Hello

Dead silence. Inside the office in the Inpatient Building, aside from the wails beyond the door, nothing remained but this dead silence. Amid the dead silence, Lian Cheng stood frozen in place, already drenched in cold sweat. Minutes ago, the walkie-talkie had suddenly crackled to life, and his subordinate, sounding like he'd seen a ghost, had reported in sheer panic: "Hierophant, disaster has struck! There's—" And then, the signal abruptly cut out. Immediately afterward came a terrifying blast and roar that shook the entire Chrono Ruin. Looking out the window, the entire exterior wall of the Outpatient Building's side wing had fractured, while the office where his trusted subordinates were stationed billowed thick smoke, strewn with mutilated corpses. What the hell? What the fuck just happened? Disaster has struck? Speak up, damn it! What happened? Yet no matter how he urged and demanded over the walkie-talkie, there was no longer any response. Were they all dead? What on earth happened? Why so suddenly... Then, right in that sudden realization, cold sweat soaked his back. Standing rigid, an unthinkable conclusion surfaced in his mind: Could it be that the Security Bureau had attacked? So quickly? How did they breach the Chrono Ruin's boundary membrane to get inside? That makes no sense! How could they? Where did they get the nerve? How dared they risk the Chrono Ruin detonating in the heart of Yacheng to forcibly breach it from the outside? Besides, he hadn't seen any Exaltation-tier powerhouses from Haizhou appear. The instant he came to his senses, his instinct was to rise and rush to the scene, but he immediately froze again, dripping with cold sweat. No—if it really were the Security Bureau, that office was now a trap. A trap meant to lure him into walking right into their net! Fortunately, the Inpatient Building was under contamination isolation and containment. Unauthorized outsiders couldn't enter—this was currently his most vital protection and reliance. What was more, with the great authority bestowed by the Lord in hand, he wouldn't necessarily be fish on the chopping block! Having finally regained his composure, Lian Cheng sat back down. He looked up at the colossal, wailing sarcoma suspended in the hall, covered with countless faces, and his mind steadied. Soon, the walkie-talkie sounded again, choked with sobs. It was another backup radio. "Hierophant, Hierophant, it's terrible!" The subordinate, who had cheated death by hiding in the morgue concocting tools from the blood and souls of Celestial Chosen, reported in sheer panic: "They're dead! All dead! Except for me..." "Get to the point!" Lian Cheng interrupted impatiently. "Who did it? How was it done? How many people?!" "It... it was an outsider who came later, he..." "One?" Lian Cheng's voice rose, cutting him off. "Are you sure? Just one?!" "Yes, one! Old Kong took some guys to deal with him, but somehow they were all slaughtered, and a bomb was stuffed into Old Kong's belly..." Already overwhelmed by chaos, the subordinate babbled incoherently: "No, wait, there's also that Xie guy! They might..." "Enough, I get it!" Lian Cheng cut him off impatiently, refusing to hear another word. One person? Setting aside how Kong Yebai and the other two had somehow ended up dead at the hands of a single outsider, a single bomb wiped out his core team—all those subordinates—just like that? Are you serious? Are you really not joking? What kind of bomb was that?! A military phlogiston bomb? Or was it spiked with vice-poison seasonings, or radioactive?! Useless trash! Every single one of them was a fucking useless piece of trash!!! Having pieced together what happened, Lian Cheng, beyond the fleeting relief that the Security Bureau hadn't arrived, was thoroughly consumed by fury. These worthless piles of dogshit had actually been wiped out in one fell swoop by a single bomb?! And to think he'd held high hopes for them. Back then, every single one of them thumped their chests claiming they'd offer up their hearts for the cult, and he hadn't believed it. But the moment a bomb pin was pulled, their fucking hearts were served right up on a platter, huh? No way? No fucking way? The rank-and-file believers were one thing, but did you dogshits actually believe that dying for the cult would grant you an eternity of bliss in heaven? It was like... a complete joke! Fury, shame, lingering dread, and panic tangled together. Lian Cheng's face twitched violently, gradually twisting into a grimace. "What's done is done. Words are useless now." He commanded, "Go prepare. Tonight, unleash the calamity beasts on the second floor." Since the Outpatient Building was no longer secure, then purge every single one of those nuisances! The plan was on the verge of success. The power of the Lord was about to descend upon this Chrono Ruin, take root and sprout, and spread across Yacheng and Haizhou. At such a critical juncture, not the slightest mistake could be tolerated! "B-but..." the voice on the other end trembled. "But what?" Lian Cheng countered coldly. "Are you disobeying my orders?" "I wouldn't dare, absolutely not!" The subordinate answered in terror, "Right away, as you command, as you command!" The transmission ended. In the dead silence of the room, only rough, heavy panting remained. Lian Cheng glared coldly at the buildings outside the window, his thoughts churning. One person? No, definitely more than one. That Xie guy must be orchestrating and involved behind the scenes. That damned bastard... If he wanted to stir up trouble, things would become far more troublesome. Still, there was no need to worry just yet. Unless he had lost his mind, he would never dare approach the Disease of Immortality. Among the Nine Vices, the White Manor's fondness for Vortex Celestial Chosen was common knowledge. Once they beheld the shadow of the White Manor, Celestial Chosen who yearned for the essence of life and immortality would inevitably step into the Manor of Endless Joy one day. Without exception! Now, having steeled his resolve, Lian Cheng felt his mood lighten slightly. He took a deep breath and readjusted his appearance. Yet amid this dead silence filled with wails, a crisp sound suddenly rang out. A knock on the door. So piercing, like a steel needle, it sent chills through Lian Cheng's heart. He took a deep breath and pulled open the door. Before him stood the Hospital Director, bloated and rotting like a drowned corpse. Upon his pus-slicked face, an exaggerated smile stretched as he gazed at him. Lian Cheng forced a smile. "What is it, Director?" "Something came up. Everyone, time for a meeting." The Director clapped his hands. Behind him, bizarre figures emerged one by one from the darkness, their faces scarred and deformed, all wearing the exact same enthusiastic, booming grin. Under the flickering lights, shifting shadows danced across those smiles, carving out grotesque, menacing curves. And stepping out last was an... unexpected young face. Wearing a smile as well. Yet it was so warm and amiable, brimming with approachability and gentleness, inspiring admiration and trust. He nodded slowly toward him. "Allow me to introduce him. Newly recommended by Director Qian, he's the latest addition to our Infectious Disease Special Treatment Group." The Director waved warmly behind him and said to the newcomer, "He arrived a few weeks ahead of you, so you could say he's your senior. Come on, say hello to your senior." "Alright." Ji Jue nodded. Looking over at Lian Cheng, he enthusiastically extended his hand. Waiting for his response. Yet an inexplicable sense of suffocation and dread suddenly surged in Lian Cheng's chest, setting his heart racing in panic. For a split second, his vision seemed to blur—the gentle smile vanished, replaced only by a burning skeletal visage surrounded by crimson gore and lingering spirits, blazing for eternity. Just as quickly, the hallucination vanished. Only Ji Jue's outstretched hand remained. Waiting quietly. Unwavering, as if he could wait until the seas ran dry and the stones turned to dust. Until Lian Cheng finally snapped back to reality. His hand twitched slightly as he raised it slowly. Before he could fully reach out, the other hand surged forward enthusiastically, clamping his fingers in its grip. So warm, and yet so terribly forceful. Like hydraulic shears delivering their initial greeting to the subject of their impending violence! "Hello there, Hierophant." Ji Jue's right arm yanked violently, pulling him a step forward. He enthusiastically opened his arms and embraced him in an intimate hold. Just like that, patting him on the shoulder, he whispered into his ear: "You're next." Lian Cheng's expression froze instantly, spasming uncontrollably. Yet Ji Jue finally released his grip. Stepping back voluntarily after concluding the greeting, he returned to the Director's side. Looking at him. In that brief exchange of glances, between one stiff smile and one calm, their eyes told completely different tales. Fury and shock versus cold malice. Circulating in silence. Soon, everything settled into quiet. Lian Cheng forced a smile, but behind his back, his right hand—numb with throbbing agony—clenched in rage, veins bulging. Fuck, fuck, fuck... He lowered his head. Suppressing the murderous intent and rage on the brink of erupting. Just like that, he joined the group. *** Lian Cheng couldn't even remember how he made it to the conference room. Along the way, amid shock and fury, his mind seemed to go completely blank for a moment, following along like a walking corpse. Listening to speeches and instructions like everyone else, applauding mechanically on cue. Finally, he pulled out his prepared notes to deliver his report, his voice hollow and intermittent, stripped of its former passion. "In summary, following the implementation of the new therapy, the patient's condition has shown promising progress..." Yet just as everyone was listening intently and applauding with delight, another jarring noise broke in. "Ahem. Hold on." Lian Cheng's report was cut short. Dead silence fell over the conference room. Everyone turned with displeased frowns, glaring at the impudent newcomer who dared interrupt. "Apologies, I know this is bad timing, but as a doctor, I must take responsibility for our patients' well-being." Ji Jue raised a hand, straightened the lapels of his white coat, and asked solemnly, "I have only one question..." He paused, looking solemnly at everyone. "Does this treatment actually work?" In the brief silence, Lian Cheng's face darkened further. Before anyone else could speak, he lashed out first: "Everyone here witnessed it with their own eyes—how could it be fake? "If you know nothing, then don't waste everyone's time here! Every minute, every second you delay, patients are suffering!" Seizing this critical opportunity, Lian Cheng launched his offensive, determined to drive this pest out of the special group in one blow. At his words, the attending doctors nodded in agreement. Evidently, they were well aware of the vast areas of withered limbs and rotting flesh on the patient. Yet before Lian Cheng could continue, Director Qian looked up and chided coldly, "You're new here. Just bring your ears and eyes and learn properly. "This is not your place to speak!" The furious expression Lian Cheng put on stiffened slightly. Right now, Director Qian's words sounded less like a reprimand and more like... protection? Seriously? Even he was amused by the thought—a mutated entity inside a Chrono Ruin actively protecting an outsider? How absurd! Yet Ji Jue didn't take the cue to back down while he was ahead. Instead, flipping through the files and reports in his hands, he said calmly, "Yet up until now, not a single patient has been cured, right?" Once those words dropped, dead silence fell again. Then, Ji Jue continued, "While everyone is fused together, making it difficult to distinguish one from another, isn't that the crux of the problem? "How can we be sure this treatment is effective rather than merely compounding the patients' torment?" Instantly, the conference room, previously charged with anger and displeasure, stirred with hushed whispers, and even doubt and vacillation. "I said—" Director Qian raised his voice, bloodshot threads surfacing in his pitch-black eyes. "This is not your place to speak! Keep this up, and get the hell out!" "Hold on, Director Qian." This time, it was the Hospital Director who spoke, having remained silent the entire time. As that bloated face, previously lowered in apparent contemplation, slowly lifted, the entire conference room fell dead silent. "Your concerns are not unreasonable. However, the current treatment method has far surpassed our previous attempts and achieved substantial results. "Even if we have not succeeded yet, I believe it is only temporary. After all, illness leaves as slowly as spinning silk; these patients have suffered from terminal afflictions for so many years, entrenched beyond easy remedy. We must have patience." He paused. Upon that inhuman face, several eyes slowly widened, glinting with a chilly light, fixing intently on Ji Jue as his voice turned icy: "However, after saying so much, do you have any brilliant insights? Feel free to share them so we may discuss." Director Qian's expression twitched slightly. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but under the Director's gaze, he ultimately held his tongue. Under the chilly gaze of everyone present, Ji Jue remained as composed as ever, even offering a smile. "I wouldn't call it a brilliant insight, just a modest suggestion." He raised a finger. "Just as everyone said, the patients have been ill for too long, entrenched beyond easy remedy, and recovery is like unwinding silk, so curing them is no simple feat, and so on..." Pausing briefly, his smile grew ever warmer. "In that case, why not find someone with mild symptoms to test it on?" "..." The Hospital Director froze in a daze. "Find a mild case and treat them using our current method." Ji Jue spread his hands openly, looking around at the bewildered expressions. "As long as they're successfully cured, wouldn't that prove the treatment is credible and effective?" "Utter nonsense!" Unable to hold back any longer, Lian Cheng slammed the table, jumped up in rage, and pointed at Ji Jue, shouting, "All the patients are fused together! Where on earth are we supposed to suddenly find—" Before he could finish, a chill ran down his spine. Or rather, chilled him to the marrow. Crap... "Isn't that simple?" Ji Jue looked over at him, smiling warmly, brimming with admiration, anticipation, and blessing. "Whoever proposed the treatment naturally should be the one to prove it!" Lian Cheng stood petrified, frozen in place. Just as he was about to speak, Ji Jue's voice followed right on his heels: "Or could it be that as a doctor, you lack the confidence to personally practice your own treatment?!" Ji Jue slowly rose, pressing both hands on the table as he leaned in closer. Across the overly narrow table, the dagger was finally revealed beneath the map. Smiling, he posed his final question: "Could it be that you don't even have faith in it yourself?" "How could that be?!" Cold sweat instantly broke out across Lian Cheng's back. He glared and shouted on instinct, as if trying to shore up his own confidence. Then, he tried to shift the topic or focus, looking to drag this damned bastard into the water as well. "But—" There was no room for "buts." Before he could finish, Ji Jue interrupted him once more. Yet this time, what Ji Jue said left him utterly incredulous. It was as though he understood his predicament. Speaking from his perspective: "Indeed, clinical trials aren't something to take lightly after all. We can't suddenly expect the proposing physician to serve as the subject—that would be too harsh." Having said that, Ji Jue turned back to look at him, as if struck by sudden realization. "Wait, you're not trying to say... whoever raises the objection should be the one to verify it, are you?" Lian Cheng's face instantly flushed crimson with unprecedented fury. You [censored]! I'll [censored] your [censored]! You little [censored]! Every goddamn word you just said was supposed to be mine! Every fucking line was mine!!! Had this not been the conference room, Lian Cheng, in his wild fury, might have lunged right at him. Yet even this step had been anticipated by his opponent? As his heart gradually sank to the depths, he heard Ji Jue speak once more, freezing him in his tracks. First came confusion and bewilderment, followed by incomprehension and doubt, and finally, what surfaced was actually terror! Because Ji Jue said: "Fine by me." Opposite him, that genial face smiled once more, nodding as he told him, "No problem, sure, I accept. How about we do just that?" "I'm willing to be inoculated with the Disease of Immortality alongside you, serving as the placebo control group according to clinical trial standards." Ji Jue spread his arms wide, as if bathed in nonexistent holy light, devoutly and solemnly offering his all to the white tower. This was the binding of Isaac, the burnt offering of Abraham! To cure the patients, to grant them a peaceful death and closure. The new doctor stepped forward voluntarily to undergo live experimentation, standing atop the moral high ground and looking down as he asked his final question: "Put like that, surely you have no objections left?" Lian Cheng remained rigid, completely petrified, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably as his expression spasmed. Yet amid this dead silence, the sound of sobbing arose. Crying and choked whimpers. Tears slowly streamed down. It was the Hospital Director, but not just him—at this very moment, everyone bowed their heads in silence as serpentine tears of blood slowly traced down their faces. Moved beyond all words! "Each generation brings forth new talent; the waves of the Yangtze drive those before them." "We're old, too old." "Director Qian, well done, splendidly done!" "You've nurtured a fine doctor!" Inside the conference room, the mutated doctors wept and choked back tears, their expressions cycling through gratification, admiration, approval, and marvel... involuntarily breaking into applause for this magnificent sacrifice! Finally, pairs of feverish eyes turned back. Looking toward... Lian Cheng. Lian Cheng opened his mouth several times, but couldn't utter a word. His eyes felt ready to split at the corners in sheer fury!