Chapter 1681: Happy New Year

At the Provincial Mental Health Medical Center, Gu Bing was locked up with two other psychiatric patients.

Before the New Year, he had caused a scene at the main gate of the Provincial Party Committee residential compound and was sent here after being mistaken for a mental patient.

For the first two days, he had kicked up a fuss, received several injections of sedatives, and then quieted down.

Afterwards, he thought about it and realized that staying here wasn't bad; surely no one would think to look for him in a mental hospital.

Since he was a "patient" sent over by the Provincial Party Committee, the hospital didn't dare ask questions, let alone process any paperwork for him.

Just like that, this guy settled in quietly, without combing his hair or washing his face.

In less than a month, his face was covered in stubble, his hair had grown long and messy, and he looked like a completely different person.

Wanted posters were all over the streets outside, yet here, not a single person suspected him.

However, being with mental patients every day was fine at first, but as time went on, it required immense mental fortitude.

Just think about it: there were those who practiced Iron Head Skill by slamming their heads against the wall, and others who performed shamanistic rituals all day long.

These were still within the range of what he could endure, but there was one guy who didn't sleep during the day and would stare at him with wide-open eyes all night—tell me, isn't that terrifying?

What drove him even closer to madness was another patient who would often drag him up in the middle of the night to urinate; if he was even a little bit late, that mental patient would definitely urinate on his face.

One day, he finally couldn't take it anymore and beat up the mental patient who kept dragging him up to urinate at night.

He had vented the pent-up frustration in his heart, but the doctors concluded that his mania was very severe and increased the dosage when administering sedatives.

In the blink of an eye, four months had passed, and he felt that his mental state was truly on the verge of collapse.

Especially with the daily injections and medication, he could clearly feel his bodily functions deteriorating day by day.

Take push-ups, for example: when he first arrived, he could do fifty or sixty in one go.

But now, he could only manage twenty-something before his chest felt tight and he couldn't catch his breath; it must be the side effects of the medication.

Yet, he had no other path to take, because if he left this place, he would definitely be caught.

But staying here indefinitely wouldn't work either; if things continued like this, both his body and mind would fall apart.

Just as he was pondering how to avoid the injections and medication, a young nurse who had only started working a few days ago entered the nurse's station.

"Xiao Yan, what are you holding in your hand?"

"A wanted poster." Xiao Yan placed the wanted poster on the table.

"What are you doing with that?"

The nurse, who was about thirty years old, casually picked up the wanted poster.

"Oh, there's actually a reward, and it's 20,000!"

"Right!" Xiao Yan said with a giggle, "I was just thinking, wouldn't it be great if this criminal were hiding in our hospital? Then those 20,000 yuan would be mine."

"Keep dreaming." The woman said with a smile, "I'm going to give Patient No. 37 an injection."

Just then, the sound of banging on a door came from a nearby ward, followed by wailing.

"Help! Someone's dead, hurry and help..."

"Sigh!" The woman sighed, "It's Patient No. 19 again. Xiao Yan, you go take a look."

"I'm not going, that guy bites." Xiao Yan took the tray from the woman's hand, "I'm going to give Patient No. 37 an injection."

"Fine." The woman turned and walked toward the ward where Patient No. 19 was.

Xiao Yan carried the tray to a ward and opened the iron door.

"Patient No. 37, time for an injection."

Gu Bing, who was deep in thought, couldn't help but shiver.

Now, he felt terrified whenever he saw a needle, but he couldn't resist.

Even if he struggled a little, a dozen men would immediately come over and pin him down.

Then they would use iron chains to tie him to the bed, leaving him unable to move.

"Be good."

Xiao Yan's voice was very soft, as if she were coaxing a child; she first disinfected Gu Bing's skin and then gave him the injection.

The other patients watched Xiao Yan with faces full of fear, huddled in the corners of the walls, not daring to move.

"That's a good boy." Xiao Yan pulled out the needle, "Your hair is too long, it needs to be trimmed."

For Gu Bing, he could cooperate with anything, but cutting his hair or shaving his beard was absolutely out of the question.

"No!" Gu Bing looked very panicked, "I don't want a haircut, no haircut."

"Alright, alright, alright." Xiao Yan hurriedly soothed him, "No haircut, we won't cut it, don't be afraid."

A smile that was hard to detect appeared at the corner of Gu Bing's mouth; he raised his head and glanced at Xiao Yan—the little girl was still too young.

Xiao Yan was in the middle of soothing Gu Bing when, inadvertently, she noticed how Gu Bing's eyes looked so much like the criminal on the wanted poster.

But she didn't think much of it; she carried the tray out of the ward, then closed the iron door and locked it.

Returning to the nurse's station, she put the tray away, sat down, and picked up the wanted poster.

Gu Bing's eyes appeared in her mind; she stared at the wanted poster, and the more she looked, the more they resembled each other.

At this moment, the woman returned and saw Xiao Yan staring blankly at the wanted poster.

"You really are a little money-grubber; even if you stare until you see flowers, you won't get that reward."

"How do you know I won't?" Xiao Yan said unconvinced, "That Patient No. 37 might just be the wanted criminal."

The woman said with a smile, "Then you'd better hurry up and report it, otherwise someone else will get there first, and you won't get those 20,000 yuan."

Xiao Yan hadn't actually thought about reporting it, because she also felt her idea was very naive—how could a fugitive possibly be in a mental hospital?

But when she saw the smile on the woman's face, her temper flared: "Report it then, I'll report it."

Saying this, the little girl grabbed the phone and dialed 110.

The woman's eyes widened: "You're really calling?"

"I am!" Xiao Yan smiled triumphantly, "Hello, this is the Provincial Mental Health Medical Center. We have a patient here who looks very much like the fugitive Gu Bing."

It's unclear what the person on the other end said, but Xiao Yan nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, yes, okay, I will stay here."

"Clack!" Xiao Yan hung up the phone and looked triumphantly at the woman: "The police will be here in a while."

The woman didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "If it's not him, let's see what you're going to do."

"If it's not him, then it's not him." Xiao Yan said with a guilty conscience, "I don't have eyes of fire and golden pupils; what can I do if I made a mistake?"

"You!" The woman reached out her finger and poked Xiao Yan on the forehead: "If the head nurse finds out, you'll definitely get scolded."

Xiao Yan looked left and right sneakily: "She hasn't come back from the meeting yet; as long as you don't say anything, how could she know?"

"Know what?" A middle-aged woman suddenly walked out from the corner of the corridor; she was the head nurse.

Xiao Yan stuck out her tongue: "Nothing... nothing at all."

The woman suppressed a laugh: "Does the hospital have any new instructions?"

The head nurse snorted: "Nothing but nonsense, just spouting garbage, what instructions could there be?"

Xiao Yan giggled: "Head nurse, how many years have you been here? That Northeastern accent hasn't changed a bit."

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Shoes, I wish you all a Happy New Year, a happy family reunion, and may you make a fortune in the coming year—and give Twelve lots of tips! ===== CHAPTER 1682 =====