"Not a single one will escape?"
"..."
The soldiers, Li Qingping, and the others all felt a sudden chill. For some reason, the conference room suddenly felt a bit cold.
"Um... what does this examination entail?" Li Qingping glanced at Gao Neng, pinned firmly to the floor, thought for a moment, and decided to ask.
"It's very simple. I'll ask a question. As long as they can answer it, they don't have any mental problems. If they can't, then they definitely have mental problems," Wang ChaCha explained with a smile.
"Just one question?" Li Qingping asked, a little surprised.
"Is Principal Li questioning me, Wang ChaCha?" Wang ChaCha's brow furrowed in displeasure. "I may spend most of my time performing surgery at the military hospital, but I have a senior colleague who has been a doctor in a psychiatric hospital for over forty years!"
"Doctor Wang, you misunderstand. That's not what I meant..." Li Qingping, feeling he might have been overly suspicious, hurriedly explained.
"There's no misunderstanding. This is what you call professionalism!" Wang ChaCha cut Li Qingping off and continued, "From a professional standpoint, 30% of the people in this world are mentally ill. The only difference is the severity. However, as mentally ill people, they all share two common traits. There's no escaping that!"
"Oh? Please elaborate, Doctor Wang!" Li Qingping's eyes lit up slightly.
"First, they will never admit they are mentally ill. Second, they will think everyone else is mentally ill!" Wang ChaCha said with conviction.
"Hmm... that makes sense. In my time, I've also met some mentally ill patients. They never admit it, and they do indeed think others are the crazy ones. It seems Doctor Wang is truly a professional." Lieutenant Chen immediately chimed in. He then looked around and added, "We lack a controlled medical environment here, so it's indeed difficult to test a person's brain. In that case, please begin, Doctor Wang."
Li Qingping looked at Wang ChaCha, then at the conference room's environment. He wanted to ask something more, but ultimately kept quiet, merely waving a hand at Zhang Dafan.
"Release Gao Neng. Let him answer the question."
"Okay, sure... Gao Neng, are you all right?" Although Zhang Dafan was still a little worried, he figured if Gao Neng really did have a mental problem, then early treatment would certainly be a good thing.
"A moment ago, it felt like a rock was crushing my chest, and my head was spinning. I'm much better now..." Gao Neng replied as soon as his mouth was freed.
"Oh, that's good. Doctor Wang is a medic from the Military Department. He's going to conduct a psychological test on you now. You have to answer his questions properly, understand?"
"Understood," Gao Neng nodded.
"Then please begin the test, Doctor Wang." Seeing that Gao Neng could indeed answer his questions clearly, Zhang Dafan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
'Looks like he's recovered, right?'
...
Gao Neng was released.
He didn't continue to act crazy...
Because a thought had suddenly struck him. 'If I'm really diagnosed as mentally ill, perhaps that could be a way to escape, right?'
'But if that happens, won't I be locked up in a psychiatric hospital?'
That led to another problem...
'How would I escape from a psychiatric hospital?'
He still had a mission with only a three-day time limit, and half a day was already gone. 'Time is really tight.'
'No, I can't be diagnosed as mentally ill.'
'But if I'm not mentally ill, won't what I shouted earlier—"I'm the real culprit who did in Shen Ning'Er, what can you do to me!"—be taken as the truth?'
'What a dilemma!'
'Right, I could pretend to have intermittent psychological breakdowns. I could even feign complete amnesia about that moment. I just wonder if anyone would believe me?' Gao Neng made up his mind.
Seeing that Gao Neng, Tang Weiwei, and Ah Si had no objections, Wang ChaCha called the three of them over and had them stand in a line.
"I'm going to ask you one question. All three of you can answer, understand?" Wang ChaCha put on a kind and amiable expression.
"Mhm," Gao Neng nodded.
"..." Tang Weiwei and Ah Si glanced at each other, then also nodded.
"Good. My question is very simple. Imagine the three of you are being hunted by an Assassin. You escape into a bathroom, where you find a bathtub full of water. The only escape route is underneath the bathtub, but time is extremely tight. You can only access the escape route by completely emptying the tub."
"..." Tang Weiwei and Ah Si listened to Wang ChaCha's question, their faces tense.
"Alright, here's the actual question. Beside the tub, there's a basin and a spoon. You must make the correct choice. That's it. So, you three, who wants to answer first?" Wang ChaCha said with a smile, looking at them.
"I'll go first! I choose the basin!" Tang Weiwei immediately piped up. 'Isn't this question a little too simple? Anyone who isn't a complete idiot knows a basin is bigger than a spoon.'
"Is that your final answer?" Wang ChaCha's eyes narrowed.
"Yes, that's my final answer," Tang Weiwei said with certainty.
"Diagnosis: you are mentally ill!" Wang ChaCha's friendly tone suddenly changed. He looked extremely excited, like a predator that had just spotted its prey.
"..."
Everyone in the room was stunned for a moment.
Tang Weiwei, in particular, was dumbfounded for a good five or six seconds before he came to his senses.
"NO!!! I'm not mentally ill! I'm not mentally ill! You quack! Who sent you? Dad, save me! Quick, tell them I'm not mentally ill!" Tang Weiwei screamed.
"You see? The symptoms are showing. Every mentally ill person will deny that they're mentally ill. Wasn't I right?" Wang ChaCha looked around, a smug "I told you so" expression on his face.
"..." Li Qingping and Zhang Dafan exchanged a look.
"..." Qin Tianxiong and Lieutenant Chen exchanged a look.
Both pairs chose to remain silent.
"Alright, next. Which of you two will answer?" Unfazed by their silence, Wang ChaCha's gaze shifted to Ah Si and Gao Neng.
"Me! I'll answer! I choose... the spoon?" Ah Si nervously cut in, then hesitated for a moment before giving his answer.
"Are you sure?" Wang ChaCha's eyes narrowed again.
"Y-Yes, I'm sure!" Ah Si took a deep breath and affirmed his choice.
"Diagnosis: you are mentally ill!" Wang ChaCha's expression shifted once more. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the thrill of finding his prey. If Qin Tianxiong, Lieutenant Chen, Li Qingping, and the others hadn't been there, no one would have doubted that Wang ChaCha might break into a celebratory dance.
"NO!!! I'm not mentally ill! You just said the person who chose the basin was mentally ill, and now you're saying the person who chose the spoon is mentally ill too! You're the one who's mentally ill! You're the mentally ill one!" Ah Si immediately retorted furiously.
"Hahaha, I was right again! The second trait of the mentally ill: they won't admit they're ill, and they'll call others ill instead. Am I right or am I right?" Wang ChaCha grew even more excited. Having found two mentally ill people at once, he increasingly felt that he had a truly discerning eye.