Resurrection Empire-Chapter 14 - 8 Graceful Liberation

"Well then, Ren Zhong my brother, see you later. Since you're new here, why not take a stroll around the town? It's a pity it's too late now; the wild folks are all rushing to secure spots in the sleep pods. In broad daylight, you could have visited the outer city's establishments. Starfire Town may not excel in other industries, but its service industry is truly exceptional—affordable and genuine, no tricks. Just 0.1 Contribution Point guaranteed satisfaction."

Zheng Tian called out with a chuckle and left.

Due to the mayor's unexpected engagement, Ren Zhong needed to meet after the business was handled as he was the first temporary wild person to enter the town this month. Ren Zhong and Zheng Tian agreed to meet at the town hall entrance in an hour.

He just wanted to take the opportunity to wander around the small town and think about his illness.

In front of Zheng Tian, he had to keep up his persona, making it inconvenient to ask too many questions.

The town hall was not hard to find; the tallest lighthouse-shaped building in the town center was the one. You could see it just by looking up, so there was no worry about getting lost.

A huge spherical camera was indeed floating at the top of the lighthouse.

The camera emitted a faint red glow as it rotated at irregular speeds, resembling a sinister Sauron's Magic Eye, observing the mortal realm at all times.

...

Creaaak... Creaaak...

A white birch wood sign hanging by two wires swung lightly in the wind.

On the sign were four large, hand-painted words, "Miracle Clinic."

After parting ways with Zheng Tian, Ren Zhong made some inquiries and came to a street near the town center, close to the slums.

Compared to the other crudely built shanty houses along the street, the two-story "Miracle Clinic" building looked clean and tidy, and much more square, akin to the portable houses serving as offices on construction sites in Ren Zhong's memory.

It was gradually getting dark, but apart from the Miracle Clinic, not a single window on the street showed a glimmer of light.

The street was devoid of street lights, cold and desolate, without a soul or even a ghost.

Luckily, the large and small moons in the sky provided enough light to barely see by.

Random bits of paper, scraps of cloth, and other rubbish flew freely across the street in the night breeze.

The wind picked up, and from deep in the alley came the clattering sound, resembling cans rolling erratically.

In such an Iraq-esque street scene, a local official from Ren Zhong's memory would surely fail the civilized city development performance appraisal, bound to go home and farm sweet potatoes.

While wandering around town, Ren Zhong never ceased his keen observation, striving to uncover details of the era.

The pedestrians on the street were roughly divided into three types.

One type was like Zheng Tian's Scavenger Team, with weapons on their backs, wearing fitted attire for mobility, exuding fierce vibes despite their gender features.

Another group mostly wore casual clothes, moving with light, smiling faces, and a relaxed demeanor, with no fixed direction in which they went, usually two or three people per group.

The third type, also the largest group, resembled the refugees seen while entering the city, with poor mental and physical health. These people, like rivers returning to the sea, flocked towards a certain spot on the town's edge, creating an eerie scene.

Ren Zhong did not rush to stop someone to inquire where these people were heading or what they were doing. He casually picked two people from the crowd to silently follow and eavesdrop on their conversation.

They were a male and a female.

The male was a boy, around fifteen or sixteen, looking like a high school student, with a bit of youthful exuberance on his face.

The woman was full of white hair, with numerous wrinkles and age spots on her face.

The first thing the two said to each other made Ren Zhong raise his eyebrows.

The boy took the old woman's hand, speaking softly: "Mom, don't worry, I'll find a way."

Mom? Did I mishear something?

Ren Zhong thought he had misheard.

The boy was fifteen or sixteen, this old lady appeared at least seventy or eighty years old.

The gap in their ages seemed about half a century, yet she was the boy's mother?

The old woman sighed: "How can I not worry? In just half a month, you'll be sixteen. But the wild people quota in the town is already full. You definitely won't dodge the next audit. You'll either be taken away or have to leave early. It's so dangerous out there, even though I have enough Contribution Points saved to buy you a temporary wrist watch, you don't know anything. Once outside, you're sure to die at the hands of Ruined Beasts. Sigh."

Boy: "I'll... I'll find a way to the wild people settlement. Though it's dangerous there, there's always a chance..."

Old woman: "Don't be naive. Can you find the settlement? Even if you know where it is, can you reach it?"

Boy: "I'll find a way to save money and ask the Scavenger Team to take me there."

Old woman: "Then show me, how do you save? Do you know how much the Scavenger Team charges for a single trip?"

"I... sigh!" The boy fell silent.

After a long while, the old woman sighed: "Alright, I don't have many years left anyway. I'll ask the Mayor for leniency and transfer my quota to you."

The boy anxiously asked: "Then what about you, Mom?"

"What 'what about me'? Dying sooner or later doesn't matter at my age, what is there to fear? Silly child."

The old woman's pallid face faintly glowed with benevolence.

"Mom... I..." The boy choked up.

"Enough, let's hurry. We don't have temporary wrist watches now. If we're late, there won't be any wrist watches left to rent at the central sleep pods."

"Mm!"

They said no more, only picked up their pace, while Ren Zhong quietly retreated into the darkness.

He learned three things.

First, sixteen is a very important threshold. According to what the pair said, people under sixteen are considered minors and do not occupy wild people quotas, allowing them to live safely in town. Extrapolating further, minors should not need wrist watches as identification even in the wild, and the Hunters wouldn't kill them. This makes sense, indicating the civilization still allows new recruits some time to grow.

Second, the elimination auditing mechanism is called Pu Cha, definitely happening after half a month, but not far off.

Third, the wild people in town generally do not sleep at home, but go to a place called the central sleep pods, where wrist watches can be rented. The deeper meaning is unknown, but there must be a reason.

Later, Ren Zhong approached a seemingly kind old man to ask where the town hospital was, only to learn that this town, with a population of at least twenty thousand, had no hospital, just a clinic named "Miracle Clinic" with only one doctor, Sun Miao.

...

Knock, knock, knock.

Ren Zhong stepped forward onto the stairs before the "Miracle Clinic," gently knocking on the door.

"Dr. Sun, are you there?"

From inside came the impatient voice of a middle-aged man, "Not here!"

Ren Zhong: "..."

Before coming over, that kind-hearted old man had given Ren Zhong a heads-up.

The old man said Dr. Sun Miao had a strange temperament, was very temperamental, and extremely hard to deal with.

And it seemed indeed so.

But Ren Zhong wasn't worried about not being able to get medical care.

Just from the strategic location of this "Miracle Clinic," Ren Zhong could see through appearances to grasp the essence.

This Sun Miao was most likely a good person.

The clinic was sited at the street entrance, the most majestic and formally proper two-story building on the street.

Turning right from the street entrance towards the town's outside led into the vast slums crossed on the way here.

But just a street away, turning left from the entrance, lay the area with the White Wall.

The White Wall enclosed the inner part of the town into a ring, divided into several sections.

Within the larger and smaller circles of the White Wall were neatly structured, brightly lit high-quality homes resembling a cluster of standalone villas. The resource recycling company headquarters Ren Zhong visited earlier was located in this area.

The clinic's location is very deliberate.

As the only doctor in the vast Starfire Town, Sun Miao had no lack of business.

Whether poor or wealthy, anyone needing medical treatment had no choice but to find him.

Sun Miao surely was not lacking money, yet he placed the clinic at the junction of the slums and the upscale area, enduring the contrast of heaven on one side and hell on the other, his intentions seemed clear.

Of course, possibly Sun Miao did have a certain peculiar preference that only wild people in poverty could satisfy, making him a thoroughgoing pervert.

That would be terrifying, Ren Zhong could do nothing but try to think of a better scenario.

He had no choice; previously, he had tested without medical assistance, and without a bit of it, even with good rest, given his condition, he'd at most survive another five days.

As a short-lived ghost capable of resurrection, he wasn't afraid of being used as a guinea pig by some mad scientist.

"Dr. Sun, please open the door. I know you're inside."

At this moment, the late-stage lymphoma pain unexpectedly flared up, making Ren Zhong clutch his neck, forcing a calm tone as he spoke again.

However, his voice was trembling slightly from the pain, as much as he tried to control it.

This was just the beginning. Within seconds, sharp pain surged and erupted fiercely.

The pain in the abdomen and brain flared simultaneously, as if someone was drilling holes in his head and stomach.

A moment later, fine beads of sweat emerged from every pore on his body.

Out of instinct, Ren Zhong let out a low muffled groan, leaning his back against the clinic door, sliding down softly to sit.

As someone half a doctor from long illness, Ren Zhong understood well.

If he were in a hospital, there would be analgesics or anesthetics to ease the pain slightly, possibly extending his life by a few more days.

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But he wasn't.

To break through the Crystal Winged Dragonfly's blockade, he had engaged in excessive strenuous activity this cycle of resurrection, significantly consuming his body.

If not treated quickly and without means of pain relief, he might not survive tonight.

Severe pain could cause shock, gently guiding him toward death.

Though seemingly cruel, it was also a protective mechanism of the body.

Calmly facing the end of life is better than howling in torment like living death for a long time before dying miserably.

Shock-induced death, in essence, is also nature's merciful gift of relief through the grand law of natural selection and evolution.

"Are you done? I said I'm not here, yet you... This person just won't..."

The door finally opened.