“If the Commander wants to protect order, I am willing to accompany you”

An Yu‍‌​‍​​‌⁠⁠​‌⁠‍⁠‌‍‌​‍‍​⁠‌‍ froze for only an instant. Seeing the pustules spread to the man’s lower eyelid, he suddenly commanded in a cold voice, “Look at me!”

Doctor Lao’s eyes went vacant for a moment, and then his gaze was captured by the pair of golden eyes.

He had, in fact, already almost lost consciousness and hadn’t processed the command. It was just that in that instant, he felt an inexplicable pull from the golden eyes before him, drawing him involuntarily in.

His vision blurred. As if hallucinating, he saw the clear golden orbs begin to fill with blood. The crimson mist spread, and in those eyes, he saw his own reflection.

A face etched with the powerlessness and grief of being unable to save his patients.

“Doctor Lao! The new drug cocktail is working! The ascites isn’t recurring after being drained, his blood chemistry is normal, and his granulocyte count is dropping!”

“Doctor Lao, we’ve requested medical support from the Main City! The first shipment will be here tonight. District 34 is saved!”

“Doctor Lao, it’s all thanks to you…”

“Doctor Lao, my child is alright. Thank you, thank you so much…”

He walked quickly past the people delivering good news and offering their gratitude, his brow furrowed tightly as he went straight into the intensive care ward.

On a bed lay a young man in his early twenties. His right thigh was elevated, but the portion of his leg below the knee was gone.

“Doctor Lao,” the young man said, giving him a weak smile. “How are my vitals?”

His brow tightened. He flipped through the latest lab reports. After a long moment, he said, “I’m sorry. The infection is still spreading. We have to expand the amputation. We may have to take the whole leg. And not just the right leg… the left one, too…”

“The whole leg?” The young man was stunned. “But… I still need to use the piano pedals. With my right leg gone, I still have my left. But if my left leg is also…”

“I’m very sorry.” He took a deep breath, avoiding the young man’s shocked gaze. “But if you want to live, this is the only chance we have left.”

The young man’s head slowly drooped and his hair obscured his face. After a long time, he said, “I heard… the medicine is working. The plague is under control.”

“Yes.”

“But me…”

“I’m sorry. You were infected too early, and the complications are severe. It’s not the virus that’s taking your life now.”

A dead silence filled the room. The young man slowly pulled a metal pocket watch from his gown. It was an antique and its hands moved with a heavy, distinct click. “Well, then,” he asked, “if I have both legs amputated, am I guaranteed to live?”

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Doctor Lao swallowed hard and gently shook his head gently. “You won’t last that long…”

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“Five days? Can you use every method you have to keep me alive for just five days?”

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Before he could finish, a violent tremor deep in his consciousness yanked An Yu from the memory. Doctor Lao’s eyes had already erupted in pustules and his eyeballs burst, interrupting An Yu’s memory retrieval.

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He slowly stood up. His new clothes were stained with filth. Even though it was impossible to get them clean, he still took a piece of gauze, dipped it in alcohol, and gently wiped them.

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Qin Zhilu’s voice suddenly came through his earpiece. “Do not reveal your memory recall ability.”

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Qin Zhilu spoke in the public channel: “I just ran a search. Zhong Ke was one of the first people infected in the last plague. His final cause of death was other malignant infections triggered by the plague. He underwent one amputation before his death, removing the part below his right knee, but the amputation failed to stop the spread of infection. He refused a second amputation and died the following day.”

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Those eyes were sharp and frank, staring aggressively at Flame. Flame shook his head. “Of course not. It’s just that in this world, too much empathy only adds to the pain.” He paused, then looked at An Yu, who was staring blankly at the watch. “But compassion is inevitable. Even if An Yu is socially indifferent, he must feel regret for Zhong Ke, too.”

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He was stunned for a moment, then nodded. “It is regrettable. I find him hard to understand. He had a 30% chance of living if he had the surgery, but he just gave it up. Isn’t that just seeking death?”

Lumen was suddenly dumbfounded for a second. He looked at An Yu in disbelief. “To hold on to art in a world like this is so precious. Isn’t losing both legs the same as killing his dream?”

An Yu said, “Ah. It is… very pitiful. But can a dream be compared to being alive?”

Lumen was shocked, “How can living compare to dreams?”

An Yu was intimidated by him and didn’t say anything else. After a pause, he said, “Alright. Let’s go get the metronome and try again.”

In just that short time, everyone on the fourth floor had died. There were no more roars from outside. The entire hospital had become a giant morgue, the floors covered in melted pus, blood, and minced flesh.

An Yu carefully waded through the filth. As he walked out, he kept his distance from Lumen and said in a low voice, “Commander, I still think being alive is more important.”

A helpless, low chuckle came from the private channel. It sounded like Qin Zhilu had been holding it in for a long time. He sighed, “I knew it.”

An Yu stood in the rain. His voice was very low but held a note of resolve. “Nothing is more important than survival.”

He paused, then asked, “What is it that you value most?”

“Protecting order,” Qin Zhilu answered without hesitation. He then asked him, “Do you just purely desire survival? Or is there something you want to do?”

An Yu thought for a long time.

No one had ever asked him that question. If Ling Qiu had answered for him, he would have decisively said, “He purely desires survival.” And it seemed that was, in fact, the case.

But since it was the Commander who asked this, he didn’t want to answer too rashly.

After a long time, he said softly, “There isn’t much I want to do. I opened the bakery because bread is a survival resource. Making money is, too. In fact, most things, if they’re not related to survival, I don’t want to get involved with. It’s too troublesome.”

Qin Zhilu hummed as he typed the battle report on his screen. “I know.”

“But…” An Yu immediately added softly, “If the Commander wants to protect order, I am willing to accompany you.”

The sound of the keyboard tapping suddenly stopped. After a long moment, Qin Zhilu said, “That seems to have a little to do with your survival, but not much. Even if you don’t, I will keep my promise and guarantee your safety in the Main City.”

An Yu licked his lips. “Mm. It’s like in the orphanage, when you protected me with your life and your mind. It seemed to be somewhat related to your original intention of protecting order, but not much.”

An Yu waited for a moment, but no response came from the Commander. The sound of keyboard tapping resumed in the channel, only much slower and lighter than before.

He listened for a bit and felt that the topic was over, but he still couldn’t help but add, “Of course, I’ll stay by your side to protect order, provided it doesn’t interfere with my survival.”

The keyboard tapping paused. Qin Zhilu laughed, letting out a low “Hm”.