Chapter 57 - The Asylum

In Naozhou Island, fishermen were taken by surprise with the arrival of two military choppers in the air. The island was rarely visited and the lack of infrastructure made people find work elsewhere leaving the island. If it was not for the heavily guarded strange facility at the end of the rocky island, Naozhou's residents would have struggled to live by. It was thanks to this asylum that there was still a regular ferry that crosses to the mainland and the fishermen were never without a consumer.

General Lie was very efficient. The moment he received the call from Lu Fang, he sent his troops over to the island as he reviewed the data shared to him. When he saw the footages of the facility he could only guess it was the work of Andrea's sister. The asylum was heavily guarded on top of a cliff. There was only one in and out of it which made it easy yet that only meant, their security would be easily be alerted. He decided that the fastest way to get his men inside the fenced structure was by helicopter.

THIS IS THE MILITARY! WE HAVE A WARRANT TO SEARCH THIS FACILITY. PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN!

THIS IS THE MILITARY! WE HAVE A WARRANT TO SEARCH THIS FACILITY. PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN!

THIS IS THE MILITARY! WE HAVE A WARRANT TO SEARCH THIS FACILITY. PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN!

The announcement of the troop's arrival made the armed men below them in distraught. Some surrendered easily, while some tried to escape. There were those who tried to open fire but was easily brought down by the snipers in the air. Similarly, there were employees in white uniform trying to run outside the fenced location, but as soon as they arrived down the hill, there was another militant group headed their way traveling by land.

"General, their actions could only mean they are aware of being in the wrong."

The man was holding his chin up as he observed the overtaking of the facility through satellite footage.

"Make sure they check every inch of that building, check all patient's identify and record, then report back immediately."

"Affirmative, General."

When the soldiers started to search the insides of the asylum they were taken aback of how securely each patient was kept. It wasn't enough that they were tied up with the use of a straitjacket, they were locked up on each individual rooms totally enclosed without a window and walls so thick you can tell they were made soundproof.

In one of the office rooms, one staff was still frantically deleting files in the computer but despite the arrival of the military, he would not stop at what he was doing. The soldier who arrived at the said office had to knock him out.

"Sir, they were able to delete some of the files but fortunately, we still found a printed master list of all the patients," a soldier reported to their troop leader.

"We can confirm that Zhang Jun is in fact inside one of the rooms but there is one other patient with the same last name as Rou Yanlin, Rou Chunhua that we could not find."

The lieutenant took the piece of paper for a better look. He frowned as saw some prominent names that had gone missing over the years and doubted if these were all Governor Rou Yanlin's enemies. His instinct told him, he was keeping adversaries for others making a business out of it.

"Find the blueprint of the building. We should be able to find every patient that is listed in this paper."

The search within the asylum continued for an entire day keeping the soldiers busy. Other patients with severe unstable behavior were immediately transported to the nearest mental institution for a medical check at the same time, members of the police force were already waiting for them to take their photos and fingerprints in order to verify their identity.

When the blueprint was found, the lieutenant carefully studied the drawing and saw that there were still rooms under the building. "There are underground rooms, check them," he instructed.

The sunken rooms were huge and filled with several medical types of equipment. A soldier with a medical background could tell they were used for operational procedures, but at the very center of the hallway was a lighted room. A single room and inside was the missing patient on their list. As the men tried to open the door, they also took a peek on the small glass window and saw a girl lying down without expression.

It took minutes before they were able to open the door since it could only be opened from the control room above and when they finally did, they were surprised that the girl finally reacted. She stepped back at the very edge of the room frightened.

"It's okay, miss. We are here to save you. We won't hurt you." The soldier said.

The girl was looking strangely at him but when she saw other men in uniform come inside the room, she managed to speak, "Are you men of Rou Yanlin?"

"No, miss. We are soldiers of the government. We are here to search this facility and make arrests for illegal detention and conspiracy."

"You are not here to kill me?" Her voice was trembling as she continued to probe.

"No, miss. We can go outside and you can see, most of the patients kept in this facility have been released…Miss, let us have you checked and we can find your family."

RELEASED…

FAMILY…

Hearing those words, she felt her heart beating faster. The girl's lips began to shake and as she fell down on her knees, she started to cry. She cried and cried even until the soldiers helped her outside the facility. For almost a year, she was kept there and now she managed to see the sunlight.

'Finally, I am saved.'