He was clearly a doctor with substantial income, but he didn't buy any property in the downtown areas of the property. Instead, he insisted on living in the terrible hospital dormitory.
Not only that. After the hospital had been mostly destroyed by the fire and converted into a psychiatric hospital, he still didn't leave and stayed in the hospital to contribute his labor.
What kind of spirit was this?
There was no selection of such things as "top ten outstanding workers" in this small city. Otherwise, this doctor named Jack White must be on the list.
"We're investigating now?" asked Zhou Zhenguo.
Nighttime was approaching, and after they snuck into the psychiatric hospital and stayed for a short while, it would probably be night.
The several "accidents" that happened were all at night.
"There are too many people around during the day, it's not easy to act. And great deeds are always done under risky conditions! Since we're already targeted, the longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it is." Little Chu said solemnly, "So we may as well make the strike ourselves. Jack the Ripper probably also won't expect us to take the initiative to strike at night."
After a pause, he looked at Tang Luo. "Master, what do you think?"
His words were right. But whether or not they were going in would ultimately be decided by Xuanzang, the strongest fighter.
Anyway, in the mind of Little Chu, Master Xuanzhuang was an even better fighter than Uncle Zhou. Well, he lost the face of veteran Employees of Gods and Demons.
"Okay. I will do my best to protect you guys," said Tang Luo.
'I can't let an opportunity for earning power of virtuous merits slip in front of my eyes. It's fate, indeed.'
While speaking, Tang Luo used some power of virtuous merits to place some protection to both of them.
When faced with danger, it could help a bit in resistance, giving Tang Luo more buffer time to save them.
This power of virtuous merits came from what had happened the previous night.
Tang Luo had used a part of it to heal his injuries, as was his routine, while the rest was all used right now.
The psychiatric hospital's location was not particularly remote, but the surroundings were very rundown and could even be described as desolate.
The residents in the surrounding area had been moved to the psychiatric hospital after the fire, and gradually moved away from this place.
No one was woken up in the middle of the night by the patients' ghostly screams.
Not to mention the incidents of patients escaping and injuring people.
The main body of the hospital consisted of three buildings, forming three sides of a rectangle. There were fences around it after it was changed into a psychiatric hospital.
Originally, there was a curved stone wall below and wire fences on top. It was changed into stone walls of almost three meters tall and more than one meter of wire fences on top of it. Only a thick iron gate and the small iron gate beside it allowed normal access.
Standing farther away, one could see the bare branches of a tree inside the fences.
Tang Luo's group stood outside the psychiatric hospital. They didn't hear any sounds of patients crying for the time being.
"Master, how do we get in?"
They circled it one round but couldn't find a way to enter and returned to the space near the unmanned gate. Little Chu looked at Tang Luo.
Zhou Zhenguo shook his head, indicating that he had no idea and looked at Tang Luo.
Tang Luo thought about it and said, "Let's go in through the door."
"It'd be too noisy." Little Chu did not doubt that Tang Luo had the power to kick open the small iron gate, but that would make too much noise.
They were secretly sneaking in for investigation, not directly rushing in to make trouble.
'Master, be sensible.'
"It's okay, there are also ways that don't make too much noise." Tang Luo walked to the small iron gate and pressed his hand on it.
At that time, the doctors, nurses, and caretakers in the hospital had already left work, and only a few remained on duty.
Both the large and small iron gates were tightly locked. There were no guards or such as well.
An irritating sound of metal deforming and crisp cracking sounds came consecutively, likely disappearing after passing through five or six meters.
It might not even be as loud as the crows that occasionally cried.
The small iron gate was slowly pushed open by Tang Luo, it was a quiet way indeed.
Tang Luo withdrew his hand, walked into the iron gate, and said, "Done."
"Sss…"
After giving the iron gate a closer look, Zhou Zhenguo drew a rapid breath. There was a large palm imprint on the gate—it was left by Tang Luo!
Behind the gate, the sturdy lock and such were completely damaged, losing any effect.
'Such a terrible thrust! Xuanzang, how can you say you are not a veteran!?'
The hospital's three main buildings formed the three sides of a rectangle, and its empty side faced the iron gate.
Half of the building on their left had already collapsed, and most of the remaining half only had its black, burnt frame left.
That was Hodge's "masterpiece".
The building in the middle was also affected. Where it met the burnt building, the burnt black marks were clear on the exterior walls. Part of its interior was probably also burnt, but on the whole, it was still intact and in use.
According to the information that Tang Luo's group had obtained, the hospital had admitted more than 100 patients in total over those years.
There had been no case of successful discharge.
More than 30 people were working at the hospital, and no more than 10 would be on duty at night.
The huge hospital was quiet except for occasional crow calls, they didn't even hear patients crying.
Though it was almost night, no lights were on.
There was an eerie sense of terror, which made Little Chu regret his words a little. But spoken words could not be taken back, and how could a man admit his fear?
'Since I'm here, I have to go on even if I'm scared.'
His actions clearly and vividly illustrated the meaning of "looking for trouble".
In the beginning, Little Chu and Zhou Zhenguo were still sneaking around, hiding into corners every now and then.
However, after they had walked around the building for a while, their actions became bold. There was no other reason but that the less than ten people on duty were far too few relative to the size of the hospital.
Two buildings still in use each had a full five floors. After all, it was an ordinary hospital before this, and it was really not small.
"Why do I feel that there are few patients? Aren't there supposed to be more than a hundred?" said Little Chu in a low voice.
Zhou Zhenguo shook his head, indicating that he was also unsure.
They not only did not see medical staff, but they also saw very few patients. Along the way, they saw no human being except two patients who were fast asleep in locked wards.
"Hey! You guys…"
Just then, a man in white appeared in the corner in front of them. He wore medical personnel attire.
Upon seeing the three strangers, he was immediately taken aback.
"This is not good!"
Zhou Zhenguo's response was pretty quick, he immediately stared at that person, wanting to activate his ability as soon as possible.
Tang Luo was even faster than Zhou Zhenguo. He crossed a distance of almost ten meters in a single step and reached the man. Then Tang Luo revealed a document. "Don't panic, we are detectives, we are here for an investigation."
"Huh?" The man froze for a moment and then looked at it. It was indeed a document issued by Cotland Yard.
Zhou Zhenguo stopped using his skill.
Tang Luo turned an infiltration mission into an open and just investigation in the blink of an eye.
'Such a thing can actually be done? Can the rule of honesty for monks be used under such circumstances?'
After confirming Tang Luo and the others' identities, the man asked, "What are you investigating for?" He looked alert and indifferent.
Speaking of which, the person was tall with a muscular face. He looked more like a gangster than medical personnel.
However, considering that this was a psychiatric hospital, and there was surely a need to subdue violent patients, it seemed somewhat normal for such a strong nurse to exist.
"It happened this morning, it's a very important case. Is the person in charge of the hospital here?" asked Tang Luo. "I mean Dr. James White."
"Mr. White is on duty in the hospital every night," said the man. "But Cotland Yard has already disturbed us once at noon, he was very tired and has already gone to rest. You can come again tomorrow."
"I've already said that it is a very important case," said Tang Luo. "We need to see Mr. White right now."
"Hmph!" The big man grinned. "It seems that my phrasing was complicated. Let me be simpler, f*ck o— AHH!"
His last word turned into a painful scream.
The big man knelt in front of Tang Luo with one arm stretched upward. His other hand rested on it, but couldn't exert any force, so it could only rest there in vain.
Tang Luo grabbed the big man's forearm and started speaking. "It seems that I also didn't speak clearly enough. This is an order, not a request, you understand?"
The man felt that the bones in his forearm had shattered, and coupled with the severe pain he didn't even have the strength to stand up.
As Tang Luo's hand let go of him, the man dropped to the ground at once.
Before he could struggle to stand up, Zhou Zhenguo had already walked to his side and squatted down. He pressed his revolver against his head. "Lead the way."
The man panted drastically, unable to control his painful expression. He nodded continuously.
Little Chu, who stood in the back, was dumbfounded.
'These two… are too brutal! Didn't we agree on secretly entering for investigation!? Brutes!'
The man led the way in front, as his lower back was touched by Zhou Zhenguo's revolver every now and then, reminding him not to try anything funny.
Little Chu asked quietly beside Tang Luo, "Master, isn't it too dangerous to do it so directly?"
This was likely the home base of Jack the Ripper.
Psychiatric hospitals and such were the most suitable bases for mysterious, evil organizations.
For them to enter in secret was already risky.
Now that Tang Luo had done this, they might have sent themselves into grave danger.
"Maybe." Tang Luo smiled mildly. "If we really encounter danger, you guys leave first, I'll cover for you."
Treat your companions as gently as the Spring, and treat your enemies as ruthlessly as the autumn wind.
When walking, Zhou Zhenguo suddenly asked, "Hodge is dead, and the present is not yet here. You guys must be panicking, right?"
"What gift? What are you talking about?" The big man did not look back, but anger and doubt were mixed in his suppressed, painful voice.
"Huh!" Zhou Zhenguo started laughing. He reached out to grab the man's shoulder. He went close to his ears and said, "I said 'present', not 'gift' as in the letter."
The man's face changed, realizing that he had exposed himself because of the pain and nervousness.
"It seems that you know quite a lot." Zhou Zhenguo nodded in satisfaction.
Zhou Zhenguo had tried many times to catch the suspected object by surprise. This time he finally succeeded and immensely rejoiced.
Little Chu was also very happy. The duo's faces looked heavy again after the joy because the mission had yet to be completed.
Next, they would probably have to send themselves into the tiger's den to really complete the task.
Maybe they'd be asked to destroy the entire organization of Jack the Ripper?
They hoped it would not be this difficult.