Chapter 114 – Connection with Earth

extra ko-fi chapter (11/12) for Shihane

love (*￣∇￣)

Jian Mei could say he had never been this nervous before.

The feeling made his hands tremble slightly. Taking several deep breaths, Jian Mei finally decided to open the chat box on his WeChat app to test it out. He didn’t dare to message his family first; instead, he sent a message to Xiao Pang test the waters. To be cautious, Jian Mei sent a simple question mark.

There was no immediate reply, and his anxiety grew.

While Jian Mei was tossing and turning, his phone suddenly lit up. Xiao Pang had sent him a question mark in response: “Who are you?”

Jian Mei was stunned.

Xiao Pang had his WeChat and had noted who he was, so how could he not know him?

Jian Mei asked, “Don’t you remember me?”

Xiao Pang replied, “Your profile picture and info card are both blank. When did we become friends?”

“……”

Jian Mei’s mind went blank for a moment. He suddenly recalled , when he first met Lu Xingwang, the situation was similar.

From his perspective back then, all the accounts of Stan Star were blank. Now, from Xiao Pang’s perspective, was he also blank?

Xiao Pang kept asking, “Who are you?”

Who am I.

Jian Mei was momentarily speechless.

How should he introduce himself? Should he say he was Jian Mei? But then, who was the person on the hospital bed?

Should he say his soul had traveled? Would Xiao Pang believe him, or would he think Jian Mei was playing a prank and delete him?

What to do…

Jian Mei’s mind went blank. He couldn’t think of an answer. His original plan to contact his parents and brother turned into a bubble and illusion. WeChat had only opened the basic chat function for him, not voice chat. If he couldn’t speak, how could he convince anyone?

Xiao Pang continued pressing, “Who are you? Are you trying to scam me?”

“If you don’t respond, I’ll delete you!”

“Are you even a living person?”

These words were similar to what Jian Mei had once sent to Lu Xingwang. Reading them made him smile. He typed back to Xiao Pang, “Don’t delete me, I am a living person.”

Xiao Pang asked again, “So, be honest, who exactly are you?”

Jian Mei fell into deep thought.

He tentatively answered, “I’m your friend. Maybe you don’t remember me anymore.”

Xiao Pang was very puzzled. “How can I remember if you don’t tell me?”

“I can ask you a question, right?” Jian Mei didn’t know what else to say, so he asked, “Do you know how the Jian family is doing now?”

Xiao Pang, of course, was very confused. “Why are you asking this?”

Jian Mei didn’t know how to respond but still said, “Just tell me, please, Pang ge.”

Xiao Pang side was silent.

While Jian Mei was wondering what to do next, Xiao Pang sent him a message: “Odd and even numbers remain unchanged?”

Jian Mei was stunned. His mind went blank for a moment, and his memories flashed back to a few years ago. Back then, he and Xiao Pang had played a role-playing escape room game. At that time, they agreed that if they met in the middle, they would say a secret code, so that no matter what the other person became, they could recognize each other.

The memories slowly resurfaced, making Jian Mei’s heart flutter. He tentatively replied, “The handsome guy will show up.”

On the other side—Earth.

In a university dormitory, a loud, mournful cry and a thud echoed through the room. Everyone in the dorm was stunned as they watched the person on the upper bunk fall down in excitement.

The other roommates rushed over to check. “Wenshu, are you okay?”

Xiao Pang, now known as Shen Wenshu, was no longer fat. He had successfully lost weight and turned into a healthy, handsome young man with a sunny disposition. He shakily got up, unable to hide his excitement. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Jian Mei quickly received a message: “Are you Mei Mei? Are you really Mei Mei?”

“How did you know it was me?” Jian Mei typed back, asking, “How did you guess?”

Xiao Pang quickly replied, “No one has called me Pang ge for a long time. I actually lost weight after graduating from high school. Even back then, everyone called me Xiao Pang. You were the only one who always called me Pang ge.”

Jian Mei finally realized this slowly.

However, what he didn’t expect was that Xiao Pang actually succeeded in losing weight. In fact, during the past few years on Stan Star, he would also browse through his friends’ moments. Gradually, those friends in his memories were no longer the same as before, and he didn’t know what kind of life they were living now. This really made him feel like time had passed in the blink of an eye.

Jian Mei smiled faintly, his gaze gentle. “So, that’s how it is.”

Xiao Pang was very excited. “Jian Mei, have you woken up from the hospital? Why did you change your WeChat ID?”

“No, I haven’t woken up…” Jian Mei asked tentatively, “Can you tell me about my current situation?”

Xiao Pang probably realized that something was wrong, but he was a sensible person. Since he knew this person might be Jian Mei, he revealed everything he knew: “Actually, I haven’t been back to City A for several months. I got into the university in City B. The last time I saw you was when I came home several months ago. You were in bed, and the doctors said your condition was very strange, somewhat like a vegetative state, but the cancer cells in your body were disappearing as you slept…”

Listening to Xiao Pang’s description, Jian Mei probably began to understand what kind of life he was living on Earth.

He had become a vegetable, but his leukemia had miraculously healed during his slumber. Now his condition had improved a lot. His parents and family hadn’t given up because although he was asleep, his condition was improving, and they believed he would wake up one day.

Xiao Pang continued, “Do you know? Your brother got into medical school. He’s already graduated with outstanding grades and is now interning at the most famous hospital in Country M. And his specialty is psychiatry.”

When Jian Mei saw the message on his phone, his eyes widened slightly, unexpected.

“Regarding the vegetative state, he has been researching it since university.” Xiao Pang typed while sending him a recent photo, showing Jianchang: “I remember he used to be very tough on you, but unexpectedly, his feelings for you are still deep, Jian Mei. Although he didn’t say it, we all know he studied medicine for you.”

Tears fell from his cheeks, dropping onto the phone.

On the phone screen was a photo of his brother wearing a white coat. He looked completely different from the once reckless and unruly teenager. He was mature, steady, tall, handsome, and dashing in his white coat, communicating with patients’ families by the bedside, looking very reliable.

The rebellious and willful teenager once, after his younger brother’s accident, took on the burden of the entire family.

Jian Mei’s eyes were red, and tears kept flowing uncontrollably. He dared not cry too loudly in the hospital dormitory, curled up against the wall, hugging his legs, burying his face between his knees and crying.

Xiao Pang said a lot, and finally sent a message: “Jian Mei, where are you? We all miss you very much.”

Jian Mei took a deep breath. He felt surprised that Xiao Pang could accept his situation. Maybe he could also accept his current condition. So he briefly summarized his experience and reminded him, “Pang ge, please keep this a secret and don’t spread it around.”

After listening to this fantastical story, Xiao Pang was dumbfounded!

If he didn’t know that this person was likely Jian Mei, he would have suspected that this person was a troublemaker who had come from nowhere to disrupt social order!

Xiao Pang stuttered, “So, so you’re dating a prince, I mean, a leader of a country?!”

Jian Mei choked, “Is that your main focus here?”

He clearly talked about the magical world, talked about the feudal society here, and Xiao Pang’s focus was on who he was dating?

“Cough, cough, I just can’t shift my focus from here!” Xiao Pang coughed lightly, then quickly said, “Jian Mei, do you also know magic? Do you have it?”

Jian Mei told him straightforwardly, “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t.”

Xiao Pang said, “Then your partner must be very powerful, right?”

Jian Mei was about to say that Lu Xingwang indeed had strong powers, but then he changed his mind and countered, “Stop talking nonsense. He’s not my partner, we haven’t confirmed our relationship.”

Xiao Pang chuckled, “So, it’s almost there then. Do you like him?”

Jian Mei replied, “I haven’t said anything, why would you think that?”

“Isn’t it easy to understand? From junior high to high school, the person you’ve always been in contact with on your phone is him, right?” Xiao Pang shrugged, “At that time, everyone suspected you were in an online romance. Now that you’ve met and gotten so close, still guessing?”

“…”

Jian Mei’s face turned red uncomfortably.

But he didn’t really want to discuss these things at this time, after all, his condition wasn’t under control yet, so he said, “Xiao Pang, can you do me a favor?”

Xiao Pang asked, “What?”

“Can you go back to my hometown and see Grandpa for me? There are some things I want to ask,” Jian Mei thought about the books and information in his family study, which might be helpful for this epidemic, and he had always wanted to see them, but was limited by conditions.

Xiao Pang thought for a moment and said, “But I’m not in City A, Jian Mei. However, it’s quite a coincidence that we happen to have winter vacation now. I’ll be going back in a couple of days. But if you’re in a hurry, you can message your parents, and even your brother and grandpa, they all really miss you. If they knew you were doing well, they would definitely be very happy.”

This suggestion he made, Jian Mei had indeed thought about it.

“No, I can’t. If my family knows, they’ll worry again,” Jian Mei sighed, “To tell you the truth, there’s an epidemic in our world…”

Ten minutes later, Xiao Pang understood the situation and was shocked, “Aren’t you in great danger now?”

Jian Mei replied, “Regardless of danger, I can’t just stand by and watch those patients die. But my medical skills are limited. I’ve tried prescribing medication for patients, but it only addresses symptoms, not the root cause. My knowledge of epidemics is only from books, although I’ve been studying diligently recently, I still feel like something’s off.”

Xiao Pang now fully understood Jian Mei’s predicament.

Thinking about it, he felt a bit emotional. They lived in a peaceful environment, yet on a distant planet, there were so many people suffering!

Xiao Pang felt the weight on his shoulders increase, “Jian Mei, rest assured, when it comes to matters of life and death, I won’t hesitate!”

As they talked, it felt like they had regained the feeling they had before, although it had been several years. They had both changed a lot, but reconnecting, they could still be each other’s dependable support.

After hanging up, Xiao Pang fell into thought!

Originally, he was planning to return in a week, but as Jian Mei described, every day delayed would surely result in many deaths. But with the Spring Festival travel rush, he couldn’t go any faster. After much thought, Xiao Pang thought of two people, Cheng Yu and Cai Zhenzhen!

Cheng Yu was quite something now. While others were still in university, he had already started his internship at Cheng’s Enterprises, their family business. He was adept at it, conducting business in suits and leather shoes every day, only occasionally coming to school for exams and studies. Xiao Pang had even seen him today during the day, maybe he would return to City A.

Then there was Cai Zhenzhen. The Cai family was truly wealthy. Although Xiao Pang didn’t plan to climb the social ladder, every year when he returned to City A, they would schedule a time to visit Jian Mei together.

After making up his mind, Xiao Pang opened the WeChat group chat and sent a message, “Anyone here?”

Cai Zhenzhen replied quickly, “There’s only Farts¹(.”speaking bullshit/nonsense”)”

“…”

Xiao Pang tentatively asked, “When are you guys going back?”

At this point, Cheng Yu also replied. He’s usually very busy, but today he happened to see the message, so he replied, “I have a flight tomorrow, heading back then.”

Cai Zhenzhen also said, “Exams ended today, and I have a flight tomorrow too.”

Xiao Pang quickly asked, “Can you guys take me along?”

The group fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Pang was quite clever, and he quickly found a reason, “There’s something going on at Jian Mei’s home, and I want to go back early to check on it.”

Sure enough, previously when he asked for someone to take him, no one paid attention, but when he brought up Jian Mei, someone immediately replied, “What happened at Jian Mei’s home? Why would they contact you?”

Xiao Pang’s lips twitched when he saw this response, and he said irritably, “Why can’t they contact me!”

He quickly fabricated a lie, although it was false, given the current circumstances, he had no other choice. After all, among those who had the financial means and could buy plane tickets, only these two big shots fit the bill.

Sure enough, after a while, Cheng Yu said, “You can take the same flight as me.”

Cai Zhenzhen also said, “I changed my ticket to the same flight as yours. Let’s go visit the Jian family together, it’s just in time for the Lunar New Year, let’s pay a visit.”

They all shared the same thought about the Jian family—that Jian Mei would definitely wake up.

Xiao Pang felt bitter inside. He didn’t know how to explain to everyone in City A once they returned that besides the sleeping Jian Mei, no one from the Jian family actually contacted him about this matter. But they say to take things one step at a time, so he’d deal with the specific problems when the time comes!

…..

Stan Star

Early in the morning, Jian Mei was awakened by the alarm outside.

He hastily got up, only to be pushed back into the room by a doctor urgently saying, “Don’t come out, Jian Mei!”

Confused, Jian Mei looked at the person who came in and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Do you know that there are uprisings in various places?” the doctor gasped for breath, “Because many hospitals are overcrowded, many civilians can’t get treatment. Due to the epidemic, those wealthy priests have hoarded a large amount of goods, monopolizing commodities, making life even more difficult for many poor people. They can’t afford treatment, can’t afford food, so they’ve started to revolt.”

Jian Mei somewhat understood and pointed outside, “What’s the commotion outside?”

The doctor, still trembling, said, “The rebels have entered the hospital.”

However, there were still some priests and guards who weren’t infected or whose divine powers hadn’t completely disappeared. They clashed with the rebels, and now chaos reigned outside the hospital.

Jian Mei hurried to the window and saw the turmoil outside. Injured people lay on the ground, blood flowing freely. The rebels overturned bricks and tiles with their powers, while civilians fought back desperately. Some priests, outnumbered, were surrounded and attacked. Hospital supplies were being looted. Civilians outside were furious. Lu Yuncheng was at the forefront negotiating with the rebel leaders.

There was a tall middle-aged man among them, and beside him… Xiao Ban?

Jian Mei’s eyes widened in surprise. Why was Xiao Ban involved with the rebels? Wasn’t he in the village? Were most of these rebels from the village?

Jian Mei’s mind was in turmoil, unable to discern right from wrong.

Suddenly, it seemed that negotiations outside were failing, and violence was about to erupt again. Jian Mei couldn’t stand by anymore. He pushed open the window, stood on a chair on the table, and shouted, “Stop fighting, everyone!”

Lu Yuncheng, along with the rebels, looked at him in confusion.

This street could now be described as a living hell., with the smell of blood mixed with the scent of powers burning, and the aroma of medicines from the hospital. Under the dim sky, exhaustion was evident on everyone’s faces.

“Why are you attacking the hospital?” Jian Mei ran to Lu Yuncheng’s side and looked at Xiao Ban. “Xiao Ban, what are you doing?”

Xiao Ban probably hadn’t expected Jian Mei to come out, or perhaps he had already anticipated it. “Jian Mei, many people in the village are infected but can’t get treatment. We want to take magic medicine back to treat them!”

Jian Mei choked, “But you don’t need to rob for that.”

“It’s easy for you to say. Where do we have money?” A rebel shouted loudly. “All the money is in your hands. We have no other options.”

Jian Mei felt his eardrums ache from the shouting.

Lu Yuncheng pulled him back and said, “The use of magic medicine requires dosage, Moreover, the main function of this medicine is to assist the healing divine power of the priests. Even if you manage to rob the medicine and take it back, it won’t help. Instead, it will cause more deaths in the hospital. You’ve seen it yourself, there are many civilians in the hospital, not just priests.”

“And I’ve proposed setting up tents outside the city,” Jian Mei immediately took over, “so that people who are sick can all enter the base and receive treatment. The reason the hospital can’t accept patients now isn’t just because of money or anything like that. It’s because there aren’t enough beds and space, plus many priests are also sick, and manpower is insufficient. Everyone, don’t worry. If there’s nothing urgent, you can help us build the medical base outside the city together. This way, we can treat the sick more quickly.”

What started as a riot was now turning into the rebels being persuaded to be taken halfway as laborers, all because of Jian Mei’s persuasive argument.

However, despite Jian Mei’s logical reasoning, they were still skeptical. The rebels asked, “Why should we believe you?”

“Why shouldn’t you believe me? I’m not your enemy,” Jian Mei stood before the crowd, straightforwardly. “I’m from the village just like you. I’m also a civilian. I don’t have any powers. I’m standing here not to help anyone. The only reason I’m still standing here is that I’m a doctor, and that’s it.”

His words cast a long silence over the crowd.

The rebels’ goal wasn’t really to cause trouble for the hospital to completely eliminate the priests. Although they resented some divine power-holders, they didn’t want to be enemies with the curing priests. In this world, they all understood that the curing priests who stayed at the hospital and fought on the front lines against the epidemic were admirable and worthy of respect.

Translator’s Note-Guys don’t forget to support and comment your views(^-^)

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  (.”speaking bullshit/nonsense”) ↩︎