Chapter 84: A Reporter Must Deal with Various Situations |
Bai Mu wielded the Baseball Bat with both hands and struck the fat man's head. This attack triggered the Baseball Bat's special effect, landing a critical hit.
Bai Mu held back slightly, afraid of accidentally killing the fat man outright. This guy was the second living person he had encountered since entering the asylum. He seemed to have a close relationship with the priest and likely knew something important.
However, the fat man showed no gratitude for Bai Mu's leniency. The moment blood began to flow from the back of his head, his gaze completely changed. He touched the wound on his nape, staring at the fresh blood pooling in his palm. A look of shock and terror washed over his face, followed by rapid, ragged breathing.
The skin around his numerous wounds rapidly contracted. Blue veins bulged outwards, twisting and winding like a nest of tiny snakes slithering just beneath his flesh.
"Is he having a stress response?"
Following these changes, the fat man's attack frequency skyrocketed. He no longer just tried to grapple; he leaped into the air to deliver kicks and viciously swung his massive fists at Bai Mu.
If his previous intention was merely to capture Bai Mu, his mind was now consumed by nothing but pure murderous intent.
"Looks like a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Taking a minor injury was all it took for him to lose his mind.
"Though this guy was certainly enthusiastic when stabbing others. Why such a massive reaction when he's the one getting hurt?"
Of course, the main reason he could handle the situation so effortlessly was because the Dance of Elvis had greatly enhanced his physical flexibility. He could perform any movement that a top-tier dancer was capable of executing.
"Well, it seems Stephen was completely right. He's a lunatic who can't be reasoned with."
After exchanging a few blows, Bai Mu realized that the man had completely lost his sanity.
Or rather, he barely had any sanity left to begin with. He resembled a wild beast operating on pure instinct much more than he did a human being.
Bai Mu stopped holding back. As he evaded the frantic strikes, he seized every opening to brutally bash the fat man's head.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Three dull, heavy impacts rang out in succession. After taking three solid hits to the exact same spot, the fat man finally swayed like a drunkard before collapsing heavily onto the ground.
Those three heavy strikes were enough to break through the fat man's defenses, triggering the Baseball Bat's secondary stunning effect.
"Talk about thick skin and tough flesh. An ordinary person's head would have exploded by now."
Bai Mu couldn't help but sigh in amazement. This guy's physical resilience was genuinely impressive; he could easily be compared to some of the physical enhancement-type Mutants.
Standing off to the side, Stephen was absolutely dumbfounded. It couldn't be helped—the sheer difference in size between Bai Mu and the fat man was staggering. Furthermore, Stephen had personally experienced the fat man's combat prowess. As a Reporter who spent his days running around from place to place, Stephen's constitution wasn't bad at all. In fact, he was much fitter than the average person.
Yet, he hadn't possessed an ounce of power to fight back against the fat man. The hulking brute had lifted him up as effortlessly as an adult picking up a baby chick.
To think that such an incredibly strong opponent had been taken down by Bai Mu so effortlessly.
Bai Mu's clothes were only slightly soiled, having caught a bit of dust while dodging.
"Bai... you... this... he..." Stephen walked over, his eyes darting back and forth between Bai Mu's Baseball Bat and the unconscious fat man. He was practically incoherent.
"You know how it is, Stephen. An underground Reporter has to deal with all sorts of situations," Bai Mu explained. "Sometimes, going into gang territory or underground syndicate hideouts for interviews inevitably leads to danger. So, I picked up some self-defense."
"That makes sense." Stephen was entirely convinced by this logic. "By the way, did you study dance before, Bai?"
"It's a hobby. When I'm feeling stressed out, I like to put on some music and dance around my house. I'm a big fan of Elvis." Bai Mu took out his Camcorder and aimed it at the collapsed fat man.
"Excellent taste." Stephen gave him a thumbs-up. "I'm a huge fan of Elvis myself."
Bai Mu recorded the fat man's heavily scarred face with his Camcorder. A few seconds later, another notification chimed in his mind.
[You have recorded evidence: A heavily wounded asylum inmate.]
"What do we do with this guy?" Stephen asked. "Are we just going to leave him here?"
"Don't rush, Stephen. I'm going to search him first." Bai Mu crouched down and began digging through the fat man's trouser pockets.
In the right-hand pocket, Bai Mu found a small, yellowed booklet. The cover and pages were smeared with dried blood. The contents consisted of hand-copied quotes, reading things like, "God says blah blah blah."
Inside the booklet, Bai Mu found the man's name: Chris Wolf. Occasionally, he had written his own thoughts beneath the copied quotes, but they were disjointed and incoherent sentences, making it impossible to decipher what he was actually trying to say.
Additionally, there was a list inside the booklet. A crudely drawn pig's head decorated the very top, followed by a long list of names. The vast majority of them were crossed out with red ink. On the very last line, the name Stephen was scribbled in messy handwriting. It was the only name that hadn't been crossed out yet.
"It looks like this man named Chris Wolf is a murderer." Bai Mu handed the booklet over for Stephen to see. "These pages are probably his hit list. He might have been busy writing your name in this booklet just now."
"Wait, Chris Wolf..." Stephen paused for a moment. "I remember now! This guy was on the news. I even wrote a news report about him!"
"Is he famous?" Bai Mu asked.
"He's a retired Marine. Two detectives were investigating a string of serial murders, which eventually led them to his home. It was a massive scandal back then. He had decapitated his victims and arranged their heads like a sick exhibition. He believed everyone he killed were just little pigs. He even tried to kill the detectives, but they ultimately subdued him with gunfire and dragged him to court. I thought he was executed!"
[You have acquired new information. Evidence updated: Chris Wolf, a murderer who escaped the justice system.]
"Bai, there's definitely something seriously wrong with this place. They've even been secretly smuggling in death row inmates," Stephen whispered. "I think we need to find a way to gather more intelligence. It would be best if we could retrieve my Camcorder. Almost everything I filmed is saved on its internal memory."
[Side Quest updated. Task condition changed: Help Stephen retrieve his lost Camcorder.]
"Of course, Stephen. That's exactly why I came here," Bai Mu nodded.
"Honestly, I don't even know how much data is left on my Memory Card. The situation was so chaotic that I didn't have time to back anything up. You can use your Camcorder to check it."
Right as Stephen finished speaking, a sharp click echoed through the air.
The lights went out. The illumination throughout the entire Administration Building died entirely, plunging the two men into absolute darkness.
"What happened?!" Stephen exclaimed in shock, whipping his head around.
"Don't panic, Stephen." Bai Mu gripped his shoulder and pointed toward a corner up ahead. "There's a security camera over there. Do you see it?"
He raised his Camcorder, observing the area through its night-vision mode. It wasn't some ghost making an appearance; through the lens, Bai Mu spotted a small, glowing object. It was the reflection of a tiny security camera lens.
"My guess is that the priest was watching through the cameras and saw Chris Wolf go down, so he cut the breaker to stop us in our tracks."
"Damn it, that guy is definitely the culprit!" Stephen cursed furiously. "He must be the one who let this death row inmate out!"
"He's definitely in the Surveillance Room or the breaker room," Bai Mu declared. "Let's go. We need to find him before he escapes."