Lu Yan had a nightmare, but unfortunately, he couldn't recall what it was about. As he opened his eyes, he found himself facing the concerned expression of Dr. Hu.
"Lu, what's going on? Have you been too tired from recent surgeries?" Dr. Hu asked. "Why are you sleeping against the wall?"
Lu Yan's head throbbed painfully, a dizzy sensation washing over him. It felt like staying up too late, or maybe the aftermath of a hangover.
Dr. Hu's expression turned somber. "We're about to start surgery. Hurry up and change into your scrubs. After all, you've signed the confidentiality agreement, and there's no turning back."
Confidential agreement? Lu Yan pondered for a moment and recalled. Half an hour ago, he was on vacation at home when urgently called in for overtime at the hospital. They mentioned a special surgery.
Being dedicated to his job, Lu Yan nodded and headed to the operating room. As he raised his hand to put on gloves, a sharp pain in his forearms forced him to lower them.
He rolled up his sleeves.
Deep knife wounds adorned both arms, some fresh, some old.
Examining the wounds could reveal a lot of information, such as the weapon used, the technique, and even data about the assailant's physique.
After a brief inspection, Lu Yan confirmed that these wounds were self-inflicted.
Counting them, he found 23 on his left arm and a series of numbers on his right.
Admitting to a history of mental illness, he would never self-harm.
So, there must be some message in those numbers.
Decoding them, Lu Yan read: "wslyzddn."
"I am Lu Yan... What is 'zddn'?" Lu Yan's expression turned somewhat bewildered.
However, he didn't have much time to dwell on it as the director urged him to start the surgery. ◇Thought◇Rabbit◇Net◇
Entering the operating room, he noticed the absence of the anesthesiologist. Both Dr. Li and Dr. Hu wore uneasy expressions.
With everyone in position, the operating room doors swung open after half a minute, revealing a circular metal pod being wheeled in.
Upon opening the pod, an assistant in protective gear lifted the person inside onto the operating table.
Lu Yan, as customary, glanced at the patient's face. The next moment, he almost dropped the surgical knife in shock.
This patient looked remarkably like him.
But more attractive.
Their features were so perfect that it almost seemed like computer-generated modeling.
The patient's eyes were closed, with a serene and peaceful smile on their face.
They looked as if they were already dead.
Dr. Hu couldn't help but marvel, "Wow, Lu, to have a doppelganger of this caliber worldwide is incredible. The other nurses in the hospital would go crazy if they saw this."
With that, the director began to cut open the patient's abdomen.
Underneath, black tentacles emerged, covered in eyes with blue whites and black pupils.
The tentacles wriggled incessantly, resembling a living creature about to descend.
Lu Yan, holding the surgical knife, felt an inexplicable fear. "Director, what kind of surgery are we performing?"
Dr. Hu was stunned, "Oh right, what surgery are we doing?"
Dr. Li also looked clueless, "I don't know, maybe it's a lesion removal surgery?"
Lu Yan didn't make a move. He saw the blissful and devout smiles on Dr. Hu and Dr. Li's faces.
They extracted the patient's eyes, revealing beautiful silver pupils with a mocking smile.
Severed limbs sprouted white threads at the break, falling from the operating table to the ground, transforming into dried bones in the blink of an eye.
They dissected a golden heart, pulsating like a massive tumor, never ceasing even in death.
Taking out the tongue, sharp teeth grew in rows.
Removing the ears, the patient would no longer hear the whispers of the world.
Cutting the throat, crimson blood sprayed, splattering on Lu Yan's face.
Finally, only the brain remained in the patient's body.
The brain...?
A thunderous revelation flashed through Lu Yan's hazy mind.
Zddn, "find the brain."
Trembling, Lu Yan raised the surgical knife and stabbed deeply into the patient's forehead.
White brain matter mixed with blood oozed out.
The nearly butchered patient slowly sat up from the operating table.
His abdominal cavity still open, sticky tentacles entwined Lu Yan's limbs, pulling him close.
Lowering its head, the blood-drenched face moved closer, enough to shatter anyone's sanity.
If not for the lack of a face, this act would resemble a kiss.
The face lingered in mid-air, close but not touching Lu Yan.
Lu Yan started uncontrollably shedding tears, big drops rolling down as overwhelming sadness almost tore him apart.
Whispers surrounded him, and Lu Yan sensed his consciousness dissipating, but he couldn't stop it.
In the last moments before death, Lu Yan suddenly understood the meaning of the other's words — "Wrong, big brother."
Lu Yan opened his eyes, abruptly sitting up from the bed.
"Xiao Yan, did you have a nightmare?" As she spoke, the woman slowly turned on the light.
Lu Yan looked at the woman in front of him, a gentle smile on her face, her eyes full of tenderness and love.
It was his mother.
Lu Yan let out a soft "hmm" from his nostrils, followed by a slightly puzzled frown.
Why did his voice sound unfamiliar?
His mother touched his head. "Don't be afraid. You woke up just in time. Dad said he found a way to cure you, so let's go to the hospital."
Lu Yan tilted his head, pondering for a moment.
He seemed to have amnesia. Every dawn, he would forget what happened the day before.
No wonder his mind felt empty, unable to recall anything, and his body ached.
Mom patted his back. "Go change your clothes, Xiao Yan."
Entering the bathroom, Lu Yan, wearing a white shirt, found it inexplicably stained with blood.
Finally realizing why he felt uneasy, he remembered he was only five years old, yet the person in the mirror had the appearance of a young adult.
A child's soul trapped in an adult's body.
Lu Yan took off his shirt, discovering numerous scars on his upper body, some fresh, some old.
He looked at the palm of his left hand, finding it empty. There was a hole, as if something had been forcefully dug out.
Little Lu Yan counted the scars on his body in the mirror, a total of one hundred and six.
On his right forearm, there was a strange series of numbers.
After contemplating for a moment, Little Lu Yan felt that these numbers were crucial, but he couldn't understand them.
Mom held his hand, leading Lu Yan to the hospital.
Their home wasn't far from the hospital, and the streets looked like they had been through a war, with debris scattered everywhere.
Many snake bodies lay broken on the ground. Lu Yan glanced at them, piecing together the remnants in his mind.
Eight snake heads, eight snake tails.
The sky was extremely overcast, shrouded in thick clouds, with no sign of any living person. The sun was about to set.
Mom, dressed in a snowy white dress, held Lu Yan's hand, heading towards the hospital.
A bullet shot from a distant high-rise towards Mom.
Lu Yan didn't look back, but he strangely sensed that the shooter seemed to have dog-like ears and a tail.
Mom turned around, gazing at the high-rise, and let out a cold laugh. "Go to hell, you dog."
【Talent 11 - Oracle】
So, the dog really died. Silently, like the Little Mermaid, under the sunlight, it scattered into a bunch of bubbles.
Except his death was more bloody, directly turned into a mess of minced meat.
After saying this, Mom's mouth spat out large, black blood.
Lu Yan inexplicably felt fear.
Mom comforted, "Don't be afraid; they are all bad people."
Lu Yan nodded.
Soon, they arrived at the hospital. Mom went to register.
A green seaweed disguised in a potted plant cautiously tugged at Lu Yan's clothes.
"Little friend, interested in learning software programming? The prospects for programmers are excellent. As long as you, like me, work 20 hours a day, you can quickly afford a house..." The trembling green seaweed said, "Look, I'm in my twenties and still this young."
Saying that, the seaweed person handed over a piece of paper.
Lu Yan looked down, unable to understand. The paper's title was: ASCII Code Table.
Little Lu Yan said, "Thank you, Uncle."
The seaweed person smiled bitterly, "You're welcome. If there's enough time, I'd like to dance seaweed dance for you. But not now."
After saying this, the green seaweed quickly withered.
There weren't many people at the hospital today, and Mom quickly returned.
She still had a smile on her face, "Xiao Yan, what are you holding in your hand?"
Little Lu Yan instinctively lied, "A flyer from a tutoring class."
"Those chicken-crib tutoring classes?" Mom frowned, "Xiao Yan doesn't need to learn so much. Just grow up happily by Mom's side. After you're cured, you can go wherever you want."
Lu Yan's expression blanked for a moment, then nodded, "Then I'll go throw it away."
"Go ahead, Mom is waiting for you."
Lu Yan walked towards the trash can. There wasn't much content on the sheet; he only needed a glance to remember.
Looking at it, the answer to the numbers on his arm seemed apparent.
wslyzddn.
Am I Lu Yan? And then?
The operating room was on the top floor.
The hospital had no elevators. Mom held his hand, climbing up one floor at a time.
The staircase formed a zigzag shape, and each time, Lu Yan had to pass through the entire floor to go upstairs.
The hospital had no patients, but strangely, there were corpses with peculiar expressions everywhere.
The most frightening part was that these corpses all had the same face.
Exactly like his.
Mom seemed not to see these bodies, still wearing a peaceful, serene smile.
Little Lu Yan said, "Mom, I'm scared... I don't want to have surgery."
"What are you afraid of?" Mom looked puzzled. "Dad won't harm you."
Saying that, she pulled Lu Yan's hand forward without explanation.
Mom was very strong, and Lu Yan couldn't break free.
Her pace became rapid, almost in a moment. They arrived at the top floor of the hospital.
Dad, wearing surgical attire, had been waiting here for a long time.
Beside him stood a young man.
"This is my assistant, Xiao Shen," Dad also had a smiling face, "It's not easy to cure you. Fortunately, Xiao Shen is willing to be your vessel. Once you two merge, you won't have to worry about amnesia anymore. Thank Uncle."
Lu Yan looked at him. The other had deep blue eyes, but the other eye lacked a pupil, and a nauseating small tentacle protruded from the eye socket.
Little Lu Yan said, "Thank you, Uncle."
Shen Qingyang just smiled faintly, not saying a word.
Lu Yan's hands clasped together, lying on the operating table. The intense light above caused a stabbing pain in his eyes.
Dad smiled, raising the surgical knife, forcefully thrusting it towards his heart.
However, the knife didn't fall.
A black tentacle entwined Dad's wrist.
Shen Qingyang hugged Dad from behind.
All his limbs degraded, turning into black tentacles.
Several other tentacles entwined Mom on the side. The surgical knife ended up in Lu Yan's embrace.
Shen Qingyang shouted at him, "Lu Yan, run!"
Dad and Mom's expressions became unusually crazy. Their bodies swelled like an inflated balloon.
Lu Yan's expression was blank, but he obediently grabbed the surgical knife and ran outside.
At this moment, the emotions filling his heart weren't fear but sadness.
Tears streamed down his face.
Behind him, Mom roared, "Let go!"
Shen Qingyang's pitch-black tentacles broke off at the base, showering down blue blood.
Lu Yan stumbled out. However, he had no idea where he should go.
In the operating room, a thick black mist spread out.
Outside, the sky turned dark.
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