somewhere in Navaja.
In an ordinary living room, a slightly plump woman in her forties, wearing a black robe, was sitting on a single sofa, looking forward with a solemn expression. On the carpet in front of her, a man in his thirties, wearing a well-fitting suit, was standing. Facing this man, the woman spoke.
"What's the situation now? Gómez, have you found out the intentions of the Church fleet? Are they really just here to drop people off?"
"Ms. Garcia, according to our investigation, this Church fleet is an escort fleet. The reason they came to Varna should indeed be a temporary decision. They encountered another ship sinking at sea, rescued a group of people, and then brought them here to the nearest location. They should purely be here to drop people off and are not involved in any other extraordinary matters. They shouldn't have noticed anything about us or this City."
The man called Gómez respectfully responded to the woman named Garcia, and Garcia paused slightly after listening, then continued to speak.
"Temporary decision... purely here to drop people off... not involved in any extraordinary matters? Hmph, if that's really the case, then what was that noise at the port that afternoon they arrived? What was that noise on the Barren Stone Beach? If they were just dropping people off... this shouldn't have happened."
Garcia said this with a cold snort. At this moment, her expression showed a deep distrust.