SCOM - Chapter 68
Chapter 68
The thought barely crossed Zuo Luohuan's mind before she found herself in a dark basement. Overwhelming pain consumed her. Someone covered her eyes with a black cloth, and a cold needle pierced her arm. As the liquid entered her veins, her consciousness faded. No matter how she struggled, she slipped further into the darkness.
"Another failure."
"Double the dosage."
"…The concentration is too high. It could be fatal."
"Just revive her. Increase it."
Zuo Luohuan desperately tried to open her eyes, but all she could see was a blurry white light above – a surgical lamp. Her chest ached, and the taste of blood filled her mouth. Even then, she had the absurd thought, Had I eaten someone?
"Her thoracic vertebrae are fractured!"
"Continue the electric shocks."
"She… She's laughing?!"
Zuo Luohuan vaguely heard the voices around her, but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Her fingers clenched, fighting for consciousness.
"Wait… What's happening to her face?"
"Report this immediately!"
…"Change of plans."
Zuo Luohuan could no longer hear them. She was drugged again.
Inside the hypnosis room, Zuo Luohuan gripped Ji Yuezhi's hand so tightly her knuckles were white, almost crushing his bones. Ji Yuezhi didn't resist, only staring at her with a pale face. Just a simple hypnosis session caused such intense emotional fluctuations, the veins in her neck bulging. What had she experienced?
The hypnotist wanted to wake Zuo Luohuan, but Ji Yuezhi stopped him. She wouldn't want to wake up now, not before reaching her limit.
Exhausted, Ji Yuezhi leaned his head against Zuo Luohuan's hand. He wanted to walk with her through whatever lay ahead, no matter how difficult. Only by her side did he feel at peace.
When Zuo Luohuan awoke again in her hypnotic dream, Hong Tongdao kicked her in the stomach. Apparently unable to extract any information through interrogation, he gestured to two men beside him, signaling them to take her to the mine and bury her.
Barely clinging to life, Zuo Luohuan didn't need to feign weakness. The two men threw her onto a cart, and the elevator ascended to the deserted mine. They began digging a hole, preparing to dispose of her.
Free from the electric chair, her hands and feet were unbound. Assuming she was near death, Hong Tongdao's men were completely unguarded.
Zuo Luohuan's eyes were bloodshot, likely from a beating. She stared at her hand, slowly gathering enough strength to grip a sharp piece of rock, only a small point protruding from her fingers.
As the men approached, each grabbing one of her limbs to throw her into the pit, she suddenly exploded with strength. Kicking one man away, she propped herself up and plunged the jagged rock into the other man's throat.
The first man scrambled to his feet, reaching for her. Zuo Luohuan yanked out the rock and hurled it at his temple. A direct hit, instantly fatal.
After this, she collapsed, unconscious. Twenty minutes later, she awoke and dragged herself into a mining cart, burying herself among the rubble.
At this point, Zuo Luohuan suddenly detached, observing herself hidden in the rocks from above. She finally realized her memory was flawed. Hong Tongdao hadn't been the only one torturing her during those days. There were others, and they had altered her face.
…Someone had tampered with her memories.
The excruciating pain of conflicting memories made Zuo Luohuan's body rigid on the recliner. Drenched in a cold sweat, she didn't struggle to wake up or make a sound.
Ji Yuezhi, equally pale, sat beside her, watching without blinking, his breathing shallow.
In her dream, Zuo Luohuan experienced a rewind, returning to the Hong family mansion, standing in the third-floor corridor, facing Hong Tongdao.
"You're Hong Tongdao?" Zuo Luohuan watched herself ask.
On Xijiang Exile Star, everyone knew of the Hong family. Known for their meritocratic approach, they had adopted a son who proved more capable than their biological one, boldly entrusting him with the family business.
Zuo Luohuan wasn't interested in other people's affairs, but the adopted son controlling the business while the biological son remained hidden suggested a deeper story.
Rumors also circulated that Hong Tongdao was not only incompetent but also suffered from an illness, forcing the family to rely on the adopted son.
"There's…" Hong Tongdao glanced towards the study behind him, trailing off before fleeing.
Before disappearing, he looked back at Zuo Luohuan. The look was complex – anticipation, fear, a plea for help, and an incomprehensible despair.
Zuo Luohuan watched herself reach out to him, only for Hong Tongdao to flinch away, vanishing down the corridor.
In her dream, Zuo Luohuan entered the study again. The Silver-Green Test Report lay on the desk.
This time, she didn't reach for the report, but stared at the cover. Under her gaze, the words 'Silver-Green Test Report' shifted and transformed into 'Silver-Green Stock Report'.
Stock? They already knew about Silver-Green. Using the word 'stock' implied they were already utilizing it.
Zuo Luohuan frowned, about to open the file, when the study door suddenly burst open…
"You're awake?" Ji Yuezhi said, seeing her eyes snap open. He had so much to say, but the words caught in his throat.
The splitting headache lingered after the hypnosis, but Zuo Luohuan ignored it. Looking at Ji Yuezhi, she reached out to touch the faint redness at the corner of his eyes, wanting to ask what was wrong, before realizing she was still clutching his hand.
Aware of her own strength and seeing the marks on his pale skin, she quickly released him and sat up. "…The current Hong Tongdao is an imposter."
Before Ji Yuezhi could ask, Luo Shaoyuan's call came through his optical computer. "There's been an incident at the hospital."
Ever since Fang Yong discovered that Yan Yan's mother had been poisoned, they had kept watch by her side, but hadn't moved her to a private room. While a private room offered better security, it also meant less visibility in case of trouble.
Most of the patients in this hospital were affiliated with the 377th Army, ensuring a degree of protection, but it also meant the perpetrator could be hiding among them.
Luo Shaoyuan, Jiang Hong, and the others hadn't left, taking turns with Yan Yan to watch over Sun Long.
Compared to regular hospital doctors, Fang Yong had encountered far more unusual cases. Although he hadn't seen this particular poison before, he could deduce its type and immediately began formulating an antidote.
It was fortunate that Sun Long had only received half a dose, resulting in a coma rather than brain death.
Xijiang Exile Star, having once hosted the largest black market, provided easy access to various ingredients. Fang Yong quickly acquired the necessary substances and began experimenting.
It was then that the hospital came under attack. With the Northern and Western District armies present, no one expected such a brazen assault.
Jiang Hong had anticipated a covert attack, not a full-frontal assault through the main entrance.
The nearby armies were stationed at the mines, the port, the Hong family residence, and the administrative center. Luo Shaoyuan contacted the Winter Army, but reinforcements would take time. Meanwhile, the attackers had already breached the hospital.
"Xiao Yan, take your mother and leave the hospital," Yan Yan's father said, standing at the doorway of the ward.
Yan Yan looked at his unconscious mother and gritted his teeth, preparing to lift her. "Okay."
"No, we don't know what awaits outside. Leaving now could be a trap," Luo Shaoyuan interjected, "I've contacted the Winter Army. Reinforcements are on their way."
Luo Shaoyuan was right. There could be an ambush waiting.
Ultimately, both Yan Yan and Sun Long remained in the ward, while Yan Yan's father and Lu Hui went to defend against the attackers.
The presence of numerous military personnel in the hospital provided a strong defense, creating a stalemate.
"Luo Shaoyuan!" Yan Yan suddenly exclaimed, "Doctor Fang!"
Luo Shaoyuan glanced at him. "Not completely clueless. Jiang Hong is already there, and An Yingjing has a squad hidden within the hospital."
Yan Yan was taken aback. When Jiang Hong had mentioned going out for a meal, he assumed Doctor Fang was only protected by a few people.
As Yan Yan suspected, the hospital attack was a diversion. The true target was Fang Yong's makeshift laboratory.
Jiang Hong and An Yingjing's squad fought off the attackers while Fang Yong remained calm in the center of the chaos, even offering a warning: "Don't break my medicine."
"Doctor, just focus on your work. No one will touch it," Jiang Hong said, wiping blood from his face, barely catching his breath.
As predicted, the attackers intensified their assault, overturning the table and spilling the chemicals across the floor, where they flowed towards their feet.
Fang Yong, hands in his lab coat pockets, looked down at their feet. "I told you not to break it. You brought this on yourselves."
The attackers finally realized the liquid was corroding their shoes, quickly burning through to their skin.
"Get me out of here!" Fang Yong yelled at Jiang Hong. "A little help here?"
Jiang Hong immediately led him out. "Doctor, you could have given us a heads-up! I almost tried to grab those chemicals."
Fang Yong retorted, "Your slow reflexes are your own problem. Now take me to Sun Long."
"You finished the antidote?" Jiang Hong asked excitedly.
"Duh."
Jiang Hong, without hesitation, hoisted Fang Yong onto his shoulder and ran downstairs.
Fang Yong: "…"
An Yingjing's squad intercepted the pursuing attackers, allowing Jiang Hong to reach Sun Long's ward without incident. He set Fang Yong down just outside the corridor.
Half the attackers in the corridor, spotting them, charged forward.
"Damn it!" Even Jiang Hong, skilled as he was, couldn't protect Fang Yong against so many.
Just then, the Winter Army arrived. Without even landing their aircraft, they burst through the windows. The attackers were swiftly subdued.
Jiang Hong quickly escorted Fang Yong into the ward.
Fang Yong pulled the antidote from his tightly clutched pocket and injected it into Sun Long's arm. "She might wake up soon, or it could take an hour or two."
In reality, it took over ten minutes for Sun Long to stir. The captured attackers, before the Winter Army could intervene, committed suicide.
Yan Yan, noticing his mother's eyelashes flutter, felt his heart leap. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes.
Sun Long's gaze met her son's, then shifted to her husband and the unfamiliar faces around her. Instead of joy or relief, she cried out in a raspy voice, "Why am I not dead?" The sound was chilling.
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