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墨書 Inktalez
"Stop messing around, this is not the time for jokes!" The Head Nurse looked around, but no one responded. At this moment, everyone understood the seriousness of the situation. Aside from us here at the security station, if anyone could press the alarm, it would likely be the patients locked in their rooms.
The Head Nurse gasped and said, "Oh no, someone hasn't escaped, have they?"
Just then, a security guard shouted from downstairs, "This is bad! Quick, someone come! Someone has run away!"
The voice came from below, and we rushed down in a panic. We found that the iron door to a room on the second floor was wide open. Suddenly, it struck me that this was the room of the woman who had been facing the wall with her back to us. But now, she was nowhere to be found.
The Head Nurse was sweating profusely as she shouted into the intercom while rushing into the room to check. Indeed, it was completely empty; there wasn't a single person inside.
"How did this person get out?" the Head Nurse turned to us and asked. "All the rooms are locked from the outside. If the door wasn't opened from outside, there's no way anyone inside could have come out. Except for the old man's room, which can lock itself; no one else can do that."
I furrowed my brow as I caught the implication in the Head Nurse's words. "Are you suggesting that one of us opened the door?"
The Head Nurse shouted into the intercom again, "Everyone pay attention! A female patient from Area A has escaped! We haven't confirmed her appearance or identification number yet, but patients from Area A are known to be highly aggressive. One of them has definitely gotten out."
Turning to us, the Head Nurse said, "You all better not cause any trouble. Just don't make things worse; you're my lifeline here. This could cost me my year-end bonus."
She pulled out her stun baton and told a few people nearby, "Come with me to chase her down; this woman can't have gone far."
Watching the Head Nurse rush out in a hurry reminded me of when I first arrived and saw that woman lying motionless on her bed. I had sensed something was off back then, and now it seemed clear that something was indeed wrong. But how did this woman's disappearance relate to us? Was it connected to this case?
I looked at the open door and then at the empty room before stepping inside.
Standing at the doorway and carefully examining the space, I noticed that aside from a bed, there was nothing else in the room. The bed itself was made from a solid iron plate; there was no way someone living here could use it for anything malicious—it couldn't serve as a weapon or anything else.
On the wall, I noticed some fine scratches. Upon closer inspection, I saw they were dense vertical lines—hundreds of them—especially thick on one side near the bed. They looked fresh; clearly newly made. I walked over to the door and examined the latch outside.
"Flashlight!" I called out to Gu Chen.
Gu Chen handed me a flashlight. I shone it inside, and now I could see several new marks in the socket. Suddenly, an image flashed in my mind; I realized that this type of latch door could be easily opened. All I needed was a fishing line and a round stone.
However, anyone entering here would surely have their belongings thoroughly checked.
I closed my eyes and envisioned a scene. I had previously learned that the inmates in Area A had soft utensils for eating, fearing that if these items fell into the hands of the mentally ill, they could be used to harm or even kill. So how did this patient manage to evade the search when entering Area A?
We could tie a stone with a fishing line, wrap it in a ball of rice, and then swallow it. By tying one end of the fishing line to our teeth, we could bring the tool inside. Then, turning our back to everyone, we could slowly extract the stone from our stomachs, thus creating a tool to open the door.
By swinging the stone out through the window's bars, it would be caught by inertia on the iron door. Then, pulling the line through the outermost bars would gradually release the latch. Most likely, this person had swallowed a magnet and slowly opened the latch.
When opening the door, they would inevitably be seen by the cameras. Suddenly, I understood the purpose of those vertical marks on the wall; they were for timing. This room was not like an old man's room; it had no windows to see outside. Those trapped inside did not know day from night or seasons, and naturally had no concept of time.
The marks were meant to count their time. Judging by the length of each mark, I estimated that each one represented about a second. I carefully examined these subtle grooves etched into the wall; there were thirty in a row, with one hundred rows making up a group—three such areas in total—meaning there were actually nine thousand marks in this section.
That amounted to nine thousand seconds, which is roughly one hundred and fifty minutes, or two and a half hours.
In those two and a half hours, this woman did nothing but quietly etch over nine thousand marks without any interruptions to keep track of time. But why was she timing herself? I had a vague suspicion that during those nine thousand seconds from when she entered until she left, she began her escape.
What did she intend to do?
I said, "Let's go; Captain Shao is still outside. We need to find out what happened."
As I descended from the second floor, I found that everyone outside had already left, leaving only one security guard at the entrance.
I stepped forward and asked, "Where is everyone else?"
The guard turned around and replied, "Where else would they be? They've all gone."
I glanced back at the television screen, which was now pitch black, and asked, "What happened?"
The security guard shook his head and replied, "I’m not sure either. Just a moment ago, the screen suddenly went dark. I don’t know what’s going on. Then a few people ran out to check the wiring, and I stayed here with your Captain Shao. Before long, I saw someone run out, and Captain Shao tried to stop them but couldn’t."
The guard recounted what had happened: "Then two people chased after them, but I don’t know where they went. The ones who went to check the wiring came back, and someone had cut the wires. After that, the alarm went off, and everyone rushed inside. Just now, a group of people ran out again, leaving me all alone."
As he spoke and gestured, I found myself even more confused by his explanation.
While I tried to make sense of the guard's account, I pondered the situation's complexities. The female patient who had run out likely had deeper motives for her actions; her entry must have been purposeful. Otherwise, without preparation, she wouldn’t have been able to obtain a magnet and fishing line from outside—someone must have provided those items for her.
So what exactly was her intention in coming in here?
"Let’s go!" I said to the others. "Let’s see what’s happening outside; you stay here."
The guard nodded.
When we exited Area A, most of the security personnel were already gone, apparently searching for the madwoman. I frowned; logically speaking, it should be quite difficult to leave Area A. How could that woman have dashed out without being noticed?
If there wasn’t an insider helping her, then there must be a secret passage.
After a while, I saw a group of people coming in from outside— it was the Head Nurse and her team. A few security guards were holding onto a disheveled woman who was still wearing the clothes from Area A. It seemed they had indeed caught her. The woman struggled against their grip.
Watching her closely gave me an odd feeling; she seemed different from the woman I had seen before. This one was far more agitated compared to the calm demeanor of the previous woman.
I stepped forward and asked, "Did you catch her?"
The Head Nurse nodded and glanced back at Captain Shao before saying, "Yes, Captain Shao caught her. We still don’t know how she managed to get out."
I asked again, "What's going on with the surveillance?"
The Head Nurse replied, "Someone cut the wires outside. We don't know how it happened."
"Take me to see," I said.
The Head Nurse pointed to a security guard and said, "You take them to check it out. I'll escort the woman back."
With that, a security guard led us outside.
Previously, this was an old Mental Ward, and the wiring was set up outside of it. The guard showed us that the main line had been cut, which meant the television couldn't receive power and thus couldn't display any images.
I looked around and noticed there were no patrolling guards nearby. This meant that if someone wanted to come here and cut the power lines, it would be quite easy.
"Do you think someone could escape from Area A?" I asked the guard.
He shook his head and replied, "Although Area A is old, it has its advantages. The walls are sturdy; patients can't escape. Plus, there's an Electric Fence on the walls. If anyone touches it, they'll be instantly incapacitated and an alarm will go off. Even if that woman managed to run out of her room, she wouldn't be able to escape from Area A. So don't worry; the Head Nurse just tends to overreact."
But this raised a question. Given how meticulously that woman had planned, she wouldn't be so reckless. Someone who could hide a magnet in her stomach surely would have considered how to escape from Area A.
Suddenly, a scene flashed through my mind!
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