Chen Xiao was again fitted with the mask, which made him somewhat uncomfortable. Then the cart was lowered, and the man pushed it, retracing the original path.
During this time, he passed the first door he had encountered after waking up, and the sign on the door frame that he had not clearly seen before read, "No Smoking."
After a while, Chen Xiao was pushed into an elevator. Within his field of vision, he could see the display panel next to the door with the crimson numbers displaying "3".
Shortly after, the elevator jolted.
"2"
"1"
The elevator continued to descend, but the numbers on the display panel didn't change for a long time. Finally, after much longer than the previous changes had taken,
"B1"
appeared on the screen, accompanied by the sound of the elevator doors opening overhead.
Chen Xiao was pushed out of the elevator.
The ceiling wasn't very high, indicating that the first basement level wasn't made to accommodate much height, just specifically built much deeper underground. He wondered if there could be a second basement level, but that wasn't important now.
The lights here were very bright, casting a stark white glow around, and the sound of the cart's wheels echoed in the surroundings, suggesting the area was somewhat hollow. Chen Xiao again turned his eyes to the side, where he saw several windows that resembled jail cells, only painted white. It was very quiet; he wondered if there was anyone inside.
Then, a male voice came from overhead, "Is it done?"
Immediately after, there was a sound of keys clinking together, followed by the sound of a heavy, seemingly iron door being pulled open.
"Hmm, this kid seems to have passed that test! Someone will come to fetch him tomorrow!" the man pushing the cart said, continuing to push the flat cart forward.
Chen Xiao saw a door frame made of thick iron bars pass through his line of sight, followed by the sound of a door being pulled open, but it was clear this time that it wasn't an iron door.
"I wonder why they want this kid, don't they know this person is dangerous?" the man pushing the cart said as he pushed the cart into the room that had just been opened.
This room was specially designed, as could be told from the ceiling, which was completely covered with thick foam except for a recessed light bulb in the middle.
It was the kind of room designed to prevent psychiatric patients from hurting themselves by thrashing around.
At this moment, the cart was pushed upright, and he also saw a wall in front of him covered with the same foam.
"Never mind, without this kid, we can relax a bit; we're always on tenterhooks," the owner of the voice appeared within Chen Xiao's line of sight, a man in his 40s, also very sturdy, but slightly balding. At the moment, he was chatting with the man pushing the cart while strapping a restraint on Chen Xiao's arm.
"What do you think those people are up to?" the man pushing the cart asked, beginning to secure the restraints himself.
The balding man shrugged his shoulders and said, "Who knows, but looking at the director son of a gun, it must be some big shot! Probably someone from the government."
By then, they had both finished securing the restraints, and then they took the remaining straps and wrapped them around Chen Xiao's neck, pulling to the opposite side.
"3"
"2"
"1"
"Off you go!"
Both men chanted together, and with a "snap," the handcuffs on the flatbed were unlocked; following this, both men pulled the restraints tight, wrapping them around once more and tying them in the back.
Chen Xiao's arms were positioned in a crossed embrace. Only his wrists and hands could move slightly.
After that, the two men busied themselves and finally got Chen Xiao, thoroughly trussed up, off the flatbed.
All the while, Chen Xiao listened quietly, not saying a word; of course, with the mask on, he couldn't have spoken if he wanted to.
Then, the balding man reached toward the back of Chen Xiao's head, attempting to unfasten his mask buckle, inadvertently making eye contact.
The man's expression suddenly became puzzled.
"Hey? Lao Li, does this kid seem a bit off to you?" he said.
The one called Lao Li, the man pushing the cart, leaned in to take a look at Chen Xiao.
"Hmm? There's nothing different about him," he replied.
The bald man frowned and said to Chen Xiao, "No, look at his eyes, they don't look as... uh, foolish as before."
After listening, Lao Li took a closer look: "Hey? You're right, something's off!"
"Whatever, he's being sent away tomorrow anyway." Lao Li then raised his hand and said, "Once this is all done, we need to have a drink! Finally, we won't have to look at his ugly mug every day."
After he finished speaking, Chen Xiao's mask was taken off. Then the two of them backed out of the room side by side and shut the door.
...
It was only then that Chen Xiao began to move his body.
The restraint straps were very strong, practically impossible to break free from, and he could only move his hands within a very limited range. Without the aid of a spoon or something similar, he couldn't even eat.
He looked at his palms; his nails weren't long, his skin was relatively clean, and he appeared somewhat slim. He then quickly and randomly scratched around.
"Hmm, still pretty flexible," Chen Xiao thought.
Looking further down, he saw he was wearing a plain white hospital gown. An elastic band linked his ankles, only allowing him to take very small steps apart. He wasn't wearing shoes, not necessary in this sponge-lined hospital room.
He squatted down and tried to push himself up forcefully.
Hmm... he was around 175 cm tall, of average strength, his major joints felt good without any discomfort, and there didn't seem to be any injuries on his body. That was pretty good for a weak mental patient.
Having examined himself, he then began to observe the room,
There was a white squat toilet in the corner, slightly recessed into the floor.
Chen Xiao walked over to it, squatted down, and examined its structure closely. Nothing special about it. It was very clean inside, nothing... uh, you know.
But because it was unremarkable, it caught Chen Xiao's attention.
He frowned,
"Don't tell me..." he muttered, then suddenly turned around to inspect the rest of the room.
The three walls including the ceiling were the same, just covered in sponge, nothing else. The remaining wall with the door was solid and, just like the rest of the room, mostly covered with sponge. Next to the door was a small opening, probably used for passing meals. Naturally, that door wouldn't have a handle or anything like that.
"Nothing interesting at all," Chen Xiao muttered, then glanced again at the squat toilet: "Do I really have to do this?"
Frowning, Chen Xiao walked over, feeling extremely uncomfortable, like someone with OCD seeing a neatly stacked pile of eggs with a discolored kiwi stuffed inexplicably in the corner. It was infuriating, the irritation gnawing at him!
"It's obvious, isn't it? No need to confirm it..." he said, almost as if trying to reason with himself.
A moment of silence.
Suddenly, a look of ferocity and determination flashed in Chen Xiao's eyes. He leaped up in the air and with his legs together, he "thwack" landed in the squat toilet!
"Hmm... though not soft, it's resilient, and hitting it seems to pose no problems, likely some kind of plastic," he said to himself, his expression disgusted but noticeably relaxed.
After completing this pointless activity, Chen Xiao felt satisfied and sat down against the wall opposite the door, beginning to ponder.
From the behavior and dialogue of the two people just now, he deduced many things, but most of them were useless.
For instance, Lao Li, from his nasal hair and beard, it was clear he had abundant body hair, but his forearms were relatively hairless, perhaps often exposed. His upper arms were strong, his right scapula much wider than the left, a bit hunched, indicating he often carried heavy loads. The nails on his left thumb and forefinger were thick and dark, the calluses on his right palm and the base of his thumb were heavy but not rough, indicating his past as a manual laborer frequently using a hammer. Chronic alcohol consumption probably often led him to hit his fingers. He walked with a slight limp on his left leg, likely from an injury which forced him to quit his physical job and come here to watch mental patients and take up various odd jobs, probably for at least a year now as the calluses on his hands had started to soften.
Then, the bald man, still single, sleeping in a single bed, possibly even in this hospital's duty room. In his youth, he was a delinquent; someone once chopped his thumb tendons, he had a tattoo below his neck washed off, but faint traces still remained. He loved gambling and smoking, hadn't had a sex life for a long time. Recently he had some spare cash, probably from a gambling win, but why hadn't he taken this chance to celebrate?... Hmm...
Actually, these observations were really useless, but they naturally popped into Chen Xiao's mind, just from a glance.
Yet, there was some meaningful information.
First: These underground wards were definitely meant for holding dangerously mental patients, and the cell he was in was obviously meant for "special treatment." He'd probably been there for at least three to four years; when he arrived, he hadn't heard any other sounds. There might not be other patients here, or perhaps they were in another corridor or elsewhere, as it was impossible to deduce the hospital's layout from his arrival.
Second: Those two people clearly knew he was going to partake in a test, but they didn't know other details about the test, nor did they know what Mrs. Liu did. But one thing was certain: the place she belongs to must be significantly higher up than this mental hospital.
Third: He was very dangerous, but didn't know exactly where the danger lay. Was it because he sometimes couldn't control his behavior, or was it because of his OCD? Perhaps he might suddenly go crazy and bite people... Anyway, Chen Xiao thought he was doing okay for now... aside from the disappointment. And why had those two mentioned he seemed a bit different? What did they mean by that he was previously foolish... Unknown.\<