Ash City originally had no hospital, nor any decent doctors or pharmacies.

Priests who used to worship the Hero God would occasionally also take on the role of doctors, but after the Hero God faith was suppressed by the Black Hand Lu Gang, this practice of being half priests and half doctors gradually disappeared.

At that time, most of the doctors in Ash City were located in the fledgling district, which could also be considered the wealthy area. They were mostly professionals affiliated with various hunting groups, city guards, or mafia gangs. Ordinary scavengers and commoners had great difficulty accessing medical care.

The situation only improved after a female doctor named Mei Anming returned to Ash City from elsewhere, inherited an abandoned temple in the Eggshell District, and converted it into a small hospital.

The reason it's "some" is because Dr. Mei doesn't provide treatment for free. Although her prices are much lower than those of the doctors in the fledgling area, and she's even willing to waive the consultation fee for truly destitute people, charging only the basic price of medicine, many still can't afford it. For many scavengers, once an illness becomes so severe that it deprives them of their ability to move, it's essentially the same as death.

Back then, they either had to sell their meager possessions or sell themselves. But sometimes, even the most ruthless scavengers wouldn't take in sick and weak ones, leaving them no choice but to wait to die.

This is also why many scavengers envy the hunting parties. At least, each of the three major hunting parties has its own doctor. If it's not a very serious illness or injury, the hunting party can bring you back to life.

Chen Jing finally persuaded Uncle Zhang to see a doctor. He and Zhang Taoying took Uncle Zhang to the hospital, choosing one outside the Eggshell District instead of a more distant one.

Chen Jing and Zhang Taoying did not help Uncle Zhang, because Uncle Zhang himself did not want to be helped. He walked on the road, coughing from time to time, and occasionally coughing up blood, which was shocking to see.

Dr. Mei Anming's hospital, though called a hospital, was really just a clinic. The original abandoned temple was just a small temple, built after the war in ruins, placed among the panicked people at the time, serving only as a form of comfort.

Dr. Mei Anming didn't have any help. Although she had been in Ash City for some time, she still hadn't trained any students who could stand on their own. She only had a few nurses who cared for patients while learning Dr. Mei Anming's medical skills.

It is said that Dr. Mei Anming's medical skills are inherited from her family, but she herself doesn't care about that. Some criticize this as a sign of a woman's extroverted nature, while many others admire her greatly because of it, feeling that she is a compassionate doctor.

When we arrived outside the hospital, it was already dark. The lights emanating from the small temple, combined with the ever-present mist, made it look somewhat like a lighthouse during a night voyage.

Upon entering the hospital, one sees an angel statue that used to stand in the lobby, where Dr. Mei Anming used to see patients at his consultation table. However, Dr. Mei Anming is not there today; only a young woman I don't recognize is present.

The young girl said softly to Chen Jing and the others, "Dr. Mei is seeing a patient. Please have a seat. Or, shall I take a look at you first?"

As she spoke, she looked at Uncle Zhang.

Uncle Zhang covered his mouth, coughed a few times, nodded, and sat down first.

The young girl was too embarrassed to sit in Dr. Mei's original seat, so she stood up and first observed Uncle Zhang's expression.

The young woman asked, "Do you have a headache, or feel cold or feverish in certain parts of your body?"

Uncle Zhang shook his head: "Cough cough... I don't have a headache anymore. I had one a few days ago, but I'm fine now."

The young girl then asked, "Does your throat feel comfortable when you speak?"

Uncle Zhang said, "It's fine, it doesn't hurt at all."

The young girl frowned slightly. She then asked Uncle Zhang to open his mouth, examined his tongue and throat, and took his pulse.

After working on it for a while, she asked again, "Does your cough produce phlegm?"

Just as Uncle Zhang was about to speak, he suddenly had another violent cough.

Cough cough! Cough cough!

He covered his mouth.

After the coughing subsided, Uncle Zhang opened his hand, which was covered in blood.

“There’s no phlegm,” Uncle Zhang said, looking at the young girl. “There’s only blood.”

The young girl opened her mouth, but finally said, "Let's wait for Dr. Mei to come and see you. Please sit for a while, and I'll go get you some herbal tea."

Chen Jing and Zhang Taoying quickly helped Uncle Zhang to sit down on a chair prepared for him.

The young girl ran quickly and left the lobby.

While the young girl was treating Uncle Zhang, Chen Jing had been observing his surroundings. Now, after the young girl left, Chen Jing's gaze focused on the angel statue.

It's normal for a clinic to retain statues since it was converted from a small temple. Angels are associated with heaven, and the presence of angel statues here proves that the original small temple was probably a place of worship for heaven.

But the more Chen Jing looked at the sculpture, the more he felt something was wrong.

This sculpture, shaped like angel wings, looks exactly like the eerie "angel" you see in the underground arena.

Is it just my imagination? Or is it because what happened there had some impact on my mental state?

Chen Jinggang was about to discuss this matter with Zhang Taoying when he realized that her attention was entirely focused on Uncle Zhang, and that it was not the right time to discuss it in front of Uncle Zhang.

Chen Jing stood up and decided to go for a walk behind the angel sculpture.

The angels encountered in the arena shared a common characteristic: numerous thin white tubes sprouted from their backs. These tubes, as flexible as their limbs, were used to suck blood and manipulate the maggots. These white tubes were also a weakness of the angels that Chen Jing discovered when using the Eye of Assassination.

Chen Jing quietly walked around to the back of the angel sculpture, his gaze moving upwards to the back of the sculpture.

Chen Jing felt his heart leap into his throat.

On the back of the angel sculpture, there is a cylindrical object that curves upwards.

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