Chapter 17: The Asylum Pantomime: 16

At the sound, Nan Lin didn’t even ask why Ruan Yu was here. His first reflex was to let go.

Hm? Why won’t my hand release?

He shot Chong Jiu a sidelong glance and pried the man’s grip off his wrist finger by finger. After that, he shifted away, putting deliberate distance between himself and Chong Jiu.

Chong Jiu said nothing.

Only then did Nan Lin realize: Wait, why am I flustered?

Having sorted himself out, Nan Lin looked up at Ruan Yu with perfectly unearned confidence. “What did you… Hm?!”

Before the question was fully out, the person before him staggered forward as if his strength had given out.

Nan Lin reached out quickly to steady the battered, fragile figure.

Ruan Yu’s voice came out muffled. “Brother… what game are you playing?”

Nan Lin said nothing.

He felt the rare onset of a headache. The warm, sticky liquid pooling in his palm needed no explanation. The man was clearly gravely injured, and his first words were about a game?

The coppery tang of blood spread between them. Nan Lin felt their posture was too strange, and the hot breath brushing against his neck was uncomfortable.

So he said, with extraordinary tactlessness: “Ruan Yu, can you still stand on your own?”

Ruan Yu went silent. After a moment, he used Nan Lin’s support to pull himself upright and create distance. His expression was stoic yet fragile.

Nan Lin glanced at the left shoulder still weeping blood in steady rivulets. He pointed at it with some hesitation. “Maybe… you should take care of that?”

I’m a little worried you’ll stop breathing right in front of me.

Hearing this, Ruan Yu said softly, “The medicine Brother gave me… is all used up.”

Chong Jiu let out a snort. “You’re lucky to even make it out alive. I’ve never heard of anyone leaving the interrogation room still breathing.”

At this, Nan Lin cast Chong Jiu a weightless glance.

He hadn’t said a single word, yet the look was enough to send chills down the man’s spine. Chong Jiu hastily raised both hands in surrender and sealed his lips.

During this exchange, Ruan Yu kept his head bowed, gazing at Nan Lin with quiet anticipation, waiting for him to speak.

Nan Lin ventured, “Rest first?”

Before the answer came, he negated his own suggestion. “No. Once game time starts, the asylum won’t be safe. You’d better stay with me.”

Otherwise I’m genuinely afraid someone will stab you.

Ruan Yu’s eyes curved into crescents as if hearing wonderful news. He murmured his agreement, then said, “Brother.”

Nan Lin asked, “What is it?”

Ruan Yu held out his hand. “I found this. It seems to be about Chong Jiu.”

Chong Jiu looked up sharply.

Nan Lin took the voice recorder and rubbed it between his fingers, paying no mind to Chong Jiu’s subtle shift in posture.

Ruan Yu’s lips curved upward in a nearly imperceptible smile as he glanced at Chong Jiu from the corner of his eye.

Chong Jiu’s mind raced: What the hell did I do? Wait, I really need to run.

“Brother… Chong Jiu is running away,” Ruan Yu whispered directly into his ear, tattling.

Nan Lin watched the man sprinting away and said mildly, “It’s fine. Let him go.”

He’s no use to me anyway.

Previously, Nan Lin had watched Chong Jiu closely for three reasons. First, to avoid the punishment for single-occupancy rooms. Second, out of curiosity about the strange bond between Chong Jiu and the current director. Third, because entering the other asylum seemed to require holding hands with someone outside the elevator in the right-side building.

But compared to all that, Nan Lin was far more concerned with keeping Ruan Yu alive.

A very promising newcomer. It would be a shame if he died, Nan Lin thought.

He nodded to himself. Right. That’s all it is.

The two watched Chong Jiu flee. A cool wind brushed their skin.

Nan Lin turned and raised the voice recorder to his ear, listening intently.

[Static crackling…]

[Chong Jiu, have you lost your mind?]

[I haven’t! Look around in here. In this asylum, which one of them is the madman?!]

[What do you intend to do?]

[Expose them. I want to send every single one of them back to a normal life.]

[Do you think that’s possible?]

[How would it not be?!]

[Chong Jiu, you’re hopelessly naive. Who do you think will thank you? The enemies who personally shipped these “madmen” here? Or the sane people outside? I’m telling you, even the “madmen” themselves won’t necessarily thank you!]

[…]

[Listen to me carefully, Chong Jiu. They are scapegoats for others. This is far beyond what you or I can interfere with. This asylum does trap them, yes, but it also protects them. This will be the best grave they could ever hope for.]

[You knew? You already knew…]

[Yes.]

[You bastard!]

[It’s you who thought too simply, Chong Jiu. Do you see any difference between the people who come out of this asylum and women who come out of a brothel? The moment they step inside this building, they’re stamped with a quality certificate like fattened pigs, tagged with a price as defective goods!]

[With your standing, you can’t even stop people from talking. And you think you can take on money and power?]

The sound of repressed weeping drifted from the recorder. A proud spine being broken, inch by inch.

Nan Lin lowered the voice recorder and looked in the direction Chong Jiu had fled. Now I understand why he ran so fast.

But if that was true, then why had the patients rebelled and overthrown the asylum’s delicate balance in the first place?

Something was still missing…

And he felt that this missing piece was likely the key to the players escaping the asylum.

The person beside him staggered again. Nan Lin caught him reflexively, but the chill of Ruan Yu’s skin made him flinch.

No way. Is he… going cold?

Nan Lin glanced around. People were already filing toward the two buildings, presumably to hunt for the daggers the game rules mentioned.

Forget it.

He let out a soft sigh, draped Ruan Yu’s arm over his shoulder, and half carried him into the building.

Find a room to hide in first. Better than getting picked off in the chaos.

Especially this one, who’d already lost half his life… Nan Lin estimated that Ruan Yu’s health had likely dropped below the critical threshold.

As they walked, Nan Lin glanced sideways at the drowsy Ruan Yu and frowned.

Can’t let him fall asleep. If he does, he’s truly gone.

So he spoke up, trying to keep Ruan Yu alert.

“Why did you come out before Lin Yi and the others?”

Ruan Yu’s lips curved. “For some reason, the people in the interrogation room suddenly just left.”

Nan Lin asked, “Left?”

“Mm. Maybe to rest? I’m not sure.”

The truth was that Nan Lin was hopeless at conversation. The two covered the rest of the way in near-total silence.

Once they reached the room, Nan Lin laid Ruan Yu on the bed and immediately checked his heartbeat.

Good. Still alive.

He watched Ruan Yu rest with closed eyes against the headboard, then tore a strip from his own hem and found some restraint straps under the bed.

Nan Lin’s movements were practiced and smooth. But as he bandaged the wound, Ruan Yu suddenly spoke:

“Brother… you used to have a lot of little pets?”

Nan Lin’s hand jerked.

How did he know?!