Chapter 36

The next day, after Kono Seiryoshi regained consciousness, he felt something was not right.

Mori Ogai deliberately chose that time to send Guangjin Liulang to give him the seal. After a few words, he left politely, leaving the image of a good leader who was still working overtime late at night.

——A ghost.

Because the next morning, Mori Ogai "suddenly realized" and opened the visiting rights in the ward, leaving Kono Seiryoshi and Nakahara Chuuya recalling the stupidity of last night and falling into awkward silence.

"...The closet is quite spacious." Nakahara Chuuya concluded with a few words.

Gongye Shengliang covered his face with a pillow and said in a muffled voice: "...I'm sorry."

Zhongyuan Zhongye, who entered the room openly by swiping his ID, selectively ignored the embarrassment of yesterday when he inexplicably huddled in the closet and pricked up his ears to listen to the noise outside. He also deleted the memory of jumping out of the closet with a hot face and saying goodbye and leaving after realizing it belatedly. He turned back into a reliable and cool gravity user.

He looked around the room, which was completely empty except for the most basic equipment and furniture, and exclaimed, "I didn't notice it because the light was too dim yesterday, but this ward is so dull. Can I really live here?"

"The wards are mostly like this," Kono Seiryoshi put down the pillow and recalled uncertainly, "But it won't take too long. The doctor said I can be discharged in about half a month."

"Discharged from hospital..." Nakahara Chuuya suddenly raised his eyes and looked at him, his tone unconsciously lowered, "So soon?"

"After all, you've been lying down for a long time," Kono Seiryo smiled helplessly at him, half jokingly, "If you lie down any longer, you'll become one with the bed."

The new drug was very effective. He felt both pain and happiness. After reducing the pain to the lowest level, only happiness remained.

It's boring to play cards in the system space all the time, Gongye Shengliang thought secretly, I should move more if I can.

Nakahara Chuuya heard his answer, but there was no happiness on his face. His Adam's apple slid up and down a few times, but in the end he pursed his lips and said nothing.

Gongye is not like a mafia. He rarely hurts others on his own initiative, but he is easily hurt.

In that case...

At that moment, a strong and even somewhat despicable thought suddenly emerged in Nakahara Chuuya's heart.

——In that case, it would be better to put it right under his nose, where he can easily reach out and grab it.

This thought only lasted half a second before he waved it away with his own hands.

Nakahara Chuuya closed his deep blue eyes and pressed his thumb on his temple, silently trying to remind himself not to expose his rationality too obviously.

About ten seconds later, he opened his eyes again and they returned to a calm sea.

"…Remember to tell me when you are discharged from the hospital," Nakahara Chuuya's lips curved slightly, his eyes filled with restrained tenderness, "I'll come pick you up."

--

It was not only Nakahara Chuuya who got the ward access permit, but also Kouno Seiryoshi. Previously, his range of activities was limited to the first floor of the ward, and now, although he still could not leave the building, at least he could go around a few floors.

He came to the medical department to get the report form and fell into deep thought over the long list of professional terms with suffixes on the medical record.

——I don’t understand it at all.

Then let’s not cause trouble for ourselves, Kono Seiryoshi decided happily.

He put down the medical records and waited for Dr. Songyuan to call him. While chatting with the nurse as usual, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from next door.

"Really? Young people nowadays don't take their health seriously! Akutagawa-kun, didn't I warn you again and again not to hurt your muscles and bones recently?"

Dr. Songyuan slammed the table in frustration.

The next ward was quiet for half a minute, and then the unfamiliar boy's flat voice was heard: "I'm not injured."

"Yes, you didn't," Dr. Songyuan almost laughed, "You are just dirty and bleeding again. Are you going to come in horizontally next time?"

There was no movement in the room again. I guessed that the boy left without saying anything. After the door was closed, I could only hear Dr. Matsubara sigh helplessly, "...Kuno-kun, have you been waiting for a long time? Please come in."

Kono Seiryoshi, who felt like he was being lectured just by listening, remained silent for a few seconds and knocked on the door very carefully.

Fortunately, he didn't torture himself too much during this period, so the results of the examination report should be good. At least Dr. Songyuan's expression was much calmer when he read it.

Gongye Shengliang felt relieved a little, and the doubts that had been suppressed before also surfaced. He asked curiously, "Doctor, who was the last patient?"

As the person in charge of the medical department can directly contact him, I think his position in the port mafia should be quite high. However, he has no impression of the boy's voice. Did he join during the time when he was recuperating in the hospital?

Not only was he not afraid of doctors, he even managed to make the usually good-tempered Dr. Matsubara so angry that he slammed the table without caring about his image. Kono Seiryoshi immediately felt respect for this strange young man.

"You mean Akutagawa Ryunosuke-kun?" Doctor Matsubara was overwhelmed at the mention of this name. "He joined the port mafia about half a month ago. He already has a history of illness, but he still ignores his health and trains hard every day. His level of obedience is just as bad as yours."

"Look, we're only halfway through today's inspection, and we're - wait, how come we're only halfway through?!"

Kouno Seiryoshi laughed dryly and cleared his throat. "I'll go call Akutagawa back to continue the examination."

He had his reasons for not listening to the doctor's advice, but this boy was different. With such a promising future ahead of him, it would be a pity to waste his health at such a young age.

"This..." Dr. Matsubara was in a dilemma. He didn't know what he remembered, but his expression gradually softened. He nodded and said, "Well, if you come forward, Akutagawa-kun should be able to listen to you a little bit."

"Excuse me, Kouno-kun."

--

On the way to the training room with the medical records that Akutagawa Ryunosuke forgot to take, Kono Seiryoshi was still wondering why Dr. Matsubara found his words useful.

Gongye Shengliang pondered for a long time until he saw his ID card and it suddenly dawned on him - yes, he is now a prospective cadre!

It is said that it was Mori Ogai who personally promoted him on the day Zhong Hui was destroyed, but because he looked so miserable in the intensive care unit, no one dared to congratulate him.

Kono Seiryoshi has been staying in the ward, and has no real sense of promotion or salary increase. The mafia gangs he met along the way all bowed to him, but he still felt uncomfortable.

The young man with a delicate and illusory appearance had a faint smile on his face, but the smile did not reach his eyes. The orange light from the wall lamp fell on the gilded irises, smearing an eerie blood color.

The guards around him lowered their heads and did not dare to look up at him.

Only when he reached a place with fewer people did Kono Seiyoshi heave a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that not everyone could play the role of a potential cadre well.

"This is the place where Akutagawa-kun trained."

The closer you get to the training room, the clearer the sounds of heavy objects rolling and wood breaking inside. Just by listening to them, you can imagine how fierce the battle is.

When entering the medical department, Kono Seira only saw Akutagawa Ryunosuke's back from a distance. He was thin and skinny, and kept coughing with his hands covering his mouth, but his back was very straight.

...Can that child really withstand such rigorous training? He couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Remembering that Akutagawa was still injured, Kono Seiryoshi didn't want to wait until the training was over, so he raised his hand to knock on the door.

"Why are you standing there, trying to get yourself killed? If that's the extent of your determination, I could have satisfied you right now."

The cold, emotionless words seemed a little blurry due to the barrier between them, but the voice was so familiar.

Gongye Shengliang's raised hand froze in mid-air.

--

In the training room, Akutagawa Ryunosuke covered his abdomen and coughed up blood in pain. He wiped the blood off his face roughly.

He stood up staggeringly and roared. The black strips on his body turned into sharp blades and attacked the expressionless mafia official in the middle of the ground, but were completely neutralized by the latter's coldly outstretched hands.

"Too slow. If this were a battlefield, you would have been dead long ago."

Dazai Osamu's eyebrows were half covered by a bandage, but one could still see his increasingly gloomy expression. He looked solemnly and spoke coldly to Akutagawa Ryunosuke who was lying paralyzed on the ground.

If there was still a flame in Akutagawa's eyes, whether it was hatred or anger, he seemed to have been abandoned by the light, like a pool of stagnant water, unable to stir up any ripples.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke lay on the ground, not moving for a long time.

Dazai Osamu seemed to have lost interest in continuing training. He pulled out a gun from his arms, loaded it carelessly, and was about to shoot the person on the floor when his eyes suddenly became fierce.

"—Who's outside?"

No one answered, time seemed to stand still, he narrowed his eyes slightly and changed the direction of the gun.

Just before his patience ran out, the door of the training room was finally slowly opened.

Dazai Osamu's exposed left eye suddenly widened.

"…Sorry," the man opened the door and did not move again. He smiled reluctantly, "Sorry to bother you."

Dazai Osamu froze in place, and the fingers holding the gun twitched uncontrollably for a moment - it was this slight pain that made him react, and he still pointed the gun at the man.

The cold metal suddenly became a hot potato, and he hastily put the gun away.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke did not faint. His muscles all over his body were tense and he was always paying attention to the movement next to him. Dazai Osamu's flawless behavior made him raise his head in shock. After he was brought to the Port Mafia from the slums by this man and trained day and night for half a month, this was the first time he found something like this in Dazai Osamu. Something that is "broken".

So - the opportunity is now!

The dark supernatural power roared out again with a momentum that threatened to engulf the entire room, an ominous red light swirling around it.

However, the next second, when it touched Dazai Osamu's body, everything returned to normal.

Failed again.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke clenched his teeth and lowered his head, waiting for the next round of punishment.

The expected sarcasm and punches did not come, and the room was so quiet that only the buzzing in his ears could be heard. Akutagawa frowned and looked at his boss in confusion, but saw that the latter was nailed to the spot for some reason, his lips were trembling, and half of his face was pale and bloodless.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke was stunned, and looked in the direction Dazai Osamu was looking, and unexpectedly met another gaze.

——The person at the door is a stranger, why is he looking at him worriedly?

"…Kuno-kun."

Dazai Osamu opened his eyes, a forced smile appeared on his lips, and his voice was as light as a speck of dust floating in the air, "Why are you here?"

Kono Seira hadn't figured out how to get along with Dazai Osamu yet, so today's meeting was really unexpected. He subconsciously followed the other person's words and said in a polite tone, "Sorry, I'm here to look for someone."

Having said that, he looked at Akutagawa Ryunosuke who was full of hostility in a corner of the training room. The ends of the boy's black hair on his temples gradually turned white, and his pair of black eyes were like obsidian, cold and sharp, but not cloudy.

Kono Seira smiled at him in a friendly manner, "Can you come out for a moment, Akutagawa-kun?"