Chapter 3: Notebook

Five minutes later, a poor guy in a biker jacket desperately shoved himself under a treatment bed. 

This person’s name was Parker... but it didn’t matter; he might not even remember his own name now. 

Moreover, he didn’t quite understand what had just happened in the last five minutes. By the time he regained his senses, the people in front of him were already piled on the floor. 

The reason he used the word “piled” was that he simply couldn’t find any other word to describe it; those people were indeed just lumped together at his feet, and at that moment, he couldn’t even tell who they were. He didn’t have time to piece them together. He merely followed the little instinct he had left, dashed out of the room, and ran down a hallway until he reached the last room, where he squeezed himself under something that looked like a treatment bed, hiding. 

What had just happened? 

What happened to the people outside? 

Who was that person? 

Why was it so quiet? 

This hidden corner gave Parker a fleeting sense of safety, so he began to let his mind wander and even pinched himself to confirm whether everything was a dream... it must be said, this guy had quite a strong mental fortitude. 

But just then, not far away, he seemed to hear a slow, leisurely footstep. 

Parker’s heart leaped to his throat, and his whole body tensed uncontrollably. 

Then he distinctly heard the door to the room being pulled open, and a pair of blood-soaked leather shoes leisurely entered his view; the white coat dripping with blood indicated that it was the doctor. 

Parker felt a violent spasm in his throat, almost screaming out, but fortunately, he managed to cover his mouth with his strong will, preventing any sound from escaping. 

Those leather shoes wandered around the room for a while before finally stopping in front of the treatment bed. Parker could clearly smell the sweet, metallic scent of blood as drops dripped onto the floor, some splattering onto his forehead. 

Then he heard a “click” — the sound of a lighter, followed by a long exhale of smoke. 

He curled up desperately in the corner, covering his mouth tightly, nearly suffocating himself, his head buzzing. Thankfully, the doctor seemed to have found nothing... 

His toes pointed toward the door, and he was about to lift his leg to step out. 

However, at that moment, it seemed God was playing a little trick on Parker. 

The doctor’s lighter slipped from his grip and fell to the ground, sliding right down the bloodstains and landing right beside Parker’s nose... 

Parker’s eyes nearly bulged out. 

Then he saw the man pause for a moment, then turn and walk toward him, bending down... a blood-soaked hand reached in, groping right in front of him. 

In that instant, Parker felt a warm flow in his pants. 

Alright, he peed himself... 

But now he couldn’t care less; he could only be thankful that he was wearing enough layers today; the fleece of his long johns could absorb enough urine to prevent it from overflowing. 

Finally, the man found the lighter, picked it up, and straightened up. 

At that moment, Parker felt as if the whole world was singing hymns; having never had faith before, he sincerely vowed in his heart to be a good person for the rest of his life. 

But suddenly, a head popped into his view, and the doctor’s eyes were staring straight at him. 

“Ugh ah ah ah—” 

A scream that hardly sounded human echoed through the night. 

...

Today was definitely the most unforgettable day for Parker. He had pinched himself no less than twenty times, but the pain told him this wasn’t a dream. 

Now, for him, there was good news and bad news. 

The good news was: he was still alive. 

The bad news was: he didn’t know if being alive was a good thing. 

At this moment, he was sitting in that doctor’s office, yes, the same office where he had just posed a fierce, menacing expression, but he never expected that ten minutes later, he would be contemplating how to avoid vomiting amidst all the corpses scattered around, and how to keep his pants from getting too damp. 

Everyone was dead... it didn’t take much street fighting experience to see that, as they had become very fragmented. 

But he was still alive. 

That terrifying doctor hadn’t killed him; instead, he had brought him over and then... poured him a cup of tea? 

What? He poured himself a cup of tea? ... This was absurd, and he actually accepted it. 

Though Parker couldn’t understand what this was all about, he certainly didn’t dare to run... so he could only sit absurdly like this, holding the teacup, desperately trying to stop his body from shaking any further. 

Soon, the doctor walked in, perhaps to make him feel less scared, he kindly changed into a new lab coat... 

“Hello, what’s your name?” 

“Parker.” He swore that was the most fluent thing he could say at that moment. 

“Hello, I’m Zi Liang.” The doctor said: “I’m sorry for turning your companions into this.” 

“Um... it’s fine... we were... just acquaintances.” Parker stammered, trembling, not quite sure what he was saying. 

Then he saw the doctor, Zi Liang, pull out a small black notebook from his pocket and casually flip it open to a page. 

“So... let me ask a question.” He looked at the notebook and asked: “Were you trying to rescue a few people from a place called ‘Arkham Asylum’ a few days ago?” 

“Yes.” Parker responded, managing not to stutter over a single word. 

Oh right, this matter was confidential within the gang, but at this point, who cared about confidentiality? 

No one knew what was written in Zi Liang’s little notebook; in fact, not long ago, it should have been blank, but now he seemed to see something that made him very happy. 

Zi Liang smiled: “Great, so your plan was obstructed, and you only managed to rescue one person before it was forced to abort.” 

“Yes.” 

Zi Liang seemed to have won a prize, excitedly saying, “Yay!” 

“Very good, then we’re partners now.” He said. 

“Huh?” Parker was bewildered, completely unable to keep up with the other’s train of thought, and at that moment, he even forgot to shiver. 

Zi Liang smiled, revealing a set of neat white teeth. 

“Because I want to help you break someone out of prison.” He said, flipping the little notebook over. 

Parker saw two lines of crooked handwriting on it. 

【Arkham Asylum】 

【Death Row Inmate No. 21】 

Chapter 4: Parker

Parker wasn’t the kind of “pure-blooded thug” who had never been to school, so he could read the words in the notebook. Each word was recognizable, and he knew the phrases they formed, but when they were strung together, it suddenly became difficult to comprehend. 

In his currently chaotic mind, he could only barely piece things together. 

The rough process was: just now, he and about thirty brothers burst into this clinic, wanting to extract some information from this doctor. Then, this doctor had cut down everyone except himself, and afterwards, he hospitably offered him a cup of tea, and finally, due to two lines of writing, he cheerfully told him they would be partners from now on... 

Alright... no matter whether he could accept this process, that was how it seemed. Parker certainly knew he could not understand all of this, and now his mind was filled with questions, but he didn’t want to ask, because he didn’t want to end up like his brothers, mixed together like fried peas. 

So, he held in his urine and mustered all his strength to squeeze out the brightest smile of his life. 

“Okay... brother.” 

The doctor named Zi Liang responded with a polite, cultured smile. 

“Oh, by the way, you were looking for someone named... um...” He thought for a moment, then picked up the wanted notice that was stained with blood: “Oh, you’re looking for Mr. George Parnes, right? I’m sorry, I did see him a few days ago; he barged in that night and pointed a gun at my head... probably right here.” 

As Zi Liang spoke, he kicked aside a severed arm and stood in a spot near the door: “I was a bit scared, so I...”

“No, no, no, it’s fine.” Parker hurriedly interjected, seemingly with a hint of apology; he didn’t want to know what happened to Parnes afterward. 

“Oh, as long as it’s fine, that’s good.” Zi Liang nodded: “So, from now on, there shouldn’t be any conflicts between you and me. Now, I need to ask a question?” 

This sentence made Parker’s heart leap to his throat again because he didn’t know what this madman would ask, and in this situation, his mind automatically conjured up countless questions that would make him break out in a cold sweat, like “Do you want your left eye or your right eye?” 

“Which gang are you employed by?” Zi Liang asked. 

Parker let out a sigh of relief: “We... we belong to the ‘Falcone’ family.” 

“Falcone family; Falcone family.” Zi Liang mumbled to himself, then started flipping through the little notebook: “Oh, found it, the leader is Carmine Falcone, a very powerful gang leader in Gotham City, nicknamed ‘The Roman,’ known for his ruthlessness and expansionism. The gang system he runs is often referred to as the ‘Roman Empire.’” 

Parker paused for a moment; although this information wasn’t classified, it was clear that this doctor had found it in his little notebook... and just now, he had also seen the words 【Arkham Asylum】【Death Row Inmate No. 21】 written in the notebook, which was why his attitude had suddenly changed. 

“So... what exactly is that notebook?” Parker wondered curiously. Of course, even if he was curious, he wouldn’t dare to ask anything. He knew this doctor was an incredibly terrifying guy, just like those freaks who wore bags over their heads, threw coins for no reason, dressed in purple suits, or donned black cloaks at night. 

Gotham City always had these kinds of freaks. Each one of them was a madman, but fortunately, it seemed that since some day many years ago, these freaks had become fewer and fewer; most had disappeared or been locked up in Arkham Asylum, and ultimately, that guy in the cloak who roamed the night also vanished. 

It must be said that it was precisely because of the disappearance of these people that the gangs had become easier to manage. 

“Hmm—” After finding the introduction about the 【Falcone Family】, Zi Liang began to drag out a long sound while continuing to flip through the notebook, and after a while, it seemed he found nothing and could only reluctantly tuck it back into his pocket: “Alright, now I need to ask you for a favor.” 

“Huh?” Parker was taken aback. 

Zi Liang smiled: “It’s nothing major, because I mentioned earlier that I want to help you break someone out of prison, so I need you to take me to meet Mr. Falcone. I think I need to talk to him.” 

Parker felt like crying; originally, over thirty people had been inexplicably chopped up by a doctor, and now he was the only one left, and he had to take this doctor to meet the family boss; wasn’t that asking him to go to his own death? 

However, it seemed there was no other way, because if he said a single word of refusal now or showed even a hint of reluctance, he would probably not even have a whole corpse left in the next second. 

So he could only nod his head like a woodpecker, desperately putting on a willing-to-help expression. 

“Thank you so much; I always said the people in this city are very kind; see, isn’t this easy to communicate?” Zi Liang began to talk to himself. 

Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and slapped his forehead. 

“Oh, I was so busy being happy that I forgot such a big thing.” Zi Liang said, quickly pulling out his phone. 

“Hello, Joey? Oh right, I have another large batch of feed here, come quickly, yeah, bring a few more trucks; otherwise, it might not all fit.” 

After finishing these, Zi Liang hung up the phone. 

Parker stared blankly at this doctor... 

To be honest, he really wanted to cry, scream, or just sing a couple of songs; in short, he needed to vent his feelings right now... this feeling was simply too bizarre, not just fear but also containing more absurdity, ridiculousness, strangeness, madness, and hysteria. Looking back, it seemed that ever since he stepped into this small clinic, this feeling had been with him, as if mocking his worldview for all these years. 

“I’m really sorry, but we can’t go see Mr. Falcone right away; you see, this feed can’t just be left here, right?” Zi Liang lit a cigarette, glancing at the corpses on the floor. 

“Yes... yes.” Parker mechanically responded, and he now understood what the doctor meant by “feed,” so he chuckled, sensing something in his mind shattering. 

“Well, whatever, the world might always be like this; I just never noticed it before.” Parker could only find such a reason to ensure his mind wouldn’t collapse right on the spot... 

Then he seemed to suddenly realize something he should have noticed long ago. 

With so many corpses... logically, the blood should have spread across the floor like a burst water pipe by now, but why did it seem like there wasn’t much accumulation? Where did all the blood go? 

Just as he thought of this question, Parker saw a small area on the floor that was free of bloodstains. In the center of the pile of corpses, a trickle of blood slowly flowed through the cracks in the floor, then... was absorbed... 

“Oh, so the blood was all absorbed by this room... haha...” Parker laughed vacantly, taking a sip from the teacup he had been holding, while telling himself: “It’s just the floor drinking blood; that’s normal, right—hahaha.”