Chapter 66: The Rear

“Truly impressive. He was hit by seventeen bullets and six pieces of shrapnel, yet he only fell into a coma from exhaustion!”

“Given his frail appearance, how did he manage to create this miracle?”

“Alright, you two stop gossiping here. Get out, all of you!”

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“Why hasn’t he woken up yet? Didn’t you say it would take three days at most?”

“Dean Ren, his physical condition is somewhat special. The specific time he will wake up is a bit complicated.”

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In his daze, Zhou Liming felt as if he were in a dream, yet also awake. His mind was in chaos, and some noisy sounds reached his ears from time to time.

He seemed to have been knocked unconscious by that woman, and then… Zhou Liming did not know what happened after that. At this moment, he thought of Dean Zhou and An Xiaowei and the children. Having left him, how could they escape from this chaotic Wan J City?

It seemed as if the scene of the Dean and the others being chased and devoured by Fierce Beasts appeared before his eyes.

“No!”

Zhou Liming roared and abruptly woke from his daze, sitting up on the bed.

The tubes connected to his body were directly torn off by Zhou Liming. Bare-chested, he panted heavily, looking around. Everything here was snowy white, with a faint smell of medicine, white bed sheets, and instruments beside him. This made Zhou Liming immediately understand his situation; he should be in a hospital.

As Zhou Liming sat up, the broken tubes caused the instruments to emit an alarm.

With a “bang”, the door was pushed open and a young nurse rushed in. Seeing Zhou Liming sitting up, she paused for a moment, then rushed over and said, “Lie back quickly, lie back quickly.” She wanted to help Zhou Liming lie down, but her strength applied to Zhou Liming did not make him move even a bit.

“Where is this?” Zhou Liming stared at the young nurse.

The young nurse hesitated for a moment, then said, “This is the hospital affiliated with the Biological Research Institute in the Temporary Capital, Yu A City.”

Yu A? Zhou Liming muttered to himself, “Where is Yu A City?” Then his slow brain finally remembered, isn’t Yu A City located in Chuan Province? He… he ran all the way here? Oh, right, he fell into a coma, knocked out by that woman. Could it be that she sent him here?

The distance from Wan J City to here was not small.

“Why am I here?” Zhou Liming fell silent for a moment, but eventually asked.

The young nurse shook her head, smiled, and said, “You were sent here, of course.”

At this moment, the door was pushed open again. An old man in his sixties walked in with several doctors. Seeing Zhou Liming sitting up, a hint of delight flashed in his eyes as he said, “Young man, your recovery is not bad. You are full of life as soon as you wake up, hahahaha. It is still good to be young!”

Zhou Liming looked at the old man warily and said, “Who are you?”

The old man was quite familiar and said, “My surname is Ren. People usually call me Dr. Ren or Dean Ren. It has been a long time since I heard anyone call me by my name. I think it is Zhigang, Ren Zhigang.”

Zhou Liming thought for a moment; he had never heard this name before. “Are we very close?”

Ren Zhigang shook his head and said, “If we do not count the time you were in a coma, this should be our first meeting. Young man, I believe we will soon become good friends.” He signaled his assistant behind him to clean up the instruments, then sat on the chair by the bed and said, “I think you certainly have many questions you want to ask now.”

Zhou Liming nodded and said, “Why am I here?”

Ren Zhigang laughed, “Captain Lian sent you here. You should be glad she didn’t kill you on the spot. Just based on your act of destroying two armed helicopters and a tank, you have committed a serious crime of treason. You should not be lying here, but rather lying in the morgue like the other dead civilians.”

“How are Dean Zhou and the others?” This was Zhou Liming’s biggest concern.

Ren Zhigang said, “They were all brought back by Lian Ruixue and have been settled properly.”

Thinking of Wan J City and the appearance of the terrifying Spider Beast, Zhou Liming could not bear to think further and said, “What about Wan J City?”

This time, Ren Zhigang fell silent. After a long while, he said, “Only one-third of the people escaped from Wan J City. The casualty count is seven million. There is also very bad news: Wan Province has also fallen. All provinces near the coast have lost contact. From our reconnaissance intelligence, the situation is very grim.”

Zhou Liming fell silent again. He could not imagine how huge a number seven million casualties was.

Ren Zhigang suddenly laughed and said, “No need to be sad. Compared to other countries, we are already lucky. For example, the Island Nation, due to its narrow terrain, became a paradise for Fierce Beasts in just three days. And countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, even the superpower, the United States, have seen all their coastal areas fall. Although our casualty numbers are large, it is unavoidable. After all, most of our country’s population is concentrated on the coast.”

This was the only international news Zhou Liming had heard since the disaster began.

“How long have I been in a coma?”

“You have been in a coma for seventeen days.”

Ren Zhigang’s words gave Zhou Liming a big fright. He exclaimed, “What? I was in a coma for seventeen days? This… this…”

He originally thought he had only been in a coma for two or three days. Who would have thought that he was in a coma for seventeen days? Even Zhou Liming did not understand. Was it not just exhaustion, plus taking a hit from that woman? How could he be in a coma for such a long time? Could it be the injuries on his body?

Seeing Zhou Liming’s dazed look, Ren Zhigang said, “This is not strange. Your injuries were too severe. Not only was your muscle damage serious, but you also had massive internal bleeding. Perhaps you did not feel it at the time, but due to exhaustion, these injuries became somewhat terrifying. However, for ordinary people, this kind of injury would be fatal, but for you, it is nothing. Even if you were not sent to the hospital, relying solely on your own healing ability, you would have fully recovered within half a month.”

Zhou Liming exhaled and said, “When can I be discharged? I think I am fine now.”

Ren Zhigang laughed and said, “Do you know what crime you are currently charged with?”

Zhou Liming’s pupils contracted, his muscles tensed, and he stared at Ren Zhigang.

“Treason is a crime that can be punished by immediate execution. You should understand what that means. In other words, you are now a first-class prisoner of the state.” Ren Zhigang said slowly, “But things always have two sides. You should understand that you are no longer an ordinary person; you are among the kind of people the state cannot control.”

Actually, Zhou Liming had already anticipated everything Ren Zhigang said when he saw Lian Ruixue appear before him. He just held onto a sliver of hope, imagining he could be like an ordinary person. But now it seemed that was just his wishful thinking. If he did not possess the Fierce Beast Gene, he would probably have been executed on the spot. How could he have been sent to the hospital?

Zhou Liming suddenly felt lost, as if he were standing at a crossroads in his life, confused and not knowing what to do.