Le roi des pilleurs de tombes

Chapitre 2

After Youchen finished speaking, he secretly felt that he had spoken very well.

The atmosphere between the three had become irreparably awkward.

"Show me your ID card!"

"Just hoist it away."

"I suspect you've been drinking! Show me your ID!"

"Come and get tested."

"What kind of attitude is that!"

"Just tow the car away."

Feeling a surge of emotion, Youchen gave the two policemen a cold, dismissive look.

Soon, Youchen learned the price of that glance.

3

Ten minutes later, Youchen sat on a blue plastic chair in the police station.

His right hand, handcuffed, dangled behind the chair, the other side of the handcuff fastened to a somewhat rusty iron bar.

"..." He looked around at everything unfamiliar with a sullen expression.

The uncooperative attitude resulted in the unpleasant touch of handcuffs.

In this citizen-centric era where media power is ever-increasing, the police are well aware that they have very few legal tools at their disposal against Youchen. Forcibly attaching a charge of contempt of public authority is also highly controversial, and if handled poorly, it could cause unnecessary trouble for the police.

However, this does not mean that Youchen's punishment is limited to just one or two tickets.

The two policemen who brought him back handcuffed him and then went off to do other things. A short, bespectacled policeman came to greet him, and the way he spoke made him seem like a rookie.

"Have some water." The bespectacled policeman handed over a glass of warm water.

"Why?" Youchen asked irritably.

"We'll need to do a urine test in a bit."

Why do we need a urine test?

"We now suspect you of drug use. If you refuse to drink water for a urine test, it will be considered refusing to cooperate with the police investigation, and we will add a charge of obstructing official business to your case." The bespectacled policeman issued an ultimatum: "If you don't want to spend the night in the detention center, you'd better cooperate."

Youchen took the paper cup with a straight face, drank it all in one gulp under the watchful eye of the bespectacled man, and then deliberately crumpled the paper cup and put it aside.

The bespectacled policeman turned around, walked to the water dispenser next to the newspaper rack, and poured Youchen another glass of warm water, which Youchen had no choice but to drink. He drank glass after glass, until the fifth glass…

"Isn't that enough?" Youchen said, dissatisfied.

"That's the rule," the bespectacled policeman said with a stern face.

In the end, the bespectacled man poured ten cups in total, and Youchen, not wanting to be outdone, silently drank them all, crumpling the paper cups completely each time. His stomach suddenly swelled up, and he felt like he was overeating and wanted to vomit.

"Wait here." The bespectacled policeman glanced at the clock on the wall, then left Youchen behind.

cough.

Youchen scoffed.

Even though he had a countdown timer set up inside his polluted lungs, Youchen couldn't help but find it secretly amusing. Those experienced police officers clearly knew he hadn't taken drugs, so why wasted their time doing a urine test on him?

Let them test me; all I'll give them is a good piss.

Unbeknownst to them, the clock on the wall had already moved forward seventeen times.

The chubby policeman sat in a wicker chair reading a magazine, while the slightly thinner policeman made tea beside him.

The police officers in the entire police station tacitly ignored Youchen, who was sitting in the corner waiting to have his statement taken. They came and went, some talking on the phone, some exchanging pleasantries and laughing, but no one even glanced at Youchen.

Ignored by everyone, Youchen just stared at the clock on the wall of the police station.

Cough...cough...cough cough cough...

8:34.

I already feel the urge to urinate.

Weren't we supposed to do a urine test? Why isn't anyone coming to take him to the toilet?

The later the urine test, the later he could leave this awful place. He didn't want to go home, but he didn't want to stay here either. However, Youchen remained silent. He knew that if he asked a question, he would lose ground.

He looked around nonchalantly, even shaking his crossed legs.

Since I stepped into the hospital to register today, nothing has gone right. Misfortune has struck like a chain reaction on the highway, and now even the clock on the wall, constantly ticking forward, has become a relentless countdown to my death.

Youchen took a deep breath, imagining the hideous sight of the cancer cells in his lungs wantonly invading his bronchi.

One month? Or three months?

Let's say it's ninety days. How much can we do in that time?

“No matter what you can do, you shouldn’t just sit here doing nothing, right?” Youchen looked at the handcuffs.

Perhaps, in Yu Chen's eyes, the consequences of resisting the police in this way seem utterly boring and laughable. It's completely self-inflicted trouble; he knew from the beginning that it was pointless and didn't deserve any sympathy.

But if he doesn't even try to resist, the utter defeat will shatter his last shred of self-respect. A man with only ninety days left to live, forced to endure such humiliation? Forget it.

Nine o'clock.

My palms were completely wet.

9:01 AM.

The urge to urinate had completely swelled up my lower abdomen, and my ten toes, hidden inside my shoes, were tugging inwards.

If bladders had expressions, they would definitely be bulging with veins right now.

Yu Chen coldly watched the police officers who completely ignored him, and a slight smile crept onto his lips.

"So that's how it is."

It turns out that the purpose of those ten cups of water was not to test his urine at all, but to burst his bladder.

Youchen grew angrier the more he thought about it.

Now, if he loudly declares that he needs to use the restroom, the police probably won't dare refuse him. However, this would put him in a position of surrender. It's also conceivable that once Youchen shouts, "I need to use the restroom!" all the police will continue to deliberately ignore him, letting him shout for a few more minutes, or even forcing him to beg for mercy before they come over with a smirk to remove his handcuffs.

For the past thirty-four years, Yu Chen, like everyone else, has been good at compromising... and occasionally good at yielding.

But at this moment, Youchen was more stubborn than anyone could have imagined.

9:30.

Large beads of cold sweat appeared on Youchen's forehead.

Clench both hands into fists and secretly rub the area between the thumb, index finger, and middle finger.

My breathing became somewhat unnatural, and with the slightest movement, it felt as if my bladder would burst and bleed.

When was the last time you held your urine like this?

Yu-Chen recalled his last graduation field trip in sixth grade, and that extremely unpleasant experience of holding in his pee. From Tainan to Taipei, they only stopped at one rest stop, and in the end, he was so weak that his face turned pale that he "borrowed" an empty plastic bottle from a classmate and finally relieved himself in the last row of the tour bus.

"Hold on..." Youchen muttered to himself, "We absolutely cannot let those bastards succeed..."

10 o'clock.

Youchen lowered his head, closed his eyes, and focused intently on dealing with his bladder, which was brimming with grief and anger.

My breathing became very slow.

It's really strange and illogical. It was just ten cups of warm water, so why did it become such a huge "weight" after two hours? Can the snowball theory be applied to the desperate situation of needing to pee?

There are obvious teeth marks on my lower lip from being bitten.

Inexplicable in ... Inexplicable in ...

If you just pee like that, it's embarrassing, but the police will have to clean it up, right?

10:05.

Human self-esteem is a very subtle thing.

There's a saying: "No one can take your self-respect away unless you allow it."

Perhaps many warriors are willing to sacrifice their lives to defend their dignity, but what if it involves holding in one's pee...?

Tears welled up in Youchen's eyes.

Do you remember why Youchen went to the hospital to register? He had been coughing for days.

Now, every time Youchen coughs, his bladder vibrates violently, and the fear of accidentally leaking urine due to coughing makes him feel slightly dizzy.

Admittedly, if time could be turned back, Youchen would definitely have stood up and moved the car...

10:15.

"You can go now."

A female police officer on duty came over and unlocked the handcuffs that Youchen had been wearing on the iron bar behind the blue plastic chair.

"..." Youchen sneered, moved his slightly itchy wrist, and pretended to be nonchalant.

"We've investigated and found out. You can leave now." The policewoman said expressionlessly.

"Investigate my ass?" Youchen looked at the red handcuff marks on his wrist.

The policewoman ignored her but didn't try to make things difficult for her either. She took the handcuffs and turned back to her counter post.

Youchen touched his hands and slowly and steadily stood up.

The moment he stood up straight, he felt that his lower abdomen was filled with at least ten kilograms of urine, and his bladder was as heavy as a lead ball. He had to exert a lot of effort to put on a calm expression, but he still couldn't hide the cold sweat all over his body.

He gasped.

Should I go to the toilet at the end of the corridor to relieve myself? Would that be considered a win or a loss?

If he just walked out of the police station like that, he had absolutely no chance of finding the next place with a restroom...

I suppressed the urge to cough, but my bladder tightened instantly.

He glanced at the entrance of the police station, then looked back at the low-ranking police officers who had been making fun of him.

"Xiao Chen, after all this time, is the report finally finished yet?!"

"Are you sure there's no mistake with that patrol car? How could I possibly need to go out?"