Death Progress Bar

Pig Teammate

The bathrooms on the ground floor were relatively far from the entrance. Shi Jin pushed David there, keeping a deliberate silence as he waited for the man to speak.

Sure enough, once they rounded a corner and were out of sight from the crowd in the emergency room, David asked, as casual as can be, “You called that person ‘Brother Nine’—is that your brother? He looks very young.”

Hey, you sure don’t beat around the bush—you asked about the key person right off the bat.

Continuing to pretend to be an easy mark, Shi Jin surrendered information without a blink: “No, Brother Nine is Jun-sh… Uh, my boss left him in charge here. He’s almost thirty, he just has a baby face.”

“Almost thirty? Oh, I am sorry, I always have trouble estimating the age of Chinese people. Um… This hospital looks really empty. Aren’t there any patients here?” David continued to ask “casually.”

On the inside, Shi Jin ridiculed the man for being so impatient, but played along on the surface. “No, this hospital has been contracted by my boss and is not receiving outside patients for the time being. Your group is a special case.”

David was apparently a poor boy because he seemed shocked by how the rich boss did things. “Contracted? Really? It must cost a lot of money to contract such a high-end hospital. Why did he do it, is someone from his family sick?”

Yeah, this guy really lacks patience.

Shi Jin sighed. He felt he’d overestimated Meng La’s acting skills.

In order not to appear too fake, he made sure to show vigilance and said in a hard voice, “I’m sorry, I can’t answer that, this is my boss’s private matter. Here’s the bathroom, feel free to use it.” After saying this, he rushed for the last few steps and drove David’s chair into the bathroom.

David noticed the shift in tone. Upon entering the bathroom, he checked Shi Jin’s expression in the large mirror over the sink. Seeing that the young doctor’s face was wary enough that it was visible despite the mask on his face, David turned to look at him and said, giving an awkward smile, “I am sorry. I am very curious and always ask too much questions, my mom always scolds me for that. Thank you for bringing me here. If I offended you just now, I am sorry, please forgive my rudeness.”

Shi Jin looked at him, wavered, and slowly let his expression relax. He hesitated for a moment, then said, tone easing, “No, you didn’t offend me, it’s just… Oh, I might just be too sensitive, and I can’t say anything about my boss’s affairs. Anyway, thank you for saving my colleagues. Please use the toilet quickly if you can—I’ve been away from Dr. Long for too long and I’m sure he’ll reprimand me.”

“Ah, I am sorry. Sure, I will take care of it right away,” David replied immediately. He grabbed the armrests of the wheelchair and tried to stand up, but despite several tries, his legs failed to cooperate. Embarrassed, he gave Shi Jin an imploring glance.

Shi Jin watched his performance without speaking. When he deemed the time was right, he blinked, as if waking up from a momentary daze, and hurried forward. “I’m sorry, I forgot about your leg injury,” he said, sheepish. “Come on, I’ll help you up. Careful now.”

“Thank, thank you.” With help, David finally stood up, and tried to put a hand on Shi Jin’s shoulder.

Xiao Si screamed, <Stay away from him, JinJin! Your progress bar jumped to 980!>

At the system’s warning, Shi Jin’s eyebrows jumped up. He turned, “accidentally” kicking the wheelchair away, then pretended to stumble to one side and pushed David to the ground. He also used the man as a cushion and, while he was at it, “unintentionally” drove his elbow into his stomach.

“Urgh.”

David didn’t expect this to happen. Because of his leg injury, he couldn’t exert enough strength to maintain his balance, and since his hand was raised when he fell, he didn’t manage to protect his stomach, so he received full damage from Shi Jin’s “accidental” attack. The acid in his stomach was squeezed up the back of his throat, his fingers clenching into claws; he wanted to crush Shi Jin’s throat and throw him away.

Xiao Si shrieked again.

Shi Jin jumped to his feet, then swept down again and grabbed David’s arm, his voice full of anxiety, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I tripped over the wheelchair! Are you alright? How’s your wound? I didn’t fall on it, did I?”

As he spoke, he twisted again and held down the uninjured leg David was about to lift and attack with. “Show me your wound,” he said, pulling at the man’s pants. “I’m sorry, blame me for being so clumsy.”

His pants were being pulled down, his legs were pressed into the floor, and his stomach was still hurting. David’s heart burned with desire to strangle the damn little doctor, but now he was laid on his back with limited mobility and the situation was too disadvantageous for him, so he had to give up on the idea for the moment. He tried to bend his legs. “No, you didn’t fall on it, it’s fine. Can you help stand up first? I feel a little uncomfortable lying on the floor like this.”

Xiao Si relaxed a little. <The progress bar fell down to 970, but you’re still in danger, JinJin. Please be careful, all right?>

“I know, don’t worry,” Shi Jin placated the system. Keeping the embarrassed expression on his face, he grabbed Meng La’s arm and helped him up, making sure to stand a bit behind the man, in a position that was difficult to attack. “I’m really really sorry, this is all my fault. Do you want me to help you hold your pants?”

Hold my pants?

David’s expression distorted for a second, and the slight doubt that appeared in his mind due to Shi Jin’s too-perfect positioning dissipated in an instant. He threw Shi Jin a sideways glance.

Shi Jin looked back at him with innocent eyes, saying as if it was obvious, “Your clothes are too thick, it would be inconvenient for you to move. I’ll help you hold your pants so you can hold the urinal with both hands to support yourself. If you have to use one hand hold your pants, you might stumble and fall in or piss yourself, which wouldn’t be good.”

David was shocked that Shi Jin could discuss the topic of urination without batting an eyelid. “No, it’s fine, I can do it myself,” he said, fending off Shi Jin’s hand with determination.

“Oh, you don’t have to be embarrassed, we’re both men. Plus, I’m a doctor. Not only have I seen that thing plenty of times, I’ve also dissected it. So you don’t have to worry, I’m used to it. Besides, they’re all basically the same when they’re cut off.” Shi Jin was eager to help.

With the inexplicable feeling that his “younger brother” had gone cold, David shook his head, still refusing. “No, I really can manage by myself.”

“Oh, if you’re sure.” Looking regretful, Shi Jin took a few steps back and stood still, watching David’s movements.

David felt as if he was forced to eat shit. “…Aren’t you going to turn around?”

Turn around? Are you kidding? I’m not suicidal.

Shi Jin rolled his eyes on the inside, but the expression on his face remained earnest and caring. “No, I’m worried you’ll fall in the middle of urinating and hurt yourself, so I’m going to stay with you just in case. Don’t worry, from here, I can’t see anything.”

David decided he’d made a rather serious mistake. He shouldn’t have chosen such a young doctor—the kid might’ve been naive and easy to trick, but it was offset by him being overzealous and hard to get rid of.

The plan needed to be carried out as soon as possible, he didn’t have much time to waste here. Unfortunate as it was, he had to give up on killing the doctor for the moment and get his work done instead.

“Actually… I need to do number two,” he said, looking embarrassed, and hobbled towards the toilet cubicle. “I don’t know how long will it take me to… to take care of this. You probably should return to the emergency room instead of waiting here or that doctor you mentioned might yell at you.”

Shi Jin frowned. “Why do you suddenly need to do number two?”

“…You pressed my stomach when you fell on me, and now I have a stomachache and just… need to,” David replied.

Shi Jin put on a shocked face. “Just because your stomach was pressed? You, you… you have a problem. Have you seen a doctor?”

“Thank you for your concern but I’m fine,” the man said through clenched teeth.

Shi Jin looked at him with sympathy, an expression of ‘I understand, don’t worry, I won’t expose you,’ on his face, which made David want to beat him up. He said, “All right, then I’m going back to the emergency room.”

Finally breathing a sigh of relief, David returned to his shy persona. “Thank you for helping me, I troubled you.”

“You’re welcome,” Shi Jin answered, not moving.

David stopped in front of the cubicle and looked at him. After a two-second-long battle of wills, he gave up, stepped in, and locked the door.

A moment later, he heard the sound of footsteps retreating.

The expression on David’s face relaxed. Not wasting any more time, he put down the toilet lid and took a seat, pulling down the zipper of his coat to take out various tools, a small explosive, and some other things, preparing to install them on the back of the door.

Tap-tap-tap. The footsteps, which had already faded into the distance, approached again, and stopped in front of the cubicle.

David froze and looked at the door with a dark expression. He felt behind him, finding a small but very sharp awl, and clenched his fingers around it.

All of a sudden, a roll of toilet paper came in through the gap under the door, and Shi Jin’s voice sounded: “I saw that there was no paper in this bathroom, so I brought you a roll.”

The hand clenched on the awl relaxed a little. David took a look at the toilet paper on the ground and replied in a gentle and harmless tone, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” And then the footsteps went away again.

This time, David waited for a while, only continuing to move after he was absolutely sure that the young doctor wouldn’t be back. He set everything up as fast as possible, then stood, straightened his clothes, and opened the door.

Shi Jin stood right in front of the cubicle with an amiable smile on his face, pointing a loaded gun at him. “Mr. David, how do you use the toilet without opening the toilet lid, using the paper, or flushing? And you shouldn’t litter—don’t you feel sorry for the cleaner?”

David’s expression went through a drastic change. His hand flew behind his back, reaching for something.

Bang.

Shi Jin aimed a shot at his arm.

The man plunged into a crouch and dodged it. Shi Jin didn’t continue to shoot, only looked at him with raised eyebrows.

Inwardly, David ridiculed the young man for underestimating the enemy. He manipulated the little awl, revealing a tiny push button at the top of the awl’s grip.

“Why do bad guys always think their opponents are idiots?” Shi Jin still didn’t move, only leisurely twirled the gun in his hand.

David sneered. He was about to throw himself sideways and push the button on the awl when he heard a sound behind his back. He wanted to evade but it was too late—pain burst out from his back and a heavy weight pushed against his body as he was pressed face down against the floor, without ever seeing who attacked him.

“Don’t move.”

A cold, hard object rested against the back of his head. It was clear to him that it was the muzzle of a gun.

David complied and stayed still, his cold gaze fixed on Shi Jin.

Gua Nine, who was the one who cooperated with Shi Jin, pushed the man’s head down, not allowing him to look at the teenager. He cuffed his hands together then yanked him up from the ground. After searching him for weapons and throwing all he found aside, he called, “Come in!”

A group of people rushed into the bathroom, heading straight for the cubicle where David had stayed. They discovered what the man had left inside almost immediately, and after a check, the leader reported, “It’s a small bomb, and there’s a container with accelerant next to it. If it exploded, it would’ve definitely caused a big fire.”

Shi Jin put his gun away and looked at the expressionless David. “So that’s how you started a fire in the villa? You snuck in by pretending to be an official and installed this gadget everywhere you could?”

“This time was my loss. If you want to kill me, then kill me, stop wasting my time with nonsense,” David said icily. There was not a trace of the previous harmless and shy rescuer to be seen.

“Oh, but I want to waste your time. Let me guess—all the other wounded rescue workers also have this stuff with them. After you started the fire here, they would’ve pretended to ‘heroically fight the fire despite being injured’ and used that opportunity to get out of sight, then disperse through the hospital and install the gadgets in hidden places. If they succeeded, I’m afraid this place would have burned to the ground, perhaps with us inside.” As Shi Jin spoke, he watched David’s face. Noticing a slight change in his expression, he gave Gua Nine a look.

Gua Nine frowned. He turned towards the people who were removing the device and ordered, “Go to the emergency room and arrange for them to be searched and separated, use making them change into hospital gowns as the pretext. If they refuse to change, just strip them and lock them up.”

One of the subordinates acknowledged the order and hurried out.

The plan had been discovered, and now David’s gaze on Shi Jin was not only cold, but murderous. If he was the only one caught, his companions still could have carried out their plan and perhaps he would have found an opportunity to escape in the chaos, but now, their plan was ruined.

“Who are you?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m just an ordinary intern.” Shi Jin replied, still talking nonsense. “Let me continue guessing—the fire was just the first step. When it started, we definitely would’ve called for help to put it out. At that time, a group of official ‘rescue workers’ would come, which wouldn’t have raised anyone’s suspicions. In that kind of situation, it would have been a piece of cake to steal someone from the hospital… Have I guessed right? What do you say, Meng La?”

David’s expression went through another dramatic change. His lips opened, then tightened and he didn’t speak.

Gua Nine was equally shocked. He scrutinized David’s face, then shot him in the calf to minimize the possibility of him escaping.

“Ah!” The man cried out in pain, stumbling and almost falling to his knees.

Gua Nine yanked him up, asking, “Are you sure he’s Meng La? Meng La is supposed to be in his forties, and this man looks to be in his early thirties.”

What? Meng La is over forty?

Surprised, Shi Jin frowned a little, but still went with his instincts and believed his own judgement.

“Both his voice and the upper part of his face are very similar to those of Meng La. Whether or not he is Meng La, it’s always right to be careful,” he said, stopping his ‘naive intern’ act. “Send people to strengthen the perimeter defense. We’re going into lockdown—starting now, no one except our own people will be allowed in, even the L country officials.”

Gua Nine had exactly the same idea. He nodded and asked another subordinate to pass the message to the outpatient clinic, then walked out of the bathroom, dragging David, who had trouble walking.

Shi Jin put the gun back in his pocket, returned to his ‘harmless little doctor’ persona, and followed him.

“Who the hell are you?” David asked again.

Shi Jin eyed him and replied in all seriousness, “You can call me Mahjong Superman.”

Gua Nine & David: “……”

David watched Shi Jin for a moment, then his lips curled in an inexplicable smile. “You’re quite interesting. Why don’t you follow me? I promise to give you better treatment than you get in Annihilation.”

Gua Nine scowled and dragged him harder.

Blood from the gunshot wound on David’s leg dripped on the floor, dotting a winding trail of red, but his face was as steady as if he didn’t feel any pain. “Think about it, little doctor, I have a high opinion about you.”

Shi Jin actually continued talking with him. He shook his head and replied, “No, I don’t have to think about it. I like to follow a good-looking boss, but you’re not as handsome as Jun-shao, so no deal.”

The smile on David’s face faded, and he paused for a few seconds before continuing, “You really are interesting.”

“It’s useless even if you praise me,” Shi Jin waved his hand. In his mind, he poked Xiao Si. “Is that enough voice samples? Is he Meng La or not?”

Xiao Si was quiet for a while, as if it was calculating something, then exclaimed in excitement, <Yes, it’s him! No two voices in the world are exactly the same, he’s Meng La!>

With that, Shi Jin was completely relieved, even his expression relaxed.

David noticed his change, and in the same second, his bound hands began to shift.

The three turned the corner, and the emergency room appeared before them.

They had been walking slowly, so by the time they got there the people stationed there had received the news and put the hospital in lockdown, as per Shi Jin and Gua Nine’s orders.

The injured “rescue workers” were all gone, perhaps tied up somewhere, the hospital doors were closed, and there were only Annihilation members in sight.

Surprisingly, Fei Yujing, who should’ve been protected in a room deep in the hospital, was standing in the lobby talking with Uncle Long. He faced the corridor, so he saw Gua Nine and David the moment they appeared, and also noticed Shi Jin walking behind them. He frowned and strode over, calling out, “Where did you go, Shi Jin? Didn’t you say you’d be back soon?”

Shi Jin?

David had been observing the situation in the lobby with careful eyes, but at that, his expression changed for a fraction of a second. He sent Shi Jin an unobtrusive glance, recalling Gua Nine’s attitude towards him, and his bound hands moved again.

Shi Jin found that his progress bar, which had dropped to 700 after David was captured, rose back to 950 all of a sudden. He immediately realized that something was wrong but before he could do anything about it, there came a loud boom and the hospital shook—the official vehicles the wounded had been brought to the hospital in began to explode one after another. The explosions were powerful enough that they destroyed the hospital’s closed entrance and made a gaping hole in the wall.

Several people closer to the door were struck by the blast. They were slammed to the floor and lay there, unconscious.

The ground seemed to shake; Shi Jin barely kept to his feet. He dodged the flying debris and shouted: “Get away from the entrance and bring the unconscious people further inside. Hurry up!”

Gua Nine also had trouble keeping his balance, and his grip on David’s arm loosened. David seized the chance, twisted around, and kicked Gua Nine away using all his strength. Somehow, he got his hands free, the broken handcuffs falling to the ground, then turned to grab Shi Jin.

Shi Jin noticed his movements and ducked, kicking the man’s wounded leg at the same time.

David grunted. He launched another wave of attacks but to his surprise, they all failed—he hadn’t expected Shi Jin to be so skilled. Seeing that Gua Nine was already struggling to his feet, his expression changed for a second. He switched targets to pounce at Fei Yujing, who stood close-by, hooking him around the neck and using his body as a shield. Hostage secured, he retreated towards the hole made by the explosion, dragging the lawyer with him.

The sound of sirens came from afar—Gunfire’s reinforcements had arrived.

“Let me go!” Fei Yujing, face dark, struggled hard. However, he was just an ordinary person without any proper training. He was fit, but it all came from visiting the gym—it was impossible for him to break away from David’s hold.

Gua Nine regained his footing and moved in their direction, wanting to save Fei Yujing.

“Come any closer and he’ll die with me!” David threatened, displaying a tiny remote control in his other hand.

Damn it!

Gua Nine stopped, deploring the fact that he only focused on technology and neglected physical training. He tried to negotiate: “Let him go and I’ll let you go.”

David only sneered and continued to retreat towards the gap.

When Fei Yujing had been caught, Shi Jin’s mind went into overdrive. All of a sudden, he pulled off his surgical mask and rushed a few steps forward, blurting out, “Don’t hurt him! I’m Shi Jin, he’s my brother, I’ll replace him!”

“Shi Jin!” Gua Nine turned his head to stare at him incredulously. He couldn’t imagine that Shi Jin had really said such a stupid thing.

Fei Yujing, too, looked at Shi Jin with a scowl. His expression was actually a bit uglier than when he found himself taken hostage.

David’s footsteps paused, and he peered at Shi Jin.

“I’ll replace him. It’s a good deal for you—I’m definitely a much better choice for hostage than him. Look, this is my gun, I’m putting it down now.” Shi Jin made a gesture of surrender, slowly took out his gun, and kept his eyes on them as he half-bent to put it on the floor.

David’s eyes were fixed on him, as if he was judging the truth in his words, but he continued to retreat.

Clack.

The gun touched the ground.

Shi Jin paid close attention to David’s expression. In the split second that the man lowered his guard as the gun left his hand, he seized the chance and burst forward at a speed impossible for human beings, barreling into David and Fei Yujing. All three of them were thrown to the floor. He yanked Fei Yujing away from David and flung him to the side, then reached for David’s hand.

David’s expression went through a drastic change. He did something, and the remote control he held turned into small but sharp knife with a blade of about a thumb’s length. He stabbed at Shi Jin’s throat.

Xiao Si screamed, <JinJin! 998.5!>

“Shi Jin!” Gua Nine also shouted, breaking into a dead run.

Fei Yujing had been pushed so hard that he only stopped when he skidded into a row of waiting chairs. He turned around just in time to see the scene of the knife stabbing towards Shi Jin’s throat. His heart seemed to stop for a moment, and his mind was blank.

At the same time, the “official rescue vehicle” rushed straight into the hospital, ignoring the perimeter defense team’s attempts to stop it, and drove into the wall next to the gap, barely slowing down enough that the crash wouldn’t kill the people inside the vehicle. Uncle Long had just finished checking the people who had passed out from the explosion, and exited the outpatient clinic at that moment, accompanied by troops that ran over to provide support.

The scene seemed to go into slow motion. The rescue vehicle hit the gap and stopped. Its door opened, and people jumped out to shoot at the lobby. Several of them rushed towards David and Shi Jin, who were grappling on the floor.

“Get down! Take cover, quick!” Shi Jin yelled. He suddenly let go of David’s arm and thrust his fingers into the man’s eyes. At the same time, his other hand picked up the pocket gun which had fallen out of Fei Yujing’s jacket when they all landed on the ground. First he shot David’s shoulder, making it useless, then turned the gun towards the “rescue workers” rushing over.

Bang bang bang.

All bullets hit their targets, stopping the first wave of Gunfire’s reinforcements from approaching.

Shnk.

David’s eyes were blinded and his attack missed Shi Jin’s throat, the knife scoring the teenager’s shoulder instead.

Shi Jin grunted and shot him in the shoulder again, using up the last bullet, then rolled to Fei Yujing’s side. Pulling his brother behind the row of waiting chairs, he shouted towards Uncle Long and the people following him, “Attack! Don’t let more enemies come in!”

This seemed to break the magic spell. As soon as Uncle Long was sure Shi Jin was out of trouble, he ordered, “Hurry! Go and stop them!”

Gua Nine took a few shots at the second wave of enemies rushing in, then hurried over to Shi Jin’s side to protect him.

A chaotic battle began, set to the irregular sound of gunfire. Some of the perimeter defence team came over and helped the people in the lobby deal with the members of Gunfire from the outside. The rest of the perimeter defense team was just as quick to respond, fending off the enemy reinforcements that had not yet passed the hospital fence, preventing them from approaching.

The situation was quickly brought under control, and Shi Jin’s progress bar dropped to 550.

Shi Jin leaned against Fei Yujing. He waved a hand, trying to drive away Uncle Long who came to check his wound, and touched the phone in the pocket of his trousers. “Just now, Meng La detonated the bombs in the vehicles by remote control, which proves the signal has been restored,” he beamed. “Lian Jun will definitely call me soon… Oh, I knew it, see?”

Uncle Long’s eyebrows twitched. He wanted to smack the damn kid to death.

Fei Yujing lowered his head, looking at Shi Jin whose shoulder was bleeding but who still found answering the phone more important. Face dark, he snatched the phone out of Shi Jin’s hand and shoved the teenager towards Uncle Long. “Take care of your wound, I’ll take this call for you,” he said, getting up.

“Ah, my phone…” Shi Jin didn’t manage to take the phone back. A little angry, he watched his brother walk away.

Lian Jun must be anxious about what was happening on this side. Now that Fei Yujing was the one answering Shi Jin’s phone, Lian Jun would be overcome with worry again. Sure enough, he was a pig teammate!

“Uncle Long, please lend me your phone,” Shi Jin turned to the doctor.

Uncle Long gave him an angry sneer and pushed him to the ground. He pulled open Shi Jin’s white coat, cut the clothes over his shoulder, and said, the scissors in his hand giving off a cold glint, “No, I won’t. And no more talking or I’ll give you a shot of anesthesia to knock you out!”

Shi Jin: “……”

Fuck, he was surrounded by pig teammates today.