NOVEL NEXT Chapter 241: "How Are You Still Alive?"
With Ethics's departure, a brief silence filled the room.
Otto, still holding the medical clipboard and reports, didn't immediately return. He pulled out a sheet, flipped it over, and began drawing something on the blank back.
"Shu, look here. Tell me which way it's facing?" Otto soon asked, holding the clipboard towards Shu from the doorway.
What was this?
Shu turned his head, instantly seeing a large, upside-down "E" on the paper.
A vision test? Seriously?
He sighed, struggling to sit up, and looked at where Otto's pen was pointing.
Huh?
He squinted.
It wasn't very clear…
Suddenly, he widened his eyes, raising his hand to cover his left eye, focusing intently on the "E".
Still couldn't make it out…
"Hah…"
Before Shu could answer, Otto lowered the clipboard, sighing.
"Looks like we have another piece of bad news…"
Shu leaned back on the bed, stunned, watching Otto return.
"I'm… nearsighted?" he asked hesitantly.
"Evidently," Otto replied, placing the report aside. Shu, still unconvinced, glanced at the "E" Otto had drawn.
It was a simple, right-facing "E," with a visible ink dot from Otto's pen.
Was he really nearsighted now?
He still found it hard to believe, but thinking back, he'd suspected he might have night blindness, and he did have a habit of squinting…
"It's likely more than just nearsightedness," Otto said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He took Shu's wrist, gently pressing a spot on his forearm.
"Ouch!" A sharp, searing pain shot through Shu, making him wince and pull back his arm.
Why… am I still not used to pain?
Otto's expression grew graver. It was rare for Shu to see him without a smile.
"Your body's overall health indicators are now below average, whereas before, you were in perfect health," Otto explained, pulling out a previous report on Shu's physical condition.
Shu didn't remember ever having a physical…
"This is data I observed before your… confession," Otto said, quickly compiling Shu's current data and handing it to him for comparison.
Indeed, all his stats had significantly declined.
And the timing…
"This is from Nagazora?" Shu exclaimed. "Or when we first met?! Wait, Otto, why were you observing me back then?!"
He remembered not having any "superpowers" at that time!
"Weren't you a member of the mysterious organization [Anti-Entropy]? Know your enemy, know yourself, a hundred battles, a hundred victories. Those are Shenzhou words," Otto said calmly, revealing a piece of Shu's fabricated past.
"My observation of you has been continuous, even after you revealed everything." Otto pulled out two more reports. Shu quickly scanned them, noting the dates: after leaving Nagazora, and later in Shanghai…
Four sets of data, all different, showing an overall decline over time.
Shu realized something. He looked at Otto.
"Notably, the decline in your physical condition isn't linear, but stepwise… And based on what you told me…"
Otto paused, then spoke slowly.
"Shu, each time you return… is killing your body."
Shu didn't speak, but the weight of those words was crushing.
Return by Death… his last resort, his trump card.
And now he learned it was slowly killing him?
It felt like watching someone you'd poured your heart into completely squander everything they'd been given.
They were silent for a long time. Finally, Shu asked,
"How many times do I have left?"
He looked up, his face haggard, but his gaze unwavering.
"Based on the rate and magnitude of decline, without any intervention or solution…" Otto quickly calculated in his mind. "You have twenty-one chances left before blindness and paralysis. Of course, you might die sooner, but probably not more than ten…"
Another long silence followed.
Shu didn't know what to say.
The atmosphere was heavy. After a while, they both tacitly avoided the subject.
"Alright, now tell me what you've been through…" Otto set down the reports, offering the plate of apple slices to Shu.
"I'm curious how you ended up in this state…"
Shu sighed, taking a piece of apple and recounting everything from his perspective.
Entering ARC City, his analysis, meeting Little Tian, arriving at the Nest, encountering Natasha and the children, analyzing the case in the isolation room.
The first half of the night was spent on the case. The second half was a night raid on the demonic infirmary, meeting [Vakh], witnessing the little girl's death in a state of empathy…
Then, without a moment's rest, he'd set out before dawn, spending the entire day on his feet, without a single meal, and entering Heliopolis.
By then, his body was already exhausted, but he was used to staying up late. Just one sleepless night + a lethal dose of pain + no food for a day, no big deal.
Then, in Heliopolis, he'd personally eliminated several mutated creatures, adding the burden of physical and mental exhaustion, plus the debuff of dying several times…
No big deal, just dying a few times. It didn't hurt, right? Just a fleeting sensation, nothing to worry about…
Then came the [Champion]. He experienced several instances of being "flayed alive," endured "burning at high temperatures," and felt that "fleeting" sensation a few more times…
…
No big deal… You saw how happy Shu was after defeating the [Champion]…
Then he discovered [Vakh]'s identity as the Herrscher, rushing back to fight him… This time, it was true exhaustion – physical, mental, and his [hope] reserves…
Shu had nearly squeezed himself dry, leaving nothing behind, and entered the fourth loop with this mental fatigue and damage…
The dizziness and nausea of the loop were another blow. Then, he gritted his teeth and experienced "being severed" again with the second-loop [Champion]…
Then, without a moment's rest, he'd "crawled" back for a mental standoff with [Vakh]…
…
Nothing…
"How are you still alive?"
Otto's eyes were filled with undisguised shock and admiration. He looked at Shu, lying on the bed, as if he were looking at a superman.