The hair on Li Yao's back stood on end.
He and Daniel Zhang looked at each other and saw the coldness in each other's eyes.
The other party's words were as creepy as a midnight ghost story. Li Yao seemed to see such a scene — next to a foggy reservoir in a remote town in the south, someone was singing a folk song in a low and mellow dialect, but a confused girl was staring at the reservoir with her mouth agape. Yellow flowers were floating on the water surface …
Li Yao shook his head hard, trying to calm himself down.
Of course, there were many "reasonable" and "scientific" explanations for this matter. For example, the "Dream Traveler" had once been to this small southern town, "Lianchuan," on a business trip, or he had collected local customs and topography on the Internet.
But why?
Why did he use such a thing to scare his own sister when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia?
The whole thing didn't make sense at all.
What's more, there was the "Ark."
Li Yao asked in a deep voice, "What's going on with the Ark Foundation? You couldn't have sent your brother to the 'Ark Psychological Treatment Center' in the first place, right?"
"Of course not," the other party said.
"In the beginning, we sent my brother to our local hospital, but our place is a small place. The scale of the hospital specialized in mental illnesses is very small, and the doctors' standards aren't very high. People don't know much about mental illnesses, and they only know the concept of 'lunatics.' Our hospital only locks up these lunatics so that they won't come out to harm society and cause trouble to their families.
"You can imagine how terrible such a treatment environment is.
"I've been to that place three times. It's not a place for people to stay. When I think of my brother suffering in that place, my heart feels like it's being cut by a knife. I want to cry but have no tears.
"Of course, the conditions of the psychiatric hospital in the provincial capital are better, but I've read a lot of information and found that they don't have effective treatment for mental illness. They can only treat it conservatively. At most, the environment is better and the care is more standardized.
"If my brother had really gone mad, there would be nothing to say about such an outcome. However, the trip to Liaochuan made me deeply suspicious. This suspicion was the only reason why I came into contact with the Ark Foundation later, and why I was willing to be honest with you today.
"After I came back from Liaochuan, I started to have doubts about everything. I couldn't stand the fact that my brother was locked up in a mental hospital with a horrible environment, but there was nothing else I could do, so I wrote down my experience and posted a thread asking for help."
"Oh?"
Li Yao didn't expect the Dream Traveler's sister to have posted something related to him. However, on second thought, there were countless strange people and strange things that appeared on the Internet every day. 99% of them would be drowned in invalid information, so naturally, he couldn't have seen them.
"A few days later, a woman who claimed to be a staff member of the Ark Foundation contacted me and asked me about my brother's situation, especially the process of his illness."
The other party continued, "After I told her everything, she said that my brother might not be suffering from schizophrenia, but a more special new mental illness. And the 'psychotherapy center' under their foundation has a one in ten thousand chance of curing this illness. Even if it can't be cured, their treatment environment is much better than our county hospital or the provincial hospital. They can try their best to ensure that the patient is in a very comfortable environment, and the care is much more standardized and careful."
"Is that so?"
Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "Sounds good. The price must be very expensive, and this kind of private medical center may not be able to reimburse you. Can your family afford the medical expenses of long-term treatment?"
"No, they don't want money," the other party said.
"The staff member said that my brother can be arranged into a 'charity medical project.' All the hospitalization expenses will be paid by the Ark Foundation. The price is that they may try some untested cutting-edge medical methods on my brother. This is also very understandable. If the cutting-edge medical methods are not particularly advanced and dangerous, how can diseases like schizophrenia be cured?"
"So, you agreed?" “
Li Yao asked.
"We, we have no choice."
The other party sobbed again. "I also know that the medical plan provided by the Ark Foundation is extremely risky, and it even has the intention of using my brother as a 'lab rat.' However, my brother's condition was already very bad at that time. During his hospitalization, he actually tried to commit suicide three times. Without tools, he bit his wrist with his teeth until it was scarred. The last time, he even bit off the blood vessels in his wrist in the middle of the night. Then, he stuffed his hand under the quilt to prevent others from finding it. Otherwise, he would have succeeded in the doctor's ward rounds!
"When he was still conscious, he told me that he didn't want to die, let alone commit suicide. Some kind of force was controlling him. It was his shadow that wanted to kill him!
"What can our local hospital do? If I don't want him to continue to commit suicide, I can only wear a restraining suit 24 hours a day and inject him with a strong tranquilizer. This kind of tranquilizer will also cause irreversible damage to the brain. After three to five years, what's the difference between my brother and death?
"Through my brother's former boss, the psychiatrist of the provincial capital's big hospital also came to help my brother. Although it was not explicitly stated, it was obvious that they did not have a particularly effective targeted treatment plan. Even when he was sent to the provincial capital, it was still the same. He had to wear restraints and be injected with tranquilizers. My brother used to be such a smart and proud person. I don't want him to become an idiot and lunatic who has incontinence and commits suicide for the rest of his life. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I am willing to try!
"Besides, I've investigated the Ark Foundation through many channels, and there's no problem. I've also visited their office and a temporary medical center in person. The environment there is indeed much better than the county hospital and the mental hospital in the provincial capital. It's said that there are many internationally renowned psychiatrists and neurologists who will conduct joint consultations. What else do I have to worry about?"
"That's right, Miss Dong. You have done the best you can."
Li Yao heard the tremor in her voice. It was indeed not easy for a girl who had just entered society to do this for her brother. He hurriedly comforted her and said, "Then, can you tell me where your brother is receiving treatment now? Can you visit him often?"
"I'm afraid I can't."
The other party said, "My brother may not be in the country now."
"Not in the country?"
Li Yao blinked quickly, "What do you mean?"
"The Ark Foundation has some offices and temporary medical centers in the country, but their real medical center is overseas. There is also a medical ship with very advanced facilities. It seems to have been modified from a supertanker. It can accommodate tens of thousands of patients for treatment at the same time."
The other party said, "The staff of the Ark Foundation told me that many of their treatment methods and drugs, such as the use of nanotechnology to intervene in the human brain and the 'neurorestorin' extracted from the brain of apes, are in the process of approval by medical organizations around the world. Because many of the methods and drugs are highly controversial, and even have ethical risks like the cloned sheep in the past, it is difficult to pass the approval of medical organizations around the world within three to five years.
"In other words, they can't set up medical institutions in the territories of several major countries, nor can they engage in medical treatment, drug sales, and other activities within the borders of various countries. Therefore, they used this method to use a ship registered in the Republic of Java as their mobile hospital to avoid legal problems to the greatest extent.
"They explained these things to us in advance, including a series of risks and so on. We understood all of them clearly and respected our opinions to the greatest extent. Our family also thought about it for a long time before sending my brother to the Ark Foundation.
"Although we can't see my brother often, we have a remote video call every week. I can see that after just a few weeks of treatment, my brother's condition has improved a lot. He's a little fatter, his skin is a little tanned, and he has returned to his former cheerful self. The treatment effect is so good, what else do we have to worry about?"
"I see. A medical ship that comes and goes without a trace."
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and said, "Are you sure that the person you had a video call with is your brother? Since his condition has improved, did he say when he will recover and return home?"
"Of course I'm sure. That's my brother!"
The other party laughed. "Do you suspect that someone is pretending to be my brother? Why? It's not like my brother is some big shot!
Their main research field is the 'limits of the human brain.' They believe that 'there is only a fine line between a genius and a lunatic.' Only by starting with the seemingly insane brain can one break through the limits of human wisdom and soul. In short, the Ark Foundation has gathered countless elites from all over the world. My brother has made many good friends there, and he might even stay and work at the Ark Foundation. My brother's schizophrenia has already left a record in the hospital. It would be very difficult for the big companies in the country to recruit such a person who has once 'gone crazy,' right? If he may stay and work at the Ark Foundation after he recovers, our family has no objections. "
"Understood. Thank you, Miss Dong."
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