The Secrets of Heaven, Season 4

Chapter 6

The gunshot terrified her, and she scrambled down the corridor. Her earlier confinement in the locked room had actually given her a lot of strength, and she ran swiftly to the hospital lobby, bursting out of the building of death as if being reborn.

Elena is free.

Outside the morgue, Tong Jianguo still lay in agony, his pistol lying on the ground two meters away.

He was waiting, waiting for the stranger in black, X, to deliver the second bullet to him.

The final moments.

stadium.

Dark clouds gradually began to cover the sky.

A cold wind blew in from the surrounding mountains.

A storm was brewing, and Ye Xiao, in freefall, was enveloped by the wind as he plummeted from the top of the stands, dozens of meters high, to the concrete ground at the bottom of the stadium.

His face was turned downwards, as if the earth were rushing towards him, yet he felt no fear whatsoever. Instead, it was as if he were heading somewhere, away from this slumbering city, back to his distant hometown, back to Xue'er's side...

But his own weight made him spin in the air, and he suddenly felt his back hit something—not the hard concrete ground, but the plastic canopy that stretched out from the outside of the stands.

The ceiling shattered instantly upon impact, and he felt a burning pain in his back, but his falling speed noticeably decreased. Then, another blow struck his back, sending him crashing through a second layer of the ceiling, leaving him covered in plastic debris.

He was now very close to the outer wall of the stands when he saw a thick rope hanging down beside him, left over from cleaning the walls. Ye Xiao instinctively reached out and grabbed it, but the instant he tightened his grip, his wrist felt as if it were being torn apart. Despite his tight grip, the rope could not withstand the weight of the fall.

Finally, after suspending in the air for two seconds, the rope made a sound and broke.

Nothing could save Ye Xiao now. He fell heavily to the ground, and although he tried to protect himself by covering his head, the left side of his skull was still hit.

Dozens of meters above, Xiaozhi was lying on the edge of the stands, staring in disbelief as Ye Xiao fell.

"No!"

She screamed in terror and quickly turned and ran down from the stands.

He sprinted to the bottom of the stadium, then ran out through the bottom gate, finally making his way around to the outside of the stands.

Ye Xiao remained lying motionless on the concrete floor, blood trickling from his forehead. His pistol, tucked into his waistband, had fallen outside. Xiao Zhi rushed to him anxiously, finding that he was still breathing and had a heartbeat. She touched his head to confirm that he wasn't seriously injured; there were only two abrasions on his scalp, and he hadn't lost much blood.

Her mother was a doctor, so she had learned first aid from a young age. She quickly tore open her clothes and bandaged Ye Xiao's head. She then carefully examined his limbs; there were no signs of fractures, only some soft tissue damage at the joints and a dog bite wound on his elbow. His ribs and pelvis were also fine. Thank goodness!

When Ye Xiao grabbed the rope, he was only two meters from the ground, and the force of his fall from the sky had already stopped. Even after the rope broke and he fell, he only dropped two meters. In addition, he took self-protective actions, so he only suffered a slight concussion and temporarily lost consciousness.

It has an incredible resilience, like a cockroach!

She called Ye Xiao's name loudly, but received no response. Exhausted, she sat down beside him, cradling his injured head; it was a miracle he was still alive. If he hadn't grabbed that life-saving rope, he would probably be a corpse now, or at least paralyzed from the waist down.

What should she do now? A frail twenty-year-old girl certainly couldn't move Ye Xiao's body; she could only hold him tightly in her arms. Her tears gently slid down her cheeks, landing warmly on Ye Xiao's tightly closed eyes—but this still couldn't wake him.

Xiao Zhi was at her wit's end, regretting that she shouldn't have run so high. She hadn't expected Ye Xiao to be so angry; perhaps all that was left in his heart was hatred!

But what did I feel like last night on the carousel at the amusement park?

She could only manage a faint, bitter smile before bending down to gently kiss Ye Xiao's nose.

Suddenly, a strange sound came from behind her. When she turned around, she saw her wolfhound, "Tian Shen".

What surprised her even more was that the "god" used his head to carry a handcart and slowly "pushed" it out of the stadium entrance.

"You are truly my 'god'!"

Xiaozhi ran up and hugged her wolfhound, giving it two big kisses on the head. This trolley was clearly for pushing luggage, similar to the kind used by passengers at airports. She wondered where the "god" had found it. Nanming City never had a proper airport; perhaps it was used by sports teams in a stadium. And this wolfhound was incredibly clever, knowing its owner couldn't move Ye Xiao, only this trolley could.

She quickly came back and dragged Ye Xiao up. Even though the cart was right next to her, it still took a lot of effort, and she was covered in sweat after just a few tries. The girl used all her strength, and even the wolfhound used its head to push Ye Xiao. With the girl and the dog working together, they finally managed to drag Ye Xiao into the cart.

Xiaozhi gasped for breath, her damp hair clinging to her forehead. She gripped the handles of the stroller as if she were walking into an airport terminal. The injured Ye Xiao had become her luggage, curled up in the stroller, fast asleep, like a big boy or a big toy.

Before leaving, she didn't forget to pick up Ye Xiao's pistol and carefully put it in her pocket. She pulled the cart onto the street, still feeling very tired. Dark clouds swept over her head, and the wolfhound "Heavenly God" followed closely on either side, sniffing at Ye Xiao's bandaged head.

Where should I go if I'm injured?

Of course, it's the hospital!

Hospital.

The deadly Nanming Hospital.

Elena had vanished without a trace, leaving only two living people in the vast hospital building.

Both of them were alive and in the morgue.

Tong Jianguo was still lying on the ground, bleeding. The bullet was deeply embedded in the muscle of his left arm; if it had hit the bone, it would have been even worse. He felt he was truly getting old, looking up at the corridor lamp and breathing helplessly. If it were ten years ago, he would never have made such a mistake; he would have quickly sprang up and shot his opponent between the eyebrows.

The man in black, X, stood in front of him, coldly pointing a gun at his head, then bent down and picked up Tong Jianguo's gun. Now he had two guns in his hands, both off the safety and loaded, ready to smash Tong Jianguo's head at any moment.

"Who are you?"

Despite being in such a perilous situation, Tong Jianguo remained calm and collected, treating X as his prisoner. Back in the Golden Triangle, he had risked his life countless times, surviving numerous serious injuries and brushes with death, yet he never feared the enemy's guns.

"I am X."

The man in black answered calmly as well, while tucking a gun back into its holster.

"fork?"

Tong Jianguo knew that this kind of guy had many code names, but he had never heard of this "X".

"I'm sorry." He was still very polite, a slight smile playing on his lips behind his large sunglasses. "That's all I can tell you."

Why don't you kill me?

He knew that people like X were ruthless and, by all accounts, would shoot him dead immediately without any hesitation.

"Now is not the time to kill you."

"Yes, I'm old now." Tong Jianguo gave a helpless bitter smile, his white hair at his temples trembling. "I'm not as formidable as I was when I was young, and I'm not worth your time."

"No, I will take action."

X spoke crisply and decisively, then gently kicked him with his foot and gestured with his chin, indicating that he should get up quickly.

Tong Jianguo endured the pain in his hand and struggled to stand up, leaning his shoulder against the morgue door.

"Please come in."

"What? You want me to go into the morgue?"

The man in black, X, nodded coldly: "Yes."

“That’s right, everyone goes to the morgue.” Tong Jianguo gave a self-deprecating sneer, then staggered into the morgue. “If you’re lucky enough to die with your body intact.”

"So you should say thank you."

Faced with X's indifferent gaze, Tong Jianguo appeared quite polite, as if it were a polite exchange at a banquet: "Yes, thank you."

However, the cold morgue was filled with the smell of corpses, and the cold air gathered in the lower layers, causing his knees to ache slightly, and his forced bitter smile was interrupted.

"Don't be afraid, your luck will be good."

X sneered, then closed the iron door of the morgue and quickly locked it from the inside—he wondered what the hospital was designed to have, that the morgue had a locking function. Was it to prevent the zombies from running out at night?

"I will definitely die later than you!"

The moment the iron gate closed, Tong Jianguo shouted through gritted teeth.

He stood painfully in the morgue, leaning against the wall with his left shoulder, and used his right hand to frantically try to open the doorknob—but the iron door was locked very tightly, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open it.

A few minutes later, he finally gave up trying to unlock it. If even the zombies were powerless against it, how could a mere mortal like him possibly succeed?

Because he had used so much force, the wound on his left arm bled even more, almost staining his entire sleeve red. Tong Jianguo groaned and fell to the ground, only able to tear a piece of his trouser leg with his right hand to make a makeshift bandage to wrap around his injured left arm. Having been wounded several times on the battlefield without any battlefield medical care or medics, he had relied entirely on himself to bandage his wounds to save his life, and this skill had become second nature to him.

Although the wound was properly bandaged, the bullet was still lodged in the muscle of his upper arm, and there was a high risk of infection—if the wound became infected, not only would he likely lose his arm, but he would also develop a high fever. The worst-case scenario was death from systemic infection, followed by forced amputation—no, he would rather shoot himself in the mouth than have his arm amputated!

He suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit to the hospital, and nervously touched his shirt pocket. Fortunately, the vial of serum was still intact and had not been broken during the struggle.

"Constantine serum (anti-blackwater fish venom)!" Tong Jianguo read the label on the bottle softly, then cursed fiercely, "Damn bottle!"

To save Sun Zichu's life, he not only sacrificed Henry's life, but it seemed he would also lose his own fifty-seven-year-old life in this morgue. Thinking of this, he wanted nothing more than to smash the serum. He raised the bottle halfway but stopped, sighing softly, "Would smashing you save my life?"

So he shoved the serum bottle back into his pocket and continued biting his frostbitten, purple lips. The wound had stopped bleeding; perhaps the cold air here helped the blood clot? Or perhaps it helped it solidify into a corpse? He felt extremely cold and exhausted, even forgetting the pain of his wound.

He slowly lowered his head, leaning against the cold iron gate, and closed his eyes resignedly. Surrounded by many corpses, this place had become a cemetery, awaiting his turn to become one of them…

It's still Nanming Hospital.

Tong Jianguo fell into a deep sleep in the morgue.

Xiao Zhi was struggling to push a luggage cart, carrying the injured and unconscious Ye Xiao, and quietly arrived at the hospital entrance under the loyal escort of the wolfhound "Tian Shen".

Under the gloomy, dark clouds, she gazed up at the sleeping hospital, wondering how many dead bodies still lay within. Memories flooded her mind once more, as if she were transported back to those mad days of a year ago. The more familiar a place is, the easier it is for fear to overwhelm her. The fear this hospital instilled in her had weighed on her heart for a full year.

However, the "god" walked into the hospital building without any restraint, glanced back at its owner, and looked at him with the eyes of a docile golden retriever.

Xiaozhi glanced at Ye Xiao on the cart; he was still curled up in a ball, unconscious. After a few seconds, Xiaozhi carefully pushed the cart into the building.

Her mother was the best surgeon at Nanming Hospital when she was alive. From a young age, her mother often took her to the hospital, where she would secretly observe minor surgeries and was accustomed to death. Often, patients who had just died would be wheeled past her on stretchers, and the teenage girl would remain calm, even mischievously touching the dead person's feet to try and determine when they had stopped breathing. Once, she sneaked into the morgue but heard a faint, mournful weeping sound, which terrified her so much that she fled in terror.

The smell of medicine filled her nostrils again, a scent that lingered even after a year. She struggled to push Ye Xiao into the corridor. The rooms on either side were utterly silent, like prison cells that had frozen time—she too had been imprisoned here for over ten days, spending lonely nights gazing at the stars during a severe bout of influenza. It was here that she learned of her father's death, followed only a week later by her mother's. The outside world was hell on earth. She had been forcibly confined to the hospital, but ultimately she secretly "escaped," leaving this place of sorrow, never to return.

At this moment, Xiaozhi returned. Although she couldn't see a single living person, every room felt so familiar, as if she had never left. She pushed Ye Xiao to the surgical emergency room, where there was a lot of emergency equipment, including the surgical instruments her mother had used. There was even a wall-mounted television in the emergency room, which used to be for patients receiving IV drips.

She took a deep breath in the familiar air, but she simply didn't have the strength to lift Ye Xiao onto the bed. She could only find a stretcher, lay it on the emergency room floor, and drag Ye Xiao off the trolley.

After several minutes of this ordeal, Ye Xiao was still unconscious, but he was finally laid on a stretcher. Xiao Zhi's forehead was covered in sweat, and "Heavenly God" paced anxiously beside him, unsure how to help his master.

Although she felt thirsty and exhausted, she kept busy. First, she put Ye Xiao's pistol in the drawer, afraid that it might accidentally discharge and injure herself. She found medical gauze and disinfectant, unwrapped the original bandage on his head, and then carefully cleaned and disinfected it with iodine. Fortunately, the blood loss was not too much, and there were no more serious injuries. Then she re-bandaged it with clean gauze, almost like a professional—her mother had taught her all of this when she was a child.

She also had to clean Ye Xiao's wounds, but she didn't have the strength to take off his clothes, so she found a large pair of scissors and cut his shirt and half of his pants to shreds, revealing the bruises and abrasions all over his body. She carefully applied medicine to each wound, including all the soft tissue contusions.

Especially on his elbow where the "god" had bitten him, Xiaozhi scolded the wolfhound as she applied the ointment: "Who told you to actually bite him? Look what you've done to him! You deserve to die!"

Meanwhile, the "god" lay obediently to the side, protecting its owner and her wounded companion. It lowered its head timidly, transforming into a docile little pet, scolded by its owner for its mistake.

Ye Xiao was covered in bandages, his body a patchwork of white and purple, making him look like a severely wounded soldier returning from the Afghan battlefield. By the time they had cleaned him up, Xiao Zhi's back was drenched in sweat. Actually, none of his injuries were serious; the superficial wounds would heal in a few days. The most serious was a dog bite on his elbow. The key issue was that he remained unconscious, and a head CT scan couldn't be done. The biggest fear was brain damage—he might end up in a vegetative state or even brain death!

Thinking of this, Xiaozhi's back was covered in cold sweat. She hugged Ye Xiao's head in fear, her chest heaving. Her eyes, which had been hiding provocation and evil, suddenly became moist and red.

Fighting back tears, she whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry! Ye Xiao, it's all my fault! I deserve to die! I promise I won't run away again! I swear I won't make you sad again! I'm sorry! Please wake up! Please come back!"

Ye Xiao, still lying on the stretcher, had his eyes closed, his expression like that of a soldier who had just died, lying in his lover's arms, never to wake up again.

Finally, two warm, clear tears fell from the twenty-year-old girl's eyes and dripped straight onto Ye Xiao's eyelids.

Constant dripping wears away a stone.

Tears pierce my heart.

Xiaozhi's tears, like a pool of spring water, spread wildly, gradually melting the ice frozen on his face and seeping into his pupils beneath his eyelids...