“So that’s how it is…” After hearing Doctor Yuan's answer, Feng Bujue wasn't too surprised; he calmly continued, “Then, may I ask… who pays for my medical expenses?”

“Heh…” Doctor Yuan couldn’t help but laugh at this question. “Well… you can rest assured about that. For cases like yours, the state will take care of you for life, consider it an investment for research.”

“Oh…” Feng Bujue pondered for a moment, then asked, “If it’s convenient, could you also tell me if anyone has visited me over the years? Parents, of course, and classmates, friends…”

“Number 3232.” Doctor Yuan's expression instantly turned cold. He didn’t wait for Jue-ge to finish before interjecting, “This isn’t the first time I’ve told you this, but I don’t mind repeating it—your parents died in a car accident several years ago; even before their deaths, they never came to visit you because… they were also among the victims of the assault you committed when you were ten. After that case, your mother permanently lost the sight in her right eye and the hearing in her right ear. She also underwent psychological counseling for a long time to recover from the shadow you cast; of course, compared to the other victims, your parents were considered lucky…”

At this point, Doctor Yuan straightened his back, leaned back in his chair, and placed his elbows on the armrests, interlacing his fingers in front of his chest: “…Therefore, it’s impossible for them to visit you. As for ‘friends,’ ‘classmates’… ha…” He sneered, “3232, if you were a parent or teacher, would you let your child have any further contact with a child who was locked up in a mental hospital for serious violent crimes before the age of ten?”

“Understood.” Feng Bujue nodded and murmured, “So, the person who has had the most contact with me over the years should be you, Doctor?”

“Hmph… I don’t have that honor.” Doctor Yuan immediately denied Jue-ge’s deduction with a sarcastic tone, adding, “This mental hospital is established by the state specifically to house incurable super-lunatics like you. To avoid mentally unstable staff from being affected by you ‘patients’…” He even raised his hands to make quotation marks as he said “patients,” “…all positions here are rotated regularly. In simple terms… I only work here for two months each year, and I’m only responsible for two of your twelve regular check-ups each year; but… I am very familiar with your examination reports from the past dozen years…” He smiled, “In fact, your examination reports are quite famous here. The doctors who have read them all say… if they could be adapted into a novel and published, it would definitely be a bestseller.”

“Is that so…” Feng Bujue also smiled, “Then why hasn’t anyone done that? Is it inconvenient to put a name on it? Or are there any disputes regarding copyright?”

“It’s nothing like that.” Doctor Yuan said, “It’s simply because we have regulations that prohibit us from spreading information about patients or the internal workings of the hospital…”

“I thought you were concerned about doctor-patient confidentiality agreements and basic professional ethics.” Feng Bujue replied.

“Are you kidding me?” Doctor Yuan replied with a fake smile, “You, who lack even the most basic humanity and rationality, are talking to me about professional ethics?”

“Judging from your tone, the fact that you haven’t resorted to mistreatment when dealing with a homicidal maniac who has essentially lost his human rights… is already a form of benevolence, isn’t it?” Feng Bujue continued.

Doctor Yuan didn’t answer this question, because their conversation was being recorded; although these recordings wouldn’t be leaked and the boundaries could be stretched quite far, directly responding to such a question was clearly inappropriate. For Doctor Yuan personally, it was also a matter of giving someone a handle.

“Alright, 3232, I’ve said enough.” After waiting for a few seconds, Doctor Yuan chose to change the subject, “Now, it’s my turn to ask questions, right?”

“Of course.” Feng Bujue said, “I keep my word… I will cooperate with you.”

For the next twenty minutes, the two began a rigid, question-and-answer conversation.

Doctor Yuan asked mostly formulaic questions, such as… “Have you noticed any changes in your body recently?” “Do you have any opinions on your current living conditions?” “Do you have any requests that you would like us to fulfill?”

Every patient under his care was asked these questions.

In addition, there were also a few questions tailored to the specific circumstances of the patient, such as, “Do you still believe *Thriller Paradise* is real?” “Are you able to distinguish between the virtual world and reality?” and “Do you still have any recollection of your violent acts in ‘reality’ over the years?”

And Feng Bujue… based on his memories, answered these questions briefly and truthfully, one by one.

Twenty minutes later, Doctor Yuan finished asking the prepared questions. Without him even speaking, Feng Bujue could already see a line on his face—“It’s time to end this boring check-up.”

“Alright…” Sure enough, the next second, Doctor Yuan opened his mouth and said, “I think… we’ll stop here for tod—”

“Knowledge.” Suddenly, Feng Bujue loudly said two words, choking back the last syllable of the other party's sentence.

“What?” Doctor Yuan was stunned by what he said, and instinctively asked, “What knowledge?”

“Regarding my knowledge reserves, I have a question.” Before the other party could stop him from asking, Feng Bujue asked in a rapid tone, “After I was locked up in this mental hospital, did I continue to receive education? Or… did I have access to any channels for learning about the outside world?”

“Well…” Doctor Yuan thought for a moment, then replied, “Anyway, the records show… no.”

“In other words, my knowledge reserves should still be at the level they were before I was imprisoned, that is… fourth-grade elementary school level.” Feng Bujue continued.

“Uh…” Doctor Yuan's expression slightly changed upon hearing this. He seemed to have vaguely realized something. “That’s right, it should be like that.”

“Doctor Yuan, if you were someone who had been isolated from the world since the age of ten, had not received any outside information for fourteen years, and only had the education of a fourth-grader, do you think it would be possible for you to fabricate the ‘stories’ I’ve been telling?” Feng Bujue used the same tone that the other party had used earlier, asking a question by putting himself in the other person’s shoes.

Doctor Yuan seemed to be infuriated, because this question left him speechless.

He didn’t answer, but instead pressed a button on the desk phone, put it to his ear, and said, “The check-up is over, take the patient away.”