I slay demons and monsters in a bizarre city.

Chapter 11 The Owl

Attending physician: Lin Mo?

Li Changgeng had no recollection of this doctor, but his hospital name tag did indeed read "Attending Physician Lin Mo".

Li Changgeng has never had a good impression of hospitals. They are the starting and ending point of many people's lives, and it always feels strange that life and death happen in the same place.

Lin Mo took Li Changgeng to the elevator. After the iris digital password recognition was successful, the elevator button for the fifth basement level lit up.

Stepping out of the elevator, there was a musty, moldy smell.

It was quiet here, and the long corridor seemed to have no end. Li Changgeng did not see any medical staff coming in or out along the way.

"This is a special care ward, and there are strict regulations."

Lin Mo said softly, "The patients here are all special. There are quite a few patients like Li Ying who are in a coma and have been in a state between brain death and vegetative state."

"The incident happened suddenly yesterday. Li Ying's condition worsened, her pupils dilated, and she almost completely lost her light reflex. Fortunately, she was saved. That's why the cost is higher."

Li Changgeng lagged behind Lin Mo by half a step, feeling that the place was eerie and strange. The corridor was wide, and he could vaguely see the bloodstains on the ground that hadn't been wiped clean. The overhead light in the corridor flickered on and off, occasionally emitting a crackling sound.

What's even stranger is that the walls on both sides of the corridor are not solid brick or frame walls, but explosion-proof glass, which is covered by dark blue curtains inside the room.

This place doesn't look like a hospital; it's more like a secret base for conducting special human research.

"Thank you." Li Changgeng's eyes were a little uncomfortable from the alternating light, and he couldn't help but think of the scene in carriage number 4 of the Ghost Train.

It's too quiet here, giving me a feeling of insecurity and unreality, probably because there are no patients in the glass-walled wards along the corridor.

The last time I came to the hospital was about a month ago. At that time, Li Ying was in a regular ward. I never expected that the special ward would be like this. It was more like the brain dissection area of ​​a mental hospital.

"The nursing care in the special care ward uses different medications than in the regular ward, so Li Ying might recover faster there. Of course, the cost will be higher. You can choose to transfer your sister to a regular ward. The hospital has consulted with specialists, and their opinions are fairly consistent: the probability of Li Ying waking up is less than five percent!"

Lin Mo stretched out the five fingers of his right hand. There aren't many people like Li Changgeng. The mist has damaged many people's physical tissues, the most significant manifestation of which is the nervous system.

Most people would choose to abandon treatment and let patients like Li Ying fend for themselves, but Li Changgeng was an exception and insisted on saving her.

Li Changgeng understood the unspoken meaning in Lin Mo's words.

In the intensive care unit, Li Ying has only a 5% chance of surviving and waking up.

If she were in a regular ward, it would mean Li Ying would die.

Li Changgeng recalled what his father had told him before the eternal night arrived.

If one day your mother and I disappear, you must take good care of your younger sister, Li Ying.

As long as Li Ying is alive, our family will definitely be reunited in the future.

At the time, Li Changgeng was a university student and thought his father was joking, but little did he know that his words would come true.

I must take good care of my younger sister!
Let my sister Li Ying live!

"I will raise the money as soon as possible," Li Changgeng said with a determined look in his eyes.

Lin Mo smiled and said, "Actually, the new drug we developed has passed in vitro and animal experiments. The results of the Phase I clinical trial are very good and safe. If you agree, we can conduct the Phase II clinical trial on Li Ying. Based on this preliminary calculation, the chances of Li Ying waking up will increase to more than 70 percent."

“I am the chief physician of this drug project. In this way, Mr. Li Changgeng will not only not have to worry about the high medical expenses, but will also receive a large sum of money! If the drug trial is successful, there will be many hidden benefits.”

"In the special care ward 5 you see now, a large number of patients are undergoing Phase I clinical trials of our newly developed drug."

Phase II clinical trials are far from enough. After Phase III clinical trials, new drugs must apply for approval from drug regulatory authorities before they can be marketed.

Furthermore, after a drug is launched on the market, it is necessary to continuously monitor its adverse reactions, etc.

"I disagree!" Li Changgeng would absolutely not allow his sister Li Ying to become a guinea pig. Ah... bang, bang!

The explosion-proof glass made several muffled thuds upon impact.

The dark blue curtains in the ward were pulled back, revealing a human-faced cat head the size of a plate.

It was a naked adult male, his limbs and torso covered with sparse hair in black and white stripes.

Bang, bang!
A pair of clenched fists pounded desperately, while a thick, furry tail lashed against the glass...

"Meow, meow, let me out, meow...meow, you bunch of scum!"

The voice was muffled, filled with despair.

A human face with a cat's head and scarlet eyes, filled with terror, excitement, and madness.

Five people dressed in white isolation suits and wearing gas masks rushed forward and tightly controlled the cat-headed man. A red needle the thickness of a thumb was inserted into the cat-headed man's neck, and green medicine was injected into it.

squeak...

The cat-headed man's black claws scratched at the shatterproof glass, and he gradually collapsed to the ground. His body twitched a few times, he foamed at the mouth, and then he became still.

The dark blue curtains inside the room were quickly drawn, and the people inside didn't even glance at Li Changgeng, as if none of this had ever happened.

This time, Li Changgeng confirmed that he was not hallucinating; he had indeed seen the cat-headed man, which is the so-called stable effect of the phase I clinical trial of the new drug.

Even the underground brain dissection laboratory in the mental hospital couldn't compare to this.

"There was a small problem; accidents are inevitable in scientific experiments." Lin Mo remained remarkably calm, chuckling, "After the Eternal Night, this patient always said he was a cat. The cat head, fur, and paws you saw were all fake. We used fantasy adaptation therapy."

"Li Ying's ward is just ahead. I'll wait outside!" Lin Mo turned around, walked a few steps away, took out his phone, lowered his voice, and started making a call.

Even after the eternal night and the mist, the world remains just as insane.

People have simply become numb to the bizarre and unusual.

Li Changgeng couldn't manage the hospital's affairs, so he figured it was better to mind his own business.

Pushing open the door to the ward, I saw my younger sister Li Ying's familiar face; she had lost a lot of weight.

Li Ying lay motionless on the hospital bed. If it weren't for the numbers flashing on the electrocardiogram monitor screen, one would really think that she had gone to another world.

"Xiaoying, your brother has come to see you! You've lost weight again. You used to be so worried and always complained about wanting to lose weight. Sigh, look at you now."

Li Changgeng wept uncontrollably, gripping Li Ying's withered hand tightly. "Wake up quickly. Dad said that as long as you wake up, he, Mom, and my brother and I can be reunited."

"Hang in there, I believe in you! We'll get through this together."

Li Changgeng closed the door.

Li Ying, lying on the hospital bed, twitched her index finger a few times, her bluish-gray eyelids suddenly snapped open, and her green eyes rolled...

It was getting dark.

Li Changgeng wiped away his tears. Despite his reluctance, he still had to leave the hospital to go to Black Sea City University to find his junior, Xia Mengmeng.

Li Changgeng was somewhat bewildered, even unsure whether his current situation was reality, a dream, or perhaps the world of the entropy-increasing virtual digital game. He wondered if finding Xia Mengmeng might reveal the reason for breaking the countdown.

From the hospital's main entrance, take the city's light rail tram to Black Sea City University Station, where Li Changgeng gets off.

The eerie fog is growing thicker...

(End of this chapter)