"If you show any resistance to the research, my associates will swiftly eliminate you without a trace."
As the agreement before him was signed, the paper instantly turned into a wisp of black smoke and vanished. Something terrifying, an unknown creature lurking here, was hiding somewhere, watching Yu Jing. The feeling was exactly the same as when an unknown entity in the forest had instantly killed more than ten men dressed in black.
"There are still two months before the new semester begins. I remind you to try to put aside your concerns during this time. The 'Ka Jimmo' virus removal surgery cannot reach a 100% success rate in any hospital worldwide. If anything unexpected happens, I hope you're mentally prepared and it won't affect your future hospital admission... From my perspective, your mother must really want you to enter the Institute of Abilities, right?"
The supervisor's words stirred something deep inside Yu Jing.
"And now?" Yu Jing asked.
"You may leave. The money in your bank card should be enough to get you home. Arrange everything around you as soon as possible."
As the supervisor finished speaking, the same bronze door on the side of the white room opened, and on the white desk before Yu Jing, his ID card, phone, and wallet—initially handed in when he first entered the testing facility and later confiscated—rose automatically.
"Your contact info?" Yu Jing retrieved his phone, intending to save the supervisor's number.
"No need to contact me. If necessary, I will reach out to you."
Yu Jing nodded, put the acceptance letter and bank card away carefully, and stood up to leave. But just as he was about to step through the bronze door, he stopped, hesitated, and softly asked, "Aren't you afraid I might accidentally or intentionally leak information?"
The supervisor responded immediately, "Intentionally? I don't think you're stupid. As for 'accidentally,' with your abilities, you could have passed the institute's test. Considering your dislike of interacting with others, even being wary of strangers, plus your deliberate behavior during testing, I'm not worried about any 'accidental' leaks."
"Of course, if anyone targets you, I will quietly handle it. See you at the start of the semester. Take some time to relax and get yourself together."
Yu Jing didn't reply. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, the brim shading nearly half his face. With his hands buried in his pockets, he walked along the institute's corridor.
Back on the streets of A-level City, despite all the unbelievable things that had just happened, Yu Jing simply stood by the roadside under the night sky at dawn, tears welling beneath the shadow of his hood.
Not because he was scared of the nonhuman things he had endured, nor because he feared death or corpses. But because in the end, he still hadn't been able to save Jiang Tian, who had been by his side throughout the testing. A deep guilt welled up in his heart.
"Anyway, I want to go home. After considering my mother's surgery, I'll slowly sort through my thoughts."
After all, Yu Jing had been away from home for a full day. Although his mother could cook for herself, it was best if someone stayed with her. Just as Yu Jing powered on his phone, an unknown number called.
It was hard to imagine who would call at this hour.
When he answered, an urgent female voice came through:
"Hello, is this Mr. Yu Jing?"
"Yes."
"Your mother is currently in the Emergency Department at Central Hospital and urgently requires 'Ka Jimmo' virus removal surgery. National medical experts have completed the consultation, and the surgery must begin immediately. A family member's signature is required to proceed. So far, you're the only contact we could reach. Please come to the hospital immediately."
"...Alright!" Yu Jing was stunned for a moment but quickly responded.
He immediately hailed a taxi. The driver gave him a disdainful look based on his appearance.
"Central Hospital."
"Do you have money? Wandering around at this hour and dressed like that, you don't look like you're from the city," the driver said.
Yu Jing took out his bank card and swiped two hundred yuan on the in-car card reader. The fare to Central Hospital at night was at most thirty yuan. The driver's eyes widened, a gleam of excitement crossing his face.
"Get there as fast as you can."
"No problem, boss!"
Racing through the streets in the speeding taxi, Yu Jing wondered why his mother was suddenly hospitalized. It certainly wasn't the supervisor's doing—the agreement had only just been signed, and his mother's admittance must have happened hours ago.
Central Hospital, located in the A-level city district, was the highest-authority medical institution in District 19. Yu Jing didn't have time to appreciate the massive scale of the hospital. He entered the emergency department, reported his mother's name, and was led by a nurse to the independent operating theater on the top floor.
"What's the success rate?" Yu Jing asked anxiously.
"After expert consultation, the success rate is about 80%. You just need to sign the consent form for the surgery. The chief surgeon is ready, and the operation can start at any time."
"Eighty percent?! That's so high!" Based on the information Yu Jing had gathered previously, the success rate shouldn't have been more than thirty percent.
Without hesitation, Yu Jing signed the consent form. The surgery began immediately. His mother lay on the gurney under anesthesia. The doctors who entered with her emitted an unusual aura, somewhat different from ordinary people.
Waiting outside the operating room, Yu Jing couldn't sleep. He approached the nurse's station and asked the question weighing on his mind:
"May I ask who brought my mother here?"
"We're not entirely sure about that. Our hospital only received a call requesting us to admit a patient infected with the dominant Ka Jimmo virus from Pingxiang County. The caller promised a payment of thirty million yuan and demanded that the surgery be performed using the highest level of medical equipment, with a renowned surgeon flown in from the capital to perform the operation personally."
Yu Jing stood there stunned, speechless for a long moment.
He couldn't understand who would be willing to cover such an enormous medical expense for him—thirty million yuan—and even arrange for an expert surgeon to take charge.
"Did they leave a name?" Yu Jing asked.
"The caller only gave a surname—a Mr. Yu."
"Yu?"
Yu Jing's name sounded the same. A man's face flashed through his mind, but the nurse quickly wrote the character "余" (Yu) on a notepad. Instantly, Yu Jing's sharp mind connected the dots—Yu Xiaoxiao.
"Could it be her? Out of the five other bodies on the truck, Yu Xiaoxiao wasn't among them. She must have passed the test originally. Why help me? Just because I helped her pick food before the test? Or because I looked like a decent person?"
Leaning against the hallway wall outside the operating room, Yu Jing's mind was flooded with unresolved thoughts and unanswered questions. After hours of facing life and death and pushing his body to its limits, everything suddenly overwhelmed him. He bowed his head and slipped into a deep sleep right there in the corridor.
How long passed, he didn't know. Sunlight was streaming through the window beside the hallway, just enough to shine directly on Yu Jing's right arm. Beneath his skin, a strange green object writhed gently.
When Yu Jing's drowsy eyes slowly opened, he noticed a hospital blanket draped over his body—an obvious kindness from the nurses. The warm sunlight touching his right arm was surprisingly strong. On the back of his hand, he could see the green object moving under the light, clearly absorbing energy.
"Photosynthesis."
At that moment, the tightly shut operating room door opened. His mother was wheeled out, an IV drip hanging beside her. Yu Jing quickly raised his left hand to shield the sunlight from his right hand, stopping the green plant from continuing its photosynthesis.
"Congratulations, the surgery was very successful. Dr. Liao wants to ask you a few questions."
The nurse congratulated Yu Jing and pointed toward the chief surgeon of the operation.
"Dr. Liao, thank you so much!" Yu Jing said, reaching out his hand, but the doctor didn't return the gesture.
Slowly removing his mask, the doctor looked at the seemingly ordinary young man before him and asked, "How do you know the Yu family?"
"The Yu family?" Yu Jing was confused.
"Looks like you really don't know. You must have had some unintentional contact with someone. That's good karma from a past life. This Ka Jimmo virus removal surgery, which I myself am not confident about, would destroy my entire career if it failed. According to my research, this virus is hereditary. If you ever relapse, don't come to bother me."
The surgeon didn't even look at Yu Jing as he spoke and quickly left the hospital after finishing.
Yu Jing was no stranger to contempt born from one's social status and background, so he didn't take it personally. After all, the doctor had saved his mother's life, and Yu Jing was truly grateful.
When he arrived at the private ward, his mother's eyes were open but her whole body looked weak. The nurse reminded him to avoid talking too much on the first day.
During some simple conversation, Yu Jing reassured his mother a hundred times over that he had not resorted to any illicit means to raise the surgery funds and told her to rest assured while recuperating there.
To ease his mother's worries even more, Yu Jing took out the admission notice given to him by the supervisor.
"I'll be reporting to the Ability Institute in Central District One this September."
His mother, lying in bed, looked at the admission letter in her son's hand and cried tears of joy. As a mother, she understood his thoughts perfectly. Yu Jing's reluctance to enter the Ability Institute was because he wanted to work outside to earn money. Now that his illness was being treated, and his son was going to attend the institute, that was enough for a simple rural family like theirs.
After settling his mother down to rest, Yu Jing walked to the window of the private ward. From the top floor of Central Hospital, he overlooked the prosperous panorama of the A-level city in District 19. A subtle change stirred within him.
Sunlight poured through the glass, fueling the intense photosynthesis taking place along his entire right arm.
"Now, it's time for me to fulfill my promise. The Di Hua Ability Institute, huh? Located in Central District One—what kind of institute will it be? Surely many secrets will be revealed there."
—End of Volume One: Death Test—
ps: read advance chapters visit at https://www.patreon.com/c/Seraphim777