"Got it, Brother Chen!"
Chen Weiqiang's two trusted lackeys immediately took over from the other two goons and began dragging me out.
By the time they threw me back into the dorm, it was already evening.
Uncle Scar and the others had just returned from work and were horrified to see me covered in blood. The Dinosaur Sister burst into tears on the spot.
Earlier that day, she had closed a deal worth 200,000 yuan and had requested a special reward from Sister Yu—to visit me in the lower dormitory. Surprisingly, Sister Yu agreed.
But due to my persistent high fever, I had no energy to wonder why Qiangzi had stopped torturing me.
"Little Bottle, what happened to you? Say something! Boo hoo!"
Dinosaur Sister knelt on the floor, shaking my burning body and crying her heart out. She was the first person here to treat me well and had helped me a lot. I was very grateful to her. If there were an afterlife, I would definitely repay her kindness.
"Dinosaur, stop crying. If you keep wailing, he'll burn to death."
Uncle Scar touched my scorching forehead and anxiously asked, "Do you have any fever medicine? If this continues, he'll either die or become an idiot."
Dinosaur Sister caressed my flushed face sadly, "Fever medicine? Yes! I stole some fever and anti-inflammatory medicine from the supervisor last time. There might be a few pills left..."
With that, she got up and rushed out.
"These bastards are trying to kill you!"
Uncle Scar opened my tattered shirt and trousers, unable to hold back his tears. He must have been reminded of his own son who was still in school.
"Hang in there. I'll apply some medicine... Little Bottle, you must hold on. Uncle really has a way to get you out of here. Don't die on me! If you die, your parents will be heartbroken. You must survive. Uncle isn't lying. There really is a way to get you out of this hell!"
Uncle Scar wiped his eyes and used the remaining alcohol from last time to clean my wounds.
"Scar, you plan to escape?"
Dinosaur Sister suddenly pushed the door open, having overheard his words.
"Don't shout. If they hear us, we'll all die here!"
Uncle Scar quickly glanced outside the door; thankfully, no one was patrolling.
Dinosaur Sister ran over, excitedly whispering, "Can you take me with you? I'm strong and won't hold you back!"
"Enough talking. Let's bring his fever down first."
Uncle Scar frowned and continued to clean my body, then crushed the anti-inflammatory medicine and sprinkled it on my wounds.
Dinosaur Sister stopped talking, placed a fever pill in my mouth, and gave me some water to drink.
"Cough, cough."
A violent coughing fit nearly made me spit out the medicine. My whole body ached, my head throbbed, and I alternated between feeling cold and hot. My abdomen hurt terribly.
Uncle Scar kept holding my hand, constantly comforting me, while he continued to wipe my body with alcohol.
Dinosaur Sister used her remaining cash to buy ice pops from the small shop to cool my forehead.
Without their sincere help, I wouldn't have lasted.
I don't know how long I suffered before I finally fell into a blurry sleep.
When I woke up the next afternoon, my head felt much better, though I was still coughing and weak, with waves of soreness in my limbs.
"Uncle~ Uncle."
Besides being able to move my head, my whole body felt paralyzed. Any movement or attempt to turn over brought a crushing pain in my abdomen, forcing me to stop moving.
I called out hoarsely a few times, but no one answered. They were probably still at work.
Fully awake, the pain intensified, and coupled with hunger, I felt worse than death.
The door creaked open, and the sound of leather shoes echoed.
I lay on a makeshift bed in the corner, next to a pile of blackened, smelly blankets, unable to see who had entered.
"Awake? Your father just transferred 600,000 yuan."
It was the voice of the person I hated most!
He kicked the blankets aside, revealing Chen Weiqiang's ungrateful, heartless face. He had the audacity to cover his nose in disgust. The state I was in was their doing!
"The extra 100,000 is for your medical bills. Hospitals are expensive, 10,000 yuan a day. Whether you recover depends on your health. The Beautiful Supervisor said that if you behave, she'll promote you."
Chen Weiqiang looked down at me coldly. I glared at him, too angry to speak.
600,000 yuan! How did my father raise that money? He must have sold our old house and my brother's new home at a loss. Where would they live now? My sister-in-law was about to give birth—what about her and my nephew's future? My mother, already in poor health, could she survive this?
Anger shook me, and I vowed, "I'll kill you!"
I wasn't just being stubborn; I genuinely wanted to provoke him into killing me so my father wouldn't have to be extorted repeatedly.
"Stubborn fool!" Chen Weiqiang turned and shouted, "Get him to the hospital. If he escapes, I'll have you all buried with him!"
"Don't worry, Brother Chen, we'll watch him closely."
Four local goons rushed in, lifting me onto a dirty stretcher.
"Remember, he's valuable. If he loses a limb or gets disfigured, the supervisor won't spare you or your families!"
"Understood, Brother Chen. We'll take good care of him!"
The lackeys grinned and assured him.
"Go! And be careful not to let the Wei family see him!"
Chen Weiqiang waved them off and quickly left the damp, moldy dorm.
Money can indeed make the world go round. They actually treated me with some respect, not beating or insulting me.
The goons carried me to an ambulance and headed to the best hospital in Laojie.
The so-called best hospital was worse than a rural clinic back home. The rundown walls, old buildings with peeling paint, crowded patients, and filthy wards—everything screamed war-torn era.
Medical facilities were poor, incomes were low, and the doctors weren't great. If your illness was severe, they usually contacted the crematorium directly.
Due to my sensitive status and the fact that I had injured a spy from the Wei family, the Beautiful Supervisor had me placed in a five-square-meter private room.
Two armed goons guarded me inside, and two more stood at the door. They watched me 24/7, "protecting" me.