Chapter 4: The Unfathomable Medical Team
Chapter 4: The Unpredictable Medical Team
“Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!”
Another faint noise came from behind the hospital bed’s curtain. Zhou Jinru frowned. It reminded him of the times when mice sneaked into his university dormitory and gnawed on things in the dead of night. Could there really be mice in the infirmary?
As he was lost in thought, his mental clarity in the augmented reality interface rose by one point, recovering at the same rate as in the game, though its exact effect remained unclear.
He thought back to when Amiya and the others had pulled him out of the stone coffin in the Cut City. He must have looked just as fragile then—an unstable doctor still struggling to grasp what had happened. And that Originium stuff… could it really be eaten raw? As a casual player, he had never tried it. Did other doctors add seasonings or something before eating Originium?
The idea of consuming ten Originium pieces a day alone was terrifying.
“Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!”
The sound of the mouse gnawing echoed sharply through the silent room, like a maddening tune that was impossible to tolerate.
This mouse just wouldn’t stop. Didn’t the medical staff on duty intend to do something about it? In the game, they tore through 400 Reunion members daily—how could one mouse be a challenge?
Zhou Jinru threw off his thin blanket and got out of bed. He took a dark coat hanging on a rack and draped it over himself. Carefully, he strained his ears toward the source of the sound and cautiously peeked his head out from behind the curtain. Following the noise, he saw a girl in a white lab coat bent over the desk. She seemed to sense him, paused her actions, and slowly raised her head. Their eyes met. Half a croissant stuffed in her mouth, her beautiful face dusted with crumbs flushed a delicate red, matching her cherry-colored, ear-length hair—a captivating sight.
“Sorry to disturb you, please enjoy,” she said.
“Doctor, would you like some too?”
They spoke almost simultaneously, then fell silent again. A strange atmosphere hung in the infirmary. They looked at each other but didn’t know how to continue the conversation.
“Sure,” Zhou Jinru said, taking a deep breath as he casually stepped out from behind the curtain. He pulled a chair from the corner and sat beside the desk. His heart pounded wildly as he gave himself a psychological pep talk.
This was Ansel!
Rhodes Island’s top brawler, with the delicate features of a girl—red eyes, cherry hair—exuding a girlish charm. The adorable floppy-eared rabbit. When the summer event promotional video had been released, Ansel’s swimsuit had captured the hearts of many players, especially the brawlers. A real tough guy, steady yet sexy in his swimwear, with a determined yet gentle gaze and perfectly sculpted thighs.
Though Zhou Jinru had already quit the game by then, he still followed major updates. Sitting next to Ansel always gave him a thrilling feeling.
---
“Doctor, it’s late at night. Eating a midnight snack isn’t good for your health.”
Ansel pulled a neatly wrapped croissant from under the desk and slowly pushed it toward Zhou Jinru, eyes full of reluctance.
Zhou Jinru didn’t care. He had been hungry for a while. As long as he could fill his stomach, nothing else mattered. Whatever had happened a few minutes ago? No vows made—nothing happened.
Ignoring Ansel’s worried look, Zhou Jinru asked, “How did I end up in the infirmary?”
...
Javier placed a cup of water in front of Zhou Jinru, smiling, “Please have some, sir. I’ll get back to work now.”
Zhou Jinru, parched, didn’t pay attention to much and gulped the water down, smacking his lips, “Lady, this water tastes wonderful, just what I needed.”
Javier smiled without replying. She wasn’t really going to work—she turned around, made a feint, then returned, clapping her hands and calling out, “Alright, alright.”
Zhou Jinru suddenly lost his voice, the world spinning, knocking over the cup and collapsing face-first onto the desk, unconscious.
Javier laughed, “You cunning devil, you drank my foot-washing water.”
With that, she scooped him up onto her shoulder with one hand and headed for the back kitchen… or rather, the medical room.
Just then, she turned and froze in terror. Standing at the door was a white-haired woman in a blue gown, coldly saying, “Javier, there’s an interesting show coming up with this month’s salary evaluations.”
...
At this point in the story, Zhou Jinru couldn’t help but zone out. He knew Javier must have drugged him, but he hadn’t expected Kelsey to come to his rescue. Rhodes Island’s medical team was truly a den of talent—not to be trifled with.
“Doctor!” Ansel called.
Zhou Jinru waved him off. “Don’t ask me. Dr. Kelsey will decide. Where’s the deck? If there’s nothing else, I want to get some fresh air.”
He declined Ansel’s offer to accompany him and walked alone down a long corridor. Unsurprisingly, he ran into Amiya at a corner. The shop clerk was still in her stiff uniform. The glance she cast at him was too much for Zhou Jinru; he turned his head quickly to avoid it.
“Doctor.”
“I understand. Let’s go to the deck.”
---
Fingers lightly pinching his sleeve, Amiya nodded and stepped half a body length past Zhou Jinru. She swiped her ID card to open the elevator. The two remained silent all the way up to the deck.
Rhodes Island was a walking city, a mobile city. To evade the various disasters of Terra, it rarely stayed in one place for long.
Standing on the deck, Zhou Jinru gazed into the deep sky. Every breath of air felt slightly uncomfortable in his lungs.
“How long have I been gone?”
This was a question he’d long pondered. He had quit less than a year ago, but Ansel had told him it had already been a year and a half.
Amiya’s fingers gently tugged at his coat hem. “Eighteen months and four days.”
“There’s still time,” Zhou Jinru nodded. “I don’t know if my old comrades still accept me, but I want to try to gather them again.”
His gaze landed on Amiya, then passed over her small figure, finally settling on the line in his augmented reality interface: “Message One.”
Survive: In Terra, Originium dust pervades every corner—atmosphere, surface, shallow crust, and deep seas. It is everywhere. It reshapes the world. It destroys the world.
Terra is not a peaceful world to spend the rest of one’s life in—that much had already been discussed back in the university dormitory, and Zhou Jinru wholeheartedly agreed.
His finger lightly tapped the air, a gesture that seemed strange to Amiya. In Zhou Jinru’s interface, a line of explanation popped up.
Mimicry: A Tier-2 Explorer innate skill, an extraordinary ability applicable in any world, now activated.
Originium Craftsmanship (Mimicry): You have acquired a new Originium technique. Please attempt activation in a safe environment.
Since coming to the deck, Zhou Jinru felt as if someone was watching him. Sensing this, he lifted his head. High above, a white-haired, red-eyed girl was watching him. The night wind stirred her hair, mysterious and romantic—like a perfect scene from a comic or novel where the protagonists meet for the first time.
If only she weren’t hanging from the flagpole.
Probably.
(End of chapter)