Chapter 2158: Chapter 2153: Confinement (27)

Is this what is meant by the saying "rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, rely on the water to eat the water"?

As mentioned before, it’s hard to imagine such a town supporting many medical institutions.

Weighing the scalpel in his hand, Fu Qian considered the high probability that this thing came from that red-tinged building.

And with that, the frozen corpse seems to have an origin.

The distance is not far, and the surrounding all looks like similar abandoned houses.

If transported from this entrance, it might not be easily discovered.

There were many footprints on the ground, showing frequent comings and goings.

Moreover, coming all the way here, Fu Qian knew he hadn’t traversed the maze-like underground tunnels, but he also hadn’t seen any other corpses.

If Yiven really died at the hands of two young men, and the latter, who did the "wrong thing," couldn’t find their way back in panic, then wandered here and left through this path of frozen corpses, Brother Tantou would indeed see no one.

It seems increasingly logical, and even the progression of the entire incident is obvious—

One can imagine, upon discovering an underground location like this and believing himself to be called by some great inspiration, Brother Yiven first utilized local resources, setting his sights on the nearby hospital.

Attempts to use corpses for "pollination" didn’t yield fruitful results and he didn’t obtain "the power fruit," just as a living person was delivered to his doorstep...

Sadly, unlike in the Inner World, Yiven’s sacrifice here failed, leading to his tragic counterattack...

It fully demonstrated the need to respect objective laws, and that subjective initiative has its limits...

That sounds quite reasonable.

Unfortunately, although the reasoning is clear, the situation doesn’t look promising—where to find the two missing persons next?

Compared to the Art Prison, this place is even quieter, like the Ghost Realm, and finding a witness would be difficult.

This should also be one of the reasons Brother Yiven chose this route.

The only place with a bit more traffic might be the hospital over there.

Trying to imagine, if I were the two panic-stricken young men, even afraid to go to the police after committing murder, running to such a place seems a reasonable response—especially since there’s nurse Tia there.

Fu Qian naturally recalled a scene from the start of the mission.

It seemed that something special happened that made the typically conservative-styled Tia put on a special uniform and go home with him.

From the reactions after waking up in the morning, her situation seemed somewhat like Zhen’s, both influenced by some spiritual effects from the Inner World, leading to abnormal behaviors.

So could this spiritual influence have a cause?

...

Judging from the body in the tunnel, Yiven definitely has not been dead for more than a day, and if it was really done by two young men, it matched the timeline given by Brother Tantou.

Then did something happen in the hospital?

Did Tia fall into the Inner World and acquire some psychological shadow in her subconscious?

Is this why she went home with him even in such an embarrassing outfit?

Considering that he had obviously been drinking and was hungover, the timeline still seemed reasonable.

But after all, it’s just speculation, and some details need to be confirmed with the parties involved.

Even so, the probability of something occurring at the hospital’s corresponding Inner World location yesterday is quite high.

Most importantly, if his competitor also found this place and saw these sights, would he also think that people may have escaped to the hospital?

And now it’s the racing stage.

In conclusion, the hospital seems worth exploring—Fu Qian turned and headed back the way he came.

Yes, even though it seemed necessary, he didn’t rush to the hospital but instead jumped back down from the cover.

The situation indeed looked intense, but facing a competitor with a first-move advantage, catching up has never been about copying someone else’s choices.

Moreover, he considered from the start the possibility of being guided step by step as a pawn.

So even if it’s an undeniable open strategy, when going with the flow, skill and preparation are essential.

And don’t forget, there’s a side mission related to the Art Prison.

...

On the way back, the composition of the underground tunnels became clearer, but no new bodies or exits were found.

Fu Qian didn’t feel any regret about this and soon walked out of the tunnel against the flow, climbing the stairs and leaving the guards’ tower...

Until he stood once again in the prison yard, he finally stopped.

Unsurprisingly, multiple gazes quickly gathered, and he noticed Brother Tantou was still asleep.

This is what people mean by peaceful times.

With admiration, Fu Qian quickly set his pace again towards a car in the yard—not the one he drove in.

Its style was not too remarkable, but its color was striking pink, and it remained unusually clean both inside and out.

Not only easily captivating at a glance, but it also seemed to convey a hint of resistance against the decay of this town.

And Fu Qian indeed noticed it when he came earlier.

He remembered Mr. Huck Sr. mentioning that the Rachel couple’s car wasn’t at home.

Though not specifically described, at first sight of this car, Fu Qian felt it likely belonged to the restless married woman.

As for how to verify it, it’s quite easy.

Standing by the car, Fu Qian did nothing drastic, simply lowered his head and observed closely inside and out.

Such actions were undoubtedly noticed by bystanders, but though odd, they couldn’t be classified as excessive, leaving no reason to interfere.

Someone with higher standards might even see this as performance art, given the unique setting.

"Hello."

After a few minutes of circling the car, a gentle call unexpectedly came from nearby.

Turning his head, he first saw a head of shiny blonde hair.

Around thirty years old, well-dressed, her face even more enchanting than her voice.

"Hello, Anke."

Slight nodding, faced with the approaching lady, Fu Qian didn’t hide his scrutinizing gaze, while courteously introducing himself.

"Hmm... just call me Rachel."

As expected, after hesitating for a moment, she introduced herself too.

I thought so, if you’re secretly pursuing an artistic life without your family knowing, and suddenly find a stranger staring at your car.

If you still care a bit about your family, some response would be expected.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.