Paige looked at Hazel’s pale face and thought, when suddenly, a warm kraft paper package was thrown into her arms.
She looked up, and Enrico’s deep gaze met hers, “Hair cake, remember to eat it.”
He remembered this.
Paige smiled, thankfully, he was only her Enrico.
…
After the rainy night, Hazel’s injuries and illnesses became even worse, and her fever continued to rise.
Paige stayed by Hazel’s bedside for three days in a row, but her fever kept coming back and her temperature never stabilized.
Hazel’s gentle smile was gone. She lay in bed like a soulless body, staring up at the ceiling the whole time, her eyes unfocused.
Paige didn’t even know what she was looking at.
“Paige, he only wants to kill people for me, doesn’t he? He can’t stand it when I get bullied, can he?” Hazel whispered, her voice dripping with a sense of resignation.
Paige stood to the side, sprinkling water in a vase. Hearing this, her movements paused, and she looked down at the person in the hospital bed.
“But have you seen it? Those big families and wealthy people have to grovel before him. When did he become so capable?” She said in a low voice, her gaze vacant.
“…”
Hazel is a kind and intelligent woman. After a few short words on a rainy night, she has vaguely understood something.
Nowadays, the people in the country are suffering, and the presidential palace is doing nothing. The wealthy and powerful families all maintain private armies, and the more they maintain, the more they fight each other, until it’s either you or me.
Even the presidential palace can’t do anything about these powerful families, but JT can stand above them and trample their lives like ants.
Hazel already sensed that JT was no ordinary person.
It was just that for the time being, she still couldn’t believe it.
So she kept asking Paige over and over again, “JT just can’t stand to see her get bullied, right? JT has nothing to do with the current chaos, right?”
Paige stood there, feeling Hazel’s pain and struggle a hundred years ago, and also feeling the grief that the woman in front of her had endured for a period of time that she didn’t need to.
“Don’t think about it. The most important thing for you now is to get better,” Paige said softly.
“The day before yesterday, the Browne family and the Cruise family fought over land, and the two families occupied the street and argued non-stop. Lorena went into labor and was rushed to the hospital, but she died on that street because she couldn’t get through. One body, two deaths,” Hazel muttered.
“The Sterling family lent money at high interest rates. They said they could pay back slowly, but after three days, Payton had to pay back the principal and interest. When Payton couldn’t pay, they forced Payton’s three daughters to work in a nightclub.”
Hazel continued, “And…”
“Stop,” Paige couldn’t bear to make her think about the sorrows of this era, “go to sleep.”
If she fell asleep, she wouldn’t think about all this anymore, whether it had anything to do with her fiance.
The door to the ward was knocked on, and it was gently pushed open from the outside. Brangelina stood in the doorway, looking at her with a grave expression.
“You go back to sleep. I’ll come and keep you company later.”
Paige tucked Hazel in, then walked out, closing the ward door gently behind her.
Brangelina watched her every move. “Are you getting into character?”
“A little,” Paige said indifferently. ‘I can always see the real Hazel through her.”
“I think she’s a bit like you, not just in appearance but also in personality, passionate and clear-sighted,”
Brangelina said. ‘Maybe you’re the one who’s similar to the real Hazel. If I were someone from JT, I would definitely let you become Hazel.”
“Then I really have to thank them for not hypnotizing me,” said Paige, walking out the door with Brangelina. ‘Aunt Brangelina came to see me. Did that mean there was a breakthrough?”
“We found the edge of the city. It’s a dozen-meter-high iron wall surrounding the entire city. There are many people defending it, and it seems there’s an electric grid outside,’ said Brangelina.
Paige pursed her lips. “The city is now an iron bucket, and it’s not easy to break through.”
“Those of us who have not been hypnotized can still try to break in, but…”
Brangelina sighed, “It’s also strange. These hypnotized people clearly have a concept of The Capital and Country A, but they can’t even get out of this city. Don’t they find it strange?”
“No, they accept the set of hypnotic logic, and it will be self-consistent. When it really can’t be made to be self-consistent, the people from JT will step in and hypnotize them again.”
So they stay in the copy city and don’t feel any abnormality.
Paige asked as they walked, “You wandered around the city, and the JT people never came out?”
“No, I don’t know what they were thinking.”
Brangelina shook her head and took a note out of her pocket and handed it to her, “But we found JT’s tomb, and there’s a JT Pavilion built next to it. Here’s the address.”
Paige took it and glanced at it.
“I was thinking that JT is the spiritual belief of this power. If we control the JT Pavilion and JT Tomb, can we force them to release the people?” Brangelina suggested.
Upon hearing this, Paige did not think much about it and shook her head.
“This city is completely under the control of the JT power. You were able to find the JT Tomb, which must have been within their expectations. Maybe it was just to lure me over. They like to do this kind of mysterious things to show their ability to control people’s hearts,” Paige said indifferently.
Brangelina laughed, “You’re still the one who thinks clearly. But in that case, there’s nothing we can do in this city, isn’t it impossible for us to save ourselves?”
“That’s not true. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days, and I have a guess. You continue to wander around the city, ostensibly looking for an exit and people to help you find a way to save yourself, but the main thing is… is to help me confirm this guess.”
Paige stopped in the hospital corridor and whispered her thoughts into Brangelina’s ear.
Brangelina looked at her with some surprise.
“Enrico said that JT has a secret, and I think that if we can find out what it is, JT won’t be so messed up,” Paige said.
“Okay,” Brangelina nodded solemnly, “by the way, you have to be careful. This city is so real, there are fights and bloodshed everywhere, it’s very dangerous.”
“I understand. You guys have to be careful too.”
Paige walked Brangelina out of the hospital and then walked back.
Just as she turned the corner into the hallway, a sound of shuffling footsteps came from behind her. She saw doctors and nurses rushing past her, all heading for Hazel’s room.
Paige was shocked and hurriedly followed them in.
Standing at the door, the doctor in a white coat shone a light into Hazel’s eyes. His tone was urgent, “The pupils are dilated, the patient has lost consciousness, hurry, call for emergency assistance!”
“…”
Paige pursed her lips, her hand hanging at her side clenching into a fist.
…
This rain is coming in ferociously, and there is no sign of it stopping after days of continuous downpour.
The rickshaw turned onto a small path and entered a clean and wide stone slab road. It was surrounded by lush greenery and blooming flowers.