Chapter 47: The Healing Institute
In the pitch-black secret chamber, a button-sized miniature lighting device emitted a white glow. This item cost 70 Paradise Coins each and could only be used for illumination, but it gave off no heat, electrical induction, or the like, providing excellent concealment.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Su Xiao confirmed that the white-haired woman had been lured away by Bubu Wang. He took out a silver metal frame from his storage space.
This frame consisted of three parts, looking like a set of ultra-simple exoskeleton armor. In reality, it was a Void-produced "Yilidake Bone Correction Device," which could correct broken bones externally, showing significant effects on fractures of the leg bones, ribs, and arm bones. Su Xiao had traded for this item using [Memory Erasure Spray (Gold Quality Item)] from the Mechanical Sister, and he had been reluctant to use it until now.
Click, click~
The silver-white device attached itself to Su Xiao's body, with numerous tiny suction cups adhering to his chest, beginning to detect the condition of his bone fractures.
Half an hour later, the silver-white device detached from Su Xiao's body. This item was single-use and completely scrapped after use.
Several small wounds could be seen on Su Xiao's chest. For bone correction, this was already considered minimally invasive.
A metal injection gun appeared in Su Xiao's hand, and he directly administered a muscle injection into his chest. His previously numb chest cavity gradually regained sensation.
Su Xiao took a deep breath. His internal organs still ached, but he had already escaped the state of severe injury. The medicine, combined with his self-healing ability, would allow him to recover combat effectiveness within a few hours.
Although the cost of battling the white-haired woman was somewhat high, Su Xiao had successfully entered the central area of Dead Silence City.
The good news now was that Su Xiao was not far from the "Sacrificial Altar." With the Dark Source he had obtained, he could completely go and upgrade his talent ability.
The bad news was that the team had been scattered. The Old Divine Stick had initially broken away from the team to cover their retreat. As for Amu and Veroni, their whereabouts were also unknown.
After entering the central area of Dead Silence City, the team channel seemed to be interfered with by signals, making it impossible to contact Amu at all. If Bubu Wang hadn't accidentally discovered this secret chamber while passing through walls, he and Bubu Wang might have also gotten separated.
Amu should be fine on his end, after all, he had Veroni, this living silencer. Moreover, Bubu Wang had already gone to find Amu. The central area wasn't large, so it wouldn't take long to locate him.
What Su Xiao needed to do now was to recover from his injuries and wait, while also perfecting his revenge plan. Compared to venting his anger, he was more curious about what benefits he could gain from killing that white-haired woman. If killing her wasn't feasible, he would switch to another, more underhanded method. That kind of thing wasn't something Su Xiao was doing for the first time.
Su Xiao waited for nearly two hours before Bubu Wang appeared by penetrating the wall.
"Found Amu?"
"Woof~"
Bubu Wang's dog face looked somewhat conflicted. It had indeed found Amu, but the other party's situation was not good.
From Bubu Wang's description, Su Xiao learned that after Amu charged into the central area of Dead Silence City with Veroni, he mistakenly entered a seemingly inconspicuous building. Then, something unexpected happened.
Inside that building were five residents of Dead Silence City wearing black robes and crow masks. Their attire was extremely similar to that of medieval doctors.
These five Crow Doctors were very strong and had somehow subdued Amu and Veroni using unknown methods. However, they didn't kill the two but instead wanted to "treat" them.
"Crow masks, treatment..."
Su Xiao pulled out a map. At the center of the map were two X marks drawn in blood. These two buildings were the Supreme Sanctuary and the Healing Institute.
The representative symbol of the Supreme Sanctuary was a round emblem, while that of the Healing Institute was a crow.
"That should be... the Healing Institute."
Su Xiao stood up. From the Old Divine Stick's hints, the Healing Institute was a very dangerous place.
"What's their situation now?"
"Woof."
Bubu Wang shook its head, meaning that Amu and Veroni were not in immediate danger for the time being, but they weren't safe either. The "treatment" of those Crow Doctors was definitely not a good thing.
"Let's go take a look."
Su Xiao pushed open the secret door of the chamber. After confirming there was no danger outside, he came to the side of the building. Still with Bubu Wang leading the way, they set off toward the Healing Institute.
The central area of Dead Silence City was even quieter. Most of the buildings here had no residents. Or rather, those qualified to live here were all once big shots of Dead Silence City, each being Boss-level.
The entire central area had a diameter of about five kilometers, which wasn't small. However, there weren't many buildings here, and each one had an emblem on it, likely holding unique significance.
Although the central area was more dangerous, the chance of encountering enemies was much lower. By the time Su Xiao arrived near the Healing Institute, he had barely encountered any residents of Dead Silence City.
The Healing Institute was a three-story stone building. The rock walls were severely weathered, and the rounded edges formed by weathering looked like they would crumble at a touch, but in reality, they were sharper than knives.
Su Xiao completely concealed his aura. While this meant he couldn't perceive enemies, it also made it difficult for enemies to perceive him easily.
Standing in front of the outer wall of the Healing Institute, Su Xiao looked into the first floor through the already broken glass window. Various bizarre instruments came into view, including rubber infusion bags filled with unknown liquids, various treatment devices that looked like torture instruments, iron helmets used for trepanning, bone-pulling forceps, and so on.
On a bloodstained operating table sat a resident of Dead Silence City. With one hand holding its own intestines and a thick infusion needle piercing its other arm, it looked very much like a patient waiting to register.
There was nothing of note on the first floor. Su Xiao signaled Bubu Wang to go up to the second floor to observe. Soon, Bubu Wang's head poked out from the second-floor window, indicating no danger.
Su Xiao climbed up the outer wall to the second floor. The windows on the second floor were relatively intact. Following the window that Bubu Wang had already opened, Su Xiao lightly leaped into the second floor. As soon as he entered here, he felt his vision blur, and his consciousness momentarily became hazy, but it immediately returned to normal.
What met his eyes were numerous huge glass pillars filled with pale green solution. Inside these solutions were many miniature Tree Eroding Beasts about one meter tall. These patrol guards were actually man-made by the Healing Institute.
A wooden table filled with test tubes and parchment caught Su Xiao's attention. This wooden table was placed against the wall, at least five meters long. Oddly shaped test tubes and beakers were arranged on it, while on the right side of the table were neatly stacked over a dozen piles of parchment.
Su Xiao picked up one of them. The writing on it was completely illegible. However, another pile of parchment was written in ancient script that was widely circulated on the continent, which Su Xiao could understand.
The parchment recorded the following:
'Do we really have no hope? The king of the living will not be cut off, nor will the bloodline of Adegesh be severed. Once a new king appears, we must continue to wait for three hundred years. Three hundred years, then another three hundred years, endless and without end. Adegesh, this traitor who deserves to fall into the Abyss Prison, without us, he would just be a drifter on the sea. This despicable traitor, he was clearly one of us too. Do we, the People of Death, have no right to breathe the air of the continent? Do we... have no right to live?'
'Success. This little thing actually has living characteristics. But why does it grow roots? Might as well call it Tree Eroding Beast.'
'Success again. We have not disappointed the expectations of the Supreme Sanctuary. The newborn is female, with stronger living characteristics. But why is her hair white? That doesn't matter. On the 17th day after birth, she could already lift a Tree Eroding Beast, and she even thought about going to bully Ataya, only to be beaten and cry by Ataya in the end. After discussion among the five of us, we named her Moon Maiden, the silver moon that illuminates Dead Silence City. The little one seemed a bit unhappy and punched half of my skull to pieces. What a cute little thing.'
'Time is running out. The remaining rationality is gradually fading. Am I going to be assimilated too? In the end, we have failed. Rahan, you chose to stand on the side of the Black King, but one day you will return. I hope... you can heal Dead Silence City. The residents here are innocent. They just want to survive. Is that a crime too?'