It’s A Monster Chapter 56: Hospital

Chapter 56: Hospital

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

When Sakia returned to the warehouse, Xu You was still struggling to practice spoken English with Wang Ran. It seemed he was determined to make full use of this free foreign tutor. He asked, “Why you no speak? When can I leave? I mean, I when can walk… can go?”

His level still required careful word choice, and his sincerity was off the charts. But Wang Ran remained unmoved and had no intention of sitting down to talk. Xu You spoke English to him, but Wang Ran responded with silence and even ordered one of the burly men to tape the noisy hostage’s mouth shut. Xu You muttered, “Ugh, so no friendly, bro?”

Sakia and Wang Ran collectively ignored him and whispered in the corner.

…

On the side of the Shanghai Monster Management Committee, Lei Qing quickly captured Cang Dai based on clues provided by the informant. Except for the Feast in the Jade Pool and Mountain Capital paintings, all the stolen artwork had been recovered. As Lin Su had suspected, Cang Dai had only gotten close to Cang Daming to steal the Feast in the Jade Pool. Back in college, he had joined a social organization called “Dayou’s House.” Dayou, as the name suggested, meant the freedom of the Great Wilderness. Lin Su commented, “That’s pretty blunt.”

“The government wants to protect the Great Wilderness; some monsters want to exploit it. Although on opposite sides, neither is entirely right or wrong,” Shi Wenze explained. “The problem is, Dayou’s House often skirts the law under the guise of charity. In recent years, they’ve even infiltrated schools. Strictly speaking, Cang Dai is also a victim of brainwashing—he still believes he’s fighting for the legal rights of all monsters.”

Lin Su didn’t agree. “If he’d only taken the Feast in the Jade Pool, I might buy that he was ‘fighting for all monsters’ rights.’ But he didn’t just swipe that—he also took Cang Daming’s collection worth millions. Then, tempted by Du Siyue’s sky-high bribe, he took the risk of exposure, grabbed the cash, and immediately blew it at a nightclub. Greedy and stupid. You can just nod and smile at those grand speeches. So who’s behind Dayou’s House?”

“There are many backers, hard to trace. But with Cang Dai’s confession, things should be simpler this time.”

Inside Dayou’s House, the monster nicknamed “Tiangou,” who had contacted Cang Dai, had arranged a temporary rental for him after taking the Feast in the Jade Pool and promised to help him leave the country soon.

“Our tech department is urgently tracking Tiangou’s location,” Shi Wenze said.

“What about Xu You? Has the Chengdu Monster Committee received any more calls from the kidnappers?” Lin Su asked.

“They requested the exchange to happen in Jiangcheng.”

“Jiangcheng?” Lin Su frowned. “But according to our speculation, Xu You’s incident happened in Shanghai airspace. Could there be a problem?”

“There might be, but we have to check it out,” Shi Wenze said. “Director Zhou said he would handle Jiangcheng. He told us to stay here and fully cooperate with the Shanghai committee.”

Lin Su hoped for the best-case scenario: the other side would offer Phoenix Bone in exchange for Xu You, and both parties would conduct a “fair” transaction, at least on the surface. But judging by the current situation, things didn’t seem so simple. If they were already trying to pull tricks over the hiding place, their sincerity was questionable. The worst-case scenario—did the kidnappers even plan to release Xu You at all? Shi Wenze said, “That’s why we have to find him as soon as possible.”

In the short term, he wasn’t overly worried about Xu You’s safety. But as time dragged on, who knew? Just considering how much he ate was enough to provoke the crime syndicate. Xu You was really unlucky in this regard. He was truly weak and wronged, yet tough and able to eat well. The warehouse was silent.

Xu You, running out of things to say, struck up a friendly conversation with one of the burly guards. His expression was sincere but puzzled. “Brother, your English is so good. Why did you join a crime group instead of trying to get a job as a city translator? I heard the salary there’s pretty decent.”

The burly man stared ahead expressionlessly and ignored the enthusiastic civil servant.

“So, what were those two talking about today?” Xu You asked again. “When will the exchange happen? Spill some inside info. I’m just saying, you guys watch me eat, drink, and go to the bathroom twenty-four hours a day. This job would seriously mess with anyone’s head after a while. You freaks know that, right? Hello? Say something! It’s so quiet here—doesn’t that creep you out?”

The guard was annoyed and coldly spat out a word: “Soon.”

Xu You seized the opportunity, “How soon?”

“In a few days.”

Xu You wanted to ask more, but Sakia walked in from outside. When the door opened, a chill wind slipped inside, carrying icy rain and a familiar smell like formalin and disinfectant.

Xu You greeted warmly, “Hi, Sister! You eat?”

“Tell your leader you’re doing well.” Sakia handed over her phone. “The exchange is at 10 a.m. tomorrow. We’ll contact him beforehand with the location.”

“Okay.” Xu You held the phone between his chin. “Director Zhou, I’m doing alright for now, but you can’t just let me loaf around here forever.”

“Phoenix Bone is ready,” Zhou Yuansong said. “Also, you passed the law exam.”

Xu You was ecstatic. “What’s my score?”

“Not high overall, but you answered question three perfectly, word for word,” Zhou Yuansong said. “The next exam will stick strictly to this standard.”

Yes, okay, no problem. Xu You signaled to Sakia that he was done with the call, then couldn’t help showing off. “Sister, do you know how low the pass rate is for the law exam? But I almost got a perfect score! What does that say about me? Now, can we get some no-bread, no-milk midnight snacks? Maybe some barbecue, fried chicken, or McDonald’s?”

Sakia said coldly, “You don’t get a midnight snack.”

Xu You felt sad. He had passed the law exam but wasn’t even allowed to celebrate. “You guys really are pure villains.”

Lin Su woke early. He stood by the window watching the rain. The ground was soaked through. Because Shanghai was by the sea, the air was always damp, like an invisible thin film wrapped around the body. The early morning market at eight was bustling. By the frying oil, a mother was buying breakfast for her child — one fried dough stick and two eggs. This exam-day staple was something Xu You could have happily enjoyed today, instead of being tied up in a warehouse eating sawdust.

The artist’s rich imagination was being inappropriately unleashed here. The more Lin Su thought, the more suffocated he felt, as he harshly plotted a hundred ways to make it up to Xu You. Lost in thought, Shi Wenze suddenly appeared, phone in hand. “Found him.”

“Xu You?” Lin Su spun around sharply. Shi Wenze shook his head. “Tiangou. He’s at a half-abandoned factory on the outskirts of town.”

Half-abandoned factories—this was the classic kidnapping cliché. A glimmer of hope surfaced.

“I want to go too,” Lin Su said.

“Let’s go.” Shi Wenze grabbed his hand, pulling him along. Both hurried. Shi Wenze even slipped a little on a turn, almost falling. Normally, the cool guy never looked so un-cool, but thinking of Xu You made his hand tremble. Lin Su noticed his nervousness, slid into the driver’s seat, pushed the gear, stepped on the gas, and roared silently toward the suburbs.

Xu You’s face contorted in pain as he collapsed forward along with the chair. A guard was quick and grabbed him just in time. Xu You clenched his teeth. “Painkillers. Any painkillers?”

The guard called Sakia. Five minutes later, she rushed in. “What happened?”

Xu You was already doubled over on the ground, half transforming into his monster form, pale-faced with sweat beading on his forehead. After a long moment, he weakly said, “Stomach hurts.”

“Where?” Sakia pressed her hand on him. Xu You screamed like a chicken.

She pulled back. “Move him to L3.”

The guards acted quickly, lifting Xu You onto a wheelchair, then pushing him down a long corridor. The disinfectant smell grew stronger. A ding sounded as the elevator doors opened, revealing a blinding white space. They were in a hospital.

The combination of Phoenix Bone and hospital pretty much confirmed this was the den for illegal monster modification. Xu You thought it over, which only strengthened his previous suspicion: places like this were normally top secret, SSS level. If they really just wanted to trade him for Phoenix Bone, shouldn’t they have covered their tracks more? But they hadn’t. So the truth was clear: these ruthless bastards had no intention of letting him go.

Law Exam Question 3: What should police officer Xiao Zhang do when facing a severe personal threat?

Xu You had written two hundred words on his test paper, concluding: “If there’s a serious personal threat, why wouldn’t you fight back? And you don’t have to worry about complaints of excessive force. If there’s a happy planet, I’ll take you there to study it now.”

He clutched his stomach and feigned weakness with a pitiful “whimper.” Sakia changed into a white lab coat. Xu You glanced at her bright red high heels and thought, She’s really committed to playing the villain. Lying on the operating table, he asked her, “Is this where you modify monsters?”

“No.” Sakia bent over and patted his cheek with a strange smile. “This is the maternity ward.”

Xu You blinked. “Oh, really?”

Sakia pushed air out of a syringe.

“Wait, aren’t you going to take an X-ray first?” Xu You struggled to question her.

She pulled a strap tight. “We’ll do the full check-up, so don’t worry. Just get some sleep first.”

Xu You’s eyes widened. “Hey, you’re not planning to modify me, are you?”

“What do you think?” Sakia shrugged. “There’s no rush if it weren’t for your appendix—it decided to get appendicitis at the worst time. We couldn’t exactly send you to another hospital.”

“Don’t do this, let’s talk terms.”

“No.” Sakia secured his waist. “We don’t think, you talk no conditions.”

Xu You thought: I heard that—you’re learning me speak!

 

 

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