Chapter 31

Zhou Ke: "Don't talk nonsense and wrong the good. What I said is entirely true. The pollution from the Hai Bin Pharmaceutical Company is indeed a problem. My wife fell ill due to the long-term pollution from their factory and is still in the hospital."

Dent: "Your ears are sharp, you even heard this."

Robin: "Your wife fell ill due to pollution? What about you? How are you still so lively?"

Zhou Ke: "This is due to individual differences. My wife's health was already poor, so she fell ill from the strange smell from the factory. In the past, many of my neighbors, mostly the elderly, women, and children, were also affected and fainted or fell ill, and they have all moved away. As for me, I can still be lively and unaffected because I am tough."

Robin: "Tough? Is that your explanation? (with disbelief) Besides, according to what you said, this isn't the first time you've escaped from the mental hospital. Why didn't you think of going to another place for a psychiatric evaluation, to clear your name, and expose the ugly face of the Hai Bin Pharmaceutical Company? Why did you have to come to Gotham City? Why not go to Beijing? You could also file a complaint and seek justice there."

Zhou Ke: "I understand all of this. I have long planned to do so. I have been thinking about how to escape from the mental hospital all the time, observing the doors and windows every day, and looking for opportunities. I also exercise every day to prepare for the escape, with the goal of going to Beijing to file a complaint and seek justice. Three years ago, when I first escaped from the mental hospital, I went to Beijing."

Robin: "You went to Beijing? Why didn't you succeed in seeking justice? Beijing is the capital, and the Hai Bin Pharmaceutical Company, no matter how powerful, can't control there. You must be lying, and you really do have a mental illness..."

Zhou Ke: "No, I escaped to Beijing on August 8th, three years ago. It happened to be during the Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony, and the city was on high alert. As soon as I got off the train at Beijing West Station, I was caught by plainclothes police and sent back to my hometown..."

I (narrator): "Look at the timing you chose. It made people think you escaped from the mental hospital to participate in the Olympic Games opening ceremony. Did you even want to be a torchbearer or light the Olympic flame?"

Robin: "... So the first attempt failed. But you escaped twice more. Why didn't you succeed in seeking justice those times? Did you run into the Olympics, Asian Games, Universiade, or National Games again?"

Dent: "You know, if we calculate the time, it might be true..."

Zhou Ke: "No way. I won't fall into the same trap twice. After the second escape, I specifically checked to make sure there were no major events in Beijing before going."

Robin: "Then why did it fail?"

Zhou Ke: "Let me explain from the beginning. Because I had an escape record, the mental hospital increased the level of supervision over me. I couldn't find an opportunity for a long time, so I pretended to cooperate with the treatment to lower their guard. After more than a year, I finally found an opportunity, stole a saw blade, cut through the iron bars, and escaped."

Dent: (after calculating the time) "So you escaped in 2010? Didn't you go to Guangzhou to seek justice? They were hosting the Asian Games at that time..."

Zhou Ke: "Of course not. My goal has always been Beijing. Besides, I knew Guangzhou was hosting the Asian Games, so I wouldn't go there. I'm not that stupid."

I (narrator): "You're smart enough to learn from your failures."

Robin: "So how did you fail the second time? Beijing in 2010 didn't have any major events..."

Zhou Ke: "I arrived in Beijing at the end of April that year..."

Dent: "Last April? I see, everyone thought you were planning to attack a kindergarten?"

Zhou Ke: "Yes, from the bloodbath in Nanping, Fujian on March 23rd to the bloodbath in Weifang, Shandong on April 30th, there were five school massacres in less than 40 days. All the police in Beijing were on high alert. As soon as I got out of the train station, I was followed and caught at a primary school, then sent back to my hometown."

Robin: "You're really unlucky... What about the third time? How did it fail?"

Zhou Ke: "I escaped during a visit to my wife..."

Robin: "Wait, did you say it the wrong way? Wasn't it your wife visiting you? How could a mental patient visit others?"

Zhou Ke: "I didn't say it wrong. My wife was critically ill, and the Hai Bin Pharmaceutical Company tried to negotiate with me, offering to pay for her treatment in exchange for me stopping my escapes and complaints..."

Robin: "You didn't agree to these terms and escaped instead? Did you not care about your wife's life?"

Zhou Ke: "... You're wrong. I love my wife and would never neglect her life. During my time in the mental hospital, she struggled with her illness to gather evidence to clear my name and save me, but she didn't succeed due to her condition. I agreed to the terms of the Hai Bin Pharmaceutical Company, but my wife told me I shouldn't agree to their terms and opposed my submission to evil forces. She even encouraged me to escape and seek justice, to expose the truth to the public."

I (narrator): "It seems your wife is just like you. No wonder you two got married."

Robin: "Sigh, she's a fierce woman, willing to sacrifice her life for justice. It's a pity she died."

Zhou Ke: "Pfft, what do you mean 'it's a pity she died'? Don't curse my wife. She's still alive and well. I visited her at the hospital before coming to Gotham City, and she's recovering nicely."

Robin: "Ah? Didn't you say she was critically ill?"

Zhou Ke: "The Hai Bin Pharmaceutical Company used their connections to tamper with her treatment at the hospital, making it seem like her condition was worsening and she was about to die. It was a trick to force me to compromise. My wife discovered the flaw and stopped the medication, and her condition improved."

Robin: "Oh, I see. The Hai Bin Pharmaceutical Company is really devious."

Zhou Ke: "But because my wife discovered the trick and stopped the medication, the Hai Bin Pharmaceutical Company became wary of me. As soon as I escaped from the hospital, they caught me at the station, and my third escape failed."

Dent: "What about your wife? Will she be harmed as a result, and be thrown into a mental hospital?"

Zhou Ke: "No, my wife's health is poor, and they were afraid of causing a fatality, so they didn't do that."

Dent: "Still, be careful. The fact that they could tamper with her treatment at the hospital means it's no longer safe there."

Zhou Ke: "My wife and I understand this. After my third escape failed and I was caught and returned to the mental hospital, she was transferred from the hospital in Hai Bin City to a hospital in Metropolis. It's far from Hai Bin City, so the Hai Bin Pharmaceutical Company can't reach her."

I (narrator): "Metropolis? I remember Zhou Ke came to Gotham City by high-speed rail from Metropolis. It seems Zhou Ke is quite devoted to his wife."

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