TYMIMA Chapter 56

“Speak!” Si Hongche stood up abruptly, shouting sternly.

 

The aide swallowed hard: “He just suddenly started vomiting uncontrollably, feeling dizzy and tired, and kept clutching his lower abdomen. I suspect…”

 

“Food poisoning?” Sharp pain shot through Si Hongche’s temples again. He closed his eyes, pressing hard with his palm.

 

He indeed hadn’t watched Oliver’s surveillance for a long time, simply because there were too many things to arrange.

 

The aide thought to himself that the food sent to him daily was nutritious and clean. He’d been eating it every day without problems—how could it be food poisoning?

 

The aide steeled himself: “Director, my wife just had… his symptoms are too similar to my wife’s. Perhaps…”

 

The aide’s voice stopped, never daring to say that word, because if it were true, this matter would be too troublesome.

 

Si Hongche’s eyes snapped open, his gaze cold and fierce, grinding his teeth: “Impossible!”

 

He understood the aide’s meaning, but this was impossible. To prevent such consequences, he had always been careful. No matter how out of control his emotions became, he had never entered Oliver’s reproductive cavity.

 

So Oliver absolutely could not be pregnant.

 

The aide didn’t dare contradict Si Hongche, only saying dryly: “Then perhaps it’s some other problem. Should we send him to the medical department for examination?”

 

Si Hongche felt dizzy, hurriedly supporting himself on the desk. The computer screen’s pale light fell on his meticulously worn uniform.

 

He was already too tired. He had planned to rest after arranging next week’s work, but now he had to force himself to stay alert.

 

After a moment, Si Hongche straightened up, his face cold, the veins at his temples bulging prominently.

 

“Take him there. I want to see who’s playing tricks!”

 

Pregnant?

 

Ridiculous.

 

Not to mention he couldn’t possibly let Oliver carry his child—with Oliver’s current weakened body, pregnancy would be absolutely impossible.

 

Moreover, Oliver had just received treatment from a recovery system Awakened one. How could he suddenly start vomiting uncontrollably?

 

He wouldn’t have gotten a taste for this and think using such methods could make him softhearted, would he?

 

The thorny door opened, and Oliver, who had vomited until his face was bloodless, was carried out.

 

The medical department received an urgent call from Si Hongche’s office and immediately prepared examination equipment. Even the surgery room and the best ward were cleared.

 

Si Hongche watched as the barely breathing Oliver was lifted onto the ambulance.

 

Oliver’s eyes were tightly closed, his whole body curled up, arms wrapped around his lower abdomen, trembling constantly.

 

He was still vomiting, but what came up was only transparent clear liquid.

 

Si Hongche grabbed his chin and twisted his face around, his tone mocking: “Vomiting like this—are you trying to tell me you’re pregnant?”

 

Oliver couldn’t speak at all. His throat kept convulsing, his tongue continuously producing more clear liquid.

 

Perhaps thinking of his own wife, the aide felt somewhat sympathetic watching Oliver’s condition.

 

Risking Si Hongche’s anger, he quietly reminded: “Director, this position could easily cause backflow into the trachea and cause suffocation.”

 

Si Hongche’s eyes flashed coldly before he forcefully let go. Oliver’s jaw was left with two shallow red fingerprints.

 

The ambulance quickly arrived at the medical center, with the department head personally coming out to greet them.

 

Si Hongche only perfunctorily nodded before striding inside.

 

Oliver was quickly wheeled in for examination, while a comfortable VIP lounge had been prepared for Si Hongche.

 

Someone brewed tea and brought it to Si Hongche, but he waved it away, indicating he didn’t need it.

 

The department head: “Director Si, why don’t you rest for a while? We still need some time for examination and treatment of… that person.”

 

All the prominent figures in the restricted zone knew that Si Hongche had a venting tool imprisoned in Blue Pivot.

 

But this person was too special. Although Si Hongche hated him, he couldn’t let go of their past together, so everyone became cautious when mentioning him.

 

They couldn’t be too respectful, nor too contemptuous.

 

He had become that awkward and absurd person.

 

Si Hongche remained noncommittal. He was waiting for the examination results to expose Oliver’s ridiculous trick.

 

He wanted to know what exactly had made someone who had always been submissive and enduring develop such deceptive thoughts.

 

In the examination room, one doctor pulled apart Oliver’s tightly clasped arms and pressed them against the headboard, while another pulled open Oliver’s clothes and applied coupling gel on his body.

 

Transparent gel was smeared all over Oliver’s upper body. His constant struggling made both doctors break out in sweat: “Don’t struggle. We need to see clearly what the problem is to treat you.”

 

“Vomiting like this is strange. I heard he just received treatment from a recovery system Awakened one. It can’t be stomach damage, right?”

 

“Doesn’t seem like it. There’s no blood in the clear liquid, and what he’s covering is obviously not his stomach, but his lower abdomen.”

 

“How could lower abdominal problems cause vomiting?”

 

“Scan around first. If that doesn’t work, we’ll do a gastroscopy. If even a recovery system Awakened one can’t cure it, it might be polyps or parasites.”

 

…

 

As they spoke, they pressed the convex array probe against Oliver’s lower abdomen.

 

Neither of them noticed that Oliver’s fingers, hanging limply by the bedside, were glowing faintly with golden light.

 

—Plant system S-level Awakened one third-tier ability [Virtual Realm].

 

So while he saw clear textures and completely normal images, in the two doctors’ eyes, it became something entirely different.

 

Half an hour later, one of the doctors came out of the examination room with a grave expression. He first glanced at the department head before mustering the courage to report to Si Hongche in his professional capacity.

 

“Director Si, we’ve completed the preliminary examination.”

 

Si Hongche crossed his hands and placed them on his legs, asking neither warmly nor coldly: “Is he pregnant?”

 

The doctor was startled, then quickly denied: “He’s not pregnant.”

 

Si Hongche couldn’t help but sneer coldly, thinking as expected.

 

The aide beside him breathed a sigh of relief, quickly saying: “That’s for the best.”

 

“Waste of time.” Si Hongche suppressed his mockery, put down his legs, and was about to stand up.

 

Then he heard the doctor continue: “We recommend immediate surgery.”

 

Most recovery system Awakened ones could only heal open wounds, but couldn’t treat cancer, tumors, immune system disorders, blood diseases, and other chronic illnesses.

 

So even Chu Fu achieved her current success by combining her ability with medical skills.

 

Si Hongche was suddenly stunned.

 

The aide quickly reacted: “Not pregnancy, could it be some other disease?”

 

The doctor hung his head, not daring to look at Si Hongche’s sharp, cold gaze, and blurted out their examination results in one breath—

 

“After investigation, the patient underwent a medical abortion many years ago, but the two-plus month situation wasn’t suitable for this method. The embryo’s… fragments weren’t completely cleared. Over the years, they formed masses attached to the cavity wall. Because of his S-level physical constitution, they haven’t deteriorated these years, but his current… physical condition is very poor. He must undergo surgery immediately to remove the masses!”

 

Si Hongche shot to his feet, his eyes splitting with rage: “What did you say!”

 

The doctor was so frightened his teeth chattered. He closed his eyes and blurted out: “AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison conducts full-body examinations for prisoners before incarceration!”

 

Si Hongche’s face instantly turned paper-white. His vein-covered forearms trembled uncontrollably, his already bloodshot eyes became even more crimson, pupils contracting to tiny dots.

 

He vaguely remembered when Oliver was released after serving his sentence. He stood in the ice and snow, watching the ragged, emaciated Oliver being brought to the surface by iron ladder.

 

The frost and snow quickly made Oliver’s whole body tremble, his golden hair freezing.

 

Oliver’s eyes were dull and vacant until he saw him—only then did those eyes finally regain their light.

 

Oliver shook off the warden beside him and ran toward him with all his might. He threw himself into his arms, wrapping his cold, thin arms tightly around his neck.

 

Si Hongche heard his heart-wrenching sobs, as if trying to vent all the despair and pain from those four years.

 

Oliver cried for a long time, until his voice was hoarse, his lips purple, and blood vessels in his eyes burst and bruised.

 

He pressed against Si Hongche’s ear, sobbing grievously: “Ah Che, they took our—”

 

Si Hongche didn’t let him finish that sentence. He gripped Oliver’s nape and mercilessly threw him off, slamming him to the ground.

 

He looked down from above with a cold, indifferent expression, then raised his hand to order his subordinates: “What are you all doing? Immediately lock this criminal in a cage and take him away!”

 

Oliver’s elbow was cut by sharp ice shards, blood dripping into the bottomless ice crevices. He stared at Si Hongche in shock, and until he was forcibly dragged away and locked in a cage, he never said another word.

 

What had he wanted to say then?

 

The aide’s heart sank.

 

AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison assumed all prisoners were heinously guilty with no hope of survival, so they wouldn’t allow prisoners to give birth in prison.

 

The Lotasi Ice Field had harsh conditions and scarce resources, with no facilities for painless abortion procedures, so how did they kill that embryo?

 

At that time, had Oliver begged them to tell Si Hongche about this?

 

The aide wasn’t sure what Si Hongche, who had already been promoted to Second District director, would have done, but calculating the time, that was the crystallization of their love during their most loving period.

 

If that embryo had survived, it would have been Si Hongche’s only family in this world.

 

In the examination room, Oliver stood by the wall, gently wiping the coupling gel from his body, while the sweating doctor was still chattering to the empty bed: “You must have surgery for this, or it will definitely deteriorate. Fortunately, there’s a good recovery system Awakened one here today, otherwise with your physical condition, you definitely couldn’t survive surgery.”

 

“I don’t need to examine you to know—you have severe calcium loss and heavy cardiac load.”

 

“Sigh, if Director Si agrees, you won’t be in pain after the masses are removed.”

 

Oliver crumpled the tissue and tucked it into his palm, then calmly watched the doctor conversing with the empty bed, silently thinking: Sorry for deceiving your sympathy.

 

Just then, another doctor stumbled in: “Director Si has agreed to the surgery!”

 

Upon hearing this, Oliver’s eyes lifted slightly, then lowered again.

 

He lay back on the examination bed, curled up, and covered his lower abdomen.

 

The two doctors hurriedly wheeled him out. At the moment of leaving, Oliver took a light breath, the golden light at his fingertips deepened, and an invisible ripple instantly enveloped the entire medical center.

 

When being wheeled toward the operating room, Oliver saw Si Hongche again. Si Hongche looked terrible—his daily exhaustion erupted all at once through this opportunity. He seemed to be barely holding on to avoid collapsing.

 

Si Hongche’s gaze was fixed firmly on his lower abdomen, those eyes completely crimson, seemingly moist with confusion.

 

As expected, AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison would face a bloody purge—only death could console death.

 

Oliver gently closed his eyes.

 

Si Hongche seemed to always be hating. Hatred supported him in becoming who he was now—one hatred creating another hatred, endlessly.

 

But many things, once lost, were simply lost.

 

Oliver was wheeled into the operating room, along with a B-level recovery system Awakened one.

 

After the doctor surgically removed the masses, the recovery system Awakened one could use their ability to make Oliver’s wounds heal quickly.

 

Entering the operating room, Oliver got down from the operating table and silently took a doctor’s phone.

 

While watching the doctors and nurses busily working around the empty operating table, he stiffly pressed the phone number that Little Bug had given him into the phone.

 

 

Soon, the call connected.

 

Oliver’s tone was light, yet he spoke word by word: “Today, I can… get… Sui Sui’s.”

 

Lance smiled, his fingers leisurely tapping on the railing, his gaze glancing toward the vending machine: “Then tonight, we can deliver the entire performance.”

 

Zhan Pingchuan turned his back to Lance, took out money, and pretended to pick and choose among the displayed drinks.

 

The supervisor’s voice came through the earpiece: “The underground structural diagram of the Borshino ancient building has been scanned. Check it on your phone.”

 

Zhan Pingchuan tapped twice on the coffee: “So fast?”

 

Supervisor: “The guild master went personally.”

 

Zhan Pingchuan raised an eyebrow, deeply surprised: “He doesn’t know how to use a scanner. What did he go for, supervision?”

 

The supervisor’s tone remained calm, composed, and serious: “…The guild master couldn’t get into his house anyway, so he went.”

 

Zhan Pingchuan: “…” If he didn’t complete this task early, his tired and fragile old father would be homeless.

 

Two cups of coffee rolled down. Zhan Pingchuan crouched to pick them up, only then realizing—why did he buy coffee for both?

 

Clearly, he was the one who needed coffee to stay alert after crawling through pipes these past few days, while the little red fox went to bed early and woke up late, resting very well.

 

Damn, this would affect his wife’s robust sleep.

 

Zhan Pingchuan walked back carrying two bottles of coffee, opened one, and handed it to Lance: “I pressed the wrong button. Meant to buy cola, bought coffee instead. Don’t drink it—I’m afraid you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

 

“—It won’t affect my sleep.” Lance took it and drank a large gulp.

 

I don’t sleep at night.

 

Zhan Pingchuan rubbed Lance’s hair tips.

 

Really nice—able to eat and sleep well, a very easy-to-care-for little fox.

 

Medical center.

 

Oliver hung up the phone, deleted the call record, and put the phone back in the doctor’s pocket.

 

The surgery began.

 

Oliver stood to the side, very seriously watching the entire surgery, the paper ball in his hand gradually clenched tighter.

 

Just as the recovery system Awakened one began using their ability, Oliver quickly cut his arm with a scalpel, soaked the paper ball with blood, then extended his arm to where the ability covered, watching the wound heal under the recovery ability.

 

Paper was made from wood—any form of plant listened to him very well.

 

He activated his second-tier ability [Vine Proliferation], and the blood-soaked paper ball in his hand slowly transformed into a bloody piece of human tissue.

 

He placed the paper ball in the tray.

 

After the surgery indicator light went out, the chief surgeon hurriedly reported to Si Hongche: “Director Si, the surgery was very successful. The mass has been removed.”

 

Si Hongche’s heart stopped.

 

The word “removed” was too harsh for him—that mass had once been his unformed child.

 

At this moment, the doctor sighed, looking helplessly at Si Hongche, seeking his opinion: “Director Si… the patient now refuses to let go so we can do pathology. Please persuade him. That mass is just tissue that might deteriorate—it’s no longer—”

 

Noticing Si Hongche’s increasingly grim expression, the doctor’s words suddenly stopped.

 

He suddenly realized that for Si Hongche, this mass wasn’t just tissue that might deteriorate either. It had once been, after all…

 

Si Hongche brushed past him, ignoring attempts to stop him, and strode into the operating room. He saw Oliver with vacant eyes, tears continuously flowing from the corners of his eyes.

 

He tightly held the tray containing the mass, his hand bones turned blue-white from exertion. He now seemed like a startled bird, curled up in the corner of the waiting area, arching his back, hiding from everyone, murmuring: “Need… cemetery, need… burial, baby… died.”

 

After Sui Sui died, she underwent autopsy.

 

At that time, Si Hongche’s mental state was near collapse. To prevent him from further trauma, the former Second District director made the decision to cremate Sui Sui.

 

Because this malicious incident involved both Blue Pivot and Hong Suo departments and caused enormous impact, the Federation Congress specially permitted Si Hongche to bury Sui Sui in the back mountain, and from then on established even stricter management regulations in the restricted zone.

 

Si Hongche buried Sui Sui’s favorite toys, beloved dresses, treasured cards, and so on together in the grave.

 

He said he was afraid Sui Sui wouldn’t be able to find things she liked in the other world.

 

Si Hongche could barely stand.

 

Every word from Oliver was like a blade, stabbing fiercely into his heart. The blood in his heart seemed to have drained completely, leaving it cold and devastated.

 

Sui Sui’s broken body after autopsy, the embryo brutally killed eighteen years ago.

 

All his blood relatives were gone. He only had Sui Sui’s ashes and the remaining fragments of the embryo.

 

Si Hongche suddenly felt splitting headaches, a sweet metallic taste rising in his throat. The sudden assault of memories shattered his last layer of protection. His agave pheromones spread uncontrollably. Regardless of everything, he forcefully suppressed the blood foam in his mouth and stepped forward.

 

The real Oliver stood quietly to the side, watching Si Hongche stumble toward the corner.

 

Golden light continued in his palm, while the exhausted Si Hongche didn’t notice he was within [Virtual Realm].

 

Even though he was at his limit, an offensive Awakened one was still an offensive Awakened one.

 

Si Hongche stood behind Oliver. The bloody tissue stung his eyes—it could never again become a life, become a living child who would embrace him.

 

Without his knowledge, he had lost his and Oliver’s child.

 

“Alright, to the back mountain.” Si Hongche’s throat was hoarse.

 

This was the only thing he could do—his first touch would be to bury it.

 

Oliver wasn’t crying. He watched his fabricated grieving self, the mass made from paper, and the heartbroken Si Hongche.

 

His heart was suddenly unprecedentedly calm. Such deep and clear pain was, for him, already something from eighteen years ago.

 

Behind Qian Yun, layers of guards.

 

With Si Hongche’s highest-level clearance, they could pass unobstructed all the way to the foot of the back mountain.

 

The so-called back mountain was actually just an artificial slope. On both sides of the slope were neatly arranged pines and cypresses, standing straight under the blue sky and white sun, casting shadows on the silver-white tombstones.

 

The cemetery was solemn and sacred. On the huge white iron gate, an unknown deity was carved.

 

Oliver was quite knowledgeable about ancient and modern things, but he had never seen such a deity. It seemed like a giant moth, spreading seven brown wings toward humans.

 

When Its wings were fully spread, Its body became nearly circular. It opened Its mouth, revealing two sharp, long teeth. Its eyes slanted from outside to inside, with eight strangely shaped feathers on Its head.

 

At the center of Its body was a glowing, circular object.

 

It spread Its withered, blue-black arms, showing sharp claws, gazing at the visiting humans.

 

The white iron gate slowly opened, revealing a small path paved with bluestone slabs. The last barrier blocking their way was also removed.

 

An extremely thin, soft vine silently dropped from Oliver’s fingers, slowly searching along the path, passing tombstone after tombstone engraved with names.

 

Finally, it stopped before a small tombstone in the corner.

 

Oliver closed his eyes.

 

Sorry, Sui Sui.

 

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 (advanced chapters available on kofi)