Episode 10: Sprinting

  "I'm sorry, let's break up."

  "This is your expulsion order, sign it."

  "I think we're not suitable for each other, let's break up."

  "Dad... what's wrong with you? Dad, wake up!"

  "I want to tell you something, let's break up."

  "How hateful... How hateful... How hateful!!!!!!"

  The Tenth Chapter: Sprinting

  Break up... Drop out of school... Break up... Dad... Break up...

  Ruthlessly, he stared blankly at the tightly grasped medicine bottle in his hand, his mind in turmoil. Every painful experience seemed to be constantly replayed before his eyes. It wasn't just one breakup, or just one failed hunting action. Ruth's suffering was a long-term accumulation. It was a kind of oppression and torture that ordinary people couldn't imagine. A fallen person, a failure in life. And Ruth's identity as a fallen person had been decided long ago.

  "From my many years of studying psychology, I can see that you have at least three or more hidden personalities!"

  "Three... three... how could this be..."

  "Your situation is indeed rare. You haven't just recently encountered a lot of unpleasant things, have you? Your pain and oppression are probably the result of long-term accumulation."

  "...my personality is split... will it have any effect on me?"

  "The probability of having a severely negative personality in your multiple personalities is indeed very high, if not strictly controlled... I also can't imagine what the consequences would be. However, you shouldn't be too pessimistic either. Among the special cases I've seen, the person with the most split personalities had 24 personalities, and your condition isn't that severe yet. Moreover, your personality splitting is still in its early stages, so it won't be too difficult to treat."

  "Professor, is there a way to suppress my hidden personality?"

  "I'll prescribe you some medicine. This medication is used to suppress inner emotional turmoil. When you feel your emotions fluctuating too much, take three pills. That way, your split personality should be properly controlled. Also, remember to come back here for a check-up once a week, I need to monitor your recovery progress regularly."

  Rus sat at his desk, staring blankly at the bottle of white pills that Dr. Sayid had given him, his mind a jumble of confusion and anxiety. "My illness... has it reached the point where I have to take medication?" Rus thought to himself, knowing that some of Dr. Sayid's words were just meant to comfort him, but also aware that when a psychological disorder reaches the point where it needs to be controlled with medication, it's a serious matter. "Am I... already mentally ill?" From the moment he returned home from Queens, Rus had been staring at the bottle in a daze, unable to accept the reality of his split personality. He had some terrifying thoughts - Jack had said he wanted to go kill his ex-girlfriend, and Rus was afraid that he would actually carry out the deed; he even suspected that he might be the perpetrator of the recent string of female murders. Paranoia, anxiety, unease - all were characteristic psychological manifestations of split personality disorder, and they were all present in Rus.

  Rush opened the book "Exploring Criminal Psychology" and took out a small key that was inserted between the pages of the Jack the Ripper case. This key had been inserted in the book for a long time, it was the key to the bottom drawer of his writing desk. Rush's hands trembled as he picked up the key and opened the drawer, which was almost covered with spider webs. He took out some things from the drawer - several photos, including ones with him and his ex-girlfriends, one of him when he entered university, and one of his father. "Dad..." Looking at his father's photo, Rush's lips began to quiver, as if he remembered something, something that made cold sweat appear on his forehead. Rush's breathing became more rapid, he could hardly control his excited emotions, his hands pressed against his chest, trying not to let his heart beat too fast. "Damn it... damn it... damn it!!!" Rush violently threw away the photos, took out three pills from a medicine bottle, and swallowed them without water. "I'm not sick... I'm not sick... I'm healthy!"

  No one knows what happened in Ruth's past.

  But every drop of the past is undoubtedly a creation of today's Russ, one grain at a time.

  After taking the medicine, Russ's emotions calmed down a lot. He put away the photos, re-clipped the keys, took off his clothes, and lay quietly in bed, falling asleep. Sleep, perhaps the best therapy for soothing heart wounds.

  China · Wuhan ——

  "You still know how to come, what have you been doing these days?" In the office, a teacher was loudly scolding Li Ming, "Don't you know that the high school entrance exam is approaching? If you continue like this, you might as well drop out!" "Teacher... I came to ask for leave. For the December exam, can I not come?" Li Ming asked in a low voice. He looked like a docile sheep, ever since his family was robbed, his previous arrogant attitude had changed. Or rather, it was the experience of constantly going back and forth to the police station these days that had changed him. "Why not come?" "The past two days my family was robbed, our ID cards, household registration, many important things were stolen, I've been going to the police station a lot, and... I also want to adjust my mood... so for the December exam, I might not be able to come." "ID card? Household registration? What does the thief want with those things? They're useless to him!" The teacher didn't comfort Li Ming, instead, he gave him a suspicious look. "I don't know... but he really stole them." "Is that so? You'd better not be lying to me! Are you trying to skip school and go online?" "Teacher... what are you talking about... my family was really robbed!" Li Ming's tone rose slightly, but his attitude remained very docile. "No way, the December exam is important, the February and April exams are also important, the scores will all be recorded, you can't not come!" The teacher seemed to have decided that Li Ming was lying, and flatly rejected his request for leave. "Teacher... I really don't have the mood these days..." "I said no, it's no, go back to class, the exam is in two days, review well." "...". Li Ming didn't say anything else, he knew it was useless to say anything. He wasn't someone who had never lied to his teacher before, but on this matter, he would absolutely not lie. He would never use being robbed as an excuse to skip school, and he wouldn't stoop to that level. The teacher's words earlier were a huge insult to his character. But Li Ming still didn't say anything, he suppressed the anger in his heart, silently turned around and walked out of the office.

  Li Ming's back figure was so heavy, so gloomy.

  New York · Manhattan ——

  Ruth lay on the bed, slowly opening his eyes. The sky was already dark. He had unknowingly slept for several hours. "JACK, did Ruth think that just a little bit of medicine could suppress us? He's too naive!" A sinister aura emanated from Ruth's eyes, which were completely different from before he fell asleep. It seemed as though the current Ruth was no longer the same person as before. "Those... pills are indeed not simple... Among us, only you can be completely unaffected..." The voice of JACK echoed in Ruth's ears, sounding unusually weak. "Haha, JACK, you guys aren't doing well, are you? A few white pills and you're all like this! Look at you, daring to look down on me!" Ruth muttered to himself, looking very pleased. "Yes, yes, your 'physique' is better than ours, so now we can only rely on you! Go, for Ruth's sake, for our shared suffering, go kill that woman!" "Alright, alright, you rest well, I'll take action." Ruth put on his clothes, stretched his limbs, and walked into the bathroom. He went to the toilet, squatted down, and used his hands to search for a ceramic tile next to the toilet. His fingers dug into the gap between the tiles, and with a slight effort, he lifted up the tile. "Haha, good, good, the things I hid here before are still here!" Ruth smiled, reaching into the hidden compartment behind the tile and pulling out something.

  He pulled out a gun.

  The night is getting deeper and deeper.

  Police Chief's Home - Daughter's Bedroom

  "Hey, your dad really isn't coming back tonight, is he? Should I leave?" a man in his early twenties asked, sitting on the bed. "If he says he's not coming back, then he won't! My dad has a case to deal with today and he's been busy with work for days, he hasn't even come home!" A girl sat next to the man, with a cigarette dangling from her mouth. This girl was none other than the police chief's daughter, and Ruth's ex-girlfriend. "Why don't you stay over at my place tonight? It's no big deal!" The girl coquettishly wrapped her arms around the man, saying "Come on, let's do it again!" "You..." The man seemed unable to resist the girl's charm, took away the cigarette from her mouth, and the two began kissing passionately.

  At this time, the girl's mobile phone suddenly rang.

  "Who is it?! And at this time too!" The girl was a bit annoyed, picked up the phone on her bedside table, and took a look. It was a text message. "Who is it?" the man asked. Looking at the phone, the girl's expression changed slightly, "It's Rus... He says he wants to meet me now." "Rus? Your ex-boyfriend? What does he want from you again?" "He said... He has pictures of us in bed together... If I don't go see him now... He'll show them to my dad." "Yeah, you mentioned he's been helping your dad with a case recently. If he really shows the pictures to your dad... No way, you have to go." "But... How did that guy get our pictures? Did he install a hidden camera here when he came over last time? That's despicable... Rus, how could you be so low?" "It's so late... Do you think he has any ulterior motives for asking you out? Want me to come with you?" "No way, he said in the text that I have to go alone. Don't worry, I know Rus, he's a coward, he won't dare do anything." The girl kissed the man on the cheek, "He just wants money, don't worry, I'll be right back, you stay here and wait for me." The girl got out of bed, put on some clothes, took a bank card from her bedside table, and was about to head out.

  She had no idea that once she left, she would never be able to come back again.

  The night is so quiet. Unusually quiet.

  Rus stood alone on the empty street, wearing a brown windbreaker, waiting for the person who was about to appear. "Rus!" A slender hand patted his shoulder from behind. "You're here." Rus turned around, and standing in front of him was his ex-girlfriend. "You came quickly." "Okay, give me the photo, name a price, how much do you want?" The girl said directly. "Money? Hehe, what I want isn't money." Rus said coldly with a smile. "Don't joke around, Rus, what do you want if not money?" The girl took out her bank card. "How much do you want, just say it, but first let me see the photo." "I don't have a photo." "No photo? Hey, Rus, what's going on? You called me out so late without even having a photo?" The girl was getting angry, she hated people who beat around the bush. "I'm not Rus." Rus still maintained his cold smile. "Yeah yeah, you're not Rus, are you going to say you're JACK or something, your online name. You used to say stuff like that all the time, it's really...which era is this again? Can't even tell apart the internet and reality!" "Hehe, you're indeed Rus' ex-girlfriend, even knowing JACK...unfortunately, I'm not JACK either." Rus took out a handgun from his windbreaker pocket and pointed it at the girl's head.

  At this time, his cold and stern smile was even more terrifying.

  "My name is Brad!"

  Before the words had even faded, the girl's face suddenly turned deathly pale, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying. "Hey, it's just a gun, no need to be so scared, I don't want you to die with such an ugly expression!" Rus said with a smile. But the girl still looked extremely frightened, and she stretched out a trembling finger, pointing behind Rus.

  "Ruth... you... behind you..."

  "What's behind?"

  Before Rus could react, he felt a pale hand suddenly reaching out from behind him and grasping his neck. "Who?" Rus tried to raise his gun to counterattack, but another pale hand emerged from the endless darkness behind him. The two hands inserted their fingers deep into Rus's left eye.

  "Ah..."