What does it mean to go to hell? Do I look like a ghost?
When Liu Xia opened his eyes again with a splitting headache, he did not see the Ox-Head and Horse-Faced Monsters from the underworld, nor did he see the angels and gods from heaven. Instead, he saw a face that looked withered and dying.
"Is this hell?" Liu Xia blinked and muttered to himself uncertainly.
The world after death didn't seem as scary and eerie as she had imagined. At least there were no monsters to take her to sentence her.
"You're a pretty girl, but your words are not pleasant to the ear." The black market doctor smacked his lips in dissatisfaction, the wrinkles on his face seeming to shrink together, making him look even more terrifying. "What do you mean by going to hell? Do I look like a ghost?"
Before Liu Xia could react, her wrinkled face was squeezed away by Ding Ruotong's pretty face, which made her feel instantly cheerful and as if she was healed by beautiful things.
"HitÅ!?"
"Sister Xia, you're awake!"
As the two excited voices mixed together, Liu Xia felt herself wrapped in warm body temperature, and Ding Ruotong's sobbing of joy came to her ears. This young girl had been extremely depressed for a while and could hardly hold back her emotions.
Liu Xia's originally despairing mood was revived a little by the hug. She patted her back to comfort her. Then she thought of He Tianlin who was in danger at the time and hurriedly asked, "Where is Xiao He? How is he now?"
"Xiao He is fine for now." Ding Ruotong buried her head in Liu Xia's neck and shoulder, nuzzling against him like a kitten before reluctantly getting up and pointing at the figure in the next bed, whose body was covered with medical equipment. "She has been saved."
After hearing this, Liu Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at He Tianlin, who was lying on the bed next to him with a gentle gaze. Although he had many tubes inserted into his body at this time and could hear the steady beeping sound of the heart rate monitor in his ears, his expression was calm and natural, which meant that at least He Tianlin's life was saved.
Liu Xia took the clean water handed to her by Ding Ruotong and moistened her dry throat. It was different from the one she drank in the garbage area before. This clean water tasted sweet, probably because Atong carefully added glucose powder in it.
"Thank you, doctor." Liu Xia turned to look at the black market doctor beside her. Having died once before, she was no longer as tense as before. She smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "Just now I thought I was dead."
This seemingly joking remark made the black market doctor wave his hand helplessly. He turned around and fiddled with the equipment at hand, maintaining his mechanical fingers. His somewhat aged voice said vaguely, "Don't thank me. Instead, thank Song Xuan. If he hadn't brought you here, I wouldn't care about other people."
Liu Xia recalled what she said to Song Xuan before she fell into a coma, and she couldn't help but feel touched. A ripple appeared in her heart, which had always been as hard as ice. Song Xuan actually kept his promise to her.
"Use my blood to save Xiao He! I know you have a way to save him!"
Even she herself had never thought that He Tianlin, who was injured like that, could really survive. It was just that she saw the blood had an effect, so she made a desperate gamble in desperation.
Tiny particles in the air float in the sunlight, accompanied by regular ticking sounds, adding a touch of warmth to the cold indoor environment.
Liu Xia stood up and walked to He Tianlin's bed. She reached out to push away his hair soaked with cold sweat. The skin under her fingertips was so pale that it was almost transparent. She didn't know if he could feel the pain. His chest was wrapped in a huge machine that made a regular humming sound, acting as a pacemaker.
The mechanical pacemaker was as big as an adult's palm, with a finger-thick cable connected to the edge. It was wrapped in a black alloy shell, and dozens of wire-like metal wires extended from the edge, digging deep into the wound on his chest like a spider web. It seemed that his ability to maintain vital signs depended entirely on the operation of this machine.
Although his eyes were closed and he showed no reaction, his overall condition appeared to be stable.
The shape of this machine reminded her of Bao Tao who had chased them when they escaped from the Colosseum.
At that time, Bao Tao also had a similar machine on his chest, but it looked more sturdy and did not require so many miscellaneous tubes and wires.
"Doctor, what do you mean Xiao He's injury is temporarily fine?"
The black market doctor's mechanical fingers rotated silently on the metal bearings, and maintenance fluid seeped into the delicate joints. Without even blinking, he spoke slowly, "This young man's life is saved for now. If he wants to get out of bed and move around freely, he must get a heart powered by a mutant core. I can only obtain this high-end product after I get the necessary supplies."
"I can get you the supplies you need..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted impatiently by the black market doctor.
"No need. I don't trust outsiders like you." The black market doctor stretched out his newly repaired fingers and said in a cold tone, "Since you're awake, move out with the other girl. Only patients stay in this hell of mine."
Liu Xia was stunned for a moment, feeling a bit amused and helpless. This black market doctor really held a grudge. He was still holding a grudge against him for an unintentional remark he made when he woke up. However, this also changed his impression that the people in "Leviathan" were all crazy.
Although a large part of the body has been replaced by mechanical prostheses, there is still a sense of humanity.
"Then can we come to check on Xiao He every day?" Liu Xia asked.
If He Tianlin's life was not maintained by the mechanical pacemaker in his chest, Liu Xia would not want to have too much involvement with this strange old man.
"I'll send you a Level 2 mutant core every week to cover your hospital bills. I'll give you one hour of visiting time every day, so don't come here for no reason." The black market doctor waved his hand and started to dismiss us with an impatient look on his face. "I need to see another patient now, so you guys should leave now."
Ding Ruotong seemed to have long been accustomed to the attitude of black market doctors. She pulled Liu Xia back to He Tianlin's bedside and whispered to him, "That's how Doctor Lin is. Don't worry. Even if we exceed the time limit when we come to take care of Xiao He tomorrow, he won't force us to leave."
"This is our first time in Black Gold City. You should also want to know more about the situation here. I've never been out before, so why don't we go out and take a look together?"
Liu Xia nodded in relief. "Where's Song Xuan? I want to thank him in person and ask him about the mechanical heart."
From the moment I saw Dr. Lin's mechanical arm, I had already roughly deduced the location. It could not be anywhere else except the "Leviathan" that I had heard of and admired machinery.
Ding Ruotong looked up at the wall clock and said after thinking for a few seconds, "You should see him soon."
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