From the Abyss of Stars

56. Good News, The Doctor Said I Don’t Need Treatment, I’ll Be Fine After Death

 

"I don’t care about your flirting, but at least don’t disturb the patients here."

 

The woman wore a worn but clean white lab coat. She had short hair on one side, while the other side was covered with a stainless steel alloy plating, clearly revealing where the original bionic scalp had fallen off, exposing the integrated circuit and brain-machine interface of her right prosthetic eye.

 

She held a laboratory beaker containing a bluish-green fluorescent liquid, complaining as she sipped the eerie solvent.

 

The doctor's appearance wasn't attractive. Much of her bionic skin had fallen off, exposing the electronic circuits beneath, making her look particularly grim. She wore smoky eye makeup, which made her look somewhat alluring, but the overwhelming smell of various medications emanating from her made it hard to imagine she was a doctor.

 

"No, no, it's not like that!" Qiu Ran waved her hand hurriedly. "We're just companions—"

 

"Sorry, doctor." Li Aozhi bowed his head apologetically. "We didn’t notice we had reached the clinic. It’s my fault."

 

As he spoke, he removed his mask, revealing his handsome features and well-defined facial structure, his gray eyes filled with sincerity.

 

"Hmm, you’re quite handsome. For the sake of your collagen-filled youthful face, I’ll let it slide." The doctor raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. "Go where you need to go, but remember to keep quiet. I still have patients resting here."

 

"We’ll leave soon. But before that, I want to ask if you have any suitable medications for sale." Li Aozhi asked. "I have a friend who needs a rare medicine."

 

"A scavenger coming to a doctor for medicine? Don’t you all trust only your own synthesized stuff?" The doctor was quite curious. "Go ahead, I’m curious what medicine could make a scavenger break the norm and come to me."

 

She became interested, picked up the beaker, and tilted her head back to gulp down the fluorescent solvent.

 

Li Aozhi said, "ZX-102, Dr. Chen Siqi."

 

Crash—

 

The beaker shattered on the ground, breaking into pieces. Li Aozhi slightly tilted his head, dodging the blade that popped out from the back of her hand, its green core looking particularly deadly. He said calmly:

 

"Emerald Dream Fang—produced by Leif Industries, military-grade prosthetic. The synthetic neurotoxin has a lethal dose of 0.2 milligrams for adults. A scratch would mean death for an ordinary person."

 

A conductive wire popped out from Chen Siqi’s neck, attaching to the back of Li Aozhi's ear. She closed her mouth, her voice transmitting through bone conduction to Li Aozhi:

 

"Shut up, it can detect vocal cord vibrations—who sent you?"

 

Li Aozhi raised his hands slightly, indicating no harm. "Introduced by Dmitry. Don’t worry, I’m a short-lived person. I don’t care about your background in the Abyss, nor will I publicize it."

 

Chen Siqi’s face was expressionless, but her voice went straight into Li Aozhi's mind:

 

"Heh, that old craftsman. Then you really are a doomed man—what's your purpose for asking about ZX-102?"

 

"I’m curious about what happened in the Abyss two years ago. I heard they were conducting human experiments and achieved some results. I thought maybe it could treat me." Li Aozhi’s tone was flippant, fitting the persona of a scavenger.

 

"You?"

 

Chen Siqi raised her left hand, a probe popping out from her fingertip, which she pricked into Li Aozhi's neck. Her eyes flooded with data streams, then she sneered:

 

"You don’t need treatment. Genetic collapse. Just die."

 

"You analyze quickly, better than Abyss physicians."

 

"Quick, my ass. You must possess a high-risk Arcane ability—what level? Just a glance at your telomeres and genetic chain gave me trypophobia."

 

Dr. Chen Siqi sneered.

 

"Sigma? Upsilon? It can’t be Psi, right?"

 

Li Aozhi gently moved her blade aside, calmly saying:

 

"Omega."

 

Swish!

 

Dr. Chen Siqi retracted the blade into her hand, looking like she’d seen a ghost:

 

"Omega-level Arcane ability isn’t something mortals can control. Your genetic chain is already shattered by the Arcane force, your telomeres severely damaged. If you keep using it like this, you absolutely won’t live for another two years."

 

"Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization, aren't they studying this stuff? The impact of Arcane abilities on human genes and the activation of extraordinary powers by the apocalyptic force..."

 

Li Aozhi said calmly:

 

"I heard about the ZX-102 incident. It seems the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization isn’t a monolith. Since Dr. Chen chose to defect, you must know something about that incident, right?"

 

"Who told you that?"

 

"A woman named Ze Qi."

 

"Huh... a black market dealer, right. It seems you’ve been to the Abyss—no, maybe this Arcane ability was awakened with their help, right?"

 

Li Aozhi neither confirmed nor denied.

 

"Omega-level Arcane ability, it's a wonder you can withstand it. This power isn’t meant for humans. Has the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization gone completely mad?"

 

Dr. Chen held her forehead, muttering to herself for a moment. Then she knocked on the door panel, retracted the conductive wire, and turned to go inside, waving her hand:

 

"Come in, and close the door."

 

Li Aozhi didn’t enter immediately. He glanced around the room, noticing three suspected trap setups, then raised his hand and pointed them out.

 

"If you’ve got nothing to hide, just ignore them." Dr. Chen Siqi lay back on a chair, her feet propped on the desk, looking unconcerned.

 

Only then did Li Aozhi step inside, sitting opposite the consultation table. Qiu Ran followed closely, closing the door. She suddenly sensed something, turned her head, and immediately met a wary gaze—a boy lying on the bed, covered with a thin blanket, his black eyes cautiously watching the two newcomers.

 

"Don’t be afraid, Most." Dr. Chen Siqi comforted. "These two are not like your bastard boss. They are still people with a conscience."

 

Hearing this, the boy withdrew his suspicion, tugging the blanket to cover his head.

 

Qiu Ran glanced at the lower half of the blanket, where the bulge didn’t match a normal body structure.

 

"This child is..."

 

"He wandered with a merchant convoy. His boss forced this child, not yet ten years old, to carry heavy loads. He fell in the snow and soon after, his legs froze and rotted."

 

As Chen Siqi spoke, she threw a skull to Li Aozhi:

 

"This is his boss's skull. Hand it to Dmitry later and have him make a ball for me. The old guy saw my water collector and said he wouldn't go unless I gave it to him for free."

 

"A simple favor." Li Aozhi weighed the skull. "You cleaned it quite well."

 

"It’s for the child. Can’t be careless." Chen Siqi said indifferently.

 

Qiu Ran hesitated to speak.

 

The people of the outer world were truly fierce and savage...

 

"Let’s talk about ZX-102." Li Aozhi knocked on the table, returning to the main topic. "Dr. Chen Siqi, I heard that Nurse Nordley Crow used to be in charge of ZX-102’s care... What exactly is ZX-102?"

 

"A child."

 

"...What did you say?"

 

"A child, less than a year old."

 

Chen Siqi rubbed her temples, saying:

 

"ZX-102 was a baby adopted by the professor. We named her 'Snow'. Nordley was young then, and she worked with Assistant Physician Anna. At that time, the professor started a project on 'Snow'."

 

"A project," Qiu Ran’s pupils shrank. "You experimented on that child?"

 

"Yes." Chen Siqi said gravely. "The rumors about the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization in the outer world are true."

 

"Continue."

 

Li Aozhi’s tone unconsciously became cold:

 

"What was the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization’s project?"