Free Web NovelChapter 19: The Bug
Inside the collapsed factory, dust and smoke filled the air.
Surrounded by dozens of ghouls, Wen Wen moved forward as if she were taking a casual stroll in a garden. With a lazy flick of her hand, she casually dealt with anything in her way, pinning each of those creatures onto razor-sharp crystal trees that burst up from the ground.
Faced with her questioning, the voice on the phone continued on, calm and unbothered. It was as if it had infinite patience, ready to deal with any patient’s complaints and accusations. After all, the call cost 160,000 Fedra per minute, and he wasn’t about to give a single cent off. Even an extra second would still count as a full minute.
Caller ID: Laboratory of Hope Hospital.
“The analysis report for sample R54447 taken from patient Zhu Hong submitted yesterday has been completed,” a doctor named Mu Lei said slowly. “We regret to inform you that this is not the standard sample of No.109 Bloodlust Syndrome like the previous cases, but rather a newly evolved strain derived from iterative mutation of the base condition.”
Wen Wen frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Well... to put it in layman’s terms, it’s an upgraded, specialized version that’s stronger than the original. As is well known, the original strain of Bloodlust Syndrome originated from the Central Lands. It was a plague born after a priest-king lost control during aberration. I won’t go into the detailed symptoms here, but the end result is that the host is completely transformed into a Beta-type ghoul among aberrant creatures.
“However, the strain you provided is entirely different. The host’s transformation is merely superficial. It’s more like the host is being modified into a tool. The blood, life force, and even spirit matter that the host consumes will ultimately be absorbed by the strain itself. Like a parasite, the key lies not in the host, but in the strain.
“In the end, even the host will be completely devoured by the strain, leaving only the strain behind for the controller to access and utilize. If used properly, gathering massive amounts of life force and spirit matter within just a few days wouldn’t be difficult at all.”
Mu Lei couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. “As a tool, this kind of strain is incredibly convenient and cost-effective. Excellent value for money.”
“Wait...” Wen Wen immediately picked up on the change in his tone and clenched her teeth. “Why do you know so much about this? Don’t tell me you bastards are involved too?”
Mu Lei answered proudly, “Of course. This is one of our hospital’s patented creations! A classic variant cultivated forty-one years ago by Director Yan of the Infectious Diseases Department! Although it’s restricted by the T5 Protocol and can’t be widely deployed, every partner who’s purchased the relevant technology has nothing but praise for our technical capabilities!”
“You’ve gotta be...” Wen Wen nearly crushed her phone. She knew full well that to the lunatic researchers at Hope Hospital, morals and ethics weren’t even as useful as a diaper, but she still couldn’t stop herself from wanting to punch someone. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Why the hell didn’t I pick that matrix that lets you slap people through a screen back then? Then I wouldn’t have to put up with this crap now!
“Please rest assured. Our hospital currently does not have the qualifications or authorization for off-site operations, so we will not interfere in sovereign territories outside our premises. According to our cooperation agreement with the Federal Security Bureau, in cases like terrorist attacks, we will fully cooperate.”
Mu Lei quickly added, “Per hospital regulations, all results and products rated C1 or above are strictly prohibited from being shared with non-partners. Anyone who comes into contact with them is recorded in the visitor archives. According to our records, there are currently forty-one individuals who possess and know how to use this strain. Among them, the only one connected to the Dragonrite Society is a former emergency department assistant physician who was expelled sixteen years ago for academic misconduct—Andreas Lawrence. Or perhaps you know him better by another name: the Bug.”
Andreas Lawrence was a wanted criminal listed on both the Federation and Empire bounty boards, an escapee from the North Mount Prison, and a cultist who once orchestrated the infamous Huayue Tragedy in the Empire. He was one of the sixteen Shepherds of the Dragonrite Society, the Aberrant Bug.
“If it’s him, you’d better be careful,” Mu Lei warned. “That guy always likes to make a big mess when he makes his move...”
Wen Wen said nothing. She turned her head toward the foothills, toward North Mount District, where scattered speckles of crimson light were slowly rising.
These were fragments of aberrant spirit matter, invisible to the naked eye, yet seeming almost tangible as they rose into the sky before bursting apart. Countless strands of crimson spread and converged, like a massive tree woven from blood vessels.
Amid the shrill laughter, a bewitching dance unfolded.
***
Ten minutes earlier, at Mercy Hospital’s inpatient building...
“Ward rounds, ward rounds!” A hurried nurse led the way, knocking on doors one after another while the attending physician followed behind. “Everyone, please tidy up your belongings. No instant noodles on the bed. Ma’am, put your underwear away, you can’t hang it at the door!”
She yanked down a huge, saggy pair of underwear that was so loose it was honestly shocking, and tossed it back to its owner. Ji Jue was completely stunned. He’d passed by that thing so many times and honestly thought it was the old man’s undershirt!
And then he watched as the old lady casually... hung it right back. Ji Jue couldn’t help giving a thumbs-up.
Seriously... that’s some next-level persistence. freewebnoveℓ.com
“Sir, if it hurts, you’ll just have to take some painkillers. You’ve got rheumatism and gout. Even surgery would only treat the symptoms. Cut back on the alcohol and rich soups, and keep your diet light.”
“There are signs of inflammation in the wound. Talk it over with your family, we need to prevent it from turning into pus. You’ll have to change the dressing... yeah it costs a bit more, but that’s still better than amputation. Make sure they understand the situation.”
“This one’s pretty much healed. You’ll be discharged soon.”
Amid the low murmur of voices, steady footsteps approached the door. A doctor walked in with a crutch, his leg fixed in a brace. In the stuffy heat, a thin layer of sweat covered his forehead, yet his expression remained endlessly gentle and calm. After checking on the old man and the middle-aged lady, he finally turned to Ji Jue at the far end of the room.
He flipped through the chart at the bedside, then pressed lightly on Ji Jue’s bruises and the burn marks on his back that were slowly healing. He nodded in satisfaction.
“Recovery’s going well. You got lucky too, no acute kidney failure or nerve damage. We’ll observe you for another couple of days, and adjust your endocrine and hormone levels. Just take your meds on time.”
He waved a hand, and a nurse stepped forward, placing a standard paper bag into Ji Jue’s hands.
“Huh?” Ji Jue blinked, looking down at the bag. “I didn’t have this medicine this morning. This is mecobalamin. It nourishes the nerves and supplements vitamin B.”
The doctor adjusted his glasses and smiled. “Helps nerve recovery.”
From inside the tilted paper bag, two pills rolled into Ji Jue’s palm. Together they weren’t even half the size of his pinky nail. Dark red in color, they smelled bitter and unpleasant, just like any other medicine.
Ji Jue hesitated. “I’m kinda bad with bitter stuff... I have to take it now?”
The nurse handed him a cup of warm water. “You have to take another dose tonight. Taking it on time helps you recover faster.”
Ji Jue fell silent. He stared down at his palm. The two pills were slightly sticky from his sweat... and within them was a faint, almost blood-red glow.
He noticed the notifications that had been popping up non-stop on his watch since earlier.
[Detected external active aberrant spirit matter. Warning. Large-scale active aberrant source detected. Aberration risk increasing. Warning. Unknown aberrant entity detected. Warning. Warning. Warning...]
Warning this, warning that, all damn day long. Then call the police already, will you?!
Ji Jue let out a sigh, about to speak, but glanced toward the door and froze.
“Lu Feng? When did you get here?”
But there was no one there.
The doctor and nurse turned their heads. The doorway was empty... save for a pair of oversized underwear flapping in the breeze. The bad news was, no hero was dropping out of the sky to save the day this time. But the good news was that Ji Jue had his own weapon now.
Gunfire erupted in an instant, bursts stacking over each other. Muzzle flashes flared and spread, gone in a blink, yet the thunder of it just kept going.
The gun roared, and flames burst from the muzzle before flaring and vanishing in an instant. Yet the heavy, booming barrage of the gunfire continued to echo.
In less than a second, Ji Jue could barely feel his fingers anymore, but he didn’t have the time to react. The moment he fired, he’d already launched himself off the bed, throwing himself backward. His back smashed through the window as he dropped from the fourth floor.
He dropped twelve meters from the fourth floor... There was a scooter parking shed below. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t die on the spot. As long as he didn’t die, he could crawl onto the scooter and bolt. Worst case, if he made enough noise, the enemy would have to hold back out of caution out of... what again?
With the wind rushing past his face, his mind went blank. Suddenly, he stopped falling.
Ji Jue hung upside down in midair while clutching a pistol with a red-hot barrel, struggling helplessly as he failed to break free from the strange tentacle wrapped around his ankle. Another tentacle slid out from the window and wrapped around his other leg. Then his arms. It didn’t even bother taking the gun from his hand, the empty chamber clicking uselessly as the firing pin snapped again and again.
Just like that, slowly, almost carefully, it dragged him back into the hospital room and set him down on the bed.
Silence enveloped the scene. It was so quiet, it felt like no one was breathing anymore. The patients in the surrounding beds, along with the nurses, all turned to look at him with hollow eyes, like puppets or ghosts wearing human skin.
Right in front of him, the doctor’s face, skull, neck, and chest still bore the bullet holes. Blood slowly seeped out from them. Through the torn openings, Ji Jue could faintly see writhing masses of tentacles packed inside slowly pushing their way out through cracks in the face, twitching as they emerged.
“So... You saw through me, huh? How strange.”
That shattered face, still somehow holding onto a smile, slowly lifted. A hoarse voice, like something crawling out of a nightmare, spoke with clear admiration.
“Not bad at all. Ten years under a curse, and you still managed to awaken on your own. You’re a Chosen One indeed. That level of perception and instinct alone is impressive. No... more than that, what’s truly remarkable is the resolve to pull a gun on a complete stranger the moment you sensed something was off.”
“I swear I’m gonna fucking...!”
Ji Jue struggled, but in the end he was bound tight with restraints and could barely move. A nurse, moving like a walking corpse, stepped forward and jabbed a needle into his neck.
Then everything went black.
In the final moment of consciousness, the phone under his blanket lit up. The message screen popped open, and he sent one last text to Wen Wen from his contacts.
Jie Jue: HELPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELP!!!!
