Chapter 1227: Lizard's Tail, Puppeteer's Head
When Lin Sanjiu walked up alone, Wushi Ming glanced back at her.
She stood several meters away, lowering her head and not saying a word. With the help of just having eaten the candy, she looked inconspicuous, and the ugly old man didn't recognize her. However, as soon as he saw someone near the payment counter, Wushi Ming still slightly turned his body defensively, half-facing Lin Sanjiu, and lowered his voice a bit, continuing to roar at the NPC, "This is a hospital!"
"Yeah, now you know."
Gardenia had already been moved away from the counter, and the room had returned to its original state, showing no signs of the two NPCs' deaths.
A new NPC was picking at his nails, not even looking up. "We are a hospital, not Frankenstein's lab."
"But," Wushi Ming waved his hand irritably as if trying to smash the other person's words, "You can bring an empty body back to life, even if it has no organs left—what's the difference with my request?"
The ugly old man was wearing a tight sweater that covered his bloated belly, and there was nothing unusual about his body. It was hard for anyone to imagine that he had been cut open from the lower back, with his spine artificially extended until it reached his lower leg. The appearance was so horrifying that even now, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but shiver when thinking about it.
"The difference is huge," the NPC said, raising his eyes and scanning Wushi Ming's waist. "We can put organs and blood into an empty body, but it still needs a body, right? You only have a head left. Where can we find a new body for you?"
Only a head left?
Wushi Ming wiped his face, looking like he wanted to shout angrily and cry at the same time. At the very least, he looked to be in his fifties or sixties, and it was likely he hadn't shed tears for decades. When the old and ugly face suddenly trembled, somehow, it was more emotionally impactful than a young person's tears.
He stabilized his emotions, lowering his voice weakly as if pleading, "Think about it. Is there any other way? She... She's my sister. I can't just let her go like this."
Lin Sanjiu looked down at her toes, partly understanding and partly confused. Without a doubt, Wushi Ming got Wushi Fan's last intact body part—the head—and now he wanted the hospital to find a way to save her. But the confusion that followed was so thick that she felt suffocated.
When she left, Wushi Ming could not act anymore and wasn't even considered a person. Lin Sanjiu didn't pride herself on her actions back then, as she really had no other choice. However, no matter how you looked at it, Wushi Ming was closer to being an overused item than a person.
In that state, how could he come back to life, come to the payment counter, get a new set of organs and have his wounds treated, and even obtain Wushi Fan's head, which should have been locked in the room?
"You don't have to worry about points," Wushi Ming said while curving his body slightly. It was as if he had a wound in his abdomen, and he had to curl up to protect it. "I... I will get enough organs even if it costs me my life... As long as you can think of a way to save my sister."
The conversation repeated over the next few minutes. The NPC repeatedly stated that the person was dead and only had a head left, so there was nothing they could do except slow down the decay. Wushi Ming, on the other hand, suddenly seemed to not understand the language and completely ignored their words, repeatedly asking the same question—along with mentioning the fact that she was his sister, his family, and he couldn't let her go; he couldn't be alone.
Lin Sanjiu didn't listen any further and turned back to the small alley where Bohemia and Magus were hiding.
When she retold what she heard, Bohemia also raised the same doubts. "I don't understand. It's impossible," she said, repeating the latter statement several times. "In that condition, he was basically a dead man! Are there volunteers in this hospital who specialize in saving the dying and healing the wounded?"
It would be too time-consuming to explain everything to Magus again, and besides, she probably wouldn't know the answer. Lin Sanjiu glanced at Puppeteer's body still covered in cloth and sighed. "If Wushi Ming has come back to life, then so be it. If he thinks we killed Wushi Fan and dares to seek revenge on us, it's just his bad luck."
The most important thing now was to restore Puppeteer's body, repay their hospital debts, and then draw lots for their mission target.
When Wushi Ming finally gave up, he looked like he had forgotten how to walk. He stumbled for a moment but regained his balance. The group of people stood in the shadows, watching him walk away, unsure of what they were feeling.
"What do you think is going on?" Bohemia said softly as they confirmed the area was safe and headed towards the payment counter. "I don't understand. If I had a conflict with him, even if I killed that ugly old man, I wouldn't feel strange. But his sister died, and when I saw his appearance, I felt weird."
'That's called empathy,' Lin Sanjiu thought and touched Bohemia head, whispering, "Just in case, cover your face and stand behind us."
Bohemia nodded, and her fluffy curls scratched against Lin Sanjiu's palm.
Magus directed Puppeteer's body, which moved awkwardly and stiffly. His knee even bumped into the counter with a 'thud.' Lin Sanjiu quickly supported his lower back and said to the NPC, "He needs surgery. Is this where it's done?"
"This is the payment counter. How could we perform surgery here?" the male NPC said, unwilling to miss the opportunity to educate others. "Once you've paid the patient room and surgery fees here, they'll arrange it for you. When the time comes, the doctor will come over... Hey, weren't you supposed to be in the ICU originally?"
Lin Sanjiu felt a pang in her heart. Magus had simply told her that the so-called ICU was full of glass tubes, tightly sealed to prevent patients from leaving. If it weren't for Lin Sanjiu destroying a few corridors at the time, causing nearby ICUs to shake and the glass tubes to fall off and shatter on the ground, she might still be stuck there.
The male NPC's two eyeballs were locked onto Lin Sanjiu, unmoving. Now that the hospital had regained order, it was crucial to explain what had happened during the previous chaos, something that shouldn't have occurred, and make the NPCs believe it.
"I..." Lin Sanjiu hesitated for a few seconds and suddenly remembered something mentioned in Puppeteer's admission form; she had an idea. "Oh, I'm his family. I asked to move him out because the ICU is too expensive."
The male NPC pondered her words for a while before finally nodding slowly.
"Family?" he asked again.
Lin Sanjiu's answer came out on impulse.
"Niece," she said as she placed Puppeteer's arm on the counter. "I'm his niece."
"Why are all the patients related to someone this time?" The NPC mumbled, seeming to believe her, as he accepted Puppeteer's points. "Oh? He has so many points? You're a good niece, taking care of your elder."
Yes, yes. Lin Sanjiu nodded vigorously, and the way Bohemia looked at her made it seem as if she were looking at a corpse.
"Alright," the NPC said, finishing his work, and patted the counter. "Go back to his patient room and wait. The surgeon will be there soon!"
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