Merlin slowly opened his eyes on the folding bed in the activity room.
The effects of the sedative used by the gods seem to be different from those used by humans. It lasted only a short time on Merlin, but it was effective in suppressing his "madness".
Now, there was no trace of turbidity or confusion in Merlin's eyes.
He sat up and turned to look at the small table to the side. There he saw Lin Qiye, wearing a white coat, sitting there with a glass in his hand, smiling slightly at Merlin.
"Good evening, Your Excellency Merlin."
"Good evening, Dean Lin." Merlin got out of bed and sat down in the chair opposite Lin Qiye. He looked at Lin Qiye and raised his eyebrows.
"It seems the crisis around you has been resolved."
Lin Qiye asked in surprise, "You noticed again?"
Merlin smiled but didn't say anything.
"Could you please tell me what my fortune will be like in the coming period?"
Merlin's deep gaze flickered slightly, and he shook his head. "The future is hard to predict, but at least for the next few days, your luck has been pretty good."
Lin Qiye nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Lord Merlin, how much do you remember about what just happened?"
"What just happened?"
"What happened before you woke up."
Merlin hesitated for a moment, then spoke somewhat uncertainly, "I remember, I think I was thinking about something in my room, and then... I can't remember anything else."
Lin Qiye nodded, lost in thought. In other words, when Merlin lost control and turned into a pink starfish, his own consciousness was in a coma...
Hmm? That's not right.
So when he transforms into a starfish and runs around the yard trying to catch jellyfish, what controls his body? A second personality? Or his subconscious?
But... would Merlin, such a highly respected sage, really have such an outrageous subconscious?Furthermore, after he turned into a starfish, the names he called out were all quite strange: SpongeBob? Squidward? Plankton? Would a normal human really call out such strange names?
Or is it that... these people really exist in certain places? And how did the consciousness controlling Merlin's body know this?
Lin Qiye shook his head, clearing his mind of the jumbled thoughts, and took out a few pills from the pocket of his white coat, placing them on the table.
"This is...?" Merlin's eyes showed confusion.
"Medicine," Lin Qiye said calmly, "may be of some help to your condition."
Merlin shook his head. "I told you, I'm not sick."
"But the fact is, you do have it," Lin Qiye said in an undeniable tone, pushing a glass full of water towards Merlin. "Lord Merlin, please take these medicines first, then we can continue with the next part."
These medications were the same ones prescribed to Instructor Gu by the doctor at the mental hospital. The "divine version" could be easily found in the pharmacy of the Gods Mental Hospital. Instructor Gu proved through practice that this medication was very effective for his condition.
Merlin frowned as he looked at Lin Qiye, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, he sighed helplessly and swallowed the medicine on the table in one gulp.
"Is it okay now?" Merlin shrugged.
Lin Qiye glanced at the treatment progress bar above Merlin's head, which was still at 0%. However, this was not surprising, as he had just taken the medicine and there was no way it would take effect immediately.
"Lord Merlin, I've come to discuss some matters with you."
"Oh?" Merlin seemed somewhat surprised.
"Regarding what you said earlier about the 'real world,' I have some other thoughts."
Upon hearing the words "real world," Merlin's expression clearly became excited, and his eyes shone with a different kind of brilliance.
"What's your opinion?"
Lin Qiye took a deep breath. "I believe that the world we live in is 'real'."
Merlin asked curiously, "Why?"
"Because I feel it's real, it is real."
Merlin frowned slightly and shook his head. "That's idealism."
"So what if it's idealism?" Lin Qiye smiled. "In this world, there are my relatives, my friends, and countless other people with flesh and blood. Even if this world is fake, does that mean they are all fake?"
"Does the world become an illusion, rendering their lives and joys and sorrows unimportant?"
"If one day you kill everyone in a city, and you look at the ravaged land, the wailing cries of the masses, and your own family members who have perished, can you comfort yourself by saying, 'They were just an illusion; it doesn't matter if they die'?"
Lin Qiye stood up, stared into Merlin's eyes, and spoke slowly and deliberately:
"Whether the world is real or not is inherently a subjective question. If you think it's real, then it's real; if you think it's fake... well, even if it is real, so what?"
Merlin stared blankly at Lin Qiye, remaining silent.
"You want to pursue truth, which is your instinct as a seeker of knowledge, but I feel that it shouldn't be your everything..."
"Even if you find the real world, it doesn't mean you belong there. Even if you don't find the real world... you still have us, and this vast world that belongs to us."
"You're pushing yourself too hard, Lord Merlin."
After Lin Qiye finished speaking, seeing that Merlin was completely lost in thought, he quietly left the room and took a deep breath in the corridor...
"I must say, the doctor who treated Instructor Gu is truly skilled... These aren't words an ordinary person would say. Next time I see Instructor Gu, I'll have to get his contact information..."
Lin Qiye muttered to himself, then turned and walked out of the corridor.
He has said everything he needed to say, and he has given Merlin all the medicine he needed to take. Whether it will be effective or not depends on Merlin's own understanding...
Lin Qiye had just stepped into the courtyard and was about to say something to Li Yifei when a line of small print appeared before his eyes.
"Merlin's treatment progress: 2%
The reward acquisition conditions have been met. Merlin's divine abilities will now be randomly drawn..."
Lin Qiye's eyes lit up, and he was immediately excited.
It's here! It's finally here!
The familiar virtual roulette wheel reappeared before Lin Qiye's eyes, and the list of divine abilities depicted on it also dazzled his eyes.
"Mastery of Fire Magic, Mastery of Lightning Magic, Mastery of Polymorph Magic, Mastery of Spatial Magic, Eye of Wisdom, Mastery of Dark Magic, Mastery of Abyss Magic, Prophecy, Astrology..."
Similarly, on this turntable, there is a black area that covers less than 1% of the surface, the meaning of which is unknown.
Looking around, the vast majority of the abilities were related to magic, while the others were related to wisdom and prophecy. This relieved Lin Qiye.
At least, he wouldn't draw a frustrating ability like "Extraordinary Fertility."
Immediately afterwards, the virtual turntable began to spin rapidly...