Chapter 54

Chapter 54

"Breaking the rules, damn you!" The snake-headed monster hissed, flicking its long tongue as it lunged again.

Lin Juan dodged left and right, carrying Gong Siyuan from the hospital bed.

He wasn’t using his full strength—partly to give Shi Haochen a chance to train, and partly because he harbored many questions about this ward, the doctor and nurse contaminants within it, and Gong Siyuan, who appeared harmless and victimized.

Shi Haochen conjured his shadow, which shifted into various forms as it battled the doctor contaminant.

Noticing the effectiveness of the doctor contaminant’s tendrils, Shi Haochen quickly adapted, shaping his shadow into a similar form. From a distance, it looked like two colossal arthropod creatures locked in combat.

When Sheng Tianzong arrived, this was the scene that greeted him.

Recognizing one of the monstrous arthropods as his student, Sheng Tianzong’s lip twitched.

Seeing that Shi Haochen was holding his own, Sheng Tianzong didn’t rush to intervene. Instead, he turned to Lin Juan.

Based on his understanding of Lin Juan’s abilities, Sheng Tianzong could tell at a glance that Lin Juan was holding back.

Though he appeared to be struggling to dodge, every move was actually precise and controlled. It was less that the nurse contaminant was relentlessly attacking them, and more that Lin Juan was orchestrating how the nurse contaminant attacked him.

"Captain Sheng, help us!" Shi Haochen shouted when he spotted Sheng Tianzong during the fight.

After exchanging a glance with Lin Juan, Sheng Tianzong entered the fray.

With his help, Lin Juan quickly dispatched the nurse contaminant.

Sheng Tianzong surveyed the room. "We can’t stay here."

If one contaminant had appeared, it was highly probable that a second, a third, and more would follow.

Lin Juan also intended to leave.

Shi Haochen had finished his fight as well, having impaled the doctor contaminant with his shadow. The large arthropod-like contaminant deflated like a punctured balloon.

Shi Haochen poked it with his shadow-made rod, confirming that the doctor contaminant was truly lifeless, then relaxed his tense nerves.

The doctor contaminant was low-level, so it wasn’t difficult to handle. Sheng Tianzong and Lin Juan had stayed out of it, as Shi Haochen was perfectly capable on his own.

Having independently defeated a contaminant for the first time, Shi Haochen lifted his head excitedly. "Brother Lin, Captain Sheng, I defeated the doctor-turned-contaminant!"

He didn’t say it outright, but his expression clearly pleaded for praise.

"Not bad," Lin Juan encouraged him. "Keep up the good work."

"I will!" Shi Haochen clenched his fist, all doubt forgotten.

After the fight, the ward was a mess, covered in slime left by the contaminants and uninhabitable. Lin Juan turned to the silent young man. "Are you okay?"

Shi Haochen also remembered the patient of special importance.

Acting like a genuine classmate visiting, he approached without showing any strangeness. "How are you feeling now? Should we call a doctor—"

He cut himself off, realizing the absurdity. The clinic was bizarre, with doctors and nurses turning into monsters—how could they possibly provide medical care?

He hesitated, speechless.

"I’m fine," Gong Siyuan said, as if coming to his senses. He was very weak, each word requiring great effort.

Wanting to gather information from Gong Siyuan, Shi Haochen helped him sit on the edge of the bed. "It’s a bit messy here, but bear with it for now. We’ll find you a clean place to stay later."

Shi Haochen was naturally skilled at making friends—he had plenty at school—and soon, Gong Siyuan let his guard down and began talking about himself.

Gong Siyuan had been diagnosed with cancer just before the *gaokao*. It was as if his health failed overnight. After chemotherapy, he could no longer attend school normally and had to stay in the hospital for treatment.

Lin Juan and Sheng Tianzong listened nearby, comparing notes.

Unlike Lin Juan’s experience, when Sheng Tianzong and his team entered the hospital, they first encountered a dense fog. In the fog, everyone got separated. When it cleared, Sheng Tianzong found himself in what seemed like a normal Cherish Clinic.

"As I made my way through, I saw many nurses and family members pushing patients. It didn’t feel abandoned at all—more like a normally functioning hospital."

But how could that be?

Based on their investigations, the Cherish Clinic had been abandoned for years. Rather than a normal hospital, Sheng Tianzong suspected he had entered an anomalous domain.

They had no experience dealing with Class A or higher anomalies. Zhuang Yufeng, through his "Precognitive Dream," had provided some precautions and coping methods. The most direct way to escape the domain was to find and destroy the anomaly creating it.

Once the anomaly was destroyed, the domain would collapse.

Everyone knew it wouldn’t be easy.

Aside from the raw power of a Class A anomaly, simply being inside the domain would expose them to various negative effects.

Within the domain, their own strength would be weakened, while the enemy’s power would be amplified, significantly increasing the difficulty of the fight.

"The doctors, nurses, family members, and patients outside—as long as you don’t disrupt their routines, they appear normal. But once their patterns are broken, they go berserk, instantly transforming into aggressive contaminants."

Sheng Tianzong recounted the clues he had gathered.

Lin Juan nodded slightly. "Just like what we encountered earlier."

"Exactly," Sheng Tianzong said, glancing at the two teenagers talking together. "Is that young man in the ward the key to solving this situation?"

Lin Juan didn’t deny it. At the moment, Gong Siyuan seemed completely normal—a frail, terminally ill patient, appearing vulnerable and harmless, very much like a victim.

They heard Gong Siyuan’s voice.

"A nurse comes to check on me every half hour, and a doctor comes every two hours. It won’t be long before a new nurse arrives for rounds."

Gong Siyuan’s voice was faint, and he had to stop to rest after each sentence. As he continued, fear flashed in his eyes. "They’ll be here soon!"

What had Gong Siyuan experienced? Why was he so terrified?

What had those doctors and nurses done to him?

After leaving the school, Lin Juan had reported about the special files in the archives to Director Liu, who sent someone to investigate. It turned out that there had indeed been a student named Gong Siyuan at Xiangshang Center, but he had dropped out due to illness before the *gaokao*.

Gong Siyuan had excellent grades. Teachers who remembered him expressed regret, telling investigators that if not for his sudden illness, he likely would have been admitted to a prestigious university.

A sudden illness had taken away his health and his future.

Before taking action, Lin Juan had learned about Gong Siyuan’s background from Director Liu. He came from an ordinary family and lived with his elderly grandmother. Besides studying, he worked part-time jobs to support the household. According to the investigation, there was nothing particularly unusual about his life.

After his death, his elderly grandmother, unable to bear the loss, passed away soon after. Just like that, a family quietly vanished from the world.

*Knock, knock.*

Sure enough, not long after Gong Siyuan spoke, the ward door, which had somehow closed, was knocked upon.

Gong Siyuan flinched unconsciously: "I don't want treatment anymore, it's too painful."

His voice was barely a whisper. Shi Haochen, being close to him, could clearly hear the resistance and fear lacing his voice.

The person outside the ward clearly didn’t expect a response from inside; the knock was merely a warning before the door swung open.

Gong Siyuan curled up, listening as the footsteps drew nearer, his fear peaking.

Just the sound of footsteps already sent a deep pain that chilled his bones and pierced his soul surging from within his body.

It felt as though his soul was being mercilessly cut open by cold, clinical instruments, with them extracting whatever they wanted from it, leaving him to struggle and suffer.

Gong Siyuan’s face grew increasingly pale. He bit his lip hard until crimson blood seeped out, becoming the only color on his ghostly pale face.

The entering doctor and nurse moved like robots running on fixed programs. They seemed oblivious to the fallen contaminated doctor and nurse on the floor, ignored Lin Juan’s two companions, disregarded the mucus-splattered walls and floors, forcibly uncurled the boy’s body, secured him to a mobile hospital bed, and wheeled him out.

Shi Haochen couldn’t stand to see someone suffer and immediately tried to intervene.

But this time, his hand passed right through the doctor’s body. Visually, the doctors and nurses seemed to share the same space, but upon touch, they had no physical form—they were merely intangible illusions.

"What’s going on?" Shi Haochen, not buying it, tried grabbing again, even using his superpower 【Shadow】, but his attempts passed through the illusions without making contact.

Lin Juan mused, "Let’s follow and see."

They followed closely behind the doctors and nurses pushing the mobile bed. Along the way, they encountered many other doctors, nurses, and patients.

"Something’s wrong," Sheng Tianzong sensed an intense malevolent energy.

"Tap."

The fall of a footstep seemed to flip some kind of switch. The previously busy doctors, nurses, and patients halted their actions, fixating their gaze directly on them.

Their eyes turned blood-red, bodies twisted, heads spun 180 degrees, and they dropped to all fours, scrambling toward them rapidly like animals.

"Quite a variety of contaminants here," Lin Juan remarked as his 【Forest Cabin】 transformed into a long chain, swinging around to knock away any contaminants trying to approach.

Seeing this, Shi Haochen quickly summoned his own superpower, with the shadow mimicking the form, lashing out in a similar fashion.

Sheng Tianzong watched the two similarly shaped but differently colored long ropes on either side, a vein throbbing at his temple.

In the short time Shi Haochen had been around Lin Juan, Sheng Tianzong wasn’t sure what else he’d picked up, but he’d certainly learned a lot of Lin Juan’s unorthodox methods.

The horde of contaminants swelled, their forms becoming increasingly bizarre. "Forest Cabin" and "Shadow" cleared an unobstructed path for them.

Lin Juan wanted to uncover what exactly the treatment that terrified Gong Siyuan entailed and had no intention of wasting time on these low-level contaminants. Sandwiched between the two, Sheng Tianzong felt a sense of coasting to victory.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the people ahead stopped.

"Isn’t this the operating room we saw earlier?!" Shi Haochen looked up ahead, bad memories flooding back as he struggled to suppress the discomfort welling inside. "I controlled 【Shadow】 to go in earlier and experienced a special surgery inside..."

He composed himself and quickly recounted his experience: "If Gong Siyuan went through a treatment like that, it’s no wonder he’s terrified."

No one could endure being carved open while fully conscious.

It had nothing to do with willpower—it was sheer instinct.

The operating room doors swung open, and the doctors and nurses with blank expressions pushed the bed inside.

Shi Haochen had no wish to go back in, but seeing the bed ahead and thinking of Gong Siyuan, unable to struggle, he gritted his teeth and followed.

When he didn’t know, he could ignore it, but now, knowing what might happen inside, he couldn’t just stand by.

"Brother Lin, I want to save him," Shi Haochen said, turning back after two steps.

He wanted to save Gong Siyuan, and in doing so, free his own trapped self.

His gaze was resolute. Even if Lin Juan and Sheng Tianzong disagreed, even if his efforts might be futile, he was determined to go in.

"Perfect, I was thinking the same," Lin Juan said, striding forward to follow.

What could Sheng Tianzong do? He had no choice but to follow with resignation.

Inside the operating room, the metallic tang of blood filled the air. A single door separated two worlds—inside was hell.

Blood was everywhere, the crimson stain burning into their vision. No matter where they looked, their vision was bathed in red.

The drone of a massive machine echoed. Doctors and nurses surrounded the operating table, their forms now completely inhuman, bodies grotesquely pieced together from various creatures, unfathomably strange.

Their forelimbs held scalpels that had turned into dinner knives and forks. The operating table had become a large dining table, with the boy on it serving as a feast for the monsters.

Shi Haochen used "Shadow," transforming it into a tidal surge that lunged forward.

It met only empty air.

No matter the angle Shi Haochen tried, he couldn’t touch the monsters gathered around the operating table.

"Why won’t it work?"

In his disoriented state, the scene before Shi Haochen shifted. He was no longer an observer—the person on the operating table had become himself.

His body was bound, his chest crushed by an immense weight, rendering him immobile.

The operating table was cold, the chill piercing through his skin into his bones. The light above was bright but offered no warmth. He was stared at by cold, merciless, hungry eyes.

The overhead light transformed into countless greedy gazes.

They looked at him, deciding where to begin.

The soft abdomen, the vibrant internal organs, the firm muscles...

Under the bright light, nothing was hidden.

A cold blade touched his skin, raising gooseflesh.

Am I going to die?

Who am I?

"BANG!!!!"

Just as the knife was about to slice his skin, Shi Haochen heard a deafening crash. The restraints vanished, and he snapped his eyes open, his senses snapping back.

The person on the operating table had never been him.

Lin Juan had already taken action. Shi Haochen turned to see Lin Juan wielding a massive wooden hammer, smashing it down onto the operating table.

Nearby, several monsters lay half-dead, their heads crushed flat.

Shi Haochen was seething with frustration. He used his ability, and "Shadow" surged forth like a tsunami, sweeping down violently.

The entire operating room began to shake.

The overhead light flickered on and off, struggling for a few moments before finally extinguishing completely.

The operating room plunged into darkness.

Lin Juan groped in the dark to untie the ropes binding Gong Siyuan, sensing his trembling, and reassured him, "It's okay now."

Gong Siyuan sat on the bed, hugging his knees, his voice choked up. "Too late... it's too late. You came too late..."

"What does he mean by that?" Shi Haochen asked, confused.

In the darkness, unseen by all, Gong Siyuan’s body was collapsing. Tough, twisted, and intricate tentacles sprouted from him. He dissolved into mud, trampled into dust. In endless agony, he gathered strength, growing the world's toughest shell.

A faint light appeared ahead, growing brighter and brighter. Lin Juan raised a hand to shield his eyes. When his vision adjusted, he found himself in a small alley.

The alley was messy, with a foul smell emanating from the trash cans. Occasionally, a few figures appeared, but Lin Juan couldn’t make out their faces.

Until a young boy appeared.

It was a shy, thin, but fairly healthy Gong Siyuan.

Gong Siyuan was holding something in his arms when a man emerged from a restaurant and shoved him forcefully. The boy fell to the ground, and the contents in his arms scattered everywhere.

Lin Juan saw clearly—they were steamed buns.

The buns rolled on the ground, now dirty.

The man who had pushed the boy raised his hand high, ready to strike, but encountered resistance as he swung down.

Lin Juan pushed back with force. The man was no match for his strength and was shoved backward.

"Are you okay?"

A clear voice came from overhead. The boy, who had closed his eyes waiting for the slap, cautiously opened them.

Backlit, the long-haired youth who had suddenly appeared seemed like a god descending to earth.

Gong Siyuan had never seen anyone so beautiful. He stared blankly, his mouth opening and closing as he stammered, "I... I..." but couldn’t form a single word.

"Your buns seem to be dirty."

Gong Siyuan looked down flustered. "Yes... it’s okay. It doesn’t matter if they’re dirty."

Seeing him look like a frightened little mouse, Lin Juan tsked and turned around.

The sound of footsteps faded away, and an indescribable sense of loss welled up in Gong Siyuan’s heart.

Was he leaving?

He slowly raised his head and unexpectedly met a pair of fawning eyes.

The man who had been so aggressive earlier was now looking at him with an ingratiating expression. "Little classmate, I accidentally knocked your buns over just now. I’ll pay you double for them—no, ten times! I’ll pay you ten times!"

Gong Siyuan was bewildered.

He didn’t understand why the man had changed so suddenly.

Looking up, he saw the youth’s dazzling face.

Lin Juan grabbed the man by the collar. "Apologize properly!"

The man never expected that bullying a kid who never fought back, as he usually did, would attract such a fearsome presence.

The youth possessed unusual strength. He didn’t even know how the youth had done it, but by the time he realized what was happening, he was in severe pain, yet he couldn’t find any visible injuries.

Afraid of being beaten again, the man hurriedly apologized, his attitude extremely polite.

"Sorry, sorry, little classmate. I shouldn’t have pushed you. I was wrong."

The man’s face was contorted in pain, though Gong Siyuan didn’t know why. Frightened, he shrank away.

Lin Juan dragged the man aside.

The man weighed about 160 pounds, but Lin Juan lifted him as if he weighed nothing. The boy watching the scene widened his eyes in shock.

"Go buy some buns," Lin Juan said, releasing him and kindly warning, "Don’t even think about running. I’m pretty fast too."

The man paused, wincing in pain. "Yes, yes, I’ll go buy them right away."

The replacement buns came in a large bundle, freshly steamed and piping hot. Gong Siyuan held them, unsure of what to do.

He looked like a stray puppy suddenly given a treat.

Lin Juan couldn’t resist and ruffled his hair. "Go home. I’ll see you home."

"My home is very shabby," the boy said, looking down sheepishly. "I..."

"I’m just walking you back. The buns will get cold. You brought them for your family, right?"

Thinking of his grandmother waiting at home, the boy fell silent.

Time passed quickly. Except for the moments when Gong Siyuan was being bullied, when time seemed to flow normally, everything else felt as if it were on fast-forward, passing in the blink of an eye.

Lin Juan always appeared precisely near the spots where the boy was being bullied.

Each time, he intervened in time, preventing the boy from being harmed.

Like a fixed NPC.

That day, Lin Juan appeared near Gong Siyuan as usual.

Gong Siyuan had just left the hospital, looking dazed. He didn’t even notice the car heading straight for him. Lin Juan quickly pulled him aside.

With Lin Juan around, his life had improved significantly. At least he didn’t have to worry about being bullied outside school anymore.

Lin Juan taught him to stand up for himself. Lin Juan made him realize that he had the ability to protect himself against bullies. Visibly, he became more confident, his mental state improved, and he smiled more often.

Gong Siyuan couldn’t understand why it had to be him.

Everything was getting better. He had met a youth who was both a teacher and a friend. He had friends, hopes for the future. But all his dreams and aspirations turned to dust under the weight of that flimsy medical report.

At this moment, Gong Siyuan seemed in even worse shape than when Lin Juan first met him.

"What’s wrong? Did something happen? Is someone bullying you again?"

"No, no one is bullying me," Gong Siyuan wanted to smile, but his smile looked more like a grimace. "Really, no one."

Lin Juan knew something must have happened to him.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Juan ventured cautiously, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Gong Siyuan stiffened and averted his gaze as if trying to escape. "No."

"Don’t lie to me. I hate being deceived the most." Judging by his reaction, Lin Juan guessed that this might be the time when Gong Siyuan was diagnosed with an illness.

"I..." Gong Siyuan trembled all over, "I have a terminal illness. They said there’s something bad growing inside me that needs to be removed. They said it’s already quite large and I need surgery as soon as possible. I don’t know what to do..."

"Don’t be afraid. I’m here."

Those words alone acted as a stabilizing force in Gong Siyuan’s heart. Instantly, his fear vanished. It felt as though with Lin Juan by his side, there was nothing to fear—just like every time before, any difficulty Lin Juan could easily resolve.

"Let me take you to a major hospital for a check-up. The hospitals here are small, and the results may not be accurate."

Did Gong Siyuan really have a terminal illness?

Lin Juan remained skeptical.

Recalling the scenes he had seen in the vision, Lin Juan suspected there might be more to Gong Siyuan’s illness.

Lin Juan took Gong Siyuan to the largest hospital in the capital for an examination. The results came back showing nothing seriously wrong with Gong Siyuan’s health aside from some malnutrition. The claim that there was "something bad growing" turned out to be complete nonsense.

Holding the medical report, Gong Siyuan stood under the sunlight as if given a new lease on life.

He looked at Lin Juan, his eyes once again filled with hope.

In this timeline, Lin Juan watched in fast-forward as Gong Siyuan gained admission to the capital's university. During his studies, he excelled academically, won numerous competitions, received substantial scholarships, and brought his Grandma to live in the city center early on, leading a happy and prosperous life.

"If only all of this were real..."

A wave of disorientation washed over Lin Juan. When he came to, he found himself back in the familiar hospital.

An elderly woman took out crumpled bills from her pocket and carefully placed them on the front desk. "Doctor, is this enough for Xiao Yuan’s surgery?"

Lin Juan walked over. "Grandma, are you referring to Gong Siyuan?"

"Yes," the old woman turned around, her face bearing the weathered marks of time. "And you are...?"

"My surname is Lin. I’m a benefactor for Gong Siyuan’s education. I heard he was sick and came to check on him." Lin Juan gathered the scattered change on the counter and placed it back in the old woman’s hands. "Don’t worry about his medical expenses. We will cover the full cost."

"How can I accept this?" Though she desperately needed the money, the old woman felt terribly guilty about letting someone else pay such a large sum.

"Don’t worry, we are a legitimate charity organization." Coincidentally, Lin Juan had connections with the Lu family’s charity foundation, which made his explanation convincing.

After reassuring Gong Siyuan’s Grandma, Lin Juan accompanied her to the hospital room.

He intended to use the same method as before—taking Gong Siyuan directly from the hospital to a major medical center for a check-up, which would confirm that he was not ill.

This time, however, he didn’t succeed.

When Lin Juan and Gong Siyuan’s Grandma arrived at the room, it was empty. A nurse informed them that an emergency situation arose, and Gong Siyuan had already been taken to the operating room.

"Why was he taken directly to surgery?" Gong Siyuan’s Grandma asked, bewildered. "We haven’t even paid yet."

The nurse gave Lin Juan a meaningful glance. "This gentleman has already taken care of the payment."

Lin Juan found it ironic—so he had inadvertently become the driving force behind it all.

In that case, he had no choice but to sabotage this surgery.