Strongest Maniac: Born in an Asylum

At the Hospital.

When the nurse returned to the room after changing her sanitary pad, she found that her two mental patients were gone. She panicked, frantically searching everywhere, but to no avail.

She asked Mark Zhang and learned they had slipped out while she was in the restroom. How could they be so cunning? They're too good at finding opportunities! she thought, frustrated. She even found herself regretting being a woman, having to bleed every month.

Unable to find her patients, she was on the verge of tears.

She asked a colleague for help. Her colleague tried to comfort her, "Don't worry, maybe they just went to look at the little birds."

Little birds?

The nurse was exasperated. Her colleague probably thought all mental patients were carefree. But these two weren't just any ordinary mental patients.

Just then, two figures appeared at the far end of the corridor. She squinted. Weren't those the two patients she had been searching for?

They were holding hands, their faces alight with smiles. But if you looked closely, you could see that they didn't quite fit in with the people around them.

The nurse started to run towards them, ready to demand where they had been. But then she remembered they were mental patients and her legs, of their own accord, came to a halt.

What's wrong with me? Why would I interrogate a mental patient about where they've been?

As long as they were back, that was all that mattered.

"Excuse me, please let us through," Leo said with a polite smile.

The nurse, standing in the doorway, instinctively moved aside. She watched them return to the room and decided not to overthink it.

Back in the room, Walter lay on his bed, admiring the Rolex on his wrist. He savored the noble and luxurious aura the watch emitted, feeling very pleased with himself.

Leo wanted to give the delicious food he'd brought back to the little girl, but she had already eaten.

So, he decided to offer it to One-Eye instead.

"Here, have something to eat."

Leo walked over to One-Eye's bed and held out the plastic container. "It's delicious," he said flatly. "You'll feel very energetic after eating it."

One-Eye had no desire to interact with these two. He had no interest in mental patients. He blamed his own naivety. Only after trying to communicate with them did he realize it was like playing a harp to a cow. In the end, you'd be the one losing your mind, while they would just stare at you blankly and ask... What's wrong?

"I'm not hungry," One-Eye said, not wanting to get too close. Could you really eat food offered by a mental patient? Who knew what they had put in it?

Leo opened the container. "It's really good, you should try it," he insisted. A fragrant aroma wafted out.

One-Eye caught a whiff of the scent and his spirits lifted.

That smells amazing.

Where did these two get this?

"Wait, let me see."

One-Eye was actually quite hungry. Earlier, when Mark Zhang had gone to buy dinner for his daughter, he had asked One-Eye if he wanted anything. But One-Eye, as a leader of the special department and one of Seaside City's strongest individuals, couldn't possibly lie in a hospital bed like a commoner and eat hospital food. It was an insult to his status.

Leo handed a pair of chopsticks to One-Eye, then climbed back onto his own bed. He sat cross-legged, waved at the little girl, and then fell into a silent, smiling staring contest with her. He could see a friendly, holy, pure light in her eyes, untainted by the world. The little girl, in turn, loved Leo's smile. It was as warm as the sun.

One-Eye picked up a piece of meat. It was snake meat, he realized, but he didn't immediately think of malevolent entities. He popped it in his mouth and chewed. It was indeed delicious, with a very nice texture.

But as he chewed, he started to feel that something was off about the meat. He tried not to think too much about it. Maybe it was just the first bite.

"Where did you buy this?" One-Eye asked, taking a sip of the broth. It warmed his stomach. He was genuinely curious about where they had gotten it. For mental patients, they had surprisingly good taste.

"We didn't buy it anywhere," Leo said without expression.

Walter chimed in, "We found it in the woods. It was very, very long, and so cute, with red and black stripes. It was really adorable."

"It just suddenly appeared and fell next to us. We thought since it was so pretty, it must be delicious. Then someone helped us cook it."

One-Eye didn't think too deeply about it. He chewed on the snake meat and chuckled to himself. These two madmen have some good luck. Imagine finding something like this.

Wait a minute...

Red and black stripes?

His chewing slowed. His eyes narrowed. He picked up another piece of meat and placed it in a small metal box. Beams of light projected from the corners, creating a three-dimensional image and displaying various data points.

Level 2 Malevolent Entity: Black Serpent.

One-Eye's mouth fell slightly open.

For some reason, the delicious snake meat didn't seem so delicious anymore.

Ptooey!

He spat out the meat in his mouth. He wanted to slap himself silly. Am I really losing my mind? Why did I eat food given to me by mental patients?

"Hey! Why would you waste it like that? He saved that for you because he couldn't bear to eat it himself!" Walter saw One-Eye spit out the meat and became furious. He snatched the container, his face red with anger, and presented it to Leo. "He doesn't deserve to eat something so delicious!"

Then he shot a glare at One-Eye. "I'm never going to give you acupuncture again to help you grow your eye back!"

One-Eye stared calmly at Walter, screaming internally. Oh, thank you so much for that! I've had the pleasure of your 'acupuncture' twice already. If I let you stick me a third time, I'll jump off this building.

Gulp, gulp, gulp!

Leo drank the snake soup and ate the meat. It was so tasty. If he had known One-Eye would waste it, he would have eaten it all back there, while it was still hot.

He noticed the little girl watching him and smiled. "Do you want some?"

"I'm full," the little girl said, shaking her head.

"Then I'll eat it all," Leo said. Seeing her nod, he tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and poured the entire contents of the container into his mouth. It was so good.

One-Eye lay on his bed, turned his head away, and resolved to ignore the two madmen. He would leave at dawn.

His mind kept replaying the matter of the Black Serpent. For some reason, he thought of the Mourning Dog. The deaths of two Level 2 malevolent entities were both connected to these two patients.

The outcomes were strikingly similar. Both had been eaten by them.

If they were powerful warriors, he wouldn't have been surprised. But they were unarmed mental patients. And they looked so weak.

How did they manage to kill these entities without sustaining a single injury?

As he pondered this, One-Eye knew that if he couldn't figure it out, he would be up all night. To uncover the secret, he would have to continue interacting with them.

But as he looked at the two of them, he found himself at a loss for words.

One was sitting cross-legged on the bed, rubbing his belly with a blissful expression after finishing off the last of the snake soup.

The other was glaring at him with pure fury, as if he had just stolen his precious Rolex.