death of hope

Chapter 1026 "Psionic Storm" (100) Ready to Strike

“SARA…”
A girl in a hospital gown stands barefoot on the cold mosaic tiles, murmuring to herself in front of a mirror;

"baffling…

The name suddenly popped into my head: Who is Sarah? Do I know her?

The blonde girl looked around in confusion;
The hospital's decor is so bizarre. There are no windows, no greenery, no furnishings, and even the ventilation vents are reinforced. It looks more like a special prison for hardened criminals or housing bio-engineered monsters than a medical facility.
The doctors' treatment methods were even more cruel and ruthless, showing absolutely no regard for the patients' feelings:
"Last night in my dream, there was a housewife in an apron, a big guy with a face full of scars, and a boy squatting in front of the TV watching cartoons..."

Who is that warm and loving family?
A picturesque town with lush greenery, colorful flowerbeds... a swing in the yard, a stroller and swaddled babies...

Why does it feel so familiar? Have I ever lived there?

Is this a past memory... or a nightmare caused by a neurological disorder... or a delusional disorder caused by medication side effects?

Her fingernails scratched her fair skin as the girl slowly knelt down, her scalp tingling, her eardrums ringing, on the verge of collapse.
"Tetsuya-kun... save me..."

I'm going crazy... or I already am...

It hurts...it hurts so much...it's so painful...

I...I have...

Every breath... is torture...

I'm sorry... Tetsuya-kun...

I am sorry…

I'm too timid... I only know how to run away...

·
The girl tugged at her golden hair, feeling dizzy and with ringing in her ears, as if her blood pressure was about to burst. All reason seemed meaningless in the face of such pain.
I just want to find relief...

Looking around, all I saw were thick, soft walls with embedded sound-absorbing foam. I wanted to twist the sheet into a rope and put it around my neck, but when I looked up, there wasn't even a place to hang it. I wanted to stick a sharp toothbrush into my heart, but the toothbrush and cup had been taken away by the caregiver.
(The suicide prevention facilities here are really professional... The doctors are worried I might do something rash... But I'm already...)
She turned her gaze back to the mirror, and using the dumbest, most primitive method, headbutted it, smashing her face until it bled profusely and her head was buzzing.
Her vision was blurry, and she swayed like a drunkard. She picked up a shard of mirror and slashed at her carotid artery…

(finally…

relief…)
All of this was seen by the surveillance cameras.
With a loud bang, the door was kicked open, and a large hand wearing tactical gloves grabbed the shards of glass, snatched them away, and cut two gashes in the girl's palm.

"She wanted to commit suicide!" Psionic security expert Leon Vilnius gasped, clearly having rushed in from the monitoring room, followed by a large group of people.
"Later... I'll contact the logistics department and have the workers remove all mirrors, glass, and ceramic items, and replace the toilet with a plastic one, so she won't hurt herself..."

"Well done, Xiao Li, you always think things through thoroughly,"

The old man in the white coat nodded to Li Ang in satisfaction, then turned to the blonde girl, revealing a set of yellow teeth in a creepy smile.
"Why do this, Yuna-san? Why hurt yourself?"

"I'm sorry... Dr. Joseph..."

The blonde girl lowered her head in shame, unable to look directly at him: "It hurts...it hurts so much...it's so painful..."

My mind is like boiling water... When I fall asleep, I have nightmares, and when I wake up, I see hallucinations... I really... can't go on... Let me go...

The old man laughed loudly, "Silly girl, you always like to do silly things! You're almost cured, just one last shiver away!"

"Really...really..." "After three more courses of treatment, you can be discharged and go back to school normally."

"Three...courses of treatment..." The girl shuddered in fright. "But I've already..."

"Be strong! This big, silly girl is half a head taller than me when she stands up, how come she's so timid!"

"You're ready to die over a little suffering, Yuna-san. Aren't you a good student? Don't you even understand the saying 'bitter medicine is good for the disease'?"

The old man's barrage of words left the girl speechless, and she could only nod with tears in her eyes and her lips pursed.
"Okay... I'll try to hold on..."

·
"That's settled then, sweetheart, just don't do anything silly again, okay~"

As he spoke, Joseph took a pen-shaped flashlight out of his white coat pocket, pried open Zero's eyelids, and checked the contraction of his pupils under the bright light.

“Pupillary reflex is normal,” the old man said, putting on plastic gloves and examining the mouth with his fingers, much like a rancher checking livestock.

"Thickened tongue coating, swollen throat, secretions inside the mouth, and mild gum bleeding, nothing serious."

The old man took off his rubber gloves and threw them into the trash can: "Xiao Li, go to the warehouse and get a bottle of high-concentration metronidazole mouthwash. Make sure she rinses her mouth and disinfects her oral cavity."

"I'm going right now!" Li Ang acted swiftly like a messenger, turning around and leaving. Yuna felt something was off; why was he bowing and scraping to the doctor when she was paying for treatment? But she trusted Tetsuya-kun, so she didn't think much of it.

The old man took out his stethoscope, completely disregarding the other person's privacy, and lifted the patient's gown to listen for a few seconds. Yuna blushed, but Joseph didn't care and beckoned to the corporate warrior disguised as a caregiver:

"Come here, caregiver, Miss Yuna needs to rest."

Two corporate soldiers escorted (transferred) Zero to the ward (cage). Joseph, looking relaxed, said to the students beside him, "The recent experiments have caused too much damage; this little girl won't live much longer."

"Even with such incredible resilience, it couldn't withstand it..."

"The radiation exposure was comparable to a nuclear power plant leak; repeated craniotomies and spinal cord dissections for research—even the Virgin Mary couldn't withstand such torment!"

The researchers exchanged glances. The project leader, Ryan Elsson, respectfully addressed the elderly man, saying, "The mice will eventually die, but that doesn't matter. We've already obtained enough data, teacher."

To fully utilize the remaining value of Zero, I have prepared the materials for creating a 'live specimen,' with two options: a biochemical approach and a mechanical approach.

"Ryan, you're always so self-righteous!" The old man frowned, showing no mercy to his respected eldest disciple, and loudly reprimanded him by tapping him on the head with his stethoscope.
"Who gave you permission to formulate the plan?! I'm the director, understand?! All decisions regarding Zero must be made by me personally!"

“Teacher…” Ryan Elsson rubbed his forehead, where the stethoscope had left a red mark, and said in a low voice, barely containing his anger, “I’m sorry…Teacher…I overstepped my bounds…”

As a leading figure and a powerful figure in the field of human psionic research on Terra, Joseph was used to being arrogant and domineering.

Even the eldest disciple was rebuffed, and the other researchers dared not say anything, only echoing, "We will follow the master's orders!"

"Come on, everyone, follow me to the conference room!"

·
The research institute has recently achieved remarkable results. The old man presented his PowerPoint presentation at the board meeting and received high praise from the head of the family (the chairman), making him quite the star. The many senior executives at the table were practically drooling with envy.
Joseph, riding high on his success, felt he had the Nobel Prize and company stock in his grasp. He was basking in the glory of this moment; his old arms and legs felt much more agile, his arthritis and rheumatism were gone, and he seemed twenty years younger.
In stark contrast, Dr. Lane followed behind the old man with a gloomy face, looking as if he wanted to stab the old man in the waist.

Li Ang, holding a large box of medicine, watched from afar. He recalled what he had seen on his way to work that morning: elevator operator Higashiyama Ruriko and Dr. Ryan flirting by stepping on each other's feet, the latter clearly having developed rebellious intentions.

This situation is exactly what Li Ang expected;
"That Ryan guy is about to make his move... I hope he does it soon, so I'll have a chance to intervene and save them..."