The Osweld Asylum was relatively close to the alchemy workshops where Huck's family resided.
Thanks to Li Lin's commission and appointment, Huck became the head of the Tide Power Station's patrol team, no longer engaging in unstable merchant work, which significantly improved his quality of life.
Not only him, but many of Vander's men found a means of survival through Li Lin, no longer idling around as they used to, resorting to odd jobs when money was tight.
Today, Li Lin prepared to resolve another threat to the citizens of the Midlane Square, and naturally, Vander was in full support.
He notified his trusted subordinates, Benso, Sevika, and Cade, among others, to gather a group of men and lay in ambush outside the Osweld Asylum, trying their best not to be detected.
Once Li Lin used the unmanned reconnaissance hoverballs to scout ahead, if evidence was found, they would take down these ruthless scoundrels.
Li Lin was quite surprised. This was the first time Vander had taken the initiative to eradicate the influence of a Chem-baron, even more so than he did with Silco, whose power was once weak.
It seemed that Raymond Keane had truly crossed his line.
In less than two hours, they were outside the Osweld Asylum.
Li Lin, Caitlyn, Kai'Sa, Vander, and the belated Benso, Sevika, and Cade gathered on the top floor of a nearby apartment building.
Li Lin paid a few gold coins to the original owner of the apartment to find another place to stay, and the offer was gladly accepted.
From here, they could oversee most of the outdoor activity areas of the asylum.
Caitlyn had assembled her rifle and placed it on the windowsill, her thumb flipping the switch to "shock bullet" non-lethal mode.
She rested the butt of the rifle against her shoulder, cheek pressed against the metal lining, her right eye observing the situation below through the optical scope.
"There are a total of 17 patients and 23 staff members currently observable, with 13 guards equipped with alchemy rifles and Hextech carbines, 8 wearing white coats who appear to be doctors, and two others dressed rather peculiarly."
"One in a suit with a leather collar, carrying a cane and wearing a top hat, looks like someone from the upper-class society of the Topside. The other one is dressed in tattered brown-gray overcoat and bronze alchemy-tech armor."
Vander also observed the situation with a monocular telescope. "The one in the noble dress is Osweld, the director of this asylum, and the other one beside him is Raymond Keane."
Caitlyn withdrew her gaze, looking rather serious. "Why would a mere asylum be equipped with enough firepower to engage in a small-scale battle? Is it just to guard against those mentally ill? This is definitely not a normal asylum."
"Osweld used to be a butcher, but he was arrested by the Piltover Enforcers several times for conducting live experiments on animals with alchemical potions and selling their meat to unsuspecting customers," said Sevika with a sardonic laugh, her hoarse voice echoing in the cramped room.
"I heard from Huck that Osweld often lurks around his family's alchemy workshop to buy potions," Cade added.
"Talking about this now won't help. We still need evidence; otherwise, the Piltover Enforcers have no reason to arrest these people," Li Lin said, controlling the armor to expand the belt area, two black iron blocks quickly unfolding and rising into the air.
He fine-tuned the two drones until the holographic display showed their perspective.
Ensuring there were no network connection issues, he maneuvered the reconnaissance drone into the asylum through a partially open window on the second floor.
The drone's speed was fast, with virtually no noise.
This was a new technology that even the scientists in Piltover had never seen before.
Coupled with the distinctive steel lattice style of the Zaun architecture, these mini drones had many places to hide.
With a little caution, the patrolling guards inside the asylum would not notice any abnormalities.
However, at the current stage, the network connection range between the infinite battle armor and the drone was only 200 meters, allowing exploration of only one-third of the asylum.
If there were critical areas that couldn't be explored, Li Lin decided to activate the Long-Range Control to increase the real-time network connection range to 600 meters.
Although this effect would only last for 2 hours, after the expiration, the shared network device of the drone would be scrapped, but it was enough for their purposes.
The second-floor corridor of the asylum had a lattice fence and an iron gate at one end, which was locked. Two burly guards, with retractable sticks and folding knives hanging from their waists, stood guard outside the iron gate.
On the other side, due to the dim yellow alchemical light reflected by the dark green metal walls, along with the occasional wind blowing through the metal crevices, it sounded like the wailing of women and children, adding an eerie and creepy atmosphere to the deserted corridor.
Li Lin stared intently at the screen, "I'm in."
"How's the situation?" Caitlyn asked anxiously.
"This floor... should be the residential area for patients."
The drone transmitted images showing rows of heavy steel doors tightly integrated with the corridor's metal walls, which were typically only used in blast shelters or safe havens.
There were two middle-aged men in white coats holding medical records and hard-shell pens, talking to each other as they walked towards the elevator in front of them.
"By the way, how's the condition of the patient you're dealing with?"
"After my diagnosis, he has symptoms of severe depression, mania, and eating disorders, but with my help, he has started to eat obediently."
The skinny man with a Mediterranean hairstyle chuckled.
The other man, who looked slightly younger, asked curiously, "How did you manage that? Wasn't that guy trying to attack you before?"
"Humph! Dealing with such patients requires targeted treatment."
The bald man snorted, "A while ago, I had the guards tie him to an iron-nailed chair. If he didn't eat obediently, I would pull out one of his nails."
The bald man became excited, his eyes gleaming with excitement, a twisted smile appearing on his face.
"I started with his toenails, then his fingernails... but his condition was very severe. Even after I pulled out 20 of his nails, it didn't cure his illness.
"Later, I soaked his hands and feet in salt water and then started using pliers to pull out his teeth. By the time I pulled out his fifth tooth, his illness was cured by me."
"You're simply a genius, Mr. Osweld! Why didn't I think of that?"
The other man echoed, his voice sounding somewhat self-blaming.
"I've been injecting treatment drugs and even used brain lobotomy on my schizophrenic patient, but he still couldn't make it through."
"You have a lot to learn, Leeton." Osweld patted Leeton's shoulder, his voice heavy with meaning, "As long as you follow me, you will definitely become a great psychiatrist like me."
"I will!" Leeton exclaimed excitedly.
"By the way, hasn't Baron Raymond Kean recently sent another patient? The baron specifically instructed us to take good care of him... How's his condition?"
Leeton quickly flipped through the medical records.
After a brief pause, he listed more than a dozen mental illnesses: "Hmm, from our initial observation, the patient suffers from delusional disorder, schizophrenia, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and somatic-related disorders..."
"It seems that the patient's condition is very serious." Osweld's face showed a strange worried expression, "Where is he now?"
"These days, we've let him stay in a room outside the basement operating room."
"Very well, he needs surgery immediately." Osweld's mouth curled up in a high arc, "Let's start with a neural puncture surgery."
(End of Chapter)