Chapter Sixty-Seven: Awakening

When Fang Mu regained consciousness from the boundless darkness, he had no way of knowing how much time had passed.

He felt as though he were immersed in a cool yet viscous world, a sensation that made his heart jolt with alarm.

He tried to struggle, but found his entire body was numb, strengthless, unable to move.

It was only after struggling for what felt like half a day that he managed, with great effort, to open his eyes...

A gentle light filtered into his pupils, causing him to instinctively close his eyes again. After a moment, he reopened them in a daze.

But at this moment, only his eyes could move; his whole body was paralyzed. He instinctively rolled his eyes around, taking in his surroundings...

It was a spacious and immaculate room, furnished with various pieces of equipment. These devices emitted steady beeping sounds, clearly in operation.

As for himself... he was currently inside a container nearly four meters tall.

The container was filled with a pale green liquid, within which he floated, a respirator covering his nose and mouth.

Several people in white lab coats and masks were busy in the room, each holding a virtual screen and earnestly recording something.

"Bed 1708 is awake."

Fang Mu's mind had not yet fully cleared, but he heard someone speak. Because he was submerged in the container and fluid, the voice sounded muffled and distant.

He instinctively tried to look for the source of the voice, but could not move his head. Even the attempt was exhausting.

Soon, he saw a woman in white approach him. Masked, she shouted loudly so he could hear, "Mr. Fang, Mr. Fang, can you hear me? If you can, please blink your eyes..."

Fang Mu stared at her blankly for a moment, then tried his best to blink a few times.

He had no idea what the pale green liquid was, but it felt exceedingly gentle; his eyes felt no irritation at all, though they were open in the fluid.

Seeing this, the woman visibly relaxed, then turned to a man in a white coat beside her and said, "He's responsive, seems fine."

The man nodded, tapped a few times on his virtual screen, apparently recording something.

The woman then turned back to Fang Mu and said, "Sir, you can rest assured. Your injuries are no longer a concern, but your body was severely necrotic and you still need to recover in the D-grade gene solution for a while. The current numbness, weakness, and immobility are all normal. You can rest a bit—don't worry, you'll be fine."

She ended with a comforting smile.

Only then did Fang Mu's mind gradually regain clarity. He managed a weak smile and blinked again.

But soon, the numbness in his body once again clouded his mind, and in a hazy stupor, he drifted off to sleep once more...

...

When he awoke from the darkness again, Fang Mu opened his eyes and looked up at a pristine white ceiling.

He stared blankly for a moment, then sat up abruptly.

A metallic scraping noise rang out from beneath him.

Looking down, he saw he was on a bed, dressed in a set of pale blue clothes—but nothing underneath. Patches were stuck to his chest, and a machine beside the bed beeped softly.

"Is this... a hospital?"

Only now did Fang Mu's mind begin to fully clear, and his memories from before his coma started to return.

Suddenly recalling something, he immediately checked his hands and body.

The skin that had been so badly ulcerated and decayed was now completely regrown. The new skin was pale with a healthy flush, as tender as that of a newborn.

He instinctively clenched his fist—at first he felt weak, but after a few tries, his strength returned in full.

Fang Mu's eyes grew bright.

Then, as if thinking of something, he reached up to touch his face—smooth as glass.

The massive scar that had once marred his left cheek had already healed and vanished.

Fang Mu let out a long breath and broke into a smile...

He had survived!

In the era of genetics, the advances in genetic medicine were beyond imagination.

This was especially true for Evolvers.

Evolvers’ genes were far more vital than those of ordinary humans. As long as they weren't killed outright or suffered catastrophic brain injuries, even the gravest wounds could generally be fully healed in a hospital.

They could even achieve the legendary "regeneration of severed limbs"!

It was truly remarkable.

Fang Mu let out a long sigh of relief and looked around.

This was obviously a hospital ward. In front of him was a massive virtual screen, currently black, blue privacy curtains drawn around his bed. He could only see a small section of the room.

Fang Mu tried moving his body, then got up, slipped on the slippers by the bed, and stood.

He felt light and nimble, his gene energy reserves full and brimming—he was in excellent condition.

Only the new skin remained a little sensitive, leaving his whole body feeling cool and fresh, a sensation that was somewhat odd.

His head felt even cooler... When he touched it, he found he was bald.

"Hey? You're awake?"

Just then, a nurse came in. Seeing Fang Mu standing and moving about, she paused in surprise, then said, "Don't move around too much yet. You just came out of the gene pod. I'll call Dr. Pei to give you a check-up."

With that, she turned and left. Fang Mu blinked, thought for a moment, and sat on the bed to wait.

Soon, footsteps sounded. A tall female doctor in a mask entered with the nurse.

Seeing Fang Mu, the doctor smiled warmly and asked, "Awake? How do you feel? Any discomfort?"

As she spoke, she stepped closer and examined his pupils up close.

A faint, delicate fragrance wafted over, making Fang Mu slightly dazed and a little uneasy.

He replied, "I don't feel any discomfort. It seems I'm already well..."

The doctor's cool fingers touched his face, carefully observing his eyes from both sides. After a moment, she smiled and nodded, "Not bad, you seem to have recovered very well."

Fang Mu had no idea what she was looking for or how she could tell he was fine.

But such close proximity to a woman made him slightly uneasy. He gave a dry cough, then suddenly remembered something and looked at her. "Excuse me... before I lost consciousness..."

The doctor seemed to understand what he wanted to ask, and smiled, "Don't worry. I checked with the finance department. The handgun you had was a D-104, brand new, worth nearly a million star coins. The field hospital accepts weapons as collateral. Of course, there's a depreciation fee. You didn't have any star coins on you, so the weapon was used as collateral. After deducting depreciation and so on, there were about 870,000 star coins left. Your injuries were severe, so you used D-series gene solution, which cost 500,000. Plus various other expenses, the total came to a few more thousand... Here's the bill. There are about 230,000 star coins left, already deposited in your personal account. If you have any objections, you can raise them at any time."

Hearing this, Fang Mu let out a long sigh of relief and shook his head, "No objections. I just wanted to say... thank you."

He looked at the doctor with genuine gratitude.

From her words, he realized that it must have been this doctor he had found before losing consciousness...

The doctor was momentarily taken aback, then shook her head with a smile. "Saving lives is my duty—no need for thanks. You're in good shape, though your new skin is still a bit sensitive. Just take it easy for a few days and you'll be fine."

Fang Mu nodded lightly and glanced at her name badge, which read "Pei Keqing." That was her name.