Chapter 28: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part 28)

Chapter 28: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Twenty-Eight)

Although he had a certain understanding of Xie Fangcheng, at this moment, Qi Chanyang couldn't help but say, "Hey!"

Seeing that he was about to give another lecture, Xie Fangcheng quickly grabbed his staff, "I'll go next door to keep an eye on Liu Hanxi."

Saying this, he turned and left.

"Hey! …Ah," Qi Chanyang lamented, frustrated and disappointed.

Gu Shanzhan, who was nearby, comforted him, "Brother Xie is so strong, he definitely has his own style of clearing stages. Don't worry too much, Brother Qi."

Qi Chanyang was well aware that with Xie Fangcheng's capabilities, worrying about him was less necessary than worrying about himself.

But this person inherently possessed a kind of aura that was extremely reliable yet utterly absurd, making Qi Chanyang involuntarily concerned.

Xie Fangcheng, who had a distinctive style of clearing stages, blended in seamlessly at the badminton court, quickly mingling with the patient NPCs.

He was indeed keeping a close eye on Liu Hanxi.

Not only was he personally watching, but he also enlisted some help.

"Number Nine, could you do me a favor and keep an eye on the third one? I'll arrange for the chef to give you an extra meal tonight!" He said to the obedient and clever Number Nine.

"Little One, watch the third one for me. You won't?" Xie Fangcheng waved the stick in his hand nonchalantly.

Number One shrank back a little, still questioning, "Why the third one?"

Xie Fangcheng replied with a natural expression, "Calling him 'Little Three' wouldn't be appropriate, right?"

Number One: "..."

After assigning left and right hand men, Xie Fangcheng leisurely seated himself in a corner of the court. He relaxed, pulling out a book from his bosom and began reading with great interest.

Meanwhile, Liu Hanxi was playing badminton with someone. The ball was still his right eye. He played fervently, with the ball occasionally reaching nearly as high as the ceiling. The eyeball constantly shifted between the reading room and the badminton court, moving across the glass window dividing them.

One time... two times...

Suddenly, like a momentary serve mistake, the eyeball made a soft "snap" noise, sticking to the glass window, its black pupil staring straight into the reading room.

Inside the reading room, Qi Chanyang and the others were once again consolidating the information they had at hand, before immersing themselves back into their needle-in-a-haystack search.

Everyone had searched through not even half the books on the shelves, still hunting for valuable clues, working hard to prepare for surviving the final day and clearing the instance.

The eyeball glanced at the group and quickly lost interest, shifting its gaze away.

It rotated slightly, revealing a kind of fervor and cherishment, even though it was clearly an inorganic eye.

The black pupil fixed intently on the top of the third row of bookshelves...

Liu Hanxi stood on the ground, suddenly lifting his head, his remaining left eye and the right eye adhered to the window were both staring straight at the pile of bones.

It was gone.

"...Mom," Liu Hanxi said, his eyes filled with heartbreak and confusion, uttering unconsciously.

At that moment, a voice reached his ears, "'Mom'? Who? Ge Juan?"

Liu Hanxi's neck stiffened as he turned his head slowly.

Beside him, a familiar face was also looking at the glass window with him.

Xie Fangcheng made a canopy with his hand over his eyes, squinting slightly.

"Can this eye still function properly? It just hit the window quite hard, isn't it dirty?" he asked.

Liu Hanxi looked at him without saying a word, then suddenly turned to run.

But behind him, Number One and Number Nine blocked his path like two loyal guardians, each grabbing one of his arms and lifting him up.

Liu Hanxi kicked wildly, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Xu Gao! Dai Menggui! You two are traitors, traitors!"

Other patients in the badminton hall turned their heads one after another. Someone hesitated for a moment, took two steps forward as if to intervene, but was then grabbed by another patient nearby.

"Don't go..."

Most of the patient NPCs spoke at a slow pace. Xie Fangcheng, along with his two lieutenants, had already walked up to the patient who intended to intervene before they heard the next sentence.

"That one... is quite terrifying."

Xie Fangcheng turned his head, only to see the tall and sturdy, almost two meters high patient number six saying this. He slowly withdrew his neck, looking extremely terrified.

Xie Fangcheng was speechless, "I am a very reasonable person. When have I ever hit someone for no reason? Right, Number One, Number Nine?"

Number Nine, with eyes as round as meatballs at this moment, nodded briskly: "Yes!"

Number One turned his face to the side.

The trio, along with their captive, left the badminton hall in this manner and reached the reading room next door. Xie Fangcheng knocked on the door and peeked in, "Still searching for clues?"

Everyone was on tenterhooks, flipping through books till they were dizzy but not daring to stop. Seeing him, they all understood why Qi Chanyang was so furious.

They were all corporate slaves from the same department. Some people could slack off at work and leave at five, while others who worked diligently had to work overtime.

Qi Chanyang was still sitting next to the magazine rack at the entrance, giving him a disappointed glance as if to say he expected better.

Xie Fangcheng pretended not to notice, "Ahem, I also found a clue."

"What?"

Xie Fangcheng waved his hand, and Number One and Number Nine brought the person inside.

Liu Hanxi wasn't struggling anymore, just glaring resentfully at Xie Fangcheng.

Xie Fangcheng pointed to the glass window, "This kid was spying over there just now, even shouting 'Mom'."

Qi Chanyang paused for a moment, exchanging a glance with Gu Shanshan.

It seemed their speculation was correct, the corpse on the third bookshelf was Ge Juan's.

Qi Chanyang took out a lollipop from his system backpack and offered it to Liu Hanxi.

[Item: No one can resist a lollipop.]

"Little buddy, can big brother ask you a few questions?"

Liu Hanxi glanced at him, "No."

Immediately afterwards, someone pressed down on Liu Hanxi's shoulder, "Kid, speak politely!"

Liu Hanxi: "..."

Qi Chanyang thought to himself that this was indeed quite fierce.

But it was certainly very effective.

He pulled out a ring engraved with the initials "CXY", and instantly, the expression in Liu Hanxi's eyes changed.

"Give it back to me!!"

Without missing a beat, Qi Chanyang lifted the ring higher, and Liu Hanxi jumped twice futilely, unable to reach it at all.

Compared to the other patient NPCs, this sole normal individual seemed frighteningly feeble.

"Is this yours? I found it at the very top of the third bookshelf. If it's yours, how did you manage to place it up there?"

It was only yesterday that Xie Fangcheng and Gu Shanshan had visited the kitchen and after procuring a stepladder were they able to retrieve the ring.

But even the kitchen NPCs had stated that items from the kitchen couldn't be taken outside.

With Liu Hanxi's level of capability, how could he have placed the ring in such a high location?

Liu Hanxi remained silent.

Qi Chanyang pretended to pocket the ring, prompting Liu Hanxi to finally speak up in a fluster, "It was Wang He! He helped me put it there!"

Wang He was patient number six, the one who was nearly two meters tall.

With his long arms, he could indeed reach to place the ring amidst the pile of bones.

Qi Chanyang probed further, "Why did you place the ring there?"

Liu Hanxi scoffed, "Why do you care? It's my business."

Xie Fangcheng chimed in, "Hey, this kid really lacks manners."

Liu Hanxi glared at him, "You're even more ill-mannered!"

"True," Xie Fangcheng nodded, "I can be even more uncouth, are you scared?"

Liu Hanxi glanced at the stick in his hand, then turned his gaze towards Qi Chanyang.

"I'll tell you if you return the ring to me."

The ring was a vital element in handling the Dean at night, leaving Qi Chanyang with no choice but to shake his head, "I'll give it back to you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Liu Hanxi let out a strange laugh, "It won't be of use by tomorrow..."

Qi Chanyang furrowed his brows, "What?"

This time, Liu Hanxi only responded with a cold, derisive chuckle.

"You'll find out by tomorrow," he said ominously.

Qi Chanyang furrowed his brows.

Normally under such circumstances, pressing for answers was futile, as players found it extremely difficult to extract information from an unwilling NPC.

He observed Liu Hanxi's expression and suddenly ventured, "Do you realize that the current Ge Juan is not your biological mother?"

Liu Hanxi shot him a glance, "I know."

"Then... what is the relationship between the dean and your mother?"

Liu Hanxi gave him a cold, steely stare, not showing any inclination to respond.

Gu Shanshan hastily diverted the conversation, "Little Xi, do you not get along well with your sister?"

Yesterday, when the dean was mentioned to have 'consumed' Liu Hanyue, Liu Hanxi had displayed a sense of exhilaration.

But why was that?

If their conjecture was accurate, that one of Liu Hanxi's eyes was from Liu Hanyue, one would expect him to harbor some guilt towards his sister under such circumstances.

Mention of Liu Hanyue changed the young boy's facial expression dramatically.

"She is the one who killed our mother!!"

Sun Miao couldn't help but interject, "Wasn't it because Ge Juan gave you your sister's eye, and Liu Hanyue had taken medicine from this hospital that altered her personality significantly..."

"Who asked for her eye anyway!" Liu Hanxi retorted, violently gouging out his left eye, which started rolling around in the palm of his hand. "I don't want this damn eye!"

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

If Liu Hanxi didn't want it, could it be that Ge Juan forced Liu Hanyue to give it up?

For a little girl still in elementary school, being coerced by her mother to give up one of her eyes to her brother could explain why she never smiled after losing an eye.

Liu Hanxi looked at them, suddenly scoffing coldly, "It doesn't matter now, anyway, by tomorrow..."

At this point, Xie Fangcheng, who had been silently observing, couldn't hold back any longer, "Wait for what, tomorrow? If you don't spill the beans now, I'll hang you from the chandelier and let you spend the night there!"

As he spoke, he mysteriously produced a bundle of rope from somewhere.

Liu Hanxi stepped back, puffing his chest defiantly, "Go ahead, hang me! I still won't say anything!"

"Such arrogance!" Xie Fangcheng exclaimed, flicking the rope skillfully and swiftly binding Liu Hanxi.

Just as Qi Chanyang was about to speak, he caught a subtle, cautionary glance from Xie Fangcheng and held his tongue.

Meanwhile, Liu Hanxi had been tied up like a zongzi (rice dumpling), one end of the rope firmly secured in Xie Fangcheng's grip.

"If you won't talk, we can keep this stalemate going!" he threatened. Turning to Qi Chanyang, he jerked his chin, "Anything else? If not, I'm taking this kid next door for some 'remodeling.'"

Qi Chanyang had come to a realization, shaking his head slightly, "No."

Xie Fangcheng swaggered off with his captive and two lackeys in tow.

The moment they left, Qi Chanyang turned to Gu Shanshan, asking urgently, "Did you pass a note to him?"

Gu Shanshan paused, a bit startled, "What?"

Qi Chanyang looked shocked, "He just gave me a meaningful glance, wasn't that a hint to me to not interfere, suggesting that he had a plan?"

Gu Shanshan hesitated, "I...I don't know..."

Qi Chanyang stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Then what was that glance he threw at me supposed to mean?"

The bystanders were abuzz, all chiming in with their opinions.

Xue Kai seemed to view Xie Fangcheng through rose-tinted glasses and had already started concocting scenarios in his mind.

"I think Brother Xie might be hiding his true abilities! He actually understands everything, but since his physical strength is so impressive, having a high IQ on top of that would make him seem too perfect, creating a distance between us. So he deliberately plays dumb to maintain a closer connection with us!"

"Really? Isn't that stretching it a bit?" Qi Chanyang looked skeptical, his face reflecting disbelief.

Xue Kai asserted confidently, "It must be the case! Otherwise, think about it, Qi Brother, if he displayed both formidable fighting skills and high intelligence, would you still scold him daily as you do now?"

After pondering over it, Qi Chanyang felt a sudden, unsettling realization envelop him.

Could it be that Xie Fangcheng was deliberately concealing his true prowess, just as Xue Kai had suggested?

It wasn't until He Xin came to notify them about lunch that they passed the badminton court and saw Liu Hanxi hanging from the chandelier.

Everyone: "..."

With an impassive face, Qi Chanyang stared at Xie Fangcheng, who was in the process of lowering Liu Hanxi from the chandelier, "Did you just give me a knowing look earlier?"

"Yeah," Xie Fangcheng grinned, "I didn't expect you to grasp my meaning so quickly, truly the mark of a veteran player!"

"..." Qi Chanyang eyed him, "What was that glance supposed to mean, exactly?"

"Oh, I was signaling to you not to worry, that I'd handle him!"

With that, Xie Fangcheng sighed regretfully, "This kid's quite resilient, just wouldn't give in."

He resembled a jailer employing torture to interrogate a prisoner.

Even Xue Kai was left speechless, his face a canvas of disbelief.

"Brother Xie..."

"Hmm?"

Xue Kai: "In our underworld... is using one's brain against the law?"

.

After lunch, everyone was to return to their rooms in order.

Oddly, this time the patient NPCs were all moving very slowly, clustering at the back without speaking, just nudging each other quietly, as if engaged in some kind of silent conversation.

Qi Chanyang looked back several times... mostly because Xie Fangcheng was also mingled among the group of NPCs.

However, no one nudged him; in this scenario, he seemed to be some kind of repellant force, with NPCs avoiding him wherever he went.

During the current nudging amongst the patient NPCs, they were all careful not to come into contact with him.

Xie Fangcheng was holding a rope at this time, and had not yet released Liu Hanxi.

Upon reaching the third floor, Xie Fangcheng even casually greeted number nine.

"Nine, old three and I are going to sleep outside for a day, we'll be back soon. This lady will be in the same room as you, don't scare her, okay?"

Lu Xiaqin looked at the number nine patient timidly.

The number nine patient tilted his disoriented head towards her: "Hello... "

Lu Xiaqin, who had gained some courage, managed to respond: "Hello."

Over there, the door of room number three opened, and Xie Fangcheng directly tethered Liu Hanxi to the head of the bed, closing his eyes shortly afterwards, seemingly falling asleep quickly.

Liu Hanxi, who was tied to the bed, watched him. Seeing that he had fallen asleep, he finally extended his hand and gouged out his right eye again.

The eyeball in his hand moved animatedly. Upon closer inspection, one would see fluffy tentacles protruding from beneath the eyeball, resembling the tentacles of the pills that hadn't been ingested yet.

These tentacles propelled the eyeball to crawl to the door, and then squeezed through the crack.

Shortly after, the doorknob turned gently, and someone tiptoed in.