Life Dungeon Game

He deactivated his super memory, took out a half-empty pack of cigarettes from his blood-stained pocket, flicked out a whole cigarette, and then shakily took out a lighter from the pack and lit the cigarette.

This wasn't his habit; it was Reggie's habit.

Thick smoke seeped into his injured lungs, and for a moment, He Ao coughed violently. However, he did not throw away the cigarette, but continued to stagger forward with the cigarette still in his mouth.

Crimson blood flowed slowly from the torn wound, shimmering in the flames of the explosion.

Regette didn’t like these mechanical creations, but he was well aware of their characteristics.

He Ao simply took advantage of these characteristics.

For example, if a high-energy battery is punctured in a short period of time, it will cause a violent explosion.

An exploded metal head flew up in front of He Ao, bounced a few times, and finally came to a stop.

Its red eyes watched He Ao's staggering figure, flickered for a moment, and then slowly went out.

To fight back when attacked.

They only retaliated once.

justifiable defense.

He Ao staggered into a dark alley and walked towards the deepest part of the alley.

He finally stopped in front of an old, somewhat rusty roller shutter door. He rang the doorbell, leaned against the wall, and waited quietly.

After a while, the roller shutter slowly rose, and a middle-aged man with short brown hair, wearing glasses and a white lab coat, appeared from behind it. Looking at He Ao, he immediately said excitedly,

"Old man, you've finally decided to donate your body to..."

"I've been researching this? Oh dear, how did you damage it like this? Why are you still smoking? What if you ruin your lungs? They were such healthy lungs! Quick, we can still do some preservation treatment. I happen to have a vat of top-quality formalin here."

"Get lost," He Ao exhaled a puff of smoke. "I'm not dead yet, heal me."

As he spoke, he stood up and staggered forward, but his foot slipped and he fell on the middle-aged man in the white coat.

"Tsk tsk tsk, don't rush, you have to wait for me to prepare the materials first. Let me tell you, there is a process to the preservation of a corpse... First, you have to be laid flat, face up. If you are face down like this, the blood will flow down to your face, and your face will be deformed, and your face will not be preserved."

He Ao didn't reply. Taking advantage of his last bit of rationality, he pulled off the wristband on the middle-aged man in the white coat and reluctantly sent a text message to the library's leader asking for leave.

Then he lost consciousness.

-

He Ao seemed to be having a hazy dream in which he experienced his entire life from birth to old age, from the ignorance of his youth to the high spirits of his middle age and the persistence and stubbornness of his old age.

When he slowly opened his eyes, all he saw was the large face of a middle-aged man wearing glasses.

"you're awake?"

The middle-aged man looked at He Ao as he woke up, his face full of regret. He shook his head, turned his back, and walked out of the room. "That's really bad news."

He Ao struggled to sit up in bed. His body was carefully bandaged, and the wounds on his chest and limbs had been simply stitched up.

Although Reggie's body was old, his muscles were smooth and beautiful, and his heartbeat was as strong as a drum, which was the result of his long-term martial arts training.

The medical insurance purchased for employees by the Morning Light City Library is the cheapest tier, with a reimbursement rate of only 20%. Apart from some terrible companies, no one would be willing to buy medical insurance with such a low reimbursement rate.

Of course, this is also related to Reggie's age; at 61, any health insurance he purchases would be very expensive.

So, in that situation, He Ao couldn't afford the ambulance and hospital fees, so he had to find an 'underground doctor' he knew.

So-called underground doctors are individual doctors who practice medicine without obtaining a business license. Many underground doctors are not even graduates of regular medical schools, and their skill levels vary greatly.

However, the difference between underground doctors and regular private hospitals is that, because they rely on word-of-mouth advertising, they only care about treating illnesses and won't create any strange symptoms for you and then push treatment plans that cost thousands or tens of thousands of federal dollars but are actually useless.

Of course, misdiagnosis by underground doctors due to their lack of expertise is not included in this category, although this happens frequently.

Underground doctors charged far less than hospital doctors, making them very popular with the lower classes. This was especially true in areas like Aston District, known for its poor security and large population of the poor and homeless; underground doctors were ubiquitous there.

However, most underground doctors can only treat simple ailments such as headaches and fevers, and they are helpless when faced with serious illnesses.

There are very few underground doctors who can treat serious illnesses, because they could easily go to a big hospital and earn a higher salary. Only a small number of them stay and continue to be underground doctors for special reasons, and Roger, the brown-haired middle-aged man that Reggie knows, happens to be one of them.

Roger only treats people he knows, and there are many ways to get to know him, such as him suddenly stopping you on the street and saying, "I'm very interested in your body."

That's how Reggie met Roger.

He Ao struggled to get out of bed and walked out step by step. He could clearly feel that his right leg was not obeying his commands. When he was injured before, his whole body was not obeying his commands, so he did not pay much attention to it. Now that his injury has stabilized a little, he can feel the problem.

Reggie already had a limp.

He Ao limped outside and saw Roger teasing a cute, green lizard-like 'pet' that was about 20 centimeters long.

Roger threw a piece of alloy to the pet, which the pet caught in one bite.

Just when He Ao thought the little lizard would play with the alloy, the lizard bared its sharp teeth and chewed the hard alloy into powder.

Thank you to "Just Reading" (100 points), "Yi Shi Fan Hua" (100 points), "Xi Ye Se" (188 points), "Chu Yang Xiao Duan" (500 points), "Today I Was Absent" (100 points), "Shen Meng Fei Lian" (100 points), and "Ye Ji" (100 points) for their donations. Please add this to your favorites, follow the story, vote for this book, and recommend it!

I've been quite busy with the Lunar New Year lately, I'll add more chapters after I'm done with this.

Chapter 64 Waking Up (Please add to your favorites, follow along, and vote with monthly tickets)

"Exotic beast?"

He frowned and looked at Roger. "Where did you get this?"

Federal law stipulates that anyone who brings a monster into a fortified city without authorization faces at least twenty years in prison.

"I picked it up next to the lab," Roger shrugged nonchalantly. He casually picked up an alloy scalpel from the side, and the blade danced between his nimble fingers, instantly dissecting the 'lizard' into three parts: flesh, bone, and skin.

Then he set the knife aside and continued explaining,

"This cannot be considered a beast; it is merely an ordinary creature that has undergone slight mutations in a polluted environment."

"Polluting the environment?" He Ao raised an eyebrow. He clearly remembered Roger saying that he had picked it up next to the lab. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Don't look at me like that. You know, my lab is near the Dawn City sewers. Although the city's sewer system is closed, you can always find some interesting little things in there."

Roger chuckled and shrugged. "What, old man, are you going to become a champion of justice? Still getting all fired up at your age?"

Reggie's memories tell Heo that Roger's so-called 'approach' was most likely just digging a hole right next to the sewer.

He didn't delve deeper into the topic. Most guys who live comfortably in the underworld have their own secrets, and it's very impolite to pry into someone's secrets.

Even though Reggie and Roger had a good relationship, it wasn't to the point of exchanging secrets, and Roger clearly didn't want to discuss it in detail.

So He Ao simply noted the clue down in his mind, then casually picked up the cigarette Roger had left on the table, lit it, and put it in his mouth, asking, "How long have I been asleep?"

“Three days,” Roger said, squinting at him. “Old man, you’re really in great shape. Other old guys your age would have died long ago if they had suffered such serious injuries, but you only need three days to be standing here, jumping around and chatting with me.”

Three days,

He paused for a moment; the timing was somewhat unexpected, as his wounds had already largely healed by this time.

Although Reggie is physically strong, as he gets older, his body ages, and an injury of this magnitude would normally require him to stay in bed for at least ten days to two weeks. This time, he recovered in just three days, which is somewhat unusual.

He Ao wondered if it was because of him, but Ander's health seemed to have recovered very well before. He noted this detail down, looked at Roger, and continued to ask.

"how much is it?"

"I don't want money, I just want you to agree to let me study your body."

Roger said with a smile.

“No interest,” He Ao said, a cigarette dangling from his lips, as he slowly leaned back on the table. “Make an offer.”

Although his wound has mostly healed, vigorous movements can still pull on the newly healed wound, causing significant pain.

Upon hearing He Ao's refusal, Roger yawned listlessly and said casually,

"Bandaging, suturing, surgery fees, anesthesia fees, external wound medicine, and the glucose injected while you were unconscious, you'll get five thousand three hundred."

“I don’t need anesthesia when I’m unconscious, and you’re the type to never put anesthesia on me,” He Ao said, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

“Your homemade wound medicine caused an infection that led to amputation. It’s not worth that much money, only three thousand eight.”

“The old man is so stingy at his age,” Roger said, leaning back in his chair. “Fine, three thousand eight it is. Transfer it to my account.”

Seeing how readily he agreed, He Ao wasn't happy. Instead, he was stunned for a moment, then cursed.

"You've overpaid. You're young but have a heart of gold. Do you have any unopened bracelets? I'll give you one. My bracelet got broken that night."

Underground doctors cannot operate without a business license, so they usually have a disguise. Roger's clinic was disguised as a smart bracelet store, treating patients and selling smart bracelets on the side.

In fact, not only the bracelet, but his original clothes were also destroyed in the battle, and now he is only covered in bandages.

“You old codger,” Roger grumbled as he stood up. “No old lady will like you like this.”

“When I was young, I tried all sorts of tricks,” He Ao spat. “Quick, get me one, the most expensive one.”

"Take it, take it or leave it."

Roger went to a storefront outside and found He Ao a very simple smart bracelet, then slapped it on the table.

He Ao immediately picked up the bracelet and opened it. This was the latest O37 smart bracelet produced by the Nord Group. It had simple functions, was inexpensive, and was mainly aimed at students and the elderly.

This bracelet is probably worth about two hundred Federal Coins, which means I successfully negotiated the price indirectly.

He put the bracelet on his wrist, borrowed a set of clothes from Roger, and slowly left the clinic.

Roger was taller than him, so his clothes were a little loose, but it didn't affect his movement. He walked step by step toward home.

Three thousand eight hundred was roughly his salary for two months as a librarian, but Roger's price was indeed very cheap, and he could even negotiate the price.

If he had chosen a regular hospital, the ambulance dispatch alone would have cost over a thousand federal dollars. In addition, there would have been hospital treatment and other expenses. After deducting medical insurance fees, he would have had to pay at least ten thousand federal dollars.

So, seeking treatment from underground doctors was good in every way, except for the slightly higher mortality rate.

The apartment Regis rented was close to Roger's underground clinic and the Sunrise City Library, about a 15-minute walk away. The location was at the intersection of the Aston and Crown districts, somewhere between bustling and chaotic.

He passed by the place where he killed the machine gunner that night. The crater left by the high-performance battery explosion was still clearly visible, while the surrounding traces had long been cleaned up.

Pedestrians are busy, and vehicles are noisy.

No one is talking about it, and no police are investigating in the vicinity.

In these chaotic neighborhoods, death is commonplace, and Aston District's tax revenue cannot support the district government in employing a large enough police force to maintain stability.

Therefore, the district government will prioritize protecting high-end and mid-range residential properties, as these are the main source of tax revenue for Aston District.

In the chaotic lower-level neighborhoods, the police have more to do than they can.