When Song Shi opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on a hospital bed.
The cold liquid from the IV drip slowly flowed into the back of her hand.
A crowd of patients in striped hospital gowns and doctors in white coats milled around her bed.
The noise was overwhelming, with voices from both near and far constantly drilling into her ears.
She felt like a giant container, forced to absorb all the clamoring sounds.
The persistent pain in her back slowly stimulated her nerves, her head throbbed as if it were swollen, and the nausea intensified.
Covering her mouth with her uninjured hand, Song Shi dry-heaved over and over again.
Tears, purely from the physical strain, welled up at the corners of her eyes.
Song Shi wordlessly wiped them away with her sleeve.
“Name: Song Shi. Age: Seventeen. Currently enrolled at Renxi High School. High probability of awakening within the Berserker system. Participated in the stimulation experiment for differentiation a day ago but failed to awaken and was released. Today, while riding the 912 bus at Qingjiao Station, she encountered Lin Hu, a fellow high-probability awakener who was also on bus 912...”
Song Shi lowered her arm and looked toward the source of the voice.
It was two guards dressed in black uniforms. A green screen hovered in front of the male guard, while the female guard stood slightly to his side.
Glancing at the badge numbers on their chests, Song Shi managed to speak with difficulty, “Yes.”
Her throat hurt, and her voice came out as a hoarse rasp.
The female officer walked over to the table, filled a cup with warm water, inserted a straw, and brought it to Song Shi's lips.
Song Shi gave her a grateful look and took a few sips through the straw, which slightly relieved the pain in her throat.
“Why did you act suddenly? The data shows that you haven’t awakened.” The male officer asked, his eyes still on the data displayed on his screen, his question seemingly casual.
Song Shi had originally feared being implicated by Lin Hu and mistaken for an accomplice, but now, facing two officers, she wasn’t entirely honest. She gave a more favorable explanation.
“There were ordinary people on the bus. I was afraid they’d get hurt, so I thought if I controlled the robber first, they could escape.”
Her weak tone and sickly appearance instantly portrayed her as a selfless citizen.
The female officer glanced at her while placing the cup back on the table.
“According to the bus surveillance, Lin Hu’s handgun had only one bullet. His original intent was merely robbery, with no desire for a mutual death scenario. Your actions, however, enraged him, leading him to blow up the bus. The explosion even damaged nearby vehicles. The total property damage from the incident has reached the millions.”
Song Shi listened quietly, her expression unchanged.
“It was my first time in such a situation. Next time, I’ll be like the other passengers, no resistance, just wait for your rescue.”
The male officer didn’t seem to catch any hidden meaning in her words. He continued recording the details without expression.
Once he was done, he put away the screen, looking down at Song Shi.
“You performed well during the bus hijacking. We’ll follow procedures to report it and request a reward for you. Get some rest. Considering the severity of your injuries, we’ve already arranged for a Level D healer to treat you.”
A reward was unexpected for Song Shi.
“Thank you.” Song Shi said, her lips curving slightly.
The male officer didn’t say anything more, leaving quickly, still handling matters on his device as he went. The female officer followed a step behind, but Song Shi called out to her, “Officer, wait.”
The male officer had already left the room, not hearing Song Shi’s voice. The female officer stopped and turned back toward the bed.
“Is something wrong?”
“My money, hiss-” Song Shi tried to lift her wrist where the device was attached, but it tugged at the wound on her back, causing her to gasp in pain.
The female officer understood what she meant and shook her head regretfully.
“We couldn’t recover it. All the money was funneled into the black market in the western suburbs as soon as it entered his account. That place… you know how it is.”
Song Shi barely heard anything else. The words couldn’t recover echoed repeatedly in her mind.
Her money. Her three months’ living expenses.
Her already aching head throbbed even more.
“What’s wrong? Song Shi? Doctor! Doctor!”
Song Shi felt someone shaking her arm and heard someone shouting by her ear, but she couldn’t make out the exact words.
Half-opening her eyes, blurred shadows flashed before her, and someone held her hand.
It was a very warm hand, one that seemed to have magic, transferring warmth from her veins to her back.
The wound, which had been so painful it was almost numb, now began to throb clearly.
The pain seeped out from every pore but was then wrapped in warmth and slowly drawn away from her body.
It felt wonderful.
The furrow in Song Shi’s brow gradually eased.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the pain in her back had completely disappeared, replaced by a tingling sensation.
Song Shi fell asleep amidst that tingling feeling.
She didn’t know how long she slept, but when she woke up, her body felt incredibly light, and her head no longer throbbed.
She finally had the energy to check the lines of text in her mind.
【Pain Tolerance Progress: 6%】
【Counter-Abuse Progress: 4%】
Song Shi suddenly felt a headache.
She’d suffered such severe injuries, yet her pain tolerance value had only increased by 5%. She’d indirectly killed a person, but her counter-abuse value had only gone up by 3%.
She needed both values to reach 100%. Song Shi couldn’t even imagine how many lives she would have to lose.
Taking a deep breath, Song Shi quickly calmed herself.
You always have to look ahead.
She’d only been in this world for less than two days and had already been in three life-threatening situations, barely surviving each time.
In this world, strength was crucial.
No matter how difficult it was, she had to complete the progress.
The system had given her this weak body a chance to awaken, and she couldn’t let it slip away.
Song Shi raised her wrist.
The needle from the IV drip had already been removed, and there was no mark left on the back of her hand. Lifting her arm didn’t cause any pain in her back.
She propped herself up with her arms, and her back felt completely pain-free.
She even pounded her shoulder with her fist and stretched her joints, recalling the moment before she fell asleep.
Someone had held her hand, and after that, she’d fallen asleep comfortably.
Could that person have been the healer?
A healing-type Awakened.
According to the Human Differentiation Guide, C and D-level healers, due to their low rank, could only purify a small range of corrupted beast energy and were not fit for combat, so they were transferred to the rear as dedicated medical staff.
Healing-type Awakened were highly sought after in every hospital. Their abilities were so powerful that all wounds treated by them healed at a hundredfold speed.
Had it not been for the involvement of those two officers, Song Shi would never have been able to request a healer. She would’ve been stuck in bed for months, slowly recovering.
By then, her hospital bills would have been another problem.
The thought of hospital bills made Song Shi quickly call out to the nurse who had just walked away with a tray from the adjacent bed.
“Have my bed fees been paid?”
The nurse nodded.
“Yes, they’ve been paid.” She gave Song Shi a quick once-over.
“If you’ve recovered, you can be discharged.”
-----
-----
Comments
Post a Comment