(At the beginning of this paragraph, I have to apologize to everyone, but I won't tell you why I apologized, hehehe——— and then, your votes are cast)

Will didn't say a word, didn't say anything about the rules of the game, didn't say anything about what counts as a victory and what a defeat is, and didn't even ask if he agreed with the game...... Anyway, the moment he uttered his last word, the whole room disappeared.

What followed was a series of car honks.

"Hey! What a stunned! Get out of here! ”

It was the rough voice of a middle-aged man...... Hannibal frowned, for he found himself standing on a crosswalk, with the traffic lights already green, but he was in front of the traffic, preventing him from moving forward.

...... No wonder those drivers are so irritable.

Hannibal politely apologized, then walked across the street.

At this time, he finally had time to look around......

Immediately, he discovered that this was a city he knew very well——— Rochester.

It was here that he became a psychiatrist, and it was here that he met Will.

"Hmm...... It's back again...... So, am I already in the game? A faint smile appeared on Hannibal's lips.

Then Hannibal began to observe himself...... And rightfully so, because there's got to be a clue to keep the game going.

At this time, he was dressed in decent clothes, carrying a briefcase that was not too large, and Hannibal opened the briefcase and found that it contained some medical school graduation certificates and papers, as well as a medical qualification certificate.

In the next few seconds, he stood on the side of the road and read through the resume of "himself" in his briefcase.

He soon discovers that in this world, he is a doctor who has just moved to the city, and it looks like he is looking for a job recently, and an interview notice in his briefcase reads "Rochester State Sanatorium".

Hannibal looked up, looked at the building directly in front of him, and the large letters [Rochester State Sanatorium] above the gate, and nodded.

"Hmm...... Looks like the game has already begun. ”

......

......

The dean sat behind the large desk, looking at Hannibal's resume in his hand, and his head was silent. The midday sun slanted in through the window, illuminating the whole room, but very

Strangely did not illuminate his face.

After a while, the dean put his finished resume on the table and looked at the candidate sitting across from him: "Hannibal. Mr. Lecter? ”

"Yes, Dean."

"Graduated from Lancaster University with a double master's degree in psychology and neurosurgery? Also won a ...... with a paper What is the title of Professor Emeritus of Theology? ”

"Yes." Hannibal replied politely.

The dean is a middle-aged man in his sixties, with a well-defined face and a clear face, and he does not easily show changes in his expression. But now he laughed. "It's funny how you would choose a hospital like ours."

Hannibal pursed his lips and said nothing

The dean propped his elbows on the table, his fingertips folded and erected. "And Mr. Hannibal, how much do you know about our hospital?"

"Of course." Hannibal laughs, "It's called a sanatorium, but in recent years it has been almost always accepting patients who are terminally ill and will not be cured even with all the treatment, and who will soon die." The hospital's role is to relieve their physical and mental anguish and to overcome their fear of death. What we want to do is to give these patients the greatest warmth and care before they die, so that they can finally walk the last journey of life with dignity and even happiness. ”

"Huh." The dean laughed again: "So, are you sure you're going to join here?" ”

Hannibal nodded lightly, "...... Yes. ”

"Well, maybe a powerful character like you always has some little paranoia of his own, but since you are willing to devote yourself to this cause, we naturally can't ask for it." The dean smiled and said, "But I have to remind you that no matter how flashy your resume is, as long as you enter this hospital, you must work according to the rules and regulations here." ”。

"Of course." Hannibal responded.

"Well, you can go to work from today." The dean's smiling expression suddenly became serious: "And the next thing to say is the point, you have to listen carefully - because it's about what you do." ”

Hannibal nodded, signaling that he was ready.

The Dean stared at her. "Your job is to take care of a special elderly person in our hospital."

Hannibal frowned: "What do you mean...... Am I only responsible for taking care of one person? ”

"Yes, it's your job to take care of him alone." The Dean emphasized again. "You don't have to worry about the other patients."

Hannibal was silent for a moment...... "Hehe, I learned that there are about a hundred patients in this hospital - is it true that each patient is taken care of?" ”

"Of course not, we can't afford to hire so many medical staff. In fact, we have a few more dying patients here recently, close to 200. And the hospital now has more than 30 medical staff, and they are responsible for almost all the patients – except for you. ”

"Why?"

"As I said, you're looking after a special patient."

"What's so special?"

The dean was silent for a moment: "The other patients here are just suffering from some kind of incurable disease. But what makes this old man special is that he is not only terminally ill, but also mentally ill, which is just right for you. ”

Hannibal nodded: "I see, then...... Is he having a hard time coping? ”

"No, no......," the dean said, waving his hand, "not what you think." Or even if it were, it didn't matter. Because—in order to prevent him from acting aggressively and hurting others or himself, we fixed his hands with leather rings. And he's very old, and his legs are inconvenient - so he's very quiet for the most part, just like to talk nonsense. When you hear what he says, you know that he is really crazy. But you can ignore him, or just make him happy, and just say a word or two to him - whatever you want. ”

The dean shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, so how much do I need to 'take care of' him?" Hannibal asked pointedly.

"This ......," the dean pondered for a while, "Actually, what you have to do every day is to accompany this old man and listen to his ...... All sorts of nonsense. Feed him at mealtime, and when he wants to urinate, you put the potty under his butt. And then it's just about turning him over every day and wiping his body again – that's it. So, it's too late for you to change your decision, after all, it's ...... to do this kind of thing with your resume."

"No, I love the job." Hannibal interrupted the dean with a laugh.

"Well, as you wish." The dean said, and took out a contract: "This is your contract, salary, and all the precautions, if you decide to work here, you can sign it." ”

Hannibal nodded, of course he would sign, but ...... He still read the contract very carefully.

But after just 1 second of reading, he noticed a problem.

"Uh...... I beg your pardon, I wonder if you got the wrong contract. Hannibal said, "I get paid ......."

"Hehe, don't worry, I didn't take it wrong, and you read it right." The dean smiled and replied, "That's all your salary—"

Hannibal frowned because the salary on the contract was ...... It's the hospital's top salary, which means that he is only responsible for caring for one patient, and he gets more money than any other doctor.

"But...... Why? Hannibal asked.

"Because your job is very important." The dean said.

"Taking care of a mentally ill old man...... Important? Hannibal repeated: "Then he is ......"

"Alright." The dean abruptly interrupted Hannibal's question, and pointed to the contract: "If you look any further, you won't ask this question......"

Hannibal looked back at the contract, and saw that below the contract, there was a ......

【…… Party B (name to be filled) shall keep the confidentiality strictly and shall not let anyone else know about the information related to Will. Graham (the name of the dying patient) is all about the old man. 】

Hannibal blinked in shock, well, he had now finally found out about the old man he had to take care of...... It turned out to be ...... Will. Moreover, taking care of him has to be kept secret.

Hannibal frowned, his heart full of questions, however, he did not ask questions, but continued to look down.

Sure enough, further down the contract, there is such a rule.

[Party B shall not inquire about Will. All things Graham-related. 】

Well, as Hannibal thought, you can't ask questions.

The dean saw Hannibal's expression and smiled.

"You may seem confused, but this contract is not so rigid. I can still tell you some basic information about this old man. For example—he's alone, he doesn't have a wife, he doesn't have children, and he's got a brain problem—well, that's all. Other than that, I hope you don't go into it and ask about it...... Obviously, you are a smart person. - If you want to get the highest salary, you must pay a small price. But the price can be extremely small – you just need to restrain your curiosity and follow the contract. There's nothing better than that. ”

"Yes, I understand." Hannibal nodded.

So, are there any other questions before you sign the contract?

Hannibal pondered for a moment, "The other staff in the hospital, do they know about this old man named Will?" ”

The dean shook his head: "No one knows, he has always been taken care of by someone alone, and most employees will hardly come into contact with him." ”

"Who was taking care of him before me?"

"Of course it was another doctor, although not as good as you, but he took good care of him, but then for some reason, he resigned. So I could only re-hire one person. ”

"I see." Hannibal nodded: "Well, there's another question, I see about working hours, I have to work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. - then, who will take care of him in the evenings?" ”

"The elderly go to bed earlier, so they don't need to be taken care of." The dean replied.

Hannibal was puzzled, but nodded his head in understanding. He continued to read the contract and noticed that in the last clause was "Party B will be severely punished if there is a breach of contract"

"This severe punishment refers to ......"

"Don't be afraid. You know, all contracts are bound by breaches. You just don't have to break the contract. As for what the punishment is...... You don't care more than that. The dean smiled, and then immediately asked, "Are there any more questions?" If not, sign a contract. We can sign for half a year first, and there is no probationary period. ”

With that, the dean handed the pen to Hannibal.

Hannibal was silent for a few seconds, but finally signed the contract.

"Alright." The dean put away the contract. "Hannibal. Mr. Lecter, now that you are a regular employee here, welcome to your joining. Before I get to work, I would like to remind you of some precautions that are not written in the contract. There are two points that I would like you to pay special attention to. ”

"The first is that, whether the old man makes such a request or not—you must not let him leave the room while you are working." When he said these words, the dean seemed to involuntarily increase his tone.

Hannibal frowned: "That is, I can't push him out for a walk in a wheelchair, or, not even in the hallway?" ”

"Yes, you can't let him out of the room in any form." The Dean emphasized again. "He's a special patient and we can only treat him specially. If he goes out and happens to be sick, he might do something we don't expect – and that must not happen. ”

"I see. And what about the second point? ”

The dean leaned forward and looked at Hannibal with a completely different look than before: "The second point is that if this old man dies suddenly one day, or if you have a premonition that he is going to die, you must tell me at the first time. ”

Hannibal nodded, but he seemed to have a very uncomfortable premonition in his psyche.

Seeing Hannibal nodding, the dean suddenly returned to his demeanor just now: "Haha, okay, then I will represent the academy." Remember, I am your direct and only responsible person. If this happens, you should let me know immediately, and you must not delay. ”

It's so strange, why put this point in particular - Hannibal wondered.

"Oh, yes, one more thing." The dean remembered something again. "Actually, I've mentioned it before—in your days with this old man, you might hear him say something inexplicable, all utterly ridiculous. You have to remember that he was a patient who was identified by a psychiatrist as a patient of insanity. So whatever he says, you should never believe it. ”

"Okay, I got it."

"These are the points that need special attention." The dean exhaled and got up from his seat, "Okay, now I'll take you to Will. Graham's hospital room. ”