Chapter 1162: People Above
Wus.h.i.+ Fan was unconscious but with all her organs intact, which made her a first-cla.s.s scarce commodity in the general hospital. Just like how dog p.o.o.p can attract flies, it was not surprising that someone came to s.n.a.t.c.h her. The shadow swept up Wus.h.i.+ Fan and rushed forward like a gust of wind. Before Lin Sanjiu could catch up, she quickly glanced at Ya Jiang behind her from the corner of her eyes; he was still standing there holding two "handles," squinting in the direction where Wus.h.i.+ Fan was abducted, with a hint of surprise on his face.
What did he see?
Lin Sanjiu turned her head and bit into the shadow, and when she could see clearly, she could not help but slow down. "Huh, is that...?"
She didn"t need to chase too hard. The shadow also realized something was wrong at that moment and stopped staggeringly. He reached back and touched Wus.h.i.+ Fan, then tore her off and threw her to the ground. His yellow, muddy eyes were round and straight. "This... this isn"t my sister!"
Of course, it was not his sister.
When the mop was thrown on the ground, the dirty mop cloth swayed an arc in the air like hair, and with a piece of white paper with simple facial features, it seemed to have a bit of aggrieved expression. When the wooden pole knocked on the ground, everything wrapped in the clothes was scattered all over the place.
Ya Jiang sighed from a distance.
Before leaving, Lin Sanjiu persuaded him to give up a mop—it is said that a mop that has been used once cannot be used repeatedly. Although distressed, Ya Jiang still put Wus.h.i.+ Fan"s clothes on the mop, stuffed in a pillow to serve as the body, and finally added a layer of [Common Comedy Tropes], and then handed this "Wus.h.i.+ Fan" to Lin Sanjiu. Otherwise, with her current physical strength, it would take a lot of effort to carry Ya Jiang alone, not to mention the weight of a ten-year-old child.
"Where"s my sis?"
The man was perhaps not old enough to be called an "old man," but his ugliness was really undeniable. The skin, muscles, and features on his face, as if they had all lost hope in life together, hung down from his facial bones, like a dying ice cream under the scorching sun of summer. Although beautiful people have commonalities, when ugly people are ugly, each has its own surprises. Lin Sanjiu looked at him a few times and felt that his two bulging eye bags were simply about to burst through the skin, which was unbearable to look at.
"So, Wus.h.i.+ Fan really isn"t a kid?" Ya Jiang murmured, hugging his thighs and moving a few steps. It seems that he had also thought of the same thing just now and had the same doubts about Gardenia.
At this time, the fighting and cursing around the intersection became more and more turbulent and noisy, almost drowning his voice. Lin Sanjiu listened with her ears to the side, and she vaguely caught many words that seemed to be related to betrayal, conspiracy, and deception from the chaotic situation.
"Did Gardenia not lie to us?" She was still somewhat in disbelief, and the doubt that had just been as real as a dark cloud was still sinking in her mind, pressing on her nerves. "Are you actually Wus.h.i.+ Fan"s younger brother?"
The answer to that question was self-evident. The bags under the man"s eyes were intact, just like Wus.h.i.+ Fan"s body. His gaze swept over the two of them, seemingly unfazed about being outnumbered. He didn"t rush to leave but instead opened his large, protruding mouth like a catfish and said, "Where"s my sis? Where did you hide her?"
It was the same call of "sis" as the grand prize, whose voice was like a mountain breeze, while this guy"s voice was like eating too much fried food and always having a mouthful of phlegm stuck in his throat.
Before answering him, Lin Sanjiu first looked around. Her gaze collided with Ya Jiang"s, and there was a bit more embarra.s.sment and doubt on their faces.
"You...why did you hit my hand before?" Lin Sanjiu asked.
"Weren"t you going to pull me?" Ya Jiang said, even more embarra.s.sed.
"Are you able to move without me pulling you?"
"When everyone is in danger, why are you always thinking about helping me?" Ya Jiang"s embarra.s.sment gradually turned into righteousness. "Isn"t it very suspicious?"
Faced with this kind of question, Lin Sanjiu didn"t know how to explain herself. "I helped you, and it was a mistake!"
The two ignored the ugly old man who was waiting for an answer. Ya Jiang pressed his temples, rubbing them. "Wait a minute, I think you were really suspicious before, much more suspicious than now. Do you have something like [Eliminating Doubts]?"
"I also want to ask you what"s going on! Oh, Gardenia was also suspicious," Lin Sanjiu said, suddenly remembering. "She refused to turn her back to us and ran away as soon as she got the chance."
"Nonsense," Gardenia"s straightforward answer came from above the high wall. The two looked up but couldn"t see a glimpse of her shadow. "I suddenly thought, how do I know if you"re not in cahoots with Wus.h.i.+ Fan? What if you"re not newcomers at all and are just setting a trap for me?"
"If we colluded with her, why would we still lock her with you—"
As she spoke, Lin Sanjiu abruptly interrupted herself and quickly glanced at the ugly old man. He seemed to have no hope that she would let her words slip so easily but was a little distracted and quickly focused on searching for Gardenia again. For him, Gardenia seemed to pose a greater threat than the two of them combined.
"Well, you could be really skilled at acting," came Gardenia"s voice, sounding somewhat awkward at the moment. "After all, that place is not mine..."
"What do you mean, yours? Where did you hide her?" the ugly old man, who seemed so noticeable yet always ignored, finally interjected. "What have you done to her? I will make you repay tenfold for whatever you did!"
That wouldn"t be easy; after all, the three of them combined didn"t have twenty corneas to spare.
Amidst the sounds of distant and nearby battles, Lin Sanjiu finally understood the situation. Her gaze never left the ugly old man. She sighed. "Can any of you take a look at the payment counter? Is there someone there now?"
"Really?" Ya Jiang, who was at the back and closest to the payment counter, turned back and was surprised. "There is someone at the counter, but they seem to be trading leisurely... and no one is attacking them."
Of course, that was because no one could spare a hand to attack them right now.
Lin Sanjiu was a hundred percent sure that the person at the payment counter was the one who had claimed to make a trade but hadn"t shown themselves earlier. All the posthumans hiding near the intersection had turned against each other at the same time, giving that person the opportunity to walk up to the payment counter calmly. It definitely wasn"t a coincidence.
"I understand," Gardenia said, also catching on. "You guys should stop breathing for now."
There weren"t many things that could cause so many people to be affected simultaneously without them noticing. The air they were constantly inhaling was definitely the first thing on the suspect list.
As Gardenia lightly tapped her silver cane on the ground, she reappeared from the shadow cast by the high wall behind the ugly old man. Her long hair seemed undisturbed. She and Lin Sanjiu stood in front and back, blocking the ugly old man in the middle of the small road, preventing him from reaching the payment counter. The ugly old man snorted and said, "Don"t tell me, I can guess. After all, there aren"t many places in the lower levels of the general hospital where you can hide someone."
He was much more perceptive than he looked. He kicked the mop and pointed to the pillow on the ground, saying, "I know this; it"s the pillow from the hospital bed, placed under a patient"s head when they are admitted. Among you, who lives closest to the ground? Let me guess, you must have locked Wus.h.i.+ Fan in a room, right?"
This guy"s experience was much richer than Lin Sanjiu"s group. With just a few words, he guessed where Wus.h.i.+ Fan had been hiding. In fact, simply locking her in a room wasn"t enough. Lin Sanjiu"s group had also taken Wus.h.i.+ Fan"s two corneas and a few hundred milliliters of blood—a small amount, but enough to ensure she further weakened and fell into a deep coma. Without strength and sight, it was highly unlikely for Wus.h.i.+ Fan to escape, even if she woke up alone in the locked room.
"Where did you make those fake price lists?" Gardenia raised her hand, prepared to use the same move she used on Lin Sanjiu earlier, and make the ugly old man experience the same pain.
Lin Sanjiu couldn"t understand why she chose to ask that question. Did it really matter where they made them?
"You haven"t changed, still targeting newcomers," the puffy-eyed man said, turning around and facing the wall; his peripheral vision encompa.s.sed both parties. "How did you persuade them? Or do you have a plan and need newcomers" help to escape the hospital together?"
Gardenia"s face suddenly darkened, and her voice became sharper, saying, "You have quite the audacity to say that!"
Ya Jiang glanced uneasily at Lin Sanjiu.
"Now that I know you locked up my sister, it"s easy," the puffy-eyed man said, trying to rea.s.sure himself, like a lost child that had finally spotted his parents from afar and relaxed his shoulders. "As for you guys... you can"t do anything to me. No matter how powerful you are, unfortunately, you can"t catch me."
"We"ll see about that." Lin Sanjiu sneered and lifted her right fist, s.h.i.+mmering with a metallic l.u.s.ter. But before she and Ya Jiang could act, a loud call suddenly came from the payment counter at the intersection, "Wus.h.i.+ Ming!"
Who was calling this puffy-eyed man?
This question just crossed Lin Sanjiu"s mind when she caught a glimpse of a smirk on the ugly old man"s face.
The chubby female NPC stood up from behind the counter, tilting her head, and shouted, "The patient named Wus.h.i.+ Ming, please come to the payment counter immediately! Other patients, please don"t delay Wus.h.i.+ Ming. Please a.s.sist him to the payment counter as soon as possible!"