Plague Doctor - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: An Unnamed Parcel
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

In the Emergency Department
Tick Tock, Tick Tock.
The hands of the clock on the wall of the waiting area moved in a circle. With his eyes fixated, Gu Jun watched as the second hand went round and round. Soon, another five minutes passed. To his surprise, his body did not feel anything strange, and the tension in his heart gradually eased.
“No. 186, Li Zixuan,” the radio called another number. Immediately, the parents took their child to the emergency room, and some other parents got up and asked the nurses who passed by frantically, “When would it be my child’s turn?”
In the emergency department, the patients were called by number. Patients in dire situations would be called first for treatment. Contrary to common belief, the emergency department was not always embroiled in the fight to pull deathbed patients from Death’s gates. Many patients were like the ones here now. Mainly consisting of children who caught a cold or cough, waiting to go to the pediatric clinic, screaming and bawling their lungs out as they waited for their numbers.
As he sat in his seat, Gu Jun’s eyes continuously scanned his surroundings. He was wary of possible conflicts that might erupt around him. For him, today was a terrible time to be involved in a dispute.
Suddenly, a system message popped up in his mind.
Your brain stem tumour’s growth has halted under the effects of targeted therapy drugs.
Oh?
Immediately, Gu Jun tapped the system’s options on Host’s Details. Quickly, charts upon charts spawned in front of him. Looking at the myriad of numbers and graphs, there were no apparent abnormalities. Only that his heart rate was decreasing.
Tick Tock, Tick Tock.
Another hour passed. “No. 208, Zhang Haoxuan.”
Tick Tock, Tick Tock.
2 hours passed. “Number 231, Wei Xinrui.”
From morning to the afternoon, and from the afternoon to evening. For 10 long hours, Gu Jun sat in the emergency department. Conscientiously, he recorded all of the data that were presented on the system about his health. All statistics pointed towards a stable and healthy range. Not to mention, he felt an undeniable comfort spreading in his brain. The massive and piercing pain slowly trickled away. 5
“This Foreign medicine is seriously a miracle worker.” 1
Looking at the small bottle holding the capsules, there were 33 of them now. Gu Jun had attained some more throughout the week through the missions.
Looks like these can actually be used clinically.
However, the system had not dropped even a single clue as to how long this treatment would last until complete recovery. There were words on the packaging, but the terms made even less sense than Greek to Gu Jun. According to his speculations, if the drug could suppress the tumour continually, the tumour could very well wither and even disappear altogether. It might take months or even years. There was no way to put an actual number on it.
Gripping tightly onto the bottle, a long sigh escaped Gu Jun.
Looks like I’m not dying yet. Indeed, villains live the longest. 1
“Ah!” Standing up and stretching, Gu Jun packed up his items and left the emergency department. While he walked through the glass doors, the entire area was still booming with a cacophony of chatters, bawling, and anxiety. The parents and children had it tough, but the doctors and nurses had it the toughest. 2
Standing at the entrance of the hospital, Gu Jun stopped and looked up at the azure-blue sky. An inexplicable emotion swirled inside his heart.
The experimentation on Foreign Medicine had to continue. He had to find out the long term effects of the treatment. In any case, the naked mice did not require much medication every day. He could request for the Naked Mouse Room to help with the rearing and feeding of drugs. He also had some savings left. However, there was no time to waste. 7
“I need to study medicine well and be a good doctor,” Gu Jun swore to himself.
Before this, he had reflected on his way of life during these previous years. Sometimes, he had believed that his terminal illness was retribution, a punishment from the Heavens. 1
Now that he had a second chance, he steeled his heart to seize this life and leave no regrets.
What’s more is that some things needed to be checked.
He knew that this mysterious power, the system, was related to the anomaly activities of the Longkan Oceanic Belt. Anomalies occurred in Longkan, and it was a frequent occurrence. The brimming excitement of the Li Yuerui trio also proved it. They had received news before their exploration.
Most importantly, Gu Jun was dying to know.
Is this related to my parent’s accident? Where is the Seabird?
“Speaking of which. Did Li Yuerui capture anything?” As Gu Jun stopped by the shade of a nearby tree and fished out his phone. It had been half a month since their accident. Within these 15 days, not a word was heard from the trio. A few days back, he had taken the initiative, sending a message to Li Yuerui and Wu Dong on Wechat. Alas, not only was there no response, the phones were even shut down when he called. It was as if these 2 men had vanished from the face of the earth.
As for Lin Xiaotang, Gu Jun did not exchange contact details with her, leaving her condition an absolute mystery.
Gu Jun craved to find out not just about the recording, but also the results of Li Yuerui’s operation on his fracture.
“Did something happen to them?”
Walking along the path back to the university, curious and outrageous thoughts popped up repeatedly in his mind.
With their background, they couldn’t have been kidnapped, right? Maybe the helicopter had an accident? Impossible, the old captain would have long gone mad if that was the case. What’s more, there was no news about this.
As his thoughts brewed, something odd caught his attention. A man was staring at him from the junction in front. Yet, the moment their eyes met, he turned and left immediately.
Gu Jun’s brows puckered. Something was wrong. This man… It didn’t seem like it was their first time meeting. Crew cut, ordinary physique, and ordinary appearance. He looked just like a middle-aged uncle. Yet, somehow he felt that the man’s eyes were eternally shrouded in a kind of gloomy and ominous vibe. 3
“Did I overthink?” Gu Jun shook his head. Recently, the illusions had driven him to be overly suspicious of everything.
All the way back to the campus dormitory area, he was more mindful and paid extra attention to his surroundings. However, he never saw the man’s figure again.
Maybe he’s just a passerby? Could it be deja vu? Gu Jun was not sure.
The dormitory area was just a collection of a few humble old apartments. Sweeping one’s eyes across. Many air-conditioning vents, clothing protective nets, and some balcony plants dotted the apartment surfaces.
As he pondered over the repeated appearance of this man, he came to the fifth floor of one of the apartments and walked into a bedroom.
The 8-year course students also stayed in 4-men rooms. They were not huge. Every person was entitled to an elevated bed and mattress. Underneath was their study table and the ensuite wardrobe. Just like every medical student, countless books and notes buried the table surface. Along with the clutter were diagnosis equipment, human anatomy figures, and a lot more. All of it were items exclusive to medical pursuers.
Since it was summer break, the only two within the room were him and Cai Zixuan.
The moment he walked in, a mouth-watering aroma filled his nose. He saw Cai Zixuan by the balcony with a book on hand. Beside him, a boccaro pot was in a rolling boil. The lid clattered due to the popping bubbles underneath. Watching the steam teasingly escape, Gu Jun asked, “Zixuan, what soup are you making?”
Between the 4 of them, Cai Zixuan had an aptitude for cooking. He would often offer a bowl or two of delicious soup to everyone. With that in mind, all thoughts of breaking electrical appliances quickly vanished.
“Pig organs soup with wolfberries.” Putting the book “Medical Pathology” down, Cai Zixuan gave his fatigued face a thorough wipe and said, “Today, we dissected 2 pigs in our laboratory. Both were premium goods, raised without a single drop of drugs. However, they were prepared to throw away all of these innards as biological waste. So I thought that it would be great to make a bowl of soup with them to rejuvenate our tired bodies. When I recommended this to the group leader, she even let me off half a day early!” 9
Swallowing a dry gulp, Gu Jun asked, “Do I have a share?” The enticing aroma had perked his appetite. While others may find the source of the innards disturbing, he was unfazed. In the past, they had even taken a dissected rabbit back from their animal anatomy class and held a hotpot party! 3
“Of course! I made a huge pot. Oh, right!” Suddenly, Cai Zixuan seemed to have recalled something. “The mailroom had sent a parcel for you.”
“The mailroom?” Gu Jun was shocked. He had not placed any online orders recently.
“It’s an international parcel. It’s on your desk.” Cai Zixuan was perplexed. “The lady in the mailroom said that this parcel had been stuck with them for a couple of days. None of them could confirm the recipient’s information. Only when they called the dormitory today could they confirm that it was for you. So, they quickly sent it over. ”
“Oh?” Gu Jun walked to his desk in doubt. Immediately, he saw a small yellow paper parcel on the table. Picking it up, he looked at the consignment note on the package. It was in both English and Chinese. It was sent from Maldives. The sender was a string of numbers “233333”, and the recipient was “Mailroom of Eastern University, School of Medicine. Gu Jun, an eight-year student.”
Maldives?
A thought suddenly comes to mind. Could it be from Li Yuerui?
Gu Jun immediately picked up a pair of scissors on the table and carefully opened the parcel. Inside, there was a small paper box. He continued to open it.
When he saw the contents of the carton, shock, and suspicion came to him.