Chapter 622: A Morbid Crisis (Part Eight) (Patreon)

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"Like I mentioned, I'm also one of the twins, except my elder brother never made it out of the womb. He was strangled by my own umbilical cord while still inside our mother. So, I was the only one born. But I, too, am a natural psychic."

"From the moment of my birth, I could see those strange things. However, unlike you sisters, I wasn't as kind-hearted. When I discovered my abilities, I didn't feel fear; instead, I wanted to learn more, to delve into the secrets behind this power."

"In the process of my learning, I killed my pet cat and nearly killed my biological father. I made a mistake that led to the deaths of a whole theater full of people, my friends, and many more innocent souls."

Constantine recounted these events casually, but Angela kept staring at him, unable to fathom how this man could be so indifferent.

"Don't give me that look," Constantine remarked, exhaling cigarette smoke. "I know I'm not a good person, but I didn't have a choice. As I said, this is a curse, and on my 27th birthday, the demon found its way to me."

Angela opened her mouth, seemingly about to ask why he was still here, but before she could, Constantine answered, "I know what you want to ask. The demon that came for me had all its power drained and was sent back to hell. I believe the folks down there will give it a warm welcome."

"Do you understand now? I'm different from your sister, so I'm still alive while she's not," Constantine turned around, saying, "If you genuinely want to deal with this issue, it's best to calm down first, and then we can talk."

Summoning the last of her strength, Angela got up from the floor. She clutched her handgun tightly, finding a sense of security in it. She trembled as she walked over to the sofa and sat down, burying her face in her hands.

Constantine took his seat across from her once more and said, "I shouldn't have gotten involved in this originally. But I never expected to meet someone going through the same ordeal in this world, so I can offer some advice."

"I just want to find out who killed Isabel and make them pay!" Angela, helpless, leaned back on the sofa. "I couldn't stop my parents from sending her to the mental hospital, where she spent the best years of her life."

"After I became independent, I tried several times to get her out of that mental hospital, but she always refused. Now she's dead, and before her death, she never got to experience a normal life," Angela's tears streamed down her cheeks, filling the room with her grief.

Constantine silently smoked his cigarette. "I've told you, I don't have the power to resurrect anyone. You don't understand what resurrection truly entails."

"Resurrection is a devil's trap. When you're on the path to resurrection, you'll commit more sins, kill more people, and sacrifice everything, yours and others'. In the end, there's nothing left."

"After you've done all that, you'll realize that the so-called resurrected person is not your loved one or friend. They're just the devil's shadow, bait in his game. It's all a deception."

Angela took a deep breath. "If Isabel truly can't be resurrected, I must make her killers pay!"

She gritted her teeth. "I don't care if they're angels or devils, no matter how powerful they are. I must make them know they'll pay for their sins!"

Constantine's hand, holding the cigarette, paused for a moment. It seemed he didn't expect Angela to give this answer. When he looked at the female police officer again, he saw an unusual determination and resilience in her expression.

This made Constantine realize that she must be a good cop. Without such determination, she wouldn't have risen through the ranks and become a Lieutenant General dealing with criminals one case after another.

"To achieve that, we must figure out who took your sister's soul and where she died," Constantine asked.

"She was in the mental hospital during her lifetime, and she died in the hospital room at the mental hospital," Angela closed her eyes, her voice trembling. "She died at... Anderson Asylum."

"...Anderson Asylum?" Bruce raised his head, looking at the elegant English letters on the doorplate.

"If I remember correctly, Anderson was a billionaire from the last century in Metropolis. The Anderson family's reputation spread across the East Coast because they built numerous hospitals, and you can find hospitals bearing the Anderson name in several cities around here," Lex said, gazing at the name.

Bruce just glanced at it without saying a word. In the U.S., there were many hospitals named after individuals, most of which were established through wealthy donations or private initiatives. For example, Gotham's Arkham Asylum was founded and named by Arkham.

There wasn't much defense at the side entrance. Bruce and Lex successfully infiltrated the premises, and not far from the outer wall was the main building of this psychiatric hospital. Bruce and Lex quickly made their way inside following the shortest route.

Standing by the window on the second floor corridor, Bruce squinted as he observed the courtyard. As he had warned, the place was filled with abnormalities, and there were far too many people patrolling the yard.

Suddenly, they heard a commotion from downstairs. Bruce and Lex immediately sought refuge in a room. Fortunately, luck was on their side, as it was an empty hospital room with no patients, and the door was securely closed, making it less likely they would be discovered.

Standing at the door, Bruce heard the conversation between a man and a woman outside the room. The man spoke first, with a slightly anxious tone, saying, "What do we do now? Mrs. Pailo is dead, and the bank president is dead too. What about our research?"

"Don't panic. We still have plenty of research funding left, don't we? Even if this deal doesn't work out, it won't affect our next phase of experiments."

"But what about the experiments after that? Who will donate to us? And even if we forget about the funding, how can we get the geological bureau to cooperate with our subsequent experiments?"

"Don't forget, the most crucial step is the deployment. We must have a deep understanding of Metropolis's underground water veins to ensure the effectiveness of the deployment. There's only one chance, and if something goes wrong, all our previous efforts will be in vain."

"Don't worry," the woman's voice remained calm. "We chose to conduct the experiment here because this hospital is situated at the convergence point of Metropolis's underground water veins. The underground water resources here are sufficient for our research."

"You're too cautious! We..."

As the two argued and moved further away, Bruce waited until their voices and footsteps had disappeared in the corridor. Then, he walked out of the room and turned to Lex, saying, "Did you hear that? They mentioned an ongoing experiment here..."

"Where will they keep the materials?" Lex furrowed his brow and asked.

Then, both of them lowered their heads and cast their gaze downwards. Bruce said, "The research laboratory concerning the underground water veins must be underground. I observed the building structure earlier, and there should be a basement here."

With that, he quickly walked to the window and continued, "According to what they said, Pailo Company and Central Bank are aware of this experiment. They were able to hire such professional security personnel. I suspect these individuals might have been transferred from the military..."

"Let's go down and see. We'll find out what they're up to." Lex turned and headed downstairs.

The two of them descended the staircase and arrived on the first floor. They began searching for an entrance to the basement. As expected, the entrance was locked, and the security inside was tighter.

"Let's go find the keys upstairs," Bruce said without hesitation, knowing that observing the door for an extended period would be of no use. This type of door couldn't be forced open through violence, and they didn't have the necessary means to break it down.

Continuing upstairs, it was late at night, and most of the patients and researchers were asleep, so they encountered no obstacles. They reached the fourth floor, where the hospital rooms were occupied.

Bruce and Lex had initially planned to pass through this floor and then use the covered bridge on this level to reach the fourth floor of the opposite building, where the management personnel's dormitory was located.

However, as they passed through this floor, they noticed that every room was occupied by a patient, except for one room on the right, which was empty.

Bruce paused in front of the hospital room doors for a moment and pulled out a mini flashlight, shining it on the nameplates. The one he stopped at read "Isabel·Dodge," with the diagnosis of delusional disorder and a hospitalization duration of 16 years.

Bruce furrowed his brow, and Lex approached, asking, "What's wrong? Is there anything unusual about this patient?"

"This doesn't add up. I've interned at Arkham Asylum, and while it's true that patients with mental issues can be hospitalized for ten years or even longer, this diagnosis doesn't fit."

"No one would be hospitalized for delusional disorder for such a long time. If she hadn't shown any signs of improvement, her family would have sought alternative solutions instead of leaving her here."

"Moreover, delusional disorder is one of the mental illnesses that respond relatively well to medication treatments. It's highly unlikely for someone to remain here for so long unless there was no improvement in her condition."

As he spoke, Bruce gently turned the doorknob, and to his surprise, the door opened with a light push.

Entering the room, they found it to be exceptionally clean and tidy, containing only a hospital bed, a small bedside table, a wardrobe, and a small television facing the bed.

At that moment, Bruce paused, stopping Lex from entering. He said, "There's a smell of blood here..."

Bruce tensed his body, slightly crouching, lowering his center of gravity. He began scanning the room with his eyes to check if there were any enemies. After a thorough inspection, he concluded that the room was empty.

So, he and Lex entered, each holding a flashlight, and began investigating the room. While Lex was searching the wardrobe, he suddenly noticed that a wooden panel at the bottom of the wardrobe seemed loose. He tried to pry it open but couldn't, so he called Bruce over.

Bruce held onto the loose wooden panel and leveraged it outward with force. There was a creaking sound as the panel came off, revealing an envelope stuck underneath. Bruce easily removed the loose envelope and saw the writing on it:

"To my dearest sister."

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 623: Crisis of Abnormality (Nine)