Chapter 228: On the Scales 09
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Hansue.” Kui Xin composed himself and walked into the room.
As Yu Hansue began to speak, Kui Xin noticed that her voice was very hoarse. It seemed she could hardly support her body and could only lean there partially.
The closer he got to her, the stronger the scent of medicine and blood became. Yu Hansue was still attached to an IV, and the bag of fluid was already half-empty. She had to receive several bags of fluid every day, and there was a cannula on her exposed arm.
“I haven’t seen you in a long time either, Xin Xin. My aunt told me the other day that you would come to see me, so I’ve been waiting,” Yu Hansue assessed Kui Xin, noticing his silent expression, and softly said, “You mustn’t cry; I’m fine. I’m already recovering.”
Kui Xin shook his head.
“That’s right, I’ve never seen you cry since we were little. You’ve always been stronger than me.” Yu Hansue smiled. “How have you been? I remember you got into university here.”
After high school, they no longer attended the same school, and their contact became less frequent. During the summer, Kui Xin was usually busy working and rarely went out with friends. Although they didn’t gather often, their relationship hadn’t become distant.
“I’m at university here, majoring in AI,” Kui Xin replied. “How about you? Have things been arranged for your university?”
“Yes, everything is arranged. The school has allowed me to take a leave of absence to recover. Some teachers even donated money to me, and the insurance claims are in process, so I don’t have to worry about treatment costs for now,” Yu Hansue said optimistically.
Yu Hansue had been accepted into a medical university in another province, and her college entrance examination scores were excellent. When selecting her major, she and Kui Xin had considered the same field—dentistry—because, quite simply, dental doctors earn a lot.
Unfortunately, one chose AI while the other chose clinical medicine later on.
Kui Xin preferred the AI major because she had developed an interest in it after browsing through the books of her senior Liu Boyi while having dinner at her teacher’s home. Between the prospects of money and her passion, Kui Xin struggled for some time but ultimately chose her passion.
Besides, this major has good employment prospects; technology is advancing rapidly, and skilled professionals always find opportunities. AI might still offer a lucrative future.
Kui Xin thought for a moment, “So you’re planning to have skin grafts?”
“Too expensive; a small piece of skin costs tens of thousands. I’m not considering it for now,” Yu Hansue replied.
Kui Xin asked again, “When you were lying in the ICU, I went to see you, and the doctor said you might need an amputation…”
Yu Hansue moved her body wrapped in bandages and said in a low voice, “I did have an amputation.”
“Does it affect your life?” Kui Xin asked with concern.
“I’ll show you, but don’t be scared,” Yu Hansue said as she pulled her right arm out from under the blanket. The lower part of her arm, where the cannula was inserted, was wrapped in bandages. Her palm was completely covered, revealing only her index and middle fingers, while the rest were missing.
It’s hard to imagine what a heavy blow this is for a young person.
“This is nothing. My other hand is perfectly fine… At least I’m alive. My parents…,” Yu Hansue said softly, “Having these two fingers left is just right; when I’m happy, I can use them to make a ‘V’ sign, and when I’m not, I can give a middle finger to the heavens.”
If Yu Hansue were an A-grade Awakened, these burn injuries could completely heal after some time of rest, and her skin could even regenerate. Higher-grade Awakened have extraordinarily strong cellular regeneration abilities, and certain severe flesh wounds can even heal in a single day. But amputations are different; Kui Xin’s low-level flesh regeneration cannot repair amputations, and neither can higher-grade Awakened.
Yu Hansue wasn’t worried about skin grafts or recovery issues, probably because she herself is a high-level Awakened. Her optimistic mindset stems from the fact that although she’s lying in bed, the future isn’t solely filled with despair.
“Seeing you like this puts my mind at ease,” Kui Xin said to Yu Hansue. “Uncle and Aunt… I was also very sad when I heard the news. But everything will be alright.”
She’s not good at saying comforting words since no one ever comforted her when she was sad in the past. She understands Yu Hansue’s experiences and emotions, but comforting others seems to require a gift; she could only sit there and watch her.
“I know everything,” Yu Hansue said. “I plan to return home for treatment after a while. The doctor said I’m recovering very quickly; once I return home, I’ll stay in a rehabilitation hospital for a while before going home to recuperate.”
“Mm.” Kui Xin nodded.
Yu Hansue continued, “Let’s not talk about those unhappy things. How have you been, Xin Xin? Are you still working over the summer?”
“I’m working, tutoring a girl who is about to attend her senior year in high school,” Kui Xin said. “Other than that, life has just been tiring and busy.”
“You won’t be like last semester, running back and forth between two jobs, will you?” Yu Hansue asked.
Kui Xin’s lips twitched.
In a sense, she really did have two jobs… No, not just two jobs, but was juggling many jobs at once.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Universities can offer financial aid, and student loans can be paid back after graduation,” Yu Hansue said with concern. “Oh, by the way… that game that was very popular in promotions, what was it called? A lot of people went to reserve it… Have you heard of it?”
“…Crimson Soil? I’ve heard of it,” Kui Xin said, looking at Yu Hansue’s face, anticipating what she was about to say.
“Yes, that’s the one… You didn’t reserve it, did you?” Yu Hansue asked. “No matter what, whether it’s its promotional beta test or anything else, you should steer clear of it. This game…”
She lowered her gaze, seemingly racking her brain to find reasons to dissuade Kui Xin from playing the game.
“It’s too late,” Kui Xin interrupted her, whispering, “I’ve already reserved it.”
Yu Hansue shot her head up in shock, her raspy voice rising in pitch, “Reserved it? Th- that’s okay; you weren’t selected, right? The first two rounds of beta testing have passed, the third round hasn’t started yet, as long as you don’t reserve it afterward…”
Kui Xin silently looked at Yu Hansue.
As Yu Hansue saw the calmness in her eyes, those deep and serene eyes seemed to contain many things. For the first time, she felt that she couldn’t understand this childhood companion.
Her breath started to tremble, as if she confirmed something.
“You… you weren’t selected, were you?” Yu Hansue asked, holding onto her last sliver of hope.
Kui Xin slowly shook her head, “I was selected.”
Tears suddenly welled up in Yu Hansue’s eyes, streaming down and disappearing into the layers of white bandages.
She opened her arms, and Kui Xin stepped forward to gently embrace her, saying, “Don’t be sad; or your wounds will split open.”
Yu Hansue cried, gasping intermittently as she said, “I feel a bit happy; although I don’t know where you’re living in that world, I feel like someone is with me. But if possible, I’d prefer you not to end up like me… I… I don’t want to die, but it’s so hard…”
Gradually, as Yu Hansue’s crying subsided, Kui Xin released her and asked, “Now tell me what you’ve encountered; maybe I can help you.”
Yu Hansue paused and said, “There’s nothing much to say. I’m an intern nurse at a federal hospital, which is a relatively stable role. I just need to take care of the patients every day…”
“And then?” Kui Xin pressed on, “What dangers did you encounter?”
“There were dangers, but I was good enough at pretending, so I avoided them,” Yu Hansue’s face shadowed slightly, the gloom passing quickly, “Now I have rarely faced dangers… very rarely…”
…
Yu Hansue lied to Kui Xin; she wasn’t a nurse at a federal hospital but an employee at a federal secret research facility, tasked with cleaning up failed experimental subjects from experiments.
She didn’t explain the truth to Kui Xin because she didn’t want to worry her.
Yu Hansue was responsible for Experiment Site Nine, which contained high-level experimental subjects, precious samples. Every day, Yu Hansue recorded the growth and hormonal conditions of these experimental samples, reporting any that were subpar. With approval from the superiors, she could dispose of these experimental subjects.
This work was dull and tedious, but it was easy to master and required little interaction with colleagues. Yu Hansue just needed to be a little cautious to avoid others noticing her abnormalities. Luckily, the identity of the body she inhabited seemed to have just arrived at the secret research facility, making it normal for her to be unfamiliar with certain operations, significantly aiding her disguise.
At first, Yu Hansue diligently completed her tasks with honesty.
Seven days later, she successfully returned and learned about the game situation from the forum.
Then she once again returned to that terrifying world. This time, armed with intelligence, she felt more composed and disguised even better.
Originally, Yu Hansue planned to continue like this, but an unexpected event after her return to the First World interrupted her plans: a fire broke out at home, killing both her parents except for her.
After suffering a significant blow, she lay in the ICU and traversed back to the Second World.
Back in the Second World, she pondered for a long time and decided to leverage her talent to pursue readily obtainable power.
Yu Hansue reported several experimental subjects that were on the brink of being discarded and quickly obtained permission to execute them.
Previously, when she executed experimental subjects, she would just press a button to inject them with an overdose of anesthetics for a painless death. This time, she changed her method.
She took the experimental subjects out of the Petri dishes and personally injected them with the prepared anesthetic.
The drug flowed slowly into the veins of the experimental subjects.
She heard the system’s voice broadcast in her mind: “You have killed an unknown experimental subject.”
“You have deprived an unknown experimental subject of extraordinary abilities.”
“You have gained the extraordinary ability [Wheel of Time·E Level].”
