12. Judgment (Please Support)

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Seventh-floor corridor.

Ma En was on his way to Lü Yide’s room.

He had spent less than ten hours in the isolation ward before being sent back to the VIP recuperation wing. The entire incident was as though it had never happened. Not even the police had come to the hospital to investigate.

When he had called Liu Yujun over, he had expected to hear a way to kill his second personality on his own. Instead, he had been told that no such method existed.

“Ma En.” A hoarse female voice sounded behind him. “Just keep walking.”

The speaker was the slender woman who had found him in the first place. Even now, Ma En still did not know what the woman who had introduced him to Li Fen was called, or what position she held.

“You’re going to see Lü Yide?” she asked in displeasure. “After he just shot you?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I think I should see that boy. Besides, it wasn’t he who pulled the trigger. It was the devil living inside him.”

The woman gave a cold laugh.

“How kind of you. You’re already trapped in the mud, yet you still have the leisure to worry about other people. And haven’t you forgotten something?”

“What?” Ma En countered.

“You still have to help us obtain Doctor Li’s notes. Your life no longer belongs to you.”

Ma En stopped.

He turned to face the slender woman, looking at her in confusion.

“What are you talking about?

“Aren’t I already helping you? Why do you make it sound as though you can order me around whenever you please?”

She had not expected such an answer. Did Ma En not want to live?

But she quickly thought of a response.

“That is indeed what Li Fen said.” She looked at Ma En with contempt. “But I don’t like the way she handles things. If I had the authority to decide, you would already be trembling before me.”

Ma En met her gaze.

“Yes, I do want to stay alive, and you’ve proven that you’re not ordinary people.

“But if you truly had the authority to decide, I would have walked into Xu Wen’s office long ago and told him that two lunatics wanted me to steal something.

“Besides, if I don’t go see Lü Yide, can you guarantee that he’ll stop causing me trouble?”

She did not answer at once.

If the members of the operations department were here, she might have been able to accomplish that. But they had all been kept outside by the Victor Recuperation Center.

And if that were the case, there would be no need for her to make use of Ma En in the first place.

“What good will going there do?” Li Fen asked. “Could you possibly persuade him not to hurt you again?”

“I’ll reason with him.”

With that, Ma En stopped paying her any attention. He turned and continued down the corridor in the direction he had been heading.

Li Fen watched him suspiciously. She felt somewhat inclined to follow and stop him, but his having stopped to speak with her had already attracted unnecessary attention. In the end, she could only let him go.

Knock, knock.

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“Who is it?” The guarded voice of a boy came from inside.

“It’s me,” Ma En said calmly.

Silence.

Click.

Lü Yide opened the door with great caution. He stared at the man standing outside in disbelief, then lowered his head.

“I’m sorry, Ma En…”

Ma En gave him a gentle smile.

“It’s all right. Let’s go inside and talk.”

The boy nodded vigorously and hurriedly stepped aside to let Ma En through.

The room was considerably more spacious than Ma En’s. The walls were hung with the finest displays available on the market, while the expensive-looking wooden bookcases and long table were clearly worth a fortune. A beautiful deerskin rug lay at the entrance.

Lü Yide went to the small refrigerator on the table.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you.”

Ma En sat down casually.

He noticed a black pistol lying quietly beside the refrigerator.

The boy turned around and stood helplessly with his back against the table, nervously clutching the canned drink in his hands.

With a remorseful expression, Lü Yide said, “Mr. Ma En, I’m truly sorry for what he did to you. I know very well that I bear some responsibility as well. If I had received a just punishment, this would never have happened.

“I also know that nothing can make up for the harm you nearly suffered. But if there’s anything you need, you can tell me. I’ll do everything in my power to provide it.”

His tone was utterly sincere.

“This isn’t your fault,” Ma En said. “And I think you’re right—the devil must be judged. There’s also something I want to tell you.”

The boy looked at him with pure, innocent eyes.

“There’s no way.” Ma En shook his head regretfully. “I asked every doctor. Liu Yujun lied to you. There is no way to erase your second personality.”

Lü Yide looked astonished. Then he realized what Ma En was trying to say.

“You mean…” His voice began to tremble. “Staying here is completely pointless. My father lied to me!”

Ma En looked at him calmly.

“What do you think?”

Lü Yide said, “I’m willing to give my life to avenge her, but my father will certainly stop me.”

Ma En turned his head toward the pistol on the table.

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“In my opinion, you have another choice.”

The boy followed Ma En’s gaze and fell silent for a moment.

But he soon shook his head and backed away, then collapsed onto his bed. Lowering his head in anguish, he said, “I can’t. If I die like this, my father definitely won’t pay the compensation.”

Ma En asked, “What do you mean?”

Lü Yide let out a deep breath and explained, “You may not understand my father. If I really committed suicide while hospitalized, he would certainly refuse to pay them the compensation. His lawyers have plenty of ways to do that.

“No wonder he’s delayed giving them the money. He already anticipated that I would think of this…”

The boy looked at Ma En dejectedly.

“Xiao Ni’s parents need that money. Her family isn’t well-off.”

Ma En spoke up.

“If you’ve truly made up your mind, I can pay the compensation for you.”

The boy looked at him in astonishment.

“What?”

“I have money.” Ma En nodded and casually pulled a bank card from his pocket. “There are thirty million on this card. I’ll give all of it to your girlfriend’s parents.”

As he spoke, he watched Lü Yide’s expression closely.

The boy blinked, then shook his head.

“No. If you do that, my father will definitely retaliate against you. I can’t drag anyone else into this.”

Ma En looked him in the eyes.

“I don’t mind.”

The boy’s expression hardened with refusal.

“I can’t do that. But I’ll try to persuade my father to have me transferred to prison, at the very least.”

Interesting.

Lü Yide had always said that he wanted to avenge the girl. Yet when Ma En steered the conversation in this direction, he produced one reason after another.

Perhaps he was not as courageous as he claimed.

Or perhaps…