Chen Xiao's hand hurt like it was on fire, and he felt as if the bone in his pinkie had snapped. But luckily, the touch of madness inside his heart had already faded away.
In those few minutes just now, his consciousness had been a mess, accompanied by an infinitely magnified paranoia and frenzy. This feeling made him...well, it wasn't exactly fear, but rather a vague sense of familiarity.
Although he now knew what he looked like, Chen Xiao's past was still a blank slate.
"Well, it looks like the next step is to figure out who I really am!" Chen Xiao thought.
At that moment, Mr. Zou's voice came over: "Hey, kid, time's up!"
"But before that, I need to sort out this contract!" Chen Xiao shrugged his shoulders and walked over.
...
The four stood in front of the orphanage, each holding a flashlight and wearing a mini camera on their collars.
"Let me remind you again, once inside, do everything as I tell you to do, or...you know what." Mr. Zou politely said to them, then made a "please" gesture, specifically staring at Chen Xiao as he emphasized, "Especially you."
The four entered the orphanage one by one. Since there was a small yard in front of the building, they needed to walk a distance first. The burly man led the way, with the bespectacled guy walking alongside him, slightly behind, followed by Chen Xiao, and Uncle Jia Renliang, who deliberately kept to Chen Xiao's blind spot. It seemed he was still upset about Chen Xiao's previous exposure of deep wounds...no wonder he didn't outright explode on the spot.
However, Chen Xiao didn't pay much attention and habitually started observing his surroundings as they walked.
The entire courtyard exuded an air of dilapidation and desolation, with its simple grey and white recreational facilities. Wild grass had grown on the ground, swaying in the wind with a layer of dust, surrounded by a fence made of old iron bars, whose paint was peeling and flaking off to reveal the rusty rods beneath. The whole orphanage echoed a sense of simplicity and agedness.
At that moment, Mr. Zou's voice came over the headset: "Please speed up, don't block the cameras once inside the building, and keep everyone within sight! Don't do anything unnecessary!"
"Uh...not hiding his urgency, huh." Chen Xiao thought, then headed towards a seesaw nearby..., sat on it and began to play by himself.
Everyone stopped, looking utterly baffled.
About 5 seconds passed...
"Chen Xiao! What the hell are you doing??" Mr. Zou roared through the headset.
Chen Xiao frowned deeply, clearly shaken by the shout. He left the seesaw and picked up a clump of wild grass by his foot, examining it as he spoke.
"The foam under the seats is rotting, the dust on it is very uneven, likely scattered by repeated rainfalls, and the frame is covered in rust. The backrest is filthy. This seesaw hasn't been used for at least six months."
A silence followed...
Then Mr. Zou started yelling again!
"No shit! It's obvious that this damn seesaw hasn't been touched for ages, did you really have to swing on it?"
Chen Xiao, grimacing from the noise in his headset, then dropped the handful of grass and said, "This seesaw has been moved! And frequently too!"
This time Mr. Zou's voice didn't come back, and the other three also frowned, clearly waiting for Chen Xiao to explain.
"The rust on the pivot has flaked off, and it moves effortlessly. The wild grass on either side of the seesaw is roughly the same. If it had been stuck in an up-and-down position, one small area wouldn't get enough sunlight, or perhaps the constant pressure could prevent grass from growing there!" Chen Xiao explained.
In fact, he was reluctant to explain so much since he only needed a moment to figure these things out, but explaining them was quite tedious. However, now he had to explain, for three reasons. The first was, of course, because there was a bomb in his ear, dude. Always acting weird, and if someone got mad, they might just "bang", and there would be brains everywhere! As for the second and third reasons, he'd mention them later.
At that moment, everyone fell into thought. The orphanage clearly hadn't been visited for a long time, so who would move this seesaw?
Suddenly, just then, Chen Xiao did something else...
He tore off the seat of the seesaw!
Yes, tore it off! By hand, sending foam and fabric flying everywhere, looking ferociously wild from behind.
"What the hell are you doing now!!!" Mr. Zou's voice came through again, but this time it wasn't a roar, but rather tinged with exasperation.
Chen Xiao, having finished tearing, panted heavily and said, "Just checking what I just said, indeed, this seat hasn't been used for at least half a year. So why would the seesaw move?"
"Why?" Mr. Zou asked.
"Someone might be so bored they come here every now and then to pull it up and down for fun, but that's unlikely!"
"So it's...?" Mr. Zou prompted.
Chen Xiao, hands in his pockets, said nonchalantly, "Haven't figured it out!"
...
Another silence,
"Alright, let's move on. In the future, don't explain too much, just report the outcomes. We don't have much time!"
"Hmm...as expected, there's a time limit, no wonder he's always so rushed!" Chen Xiao thought, and, amid the puzzled looks of the others, walked towards the building's main door.