Chapter 20: Roommates
His words weren’t enough proof. No matter how eloquent he was, Dr. Jia could twist his words. To prove himself, Xi Leng took out his phone, opened the various wallet apps and his bank account balance, showing them to the doctor one by one.
“See for yourself.”
“…”
His poverty was undeniable, and the entire production crew was speechless.
Dr. Jia, sweating profusely, looked at Sheng Jiao in the corner for help.
Sheng Jiao silently handed him a piece of paper.
Dr. Jia regained his confidence, pushed his glasses up, and started his performance with a dignified air: “Our Ren’ai Mental Hospital is based on benevolence. In our eyes, all lives are equal, regardless of wealth or status. Whether you’re poor or rich, we see you as a life in need of saving…”
In short, no escaping.
Just as Xi Leng was about to put away his phone, Dr. Jia reached out: “Mobile phones are prohibited inside Ren’ai Mental Hospital, please hand over your phone, there will be dedicated personnel to keep it safe for you.”
Xi Leng resignedly handed over his phone.
The other guests weren’t spared either. Whether it was the arrogant top star or the cautious newcomer, they all had to obediently surrender their phones.
Min Zhi didn’t trust the program team and handed his phone directly to Sheng Jiao, the general director, instructing: “Give my phone to Lao Zhu.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Songnan also walked over, giving the same instruction.
The two, sworn rivals and business competitors, unexpectedly showed a bit of tacit understanding.
Min Zhi’s phone lit up during the handover. Jiang Songnan, wary of every small movement, noticed the obvious hand-drawn image and frowned.
If he could expose Min Zhi’s relationship, that would be much more impactful than those petty scandals before, costing him resources and fans…
His little scheme naturally couldn’t escape Min Zhi, but Min Zhi, unexpectedly, lit up the screen again, generously unlocking it and showing him the wallpaper, the same drawing that flashed on the lock screen earlier.
“Drawn by my fan.”
…Drawn by his fan? Jiang Songnan’s brows furrowed deeply, still puzzled.
“Is it good?” Having already decided on Jiang Songnan’s answer in his mind, Min Zhi continued, “I think so too.”
Jiang Songnan: “…”
Xi Leng, who was reaching for a candy, paused: “…”
Seeing the nurse about to take away the candy dish, he hurriedly called out: “Wait.”
Then he pocketed all the remaining mints, not wasting a single one.
Sheng Jiao handed out eye masks to the five of them, covering their eyes. They were then led by staff members into the completely unfamiliar mental hospital.
In the darkness, Xi Leng listened attentively to the sounds around him. They first crossed a hall, then went up a floor. With the sounds of doors opening and closing, the footsteps around him grew fewer, the guests separated, likely being taken to different rooms.
After walking down a long corridor, it was finally Xi Leng’s turn. He turned a corner and entered a new, unfamiliar space.
“Please don’t remove your eye mask, and don’t move.”
Surprisingly, Xi Leng heard Sheng Jiao’s voice. There was only one general director, he hadn’t expected him to personally accompany him, an amateur.
Clearly, his situation was somewhat special, he just didn’t know if it was because of the hidden mission or the “special patient management” he received for admitting to being sick.
He also had some guesses about who might be sharing his room.
He stood still as instructed, then felt a strange sensation around his ankle, a click of metal fastening, and the rustling sound of a metal chain.
The footsteps of the staff members faded away, leaving only the guest and the cameraman. The door closed and locked. After a minute or two, Xi Leng removed his eye mask.
As expected yet unexpected, the person standing opposite him was Min Zhi, the protagonist gong of this novel world.
The plot deviating from its original course didn’t bother Xi Leng for long. As soon as he moved, he felt a heavy weight on his foot. He looked down and saw a thick, sturdy silver metal ring around his right ankle, with a brass padlock. A long metal chain extended from it, connected to Min Zhi’s left ankle.
Xi Leng was silent for a moment, muttering to himself: “…Is this hospitalization or imprisonment?”
Filming a variety show required him to talk more, to explain his thought process and puzzle-solving logic, after all, they couldn’t show the audience a silent film. He was professional and a quick learner. After practicing with the hidden camera mission last night, he was now in work mode.
Today, he would be playing the role of a talkative fan.
Min Zhi lifted his leg, confirming the weight of the chain, it didn’t affect their normal walking. With proper coordination, even running wouldn’t be a problem.
Min Zhi squatted down to study the padlock, lost in thought as he considered their options, his gaze following the long, winding chain to Xi Leng’s ankle.
His straight, long legs were encased in sponsored jeans. The squatting position accentuated the shape of his kneecaps, and the smooth lines of his thigh muscles were also visible.
The clinking sound of the chain, moved by Xi Leng’s slender hand, brought him back to reality.
Xi Leng also squatted down to examine his own shackles and chain. Judging by the appearance of the padlock, it was a Grade A lock, the kind a thief could open in a minute.
This type of lock was commonly used in old residential areas and had very low security. The apartment Xi Leng rented before had unfortunately been burglarized. Luckily, there was nothing to steal. His neighbor, an old lady, had advised him to get a more secure lock, to spend a little money for prevention, and not to lose a lot for a little.
At the time, Xi Leng had simply thought, the lock itself was the biggest expense.
“This must be the ‘special patient management.’” Min Zhi speculated. “Five people, they can’t chain all of us together.”
Xi Leng agreed, it seemed they had chained the wrong people together.
The two then looked around the small room that resembled a hospital ward.
The room wasn’t big, two beds taking up half the space. The blanket on one bed was neatly folded, while the blanket on the other was unfolded, thick and wrinkled.
The two reached a silent agreement on the first direction to investigate. As they moved, the chain inevitably clanked.
“Ahhhhh!”
A sudden scream came from behind them, startling both of them. They turned around to see the wrinkled blanket being thrown off, a man appearing out of nowhere on the bed.
The man slapped the sheets and blankets frantically, shaking his head like a madman, roaring and shouting: “Aaaaaah! It’s so noisy! So noisy! Shut up! Shut up! Everyone shut up!!!”
For a while, the two didn’t react, quietly watching his performance.
The actor in the blue and white patient gown was equally dedicated. He was screaming one second, then eerily quiet the next, gesticulating wildly at the air, giggling.
Even the two who admitted to being sick had to admire his performance.
Xi Leng and Min Zhi exchanged glances.
They communicated silently, both bending down to lift one end of the chain, suspending the source of the noise in the air. The distance between them suddenly shortened, their range of movement limited to a one-meter radius around each other.
Xi Leng walked ahead, first arriving at the frantic patient’s bedside.
The reward from last night’s hidden camera mission would give him more information at the start of the escape room. Their ward had two beds, but there were three people. This patient was clearly part of the reward.
Just as he was about to speak to the patient, a knock came from the door, a pair of eyes appearing in the small glass window.
Someone was peeking, and the patient on the bed went even crazier, throwing all the blankets and pillows on the floor, forcing Xi Leng to step back.
The peeper seemed indifferent, his cold gaze unwavering, only mechanically announcing: “The next ward round will be delayed by thirty minutes.”
It was a man’s voice. He then turned away, but they could still see a strand of his hair through the glass window. He was leaning against the door, guarding it.
The man wore a white nurse’s cap, but his demeanor was more like a bodyguard or prison guard, perfectly complementing the chains on the two people inside.
Suddenly, it was quiet. The frantic patient retreated to the corner of the bed, huddled against the wall, like a dying fish, sweating profusely and gasping for breath.
Xi Leng noted all these strange details, thinking about the ward round time, which seemed like a plot clue. He looked around and, as expected, found a daily schedule for Ren’ai Mental Hospital and a clock.
There was another anomaly here. Apart from the ten hours allocated for sleeping and eating, the frequency of ward rounds by medical staff was astonishingly high, once every hour, on the hour. It was currently two o’clock in the afternoon, but since the male nurse at the door announced a delay, the next ward round would be at two-thirty.
That meant they had half an hour to safely solve puzzles and gather clues in the ward.
What would happen during the ward round was unknown, but they had witnessed the patient’s sudden outburst, and the timing of the outburst was very subtle, precisely when the ward round was originally scheduled.
Seeing the two slowly approaching him, the patient suddenly raised his head, a creepy smile on his face: “Heh, hehe… you’re new here, aren’t you? You don’t know anything.”
Min Zhi asked directly: “Then what do you know? Tell us.”
He paused, then added: “Otherwise, I’ll tell the nurse you’re faking it.”
He was very skilled at threatening people.
“Hehe, hehehe…” The patient’s laughter became even more manic. “No one will believe you, no one will…”
“Don’t believe them either, don’t believe them…”
Xi Leng frowned, forming a reasonable guess, and asked: “Don’t believe the doctors and nurses?”
The patient’s expression changed drastically. He hugged his knees, curled up into a ball, his head lowered as he trembled, muttering: “Don’t believe… there are no doctors, no nurses… only… only demons… they’ll peel your skin, break your bones, dig out all your internal organs… eat them, crunch, crunch, eat them all.”
Xi Leng concluded: “He doesn’t seem very normal.”
Min Zhi hummed in agreement.
Patient: “…”
The two quickly finished this part of the plot and seized the time to search the room.
There was nothing unusual about the empty bed. The room was small but also quite empty, with only the two beds and a bedside table in the corner.
Xi Leng looked down, then turned to Min Zhi: “The cabinet is locked, a six-digit combination lock.”
