Chapter 593
Chapter 593
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 593
>Chapter Title: Wang Wei
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Hearing Wang Wei's words, Li Huowang felt a jolt of alarm in his heart. But what surprised him even more was Wang Wei's current demeanor—he truly looked deranged.
He had no idea what had happened during this time to change Wang Wei so drastically.
After digesting the man's words, Li Huowang first glanced toward the restroom door and saw no reaction from the guards. Only then did he turn back, his expression grave as he said, "Wang Wei, I'm cured! There's no 'over there.' That place is all fake! It's all just my hallucinations!"
"This ends here! Don't come looking for me again! Otherwise, don't blame me for getting rough!"
Li Huowang forcefully shook off Wang Wei's grip and prepared to leave. He never imagined that this lingering tail he hadn't shaken off would turn out to be this guy.
"I've got surveillance footage of you conjuring gold out of thin air! Think carefully—what would happen if I uploaded that online?"
Wang Wei's words made Li Huowang freeze in his tracks. When he spun around again, his face had twisted into something utterly ferocious.
Li Huowang slowly approached him and leaned in close to his ear, whispering in an eerily soft voice, "You'd better run everything you say through your head first from now on! Keep in mind, I haven't been discharged yet. A mentally ill person killing someone? That's not a crime!"
By the end, Li Huowang was breathing hot air onto him, baring his gleaming white teeth.
Wang Wei's scalp prickled all over as the man's aura shifted in an instant. It was as if a human no longer stood before him, but a man-eating beast instead. This guy really wanted to kill him!
Yet the thrill and excitement surging in Wang Wei's chest overpowered his fear. Forcing himself to stay calm, he said, "I don't believe you could kill me. You're not sick at all! You just have special abilities!"
After saying this, as if afraid Li Huowang might lunge and bite his head off, Wang Wei took a step back before continuing, "I'm not here to threaten you. I've come with sincerity. I want to partner with you!"
"You're the crazy one!" As soon as Li Huowang spoke, footsteps approached from outside—the sound of a guard turning.
"Not convenient to talk now. We'll find another chance to chat properly!"
"Little Li?" When Officer Liu stepped into the restroom, he saw Li Huowang washing his hands while the old man bent down to clean the floor.
"What's the rush? Can't you see I'm in handcuffs? Going slow is normal." Li Huowang shook his hands as he spoke, not even glancing at Wang Wei as he walked out.
Officer Liu gave the sweeping old man a puzzled look before following after him.
In the days that followed, Li Huowang avoided that restroom, and Wang Wei didn't come looking for him. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
But Li Huowang knew this wasn't over. The man would surely come knocking again. He needed to think of a countermeasure in advance.
A few days later, the mental ward section began to buzz with festivity. The patients' faces bore more smiles than usual.
The reason was simple: Chinese New Year was approaching, and the food in the ward would improve, with better eats and drinks than before.
Li Huowang heard from the guards that the regular reform-through-labor sections next door got even livelier during the holiday, with rehearsals of shows where inmates with performance experience would take the stage.
But the White Tower Mental Patient Containment Ward naturally lacked such talents. New Year's here just meant watching the Spring Festival Gala and wrapping dumplings— the usual routine.
Soon, New Year's Eve arrived. Sun Xiaoqin brought Li Huowang along as they cheerfully wrapped dumplings together, laughing loudly at his lopsided handiwork.
"Son, hurry up and wrap them. We're going to watch the Spring Festival Gala in a bit."
"Do we really need to make this many?" Li Huowang shook his handcuffed hands.
"Of course! We can't just eat them ourselves. We should share some with the others in the ward. They're all pitiful souls."
The dumplings were soon wrapped and taken by Sun Xiaoqin to the kitchen to boil. With knives in there, high-risk cases like Li Huowang naturally weren't allowed near.
Under Officer Liu's escort, he headed to the rec area to wait for the Spring Festival variety show.
Perhaps because of the holiday, he now had only one guard watching him.
"Liu Bro, working overtime on New Year's Eve? You guys have it rough." Li Huowang sat down on the bench and said.
Little Liu didn't seem too enthusiastic. He pulled a milk candy from his pocket and popped it in his mouth. "Sigh, that's why they say my job is just getting paid to be in prison. I really want to quit. What was I thinking back then, studying for this stupid exam instead of something better?"
"Don't just think about the downsides—think of the upsides too. Sure, you can't go home for New Year's, but you've got overtime pay no one else does."
Right on eight o'clock, the Spring Festival Gala began, and Sun Xiaoqin's dumplings were brought out.
The patients, along with the on-duty guards and orderlies, ate dumplings while loudly griping about the garbage programs on TV. For once, the ward felt festive.
But just then, that sensation returned. Li Huowang said nothing about it. He simply stood and told Officer Liu beside him that the Gala sucked and he wanted to go back to sleep.
With everyone gathered in the rec area watching the Gala, the ward rooms were eerily quiet.
Suddenly, Li Huowang noticed the red light on the surveillance camera in the corner go dark, and his room door silently creaked open.
"You're here?" Li Huowang, eyes closed as he lay on the bed, asked—as if he'd expected the visitor all along.
The figure stepped inside. In the light spilling from the corridor, Li Huowang saw his face. It was none other than Wang Wei, now dressed in a blue-and-white patient gown, clearly disguised.
"You're pretty good, sneaking into a place this secure. True professionals stick to their specialties." Li Huowang slowly sat up. He knew this trouble wouldn't go away without being dealt with.
Wang Wei wasted no words and tossed a small stack of papers onto Li Huowang's bed. "This is Yi Donglai's paper. I know what you went through over there."
Li Huowang picked it up and flipped through it, finding most of his own words recorded within.
While Li Huowang browsed the paper, Wang Wei stepped forward, staring at him with fervent excitement. "If you can pull out gold, then you can surely produce Life-Extending Pills that add years to one's lifespan."
"Make one right now, in front of me! Let's see it!"
Li Huowang stared at him intently for a long moment before suddenly speaking. "Back when you were treating me, I got kidnapped once by some people. They thought I could conjure gold too. Did you leak info about me to them?"
He recalled that prior incident, when he'd inexplicably been snatched from the mental hospital and left as a homeless lunatic under a bridge overpass for a spell.
Thinking back now, those few couldn't have pulled it off alone. The only explanation was an inside job at the hospital back then, helping from the shadows.
Wang Wei's behavior now made it hard for Li Huowang not to suspect him.