Chapter 55

Chapter 55

To thwart the surgery, the first step was to locate the person.

Lin Juan got straight to the point: "Where is the surgery taking place? We'll wait there."

"Sir, once the surgery is completed, we will return the patient to their room. You can wait here," the nurse said, her seemingly gentle tone laced with hidden malice.

Unsure of how this iteration of events would unfold, Lin Juan turned to Granny Gong Siyuan: "Granny, you're also worried about your grandson. Shouldn't she be allowed to—"

"Yes, yes, Xiaoyuan is my only family left. I can’t rest easy if I don’t see him," Granny Gong Siyuan interjected. "Nurse, don’t worry. Mr. Lin and I will just wait outside. We won't do anything else. I just want to be there when Xiaoyuan comes out of the operating room."

"Well..." The nurse had flatly refused Lin Juan, but when it came to Granny Gong Siyuan, she couldn't be so dismissive.

Lin Juan recalled that the pollutants, whether at the school or the hospital, had repeatedly mentioned "rules." It seemed all pollutants within this domain had to abide by them.

They had rejected Lin Juan because his presence fell outside the established rules. Granny Gong Siyuan, however, was an authentic part of past events and thus within the rules. Even if they wanted to refuse her, they had to provide a valid, rule-based reason.

A grandmother wanting to wait outside the operating room out of concern for her grandson aligned with the rules, leaving the nurse unable to refuse.

After a moment of thought, finding no valid reason to deny the request, the nurse reluctantly led them to the operating room.

The operating room was a familiar sight.

Lin Juan and Granny Gong Siyuan sat on chairs outside, waiting.

Lin Juan had already earned Granny Gong's complete trust. Carefully considering his current role, he asked her a few questions in an appropriate tone.

Granny Gong Siyuan, completely open with him, answered each one.

From her, Lin Juan learned that Gong Siyuan had been diagnosed just a week ago.

"Our family has no money, and we couldn’t afford surgery at a big hospital," she explained. "A kind neighbor recommended Cherish Clinic, saying it was good—low cost, skilled doctors, and they could cure Xiaoyuan’s illness."

"I asked around, and treating this illness at other hospitals would cost hundreds of thousands, even millions. Here, it’s only a few tens of thousands. I could manage to scrape together that amount with some effort. If I had known earlier that Mr. Lin’s company offered financial support, I might not have been so quick to bring Xiaoyuan here for treatment."

The medical conditions at a major hospital would undoubtedly be better, with a higher success rate for surgeries.

Granny Gong Siyuan regretted making such a hasty decision.

"Originally, the doctor said the surgery would have to wait a few days because they needed to do a physical evaluation. But after Mr. Lin arrived, I wondered if we should transfer Xiaoyuan to another hospital. I never expected they’d proceed with the surgery so suddenly."

Granny Gong Siyuan may not have been formally educated, but she was far from naive. The sudden advancement of the surgery raised her suspicions. "Mr. Lin, why do you think they moved the surgery up? When I left the room this morning, Xiaoyuan was fine. How did he suddenly become so critical that he needed emergency surgery?"

"Perhaps the doctors have their reasons," Lin Juan speculated, thinking it might be due to his presence. He looked up at the tightly shut operating room doors.

The words "Surgery in Progress" blazed brightly in red.

Should he barge in directly?

Was there still time?

How long had the surgery been going on? Based on the outcome of the previous timeline, Lin Juan deduced that to end this timeline, he needed to achieve an outcome that satisfied Gong Siyuan.

Now that the surgery had already begun, what if he intervened mid-surgery...

Would it still be in time if he waited until the surgery ended?

Within just a few minutes, the light above the operating room went out.

The doors slowly opened, and a doctor wheeled out a gurney covered with a white sheet. The lead doctor apologized, "We’re very sorry. We did everything we could."

Granny Gong Siyuan’s eyes widened in disbelief. She rushed forward but stopped a short distance from the gurney, tears streaming down her face as she choked out, "How could this happen?"

Black mist enveloped the area, and two large black letters—"BE"—hovered in the air. Lin Juan twitched his lips, never expecting that in this timeline, Gong Siyuan would die due to a surgical accident.

For the third time, Lin Juan found himself standing in the hospital lobby. This time, he didn’t approach Granny Gong Siyuan. Instead, relying on his memory, he went straight to the operating room.

He hurried as fast as he could, arriving to find the operating room doors tightly shut—the surgery had already begun.

Without hesitation, Lin Juan kicked the doors open.

With a loud crash, the doors flew inward, slamming into a giant mantis-like monster and crushing it against the wall.

Lizard-men, fish-headed humanoids, and other monstrous forms of doctors surrounded the operating table, momentarily stunned by the sudden noise.

Lin Juan swiftly moved forward, tearing off the restraints binding Gong Siyuan.

He glanced down—thankfully, he had arrived in time. These "doctors" hadn’t had a chance to begin.

Gong Siyuan, under anesthesia, showed no reaction to the outside world. Lin Juan hoisted him over one shoulder and swept his leg out, sending the stunned doctor-monsters flying.

The monsters, embedded in the walls, roared in fury, "Rule-breakers must die!"

Lin Juan, already at the operating room entrance, paused and glanced back. "Oh? Is that all you’ve got?"

The disdain in his tone was unmistakable, infuriating the monsters. They struggled violently, trying to free themselves from the walls, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t break loose.

After taunting the monsters, Lin Juan dashed out, carrying Gong Siyuan.

Suddenly, the entire building began to tremble.

It was as if something was trying to claw its way out from beneath the building, causing it to tilt to one side.

Had this building also become a supernatural entity?

Remembering the school that had also turned into a monster, Lin Juan scanned his surroundings, searching for the entity’s physical form.

The most obvious weak point on the school-turned-monster had been its green eyes. What would it be here?

Even with his burden, Lin Juan's movements were unimpeded.

He leaped from the second floor, light as a butterfly, landing gracefully on the ground.

Pollutants—doctors, nurses, and patients who had mutated—chased after him relentlessly. A single pollutant was weak and easy to handle, but when they numbered in the thousands, gathering into an overwhelming force, the situation became dire.

With Gong Siyuan on his shoulder, Lin Juan’s mobility was limited. No matter how many pollutants he eliminated, new ones emerged. As long as the domain existed, the pollutants were endless.

It seemed the only solution was to find the weak point directly.

But what could it be?

Lin Juan rushed into the room where Gong Siyuan had been staying, shutting the door behind him. The horde of pollutants was locked outside, their sharp claws scratching against the wooden door, producing an earsplitting sound.

He laid Gong Siyuan on the bed and patted his face. "Gong Siyuan, wake up!"

Gong Siyuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze shifting from confusion to clarity. He stared warily at the handsome young man with long hair. "Who are you?"

"I'm here to rescue you," Lin Juan looked at him intently. "I saved you from the operating room. Now there are monsters everywhere outside, hunting us. I can't find the way out of Cherish Clinic. Can you show me the way?"

There was too much to process, leaving Gong Siyuan unsure whether to be shocked that this lean-looking young man had rescued him from the operating room or to be stunned by the claim that monsters were outside.

"How could there be monsters?" Gong Siyuan asked, puzzled. "In a hospital, shouldn't there be people? Doctors, nurses, patients, and so on."

As his words faded, the scratching sounds ceased. Outside, the swarm of twisted figures, under some unknown influence, transformed back into human shapes.

Knocking replaced the scratching: "It's time for rounds. We're coming in now."

Gong Siyuan shrank back, hugging himself and retreating further into the bed.

Lin Juan was deep in thought, gazing toward the door.

It seemed the conscious Gong Siyuan's will was the dominant force in this hospital.

"Don't be afraid," Lin Juan gave him a reassuring pat through the blanket. "Think carefully—is it really time for rounds? I pulled you out of the operating room. By rights, there shouldn't be any patients in the ward right now. If there are no patients, what are they coming to check?"

"Oh," Gong Siyuan's eyes gradually brightened, murmuring, "It's not time for rounds. They shouldn't be here."

The noises outside cut off abruptly.

Lin Juan walked to the door, opened it a crack, and peeked out cautiously.

The earlier tremors had stopped. Whatever was about to burst from the ground had halted midway, leaving the entire hospital tilted at an unnatural angle. Outside the door, there was nothing.

The pollutants were gone. The doctors and nurses had disappeared too. The hallway was deserted, no different from when Lin Juan first entered Cherish Clinic.

Closing the door, Lin Juan turned back and saw Gong Siyuan had emerged from under the blanket.

Lin Juan decided to go along with how things were unfolding: "Classmate Gong, wasn't your surgery scheduled for later? Why was it moved up?"

"How did you know?" Gong Siyuan couldn't bring himself to feel suspicious of the long-haired young man, though he was certain he'd never met him before. Yet his inexplicable trust felt genuine.

It was as if, with this young man around, he had nothing to worry about—no matter what happened, the young man would handle it perfectly.

He buried these feelings deep down, maintaining a guarded front on the surface, though he knew inwardly he couldn't summon any real caution toward the young man.

Lin Juan was prepared and mentioned Gong Siyuan's grandmother: "Your grandmother told me. She went to withdraw money for your medical fees and might be delayed. She was worried about you and asked me to check on you."

"Good thing I came, or you'd have undergone surgery for no reason." Lin Juan needed to understand what was really happening with Gong Siyuan's surgery and steered the conversation back.

"Yeah, thankfully you arrived in time." Gong Siyuan shivered at the thought of what almost happened.

"Have the doctors here ever secretly taken you for surgery before? What's your treatment here supposed to be?"

"Treatment…" Gong Siyuan shuddered at the recollection, his voice suddenly growing agitated and sharp. "They're frauds! There's never been any treatment! They want to take my organs—my heart, my liver, my kidneys… every valuable part of my body!"

All the pieces clicked into place. Lin Juan saw the full picture now.

Ten years ago, a boy who depended only on his grandmother had drawn the attention of an organ trafficking ring.

They bribed the doctors at Cherish Clinic, under the guise of free student check-ups, to obtain Gong Siyuan's physical data.

He was healthy—an ideal donor candidate.

Moreover, Gong Siyuan’s heart was a match for the only son of one of their biggest clients.

If they saved the only son of their wealthy client, they would undoubtedly receive a handsome reward.

Driven by profit, they took action.

They meticulously crafted a lie, cutting short a life that should have flourished.

Step by step, they set their trap, and the unsuspecting Gong Siyuan walked into it like a lamb led to slaughter.

The money for Gong Siyuan's education had always come from his grandmother's farming and collecting recyclables, as well as his own odd jobs—barely enough to cover basic living expenses. The family had no savings at all.

A medical report hit this struggling family like a bolt from the blue.

Gong Siyuan's grandmother tried everything but still couldn't raise enough money.

For them, it was an astronomical sum.

Gong Siyuan decided to stop treatment. He had looked it up and knew that even spending a fortune on it, this illness might not be cured.

His grandmother refused to give up. Perhaps out of pity for their plight, someone showed them a way out.

Believing they'd found salvation, Gong Siyuan and his grandmother had no idea it was actually a path to hell.

They were brought to Cherish Clinic to participate in a special support program.

Medical fees could be paid after the treatment was completed.

When he arrived, Gong Siyuan underwent various tests. The doctor said his test results were excellent and very suitable for their current clinical trial.

At that time, Gong Siyuan was filled with hope.

The higher his hopes, the harder the fall when the truth came out.

Initially, the doctor didn’t reveal his true intentions. He conducted various tests on Gong Siyuan, supposedly for diagnosis, but actually for organ matching. Daily IV drips and nutrient injections were administered with all the appearances of professionalism.

The doctor claimed that the mass in Gong Siyuan’s abdomen was large and required several rounds of chemotherapy first.

After repeated "chemotherapy" sessions, Gong Siyuan’s health deteriorated further, making him appear increasingly ill.

Three weeks later, Gong Siyuan underwent his first surgery.

They removed one of his kidneys.

Naturally, his health declined further.

But the doctor insisted the surgery was successful and that Gong Siyuan just needed time to recover before he could be discharged.

Despite constant discomfort and extreme fatigue, Gong Siyuan still held onto hope.

He discussed his future plans with his attending physician: after discharge, he wanted to return to school. The college entrance exams were approaching, and he hoped to take them, even if his results weren’t ideal—he didn’t want to live with regrets.

Gong Siyuan picked up his books again, doing practice problems whenever he felt a bit better.

His favorite routine was sitting by the hospital window, studying and occasionally looking up to see the blue sky outside.

For Gong Siyuan, that period was full of hope for what lay ahead, even as his body grew increasingly unwell.

Everything came to an end during a follow-up examination.

Gong Siyuan was given the devastating news that his illness had relapsed.

The doctor urgently arranged for a second surgery.

Gong Siyuan couldn't comprehend it. The first surgery had clearly been so successful, and he had seen the report himself—the tumor was completely gone. How could it suddenly recur?

How could it have come back so soon?

The doctor pointed to the shadow on the report and regretfully told him that it had indeed recurred.

Gong Siyuan felt dizzy, his vision swimming.

He couldn’t accept this outcome.

He had already made plans: after being discharged, he would return to school to study for a month and then take the college entrance exam. How could it have recurred?

Gong Siyuan didn’t want to go through another surgery.

Ever since the first surgery, his abdomen hadn't stopped hurting, as if something vital was missing inside him, especially on the left side, where sharp pains would occasionally flare up.

As Gong Siyuan’s condition worsened, the doctor told them gravely that a second surgery was necessary as soon as possible. Otherwise, the mass in his abdomen would continue to grow, and the risks of the surgery would increase.

Gong Siyuan’s body couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

The doctor wasn’t lying—Gong Siyuan’s body truly couldn’t wait, not because the illness had recurred, but because the removal of his kidney had led to an infection. Any further delay would risk damage to his other organs.

The organ trafficking ring wanted to make one last big score.

As expected, Gong Siyuan never made it off the operating table again.

His life was ended by the greed of evil people.

When did Gong Siyuan learn the truth?

Perhaps heaven couldn’t bear to see him die in ignorance, or perhaps his will to survive outweighed everything else. As his organs were being harvested, Gong Siyuan was jolted awake by the excruciating pain.

He was under anesthesia, his limbs restrained, lying on the operating table, fully conscious yet powerless to stop the torture.

He felt the cold instruments enter his abdominal cavity, severing connections, and his organs being removed, one by one…

His soul detached from his body, floating above, witnessing the torture inflicted upon himself.

He overheard the doctors’ conversation.

“You should be content. Just that heart alone will make us a fortune.”

“True, the rest are just bonuses.”

“How are things on their end?”

“Everything’s ready. Once we retrieve the heart, it’ll be a straightforward exchange—money for the goods.”

“What a profit—ten million for a single heart.”

“Stop chatting and focus. Be careful, no mistakes. This is a ten-million-yuan heart we’re dealing with.”

They discussed the organs inside his body as if they were mere commodities on a shelf.

Suddenly learning the truth, rage flooded Gong Siyuan’s mind. The scene before him twisted and distorted. The doctors in their green sterile gowns began to mutate, growing countless foreign appendages on their bodies.

You like taking things that don’t belong to you, don’t you?

Well then,

I’ll give them all to you!

Overwhelmed by malice, Gong Siyuan died gradually, consumed by a twisted sense of satisfaction.

Ten years ago, no strange incidents were reported at Cherish Clinic. The evildoers faced no retribution. They profited handsomely from Gong Siyuan’s organs, washed their hands of the business, and lived wealthy lives.

This unspeakable crime was swept under the rug of time until today, when Lin Juan unearthed it from the depths of obscurity.

As mist enveloped everything, Lin Juan opened his eyes again and found himself back in the familiar operating room.

The lights in the operating room were bright. Gong Siyuan sat on the operating table with his knees drawn up, completely different from how he had appeared before.

There was no shyness, timidity, or fear… All the negative emotions that had once defined him as human were gone, leaving only a hollow shell that barely maintained Gong Siyuan’s appearance.

Lin Juan looked at the young man, who had clearly regained his memories, with complex emotions in his eyes.

Gong Siyuan’s experiences aligned closely with his own deductions. In fact, he had hoped many times that his speculations were wrong, because such a past was too cruel for a high school student.

“What else does Mr. Lin want to know?”

Having recovered all his memories, Gong Siyuan was cold and emotionless, giving off an unmistakably inhuman vibe.

“Cherish Clinic isn’t close to Upward Middle School. How did you turn it into your domain?” Even though Lin Juan knew Gong Siyuan’s past was worthy of sympathy, he didn’t forget that Gong Siyuan was now an anomaly and remained on guard.

“Because my eyeball is there,” Gong Siyuan tilted his head and smiled. “Those people, afraid their crimes would be discovered, dismembered my body and scattered the pieces. Wherever my body parts are, they can become my domain.”

“So, besides Upward Middle School, there are other places with your domains?” Lin Juan frowned. This was troublesome. Would he have to find and destroy each domain one by one?

“What happened to your eyes?” Lin Juan snapped back to attention and suddenly realized that Gong Siyuan hadn’t opened his eyes since regaining his memories.

Gong Siyuan opened his eyes. Beneath his eyelids, there were no eyeballs—only two black hollows. “My eyeballs were destroyed by Mr. Lin.”

Noticing the complex expression on Shi Haochen’s face, Gong Siyuan’s smile widened. “Thanks to those people, I am now incredibly powerful.”

“The feeling of having absolute power is truly wonderful,” Gong Siyuan marvelled.

“I can recreate everything from back then, over and over again. I can watch those people turn into monsters, struggle grotesquely, and beg for mercy on their knees. I can do everything I once wished to do.”

“If I want to study, I can turn my former school into a domain and only admit the top-performing students. Speaking of which, they should thank me. After all these days of intensive tutoring, their grades must have improved quite a bit, right?”

Hearing this, Shi Haochen’s feelings grew even more complicated. His grades had indeed improved significantly. Although he’d had some unpleasant experiences at school, the benefits were undeniable.

“I remember you,” Gong Siyuan tilted his head, his hollow eyes “looking” at Shi Haochen. “You’re the only one in the class who got in through monetary influence. So, was my intensive tutoring worth the sponsorship your father gave the school?”

Shi Haochen had never before felt that there was anything wrong with using his family’s wealth to secure a spot in the elite class. After all, the number of spots in Upward Middle School’s elite class wasn’t fixed—his admission didn’t replace anyone but simply added one more student. Yet, under the gaze of Gong Siyuan’s empty eyes, he felt a wave of shame.

Negative emotions quickly swelled, enveloping him. Shi Haochen hung his head lower and lower, not daring to look at Captain Sheng, who had high expectations of him, and even less daring to meet Lin Juan’s gaze.

What would Lin Ge think of me?

Would he despise me?

If Lin Juan knew what he was thinking at that moment, he would definitely say, “Kid, you’re overthinking it.” But he didn’t know, because his attention wasn’t on him.

“If you truly had the students’ best interests at heart, why trap them here?” Lin Juan stared directly at Gong Siyuan. “You talk so nobly, but you’re keeping them hidden here for your own selfish desires, aren’t you?”

Since when do supernatural beings do good deeds?

Lin Juan wasn't that naive—he didn't buy it.

Gong Siyuan had trapped the top-performing students of Upward Middle School here with a hidden agenda.

"Let me guess—those people stole your organs, and now you want to find a perfect set of organs for yourself?"

Ignoring Gong Siyuan’s suddenly dark expression, Lin Juan continued, "These high-achieving students are your spare parts bank, aren’t they?"

Hearing Lin Juan’s words, Shi Haochen forgot his shame and looked up in shock. "Brother Lin, no way?!"

"Otherwise, did you really think it was that nice, opening a special class just to help improve your grades?" Lin Juan shook his head. "Cram schools at least want money. What does it want?"

Shi Haochen couldn’t answer.

In just a few minutes, his whole world had been turned upside down. He suddenly felt that he was still too young and inexperienced. If Lin Juan hadn’t pointed it out, he would have genuinely believed Gong Siyuan was doing a good deed.

"Then, Brother Lin, why did it want to improve our grades?" Shi Haochen couldn’t understand. If they were just backup organs, why force them to attend classes every day?

"He probably takes pride in his own academic achievements," Lin Juan recalled that in the materials Director Liu provided about Gong Siyuan, it was emphasized that he had once been an exceptional student. "Maybe it believes that only the organs of high-achieving students are worthy of its current status."

"Even supernatural beings discriminate based on grades?" Shi Haochen couldn't help but complain.

The key wasn’t just the discrimination—it bent over backwards to boost their grades. Shi Haochen truly couldn’t grasp the logic of the supernatural being Gong Siyuan.

And also...

"Isn’t it already a supernatural being? Can supernatural beings even use human organs? Human organ transplants between humans already cause rejection—wouldn’t transplanting human organs into a supernatural being cause even greater rejection?"

"That’s crossing species lines!"

Sheng Tianzong opened his mouth to say something but noticed Gong Siyuan seemed to be seriously thinking it over, so he closed it again.

Gong Siyuan murmured, "Rejection... How did I overlook rejection? I should have done compatibility tests first..."

Lin Juan and the other two: "..."

Wait, why are you taking this seriously?!