Chapter 127 - 110: Zhou Qian in the Hospital

Chapter 127: Chapter 110: Zhou Qian in the Hospital

Flower City Hospital’s building was a mix of the old and the new. Traces of repairs could still be seen on the walls and floors upon entering the lobby. Nowadays, the hospital was bluntly divided into a few major departments. The Mutated Creature Detoxification department was located on the right side of the first floor, connected to the emergency room.

Six years after the catastrophe, people had long grown accustomed to no longer rushing to the hospital for minor ailments. As a result, this massive outpatient clinic didn’t have many people at all.

Huai Yu could only hear their hurried footsteps, a sound that inexplicably sent a chill to her heart. She jogged along behind the two Defense Army soldiers in front of her, paying absolutely no attention to what was inside the department. After passing through a long corridor, she was finally stopped at the door of a hospital ward.

The soldier on guard at the door opened it after verifying their identities. "The medical pod can only be opened for three minutes, so think carefully about what you want to say before opening it. If it stays open for too long, the anti-spider venom serum injected inside might react with the air.

"These serums are very precious. But most importantly, they can alleviate his pain.

"Otherwise, with the neurotoxins ravaging his entire body, he wouldn’t be able to endure it."

Despite his words, the soldier’s tone carried a deep sense of lamentation, as if he had already foreseen the doomed outcome.

Huai Yu nodded haphazardly. She took a deep breath before finally stepping into the ward.

The ward wasn’t exactly clean and pristine. Many of the objects and walls bore old traces of use; everything looked just as it did before the catastrophe. However, the spot where a hospital bed should have been was now occupied by a medical pod.

This was one of the rare pieces of advanced technology Huai Yu had seen since she awakened. Yet, it wasn’t as grand and impressive as she had imagined. Instead, the sight of it was steeped in wretchedness and despair.

The pod was filled to the brim with a thick, dark green serum. Only a figure, whose head and face were completely unrecognizable, lay quietly inside. Through the liquid, only a faint silhouette could be discerned. A special device covered the figure’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose—likely a filtering gill meant to maintain normal breathing while submerged in the nutrient solution.

Huai Yu stood there. When the two Defense Army soldiers asked, "Shall we open it now?" she nodded silently.

With the press of a button, the angle of the nutrient pod slowly adjusted. Zhou Qian’s head and face gradually surfaced above the liquid, and the mess of tubes and masks retracted.

"Make it quick," one of the soldiers reminded her. "His entire body is riddled with neurotoxins. Every minute he spends out of the serum is pure agony."

Because of this, there wasn’t even a need to induce wakefulness. The moment he left the serum, the sheer pain would rouse him from his stupor. Had the doctor not stated that he could only hold on until tonight, they would never have come to disturb his final peace.

Although Huai Yu didn’t know these details, it didn’t stop her from guessing most of it.

Clutching the locust flowers tightly to her chest, she took a deep breath and knelt by the edge of the medical pod. She pressed her cheek close to the glass, quietly gazing at Zhou Qian inside, and called out softly, "Zhou Qian."

Zhou Qian’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as he opened his eyes inside the medical pod.

He had been so tormented that he couldn’t even focus his gaze. He looked dazed for a moment, unable to see anything clearly, and only reacted instinctively, "Little Yu."

As he spoke, dense, fine black lines began to surface on both sides of his exposed neck, which was now out of the serum. These lines, like a spiderweb, relentlessly eroded his nerves and blood vessels. His cheeks twitched involuntarily, his brows furrowed tightly, and he let out agonizing gasps.

Huai Yu squeezed her eyes shut. The countless words she had prepared to say were completely stuck in her throat.

She had originally wanted to ask him how he could possibly be cured, or why he had left those things to her.

But at this moment, she simply forced a tearful smile. "Brother Zhou Qian, I picked a lot of locust flowers. They’re very fragrant and sweet. I saved a huge bag just for you—look!"

She pressed the bag of dried locust flowers in her arms against the glass of the medical pod.

Zhou Qian gasped heavily. His eyes were already blurry and unfocused; he couldn’t see anything at all. His body, constrained by the restraining straps, twitched agonizingly as he struggled to endure the pain.

Then, his soft voice filtered through the medical pod:

"You silly little girl.

"I don’t like sweets."

In that short amount of time, the hideous black spiderwebs had rapidly spread to the area beneath his lips and around his nose. Choking back sobs, Huai Yu finally couldn’t help but cry out with a trembling voice, "Say no more, don’t say another word. Zhou Qian, I’ll lower you back into the serum. Just go to sleep..."

Her fingers fumbled tremblingly over the incomprehensible buttons. She then turned to look out the door, shouting loudly for the soldiers to come in.

However, just as the door was opened, another agonizing gasp came from inside the medical pod:

"Little Yu...

"Take me to the Rose Corridor."