Chapter 06 Prison

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Prisons will never feel good, whether you leave or occasionally come.
Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao went to an exceptional room and Wu Hao who is locks to a scorpion.
The prison will never give anyone a good feeling, even if you visit it frequently.
Wu Hao doesn't look like a fifty-ish wretched taxi driver, much less someone who is mentally insane. He wears glasses for short-sightedness and looks rather calm and composed. If he wasn't wearing a straitjacket, one would have thought he is a teacher or academic.
He walks into the special visitation room slowly and takes his time to examine the surrounding before taking a seat in front of the table. He looks up and starts to study Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang in front of him.
His eyes take notice of Bai Yutang first, lingers for a moment, before saying in a deliberately slow pace, '...You are a good policeman.'
Bai Yutang holds his gaze for a while and nods, 'but you are not a good driver.'
Wu Hao chuckles and turns his attention to Zhan Zhao. His gaze lingers on Zhan Zhao for a much longer period before finally shaking his head in compliment, '...what a fine piece of art, you are the most perfect being I have ever seen in my life.'
Zhan Zhao is also studying Wu Hao carefully during the time Wu Hao is examining him. He smiles after hearing Wu Hao, 'Thank you for your compliment. But I would feel much happier if you can think of me as a person.'
Wu Hao leans forward to get a closer look at Zhan Zhao's eyes, 'Like two exquisite cat-eyed opals, the colour of amber...'
'Hey!' Bai Yutang snaps his fingers at Wu Hao from the side, interrupting his sentence, 'Sit back!'
Wu Hao shifts his focus to Bai Yutang without moving his body, 'You smell of a predator.'
Bai Yutang points at the seat behind Wu Hao, 'You better sit back down now and not move a single muscle. Or I will show you what a true predator looks like.'
Wu Hao twitches his mouth slightly but still sits back down obediently.
Bai Yutang opens the file on the table and holds up the photos in front of Wu Hao: 'Look at these.'
Wu Hao maintains his upright posture and looks down to take a sweep at the photos. He smiles meaningfully.
'You don't look surprised.' Zhan Zhao asserts suddenly.
Wu Hao raises his eyebrow casually, 'Surprised? No...these are just run-of-the-mill tattoos.'
'Who told you they are a tattoo,' Bai Yutang rebuts with a laugh, 'Why didn't you say it was painted?'
Wu Hao's smile freezes, but then he recovers and asks in confusion, 'Is there a difference?'
'Of course.' Zhan Zhao taps on the table with his finger, 'Tattoo can't be washed off, but paint can. These numbers are in a unique location and are of the same style. Anyone who sees it for the first time would never think of them as tattoos first.'
Wu Hao falls silent but still says slowly, 'Sorry. In my mind, these sort of blue patterns drawn on the body is all tattoos.'
'Patterns?' Bai Yutang stares down at Wu Hao's eyes, 'Why did you say they are patterns, not numbers?'
Bai Yutang does not miss the brief panic that flashes through Wu Hao's eyes. He looks back at Zhan Zhao as Zhan Zhao looks at him; the two of them exchange a quick look.
Bai Yutang turns his head around to glare Wu Hao sternly, 'I heard you have been getting treatment for your split personality disorder. In a couple of days, the judge will be asking for the psychiatrists' assessments. If they determine you are indeed mentally ill, you then don't have to go to jail for the rest of your life, but instead, get treated at a mental hospital.'
Wu Hao seems baffled at the sudden change of topics and couldn't react.
'You seem afraid of going to jail?' Zhan Zhao continues to question Wu Hao before he could react.
Wu Hao seems to find the question amusing, 'Lifelong sentence. Would anyone not be afraid?'
'But for you, there's a difference.' Zhan Zhao begins to smile, 'To ask someone with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to go to jail is worse than asking him to die, isn't it?'
Wu Hao's face is drained of colour immediately.
Zhan Zhao leans against his chair and says, 'You are a very composed person. Rules and order are very important to you. However, there are no such things in prison. There are only narrow spaces. Dirty air. Germs everywhere. Security cameras. You must live with many many other...'
Wu Hao starts to get edgy after hearing Zhan Zhao's words. He starts to tremble slightly, shaking his head, 'They can't... I won't stay in jail for the rest of my life! I'm sick! I need help!'
'You are ill.' Zhan Zhao isn't going to let it go so easily. 'You have severe OCD and the resulting mysophobia (2), anxiety, fright... You will start to hear a voice by your ears. People seem to be watching you from every corner. You can even see the germs starting to eat away your health...'
'No...no...I can't go to jail...I am sick.' Wu Hao screams hysterically and struggles to stand up. Bai Yutang stops the prison guards who charge in with their stun batons and kicks the table in front of him. The table hits Wu Hao in the chest; he falls back into his seat immediately. The pain in his chest causes him to cough violently against the table.
'Start talking.' Bai Yutang says coldly.
'Cough... About what?' Wu Hao gives one more feeble struggle.
'Did you know?' Zhan Zhao leans in, 'I am one of the best psychologists in this country. If I were to write a psychological assessment to declare that your mental health is completely fine. Guess if the judge will be affected?'
Wu Hao looks up at Zhan Zhao in fright.
Bai Yutang pushes the photos back in front of Wu Hao, 'You have two choices, either tell us everything or go to jail for the rest of your life.'
As if have given up already, Wu Hao shakes his head in pain, 'I can't...I can't betray...traitors will be punished...'

S.C.I.谜案集 Mystery Special Criminal Investigation Novel [𝕮𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖑𝖊𝖙𝖊𝖉✔]Where stories live. Discover now