chapter 11 open the door

Ben Lin was really tired, both mentally and physically. He didn't expect all of this to happen on his first day at the new school - encountering monsters, being betrayed by classmates, fighting for his life, and then inexplicably waking up with a mysterious superhuman uncle appearing and slipping away.
Ben Lin was not naive; he knew that tonight's experience was definitely connected to the hidden aspects of this world. Flesh-eating monsters, the golden light that emerged from his body, and the man who single-handedly took on the monsters - that man was no ordinary person. Moreover, judging from his radio report, there must be a huge organization behind him, an organization that likely operated in secret to deal with such bizarre incidents.
He saw the light emanating from his own body, and maybe he even saw himself defeating the monsters alone, which was why he wanted to recruit him.
It's not that he had no curiosity about the hidden aspects, but he didn't want to get caught up in this vortex because of his curiosity. Some secrets, once known, could never be escaped.
He didn't want to be a hero guarding humanity; he only wanted to protect one thing - his home.
Soon, he drifted into a dream...
...
The familiar mist descended once again.
In his dream, Ben Lin looked around, sighed helplessly, and muttered, "Won't they leave me alone? Fighting monsters while awake, and now they come knocking while I'm asleep. Life sure is tough..."
Ben Lin took a few steps, following a well-trodden path, and soon, the outline of a mental hospital appeared before his eyes.
Engraved on an ancient plaque to the right were the words:
— God Mental Hospital.
Ben Lin stood in front of the gate, reached for the circular handle, and just as his fingertip touched it, the ground trembled slightly!
The surrounding mist suddenly churned.
Ben Lin grabbed the handle, looking puzzled.
"What's going on? I haven't even knocked yet, why is it shaking?"
Wasn't it like this before?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
Could it be because... he had opened his eyes today?
Ben Lin lowered his head, looking at the body in his dream, and his eyes gradually lit up.
In the past, Ben Lin's dream body was translucent, like fragile mist.
But today, his body had become noticeably more solid, still not physical, but no longer transparent.
He lifted his head suddenly, gazing at the imposing gate that had blocked him for five years, his eyes filled with determination.
Today... maybe it'll work!
He took a deep breath, tightly gripped the circular handle in his hand, and forcefully slammed it against the door!
"Dang!"
The ancient bell inside the mental hospital rang, much louder than before. Fortunately, Ben Lin didn't have a physical body now, or his eardrums would have been in pain.
As the bell rang, the entire mental hospital began to shake violently again!
This could be it! Ben Lin's eyes lit up.
"Dang!"
"Dang!"
"Dang!"
Ben Lin didn't stop; he continued to strike three more times, causing the mental hospital to shake like an earthquake.
Finally, after the last strike, the mental hospital emitted a deafening noise, then everything fell silent once again.
Just as Ben Lin was about to strike it again, the massive door in front of him made a muffled creaking sound and slowly began to move.
The door was opening.
"Buzz... thud!"
After the door swung wide open, Ben Lin saw a dimly lit corridor before him.
The floor of the corridor was made of an unknown material, emitting a faint glow. The walls were adorned with burning spheres of light, creating an eerie and mysterious atmosphere.
Ben Lin walked down the corridor, and soon, he reached a junction with modern-looking signs above it.
"To the left are the wards, to the right is the activity area..." Ben Lin muttered to himself as he read the signs. "This setup, why does it look exactly like the mental hospital I had stayed in years ago?"
Ben Lin hesitated for a moment but decided to enter the activity area first.
There weren't many rooms in the activity area, but they had everything: a multimedia room for watching TV and movies, a lounge for playing chess and games, a study for reading and learning, and even a circular outdoor lawn with various sports equipment.
"Just as I thought, it's exactly the same. This dream is really strange," Ben Lin furrowed his brow, puzzled.
After exploring the activity area, he turned and walked towards the ward area on the other side.
When he reached the entrance to the ward area, Ben Lin suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"This place... is different," Ben Lin said, looking at the dark and dull corridor in front of him, speaking to himself.
He remembered clearly that in the Sunshine Mental Hospital where he had stayed before, there were several floors in the ward area, and while the facilities weren't too luxurious, they were at least clean and tidy.
But the ward area in front of Ben Lin now had only one floor, and there were only six rooms.
The doors of these six rooms were covered with strange symbols and patterns, densely packed and dizzying to look at.
Ben Lin forcibly diverted his gaze from the doors and tried to calm his mind, looking elsewhere.
Above the ward area, there hung ancient doorplates, each with a different symbol on it.
For instance, the doorplate for the room Ben Lin was standing in front of right now, Room No. 1, had a large black circle on it.
The doorplate for Room No. 2 had something that resembled a staff or a pen.
Ben Lin continued down the corridor until he reached the last, sixth room. He stared at the doorplates but still couldn't make sense of them.
He looked at the eerie room door, deep in thought.
In this mental hospital within his dream, only the ward area was different from the Sunshine Mental Hospital he remembered.
So, could there really be patients inside these rooms?
Or, as the name of this mental hospital implied, were the occupants... God?
Ben Lin hesitated for a moment and slowly reached for the doorknob of the sixth room.
It wasn't that Ben Lin was reckless; on one hand, this was his dream, and even if something went wrong, it wouldn't have a significant impact on him. On the other hand, he had knocked on this door for five years just to enter this place; he didn't want to leave it all puzzled.
Deep down, he also felt that perhaps there was some secret related to him inside this mental hospital.
Otherwise, why would the layout here be exactly the same as the Sunshine Mental Hospital where he had stayed?
Ben Lin's hand gradually approached, and his fingertips lightly touched the doorknob, feeling a slight coldness.
There was no expected force or pain; his hand naturally grasped the doorknob.
Ben Lin pulled it with all his strength!
The door didn't budge.
He stood still and exerted all his strength, pulling again!
Still nothing.
Ben Lin gave up on this room and moved to the door of the fifth room, pulling hard.
It still wouldn't open.
Fourth room, third room, second room...
Ben Lin tried one room after another, but none of the doors would open. Until finally, he walked to the door of the first room.
Approaching it with the expectation of failure, Ben Lin tugged on the door of the first room.
"Click!"
A soft sound came from the doorknob, and the complex patterns and symbols engraved on the door suddenly fractured, gradually dissolving into the air.
Ben Lin was startled, took a few steps back, and stared intently ahead!
The door, was now open.

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