Chapter 1 SSS-Class Talent: Delusional Disorder
Nan City, inside a mental hospital ward.
Dr. Su was writing a prescription for the man before him.
"Aripiprazole, Risperidone, Amisulpride, you must take these three medications on time." Nurse Bai Jie, has Jiang Xiao been secretly spitting out his medication lately?"
"No, no, Dr. Su, lately I've made sure he's swallowed his medication before I leave, five minutes later."
The young nurse hurried to explain, indicating everything was in order.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xiao sat by the window, frowning at the view outside, responding unhappily.
"I told you, I'm not mentally ill, I'm not sick at all!"
The doctor and nurse sighed, not wanting to deal with him, and walked straight out of the room.
There had been a time when the young nurse truly believed Jiang Xiao was not ill and was a normal person.
But she was informed by Dr. Su that it was only because Jiang Xiao had delusional disorder; he had deluded himself into thinking he was a normal person.
Initially, Bai Jie was indifferent, but when she saw Jiang Xiao deluding himself into being Crayon Shin-chan, hopping around the hospital doing the "butt-bump dance" and imitating an elephant's trunk, she finally abandoned the idea that Jiang Xiao was a normal person...
But Jiang Xiao himself always believed he was a normal person.
Yes, that's right, he was as normal as could be, just occasionally liking to cosplay and role-play, which was normal for a normal person.
Thinking this, Jiang Xiao felt inspired and couldn't help wanting to recite a poem.
"Eh, as the saying goes, others laugh at me for being too crazy, I laugh at others for being unable to see through, no one sees the tombs of the heroes of Wuling, neither flowers nor wine, just a hoe for the field."
Just then, a new intern nurse happened to see this scene as she passed by Jiang Xiao's ward, and couldn't help but stop in her tracks.
"This person is also mentally ill, and even recites poems..."
An older nurse immediately pulled her away.
"Newcomer, recite the first rule of our hospital's regulations for me."
"Yes! The first rule, whoever wears blue and white stripes definitely isn't normal!"
After speaking, the young nurse couldn't help but take a few more glances at Jiang Xiao, but alas, looks did seem to equate righteousness; he really did look like a good person...
Seeing the young nurse's smitten face, the head nurse shook her head helplessly and explained.
"If I told you that he once imagined himself as SpongeBob and imagined the Dean as Pai Daxing, and that the two of them spent an entire night catching jellyfish in the yard, would you still think he's handsome?"
Huh?
A delusional disorder?
The young nurse's expression instantly stiffened; as everyone knows, delusional disorder and schizophrenia are among the most intractable of mental illnesses.
The head nurse smacked her head and continued.
"Oh, right, this guy also has severe schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Hmm, Dr. Su thinks he might have some other psychological symptoms, but it's not important anymore."
After hearing the head nurse's words, the young nurse turned and left without a backward glance, good heavens, this handsome guy is piling on mental illness buffs on himself?!!
As the young nurse was leaving quickly, a grand voice resounded over everyone's heads.
[Analog Horror game is about to commence, selecting the Chosen Ones]
Here it comes again!
This cold and grand voice in the ears of the world's people was like a death knell.
Everyone was no stranger to Analog Horror.
Whenever someone was chosen to participate in the game, it was considered a high survival rate if three or four out of every hundred participants lived!
Of course, those not chosen weren't entirely safe either, for if the Chosen One of their own country failed the challenge, anomalies would randomly befall some city in their country, wreaking havoc for 48 hours and causing massive casualties and economic loss.
Today, out of 197 countries on Blue Star, only 120 remained.
While people were fearful, they also couldn't help but pray; they prayed that the high intellect talents from their own country would be chosen by the world of Analog Horror...
Because if the Chosen One succeeded in the challenge, Analog Horror would also reward the Chosen One and his or her country.
Although Dragon Country was vast and resource-rich, it had been really out of luck recently, having lost three times consecutively.
At this moment, everyone had already opened the live stream room of Analog Horror, waiting, and the screen was full of discussions and prayers.
[Eh, lost three times already, why are the people chosen in Dragon Country always so weak..]
[I hope this time they pick some tough men, last time Luo Yunxi was a celebrity, bragging about being able to lift a 40-pound battle halberd and wave it around on set. What happened? He started crying the moment he entered!]
[Hey, don't talk about my brother like that, my brother is already dead, what more do you want?]
[Eh, the time before last was an old man in his eighties.]
[The old man had it tough too; for the sake of the country, he dragged his old bones and struggled to survive in the bizarre world..]
[But Professor Wobuju from Lighthouse Country had already passed two Analog Horrors in a row. Without a doubt, he is a true genius.]
[What can you do about it? After all, Wobuju is a bona fide professor of deductive reasoning, perfectly suited for the task with an IQ soaring at 158.]
At this moment, some foreign viewers' comments infiltrated the Dragon Country's live broadcast, sparking rage among the citizens.
[Thank God our family bailed out early, tsk tsk tsk.]
[All celebs and old men, your country is beyond saving.]
Dragon Country had lost three times in a row, causing these shameless people to mock them before every broadcast.
[Please roll back to your own live streams!]
[Can't teach an old dog new tricks, I can feed it to him though!]
[Let me handle it, I've had diarrhea lately, I can make him a few big bowls of yellow porridge.]
All Dragon Country citizens immediately grabbed their keyboards to retort against these insults, eagerly waiting for their chosen representative to smash these people's faces!
[Everyone stay quiet, the screen is lighting up, hoping it selects some top talent from our Dragon Country!]
As the characters "Analog Horror Rules" lit up on the screen, viewers from 120 countries around the globe were free to choose and watch.
But now, all of Dragon Country's attention was firmly fixed on the first name.
[Dragon Country—Jiang Xiao!]
....
Since the winners of Analog Horror continue to participate, Lighthouse Country's chosen one was still Dr. Wobuju.
[Jiang Xiao, that's a good name, doesn't sound like a washout.]
[Jiang Xiao bro, we're all counting on you this time!]
[Come on, if you win, you'll be our Dragon Country's hero!]
It's not terrible to lose, but the fear comes from continuous defeat, shrouding the hearts of all citizens in darkness and driving them to lose hope for victory.
The enormous governmental machinery also started, investigating who this selected Jiang Xiao really was.
...
At this moment, Jiang Xiao, showing no emotion, looked around the slightly unfamiliar surroundings, feeling utterly indifferent, and even thought about cosplaying as Pai Daxing.
[Detecting player's first entry into the world of Analog Horror, drawing your talent reward]
[Detected severe mental illness in player's brain, awarded SSS reward: Delusional Disorder]
Jiang Xiao: ???
"Hey, get it straight, I'll say it again, I, Jiang Xiao, am not mentally ill!"
Whilst an SSS-ranking was fierce, this counterproductive talent description undoubtedly confirmed his mental issues, which vexed Jiang Xiao.
[Talent effect one: As a patient with severe delusional disorder, before each game starts, you can imagine yourself as any existence in your mind]
[Talent effect two: When an Analog Horror creature personally admits (states) you are not mentally ill, your condition in reality improves, and a skill is drawn]
[Talent effect three: In the world of Analog Horror, your condition is more severe than in reality, affecting some of your judgments]
Jiang Xiao frowned, dissatisfied, these three talents were all slandering him as a mental patient, especially the third one!
"If it's about being mentally ill, then fine, but does this third talent even make sense? All negative effects, right?!"
An S-ranking talent involves one special effect, while an SSS one involves three.
Aside from himself, the highest talent Jiang Xiao knew of was Lighthouse Country's Wobuju's S-ranking: Deduction.
That could be used once in every game, pretty much like having an extra life.
For ordinary people, one life would certainly not suffice, but for a professor of deductive reasoning like Wobuju, it was of utmost importance.
[Ding, the game is about to start, please activate your talent effect one: Delusion]
"I am not some severe delusional disorder patient, can't you understand human speech?"
Jiang Xiao was furiously stomping his feet, why couldn't this Analog Horror understand people, he wasn't mentally ill at all!
Analog Horror: [...]
"Hmph, no matter what, I am not mentally ill!"
"I just want to...try cosplaying...uh...cosplaying that big pink starfish that lives under the rock at 124 Conch Street, Bikini Bottom, Baker Street in the Pacific Ocean, you know, it's a pretty normal thing for anyone!"
Analog Horror World: [...]
[Pai Daxing Effect: Physically immortal, since you have no brain, you can be immune to mental contamination of the Analog Horror World]
[Negative effect: Intelligence -88]