Chapter 301
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Chapter 301: Puppy
Outside the penitentiary.
A horse-drawn carriage raced through the waves from the sea beyond the island, seemingly ghost-like as it passed through the heavy steel walls, flickering away. All the guards and prisoners inside the prison appeared oblivious to its presence, busy with their own tasks.
The scribe drove the carriage and slowly stopped in front of a clock tower. It was only then that the carriage came into view for everyone.
Dressed in a scholar’s long robe, Master Chen opened the carriage door and calmly stepped down, walking toward the clock tower. Soon, a man in a black trench coat appeared before him.
“Master, you have finally returned,” he said respectfully.
“Xie Yu, while I was away, nothing happened in the prison, right?” Master Chen asked.
Xie Yu hesitated for a moment before replying, “Before today… nothing significant happened.”
Master Chen raised an eyebrow. “So something happened today? Tell me.”
“This afternoon, there was a brawl in the cafeteria. More than twenty prisoners were seriously injured, and one had half of his body incapacitated by chopsticks,” Xie Yu answered.
Master Chen’s expression changed. “A brawl in the cafeteria? What do they think this place is? Absolutely audacious! Who did it? They must be dealt with severely!”
“Master, the ones who injured others are two youths.”
“And what’s wrong with youths? Do they not have to follow the rules? Xie Yu, during my absence, I entrusted everything to you. Look at how you managed things!” Master Chen said coldly.
A look of embarrassment appeared on Xie Yu’s face, but he replied, “But Master, one of the two youths who fought is not a prisoner; he is a patient from the Sunshine Mental Hospital.”
“A patient? Is it that Wu Laogou?”
“No, it’s a boy named Lin Qiye.”
…
“Master?”
“Mm? Oh, who did he injure?” Master Chen came back to his senses.
“The person he incapacitated is named Han Jinlong, who is a suspect in the previous cases of missing prisoners. However, we have not found any evidence. The other prisoners who were beaten were those who were close to him,” Xie Yu explained.
“Missing prisoner cases…” Master Chen frowned slightly. “Did you not tell me before that there were leads? Why is there still no evidence?”
Xie Yu opened his mouth, and after a moment, lowered his head in apology. “My subordinates are incompetent…”
Master Chen shot him a glance, snorted coldly, and stepped upstairs.
“Master, how should we deal with the two youths who fought?” Xie Yu asked.
“Fighting? Who fought?” Master Chen replied lightly. “It was just a misunderstanding. A few prisoners who were already unsavory got hurt; it’s not a big deal. Let this matter end here.”
Master Chen disappeared up the stairs, leaving Xie Yu standing alone. After a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly…
…
Lin Qiye slowly opened his eyes.
A hard wooden bed, an empty ceiling, and on the white wall beside him hung a neatly arranged military uniform… a military uniform?
Lin Qiye sat up in bed, staring blankly at everything before him. After a moment of daze, he finally came to his senses.
This is… the training camp?
He has returned?
Lin Qiye looked down at his body; he was still wearing a blue and white patient uniform. Confusion filled his eyes, and then as if he thought of something, he turned his head.
The bed next to him was empty; there was no sign of Bai Li Pangpang.
Is this a dream? Lin Qiye murmured. How did I dream of this place…
He stood up from the bed, put on his military boots, and pushed open the door of the training camp, walking outside.
Under the dim sky, the entire training camp was eerily silent. All the doors of the rooms were tightly locked, and there was no one inside. Only a gentle breeze brushed through the empty corridor, carrying faint sounds of sobbing.
Lin Qiye walked to the edge of the corridor and looked down. Suddenly, he froze.
He saw Wu Laogou squatting in the empty space below the dormitory building, dressed in a blue and white striped patient uniform, like a statue, staring blankly at the ground beneath him.
It’s him… How did he end up here? Lin Qiye’s eyes narrowed slightly, a look of confusion appearing in his gaze as he turned to walk down the nearby staircase.
Half a minute later, Lin Qiye arrived beside Wu Laogou.
He stood there, glancing at the empty ground, and after a moment of silence, slowly spoke: “It’s you who is guiding me to dream? Is this your forbidden wasteland?”
Wu Laogou glanced at Lin Qiye and shook his messy hair.
“The one dreaming is you; I’m just a bystander,” he said.
“A bystander? What do you want to see?” Lin Qiye frowned.
Wu Laogou was taken aback, scratching his head in confusion. After a long hesitation, he uncertainly replied, “I want to see… what kind of person you are.”
After he finished speaking, he lowered his head again, staring blankly at his feet.
Lin Qiye stood by, hearing Wu Laogou’s answer, his frown deepening.
This Wu Laogou is too strange.
Strange not only refers to his mental illness but also to his ability to come and go freely in others’ dreams. It should be noted that in the penitentiary, all forbidden wastelands are suppressed by the suppression monument, yet he can still open the forbidden wasteland and enter his dream.
After all, there are countless walls separating them; how did he manage to do this from such a distance?
Moreover, what’s strange is that after entering, he does nothing but squat there in a daze…
After a moment, Lin Qiye seemed to remember something and spoke again: “How do you know the secret code to leave the hospital?”
“Secret code?” Wu Laogou turned in confusion. “What is the secret code?”
“Delicious five-spice spicy spiral noodles with pickled vegetables and beef.”
“Oh… Wu Laogou seemed to remember. This is what someone told me when I was in someone else’s dream.”
Lin Qiye pondered for a moment. “Did the person who told you this say what he likes to eat tomorrow?”
Wu Laogou tilted his head, his brow furrowed as if he was trying hard to recall. After a few seconds, he spoke again: “It seems to be… the crispy snack that everyone says is wonderful after eating it.”
Lin Qiye secretly noted down Wu Laogou’s words, planning to verify it himself during free time tomorrow.
“So, do you often like to enter other people’s dreams when you have nothing to do?” Lin Qiye asked.
Wu Laogou thought for a moment and replied seriously, “I do when I’m bored.”
“Don’t enter my dreams again next time.”
“Why?”
“This is private. What if I dream of something embarrassing one day and you see it?” Lin Qiye spread his hands helplessly.
“What would happen if I saw it?” Wu Laogou asked in confusion. “Aren’t we friends?”
“Friends?” Lin Qiye was taken aback.
“You accompanied me to see the little flowers, the little grasses, the little stones… isn’t that friendship?”
Lin Qiye opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but after hesitating for a moment, he shook his head. “Then shouldn’t you tell me who exactly you are?”
“Me?” Wu Laogou said seriously. “I am a little dog.”