Chapter 132 The Asylum 2 Many People

Just as you were about to ask something else, your stomach rumbled at the opportune moment. Clearly, the simple meals and snacks that could fill a white person's stomach were just a minor inconvenience to you.

This makes you think about another question.

"Where should we have lunch?" you ask, patting your stomach, feeling embarrassed.

You are in a private room, and a nurse personally delivers your medication. Considering your current situation, it's not hard to imagine that you may be in a state of isolation or quarantine.

The current situation of being restricted has been resolved, but before engaging in any so-called "games," you still want to see what the other people here are all about.

"Lunch will be delivered to your room," the doctor's words interrupted your mental calculations.

"Okay," you said through gritted teeth, "Hahaha!"

When you return to your ward, you won't be in a wheelchair; instead, two caregivers will support you on either side to ensure your safety, or rather, restrict your freedom.

You looked at the male nurse holding your hand.

I don't know if it's because I'm nervous, but I always feel like when he grabs my arm, he's very close to me.

Then you squeezed to the side where the female caregiver was.

"Is there a problem?" The female caregiver noticed your tension almost immediately.

Your eyes flashed, but you didn't say anything. You just forced a smile at the female caregiver.

I don't know if she shares the same stance as this guy, so you can only remain silent and not express your opinion for now, using the old-fashioned method to convey your emotions first, and then act according to the situation.

Fortunately, no one wants to cause trouble in broad daylight, no matter what.

As soon as the female caregiver asks a question, the male caregiver keeps a safe distance from her.

You rolled your eyes inwardly.

Lunch consisted of cold bread, salad, meatballs, and ham slices.

You carefully flip through it to make sure there are no "hidden ingredients" before you start eating.

After the meal, the nurse came again.

"Take your medicine," she said. Her tone seemed a little harsher than in the morning.

Everyone gets grumpy at work, and it seems the people in the dungeon are no exception.

You used the same trick again, hiding the pill in your throat.

The nurse remained silent, only watching you. She left with a cold face only after you opened your mouth to indicate that you were obedient.

You have a vague sense of foreboding, but rather than being forced to take medicine you don't know what it is, you'd rather face the punishment for not taking it.

But did she really discover anything? It's probably just the most common excuse she's always used.

Without a cell phone or a TV, and unable to see anything by looking out the window, you quickly become sleepy and take a short nap in order to be in the best state to face the so-called "game".

Arrive at 3 o'clock.

The entire rehabilitation center was filled with shrill, electric music.

You covered your ears, feeling like you were about to experience tinnitus.

The closer you get to the indoor activity hall on the first floor, the more unbearable the music becomes.

Listening more closely, it sounds like it's mixed with chaotic and unclear howling.

You have arrived at the event hall.

The floors here are scrubbed too clean, and now you know where that damp, pungent smell of disinfectant that's everywhere in your house comes from.

Unlike the hospital ward, the walls here are a neat, light gray, without a single decoration that could distract one.

This small, rectangular room at the end of the corridor had a glass window sill with a long, narrow talk window on one wall. Several nurses were sitting inside, seemingly typing or filling out forms, but they would occasionally look up and peek at you through the window. No one spoke, but you knew they could hear you perfectly well because there was a glass sphere-shaped microphone mounted above the window.

The other wall consists of several large glass panels covered with wire mesh, allowing sunlight to stream in and reflecting the scene of patients being led leisurely by caregivers outside.

How come they can move around outside while you can only stay indoors?

If you behaved more normally, or more cleverly, would you be able to get a chance to go outside as well?

You squinted, finding it really annoying to have the ceiling spotlights on in the middle of the day.

What's even more annoying is that there are two tall, silent caregivers in gray uniforms standing in each of the four corners of the room. They look more like security guards than caregivers.

The safety of the medical staff is paramount, not the patients'.

Do you have to play a game in front of so many people...? You feel like a caged monkey.

All these thoughts transformed into a perfect fake smile on your face once you sat down.

Here, with your back to the glass window and facing the nurses' station, there are ten chairs, making a total of ten people including you.

Out of ten people, only you and two others with Asian features are there.

One was a short-haired girl, leaning lazily back in her chair, a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, as if she had just woken up from a dream. Her eyes were unfocused, but her fingers were subtly gesturing something on her leg, as if she were counting beats.

Hiss—you feel your hair stand on end, a subtle, horrifying sensation, as if etched into your flesh, leaps from your head to your feet.

Unsure, let me take another look.

You feel... you feel like you've seen her somewhere before.

But you just can't remember it.

Is it just a feeling of déjà vu?

Suppressing your doubts and intense unease and curiosity, you quietly observe the other one.

She looked much neater, sat up straight like you, and had no expression.

Her demeanor was inexplicably resolute, and you also noticed that she was observing the camera in the room—her gaze was unfocused, as if she were only glancing at it casually.

You and the latter stared at each other for a moment, neither of you speaking first.

"Good afternoon, everyone—" A nurse's voice came from the window. Her tone was calm and gentle, like a kindergarten teacher talking to a room full of unruly children.

Her white uniform was perfectly pressed, and her name tag read "Sandra".

You saw the nurse who brought you your medicine right behind Shanzhuo, like a little follower. So, Shanzhuo is in a higher position? The head nurse?

That's true, otherwise she wouldn't be the one speaking here.

"We have a new friend joining us today, and she's going to be part of our happy little circle," Sandra said, nodding to you after everyone had turned their attention to her.

She emphasized the word "happiness" with extra force, her jaw muscles as developed as if she had been chewing gum for two lifetimes.

As you listen to Sandra introduce you: "This new girl is currently under evaluation and observation. I heard she's the sole survivor of a certain group~ Pretty strong, right?"

—It was done in a way that made you extremely uncomfortable.

The moment those words were spoken, a subtle ripple appeared in the room.

The woman sitting in the chair, biting her nails, suddenly opened her eyes wide and said in a soft voice, "Only she survived? That means... she ate them?"

"Karen, you—"

"Don't scare me!" A young male patient shouted immediately, ignoring Shan Zhuo's words, rubbing his ears. "Don't talk about food, don't talk about food! I haven't locked the door yet, it's not clean, it's not clean!"

After he finished speaking, he stood up and jumped twice, then sat down, crossed his hands on his knees, and began repeating, "I'm not dirty, I'm not dirty, I'm not dirty, I'm not dirty..."

"Alright, alright, Will, remember your breathing exercises, okay?" Shan Zhuo said softly, as if coaxing a cat. However, she didn't intend to take any action against the man's manic state and just watched quietly.

When Will started trembling as he hunched over, she looked at a thin woman sitting in the corner and smiled, "Good afternoon, Tina, how are you doing today?"

Tina didn't answer. In fact, she hadn't noticed what was happening at all in the first place.

She was busy slowly tearing a square tissue in half into a rectangle, folding it into the shape of a boat, and then crumpling it into a ball. She repeated the whole process three times, each time with great concentration.

As you follow Shan Zhuo's gaze to Tina's actions, you can't help but think of the term "compulsive repetitive behavior."

"Why is she still alive?" a hoarse voice asked. It was the elderly woman closest to the window.

Her eyes were cloudy, and when you looked into them, you felt as if sharp arrows were piercing your mind.

"Did you crawl out from their corpses? Aha, I see! Because you don't belong here! Since you don't belong here, you can take my seat... Hahaha, I've finally waited for this..."

What? You looked at her warily.

Who is she? A wizard or just a simple madwoman?

“This kind of person isn’t suitable to live with us,” a calm voice interjected. It was the neatly dressed Yazhou girl.

Her gaze was not hostile, even though her words sounded like she was excluding you.

She looked at Sandra: "Does she have a criminal record? I don't want to be around potentially dangerous people."

Shan Zhuo raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Ai, whether you want to be with someone or not is probably not up to you. Besides, let's not discuss categories today, okay? This is a time to relax and have fun with new friends and everyone."

"A i," you pondered the pronunciation of Shan Zhuo. This girl's name is Xiao Ai, right?

Xiao Ai wanted to argue with Shan Zhuo, but then she heard the short-haired Yazhou girl suddenly start humming a song.

Her voice was strange, as if she was learning to use her vocal cords for the first time, and her songs were out of tune: "Newcomer, newcomer, a bunch of people died to get one... Will she have an extra head? Or one less?" It was Huayu.

Was this sung for you?

“Yu, please stop singing these strange songs. In the hospital, we should speak in soft, gentle voices,” Shan Zhuo said.

With Xiao Ai's help, the girl named Xiao Yu lowered her volume, but still hummed like a little bug.

That's interesting.

You scan the group of people again.

It's hard to tell whether they're truly crazy or just pretending. You just feel that at least these two girls from Yazhou are quite interesting, and you might be able to interact with them more during the game.

As for that old lady... maybe tomorrow, or even tonight at the earliest, you'll be able to have dinner with everyone. You should ask her about it then.

You've decided what you want to do, and the remaining three are far less impressive than these others. Sandra simply greeted them, then patted the windowsill under her feet and said, "Alright ladies and gentlemen, now that everyone knows each other, let's begin today's game."

She pressed a button.

The previously noisy music ended, and in its place came a cacophony of nursery rhymes that sounded like an electric drill drilling into one's ear, rising from all directions.

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Author's Note: What a tough day... I got so engrossed in watching SpongeBob SquarePants while waiting for the sun to cool down that I got caught by the teacher... I feel really vulnerable today, and there's still so much to face. I'll go get a good meal first and see if I can write more when I get home tonight! (Or maybe I'll just faint from eating too much, sob sob (I feel like I need to eat rice right now))