In the emergency room.
The doctors and nurses were a flurry of frantic activity.
At first, saving just Leo had been manageable, almost routine. But when they brought in Walter, chaos erupted.
The head surgeon muttered, "Vice Director Lee once told me, 'Come to my hospital. You'll perform the most high-risk surgeries, temper your skills, and truly become a master.' I didn't understand it then. Where would I find so many high-risk cases? But in my nine years here, I've dealt with that kid forty-eight times. Every single time, he's had one foot in the grave."
"Doctor Wang handled him thirty-two times. Of course," he added dryly, "Doctor Wang has since resigned."
The nurses in the ER listened silently to the surgeon's war stories.
They understood perfectly.
This patient was a cockroach with a death wish, but one blessed with a supernatural inability to die.
"What did the vice director say?" the surgeon asked.
He was probing, and if he didn't get the answer he wanted, he might just pack it all in and retire to look after his grandchildren. Mental illness was truly terrifying.
A young nurse spoke up. "The vice director said that as soon as the treatment is finished, he's personally arranging an ambulance to take them back to Green Mountain Asylum."
A glimmer of hope ignited in the surgeon's eyes.
"Alright everyone, rally your spirits! I want those two gone from our hospital within the next six hours. Can we do it?"
"Yes, sir!"
A wave of renewed determination swept through the ER. A holy, unquenchable light seemed to emanate from their bodies. They threw themselves into their work, vowing to protect this small, sacred space.
They asked for nothing more.
At the hospital entrance.
An ambulance sat idling. Vice Director Lee stood waiting, glancing impatiently at the expensive digital watch on his wrist.
"It should be almost time."
The ambulance driver spoke with humble reverence. "Vice Director, please, let me drive this trip. How can we let you handle this?"
"Today, even if the Heavenly King himself descended, I will be the one driving this vehicle," Vice Director Lee declared, his tone leaving no room for argument.
The meaning was clear.
Don't anyone dare get in my way.
A short while later.
Several doctors and orderlies emerged, pushing two stretchers. They were returning the two newly-repaired patients.
"Get them both in the ambulance," the vice director commanded. "Today, no matter what, I am personally escorting these two back to Green Mountain."
"Yes, sir."
Wee-woo! Wee-woo! Wee-woo!
The ambulance peeled away from the hospital, its speed bordering on reckless. It took a corner so sharply that it lurched, a clear testament to how desperately the vice director wanted them gone.
This marked a first in medical history: a hospital vice director personally chauffeuring patients away.
Green Mountain Asylum.
Director Hess stood at his floor-to-ceiling window, his expression grave, his eagle-like eyes fixed on the asylum's main gate.
"Heaven, please, have mercy. Don't let them come back this soon."
But when he saw the ambulance appear in his line of sight, he knew his prayers had gone unanswered. They were truly heartless enough to return the merchandise.
Downstairs.
Vice Director Lee supervised as his staff unloaded the two stretchers from the ambulance, leaving them side-by-side in front of the entrance.
"My dear Brother Lee, isn't this a bit much? They haven't even recovered yet and you're already sending them back. This isn't right. Do me a favor, let them stay at your hospital for a little while longer, won't you?" Director Hess pleaded.
Vice Director Lee looked at Director Hess, his breathing growing heavy and ragged. Suddenly, he did something no one could have possibly imagined.
Thump!
Vice Director Lee's knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground. "Director Hess! Brother Hess! Senior Hess! Can't you show us a little mercy?"
"I'm begging you!"
Director Hess's eyes went wide, the words of his own plea dying in his throat.
You're not following the script! You've completely shattered my defenses!
This is just too cruel.
"Brother Hess, since you're not saying anything, I'll take that as a 'yes'," Vice Director Lee said, scrambling to his feet.
"You can keep the stretchers. Consider them a gift from me."
"Let's go!"
He didn't say another word.
He didn't even look back.
They didn't even bother with the siren. The ambulance disappeared around a bend as fast as a gust of wind.
Director Hess let out a helpless sigh and walked over to Leo's stretcher.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine," Leo replied.
Walter had an oxygen tube in his nose. Not only had they gifted them the stretchers, but they'd also thrown in a full oxygen tank. What a loss.
"I'm fine, too," Walter rasped.
Director Hess waved a dismissive hand, closing his eyes. "Take them back. And reinforce the bars on their room."
"Yes, sir."
Ward 666.
After a visit from the maintenance crew, the room was mostly restored to its former state, though the various machines and instruments had been cleared out.
Walter lay on his bed, trying to move, but his limbs were now restrained. He could only whine. "I can't move! I can't move at all! What about you?"
"I am cultivating," Leo replied calmly.
The "Hundred Refinements of the Heavenly Forge" technique was making him feel different, strangely comfortable. He could feel a current of energy flowing through his body.
They had succeeded.
The electro-stimulation training had worked.
The Galactic Circuit Rotation Technique had also worked.
Director Hess was overjoyed when he heard that Leo and Walter were quiet and not causing any trouble after their return. He finally had some peace. But he knew he couldn't let his guard down.
The next day.
Leo, who had been lying on his bed with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open. There was a new intensity in his gaze. He tensed his arms, and the safety straps binding him snapped with a sharp twang.
"That feels amazing."
He walked over to Walter, who was snoring soundly, and pinched his nose.
Walter sputtered and gasped, nearly suffocating before he woke up.
"What is it?"
"I need your assistance," Leo said with unnerving calm.
Walter replied without hesitation, "I am more than willing."
…
In the corridor.
A repairman was working on some equipment on the wall. He suddenly felt a presence behind him. He turned around nervously and saw an old man standing there, grinning from ear to ear. He nearly screamed.
After confirming it was a human being, he let out a sigh of relief.
He had almost pissed his pants.
But when he noticed the man's patient uniform, his tension returned. He instinctively looked for a weapon in his toolbox. This was a veteran psychiatric patient; to have survived this long, he couldn't be simple.
Walter shifted his position, staring intently at the man. "Do you know?" he asked seriously.
"I know," the repairman nodded. He didn't care what it was. Whatever you ask, I know. You're a mental patient, so I'm not going to argue with you.
Walter nodded, satisfied. "Your face is quite ugly, and your kidneys are weak. Do you know that?"
"I know," the repairman replied.
As Walter spoke, Leo stealthily reached into the toolbox, pocketed a hammer in his pants, and walked away as if nothing had happened.
"Good. As long as you know. Bye-bye," Walter said, and then walked away.
"Goodbye."
It was a brief and bizarre exchange, but for the repairman, it was fraught with peril.