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墨書 Inktalez
The dawn gradually brightened in the drizzling rain, momentarily breaking the routine order of Weinan Psychiatric Hospital on this rainy morning.
Breakfast was at seven, and work began at six fifteen. The transport vehicle would arrive punctually before six, allowing the chef and the Helper to unload quickly. Today, the truck arrived a bit late. Xiao Mu couldn't see it from the window, but he heard the familiar sound of the engine. He tidied himself up and quietly left his room.
Mild patients and those confirmed to be non-threatening were in a less strict ward, where Xiao Mu was included. Professor Lu's group, known for their strict Discipline, was also present. As he stepped out, Professor Lu had already gathered people in the hall. The professor smiled and gave Xiao Mu a knowing glance. Xiao Mu searched for Old Bu; everything began with him.
"Old Bu... do you remember me?" Xiao Mu stopped Old Bu, who had just come out. Old Bu looked at him in confusion; this was true cognitive impairment—he simply couldn't remember that face. However, Xiao Mu had his ways. He reminded him, "I'm sent by the higher-ups."
Old Bu paused, a flicker of recognition in his memory. He looked at Xiao Mu with suspicion. Xiao Mu decided to pull out his trump card, humming: there has never been a savior or a deity... The sound of the International Anthem was mournful, and Old Bu's expression gradually turned solemn. He began to sob, tears welling up in his eyes as he stood straight, as if paying the highest respect to his faith.
"The higher-ups have an important mission for you," Xiao Mu said seriously.
"Okay, I promise to complete the mission. Please test me," Old Bu replied earnestly.
"After dawn, the organization will send someone to conduct an inspection of two individuals in Room 202 on the Second Floor who have violated Discipline. Your task is to ensure they are blocked at the entrance before anyone arrives for the inspection... Do you understand? Anyone not dressed like us is not one of our own," Xiao Mu instructed.
"I understand." Old Bu grasped the meaning of this simple command.
"Go now; make sure to stop them," Xiao Mu urged.
Those with faith do not negotiate conditions. Old Bu straightened his collar like he was preparing for battle and marched up the stairs with determination, then propped himself against a pole on the staircase.
Xiao Mu ran swiftly through the rain to the entrance, waving at the camera as he prepared to go out and work. Only he received such privileges; when the door card beeped open, he stepped outside. He placed his foot against the door, leaving it ajar and unable to close completely.
Behind him, Baldy had already made his move. He sprinted toward the blockade, using his momentum to leap and grab onto the wall. With a swift motion, he severed the surveillance line connected to the entrance control.
Indeed, this guy acted like a beast; his fierce demeanor sent shivers down Xiao Mu's spine.
The image on the Duty Monitoring Screen suddenly went black. The security guard looked out the window and saw a figure lingering at the entrance. Feeling a bit strange, he turned around to head outside for a closer look. However, he was soon stopped by Old Bu, who shouted at him fiercely, "Feeling guilty and trying to run away, huh? You're not going anywhere! Stay put and wait for the organization’s inspection."
What the hell? The security guard was so frightened that he retreated, picking up the Internal Line phone. Huh? It was dead.
Outside, Professor Lu led a group of members through the rain. Younger Brother had just stepped out when Baldy stuffed some plastic debris into the lock. This Rusp Uninterruptible Power Lock could only be opened with a key after cutting off the power; once blocked, it was nearly impossible to unlock. Waiting for power to return? That would take too long.
After finishing this task, Baldy quickly dashed toward the ambulances to remove the air valve cores and cut off their escape.
Professor Lu shouted at the patients who were staring blankly behind him, "The water is ready! Come out and take a shower!" With that, the group of patients erupted into chaos, running out into the rain, already starting to strip off their clothes for a shower.
He turned back with a smile, leading his team of over ten members toward the kitchen. The workers unloading supplies were dumbfounded—wow, so many patients in hospital gowns were collectively going wild. The sight was truly terrifying.
"Are we really taking them all?" Xiao Mu gasped, realizing that this seemed like a daunting task.
"Heh heh, without sacrifice, how can there be success? Hurry up and grab the keys; start the car..." Professor Lu wiped the rain from his face and whispered. Then, as if suddenly struck by inspiration, he began to sing loudly—his voice rising in pitch with the song "Can I Love You?"
Outside, the rain poured down like blood from my heart. Loving you for so long has been no easy feat...
As his voice rang out, the group of patients responded by singing along in various accents, marching forward in rhythm—one-two-one, one-two-one—directly toward the workers unloading supplies. Xiao Mu suddenly understood; everything they were doing had a purpose: today’s great escape. With so many mentally unstable individuals responding together, they would surely be unstoppable against anyone.
...Not thinking about how love has borne fruit; unwilling to desperately find excuses; not forcing you to do anything for me...
Professor Lu sang passionately, his expression filled with pain. His voice was hoarse and exhausted; it acted like a signal that infected those who had been trained to respond mechanically.
Xiao Mu glanced back and realized they had been exposed—the security guard from the enclosed area rushed out. Looking this way again, Baldy still hadn’t finished his work. Three out of four vehicles had been dealt with; meanwhile, the guards on that side were alert now, standing under the eaves of the hall making phone calls. Just as they approached the Cargo Van, alarms blared throughout the entire facility.
At this moment, the song reached its climax. Professor Lu struck an embracing pose just a few steps away and sang out: "Can I Hug You? My love, let me cry on your shoulder..."
As the song reached its end, those patients lunged forward wanting hugs while singing emotionally. The caregivers were terrified and dodged away. Xiao Mu acted quickly; he grabbed the driver who was trying to crawl under the vehicle and searched him for car keys before pointing decisively:
"Quick, quick... they're all going crazy! Give me the car keys, hurry and hide behind the car, or they'll strangle us!"
The driver had never seen such chaos before; he scrambled away in a panic. Xiao Mu turned around and was astonished to see Professor Lu effortlessly handling the most difficult situation. The patients were singing and hugging people almost unconsciously. The more you tried to push them away, the more determined they became. Just imagine being embraced by a mentally unstable person on a dreadful rainy day. Several chefs were already terrified, scrambling around in all directions.
Xiao Mu jumped into the car, turned the key to start it, and was about to warn the others when he suddenly heard a familiar roar. Glancing at the rearview mirror, he saw Sister Gu losing her temper, fiercely throwing off two Mental Patients who were trying to hug her, while shouting her signature curse:
"Get off you bastard, you're asking for death!"
She spotted Xiao Mu driving and yelled, "Linzi, get down here!"
With that, she rushed over. Xiao Mu's first instinct was to get away quickly; he stepped on the gas. Lu Hongbo, who had just gotten in the car, lost his balance and slipped on some vegetable leaves. Thud! He fell to the ground with a loud thump. Sister Gu knocked down several patients and grabbed Professor Lu by the collar without hesitation, delivering a resounding slap while scolding him: "You old fool, you're harming people again... Today I'm going to make sure you get a good beating... Run! Go ahead and run..."
As the chaos unfolded there, two security guards rushed toward Baldy, ready to join the fight. Xiao Mu drove toward the exit, but the guards were already locking the door. In that critical moment, Xiao Mu made a bold move; he suddenly jerked the steering wheel, causing the car to drift sharply. The tires splashed water everywhere as they hit a puddle, soaking the guards at the door. Realizing they were in trouble, they scrambled away just in time.
Then Xiao Mu reversed the car with a bang... crash... bang... crash... starting to ram into the door. The door creaked ominously as it began to give way.
In his line of sight, he could see Sister Gu slapping Professor Lu repeatedly and two security guards struggling against Baldy. Clearly outmatched, Baldy struck swiftly and brutally; with one punch and a knee strike, he took down one guard. The other guard attempted to tackle him from behind but ended up being thrown several meters away with a powerful slam—splashing into a puddle upon impact.
The guard lay on the ground in pain, blood seeping from where he had landed. Xiao Mu felt a surge of dark thoughts mixed with sick excitement as he pressed down harder on the accelerator. The car sped backward and crashed into the door again; this time it tilted precariously before scraping past it and out of the hospital.
Baldy sprinted over to assist Professor Lu, kicking Sister Gu aside as he pulled the bloodied professor along. At this point, everything was in disarray—the alarms blared loudly as patients awakened from their stupor and began to panic; some were banging on windows while others kicked doors and screamed. The entire hospital felt like boiling oil splashed with cold water—chaos erupted everywhere.
"The game is up; we can't escape now! After all that trouble to get married, someone else is crashing our wedding! That little brat ran off!" Professor Lu lamented in despair.
At that moment, they could no longer see the Cargo Van; it had definitely made its getaway first. With rain pouring down heavily, walking away was nothing short of a fantasy. Baldy tugged at him and said, "Try it... after all, we have no car left; maybe we can still run."
"Damn it... it's rare to meet such a righteous friend like you," Professor Lu sputtered as rainwater filled his mouth while they ran.
"You promised me twenty thousand bucks! If you don't pay up, I'll throw you back!" Baldy growled fiercely, emphasizing that his goal was money—not some notion of righteousness.
"Then I need to get out first... ah..."
“Car Brands is not working well, who can I blame? Damn it…”
The two of them came to a halt. In the pouring rain, the Cargo Van came roaring back, crashing through the door. The vehicle sped straight towards the security guard chasing Baldy. From several dozen meters away, Xiao Mu poked his head out, a fierce expression on his face as he shouted, “Get out of the way! I’m a lunatic; if I hit you, it’s just collateral damage!”
As the van thundered toward them, the crowd scattered in fear, but unexpectedly, the vehicle executed a sharp drift and circled back, coming to a screeching stop beside Baldy and Old Lu. Seeing the two staring blankly, Xiao Mu urged them on, “Do you want to end up in a sack getting zapped? Hurry up!”
Realization dawned on them, and they scrambled into the back of the van. As soon as the driver hit the gas, the vehicle roared away, crashing through the iron gate.
In just a few minutes of fleeing, by the time the doctors gathered to control those patients still embracing each other and opened the damaged entrance, half an hour had already passed. Dr. Bai rushed over; by then, the main gate was down, four emergency vehicles from Car Brands had flat tires, two security guards were injured, and patients were still causing a ruckus all over the place. The chaotic scene left him feeling frustrated with no one to vent to; with such heavy rain, there was no time to chase after them.
The local police station had dispatched vehicles to pursue them. Two hours later, several police cars arrived at Weinan Psychiatric Hospital. For this Provincial Psychiatric Hospital, security measures were comparable to those of a small prison. The escape of three Mental Patients was utterly baffling to them. Upon arrival, they organized a security meeting to gather all security personnel for questioning about what had happened. The situation was serious; Lu Hongbo was a notorious figure often targeted by law enforcement, while another suspect known as Baldy was waiting for an assessment of his mental competency. The potential risks posed by such individuals escaping were obvious.
The conclusion of their discussions was to temporarily seal off information and intensify efforts to locate them to prevent social repercussions.
The only exception was a minor character named Lin Musheng. When this file was presented to the police officers sifting through documents, they immediately spotted an issue: his identification card was fake. Once entered into the household registration system, it became clear that his physical description did not match at all. The director notified Dr. Bai, who was left dumbfounded as several police officers detained him in his office for questioning for quite some time. Speculation arose that he must have accepted Black Money to assist these two individuals under police scrutiny in their escape.
The consequences were severe; several officers took Dr. Bai directly to their patrol car, reportedly holding him accountable under the law…
……………………………………
……………………………………
Four hours later, having broken through multiple encirclements, the Cargo Van slowed down. The driver, Xiao Mu, had just come down from his adrenaline high and quickly felt both tired and hungry.
“Let’s go! What if the police catch up?” urged Professor Lu from inside the vehicle.
It was quite comical; his face had swollen up like a balloon, and he had leaves stuffed in his nose to stop the bleeding. Never had Xiao Mu seen such a disheveled version of the usually dignified professor. Annoyed, he replied, “We’re almost out of gas… If you guys don’t have money for fuel, we can only make it a few more kilometers.”
“That doesn’t make sense; it shouldn’t take four hours to get to Provincial Capital,” said Professor Lu, stunned.
A voice from the back seat shouted, "You're going the wrong way, you idiot! This is the direction to Hanzhong City."
"Uh-oh, what do we do now?" Professor Lu was taken aback; this was beyond his capabilities. He turned around and scolded Baldy, "Why didn't you say anything sooner? We could have run out of gas!"
"You think I'm a GPS? I just noticed!" Baldy yelled from the rear window.
Hanzhong City was fifteen kilometers away. A large arrow pointed in the direction they needed to go. Xiao Mu pressed the accelerator, and with a screech, he stopped after driving over two hundred kilometers. The torrential rain had turned into a light drizzle here, surrounded by mountains. The road snaked through valleys ahead. Professor Lu curiously asked, "Have you thought of any solutions?"
"What’s there to think about? I'm hungry," Xiao Mu panted, glancing sideways at the more disheveled Professor Lu.
"Don't look at me; I'm hungry too... Ugh, it's May and June, and there's nothing edible in the fields," Lu Hongbo said, leaning lightly against the car seat, feeling a moment of relief from their escape.
Gurgle... gurgle... went their stomachs.
Crunch... crunch... The sound of something being chewed caught Xiao Mu's attention. He excitedly jumped out of the car and ran to the back. When he opened the door, he found Baldy enjoying a cucumber, leftover from their cargo. Baldy tossed him one, and Xiao Mu couldn't contain his excitement as he bit into it. With a satisfying crunch, he realized that even raw cucumbers could taste so delicious. The two survivors exchanged smiles, wiping their muddy faces while munching on cucumbers.
Professor Lu heard them and couldn't care less about appearances anymore. He rushed down, climbed onto the car, and grabbed a cucumber for himself while complaining that he should have eaten more last night; otherwise, they wouldn't be starving now.
After devouring several cucumbers, their spirits lifted. However, another problem arose: all three were wearing hospital gowns after escaping; two of them had even lost their slippers and were barefoot now. To make matters worse, none of them had a single cent to spare. They were stuck in a desolate area with no gas station or place to find money.
"Let’s move the car and rob someone; drivers passing by must have cash," Baldy suggested with a mischievous grin but was immediately shot down by Professor Lu. "With your level of intelligence as a country bumpkin, if you try that today, you'll end up getting caught."
"Then how about we hit a gas station instead? They have plenty of money inside," Baldy proposed again, which left Professor Lu dumbfounded. It felt like an insult to intelligent people everywhere. Furious, he stormed off but didn’t get ten meters away from the cargo van before turning back. Baldy sat in the back while Xiao Mu leaned against the side of the vehicle, both laughing at him.
Indeed, in this remote mountain area, it was beyond his capabilities—no genius could shine here.
Lu Hongbo wiped his face and cursed a few times at that wicked woman who had hurt him earlier. Then he shamelessly approached the other two again. With his bare feet and hospital gown on, he felt like he couldn’t escape even if he had wings.
He tried to ease the awkwardness with a smile and said to Xiao Mu, "Little brother, you're quite righteous! We thought you would just drive off on your own."
"This is the benefit of foreign culture—team spirit is more important than individual heroism," Xiao Mu said with a smile.
"Wow, I'm so moved! Yes, yes, Linzi is right, team spirit... don't you agree, Baldy?" Lu Hongbo chimed in, but Baldy ignored him. At that moment, Xiao Mu realized that the hope for the three of them to escape their predicament rested on the shoulders of the most formidable person among them. It seemed that Baldy was not just a superior but an ally.
"That's true... Little brother is really impressive; we almost didn't make it out," Baldy said as he jumped out of the car, looking around and complimenting Xiao Mu. Xiao Mu smiled and replied, "No need to thank me; I was originally planning to leave alone, but then I thought you two were more important, so it’s better to take you along."
"No way! You think we're more important than you?" Baldy was skeptical.
"Of course! You have to catch the important people first," Xiao Mu laughed as he turned his head. Unexpectedly, Baldy kicked him lightly, which made Xiao Mu furious, but he obediently shrank back. This guy was tough; he was genuinely afraid of getting beaten up without reason.
With no agreement reached and no clear destination, they could only press on. Just as Xiao Mu had predicted, after driving ten kilometers, the car sputtered and came to a stop—the fuel gauge read empty. The three of them grabbed a few cucumbers from their pockets and abandoned the car to walk. They could already see the outline of the city in the distance. The three of them limped along, sweating profusely, and finally got a bit closer to the city that was now within sight. They stopped under a road sign, panting heavily and unable to move any further.
The sign read: Hanzhong City, 2k.
In this unfamiliar place and city, they were about to embark on an unpredictable adventure. Baldy and Lu Hongbo were both excited with shining eyes, while Xiao Mu felt a twinge of regret. He seriously doubted whether he would ever have the chance to return to his hometown in Binhai because being with these two characters might lead to outcomes far worse than being sent back to a mental hospital...
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