Chapter 845: Hospitalization

Chapter 845: Hospitalization

Since Li Huowang had been released from the restraint room, life had become exceedingly tranquil. Each day consisted of taking medication, watching television, and sleeping. Apart from the absence of medical treatment, he was no different from the other patients.

Yi Donglai had never approached him again for any sand tray therapy. During this period, he had not even seen his face.

Li Huowang did not know what game Yi was playing, but he no longer cared. He simply went through the motions day after day.

Li Huowang entered the dining hall with handcuffs and shackles on his wrists and ankles. The chains dragged on the floor, clanking loudly.

Upon hearing that sound, the other patients immediately knew it was Li Huowang arriving and made way for him. His previous treatment was restored to him once more.

The only person in White Tower Prison who could wander around freely while wearing handcuffs and shackles was probably him alone.

Li Huowang picked up a plastic tray and walked to the cafeteria window to serve himself meals one by one: one portion of meat, one of vegetables, one bowl of soup, and one portion of rice.

The meat dish was stir-fried oil tofu with pork skin; the vegetable was blanched lettuce; the soup was seaweed soup.

Li Huowang took a spoon and scooped up a piece of wobbling oil tofu. This soft, tender, and elastic tofu filled his mouth with a burst of flavor when he chewed gently. As he pressed his lips together and sucked forcefully, it tasted delicious.

Looking inside the window, Li Huowang noticed that the inmates cooking had changed. He felt this meal was tastier than the last time he'd been here.

He lifted the soup bowl to his lips and took a sip. Then, he poured all the rice onto the meat dish, stirred it a few times with the spoon, and began eating.

Because both hands were shackled together, Li Huowang found it very inconvenient and ate slowly. When others had nearly finished eating, he still had half his meal left.

Suddenly, a cold breeze touched his left side. As it dissipated, someone sat down beside him.

Li Huowang slightly turned his head and saw a middle-aged man wearing round glasses sitting next to him.

His hospital gown confirmed that this man was also a patient. "Hello, Mr. Li. Allow me to introduce myself—I'm Hai Dongqing. Here's my business card."

Li Huowang didn't reach out to take the paper with writing on it. Another psychiatric case—this was indeed the first time he'd encountered such a situation among the mentally ill.

However, he was curious about why, despite being so obviously deranged, the doctors hadn't taken any measures.

Seeing that Li Huowang ignored him, Hai Dongqing rolled the paper into a small tube and brought it close to Li Huowang’s mouth. "Do you have anything to say about your relapse?"

Li Huowang turned his head toward the nurse at the door. "Can you get him to leave? He's interfering with my meal."

Watching Hai Dongqing being forcibly escorted away by a nurse, Li Huowang said thank you before continuing to eat.

After finishing, Li Huowang watched some TV in the rest room before heading to the sunbathing area in the windproof zone. That was about the only form of entertainment available here.

Just as he lay on a bench half-asleep, he heard a faint voice beside him—it was Zhang Shuoe's voice.

"We're ready. If everything is fine on your end, we'll act at dawn three days from now. There will be an uprising among prisoners in Sector Seven. We can escape during the chaos."

Li Huowang frowned slightly, keeping his eyes closed, lying there and speaking in a low voice: "Tell them to stop!"

"Why?"

"If Qingwang wants to help me get out of here, let him do it properly—not as a fugitive madman running around hiding."

"If that's the case, I might as well stay here."

"If you can't do that, then send word to Qingwang to visit the prison. Let me speak to him personally. Tell him to leave quickly—the place is too conspicuous."

After saying that, silence fell again around him. When he opened his eyes slightly, he found himself alone with no one beside him.

He stretched lazily and raised his chin toward the distant guard tower before turning back toward the prison compound.

In truth, if it weren’t for the scheduled medication and treatments, life here would be no different from a nursing home.

Not long after entering, Li Huowang spotted Gao Jinyun squatting by the toilet with a pitiful expression, making every person who came out jump.

"What happened?"

Li Huowang walked over and asked. Though this guy looked big and strong, his intelligence level was that of a child, and even some average people might surpass him.

"Someone stole my apple."

Hearing the same question again, Li Huowang wasn’t surprised. "Take me there. Who took it?"

Gao Jinyun led the way ahead while Li Huowang followed behind. They went through each dormitory room.

"Is this him?" Li Huowang pointed at an old man holding an apple.

"Yeah!" Gao Jinyun nodded repeatedly while rubbing his clothes.

Li Huowang walked straight over and snatched the large red apple off the old man’s bedside table. "At your age, how can you still steal apples from a fool like this?"

"Hey! What are you doing? This was bought by my granddaughter!" The old man tried to argue but was pushed backward by Li Huowang and stumbled back onto the bed.

"Your granddaughter bought it for you? Did she write another name on it?" Li Huowang asked, looking at the apple.

As the frightened roommate pulled the old man back, Li Huowang turned and walked out the door, handing the apple to Gao Jinyun.

"Here. Next time someone gives you an apple, just eat it right away. Don’t wait."

Gao Jinyun waved his hands frantically. "I wanted to give it to you, brother. You don’t have any apples."

"I don’t like apples. Don’t save any for me next time." Li Huowang extended the apple further, but Gao Jinyun still refused. "You take it, you take it."

After several rounds of refusal, Li Huowang gave up on wasting words and shoved the apple into his own mouth, then turned toward his quarters.

To tell the truth, staying here was quite boring. After all, unlike the other patients, Li Huowang didn’t need to fight his illness—he was free from that burden.

After a short nap, he went to the dining hall for dinner. After watching the news broadcast with everyone else, lights-out time arrived.

Although the guards appeared relaxed on the surface, Li Huowang sensed their eyes following him until he returned to his room.

His living quarters were naturally a single room, converted from a restraint cell. There wasn’t even a toothbrush in the room, minimizing the possibility of suicide.

With nothing to do and no activities to engage in, Li Huowang simply lay down to sleep.

Over time, his habit of staying up late gradually disappeared.

But just as he drifted into drowsiness, a light footstep approaching him suddenly woke him up.