Chapter 99: The Sinner on the Cross

When I first woke up from my coma, the eighth cell had been separated from me by only a single wall. But by some twist of fate, I had explored upstream along the drainage ditch, completely overlooking this final room.

Reading through the files on the computer left me deeply unsettled.

All the changes at Henshan Psychiatric Hospital happened after the relocation. The snuff films, the live human experiments—the various test logs made it clear that something horrifying had occurred on January 1st.

This truth, buried by time, was perhaps the reason the Underworld Live Show had sent me here to broadcast. Henshan Psychiatric Hospital was far too unique compared to my previous streams. So far, I hadn't encountered any vicious ghosts or evil spirits—only lunatics who were far uglier and more terrifying than any demon.

"To truly solve this puzzle, I'm afraid we have to go back to where it all began." I tightened my grip on the Scalpel. The scenes from the snuff films played vividly in my mind. These madmen had to pay for what they had done.

I used electrical wire to tie Han Le and the short-haired woman together, then led Jiang Fei and Song Xiaofeng downstairs to the lobby. The inverted statue of Jesus was stained red with the pregnant woman's blood, and the Bible remained open to that same vicious curse: "You must die!"

The lights in the lobby flickered erratically. I looked up. Whether on the third floor or the second, there wasn't a single soul in sight.

"Gao Jian." Jiang Fei gripped my arm tightly, leaning half her body against my shoulder. There were no complicated feelings involved, nor was it even the effect of the Red Cord of Marriage. It was simply born from her pure, unadulterated fear.

"Don't be afraid. I told you I would get you out of here."

Foul-smelling blood seeped from the wound on my palm. As time dragged on, my condition was steadily worsening.

"We need to hurry. In my current state, I can hardly fight those lunatics head-on."

Entering the underground cells, I saw Song Xiaofeng's mother still lying on the floor. It seemed she hadn't seen this many people in a long time; every time we passed by her, her eyes widened as she stared at us.

"Follow me." I led Jiang Fei and Song Xiaofeng to the room where I had originally been imprisoned, shut the heavy door, and wrapped the iron chain around the lock.

"You and Song Xiaofeng wait in this cell. I need to check next door." Stripping off my jacket, I added a worried warning: "Keep an eye on the drainage ditch and the door. The enemy will likely try to sneak in through one of those two spots. I'll leave my phone with you for light, but you must absolutely not look at what's on the screen, understand?"

"Okay, just be careful!" Reluctantly letting go of me, Jiang Fei took the Underworld Live Show Phone and stood guard by the ditch with a knife in hand.

I removed the iron grate and crawled back into the foul-smelling drainage ditch. Since I didn't know what I would face in the eighth cell, I moved with extreme caution, holding the Scalpel in a reverse grip.

Ripples disturbed the murky water as a few fat rats scurried away in panic. Just when I thought my nose had grown numb to the stench, climbing out of the ditch assaulted my senses all over again.

"It reeks!"

An indescribable odor permeated this final cell, so pungent it made my eyes water.

I braced a hand against the wall, only to feel a slick, wet sensation against my fingertips. Turning my head, I saw the stone was coated in thick moss and bright red blood.

I stood up from the ditch. The layout of the eighth cell was identical to the others, with one exception: a massive wooden cross had been mounted on the wall directly facing the door.

The cross was inverted—just like the statue of Jesus in the lobby—and someone was nailed to it!

Fifteen-centimeter steel nails pierced the person's wrists, securing them firmly to the wood.

The sight before me was so unbelievable that I stood frozen in the ditch for a long time before I dared to approach.

"A slight rise and fall of the chest, there's breathing... this person is still alive."

I stepped closer for a better look. The figure on the cross was filthy and unkempt, with long hair almost completely obscuring his face. Had it not been for a prominent Adam's apple, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell he was a man.

His clothes hung in tatters. Upon closer inspection, I realized they hadn't worn out naturally—they had been shredded by a whip.

His skin was marred with open, unhealed gashes. It would be hard to find a single patch of intact flesh on his entire body.

"Why was he targeted so viciously? Just what kind of crime did he commit?" I brushed aside the man's matted hair, only to find a pair of weary, weather-beaten eyes staring right at me.

I was startled, but quickly regained my composure. "I'm here to save you. Can you understand what I'm saying?"

The man held my gaze for a long time before his cracked lips parted to utter three words: "Who are you?"

His voice was incredibly weak and raspy, agonizing to listen to.

"My name is Gao Jian. I was kidnapped and brought here."

He nodded. After a long silence, he finally spoke. "My vocal cords were destroyed by chemical agents. I can't speak loudly. Can you come a little closer?"

Keeping a reverse grip on my Scalpel, I leaned my ear in. But the moment I drew near, the man craned his neck forward and lunged with his teeth right at my face!

"You're asking for death!" I dodged sideways and drove a punch into his stomach.

The man hung his head in agony. With his hands nailed to the cross, even the slightest movement tore at his wounds, sending fresh blood trickling down.

Taking a step back, I watched him coldly. "I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you're going to answer them honestly. If I can get out of here, I'll bring the police back to save you."

"Get out? Stop dreaming. Once you're locked in here, there's only one end waiting for you." He lifted his head, tiny beads of blood welling from the cracks in his dry lips. "And that's death!"

The man was utterly uncooperative. He simply didn't believe I could escape.

"You just need to answer my questions. If I can escape, won't you be freed as well? That's a pretty good deal for you." I stared at his face, feeling an odd sense of familiarity.

"Good deal? I don't think so. It's better if we all go to hell together... assuming this world even has a hell." He lowered his head again. Speaking those few short sentences seemed to have drained all his remaining strength. He was simply too weak.

I wanted to say something else, but just then, a few bubbles surfaced in the drainage ditch. Song Xiaofeng burst out of the water holding a Scalpel and scrambled into the room. "S-Someone's coming!"

The child had remembered my instructions—if someone came in, he was to immediately flee through the ditch to another room.

"How many? No, I need to bring Jiang Fei over here too!" I was just about to go check on the situation next door when the normally dull and slow-witted Song Xiaofeng suddenly let out a scream.

"What's wrong?"

The little guy panted heavily, his chest heaving. He raised the Scalpel, baring his teeth in a vicious snarl. His face twisted with such ferocious rage that it was the first time I had ever seen such a terrifying expression on a child so young.

"Song Xiaofeng, you're scaring me. Give me the knife!"

But the boy didn't listen to me at all. Like a wounded young beast, he charged at the man on the cross, weapon in hand!

"Give it to me!" Because he was just a child, his strength was limited, and I easily snatched the blade from his grip. Yet he still threw himself at the man, clawing with his hands and biting with his teeth, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to tear the man to shreds.

"Have you lost your mind?! Stop it!" I yelled, trying to drag the boy away, but the man on the cross stopped me.

His voice was hoarse and low, thick with incredibly complex emotions. "Don't stop him. This is all my fault."

I picked up on his strange tone. "What do you mean?"

The man raised his head, fixing his weather-beaten eyes directly on me. "If I tell you everything and help you escape, can you promise me one thing?"

"Take you with us? Your limbs are crippled, making it hard for you to move. I can't give you a hundred percent guarantee."

The man shook his head, speaking in a tone that was completely unfathomable. "I will tell you everything. And when you are satisfied, give the knife back to this child... and let him kill me with his own hands."

"What?!" 'What kind of request is that?' I stared wide-eyed at the face hidden behind the long hair, then suddenly cried out, "It's you!"

I wiped the grime and blood from his face. This man was none other than Song Xiaofeng's father—the monster who had murdered his own children with his own hands!

"It seems you already know a few things about me. Very well, while I still have some breath left..." He tilted his head back, slowly parting his cracked lips. "Let me tell you the whole truth."

"I'm all ears. I've seen plenty of crimes caused by psychological defects, but I've never seen anyone as utterly deranged as you." I pulled Song Xiaofeng to the side, tightened my grip on my Scalpel, and stared at the man nailed to the cross.

He took a deep breath, his raspy voice echoing through the cell. "My name is Song Wenxuan. I was once a good husband, a good father, and a psychological expert who could be considered top-tier nationwide..."