I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 86: The Eccentric Doctor (Patreon)

After the volunteers led Liam away, the receptionist nodded in satisfaction. Another patient successfully helped.

Just then, a doctor in a white coat came hurrying over.

“Was there just a very tall man here with a gentle smile?”

The receptionist looked confused, then glanced at the name tag on his coat.

“Dr. Vlad, what are you doing here?”

“That’s not important. Did that man say anything strange?”

“He only said he was looking for some friends who like playing hide-and-seek.”

Vlad breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought Liam had actually discovered them.

But considering all the bizarre experiments the Reptilians had approached them about, something had probably gone wrong on their end.

Vlad thought to himself that cooperating with those cold-blooded creatures really was a mistake. They lacked the emotions of normal living beings and always found some way to mess things up.

“Where did that gentleman go?”

“I had a couple of volunteers take him to psychiatry. Is there going to be a problem?”

Seeing the serious expression on Vlad’s face, the receptionist began to worry.

Could that man be a wanted criminal?

But he had seemed so friendly.

Vlad burst out laughing. He could already imagine the bewildered look on Liam’s face when he arrived at psychiatry.

“It’s fine. He hosts a children’s TV show. He just has a rather unusual personality.”

“I see.”

The receptionist relaxed. It was the first time they had encountered such a strange but otherwise perfectly normal person.

“So, are you the friend he’s looking for? I can call the volunteers back.”

Vlad hurriedly waved his hands.

“No! I’m not his friend. If he asks, don’t mention me at all. But he’s a decent person. You can help him out a little if you get the chance. It’ll be worth your while.”

The receptionist was even more confused.

“What exactly is going on with that man?”

Vlad ignored the staff and hurried back to his office.

This place was no longer safe.

He needed to get the others of his kind out of here as quickly as possible. They could return after those people finished fighting.

Meanwhile, Liam stared speechlessly at the doctor sitting in front of him.

The two volunteers had brought him straight to the psychiatric building, practically coaxing him along the entire way.

Before Liam could leave, the doctor glanced at the form in his hands and asked,

“Have you developed any new views about the people or things around you lately?”

“No. A lot of interesting things have happened recently, but they’ve only proven that I was right.”

The doctor looked up at him.

“Do you ever feel that strangers around you are talking about you?”

“Of course. I’ve kept that habit for years. The moment I realize I’m being watched, I immediately change where I live.”

The doctor took a deep breath and began writing something on the form.

“Do you ever feel that those people are secretly plotting to harm you?”

“Of course. I’ve struck first plenty of times, and every time it turned out I was right.”

The doctor quietly pressed a button on the desk before continuing.

“What does your family think of you?”

“If you mean blood relatives, they disappeared a long time ago. But the two people I consider family now both like me and support me.”

Sweat began forming on the doctor’s forehead.

“Do you believe you have some kind of special mission or identity?”

“Of course not. I don’t think I’m any more important than anyone else. But I do think I have a responsibility to tell people what I know through television.”

The doctor suddenly remembered something important.

“You’re Liam from Exploring the Truth?”

“Of course. Have you seen my show?”

“My... well, my son has. Your show is very interesting. I see now.”

The doctor immediately pressed the button again.

“So this was all a misunderstanding. I thought you were suffering from delusions.”

Liam was somewhat surprised by the doctor’s sudden change in attitude.

“I didn’t realize I was already this famous.”

The doctor looked at Liam and nodded firmly.

“You’re very famous. Really.”

Then he glanced at the clock on the wall.

“It’s almost time for us to close, Mr. Liam. If you don’t have any other business here, please head home.”

“Of course I have business here, just not with you. I’m going to wander around for a while first.”

More sweat appeared on the doctor’s forehead. He forced a smile.

“I hope you enjoy a nice, relaxing visit. Oh, and there’s free coffee downstairs. It’s actually pretty good.”

Liam stepped forward and shook the doctor’s hand.

“You really are a good person. I’ll be going now.”

After Liam had been gone for a while, and the doctor was certain he wasn’t going to suddenly come back, he turned around and made a phone call.

“Hello, Dr. Vlad? I saw that Liam you mentioned. No, he didn’t hit me. We just talked for a while.

“You’re giving me a few days off? That’s great. Oh, I see. Sounds like quite a few people are getting time off.”

By the time everyone at the hospital finished work for the day, Liam still hadn’t found any clues.

He began wondering whether searching the place alone was simply too inefficient.

Still, he hadn’t expected to uncover the Reptilians in a single day. His main purpose this time had been to familiarize himself with the hospital’s layout.

And in that regard, the trip had been extremely useful.

He could guarantee that anyone visiting this place for the first time would get lost. Even someone who had worked here for several months probably would.

Liam returned to the hot dog stand beside the hospital.

The person running it had changed since earlier.

Liam showed no reaction and calmly said,

“Twenty hot dogs. I’ll eat ten here and take the other ten to go.”

“No problem, kid.”

El Sombrerón’s voice came from the counter. He was sitting atop a can of Coke, leisurely strumming his guitar.

“Make them for him. We never treat our friends poorly.”

The vendor immediately turned on the gas beneath the griddle and waited until it was properly heated before putting the sausages on.

Liam could tell at a glance that the griddle hadn’t been used for a while. In fact, the last batch cooked on it had probably been the hot dogs he himself had eaten earlier.

“Kid, mind telling me what’s wrong with this hospital? You don’t exactly look like someone who came here for treatment.”

So the Home of Wanderers had come to investigate.

Liam never refused someone who was curious.

“I received information that this place is connected to the Reptilians.”

El Sombrerón immediately perked up.

“I see. Hospitals really are a blind spot for us. Hardly any of our people have health insurance, so most of us don’t dare set foot in places like this.

“Kid, thanks for the information. See you tomorrow.”

Liam picked up the bag of hot dogs and headed back toward his pickup truck without paying him any further attention.

When he returned, Frank took the hot dogs and handed some to Watson and Janice before asking,

“How did the investigation at the hospital go?”

“Pretty well. I figured out the hospital’s layout and passed the information along to the Home of Wanderers. They can handle some of the probing for me.

“But I keep feeling like someone’s watching me from the shadows. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to catch them.”