Chapter 56: The Decision

Xu Chen walked out of the gates of the military-controlled zone, holding a small bag containing some tea leaves.

He looked back at the upright sentinel, his mind somewhat in disarray.

Previously, he had only wanted to live a normal and interesting lifetime. Before the typhoon two months ago, he had always assumed this was a normal world—just a tiny bit different from his previous one.

Born into this world, he had gone through kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school. An early-developed intellect allowed him to easily master all kinds of knowledge, which was why he had managed to get into this top-tier domestic university.

In the history department, he went from being full of enthusiasm at the beginning to finding it utterly dull, and eventually switched his major, thinking only that he at least needed to live a life different from his previous one.

Even if he couldn't become a heavyweight figure, he could at least be a middle-class elite in society—certainly better than the miserable corporate slave he had been in his past life.

Before this, he had never discovered any trace of supernatural power.

However, after the typhoon, this world began to gradually grow unfamiliar, drifting toward a script he had never imagined.

Supernatural powers and traces of Cthulhu had actually appeared in the world, and he had happened to notice them.

It was as if fate was playing a joke on him.

His thoughts were still wandering as he contemplated the leader's conscription order and where his own future lay...

Lacking comparison with others, he felt he was somewhat special, perhaps knowing just a little bit more than normal people.

Yet even he had no idea just how truly special he was to make all those people place such high hopes in him.

His phone suddenly buzzed, interrupting Xu Chen's train of thought.

He pulled out his phone and saw it was his old man.

Twenty years had already passed in this lifetime, and he could barely remember the faces of the people he knew in his past life. Therefore, he held very deep affections for the parents who had raised him in this current life.

After all, he had been sensible since childhood, and his parents always bought him whatever he needed or wanted. With a good education and constant companionship, they truly fulfilled everything qualified parents could possibly do.

Since he was not a cold-hearted or unfeeling person, he naturally recognized and accepted them early on.

However, looking at the caller ID of his father, Xu Chen felt a slight sense of bewilderment. His father was a traditional, tough man who wasn't good with verbal expression. Unlike his mother, the number of times his father called him could be counted on one hand.

Xu Chen finally answered and put the phone to his ear. A low and anxious voice came through: "Xiao Chen, what's wrong with you? Why couldn't I get through to you after calling so many times just now?"

He glanced back at the military-controlled zone from earlier, realizing that he must have entered a signal-jamming area. But he certainly couldn't tell them the direct truth, lest they worry.

"Dad, it's nothing. My phone ran out of battery just now and I only just plugged it in... What's up? Is something wrong?"

The person on the other end of the line let out a sigh of relief.

"Well... actually, it's nothing much. I just wanted to ask you, can you get in touch with Grandpa Yang?"

Xu Chen was baffled. Grandpa Yang was still locked up right now; there was no way he could contact him.

"No, I haven't seen Grandpa Yang at the school for a long time either. What's wrong? Do you guys need something?"

Xu Chen faintly heard the sound of coughing coming from the other end of the phone.

"No, no." Xu Dad hurriedly denied, then sounded somewhat embarrassed. "Well... what I mean is, since you're a medical student... do you know any doctors at any of the hospitals?"

"Huh? What's going on?" Xu Chen asked, suddenly becoming alert.

"It's like this... Your mom has been coughing a bit. Yesterday after work, I accompanied her to the hospital, but we went around to several places and couldn't get an appointment number. There are really too many patients at the hospitals lately. I even asked at the information desk, and I doubt we can grab any registration numbers for the next few days...

Now your mom is getting worse, so I tried to contact your grandpa's sworn brother—that's Grandpa Yang—but I can't get through to him no matter what..."

An even more violent fit of coughing came through the phone, a sound so severe it seemed as though she might cough her lungs right out.

The sound from the microphone suddenly became much softer, probably because he had put the phone down to check on Xu Mom. Xu Dad's concerned voice could be faintly heard: "Junyi? Junyi? How are you?"

Another bout of coughing ensued.

The phone was picked up by Xu Dad again. Unyielding man though he was, he was somewhat panicked at the moment: "Your mom is coughing up blood. Tell me, do you know any doctors? Or does your college have any teachers who used to be doctors?"

Xu Chen panicked a bit as well, but he immediately steadied himself. "Don't panic, Dad. Tell me, how much did Mom cough up?"

Perhaps infected by Xu Chen's calm tone, Xu Dad wasn't quite as flustered. After a moment, he replied, "Your mom's cough is full of blood streaks. The amount... well, it's not small, just spit mixed with blood."

Xu Chen cursed himself for not studying these subjects more diligently in normal times. Still, racking his brains and filtering through everything he had learned, he managed to sort out the current situation.

"Um... okay, it's not too much. Make Mom stay calm, don't move around, spit out the blood if it comes up, don't swallow it. I do know someone."

"Alright, hurry up then."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Chen immediately dialed Ouyang Xing's number. With no other choice, Principal Yang had told him to look for Ouyang Xing if anything came up, hadn't he?

Moreover, when asking for documents last time, he had heard with his own ears Ouyang Xing making phone calls to numerous doctors. For this matter, it was just a small thing.

"Senior Ouyang, my mom is coughing up blood and we can't get a hospital appointment... That's right... Yes... Alright, thank you for the trouble."

Ouyang Xing handled matters in a swift and decisive manner, which moved Xu Chen somewhat. Immediately afterward, he dialed Xu Dad's phone again.

"Take Mom to Grandpa Yang's hospital... No, don't go to the outpatient building, there are too many people... Go to the inpatient building, Building 2, 7th floor, physician's office... Look for Dr. Lin. He's Grandpa Yang's student, have him take some time to examine Mom."

After confirming that Xu Dad had received all the instructions correctly, Xu Chen hung up and let out a sigh of relief. Then he realized something was terribly wrong: had the number of patients at the hospital really grown to the point where they couldn't even register?

Had the casualties caused by *Him* using unknown methods already reached such a scale?

Could even his own mother's coughing up blood be caused by *Him*?

Only then did Xu Chen react: Damn it, his own home was being raided by that Cthulhu old bastard.

If this continued long-term, everyone he knew in this world might end up the same way.

He looked blankly at the ground. At this moment, he finally understood the meaning of the proverb: When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.

The tall people might be able to hold up the collapsing sky, but the aftershocks of these grand beings fighting each other had severe impacts on the short ones.

He had done what he could, but then he wondered: Could he have done even more?

Should he really not have been so indifferent about it all?

He thought about it and quickly made a decision, though he still glanced back at the still-upright sentinel at the gate and gave a bitter smile.

He certainly hadn't expected that the three days the leader had given him wouldn't even last an hour before he had already made up his mind.

If his joining truly served a purpose, then he ought to join—even if, when facing the encroachment of "Him," he only emitted a tiny glimmer of light illuminating the dark.

Yet, perhaps he didn't realize that he might not just be a tiny glimmer illuminating the dark, but a spark capable of starting a prairie fire?