...
...Is this insanity?
For a moment, it seemed as if a terrifying force had broken through its shackles, mercilessly bursting into Chen Xiao's mind—terrifying, fearful, bizarre, incomprehensible, chaos to the extreme.
"Uh," Chen Xiao's mind exploded, and he couldn't help but cry out softly, afterward slowly opening his eyes...
In an instant, everything rushed into his sight—the grease stains at the corner of his mouth, the dust on his collar, the broken branches, the thin clouds, every person, every strand of hair, every blade of grass, every car, every ray of light, every gust of wind.
He knew these people's breakfasts, the bars they had visited last year, their parents' first dates, the tree roots deep beneath the soil at his feet, the traffic accidents in the downtown area, the cold currents cascading down from distant mountains—he knew now that he was very... insane!
"Hahahahaha!" Chen Xiao began to laugh wildly, clutching his stomach, his laughter piercingly sharp, each sound as if he were laughing himself into complete exhaustion.
This laughter startled the people around, and even a guard shuddered with fear, immediately raising his gun, aiming it directly at Chen Xiao.
People thought, "What's the matter with this guy, has he lost his mind? Why does his laughter sound so unpleasant?"
Chen Xiao was still laughing, "I seem to want to do something." He suddenly remembered. "Oh, right, I want to slap that guard in the face."
He suddenly raised his head, startling Mr. Zou!
"Let me slap him across the face," Chen Xiao said with a grin.
"No way!" Mr. Zou replied without thinking, "Stop playing tricks. Put that disgusting smile away, or I'll shoot you dead on the spot!"
Chen Xiao paid no attention and seemed to have heard something very amusing; his laughter grew even more joyful: "Alright then, just let me hit him, and then you can shoot me to pieces! That's fair! Hahaha."
Mr. Zou seemed completely at a loss for what to do next. This man had just demonstrated a remarkable capacity for observation, but now he seemed a bit neurotic. He frowned tightly and said, "Impossible. By regulation, the guards' helmets can't be removed at this time. Give up on that idea."
He didn't want to waste any more time with this guy; time was ticking, and he needed to get them into the orphanage quickly. With this in mind, Mr. Zou gave Chen Xiao another look, thinking, "This guy seems off, hit the switch on the bomb at the first sign of trouble!"
Just then, Chen Xiao spoke up again!
"Never mind, I'll hit him even with the helmet on!" Chen Xiao said.
"Ah???" Mr. Zou was once again bewildered, a look he hadn't shown in a long while.
"Is it a deal? After that, I will do exactly as you say, be a good boy," Chen Xiao said with a pleading expression, looking pitiful.
Mr. Zou was somewhat speechless. He turned his head to glance at the guard Chen Xiao was pointing at, and although he couldn't see his expression, he could sense that he, too, was utterly bewildered.
"You're sick. Fine, though I can't understand your bizarre cravings, make it quick! We don't have time for your nonsense," Mr. Zou said reluctantly, pointing to his ear, reminding him that any funny business would trigger the bomb. He then cast a "just humor the kid" look at the guard.
Chen Xiao didn't care about any of that; his mind was in turmoil, and he was frantically compelled to slap the guard, as if this was the only way to calm his own madness.
So at that moment, he was happy, excitedly running up to the guard, winding up his arm and fiercely slapping the riot helmet, creating a gust of wind.
"Take that, you glass-faced bast*rd!" Chen Xiao shouted. Then with a "clang," his flesh-and-blood palm crashed hard against the bulletproof helmet. Everyone could feel how painful that must have been.
"Take that for calling me useless!" Another slap followed.
"Take that for pointing your gun at me!" The sound of his palm hitting the helmet grew louder, and the faces of onlookers bore expressions of pity. He was self-harming.
Chen Xiao was as good as his word—slap after slap, he tormented himself for a full minute. Finally stopping, he held his swollen hand, now resembling a steamed bun, emitting "hehe" and "aah" sounds, crying or laughing—no one could tell.
But at that moment, the madness in his heart seemed to slowly fade away.
...
"Alright, stop messing around and get to work," Mr. Zou said.