The Snake in the White Coat

When Li Huowang heard what Wang Wei had said, his heart clenched in shock. But even more startling was Wang Wei's appearance—the man truly looked insane.

Li Huowang had no idea what had happened during this time to change Wang Wei so drastically.

Processing the other man's words, Li Huowang first glanced at the bathroom entrance. Seeing that the guard hadn't reacted, he turned back with a grave expression. "Wang Wei, I'm cured! There is no 'other side.' It was all fake! All of it was my imagination!"

"This ends here! Don't come looking for me again, or I won't be polite!"

Li Huowang shook off Wang Wei's grip and prepared to leave. He had never imagined that the loose end trailing him would be this man.

"I have surveillance footage of you conjuring gold out of thin air! Think about it—if I upload that to the internet, what will happen to you?"

Wang Wei's words made Li Huowang stop in his tracks. When he turned around again, his expression had twisted into something ferocious.

Li Huowang moved closer, pressing his mouth to Wang Wei's ear and speaking in an almost inaudible whisper. "You'd better think before you speak next time. Remember, I haven't been discharged yet. And killing someone with a mental illness isn't against the law."

As he finished, Li Huowang exhaled a white puff of breath, baring his teeth in a cold grin.

Wang Wei's scalp crawled. The man's aura had shifted in an instant—what stood before him no longer seemed human, but a flesh-eating beast. This man truly wanted to kill him!

Yet his excitement and agitation overwhelmed his fear. Forcing himself to stay calm, he said, "I don't think you could kill me. You're not sick at all! You just have a special ability!"

As if afraid Li Huowang would bite his head off, Wang Wei took a step back and continued, "I'm not trying to threaten you. I came in good faith. I want to cooperate with you!"

"You're truly insane!" As Li Huowang spoke, the sound of a guard's footsteps came from outside.

"This isn't a good place to talk. Let's find another time and talk properly."

"Xiao Li?" When Officer Liu walked into the bathroom, he saw Li Huowang washing his hands while the old man was cleaning the floor with his head down.

"What's the hurry? Can't you see I'm still in cuffs? Takes a bit longer, that's normal." Li Huowang shook his hands dry without even glancing at Wang Wei, then walked out.

Officer Liu cast a puzzled look at the old man sweeping the floor before following.

In the days that followed, Li Huowang didn't go back to that bathroom, and Wang Wei didn't seek him out either, as if nothing had happened.

But Li Huowang understood this wasn't over. The man would try again—he needed to prepare his countermeasures in advance.

A few days later, the psychiatric ward began to fill with a festive atmosphere. The patients had more smiles on their faces than usual.

The reason was simple: the New Year was approaching. The prison would improve the meals, with better food and drink than usual.

Li Huowang heard from the guards that the other labor reform wards got even livelier during the New Year, with rehearsed performances put on by inmates with stage experience.

But the White Tower Psychiatric Detention Ward naturally had no such talent. Their New Year's celebrations were the standard fare: watching the Spring Festival Gala and making dumplings.

Soon, New Year's Eve arrived. Sun Xiaoqin sat with Li Huowang, cheerfully wrapping dumplings and laughing loudly at his misshapen creations.

"Come on, wrap faster, son! We're going to watch the Spring Festival Gala soon."

"Do we really need to make this many?" Li Huowang shook his cuffed hands.

"Of course! We can't just eat them ourselves. We should share some with the others in the ward. They're all pitiful people."

The dumplings were quickly finished and taken to the kitchen to be boiled by Sun Xiaoqin. The kitchen had knives, so Li Huowang, as a high-security patient, naturally wasn't allowed near it.

Under the escort of Officer Liu, he headed to the rest area to wait for the Spring Festival Gala.

Perhaps because of the holiday, only one guard remained by his side.

"Brother Liu, working overtime during the New Year? That's rough too." Li Huowang sat down on a bench.

Officer Liu didn't seem very enthusiastic. He pulled a piece of toffee from his pocket and popped it into his mouth. "Ah, what can I say? This job is basically paid imprisonment. I really want to quit. What the hell was I thinking, taking this exam of all things?"

"Don't just think about the downsides. Sure, you can't go home for the New Year, but you get overtime pay that others don't."

At exactly eight o'clock, the Spring Festival Gala began, and Sun Xiaoqin brought out the dumplings.

A group of patients, along with the duty guards and nurses, ate dumplings while loudly complaining about the terrible shows on TV. The ward finally had a taste of the New Year.

But then, that feeling came again. Li Huowang didn't make a fuss. He simply stood up and told Officer Liu that the gala was boring and he was going back to sleep.

Everyone was gathered in the rest area watching the show, leaving the ward building utterly silent.

Suddenly, Li Huowang noticed the red light on the surveillance camera in the corner go dark. The door to his room opened without a sound.

"You're here?" Li Huowang asked, lying on his bed with his eyes closed, as if he hadn't been expecting the visitor at all.

The man walked in. Under the light from the hallway, Li Huowang could see his face. It was none other than Wang Wei, now dressed in a blue-and-white striped hospital gown, clearly having infiltrated in disguise.

"You're quite something, sneaking into a place this tight. I guess everyone has their specialty." Li Huowang sat up slowly. He knew he couldn't avoid this trouble any longer.

Without any preamble, Wang Wei tossed a small stack of papers onto Li Huowang's hospital bed. "This is Yi Donglai's thesis. I know what you experienced over there."

Li Huowang picked up the papers and flipped through them. Most of the things he had said were recorded in there.

As Li Huowang read, Wang Wei stepped forward, his expression excited. "Since you can bring out gold, then of course you can bring out Yang Life Pills, the ones that extend a person's lifespan."

"Show me right now! Produce one Yang Life Pill in front of me!"

Li Huowang stared at him for a long time. Then he suddenly spoke. "Back when you were treating me, I was kidnapped by a group of people. They also believed I could conjure gold. Was it you who leaked that information to them?"

He had been abducted from the psychiatric hospital once before, forced to live as a wandering madman under a bridge.

Now that he thought back carefully, it would have been difficult for those kidnappers to pull it off on their own. The only possibility was that someone inside the hospital had secretly helped them.

Given Wang Wei's current behavior, Li Huowang couldn't help but suspect him.