Two minutes later.
Li Zu pulled the switch, cutting off the current.
Doctor Quill Arkham on the electric chair was already foaming at the mouth, his body convulsing and his eyes rolled back.
"What's going on?"
Li Zu found it strange. "World Exploration Progress, why is it still at 10%? Does exploring Arkham Asylum not count as exploration?"
As he spoke, he flipped the switch back on.
Doctor Quill, who had just been about to breathe a sigh of relief, fell into another fit of violent convulsions.
A minute later, Li Zu thoughtfully pulled the switch again.
By then, Doctor Quill Arkham had lost control of his bladder, and the office reeked.
Li Zu waved away the air before his nose in disgust. "Time to break out of prison~"
He took off the police uniform, washed the blood from his face in the electrotherapy room, changed into the white coat he had brought with him, and leisurely walked out of the electrotherapy room labeled "Psychological Consultation Room."
A small squad of special police officers approached from the opposite direction.
Li Zu stepped aside and waited for the squad to pass.
The officer at the front even nodded and greeted him amiably. Very amiably.
Li Zu strolled toward the elevator.
He pressed the up button.
A few seconds later,
Ding~
The elevator doors, like the gates of a cage for trapped beasts, opened. A squad of fully armed special police officers was already inside.
Accompanied by two doctors and a nurse, they were jointly guarding a "patient" whose hands, feet, and even mouth were locked up, his entire body strapped to an iron frame.
The man snorted heavily through his nose when he saw Li Zu.
He was emotional.
Clearly, he knew Li Zu.
Li Zu calmly stepped into the elevator and casually pressed the button for the first floor.
The elevator doors closed.
Bzzzz~
The elevator slowly rose.
The atmosphere was oppressive.
People who stayed in Arkham Asylum for too long were easily affected by the environment and became jumpy and neurotic.
"This guy doesn't look very obedient~" Li Zu said casually, breaking the silence.
"Mmmpf! Mmmpf!" The man continued to twist about madly.
But the iron shackles and leather straps displayed remarkable toughness, pulling him back against the metal frame.
Unable to break free, he still glared fixedly at Li Zu with eyes that seemed ready to spit fire.
"Yeah, catching this bastard cost us plenty of time~" one of the fully armed officers said, half-joking and half-relieved.
"It's a troublesome time lately~" The nurse beside him hugged her shoulders fearfully. "World War Three has been going on for so long. Atlantis and Themyscira might start fighting their way into Gotham soon!"
Li Zu's pupils flickered, but in the dim elevator, no one noticed the shift in his gaze.
"Don't worry!"
Li Zu looked at the nurse and joked lightly. "If they dare come, I wouldn't mind having Arkham add some new beds~"
"Hahaha!"
"Exactly. Being around these lunatics every day is what's truly dangerous. What's World War Three compared to that?"
The atmosphere in the elevator relaxed somewhat.
Only the shackled man continued to struggle wildly, as if he wanted nothing more than to pounce on Li Zu and devour him alive.
Ding~
The elevator stopped at the first floor.
The elevator doors opened.
At last, Li Zu saw the night sky through the windows.
And the large clock hanging by the entrance, displaying "20:14."
It was still nighttime.
Of course, he also saw the squad of fully armed special police officers stationed outside the elevator.
Li Zu did not hurry to leave. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the female nurse from Arkham Asylum.
His eyes swept over her name tag as he smiled gently. "Miss Lisa, may I have the honor of treating you to dinner?"
"Huh?" Nurse Lisa was startled by Li Zu's sudden invitation.
Even the special police officers standing outside the elevator, who had been about to step forward and question him, were startled by the abrupt invitation.
Asking someone out in a madhouse was certainly distinctive.
"I, I..." Nurse Lisa looked embarrassed.
"We'll meet in front of Gotham City Hall. You get off work before eleven, right?"
"Yes, once I finish dealing with things here, I can..." The nurse looked hesitant. She had never expected Li Zu to suddenly invite her to dinner.
Her mind was still frozen.
Li Zu gave the nurse no chance to refuse. He turned and swaggered out of the elevator.
The elevator doors closed.
"Then, see you tonight~"
Ding!
The moment he stepped out of the elevator, the officers at the entrance surrounded him.
"What's wrong?" Li Zu asked in confusion. "Did something big happen again?"
"One bastard escaped. You know how it is—no matter how sturdy the iron doors are in this place, they can't hold those bastards!" the Black officer said helplessly.
"We're just conducting a routine inspection. Are you off work?" The Black officer glanced at Li Zu's name tag and asked, "Doctor Pym?"
"What, I can't leave again today?" Li Zu looked regretful and pointed at the elevator behind him. "I need to get there an hour or two early to prepare a candlelit dinner~"
The officers, who had already heard the conversation in the elevator, exchanged glances and nodded.
Li Zu had been chatting pleasantly with the elevator's doctors, and he had even asked a female nurse out. Clearly, they knew one another and were on rather good terms.
That meant there was no possibility that he was an Arkham fugitive.
The Black officer nodded. "Of course. You may leave after our simple inspection~"
Li Zu had no contraband on him.
"You may go, but I suggest," the Black officer said with a smile, "don't forget the roses. My first date went badly because I didn't bring roses~"
"Really? I heard it was because you put on a London accent and the woman couldn't stand it," another officer cut in teasingly.
"That was the second date!" the Black officer retorted.
"Hahahaha!" The squad of officers burst into cheerful laughter.
Someone else teased, "You really ought to teach us how you managed to fail more than ten dates in a row."
Li Zu leisurely walked out of the lobby.
The wind was cool.
It lifted a corner of his white coat.
"These people are really kind," Li Zu said, looking up at the night sky. "Looks like it's going to rain~"
He slowly walked down the steps. Seeing a car start up, he jogged over and stopped it. "Hey, buddy, my car broke down. Could you give me a ride for part of the way?"
"Where are you going?" The window rolled down, revealing the face of a middle-aged man with graying temples.
"To Gotham City Hall. I have a date there." As Li Zu spoke, he had already sat in the passenger seat.
The car's owner clearly had not expected anyone to be brazen enough to climb in before he had even agreed.
"Just so happens... I'm headed that way."
After driving along a long road, the car passed through the heavily guarded gates of Arkham Asylum.
The prison, like a ghostly old castle, was left behind and thrown farther and farther into the distance.
Li Zu's tense body relaxed.
He discovered that his mental state sometimes slipped beyond his control, and he often had wild, fanciful thoughts.
The atmosphere in the car was somewhat stifling.
Outside the window, more buildings lined both sides of the road.
The streetlights also grew brighter and brighter.
They were traveling from the outskirts of Arkham toward the city center.
"You're new here?" The man in the driver's seat tried to break the silence in the car.
"Mm, yes!" Li Zu nodded.
"What should I call you?" The man leaned over curiously to look at Li Zu's name tag and said, "I've worked at Arkham for over five years. For a young man like you, the best destination is definitely not this place... Pym Colander?"
Screech!!
The car slammed to a stop.
The atmosphere inside, which had only just begun to warm, instantly dropped to freezing.
Li Zu turned and stared at the man with a dangerous gaze. "You know Pym Colander, don't you?" he asked darkly.
Thank you all for your recommendation votes.
(End of Chapter)
Before you continue