Chapter 20: The Unsettling Escape

Qiao Xia, standing beside Grandpa Li, froze when he heard the phone call’s contents. He never imagined that Liu Ge, who had just been sent to the hospital, would have escaped!

He recalled that when Liu Ge was taken from the complex, the restraint suit had gone with him. Could the doctors have removed it during the diagnosis?

Qiao Xia had repeatedly warned them to be careful, emphasizing that Liu Ge should not regain his mobility, as the consequences would be severe.

Several committee members had been terrified by Liu Ge wielding a hammer. Logically, they should have known how dangerous Liu Ge was. How could they have allowed the hospital doctors to untie him?

“What? Liu Dali escaped? What happened?”

Just like the astonished Qiao Xia, Grandpa Li grew incredibly anxious upon hearing that Liu Dali had fled the hospital.

In the past, Grandpa Li wouldn’t have been this worried. If Liu Dali ran, he ran; they could just catch him again later.

However, after encountering the perverted Ding Ce, Grandpa Li feared that Liu Dali might secretly target him once he learned the truth.

Being attacked once was enough. A second time, and his old bones wouldn’t be able to take it.

“That doctor simply didn’t take our words seriously. They considered it illegal restraint and insisted we remove the restraint suit, threatening to call the police if we didn’t. What could we do? We had no choice but to comply.

After we took the restraint suit off Liu Dali, he remained perfectly quiet, not making a single move. At the time, the doctor almost genuinely called the police station. If our committee’s vice-president hadn’t known the hospital director, the consequences are truly unimaginable!

However, the moment we left, Liu Dali bit the doctor’s neck. They say he even bit off a piece of flesh, nearly killing them outright!”

The committee member on the phone was quite a chatterbox, rambling on and on, allowing Qiao Xia and Grandpa Li to piece together the full story.

It couldn’t be said that the hospital doctor was deliberately causing trouble. After all, they hadn’t witnessed Liu Dali’s episodes firsthand and thus had no idea how dangerous he truly was.

As a result, they had been attacked by Liu Dali and were now undergoing treatment in the operating room.

“How long has Liu Dali been gone? Have you called the police?”

“Someone was bitten that badly, so of course the police were called. But Liu Dali hasn’t returned to Happiness Complex. No one knows where he is, and the police haven’t been able to catch him yet.

We called to warn you, Grandpa Li, to be careful when you go out recently. Don’t let Liu Dali retaliate against you.”

Upon hearing Grandpa Li’s question, the committee member immediately stated that Liu Dali was nowhere to be found.

Not only was Grandpa Li warned to be cautious, but all those involved also needed to be careful.

Thinking back to the elevator, after Liu Dali was distracted by the sound of the lighter, his gaze had remained fixed on the elevator… A shiver ran down their spines at the thought. It was truly terrifying!

“Sigh, this is truly worrying. Alright! Have your committee send someone to the back of Building 8 in the complex. I’ve been attacked.”

“What?!”

When Grandpa Li heard that Liu Dali couldn’t be caught, he sighed helplessly. The words that followed made the committee member on the other end of the line shriek, their voice rising to its highest pitch.

They had called specifically to prevent retaliation, yet Grandpa Li had already been attacked?

How could it be so fast!

“Don’t even ask. Last week, someone was vandalizing the plants in the complex. After I stopped them, they secretly spent a week planning to kill me. Just as they were about to attack, a passerby knocked them unconscious!

Hurry up and bring people over. I still need to go to the hospital for an injury report!”

Grandpa Li had anticipated the committee member’s shock. After briefly explaining what had happened, he immediately urged them to come quickly.

Now that he knew Liu Dali had escaped from the hospital, Grandpa Li felt it was truly unsafe to stay outside. It would be better to return home sooner.

“Alright, we’ll be right there.”

Hearing that the situation was unusual, the committee member didn’t press for more details. They simply replied and then hung up the phone.

Immediately, Grandpa Li turned to glance at Qiao Xia. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to persuade Qiao Xia to leave first.

“Little Xia, there’s no danger here now. You should hurry home! When the police station calls for you, then you can go.”

Although Qiao Xia had beaten Ding Ce to save him, Ding Ce’s swollen face was truly pathetic. If the committee members arrived and formed a bad impression of Qiao Xia, that would be terrible!

They all lived in the same complex, constantly running into each other. If busybodies started spreading rumors about Qiao Xia behind his back, how would he be able to stay in the complex later?

It was precisely these considerations that led Grandpa Li to insist Qiao Xia leave now.

As for him, an old man, it didn’t matter. Plenty of people in the complex already disliked him anyway.

“Grandpa Li, I’ll stay here with you. There’s still a lot to do later!”

“Stay for what? Plenty of people will be here soon. Listen to me! Go home quickly and stay there. Remember to lock your door. After Liu Dali escaped from the hospital, he might return home. Don’t let anything happen.”

Even though Qiao Xia didn’t want to leave, Grandpa Li pushed him away.

Grandpa Li had also been badly beaten by Ding Ce. His stern demeanor now made it impossible for Qiao Xia to linger, as he didn’t want to anger Grandpa Li.

Once he confirmed Ding Ce was truly unconscious, Qiao Xia, still uneasy, used the ropes that had bound Grandpa Li to tie Ding Ce securely. Only then did he leave, glancing back repeatedly.

The recent string of events was simply too much to process quickly. At this moment, Qiao Xia had no desire to continue playing games; he simply hoped no more accidents would occur.

His perfectly normal daily life had become as thrilling as a rollercoaster. If not for his strong psychological resilience, he might have had a heart attack by now.

After successfully reversing the outcome on his own, Qiao Xia’s joy had barely begun to bloom before it was overshadowed by the news of Liu Ge’s escape from the hospital, making him somewhat afraid to go home.

Qiao Xia had seen Liu Ge twice in the elevator. He wasn’t sure if Liu Ge, in his current state, would remember his face.

However, recalling Liu Ge’s glance towards the elevator when the lighter was thrown, it was as terrifying as a scene from a horror movie.

‘Sigh, if Zhou Li hadn’t left, I could have stayed at his place for a few days.’

Thinking of the departed Zhou Li, Qiao Xia shook his head helplessly. He then restarted his powered-off phone, preparing to call Zhou Li for a chat to relieve some of his stress.

The phone vibrated.

However, before Qiao Xia could even dial, his phone vibrated first.

He looked down at the screen to see an unfamiliar number.