This World Has Gone Crazy

Qi Le wasn't sure the truth but he could guess the real reason behind Yi Hang’s injury through several conversations. Third Brother didn’t get the money at the time and certainly wouldn’t kick away the ladder so quickly. So, Yi Hang’s injury was probably his own doing. Things were less complicated after figuring this out. As to whether Third Brother had driven into Yi Hang some time ago, and for what reason, he could always ask again later.

He quickly pondered. “That’s right, I’m afraid his original intention wasn't to fake amnesia but madness. I happened to be in the hospital that day and saw him go mad and being taken to the psychiatric department. But there's one thing Third Brother may not know, that is, Lu Yanbin suddenly went to the hospital and wanted to test if he was pretending to be crazy or not. So, he knocked him in the head once more.”

Third Brother paused. “Is that so?”

Qi Le replied, “Third Brother, if you don’t believe me, you can check it out. My life is in your hands, so there's no way I'd lie to you."

Third Brother nodded. “Then, what are you trying to say?”

“Lu Yanbin laid hands on him hard and caused problems in his head. I don’t know if it's his brain or if it's a mental problem. In short, his current memory is a little messy, and he can only remember some things under certain circumstances before forgetting them again. Third Brother, if you don’t believe me, you can take a look yourself. You've seen so much, your vision is definitely better than an average person's.” Qi Le looked at him. “Besides, you are friends. If he has any problems now, or isn't the same person as before, you will know at a glance.”

Third Brother turned his eyes to Yi Hang. He had watched him from downstairs of Lu Yanbin's apartment some time ago. He had thought that this man was acting. Now that he thought about it, there was indeed something off about him.

Yi Hang’s little face went pale. He trembled as he met his gaze. He knew that Qi Le was rather frightening, so he must have a purpose. He had to shut up and listen to his arrangements.

Third Brother stared at him for a while and then looked at Qi Le again. “Go on.”

“This matter isn't very clear to him because every time he recovers his memory, the duration is extremely short and he can’t remember much. However, he keeps calling me and wants me to help him figure out the two million. He also said that he would give me fifty thousand when it's done.”

Third Brother asked suspiciously, “To deduce?”

“Mmm, we have a good relationship ever since he lost his memory. Of course he wants to talk to me. I'm a student. I used to have some money, but now the money's running out. I happened to be short of money when he suddenly promised to give me so much. Of course I would help.” Qi Le explained, “I invited a psychiatrist so that I can get the money sooner. We go to the bar every night to meet and chat. I wanted to ask the doctor if there was any way to cure him. Third Brother can go to the bar to ask if you don't believe me. I'm really not lying.”

If it were a lie, the more detailed it was, the more likely it was to be uncovered. Third Brother hesitated for a moment. “I’ll check that. Now let’s talk about your deductions.”

“He hasn't recovered his memory many times,” Qi Le replied obediently. “The first time, he said that he had hidden something and couldn’t remember where he put it. He asked me to help him find it. The second time was almost the same as the first. The third time, he said it was two million. I was startled at the time. Later, he appeared again and said it was wrapped in rags.”

“Rags?” Third Brother glanced at Yi Hang and sneered, “So it’s not a suitcase. This boy is really cunning.”

Yi Hang, “…”

A suitcase? Is it cash?! Qi Le was shocked. He thought it was a check or something, but it didn't matter anyways. He needed to make two million dollars appear somehow in order to survive. He nodded. “He said rags.”

Third Brother immediately asked with concern. “What else did he say? Did he say where the money was hidden?”

"No. He only said he would take money and hide for a while.” Qi Le looked at him. “But I can probably guess the place having heard what Third Brother said earlier. Third Brother, why did he want to pretend to be crazy?”

Third Brother said without thinking, “He was afraid that Lu would come for him.”

“More than that, he also said he would hide with the money. Let’s make a hypothesis. If Lu didn’t go to the hospital and beat him that day and he eventually pretended to be crazy and succeeded, what do you think would happen?”

“What else. Of course, he would be sent to the psychiatric hospital.” Third Brother suddenly froze, a gleam flashing in the depths of his eyes. “The money is in a psychiatric hospital?”

Yi Hang, “=口=”

Third Brother struck the table. “It is indeed a good place. No wonder we haven’t found after so many days.” He looked at Qi Le with admiration. “You're very smart.”

“I’m not smart.” Qi Le looked depressed. “I wanted to use this incident to show off but I didn’t expect Third Brother would guess correctly. It's like trying to show off in front of an expert.”

Third Brother laughed, obviously pleased with this sentence.

“Third Brother, do you have any other clues?” Qi Le looked at him. “There are four psychiatric hospitals in the downtown area and one in the suburbs. We still don’t know which one it is, and we don’t know where in the hospital it's hidden. He's only remembered a few times. I only guessed up till here after hearing what Third Brother said before about him pretending to be crazy. To be honest, I’m a little afraid that the money will be found first. That would be bad.”

“That’s true.” Third Brother narrowed his eyes and picked up the alcohol bottle on the table. “Do you think he can remember with another blow to the head?”

Yi Hang, “=口=!!!"

Yi Hang asked weakly, “What does it have to do with me?”

Third Brother's eyes narrowed again. “You hid the money.”

“But I don’t know anything now!”

“Maybe you will know after I hit you.”

“Third Brother, don’t.” Qi Le hastily urged. “The doctor said that he is gradually recovering. If his head is hit again, the situation may worsen, and then we won’t be able to ask anything.”

Third Brother was silent for a moment before reluctantly putting down the bottle.

Qi Le secretly calmed down and composed himself. “Third Brother, think carefully. Maybe we can find clues on our own.”

Third Brother thought he was right and began to think seriously.

Qi Le reminded, “Think about certain details, such as what he said or the agreement between the two of you, or his future plans.” He paused. “You should get a map of the city. Some clues can only be seen when combined with a map.”

Third Brother muttered "Mmm," and tilted his head slightly. “Shunzi, go and buy a map.”

The little brother who had been standing beside him said "Yes," and turned to leave. Third Brother looked at Qi Le's petite body and felt that he was too little to do anything. He untied the rope around him and made him to sit down in front of the round table, getting ready to discuss important matters.

Yi Hang, “=口=”

Yi Hang was dumbstruck. He got Third Brother to untie him with a few words. Holy shit, this guy is scary!

“Brother, I didn’t know anything before. Don’t blame me.”

“It’s okay.” Qi Le rubbed his wrist and sat down on the chair. “I understand. If I lost such a large sum of money, I would have wielded a knife to cut him down.”

Third Brother couldn’t help laughing and opened a bottle of beer. “Here.”

Qi Le raised his head and drank with vigor, then wiped his mouth. “What can you think of?”

“He only said that he delay that Lu guy and the rest will be discussed after a period of time. Shunzi and I went abroad for a month and saw that he didn’t contact us. We were afraid that he would cheat us, so we came back. Since I've been on the streets, anyone who has lied to me hasn't had a good end. If anyone dares to cheat me, I will kill him.” Third Brother said the last few words in a somewhat heavy tone which seemed to be a deliberate demonstration. Then, he narrowed his eyes at him and grinned. “Third Brother is a rough man. I don't know anything else. I didn't scare you, did I?”

“No.” Qi Le forced himself to calm down. “Nowadays, who cares if you're a rough person or not? Look at me, I'm a poor student. What’s the point? My parents died in a car accident when I was in my senior high and I was left with some money but I've spent it all these past few years. Now, I can only work in a bar. Third Brother, just think about how chaotic bars are. I’ve seen a lot of things. As long as you have money, you've got a say. Who cares what you do? No matter how much I study, I'll still have to work for a rich man when graduate, am I right?"

Third brother paused, his eyes tinged with a little appreciation. “Not bad. You're pretty wise. You've got good prospects.”

"You learn some things after going through a lot.” Qi Le smiled modestly and chatted with him for a while. Soon, Shunzi came back. Third Brother spread out the map on the table and ordered him get a pen. Then, he circled out several psychiatric hospitals. “That’s it.”

Qi Le nodded. “Pay attention to the places around the hospital. Some psychiatric hospitals are not easy to enter and need registration. Maybe he didn’t enter but hid the money nearby.”

“That makes sense.” Third Brother echoed and bowed his head to begin checking.

“Did he have any interests before?” asked Qi Le. “Or did he say anything that can be connected to the places here?”

Third Brother casually mentioned some of his interests, then added, “As for what he said before… I really can’t remember.”

Qi Le was somewhat surprised. “It turns out that he doesn’t like mountain climbing.”

“No. Why?”

“It's nothing. He once said something about mountains before. I thought he liked climbing mountains.”

Third Brother frowned at once, then glanced out of the corner of his eye and pointed to somewhere on the map. “This hospital was built on the outskirts of a hill. Could this be it?”

Qi Le froze, then suddenly realized, “Yes, why didn’t I think of that? Indeed, one certainly gets smarter as you age!”

Third Brother laughed but quickly exercised restraint, muttering, “Now we already know the place. We just don’t know the specific location.”

Qi Le thought for a moment. “There are no buildings around there. I think you could try to look in the walls. Perhaps it's buried in the soil. If it's not outside, climb over the wall and look inside. If you still can't find it, then you can only think of some other way. It's still early. You should wait till evening to go looking.”

Third Brother nodded, glanced at the time, and asked Shunzi to go to a nearby restaurant and take away some dishes for them to eat together. He patted a certain someone on the shoulder and drank with him enthusiastically. Obviously, he was thinking of making friends with him.

Yi Hang watched pitifully as they ate and felt like crying. Fucking hell! He was also a hostage. Wasn't their difference too big?! He couldn’t help thinking of Lu Yanbin. The man had always been kind to him. He has never been hungry before. This was the difference in treatment ah!

Gu Bai stayed at Lu Yanbin’s house until evening but there was still no news. Finally, he could not sit still any longer. He got up and said, “Let's call the police as soon as possible. Don’t delay it anymore.”

Lu Yanbin had no objections and went downstairs with him. Gu Bai thought that the two had disappeared for less than a day but they were going to report them as having been abducted. He could not help but frown. “We don't have evidence now. What should we do if they don’t take it seriously?”

Lu Yanbin pulled out his cellphone and flipped through it. “The photo I got in the afternoon was that of the man named Third Brother. He should have a criminal record. We'll give the photo to the police, say that Xiao Hang had a problem with him and we can't find him now, so we want them to investigate the matter."

Gu Bai muttered "Mmm," and asked, “I know that abductions are handled by the public security bureau. If we want to look for someone, do we go to public security bureau or the police station?”

Lu Yanbin thought for a moment. “We'll go to both. More help can't hurt.”

The two went to the nearby police station first. At this time, the officers had already left work and there was only one person left. The man was lying depressed on the table, muttering to himself, “It’s really fucking hard to be a policeman…” As he said this, he noticed someone approaching and quickly looked up, instantly switching to a pleasant smile. He warmly greeted them and asked them to sit down All that he was missing was the words “Good Public Servant of the People” on his forehead. “Hello, I am Luo. Is there anything I can do for you?”

The two men were silent for a while. Why did they feel as if they couldn't link this sentence to the policemen they saw on tv?

They couldn’t help looking at him properly. The man was in his early 30s, handsome and looked at them with a smile on his face. “What’s the matter?”

The two decided to just give it a try since they were in a desperate situation, and explained the matter briefly. Officer Luo looked at the photo and said, “I haven’t seen him before. You say he has a reputation in the underworld and has a lot of underlings but he personally did this kidnapping for a mere two million?”

“…” Lu Yanbin nodded. “They say that he's infamous but I don’t know the specifics. He had an underling with him. It seems that it was only the two of them."

Officer Luo sighed at once and seemed saddened. “These gangsters are getting more and more pathetic. He dares to mix in the underworld for such a small profit? Even I think he's embarrassing.”

The two men grew silent again. They spoke a bit more and quickly left. Deeply convinced that the man was a rather unreliable, they hurried to the public security bureau.