A Young Woman's Heart

Only after she was completely lying down did she whisper a "thank you".

"You're welcome," the nurse replied, closing the door and returning to the front desk on this floor.

Her partner was propping up half her face with one hand, looking so sleepy she could barely stay awake, so she started a conversation by asking, "How's the baby?"

"It seems my health is getting worse."

“Alas, multiple organ failure…” another nurse sighed.

"It's a bottomless pit, it's better to give up sooner rather than later."

"That's too heartless of you to say that."

"But rationally speaking, it's better not to waste any more money, otherwise the whole family will fall apart."

"Too……"

Downstairs at the hospital, a van pulled into a parking space. Less than a second later, the entire vehicle came to a complete stop. A middle-aged man who looked extremely tired pushed the van out, touched the envelope in his inner pocket, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and then walked quickly toward the inpatient department.

"Hello, I am Jiang Ting's father. I'm here to pay her hospital fees and any outstanding medical expenses."

"Yes, I know. It's still seven days' payment, right?"

"Yes, yes..."

"The total is 4,900 yuan, and the remaining amount will be settled after you are fully discharged from the hospital."

"Thank you, thank you..." The middle-aged man bowed gratefully, and shakily took out the money from the envelope. He carefully counted out forty-nine bills, and put the remaining few hundred-yuan bills into his wallet in his pants pocket.

“Mr. Jiang Huai’an…” The woman hesitated for a moment, then called out to him, “The doctor asked me to tell you… that you should give up. Current medical methods are almost impossible to cure her, and even if they could, you wouldn’t be able to afford such exorbitant medical fees.”

"Let's try again, let's see, let's see." Jiang Huai'an gave a wry smile. "Thank you."

"it is good."

After all, she is his own daughter. Unless he is a cold-blooded person, what father would give up on her so easily?

Exhausted, Jiang Huai'an didn't go upstairs immediately. Since it was still early, he figured his daughter probably hadn't woken up yet, so he decided to go to the breakfast shop for a while and pack some breakfast to take to his daughter.

The old van started up again.

If you look closely, you'll see that the rear window is actually cracked; it's just being held together with tape.

When the car is going a little faster, the rear window shakes violently.

This van makes noise everywhere except for the horn, which isn't very loud.

After leaving the hospital, Jiang Huai'an drove through several streets before finally stopping at a somewhat secluded street. There, a breakfast shop at the entrance of a small alley was already open, and the owner was busy preparing more food.

After all, when there are more people, there won't be enough time to make them on the spot.

Although this breakfast shop is simple, it is cheap and the food is decent, so it is still very popular.

"Boss, is breakfast ready now?" Jiang Huai'an staggered into the shop and slowly sat down.

"Yes, what would you like to eat?"

"A bowl of savory soy milk, and a steamed bun... uh, never mind, how about a sesame seed cake and fried dough sticks?"

"it is good."

Soon, breakfast was placed in front of him.

But actually he didn't have much of an appetite.

Too many things have happened recently, leaving him feeling physically and mentally exhausted.

Then I thought about the possibility of being imprisoned for murder, and I didn't know who would take care of my daughter...

He felt utterly hopeless.

These pressures did not motivate him to rebel against the world; instead, they fueled his despair.

Even the slowly rising sun at breakfast time seemed so gray and cold.

He knew that if Jiang Ting continued like this, she definitely wouldn't live much longer.

He didn't know how much longer he had to live...

How can anyone be optimistic in such a situation?

"Boom—!!" Just then, a violent tremor suddenly rippled through the small city, which almost never experiences earthquakes.

Just as Jiang Huai'an was picking up his soy milk to drink, his hand slipped, and the porcelain bowl fell to the ground, shattering into several pieces.

"What's going on? What's going on?" the shop owner shouted anxiously. "I grew up here, and there has never been an earthquake here before!?"

"Perhaps it's the end of the world," Jiang Huai'an joked.

"It seems to have stopped... Doomsday, haha, that can't happen now, right? Wasn't the world supposed to end in 2012? That's still ten years away."

Jiang Huai'an didn't say anything, but quietly stood up and looked in the direction of the hospital.

"Boss, did you hear anything?"

"A sound? What sound?"

"It's nothing." Jiang Huai'an shook his head, tossed the change on the table, and walked out of the shop.

The early morning earthquake woke up many people who had trouble sleeping.

The streets, which should have been quiet, became a little more lively.

"Thump, thump..." But Jiang Huai'an heard one deafening sound after another.

It sounded like a huge heartbeat.

Is it the monster he once saw in the mountains?

Are the images that appear in my mind real?

He subconsciously reached into his pocket and touched the strange ruby.

He took it out and found that it was slowly flashing a red light, as if it were warning him of something.

The next second, the ground, which had just calmed down, trembled again, the tremor coming from the hospital entrance a few streets away.

Even from several streets away, you could see the monster's terrifying form.

Many people suspect they are still dreaming and haven't woken up properly.

But Jiang Huai'an, who was knocked to the ground by the shock, felt an incredibly clear pain. He knew perfectly well that this was not a dream.

"Roar—" The monster's terrifying roar caused a splitting headache.

His daughter is in the hospital.

There was no time to think about what had happened.

He opened his mouth wide, let out a roar from his throat, and then suddenly ripped open the red gem composed of two inverted triangles.

"what--"

Pale golden light surged in from all directions, blooming on his chest and enveloping him completely.

It then rapidly expanded and grew larger, transforming into a giant radiating a pale golden light.

Ignoring the pedestrians on the street, he charged madly at the monster and smashed it aside.

"Boom—!" Blood splattered everywhere from the onlookers, and shattered organs flew out in all directions. The monster crashed to the ground and then smashed into several low houses next to the hospital.

"Thump, thump..." This time, it was the pale golden giant's own heartbeat.

Each strike was powerful and forceful.

But it seemed a bit rushed.

The red light emanating from the inverted triangular gemstone on the left chest also began to flicker.

Like an alarm clock that has already rung, it inexplicably creates a sense of urgency.

"Smack—!!" The monster suddenly slapped the giant away, sending him crashing heavily to the ground.

The giant clung tightly to the monster's tail, preventing himself from crashing into the hospital behind him.

Then, he slowly stood up, his light appearing somewhat dim.

The enormous monster spewed scorching fireballs from its mouth, each one blocked by the giant's body.

He stared intently at it, but did not take a single step back.

"Ugh—" But the giant's muffled groan proved that he could also feel pain.

"Roar—" The monster stopped spitting fireballs and charged forward, like two bison fighting, neither willing to give an inch.

The giant's heartbeat grew increasingly rapid.

"Thump thump, thump thump thump, thump thump thump thump..."

His strength seemed to be waning, to the point that his body was almost pressed against the hospital wall.

He glanced back and through the window saw the girl who had slumped down by the window, anxiously watching the outside world.

"Drink it—!!"

The monster was slowly pushed backward, but the arms on its head began to extend, grabbing the giant's limbs. Mouths appeared in the center of the arms' palms and bit down hard.

The pale golden light dissipated, and the giant, like a deflated balloon, grew weaker and weaker.

But then, his light shone brightly.

But it was no longer a pale gold color; instead, it was blood red.

Although he didn't know what had happened, he had only one belief in his heart at that moment: to protect his daughter.

He killed people, and now he has to fight monsters; perhaps this is divine punishment.

But he refused to submit to so-called fate.

Even if life were to burn out completely at this moment, we would never retreat.

This was a very short battle.

But it was intense enough.

Three seconds after the giant and the monster seemed to have been paused, the monster completely burst apart, its internal organs and limbs turning into fragments that flew in all directions.

The giant was torn to pieces, but no corpse was left behind; only the crimson light was scattered by the wind like powder…