I'd like to thank our new Patreon Diamond member, "melonpan," for recommending this novel for translation. I've read up to chapter 50, and it's a truly engaging read. It boasts a 4.4 rating on NovelUpdates. So you know it's going to be good.
Thank you again, Melonpan, for the sponsorship
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Neither could sleep. Accompanied by Tang Xuhai's heavy breathing, Wen Zhaoming began sharing his story.
He had lost his legs.
Wen Zhaoming wasn't originally from Yun City. He was born in the provincial capital and had a decent childhood. However, fate took a turn. His father passed away, and his mother remarried a wealthy man.
The wealthy man was decent and treated Wen Zhaoming fairly well. However, he had his own children. While this shouldn't have been an issue, his mother, as a stepmother, feared the resentment from these children. She devoted all her energy to please them, afraid that showing too much care for Wen Zhaoming might cause discomfort. It was an imbalance that could never be rectified.
As the eldest, Wen Zhaoming understood his mother's predicament. He began living at the school during high school and moved to Yun City after college. Apart from occasional visits, he rarely went back home. His stepfather felt guilty; he believed he had compelled Wen Zhaoming to leave and had supported him significantly in his career.
Quickly rising in his industry, Wen Zhaoming became a standout, but an accident at a construction site shattered his legs.
The accident was severe, burying many underneath. To get him to the emergency room swiftly, they had to amputate his legs right there.
After the accident, his mother was consumed by regret and guilt, bringing him back home for treatment. However, the atmosphere at home became even more peculiar due to his disability. Everyone treated him cautiously, suffocating him. Eventually, feeling suffocated, he fled back to Yun City, avoiding familiar faces and their sympathetic gazes.
The person who informed him, ultimately, was there out of consideration for his stepfather's feelings.
His stepfather's children were studying abroad. When the incident occurred, his mother was on a vacation with his stepfather overseas. He wasn't sure if they were with his step-siblings or how things were now.
Listening to Wen Zhaoming, Fu Shiwu felt a pang of discomfort. Though he had both parents, he couldn't see them for long periods. Wen Zhaoming lost his father and couldn't live with his mother as a normal family would.
Wen Zhaoming's injury was in the lower leg, with his knee intact. The prosthetic he wore now was top-notch. After rehabilitation, he might be able to walk on his own.
However, the healed leg often caused excruciating pain where it met the prosthetic during walking, unbearable for most. Adapting to this process and learning to walk with the prosthetic was a lengthy ordeal.
Presently, Wen Zhaoming could walk for a bit, but running or jumping was challenging.
As Wen Zhaoming shared this, it wasn't to garner sympathy from Fu Shiwu. He felt deeply ashamed but desired to keep on living. Even if it meant enduring his pain, it was worth it if it could bring Fu Shiwu some help in a life-and-death situation.
He chose to confide in Fu Shiwu, not Tang Xuhai, knowing Tang Xuhai was resolute, with his principles. Wen Zhaoming couldn't be certain how Tang Xuhai would react, but he believed Tang Xuhai wouldn't be easily moved by his misfortune.
Just agreeing to accompany him was already going above and beyond.
Their thoughts were complicated, and they didn't know when they fell asleep.
Fu Shiwu was awakened in the early morning, quickly putting on his glasses.
"Tang Xuhai?" he softly called.
"What's wrong?" Wen Zhaoming woke too.
"Hush," Fu Shiwu hushed him.
After a while, groans indeed filled the air. Fu Shiwu immediately got up, grabbed a flashlight, and rushed to the switch, turning on the lights.
"How's Tang Xuhai?" Fu Shiwu asked, seeing Tang Xuhai flushed, soaked in sweat. "Oh no! His fever hasn't subsided; it's gotten worse!"
"Give him medicine, increase the dosage! Antibiotics too!" Wen Zhaoming sat up, struggling to climb up using his electric wheelchair.
Tang Xuhai was delirious with a raging fever now. His teeth were clenched, and it took Fu Shiwu considerable effort to pry his mouth open. Tang Xuhai couldn't swallow on his own, so Fu Shiwu crushed the medicine into powder, mixed it with water, and slowly fed it to him.
With disheveled hair, Fu Shiwu anxiously watched Tang Xuhai, hoping for his fever to break. However, reality was cruel; Tang Xuhai's fever persisted, and eventually, he couldn't swallow even the water.
"He can't drink anything; what do we do?!" Fu Shiwu panicked.
"This won't do. He's already sweating heavily, losing fluids. If he can't drink and his temperature doesn't drop, it could be fatal," Wen Zhaoming also grew agitated.
Tang Xuhai was their only fighting chance. With his high fever not subsiding, if he perished, it would likely mean the end for both of them.
Fu Shiwu removed Tang Xuhai's blanket, changed his wet clothes, but soon, sweat started pouring again.
"We must replenish his fluids!" Wen Zhaoming whispered urgently.
"Intravenous fluids! Saline solution!" Fu Shiwu turned to Wen Zhaoming.
"Saline solution rehydrates the fastest," Wen Zhaoming nodded calmly. "But we don't have IV equipment or saline."
"I'll find it!" Fu Shiwu declared.
"You'll go?" Wen Zhaoming questioned.
"I will!" Fu Shiwu decided, knowing Tang Xuhai couldn't afford to wait.
Fu Shiwu, once determined on a goal, hesitated for nothing. He scanned the shelter and assessed what was available.
Dumping the contents of his backpack on the ground, setting food and a hard drive aside, he covered his face with clothes. He picked up Tang Xuhai's military knife, securing it to his leg as Tang Xuhai had, sheathing the knife. After a brief hesitation, he retrieved a military shovel and packed it into his backpack.
With the backpack on, he turned to Wen Zhaoming. "Once I'm out, I'll use the car to block the door."
Wen Zhaoming watched silently, neither sad nor happy, nodding. "Wishing you all the best." Both their hopes now rested on him; all Wen Zhaoming could do was pray for his success.
Fu Shiwu left the theater, reversed the SUV to block the side door, shut it, and stealthily departed from the cavernous theater.
It was 10 in the morning. Despite not having breakfast, Fu Shiwu felt no hunger.
He carefully observed the surroundings, controlling his breath.
The alien creature seemed to rely only on sight; its other senses remained unknown.
What if this creature relied on sound like bats, or had infrared vision, or a more sensitive nose than a dog?
Walking, Fu Shiwu kept musing, growing more anxious with each thought, fearing an alien might suddenly emerge, its terrifying mouthparts lunging at him.
Startled, Fu Shiwu pressed himself closer to the wall, almost freezing his movement.
Fu Shiwu heightened all his senses, desperately collecting any signals, feeling his breath rate increase and maintaining high tension.
"I feel like I need chocolate now," Fu Shiwu thought silently. With his body working frantically, he'd soon need something high in calories.
He'd have chocolate once he got back! He encouraged himself.
The deserted street that had pedestrians yesterday now showed no signs of life. Carefully peeking into shop windows, Fu Shiwu found neither people nor aliens.
Passing many shops where food and drinks had been cleared out, only clothes and daily necessities remained. Fu Shiwu searched tirelessly, seeking what he needed.
On streets with concentrated shops like these, finding a small clinic was relatively easy.
Fu Shiwu noticed a small traditional Chinese medicine clinic on the opposite side of the road, but he decided against it.
Such small clinics wouldn't likely have medical equipment like IV sets; at best, they might sell some cotton swabs.
"Clinic, clinic, clinic," Fu Shiwu murmured. "There should be a clinic in the community."
Finding a clinic would solve everything.
After walking another couple of hundred meters, Fu Shiwu finally left the densely commercial area, reaching the entrance of the residential area.
Near the old residential area was a large supermarket. The entrance to the community had small restaurants on both sides, convenient for the supermarket staff to eat.
Fu Shiwu leaned against the community gatepost, listening carefully for a while. No sound came from inside. He took a deep breath and stealthily entered.
"Clinic!" Fu Shiwu's eyes lit up. Less than a hundred meters ahead were two clinics!
One sign indicated a traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture and massage clinic, while the other was a Western medicine clinic. Both were on the ground floor of residential buildings, obviously converted from residential to commercial spaces.
Seeing his target, Fu Shiwu got excited and hurried towards the clinics.
The traditional Chinese medicine clinic was closer, while the Western medicine clinic was on the roof of another building. Fu Shiwu's eyes were fixated on his target, ignoring almost everything else.
Suddenly, his ears stung faintly, followed by a soft "crack" entering his ears.
Fu Shiwu's heart skipped a beat, adrenaline rushing through him.
"Breathe—slowly—" Fu Shiwu meticulously controlled his body, trying not to move, turning his head slightly towards the space between the two buildings.
Glancing sideways, he saw an alien creature crouched on the ground a few rows away, pinning a person's limbs, its mouthparts prying open the person's skull, inserting a tube-like thing into their brain!
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