Chapter 54.2 – Tongwan Hospital (8)
◎ Did I guess it right? Dr. Fang. ◎
The next day, at the 119 Hospital.
Wearing a tan-colored vest, Song Ke took advantage of the lunch break and started wandering aimlessly like the Mountain King.
She first went to find Xu Xing. The little guy had now moved on from running errands in the eighth-floor pharmacy and had been “promoted” to a zombie cleaner on the thirteenth floor, with the same job as Song Ke. He earned a net of 180 Alliance coins each day.
Even though there were endless zeros in his terminal account, and the work of a volunteer was even more exhausting and grueling, Xu Xing didn’t seem to mind at all. He did the job quite happily.
“Xiao Xing, come over here.”
Song Ke found Xu Xing lazing around at the nurse’s station. He, being a sweet-talking little guy, often won the hearts of the nurses and got stuffed with various snacks in his pockets. So, Song Ke knew exactly why he always burped when he got home.
Seeing Song Ke, Xu Xing’s face lit up, and he skipped over. “Sister, are you looking for me?”
Song Ke nodded. “Yes. Let me sho-show you a tre-treasure.”
The two of them went to an empty corridor, and Song Ke grinned, pulling out an ability measurement device from her spatial storage.
“Let’s play wi-with thi-this.”
“What? Isn’t this what Captain Wu uses to measure abilities?” Xu Xing frowned, remembering his embarrassing past of losing control.
“This one’s ad-advanced,” Song Ke solemnly persuaded him.
Reluctantly, Xu Xing agreed and embraced the instrument, placing his fingers on the measuring port. The lines on the screen went up and down, finally stopping at the B mark, surpassing it by quite a bit.
“Wow, impressive!” Song Ke applauded enthusiastically, giving him face.
“Hehe,” Xu Xing scratched his head and excitedly suggested, “Sister, let’s go find Tao Tao and have her measured too.”
Children will always be children, with their imaginative thoughts.
Equally childish, Song Ke agreed eagerly.
The two of them set off with the measurement device to find Tao Tao.
Tao Tao wasn’t as cooperative as Xu Xing. Seeing the unfamiliar device, she was on high alert, her ears perked up, barking wildly, and her short legs darted around the ward, even releasing her domain, pushing the two of them out several times.
Song Ke was determined and didn’t give up. She engaged in a protracted battle with Tao Tao. Finally catching her, she held down Tao Tao’s paw and placed it in the measuring port. Tao Tao grimaced and whimpered, unable to resist.
The screen lit up again, and colorful lines fluctuated before finally stopping at the C mark.
Song Ke and Xu Xing were amazed.
Tao Tao turned out to be a C-level awakener… Oh no, an awakener dog!
The C-level ability dog Tao Tao displayed her power, releasing her domain once again, catching the two off guard and sending them tumbling.
Beside them, Tao Tao’s mom casually snacked on sunflower seeds, leisurely watching the show with her legs crossed.
“This thing is really useful.
“I was thinking of registering Tao Tao. This makes it easier—just fill in the details.”
“Tao Tao needs to register too?” Xu Xing asked curiously, rubbing the bump on his head.
“Of course! We’re talking about Tao Tao, an awakener, entitled to perks,” Tao Tao’s mom said matter-of-factly.
Song Ke imagined a dog going to get an awakener certificate—it felt a bit surreal.
“Come, have some sunflower seeds,” Tao Tao’s mom enthusiastically invited them, casually shaking the light screen used as a tray for sunflower seed shells.
Song Ke peeked inside and saw medical news—mostly gossip like ‘Tongwan’s Most Handsome Doctor Competition,’ ‘The Heartthrobs of the Medical Field,’ ‘The Gentle Surgeon,’ and the like. Tao Tao’s mom assumed she was interested and pulled Song Ke to sit down, enthusiastically promoting the handsome doctors of Tongwan.
Song Ke glanced a couple of times, forced to listen to half an hour of gossip. The doctors all seemed to have similar faces, but their hands were quite attractive—slender and long with well-defined joints. When they picked up the surgical knife, they exuded a unique elegance.
*
On the other side, Zhuang Qingyan found the time to visit the Tongwan Security Team and met with Zhao Liqiang.
“You want to access the records of all registered awakeners in Tongwan?” Zhao Liqiang was particularly surprised upon learning his intention.
“Yes, and I’d appreciate Captain Zhao’s assistance,” Zhuang Qingyan politely nodded.
These were internal records that Zhuang Qingyan couldn’t access in the hospital’s archives, so he had to ask for Zhao Liqiang’s help.
He was checking these records to confirm his suspicions.
Zhao Liqiang looked puzzled, “Why are you interested in that? There’s not much useful information; it’s mostly just age, place of origin, and the like. Plus, our security team alone has over 200 people, not to mention the outsiders. Tongwan has over 500 registered awakeners, right?”
Zhuang Qingyan smiled, “It’s not about gathering information. I just want to confirm a few things.”
The records cabinet in the archive room was tall, extending all the way to the ceiling. Different cabinets stored different kinds of records, categorized neatly. All the information could be accessed through the central computer.
After verifying the credentials, Zhao Liqiang led Zhuang Qingyan inside. “I’m sorry, but you can’t take the records out. You’ll have to read them here.”
Zhuang Qingyan showed understanding. “Of course, I’ll try to finish reading them today.”
“Then go ahead and focus on your work. Just let me know when you’re leaving.”
Zhao Liqiang had a lot on his plate and couldn’t afford to waste time accompanying him here.
“Thank you, Captain Zhao.”
After the others left, Zhuang Qingyan brought up the interface of the central computer and quickly started browsing the records, beginning from the earliest registered awakeners before the apocalypse.
*
Luo Shelter.
V587 came to visit the homeless man for the third time.
His condition was hardly any different from a few days ago; the wounds hadn’t worsened and instead showed signs of gradual healing.
This man indeed hadn’t undergone any mutation.
Though not mutated, after several days of relentless efforts, he was on the verge of self-destruction, emaciated with shallow breathing. Just from his unkempt appearance, he looked even more like a zombie than a zombie itself.
Reluctantly, Xu Xing took two steps forward, given a significant responsibility.
He crouched in front of the homeless man, raising his innocent and cheerful face, his voice soft, “Uncle, would you like something to eat?”
“I have a sandwich, and there are ham sausages, cookies, juice… It’s kiwi juice, really delicious.”
He thought that children could at least somewhat break down the other person’s defenses, but the homeless man remained lying on the ground, unmoving.
Xu Xing was completely ignored, and the curly hair on top of his head tilted unwillingly. Suppressing his frustration, he continued to persuade, “Uncle, if you encounter any difficulties, you can tell my sister. She’s really nice, and we can help you.”
The homeless man slowly turned his head, leaning towards the other side, seeming to find Xu Xing annoying, and waved his hand like shooing away a fly.
Xu Xing held back for a moment, then couldn’t hold it anymore and shouted, “Hey! Why are you such a dog?”
Calling you a dog is an insult to Tao Tao. You’re even worse than a dog! At least dogs react! Can’t you say something?
This time the homeless man reacted; he made a faint “hmph” sound from his nose.
Xu Xing threw the bread and juice, almost exploding with frustration, his irritable nature exposed. “I’m talking to you, can’t you have some sense? You’re this old, is it interesting to seek death? Can’t you have a bit of dignity?
“Getting on my nerves, you’re getting on my nerves, you bad old man!”
Xu Xing panted heavily, turned around, and saw Song Ke gaping at him, staring blankly. It was the first time she had truly seen him lose his composure.
Xu Xing: QAQ
Oops, forgot that big sister was right there. Sob, sob.
Defeated, Xu Xing stepped back, and Zhuang Qingyan’s wheelchair stopped in front of the homeless man.
The man didn’t pay any attention, not even bothering to lift his head.
Zhuang Qingyan stroked the patterns on the blanket and spoke in a calm tone.
“You’re not a vagrant.”
“You weren’t born to be this desolate.”
“You were born in Tongwan, a renowned city of medicine. You grew up in a well-off family, with a gentle and considerate personality. You grew up without any illness or worries. You progressed into a respectable and prestigious profession. You once had youthful aspirations and became an outstanding figure in your industry. Your family life was exceptionally happy, and you enjoyed the admiration and envy of others. You lived this way for over thirty years, accustomed to it, until the apocalypse arrived.
“The apocalypse not only destroyed the entire world but shattered you.
“You faced a devastating blow, which can be termed as a catastrophe in your life. From then on, you faltered.
“You abandoned the past glories, relinquished the glamorous identity. You lost beloved family and dear friends. Your life turned into a mess, and you felt helpless, so you could only escape.
“Whether as a drifter or a beggar, you no longer cared about anything, just wanting to die quickly, isn’t that right?”
Song Ke was astonished.
She didn’t know what information Zhuang Qingyan had gathered these days or what preparations he had made. He summarized the first half of this homeless man’s life in just a few simple sentences.
Although the man lying on the ground remained unresponsive, Song Ke distinctly noticed his back tensing, and his fingers curling up.
Right, his fingers.
That was another aspect that caught Song Ke’s attention. She noticed unintentionally that this homeless man had a pair of hands that could be considered works of art. Different from his disheveled appearance, although his fingers were stained and dirty, filled with grime, the bone structure, as well as the lines of the joints, were the most exquisite she had ever seen.
“You wanted to die, but you couldn’t easily die because you had awakened.”
Zhuang Qingyan seemed like the most merciless judge, delivering each word with cold, ruthless sentencing.
In a deathly silence, the homeless man’s breath gradually quickened.
“Do you know how I figured out that you’re an awakener?
“There are many ways for a person to die. The simplest is to be bitten by a zombie. Why didn’t you do that?
“You knew clearly that you couldn’t die because you had tried it long ago.
“You tried but couldn’t succeed. So you became even more despondent, resorting to the foolish method of starving yourself.
“Or more directly, you let someone shoot you dead.”
Zhuang Qingyan took out the ability measuring device from his space.
He wrapped a tissue around his hand and forcibly placed the homeless man’s hand on the measurement port. The homeless man had been fasting for several days and couldn’t resist at all.
“Dididi—”
The lines on the screen fluctuated violently, and the scale quickly rose to A.
Song Ke：”！！！”
No way, this person was actually an A-level awakener?!
Nowadays, you can pick up a homeless person on the street casually, and they’re already an A-level awakener? Isn’t it absurd?
The homeless man saw the result and struggled violently, his disheveled hair falling, revealing a half-face with a resentful expression.
Song Ke gasped, she seemed to have seen this face before somewhere, it seemed familiar…
The gossip news that Tao Tao’s mother had watched in the afternoon suddenly flashed in her mind.
“The Gentle Surgeon,” that news, isn’t it about…
“You! Y-y-y-y-you!” Because she was too shocked, Song Ke’s stuttering problem resurfaced, making it even harder for her to speak.
Zhuang Qingyan bent down and stared coldly at the homeless man.
“Did I guess it right? Fang Zhixu?”
“Or should I call you… Dr. Fang?”
