Hospital 444
Chapter 531 - 33: Soul and Matter

Chapter 531: Chapter 33: Soul and Matter

Dai Lin watched the female doctor before him warily.

He was indeed unable to read the other person’s memory now; after all, doctors in the Demons Department were a terrifying and mysterious existence even among paranormal doctors.

"The Demons Department, this place, is truly terrifying. Especially since I became a formal doctor in the Demons Department, I have come to realize that more deeply."

The female doctor continued, "Now, I can feel that I no longer belong to humanity."

Dai Lin coldly asked, "Why should I believe you?"

His hatred for the Demons Department was bone-deep!

What he regretted most now was letting his younger brother receive treatment in the Demons Department! Now, his brother was caught in a limbo of life and death, possibly in a situation even more terrifying than death itself!

Every time he thought of this, Dai Lin instinctively loathed every doctor from the Demons Department that he encountered.

"I understand how you feel, Dr. Dai. But I had no choice. It was only by becoming an intern in the Demons Department that I could see my daughter. You’re the same; you also have no choice. After all, without the help of someone inside, you won’t be able to escape. You don’t understand what it means to be the Director of the Demon Department! Even though you’re now equivalent to an attending physician, possibly even comparable to a doctor with a senior title, you’re still no match for the Director of the Demon Department!"

"Because Director Keli’s cursed object is very powerful?"

"No."

The female doctor shook her head, saying, "It has nothing to do with the cursed object he holds. Doctors in the Demons Department and the Director of the Demon Department are entirely different beings."

"So powerful, yet Director Li An still died at the Oroñe Hotel, and his body wasn’t even recovered, right?"

Dai Lin wasn’t one to be easily frightened; strategically, he respected the enemy, but tactically, he despised them. Of course, his remarks were mainly meant to extract more information.

Dai Lin knew at least one thing: the woman in front of him had not yet fully transformed into the inhuman type of doctor typical of the Demons Department, and that was indeed a fact. Thus, he could use that to extract more critical intelligence from the female doctor.

"You don’t understand the Oroñe Hotel, Dr. Dai."

At this point, the female doctor took a photo out of her pocket.

"Dr. Dai. Let me tell you some information about the Netherworld. For example, what can you see in this photo?"

Dai Lin looked at the photo.

It seemed to be the lobby area of a building.

"This is..."

A very ordinary photo.

"I see..." Dai Lin suddenly realized something and said, "What does this represent?"

At that, he began to activate the Devil’s Eye to examine the photo.

"Dr. Dai. Have you ever considered a question? Is matter really objectively existent? If there were no life forms in this universe, no life to observe and perceive everything in the universe, would the universe still exist?"

"What a strange concept," Dai Lin said, puzzled. "Matter obviously cannot be altered by the will of humans. Humans, no, the earliest forms of life on Earth existed before..."

"How do you know?" the female doctor interjected. "If matter truly exists objectively, regardless of human perception, can you answer two questions for me? First, where is the end of the vast expanse of space known as the universe? Second, when was the very beginning of time?"

Dai Lin was stunned.

He was a doctor, not a physicist, and naturally could not answer that question.

"This..."

When was the beginning of time? If time had an earliest point, such as the moment of the Big Bang, what about before that? What about the time before that?

The universe is often assumed by many to be infinitely large. But it’s very hard for people to truly imagine what a space that is infinitely large and without end would be like.

"Scientists believe that before the Big Bang, there was no time and no space. But how can humans, with their senses and cognition, understand and observe a world without space and time?"

Dai Lin couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

"I..."

"Moreover, even now, humans’ observation and cognition of things are hugely flawed. For example, color is merely an illusion brought to the eyes by the refraction of light. Without the visual concept of living beings, color is meaningless. Life and death are the same; humans cannot live eternally but can die eternally. That is to say, only after completely losing the ability to observe and perceive matter can humans enter a truly eternal state."

"But ghosts..."

"So, why do ghosts exist in this world? Why can some people see ghosts while others cannot? Why can ghosts exist detached from matter with only an idealistic consciousness? Why can ghosts break free from the constraints of space, and even a few control and reverse time?"

Dai Lin took a deep breath.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Doctor Dai, look at this photo," the female doctor continued. "This is one of the diagnostic methods used by the Paranormal Doctor to assess the level of Abyssal invasions in patients. You’ve encountered such cases before, haven’t you? Some people can see ghosts, but some cannot. What do you think is the reason for that?"

"Matter... consciousness..."

Dai Lin vaguely had a fearful thought.

"This world..."

"Have you read Liu Cixin’s ’The Three-Body Problem’? The author proposes a so-called shooter hypothesis. A marksman shoots a hole every ten centimeters on a target; for the creatures in that universe of the target, a hole every ten centimeters is the supreme truth. Doctor Dai, think back, before entering the hospital, the belief that people don’t become ghosts after death was also an utmost truth for you, right? I’m telling you, for us, the Director is that marksman."

"So, actually... the theorems of the world we can observe... are they not correct?"

"What is the definition of right and wrong, Doctor Dai?"

"Of course it is..."

"What if matter does not truly exist objectively, or if time and space are actually illusions of consciousness? When you found out that ghosts really exist, you should have understood, Doctor Dai. In this world, right and wrong are concepts that can be interchanged at any time. For a creature that cannot leave the target, a hole every ten centimeters is truth."

"So, the Netherworld... what is it?"

Dai Lin’s voice trembled slightly.

"Souls..." The female doctor took out her smartphone and turned on the screen, "This is something that interns learn about—how to read soul image photos. You should find, the structure of the soul can’t be explained by purely material theories, not even found in human dissection. But when the hospital’s scalpel cuts open the body, it can find the existence of the soul."

"Yes..."

"The structure of the soul is generally three souls and seven spirits. That is to say, the soul is typically seen as a compound structure. If this theory holds true, then a ghost possessing another’s body could form a soul structure identical to a living person."

"That is correct..."

"But in theory, this is utterly unachievable, including the transplantation of ghosts. Living beings and dead spirits have an impassable chasm between them. However, theoretically, it is indeed possible for a soul to possess another’s body while still maintaining the consciousness of the living."

Then, clearing her throat, she continued, "The compound structure of the soul, don’t you find it strange? Why three souls and seven spirits? Why is the main body of the soul so complex? Logically speaking, humans have only one consciousness and can’t even use their left and right hands to draw two geometric figures at the same time."

Dai Lin suddenly understood.

"Souls, through perception of matter, can generate different thoughts and consciousnesses. In fact, people do not live in a single world... The matter we observe and recognize, what do you think... it actually belongs to?"

Dai Lin remembered his experiences in the cursed village.

The Black Blood Foremother...

And in Nanmian Village...

The people were oblivious to the extra "person" added to the marching procession...

"An Abyssal invasion is such a curse. This curse pulls us out of the target’s world, exposing us in front of the marksman."

The female doctor handed the photo to Dai Lin.

"Do not tell anyone what you saw in the photo, Doctor Dai. You are not yet ready to go to the marksman’s world. Can you believe me now?"