CH 156

Chapter 156 – 1992-2020

Bad news?

Lian Qiao gasped for breath, his voice trembling: “He, he…”

The Monk held a rosary and walked in front of him with his palms folded. Lian Qiao suddenly felt terribly tight in his chest. But no matter how hard he tried, what he inhaled was like fake air  and the oppressive feeling in his lungs could not be relieved at all.

“Hu…hu…” Lian Qiao frowned, pressing his chest with one hand and grabbing the railing with the other. His fingers were so tense that his ten fingers turned white. He gasped for breath and said with difficulty, “He…how…what’s wrong…”

Seeing that he was in such panic, the Monk couldn’t help being stunned for a moment and hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Benefactor, calm down! He’s fine, he’s already awake. I was just trying to scare you! He’s fine!”

Lian Qiao’s tense heart finally relaxed.

But his lungs didn’t.

For some reason, he still felt terribly suffocated. Severe hypoxia brought a sense of near-death, and he had the illusion of drowning. His fingers holding on to the railing kept tightening but he couldn’t help sliding down.

It’s so stuffy…so uncomfortable…why is there no oxygen… he was already breathing so hard…

He heard a bellow-like wheeze from the depths of his throat and he couldn’t stop panting, but the sense of suffocation didn’t ease in the slightest. Instead, his body became weaker and weaker, his muscles became sore and his vision turned black. He was so uncomfortable that he  wished he could die.

The Monk and the policeman watched him slide down the iron fence in shock. The policeman  hurriedly took out the keys and wanted to open the door to save him. Then his outstretched hand stopped in mid-air.

The Monk said anxiously: “What are you doing standing there! Open the door!”

The little policeman was sweating profusely with a hesitant expression on his face: “No, I can’t open the door casually… What if he is pretending?”

“Then what if he is really going to die?!” The Monk stared angrily and then snatched the key from the policeman, “He was about to be released after serving his sentence, so there’s no need to pretend to be sick now!”

As soon as the police heard that, he thought it was reasonable so he stopped insisting and helped The Monk open the cell door together.

Lian Qiao had fallen to the ground, panting like a dying fish. His expression was pained, his eyes glazed and it was unknown what he was looking for.

When he caught sight of the figure of the Monk, he suddenly reached out, grabbed the Monk’s robe and got up from the ground.

“You, you said… hu…he… hu… hu…he…”

The Monk said urgently, “He’s fine! What about you? How are you!”

Lian Qiao struggled to bring up a smile. His chest still heaved violently, as if the 21% oxygen in the air was not enough for him to breathe.

The Monk was sweating profusely and kept saying “Amitabha”, “Don’t scare me, my almsgiver! Amitabha, I have sinned…don’t die because of me!”

Lian Qiao grabbed his collar, gritted his teeth and said, “Then you…hu…why…you lied to me…hu…he’s obviously…he’s obviously fine!”

The Monk: “Oh! The Monks isn’t lying, how could I lie to you! I really have bad news. Here it is!”

Lian Qiao opened his eyes wide, his pupils shrank, and his breathing became short of breath again. The Monk hurriedly said: “Don’t worry! The bad news I’m talking about is that he was expelled from school! It’s okay! What’s the big deal? It’s okay!”

Lian Qiao: “…” He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. I think I’m going to be angered to death by you.

Although Lian Qiao was panting badly, he was still in good spirits. The little policeman saw that he had no intention of escaping from prison, so he hurried to inform his superiors.

But when the leaders of the Public Security Bureau arrived, Lian Qiao’s breathing gradually calmed down.

Not only was the Monk surprised, Lian Qiao himself was confused. He didn’t expect that just the word “bad news” could frighten him like this—but it didn’t seem to be just fear but also panic.

He seems to have heard his mother say that if a person is too emotional, he can indeed gasp himself to death. (Note)

When he calmed down completely, he couldn’t help calling the Monk in front of him and scolding him.

The Monk was also very wronged: I only said three words ‘bad news’, and you made up the rest by yourself. You are frightened by the content of your own brain supplement but you are going to blame me instead!

Why don’t you scold yourself instead!

Seeing that Lian Qiao had fully recovered, the little policeman heaved a sigh of relief, locked the cell door again and sat back at the desk to continue reading his Gu Long novel.

The detention room was not a real prison, and the Monks can come to visit. Anyway, the Monk can’t do anything in front of him and this prisoner is about to be released after serving his sentence, so there is really no need to die in order to escape from prison.

The Monk glanced back and was a little surprised to see that the little policeman really didn’t care about them.

“I even bought cigarettes to bribe him…” He touched his bald head and said with some disappointment, “Who knew they let me in right away. Well, it’s a waste of money.”

“People in those days were innocent. Police aren’t as corrupt as they are now.” Lian Qiao frowned, “Tell me honestly, how is he doing now?”

“He’s fine, he’s really fine.” The Monk was really afraid of Lian Qiao and he realized that Lian Qiao’s concern for RenDong’s concern had surpassed everything, “Really, the only bad news is a notice of withdrawal from school. Oh and he has grown up.”

Speaking of this, the Monk seemed to recall something terrible and his expression suddenly became weird.

He leaned over and asked Lian Qiao in a low voice through the iron fence: “Why is he like a snake and can shed his skin?”

This morning, the subtitles of the new era had already been printed. Lian Qiao expected that the Monk would be startled by RenDong but this time he not only did not sympathize with him but also gloated a little.

Seeing him like this, the Monk immediately came to his senses: “Oh! You already knew but you didn’t tell me!”

“How could I have time?” Lian Qiao pouted and changed the subject, “By the way, how could the school expel him?”

“Isn’t it your fault? You rushed into the school and beat up their class teacher. Of course the school will punish him. But fortunately, the class teacher was at fault first and the principal knew she was in the wrong, so he’s not going to sue you.”

When the Monk said this, his eyes were a little weak.

In fact, the reason for the principal’s concession was not only the teacher’s corporal punishment of the students but also the fact that Little RenDong was also lying in the hospital right now and his situation was not good.

However, the Monk absolutely dared not tell Lian Qiao about this.

Although Xu RenDong looked fine yesterday, several bones were broken in his waist and back and his internal organs were almost punctured. The hospital issued a serious illness notice to him in the middle of the night. Fortunately, early the next morning, after shedding his skin, he changed his body and recovered completely in an instant.

He would be released from the hospital this afternoon, about the same time as Lian Qiao was released from prison.

The Monk glanced at Lian Qiao and, seeing that he didn’t notice anything unusual, he sighed and said, “The troubles are still to come. The owner of the snack bar thinks you have violent tendencies, so she dare not let you continue to work in their house. The hospital over here also issued a bill for medical expenses. To be honest, the amount is not too big and the charges are quite reasonable, but the problem is that the three of us really have no money!”

“…” Lian Qiao didn’t speak for a while. His brows were furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.

The Monk comforted: “Don’t worry. Let’s find a solution to the money issue. If it doesn’t work, I’ll go to the street again…”

“Do you think…” Lian Qiao interrupted him thoughtfully, “That this instance is too real?”

“Huh?” The Monk was puzzled.

“How many dungeons have you experienced?” Lian Qiao asked.

The Monk recalled: “Four.”

“Have you ever encountered such a realistic instance? This instance is almost exactly the same as the outside except that the map is limited and it will be haunted at night.”

“Now that you mention it…” The Monk also frowned, “Indeed. I also think this dungeon is not the same as the previous one… After I called 120 yesterday, an ambulance really came to pick me up. I was stunned.”

“But there are some unreasonable things.” Lian Qiao said, “When I entered their school, I saw other students in his class who were all faceless. At that time, I thought they were ghosts, but at that time it was daytime. And those faceless elementary school students don’t seem to want to hurt him… He actually went to class with those things for two days.”

Speaking of this, Lian Qiao frowned even deeper: “There is also corporal punishment. The thing is, why didn’t he tell me? Why did he hide it from me?”

The Monk showed a rather shocked look.

Why did he lie to you? You still haven’t figured it out?!

You look at the iron fence in front of you, touch your conscience and say it again: haven’t you figured it out yet!?

“In short, there are many strange things about this dungeon.” Lian Qiao ignored his strange eyes and concluded with a solemn expression, “I feel that there is some key information missing but I have to think about it.

“Stay honest and talk about it when you come out.” The Monk glanced into the empty detention room and said, “Okay, I have come to see you. The environment of your situation is not bad, suitable for living. Your family’s kid can rest assured now. I’ll be leaving first.”

“Yes.” Lian Qiao said goodbye to him without hesitation.

But just as the Monk took two steps, Lian Qiao called out to him again: “Hey, wait, I have something to ask you.”

The Monk: “What?”

Lian Qiao showed hesitation, opened his mouth several times, but couldn’t speak the words.

The Monk waved his hand impatiently and said: “Oh, look at you. Do you want to ask him if he blames you?”

Lian Qiao was stunned: “He told you everything?”

“What’s the matter, didn’t you accidentally hurt him when you hit someone? I can’t understand you guys who are flirting around and being coy. You didn’t mean it and he knows that. The result is one of you is too embarrassed to come visit and the other is too embarrassed to ask about the other, aren’t you two just making trouble for yourselves?” The Monk waved his hands again with a look of disgust, “Okay, okay, don’t get entangled and tell him when you come out. I’m going.”

“…” Lian Qiao stood in front of the iron railing, watching the Monk leave helplessly with extremely complicated emotions in his heart.

As expected, RenDong didn’t blame him.

No matter how he hurt RenDong, RenDong would not blame him. Just because RenDong felt that he didn’t do it on purpose.

But even if it wasn’t intentional… the damage he caused to RenDong was real.

Lian Qiao suddenly realized: RenDong loves him too much. He loved him so much that he would lose his principles, he can accept and tolerate him without any bottom line.

This made Lian Qiao feel an indescribable joy. But in the midst of this happiness, there is a faint feeling of uneasiness.

He was very afraid of himself and if he would, when he wasn’t conscious of it, cause more harm to RenDong.

Lian Qiao’s heart sank little by little and his eyes drooped. He inadvertently caught a glimpse of the Gu Long novel in the policeman’s hand and his heart skipped a beat. That weird feeling came to mind again.

Useless settings…

Is this novel really a useless setting?

***

The author has something to say:

Note: Lian Qiao’s condition is called hyperventilation syndrome, also known as hyperventilation syndrome. It is a physiological and psychological reaction caused by acute anxiety. During the attack, the patient will feel rapid heartbeat, palpitations and sweating. Because he cannot feel his breathing, he will breathe faster, causing carbon dioxide to be continuously discharged and the concentration will become too low, causing secondary respiratory symptoms and symptoms of alkalosis. It can cause numbness in the hands and feet and, in severe cases, the limbs can twitch. The treatment method is very simple, just give him a paper bag, let him breathe into the paper bag and inhale the exhaled carbon dioxide. However, if the condition is severe, medication may be required.