Chapter 61: Jason's Birthday

On the Mississippi National Highway.

A police cruiser sped along the wide road.

Xu Wang drove with one hand while rummaging through the passenger-side glove compartment for toothpaste and a toothbrush.

"Jason, do you have any water? I just remembered I should brush my teeth this morning."

Xu Wang looked through the rearview mirror to make eye contact with Jason, who was curled up in the back seat.

Jason shook his head.

Xu Wang then looked at Tiezhu in the passenger seat.

Tiezhu was sitting upright in the front passenger seat like a human.

Seeing Xu Wang look at him, Tiezhu unhesitatingly lifted a hind leg and enthusiastically aimed his weapon at Xu Wang.

Xu Wang hesitated for a moment, pondered, and shook his head. "No, that water is way too dirty. It won't have any cleaning effect."

Just as he finished speaking, he happened to see someone standing by the roadside trying to flag down a car.

Xu Wang decisively pulled over and stepped out of the driver's seat.

"Officer, I need to report a crime!"

"Do you have any water?" Xu Wang asked.

The person was taken aback and nodded, "I do."

With that, he pulled a bottle of water from his travel bag and handed it to Xu Wang.

"Thank you so much for stopping the car specially to give me water."

Holding the bottle, Xu Wang climbed straight back into the police car and stepped hard on the gas, driving away.

Leaving the would-be crime reporter stunned in place.

Only after a long moment did he snap back to his senses, glaring at the receding taillights and cursing angrily, "Where are your manners?!"

With water in hand, Xu Wang finally managed to brush his teeth.

With his mouth full of foam, he even remembered to turn around and brush Tiezhu's and Jason's teeth as well.

"A wonderful morning starts with a clean mouth!"

Xu Wang cheered happily!

He turned his head toward Tiezhu and breathed out a fresh "Hah!"

Tiezhu reciprocated kindly by spraying Xu Wang all over the face with drool!

"Whoa, your spit doesn't even smell bad anymore after brushing, Tiezhu."

"Let's see what's inside this car! We need some music!"

Xu Wang drove with one hand while his other hand searched through the storage compartment inside the police car.

Soon, he pulled out a music cassette labeled *What Is Love*.

Xu Wang knew this song; it was the classic background track of Jim Carrey and the head-banging trio, incredibly infectious!

So Xu Wang popped the cassette straight into the car stereo.

"What is love, Baby don't hurt me♫"

The upbeat, dynamic, and catchy music began to play.

The moment he heard the song, Xu Wang unconsciously started bobbing his head to the rhythm!

Before long, Tiezhu and Jason—one dog and one man—were nodding their heads along as well.

The atmosphere became extremely lively and cheerful!

The police cruiser headed all the way north amidst this joyful vibe.

Until, passing by a motel, Xu Wang suddenly slammed on the brakes and slowly reversed the car back.

The music paused. Xu Wang braced himself against the window, leaned his upper body out, and looked at the huge electronic sign outside the motel.

"Oh my god! Today is actually Friday the 13th!"

Xu Wang acted as if he had discovered something extraordinary.

Both Jason and Tiezhu tilted their heads, wondering why Xu Wang was reacting so strongly.

"Jason! Today is your birthday! Happy birthday!"

Xu Wang dropped back into the driver's seat, turned around, and laughed heartily as he offered his congratulations to Jason!

Jason kept his head tilted, fully conveying his confusion.

Xu Wang, however, paid no attention to that.

In his mind, a birthday was an important occasion that deserved a proper celebration.

Especially since he was currently Jason's mother.

"Let's go, Jason! Taking you out to celebrate your birthday! Such a rare birthday calls for a party!"

Xu Wang raised both hands and cheered loudly!

"Woof woof woof!"

Tiezhu was also infected by the atmosphere, spinning around continuously in the passenger seat.

Though Jason had no idea what was happening, he cooperated happily by raising his hands high!

With a sharp rip, Jason tore right through the roof of the police car.

Turning the cruiser into a rather bizarre convertible.

Jason had no idea what Xu Wang wanted to do.

He only knew that Xu Wang would never harm him, so he simply followed along obediently.

Xu Wang himself didn't really know what he was up to either.

He always acted purely on impulse.

However, because there was something slightly wrong with Xu Wang's brain, his train of thought tended to differ quite a bit from ordinary people.

And to top it off, Xu Wang was a man of immense action.

Whatever strange idea crossed his mind, he would immediately put it into practice!

No matter how bizarre the thought might be!

It was precisely because of these two traits that Xu Wang's behavior was far stranger than that of an average person.

In truth, many people experience moments of wild imagination.

The only difference is that normal people have the judgment to know what can be done and what cannot.

But Xu Wang lacked that normal sense of judgment; the moment a weird idea popped up, he went right ahead and did it!

Fortunately, there were no normal people in the car right now.

Therefore, no one raised any objections to Xu Wang's actions.

That situation, however, was broken very soon.

As Xu Wang was driving around looking for a birthday party, he spotted two familiar figures by the roadside.

They turned out to be Steve and Jenny, the two people Xu Wang had previously rescued.

The state of these two was currently quite poor.

Thirsty, hungry, and exhausted.

They were still wearing blood-stained clothes.

Because of their disheveled appearance, passing cars ignored them entirely and sped right past.

They had managed to make it this far purely by trudging along laboriously on their own two feet.

"Beep beep!"

Right at that moment, an open-top police cruiser pulled up beside them.

Steve and Jenny instinctively stepped back a couple of steps.

Realizing the person in the driver's seat was none other than Xu Wang, pleasant surprise washed over them.

Before the young couple could even ask,

Xu Wang took the initiative with a warm invitation: "Hey! What a coincidence! We're throwing a birthday party! Do you guys want to come along?!"

"Huh?"

Steve and Jenny were both stunned.

You couldn't really blame them.

After all, in their memories, they had just barely brushed past the gates of hell not long ago.

Yet in the blink of an eye, they were being invited to a birthday party.

The style shift was simply too abrupt, and their brains couldn't process it that fast!

An average person truly couldn't keep up with the logic of someone whose brain had a screw loose like Xu Wang's.

"Y-yes, thank you for inviting us."

Jenny reacted rather quickly, hesitating for a second before immediately agreeing.

No matter what, a birthday party would surely have food and drinks, allowing them to recover their strength.

Perhaps they could even borrow a change of clothes from Xu Wang first.

"Get in the car! We're leaving right now!"

Xu Wang cheered!

Steve and Jenny seemed influenced by Xu Wang's joyful mood as well, and smiles unconsciously formed on their faces.

They walked to the back seat and pulled open the door.

A two-meter-tall masked psychopathic killer holding a machete barged mercilessly into the young couple's field of vision!

In a flash.

It scared the wits out of them!

Fortunately, having been through the trials of Eden Lake earlier, their courage had grown considerably.

They also recognized that although the figure inside looked terrifying, he seemed to know Xu Wang.

So he must be a good person... right?

Trembling slightly, Steve took the back seat first, sitting down beside Jason.

Jason even obediently squeezed over to the left, trying his best to make room for Steve and them.

Seeing Jason's friendly gesture, Steve relaxed a great deal inside. He looked up, met Jason's eyes, and forced a smile.

Beneath the mask, Jason's eyes narrowed slightly as well.

Once Steve had settled in, Jenny climbed aboard and closed the car door.

She didn't even dare to look at Jason.

Since the roof had been ripped off, Jason's head poked straight out the top, meaning he didn't feel quite as cramped sitting there now.

As Xu Wang started the car engine, Steve felt that out of politeness, he ought to bring up some conversation.

So Steve looked at the back of Xu Wang's head as he drove and asked, "You mentioned a birthday party earlier—whose birthday is it?"

"My son's," Xu Wang answered happily.

"Oh! You have a son? You look so young yourself."

Since Jenny was a kindergarten teacher, the topic immediately sparked her interest.

Hearing this, Xu Wang looked somewhat embarrassed, his face turning red as he waved his hands. "Oh, come on! Not really! I'm already past my prime, I just take really good care of myself usually. Do I really look that young?"

With that, Xu Wang covered his mouth with one hand and let out a classic wealthy matron's giggle, "Ohohoho~"

Jenny's face stiffened somewhat.

She suddenly realized that this newly acquainted friend of theirs might not be entirely normal...

Breaking the awkward atmosphere, Steve asked again, "Your son shouldn't be very old, right? Are we going to pick him up now?"

Xu Wang proudly stated, "My son is eleven years old this year. No need to pick him up, he's sitting right next to you."

With that, Xu Wang looked at Jason through the rearview mirror and instructed, "Jason, say hello to your aunt and uncle. Be polite now, they even held you when you were little."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Steve and Jenny felt their entire faces go numb!

The two of them stiffly turned their necks, looked up, and locked eyes with Jason, who stood two meters tall and possessed a bear-like, robust physique.

"He's fucking eleven years old?!!"