Treatment

Finks!

Finks, the "prison doctor" Qin Ran had long wanted to meet, stood outside the police cordon.

Out of his white coat and dressed in knee-length brown shorts, a gray short-sleeved shirt, and a sun hat, he looked no different from any other ordinary retiree.

But Qin Ran noticed the difference at once.

Finks's eyes were far brighter than Qin Ran remembered.

They held none of an old man's cloudiness. They were clear and bright. His physique was even more striking: sturdy and upright, with muscles bunched along his bare forearms and calves that would not have looked out of place on a bodybuilder.

For a man nearing sixty, it was remarkable.

His instincts had also sharpened noticeably.

The moment Qin Ran's gaze lingered on him, the prison doctor sensed it.

"Hey, 2567! Long time no see!"

"It's so good to see you safe and sound!"

As soon as Finks spotted Qin Ran, a delighted smile spread across his face. He waved and called out to him.

"I'm glad to see you too."

"Though your way of saying hello was certainly... one of a kind."

Qin Ran had his doubts, but that did not stop him from answering—and testing Finks.

"I can explain!"

"Could we..."

As he spoke, Finks glanced at Simons.

"You two talk. I'll go clean up!"

Simons took the hint. After a word to Qin Ran, he entered the cordoned-off Saint's Garden. With the authorization Shiqi had issued him, he passed through without trouble.

At a café around the street corner, Qin Ran and Finks sat across from each other while Finks stirred his coffee with a spoon.

The rich aroma of the coffee beans and the softness of the pork-floss cake made an unusual pairing.

It was hardly a delicacy, but on an afternoon like