Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 737: It Makes Sense for the Psychotherapy Room to Have a Basement

Chapter 737: Chapter 737: It Makes Sense for the Psychotherapy Room to Have a Basement

The surname wasn’t something worth noting, but two of the individuals carried a very special surname: Shang.

This surname, which he had seen multiple times since entering Museum City, was always in prominent places, such as on shop signs and banners reading "Shang Franchise", "Sponsored by the Shang Family", and the fine print "Celebrating XX Years of Cooperation with the Shang Family".

The game setting didn’t mention the name of the merchant who built Museum City, but such a frequently appearing surname on the streets was naturally assumed to belong to the builder; serving as a thread connecting the different parts of the instance, these photographs were likely not placed here by chance.

Xu Huo examined each photograph closely, ultimately selecting one to keep.

Next to them were some artifacts left over from the pandemic, including used utensils and initial versions of developed Potions. Although their authenticity was uncertain, someone had already rummaged through them—the items were carelessly tossed inside the display case, and the exterior glass had been completely smashed.

The items were replicas, looking very realistic, but as they were for guests to interact with, true artifacts wouldn’t be used.

What concerned Xu Huo more was one of the bound notebooks.

The notebook was filled out by multiple people, mostly documenting symptoms of the pandemic and the condition and medication process of patients. The content was repetitive and the handwriting sloppy. The penmanship varied across different times, but the one constant was the signature of the same doctor on most entries, a doctor with the surname Shang.

Personnel in the photographs changed frequently. At first, he thought, apart from those who died from the disease, there must be others who had left voluntarily unable to face the overwhelming pandemic. However, this notebook mentioned not only the names of some medical staff but also brief mentions of their situations, which were mostly about the lack of doctors and medicine, with no proper treatment available. Not many patients arrived, and those who did rarely left, except for two individuals with the surname Shang.

The records concerning these two were scarce, but from the signatures, it was clear that one of them not only survived the ten years but also participated in every pandemic relief effort and was never infected, as could be seen from the last group photo of the medical staff evacuating.

Although the Shang surname doctor appeared too old to be the young merchant mentioned in the game’s backstory who built Museum City, the accuracy of the game’s setting was doubtful, especially the claim that "the young merchant built it to save his family from a hereditary disease."

Within five years after the completion of Museum City, the number of missing people accounted for one-tenth of the national total. Though it wasn’t mentioned when the issue came to light, it couldn’t have been long before the builder died of illness, having frantically produced offspring during that time. This indicated a high incidence rate of the hereditary disease and an early death.

However, this contradicted the photographs placed in this venue. Being displayed here, they surely had to be related to the Shang business. The doctor with the Shang surname was very likely a clan member or a direct relative of the merchant—an individual loyal to his duty and apparently immune to the disease.

Even though not everyone with hereditary diseases succumbs to them, a person who spent ten years on the front lines of a pandemic and emerged unscathed is worth studying, especially when all other medical staff were either infected or dead.

This made it seem even more likely that the game’s background information was not only incomplete but potentially highly inaccurate.

Yet, the theme of the pandemic aligned perfectly with the content of the Wax Figure Gallery.

After setting down the notebook, Xu Huo noticed some black dust on his fingers. He washed his hands with Cleansing Potion without success, belatedly realizing he might have contracted an unknown germ.

This wasn’t a big deal; on the contrary, it suggested the authenticity of the notebook.

However, considering that someone had previously flipped through the notebook, it was unknown whether any unfortunate souls had been infected.

But what could be fatal to ordinary people might not necessarily be so to players.

Leaving the venue, he put on gloves and entered the Adult Psychological Therapy Room next door.

The decor of the therapy room was incongruous with other venues, unusually calm and gentle. The choice of colors and furnishings were meticulous, making it resemble a genuine therapy room on the surface.

Xu Huo walked around the room before stopping in the center, stamping his foot to hear a faint echo. He sat at the office desk, swept over the items laid out on top, and reached out to remove the cloth wrapped around the desk’s corner, pressing the concealed button.

A section of the floor beneath the desk popped open, the chair automatically retracted, revealing a staircase leading underground.

Although the map of the amusement park only marked the waterway of the Styx Ferry, there were many gaps in the middle of the waterway. The existence of an underground chamber would be logical, and its location in a place like the Psychological Therapy Room made sense.

Xu Huo descended the staircase with a lantern in hand.

Unexpectedly, below was a very clean room with nothing but a single chair, which had the words "Please Sit" inscribed on its armrest.

Xu Huo first tested it with a prop before sitting down, but in the blink of an eye, the walls on all sides swiftly receded backward, expanding into a spacious living room of a residence, and folding furniture and other items also appeared.

According to the layout of Museum City, such a large space shouldn’t be hidden underground, let alone fashioned into this kind of highly science-fictional style, it was either an illusion or deliberately left behind by someone else.

Xu Huo opened a door with his Spiritual World and, upon opening it, found himself still standing in the living room of the house, confirming that the place was just an illusion he had generated.

Not in a hurry to find a way out, he began walking around the room.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, one could only see the sea, and though the windows couldn’t be opened, the sound of the waves could be heard.

A white leather sofa enclosed a square in the spacious living room, with a glass coffee table in the middle, atop which sat a braided doll.

The place he had initially sat was right at the corner of the sofa.

Before he could approach, the doll on the coffee table opened its eyes and began to sing:

"The doll plays in the living room."

"Mommy is cooking in the kitchen."

"Daddy is on his way home."

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! The doorbell rings!"

"Daddy forgot to bring his keys!"

"The doll goes to open the door, bumps its head on the cupboard."

"Mommy goes to open the door, bumps her stomach on Little Knife."

"Daddy comes home and opens the door, and he lies down next to the doll and Mommy!"

The doll finished singing and closed its eyes, and at that moment the doorbell rang: "Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"

Xu Huo glanced towards the doorway, set down the doll, and walked over, but two meters from the door, he suddenly felt darkness before his eyes, and upon opening them again, he found himself sitting back on the sofa, exactly where he had sat when he first came in!

He stood up again, this time he didn’t approach the doll but instead circled around the sofa to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, there were half-chopped vegetables, unfrozen meat, and a missing knife from the usual spot on the knife rack.

At that moment, the doll in the living room began to sing again: "The doll plays in the living room."

"Mommy is cooking in the kitchen."

"Daddy is on his way home."

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! The doorbell rings!"