Strongest Maniac: Born in an Asylum

March 5th.

Clear Skies!

The day after the light rain, the temperature was just right. It was that time of year again when the animals mated.

The first night back at Green Mountain Asylum was a restful one. The feeling of being home put them at ease, and they slept soundly.

The first thing Leo and Walter did when they woke up was to sit on their beds and stare into space. A normal person would be groggy, their brain still in a dream state, needing a moment to adjust. But they were thinking about what they wanted to do today.

They thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with anything specific. It felt like there were many things to do, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what.

Walter took two bags of soy milk from his bedside table, one for each of them.

"Sprite!"

"Coke!"

"Delicious. Still the same old taste." They looked at each other and smiled brightly, truly happy. Sprite and Coke were their favorites, and no one could take that love away from them.

A ray of sunlight streamed into Room 666, making the room that everyone else avoided seem warm and bright.

In the hallway, an orderly passing by glanced nervously at Room 666. It was the most terrifying room in the asylum. The two patients inside were indeed harmless, but their behavior was unsettling.

His colleague Leon was still in the hospital. He had contacted him and learned that it was nothing serious, but he would be staying for a while to rest. He had thought Leon would quit, but surprisingly, not only did he not want to leave, he seemed determined to stick it out at the asylum. He was brave, worthy of admiration.

"Little Chen, there's a letter for Room 666. Could you take it in?" a security guard said.

Little Chen froze. "Why don't you take it in?"

"I just deliver the mail to the door. As for taking it inside, that's a job for you professionals," the guard said, handing the letter to Little Chen and hurrying away.

He worked at the asylum just to make a living, earning a little over two thousand a month. It was tiring. When he was in school, he thought qualifications didn't matter. With his courage and eloquence, making millions a year would be easy. But when he entered the real world, he discovered that it was all a lie. Without qualifications, he couldn't even get an interview.

This made him, a man with a junior high school education, feel the harshness of society. Even applying for a job at the asylum required a bachelor's degree. He had been in despair, but fortunately, his family had some connections. He had gotten in through the back door and become a security guard at Green Mountain Asylum. With insurance, room, and board, he could still afford to occasionally bring some warmth to a lonely prostitute.

Little Chen the orderly walked to the door and knocked gently. "May I come in?"

Don't think that mental patients have no rules. If you provoke them, the consequences can be serious. Of course, so far, no one had ever seen the patients of Room 666 get provoked. They smiled at everyone they saw. Their smiles were indeed brilliant, just a little creepy.

Getting permission, he pushed the door open, keeping a safe distance from the patients. He placed the letter on the bed and said gently, "Leo, you have a letter."

Then he quickly closed the door and continued his rounds.

Leo gulped down his Coke and eagerly picked up the letter, carefully opening it.

"She wrote again."

Walter asked, knowing who the letter was from. Someone had once said, "I can't believe even mental patients have pen pals."

"It's not her, it's my wife," Leo said.

The letter was written on a sheet of pink paper. The handwriting was neat and elegant, clearly the work of a well-educated woman. Although they were mental patients and couldn't write, they could read.

The content was as follows:

« Dear Dr. Leo,

Ever since I received your letter, I feel as if a new door has opened in my life. The nature of your work fascinates me. I once reported on the inner workings of a mental asylum, but that was all a staged, false reality. You told me that someone had stolen your things, and I knew then that you must face real danger when dealing with patients. But your patience and care for them tells me that you are a kind and respectable person...

In your last letter, you didn't write a single word, only sent a green leaf. I knew then your intention, Dr. Leo. You want to be a single green leaf on a towering tree, protecting these poor patients.

In the autumn wind, the autumn moon shines bright. Fallen leaves gather and scatter. The crows on the branch are startled again. When will we meet again? On this night, I am filled with longing. »

There was much more written in the letter. Leo and Walter looked very serious, not because the letter contained any important news, but because they couldn't understand what it meant.

"What is she writing about?" Leo asked.

Walter scratched his head. "I don't really understand either. Why don't we go ask Professor Cosmos?"

"Okay."

They left their room and went next door to Professor Cosmos's room. Professor Cosmos was engrossed in painting the cosmos. He heard them come in, looked up, and then went back to his painting.

"I don't understand it," Leo said, placing the letter in front of Professor Cosmos.

"I don't understand it either," Walter said, feeling a bit down. He could understand medical texts, so why couldn't he understand this? It felt strange, almost unreal.

Professor Cosmos was very busy studying the movements of the universe. He had no time for others. He pushed his newly completed star chart towards Leo, the meaning clear: Don't bother me. I'm busy. I need to study.

Leo took the star chart and left the room with Walter. They now needed to mail a letter.

"Leo, my watch is broken. Why don't you borrow some money from her? She'll definitely lend it to you," Walter said.

Leo said flatly, "She won't."

"What a pity. Why a wife? If it were a girlfriend, that would be great," Walter said regretfully.

The orderly who took Leo's letter felt a sense of helplessness. Who was this talented person who had become a pen pal with a mental patient, and who wrote one or two letters every month? What would she think if she knew she had been corresponding with a mental patient all this time? Or was she a mental patient herself? It was very possible.

After mailing the letter, they returned to their room.

Leo and Walter sat on their beds, carefully rereading the letter. They didn't understand much of the content, but they understood the words.

"She's right about one thing," Walter said gravely. "Those people who keep stealing our things are really dangerous. I think they must be mental patients. We can't mess with them."

"Of course," Leo said calmly. "That's why I always smile at them. I hope they can feel our kindness. I hope it can make them feel warm."

"Is it like this?" Walter used two fingers to pull at the corners of his mouth, stretching them wide and baring his teeth.

"No, it's like this," Leo said, grinning happily, revealing two dimples.

As time went on, their eyes met, and they said in unison:

"Hee hee!"

"Hee hee!"

Little Chen the orderly passed by and saw the scene in the room. The hair on his body stood on end. He shivered. How terrifying.