Chapter 508: Countdown
Slowly, Feng Qi stirred from his unconsciousness, his vision gradually sharpening from a blur.
The memories of what happened before he collapsed rushed back like a tidal wave.
After a few minutes, he struggled to sit up and surveyed his surroundings.
The room was small. To the left of the bed stood two machines, their tubes snaking out to connect with various parts of his Bone Man Form. The screens displayed rapidly fluctuating lines of different colors, tracing complex, jagged patterns.
To the right of the bed, the window was half-open, its white curtain swaying gently in the breeze, rustling softly.
Outside, the weather was clear. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light across the bed.
After a moment of dazed silence, the door suddenly swung open.
“You’re awake?”
Feng Qi turned to see Wei Wei entering.
She wore a white gown and frameless glasses, a toolbox in her right hand. Dark circles under her eyes made her look exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept in days.
“Sister Wei… did we make it back to Star City?”
Wei Wei smiled and nodded at Feng Qi’s question.
“Following your decision, the Dawn Army withdrew immediately after taking Future City. It’s been seven days since that battle ended, and you’ve been unconscious for all of them.”
“Am I at the Scarlet Secret Base?”
“Of course not. This is the Star City Military Hospital. I rushed here after receiving an urgent call from Captain Gu.”
Feng Qi let out a sigh of relief.
He looked down at his Bone Man Form, which was still covered in cracks. Within these fissures, he could see strands of pitch-black cursed energy slithering.
The curse on his body had clearly not been lifted.
If he were sent to the Scarlet Research Institute now, there would be a risk of being tracked down.
The Spirit Energy Clan possessed a wide array of abilities, some of which might allow them to track targets using curses.
If the Scarlet Secret Base were exposed to the Spirit Energy Clan, the entire war effort would be lost.
“Don’t worry, we’ve already considered this risk. That’s why we chose to treat you urgently here at the military hospital.”
Sensing Feng Qi’s thoughts, Wei Wei immediately explained, then placed the toolbox she was holding on the nightstand.
“That puts my mind at ease,” Feng Qi said, leaning back against the pillows.
“By the way, Sister Wei, where is that miracle ring now?”
“Just as you suspected, the miracle ring still carries the Spirit Energy Clan’s tracking signature. Mu Qing didn’t bring it back to Star City. Instead, she sent it to the Tiger Soul Branch Base outside the city for research. But before I could get there, the base was destroyed by the Spirit Energy Clan. Fortunately, we evacuated the personnel in advance, so there were no casualties. The base itself was completely ruined.”
Feng Qi felt a pang of regret.
He had anticipated this outcome.
Originally, he had planned to send the miracle ring to the Scarlet Secret Base and entrust it to his future self.
But after being attacked by the curse, he realized things weren’t so simple.
The Spirit Energy Clan clearly had contingency plans.
Sending the ring to the Scarlet Secret Base now would expose his greatest secret to them.
Fortunately, before he lost consciousness, he had wisely instructed Mu Qing not to bring the miracle ring back to the Scarlet Secret Base.
Otherwise, all the intelligence gathered during the war investigation would have been wasted.
Wei Wei tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear, then pulled a stool from under the bed and sat down. She smiled at him and said, “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”
“The bad news.”
“The bad news is that I’ve tried many methods to remove the curse on you, but each time I clear a portion, it quickly regenerates. It’s impossible to eradicate completely. Moreover, I suspect the curse originates from a miracle item.”
Feng Qi had already prepared himself for the inability to remove the curse when he opened his eyes and saw his body’s condition. So, he wasn’t surprised.
What puzzled him was why Wei Wei suspected the curse came from a miracle item.
With that thought, he used psychokinesis to project his voice and asked, “Sister Wei, why do you believe the curse comes from a miracle item?”
“The cursed energy on you can multiply infinitely, regenerating no matter how many times we clear it. That part isn’t particularly unusual. Many curses are rooted deep within the human body, drawing energy from the blood. As long as the host lives, the cursed energy clings like a maggot, never truly disappearing.”
“But you’re different. Your Bone Man Form doesn’t have any energy for the curse to draw upon. At first, I thought the cursed energy on you relied on absorbing heaven and earth spiritual energy to rapidly multiply and regenerate. But even after I placed you in a sealed space devoid of spiritual energy, the cursed energy still regenerated at an astonishing rate.”
“This clearly violates the law of energy conservation. It seems only miracle items possess such power that transcends natural laws.”
After hearing Wei Wei’s explanation, Feng Qi suddenly understood.
“Furthermore, when I used the cursed energy from your body on a little white mouse, I discovered a special symbol had appeared on it.”
As she spoke, Wei Wei reached for the toolbox on the nightstand and pulled out a tablet.
She tapped the tablet several times, and a video instantly popped up.
At that moment, she turned the screen to face Feng Qi.
Before him was a transparent glass enclosure containing a little white mouse.
As the video progressed, a test tube appeared above the mouse’s head, and a drop of pitch-black liquid fell, striking the creature.
The mouse immediately began to tremble violently, thrashing on the ground. In the blink of an eye, it was consumed by dark energy, transforming into a pitch-black rodent.
Simultaneously, a string of symbols emerged on the mouse’s back.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the final character in the sequence changed over time.
“What do these symbols mean?”
Wei Wei put the tablet down, her expression grave. “These are characters from the domain world. I asked Minister Lin about them. He graduated from Old Day City Academy and has studied the languages of all domain races. He explained that these are standardized measurement characters used by a certain group in the domain world. You can think of them as our human numbers!”
“So this is a countdown?”
“That’s right, a countdown to your death.” Wei Wei admitted calmly.
“Looks like I don’t have much time left… So, what’s the good news?”
Feng Qi remained composed.
From the moment he set out, he had prepared for death.
If death was inevitable, why fear it?
“The good news is, after deciphering the text on the little white mouse, Minister Lin estimates you have about three months left to live.”
Feng Qi: …
Upon reflection, this was indeed good news.
At least he had three more months to live.
“Can my brain be saved?”
“The source of the curse’s erosion is on your back. Cutting off the source will save it. There’s no cursed energy in your brain yet. Just come to the military hospital for regular chemotherapy in the coming days to prevent the curse from spreading to your brain.”
Feng Qi let out a long sigh of relief:
“That’s truly good news.”
“By the way, how is Mu Qing doing?”
“She faced the curse head-on, so her condition should be worse than yours. Yet she devoured and digested the cursed energy. Clearly, the Scarlet Rune Crystal on her body is far more terrifying than the cursed energy itself.”
Feng Qi immediately felt a wave of relief.
At that moment, Wei Wei retrieved a specially made glove and a vial of blood from the toolbox.
“Let’s restore your body first.”
Hearing this, Feng Qi immediately took the glove and put it on his left hand.
Using telekinesis to activate it, the concentrated blood in the glass vial transformed into a thick, vital qi blood that surged into his body.
His previously shriveled heart gradually began to beat again as it filled with qi blood.
Several minutes later.
With a thought, flesh and tissue rapidly regenerated across his body, restoring his human form.
But he was no longer the same.
Twisted black lines now snaked across his skin like grotesque centipedes.
Waves of weakness washed over him.
At the same time, a series of characters appeared on his back.
The final character, like the one on a little white mouse’s back, pulsed and shifted, like a life countdown. Each change stole a wisp of his vitality.
“Feng Qi, I’m heading back. What are your plans for the next three months?”
“Don’t worry about me. You’re a core member of the Scarlet Research Institute, and the situation in Star City must be precarious. With external forces potentially attacking at any moment, it’s best you return to safety.”
Feng Qi smiled, his face betraying no fear of death.
(End of the Chapter)