Under Merlin's series of brainwashing, Lin Qiye and Li Yifei both stood frozen in place.
"You mean... the world we live in isn't real?" Lin Qiye's expression was somewhat strange.
"Right!"
"Do you have any evidence?"
"Isn't the sudden appearance of our myths in your world proof enough?"
"..." Lin Qiye rubbed the corner of his eye and suddenly felt that... Merlin's words seemed to make some sense. Lin Xi Chen arched an eyebrow as she listened to Merlin speak, feeling that what he said was both right and wrong.
"But if the world we live in is fake, does that mean we ourselves are fake?" Li Yifei couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, that's right." Merlin nodded matter-of-factly."If that's the case, how could you, a mere illusion, question the reality of the world?" Li Yifei paused. "Just like you said, fish don't question creatures outside the ocean, and two-dimensional beings don't question the world beyond the plane..."
"So, when you begin to question whether this world is real, is your very existence... also real?"
Merlin was struck dumb by Li Yifei's words, frozen in place.
Lin Qiye's gaze towards Li Yifei changed instantly.
"You also know philosophy?" he asked, leaning close to Li Yifei's ear.
"No, I just haven't figured it out yet." Li Yifei scratched his head.
Lin Qiye gave him a meaningful look, then turned to Merlin, "You said you're a scholar searching for the real world, have you found it yet?"
Merlin's eyes lit up again!
"Found it!" he said confidently. "I don't know how long ago, but I used magic to communicate with a mysterious dimension. Although I don't know its exact location, I have a vague premonition that it is the real world!"
"What is that world like?"
"It seems to be underwater, with all sorts of little houses inside—some shaped like pineapples, some like human heads—and shops selling strange foods. There also looks like a strange yellow cube..."
Merlin began to recall what he had seen and heard, his eyes widening as his body began to twitch involuntarily...
Lin Qiye frowned, realizing that things were not so simple, and silently took half a step back with Li Yifei.
"The real world... I saw the real world!!" Merlin excitedly waved his arms and legs wildly, the calm and wisdom in his eyes had long since disappeared, replaced by a strange madness.
His body twisted violently, and after a moment, it turned into a pink starfish.
He reached out and grabbed the staff beside the chair, which transformed into a fishing net. He quickly ran to Lin Qiye's side and began to dance with joy.
"SpongeBob SquarePants!!"
"Let's go catch jellyfish!"
Patrick Merlin circled Lin Qiye a few times, then ran quickly out of the ward with the fishing net in his hand, running around in the courtyard. As he ran, he suddenly jumped up, wildly waving the fishing net in his hand, as if trying to catch something unseen.
Suddenly, he saw Nyx sitting in a rocking chair, lost in thought...
"Plankton! Plankton! You're here too?" Patrick Merlin approached Nyx and asked cheerfully.
Nyx was stunned, staring blankly at the pink, unidentified object, lost in thought...
A moment later, she tremblingly reached out and embraced Patrick Star and Merlin, speaking through tears:
"You...you're also my grandson?!"
"Pitch Black!!"
"My grandson!"
"Pitch Black!!"
"Grandson, Grandma's here!"
"..."
The two people on the second floor witnessed everything...
Lin Qiye: ( ･᷄ὢ･᷅ )?
Li Yifei: ( •︠ˍ•︡ )
Lin Xi Chen:....
"I think I roughly know what's wrong with him..." Lin Qiye silently watched this scene and spoke softly.
"Well..." Li Yifei scratched his head, "Looking at it this way, it's actually kind of strangely touching..."
Lin Qiye pushed up his non-prescription glasses and said in a doctor's tone:
"During the long process of exploration, the 'real world' has become Merlin's inner demon. In order to find it, Merlin has used prophecy and magic countless times. In the end, he created some strange magic circle that connected to the so-called 'real world' and sent his consciousness there..."
"Whether that world was truly the 'real world,' I don't know, but there's no doubt that it had a strange effect on his mental state, ultimately leading to his mental breakdown."
"In other words, Merlin developed multiple personalities, and the other personality became real...? Damn, that's horrifying..." Lin Xi Chen muttered as she watched Nyx and Patrick Merlin playing together.
"What should we do then?" Li Yifei felt a headache coming on.
"...I don't know." Lin Qiye shook his head. After all, he wasn't a real psychiatrist. Although he could deduce the general course of events, he was completely clueless about how to treat it.
Should we go back to Sunshine Mental Hospital and try the same trick again? But it's Chinese New Year now, so the doctors in the psychiatric ward are probably on holiday, right?
Lin Qiye looked down at Merlin, who was jumping around energetically, and sighed slowly.
"He was pretty normal before we talked about the real world, so this is probably just a short-term symptom... Anyway, let's give him some sedatives first and see if he can go back to normal. This is too much of a hassle."
"Who's going?"
"What do you think?"
"..."
A lowly caregiver, exploited by a heartless boss, sighed and walked alone toward the pharmacy.
After a while, Li Yifei, carrying a large syringe, chased after Patrick Star and Merlin, running all over the place, with Nyx close behind, shouting:
"Xiao Fei! That's your brother, you can't be so cruel!"
The three chased each other around the yard for a while, and Li Yifei finally managed to inject the sedative into Merlin's body. Merlin immediately calmed down, turned back into human form, swayed around on the road for a while, and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Li Yifei was also exhausted and sat on the ground, panting heavily.
"This job... is fucking exhausting!"
Lin Qiye stepped forward and checked Merlin's condition. He found that Merlin was only a little confused, which was probably a sequela of the confusion he had just experienced. He was not seriously injured.
Although Merlin's condition is serious, it won't last long. At least when the real world isn't mentioned, he can still communicate normally, so there's no need to worry too much. The main issue now is to think of a treatment method.
He patted Li Yifei on the shoulder, "Take good care of them, I'm leaving now."
Then, under Li Yifei's resentful gaze, Lin Qiye disappeared behind the hospital door.
...
Early morning.
Lin Qiye slowly woke up from the bed and looked out the window. He didn't know when, but the outside world was covered in a silvery white.
"Did it snow that heavily last night?" Lin Qiye muttered to himself, walked to the window, and stood gazing into the distance.The streets outside were already covered in white, and large snowflakes were slowly falling from the sky, condensing on the edges of the windows and gradually melting away.
Such heavy snow is rare in Cangnan.
Just as Lin Qiye was about to go wash up, he suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at the corner of the house, letting out a soft "hmm".
In the corner, a small gray mouse lay quietly, motionless.