Chapter 166
Chapter 166
“This is… porridge?”
No. 2 stared in horror at the tiny things wailing incessantly inside the bowl. She nearly vomited on the spot.
“That’s right. This is porridge-my own original Farewell Porridge. I made it for my fourth aunt when she left home to find work. She was so touched she couldn’t bear to drink it.”
More like she didn’t dare drink it.
“I… I can’t swallow that.”
No. 2 hurriedly shook her head. She wanted nothing to do with such a terrifying concoction.
Unfortunately for her, the moment the porridge was brought out, the matter was no longer hers to decide.
“Come on, if you’re sick, you’ve got to get treated, right? I’m telling you, it tastes amazing. Just take one bite and you’ll understand.”
No. 2 desperately wanted to refuse, but with her frail little body, how could she possibly outwrestle a man whose thighs were thicker than she was?
Liu Ye scooped up a spoonful and shoved it straight into her mouth.
“Well? Tastes good, doesn’t it?”
No. 2’s face turned from red to green to white, cycling through several colors in an instant. Then she clutched her throat and began racing madly around the room.
“Aaaah!”
“B-Brother Liu, is she going to be okay?”
Wang Fugui was starting to panic. What if this stuff actually killed her?
“Relax. Look, isn’t she doing great? She’s a lot more energetic than she was a moment ago.”
Wang Fugui was speechless.
She was certainly energetic, but this was far too energetic!
“All right, I’ll leave these two to you. I still have to make rounds in the next room.”
With that, Liu Ye departed.
Wang Fugui looked at the two patients, one driven mad and the other rendered useless. It did not seem there was much left for him to do.
Liu Ye moved on to Ward No. 4. Before he even entered, he saw that Tong Qian had made No. 4 perfectly comfortable.
Tong Qian greeted him, and Liu Ye nodded with satisfaction. At last, there was one dependable person among this bunch.
After he left, Tong Qian picked up a small knife and lightly scraped it across Sister Han’s terrified face.
“Sister Han, what a coincidence. The people I hate most in this world are human traffickers. I’ll be sure to take very good care of you from now on.”
“Mmmph… Mmmph…”
Liu Ye only made brief stops at Wards No. 3 and No. 1. The patient in Ward No. 3 was bedridden and could not move at all, so all Liu Ye did was give him a massage or two.
As for the patient in Ward No. 1, Wang Weiwei had said she could handle him, so Liu Ye did not interfere much.
Several more days soon passed. Because Liu Ye had dealt with every patient in the hospital, the group remained safe throughout that time.
They had obtained two employee badges in total. One belonged to the convenience-store owner, while the other had been issued by Director Jia. They had spent the past few days desperately currying favor with him before finally earning that one badge.
But there were still three of them left.
“What do we do?”
Tong Qian looked at the other two. They had gotten along well during their time here, but when survival was at stake, she would not step aside.
Wang Fugui said nothing. He believed he was the most likely to end up without a badge, since he had not really accomplished anything.
“You two take them.”
Zhang Ru rubbed her head. Her consciousness was growing hazy. Wang Weiwei was about to wake up, and even if Zhang Ru obtained an employee badge, it would be useless. Wang Weiwei might very well throw it away herself.
Rather than waste the badge, it was better to give it to someone else.
“You should take it. I haven’t done anything, either.”
Wang Fugui wanted to deliver the line with heroic flair, but when the words reached his lips, he simply could not force them out.
“You two go ahead and eat. I’m heading back.”
Zhang Ru staggered up the stairs.
Tong Qian picked up an employee badge. When she saw tears spilling from Wang Fugui’s eyes, she gave a soft laugh.
“What’s wrong? Tried to play the hero and couldn’t pull it off?”
“I… I… wanted…”
Before Wang Fugui could finish, Tong Qian slapped the badge from the table against his chest.
“Don’t overthink it. As long as you stay alive, you’ll see plenty more things like this. If you feel you owe her, burn some extra incense for her during festivals from now on.”
With that, Tong Qian turned and left. Her badge identified her as a convenience-store clerk, and now she had to report for work.
When Zhang Ru returned to Ward No. 1, she collapsed onto the bed and lost consciousness.
The next moment, she slowly opened her eyes and found herself in an unfamiliar place.
She looked up and saw a monster crouched in the corner.
“Aaaah!”
The sight gave her a terrible fright, and she hurriedly apologized.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to.”
She knew it was wrong to judge someone by their appearance, but she had still been startled.
No. 1’s face instantly twisted with anger. Still, he knew the woman before him was not Zhang Ru, so he simply barked, “Get out!”
Wang Weiwei immediately fled the room. She tried to return to Ward No. 4, only to discover that its door would not open. Tong Qian had deliberately sealed it before leaving that day. She knew a little about Zhang Ru’s situation, so this could be considered her final repayment to Zhang Ru.
“Sister Han! Are you in there? Open the door! It’s me, Weiwei!”
Wang Weiwei shouted into the room, but no one answered.
Inside, Sister Han lay twitching on the bed, her limbs limp at her sides. Empty, eyeless sockets stared at the ceiling. She tried to make a sound, but there was nothing left in her mouth.
With no other choice, Wang Weiwei turned toward another ward. Before she could take a step, however, a wave of drowsiness washed over her. A moment later came a dull thud as she collapsed to the floor.
The same thing was happening elsewhere. Everyone in the hospital without an employee badge fell to the ground.
Liu Ye’s eyes flew open.
He found himself in an unfamiliar room. Several people sat nearby, all dressed in prison uniforms and shouting furiously about something.
“That’s strange. Wasn’t I in the hospital? How did I end up here?”
Liu Ye was utterly baffled. He had an employee badge, but he had not been wearing it while he slept. The thing was uncomfortable to keep on in bed.
So when the appointed time arrived, he was dragged into this place as well.
“Heh heh, fresh meat. What luck that he landed with us.”
One prisoner with a huge gold tooth gave a sinister chuckle.
“Hey, newcomer. Come play with us.”
Liu Ye wandered over innocently and sat opposite Big Gold Tooth.
“Sir, where are we?”
“Heh. Don’t worry about that yet. You’ll find out soon enough. First, let’s play a game.”
Bang!
He slapped a revolver down on the table.
“This game is called Big Bear Roulette. Heh. There are bullets on the table, and you can decide how many to load. Then we take turns firing. Whoever wins gets to take everything the loser owns. Well? Do you have the guts to play?”
Big Gold Tooth stared at him provocatively.