Chapter 117 - 114: Killing Pocket Watch

Chapter 117: Chapter 114: Killing Pocket Watch

The next day, in Liancheng, at Qingshan Mental Hospital.

A new intern nurse and her mentor were complaining in the hallway.

"If it weren’t for having no connections at home, who would ever come work here!"

"’Weekends off’ sounds nice, but I’ve had it. In reality, there are no days off at all!"

Qingshan Mental Hospital officially gave holidays off.

But no one ever chose to leave and enjoy their days off.

That was because Qingshan Mental Hospital was too far from the city.

It was in the suburbs—the kind of place where a few steps would take you right out of Liancheng.

It was in the middle of nowhere.

There was nowhere to spend the money you earned, and if you got hungry at night, you couldn’t even order takeout.

The intern nurse’s expression suddenly changed.

"Stop talking, a doctor’s coming!"

In a remote hospital like this, the hierarchy was incredibly strict. A nurse’s status was more than just one notch below a doctor’s.

The intern’s mentor glanced at the doctor and said dismissively:

"Him? Don’t worry. He’s just a decoration around here."

The intern nurse asked, puzzled:

"A decoration?"

Her mentor chuckled.

"A psychiatrist. The kind with no real power in the hospital, who can’t even write prescriptions."

The intern nurse blinked.

"So that’s Zhang Haoceng."

Zhang Haoceng overheard them, and a bitter feeling welled up inside him.

Just like the other doctors, he had gone through the crucible of undergraduate and master’s programs, studying his heart out for over a decade. On what grounds was he a lower class of doctor than the others?

Zhang Haoceng pretended not to hear and greeted the two nurses.

The two nurses responded with feigned enthusiasm.

Zhang Haoceng kept his head down and walked quickly, entering his office.

He sat down in his office chair and felt the pocket watch in his pocket.

’I’ll test this thing’s capabilities today.’

Zhang Haoceng took out a chart and glanced at it.

At nine o’clock, the patient from bed twelve was scheduled for a counseling session.

The patient in bed twelve suffered from a delusion. She believed she was a Mermaid who would die if she left the water.

Early on, she was constantly trying to jump into the sea, so her family eventually locked her up at home.

But that wasn’t the end of it. The patient nearly drowned herself in the family bathtub several times.

Her family removed the bathtub, but then she almost drowned in the washbasin.

Her family put away every large container they owned.

When deprived of water, the patient would scream and frantically smash things.

Tormented beyond endurance, the family sent her to Qingshan Mental Hospital.

In truth, patients sent to Qingshan Mental Hospital rarely ever went home again.

They were the ones who had been abandoned by their families.

Some patients in the hospital had been there for ten years.

For a decade, not a single relative had come to see them.

However, their families would wire the hospitalization fees every month.

Zhang Haoceng waited, both excited and delighted.

He was going to use this Killing Pocket Watch to make a name for himself in one fell swoop!

’It is a bit strange, though. Why is it called the Killing Pocket Watch?’

’For someone with a healer’s heart, the word "killing" is too jarring.’

Half an hour later, Zhang Haoceng glanced at his pocket watch again.

’It’s past the scheduled time. Why hasn’t the patient from bed twelve arrived?’

Zhang Haoceng called the nurses’ station.

"Why hasn’t the patient from bed twelve come to the counseling room?"

The head nurse replied:

"The patient in bed twelve has taken her medication and is asleep. She won’t be coming today."

Zhang Haoceng frowned.

"Why?"

The head nurse said nonchalantly:

"It was the director’s decision."

With that, she hung up the phone.

Zhang Haoceng’s heart sank.

He had clearly heard the head nurse mutter to a colleague just before she hung up:

"It’s useless for her to go anyway. It’s just a hassle to get her back to her room. Better to just give her the medicine early and skip the pointless step."

Zhang Haoceng understood.

The director thought his work was completely unnecessary.

It was nothing but a pointless hassle and a waste of time.

It seemed everyone in the hospital no longer saw him as a decorative vase.

At least a vase had some ornamental value.

Zhang Haoceng decided he had to do something.

Otherwise, his consultation opportunities would likely dwindle until they were taken away completely, leaving him as a useless deadbeat just waiting to die.

For many, this might have been a good thing—getting a salary for doing nothing, after all.

But to Zhang Haoceng, it was a humiliation.

Because he, just like the other doctors, was a qualified physician!

Zhang Haoceng picked up his phone, braced himself for a long moment, and dialed the director’s number.

The director was a woman with a terrible temper and disposition.

Her words were like knives, and she was known for making things difficult for people who crossed her.

The nurses and doctors were all terrified of her.

The call connected.

Zhang Haoceng spoke humbly:

"Director, the patient from bed twelve didn’t come to the counseling room today. I..."

The director’s icy voice came from the other end:

"Oh, I know. From now on, just sign the consultation forms yourself and go through the motions. It’s more convenient for everyone."

Zhang Haoceng was stunned for a moment.

’She’s not going to give me any more patients?’

’How can that be acceptable?’

’I traded my lifespan for this Killing Pocket Watch!’

Zhang Haoceng grew anxious.

"No! I must see patients!"

The director’s tone worsened.

"I said you don’t have to, so you don’t. Are you in charge of this hospital, or am I?"

Zhang Haoceng took a deep breath and said in a low voice:

"If you don’t give me patients, I’ll report you to the higher-ups for violating standard hospital procedures."

The director fell silent.

Through the phone, Zhang Haoceng could just imagine the old bitch’s furious face.

After a long pause, the director said:

"The patient in bed twelve is already asleep. Go to Ward Three and see the patient in bed seven. You can see bed twelve after she wakes up."

The director hung up as soon as she finished speaking.

Zhang Haoceng was completely taken aback.

Ward Three...

That was an isolation ward.

Most patients in the isolation wards were dangerous.

The patient in bed seven had severe dissociative identity disorder and was highly aggressive.

Zhang Haoceng felt the pocket watch in his pocket, a great courage filling his heart, and strode out of the office.

.....

「The Director’s Office.」

The woman sitting in the office chair had a powerful aura. You could tell she was a leader at a glance.

Her figure was average, but her face still held a certain charm.

The director picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"What is the patient in bed seven doing?"

The head nurse’s respectful voice came from the other end:

"His episodes are becoming more frequent, and his aggression is escalating.

He injured two orderlies yesterday. I was planning to put him in a restraint chair today."

A sinister smile played on the director’s lips.

"Don’t. Dr. Zhang will be going in for a consultation shortly. Do you understand?"

The head nurse said:

"Understood. I’ll... I’ll use the restraint chair after... after it’s over."

The director’s eyes were ice-cold.

"Just make sure no one dies."

In this mental hospital, which seemed to exist in a world of its own, she was queen.

Anyone who defied her orders deserved to be punished accordingly.

...

「The Second Floor.」

The head nurse used a key to unlock the door to Ward Three.

"Dr. Zhang, you can go in now."

There was a hint of pity in the head nurse’s eyes as she looked at Zhang Haoceng.

Zhang Haoceng understood what it meant.

’So this must be the director’s way of making things difficult for me, ready at a moment’s notice, huh?’

Zhang Haoceng stuck his hand in his pocket, gripped the Killing Pocket Watch, and walked into the ward.

The head nurse watched furtively from the doorway, ready to rush in and save him at any moment.

Save him, not help him.

She would call for help only after Zhang Haoceng was beaten black and blue.