Chapter 127: Awakening

"Ugh..."

Since he hadn't eaten anything, Ji Linmo couldn't bring anything up. He could only clutch his abdomen, dry-heaving in uncontrollable spasms until the world spun into darkness.

Pull yourself together, hurry up and eat the meat in front of you...

"Dad's" footsteps drew closer; he seemed to be carrying something as he walked slowly toward him.

—Calm down, Ji Linmo. It’s all just post-traumatic stress disorder. He has already received effective treatment; everything is fine.

Ji Linmo stared at the prompt box that had popped up. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to control himself and reached out to pick up the meat.

But the next second, upon catching the scent of the raw flesh again, he lost all resistance in an instant and collapsed to the floor.

"Urgh..."

The man curled into a ball, cold sweat drenching his entire body. He leaned weakly against the chair, his right hand—missing two fingers—dangling limply against the seat.

"Son, you really are just like her..."

"But don't worry, I will help you eat it. You are different from her. When you wake up, you won't have to suffer from taking medicine anymore."

Dad picked up the rope in his hands, slowly approached Ji Linmo, and gradually wound it around his neck.

*Buzz, buzz, buzz—*

Ji Linmo's phone, which had slid away, began to vibrate.

[You have one unread message]

[Little Sister]

[Big brother, today is the fourth day. Are you okay? I hope you have buried my body and found the cause of my death. That way, tonight at the dead of night, when the meteor ascends to the heavens, our whole family can be reunited in paradise.]

[As for what happened to me, I don't actually blame Dad. Dad only wanted what was best for me; it is I who let him down.]

[Goodbye, big brother.]

As he stared at the text message from his sister on the phone, Ji Linmo was suddenly jerked upright by the bandage-wrapped man behind him.

"Son, don't be afraid... don't be afraid, it will be over soon."

The hemp rope tightened viciously around Ji Linmo’s neck. In an instant, hideous red marks appeared on his throat, and he was plunged into the despair of suffocation.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

Ji Linmo’s vision went pitch black. He couldn’t draw in a single breath, and his windpipe felt as if it were about to be crushed by the rope.

Accompanied by a violent ringing in his ears, the man began to struggle instinctively, and black spots gradually flickered across his vision.

"Cough... Guardian Ring..."

With a slight shift of his mind, the ring appeared on Ji Linmo's finger out of thin air.

"Son, go to your death... don't be afraid... Dad will help you. You will be restored to health..."

***

"Dad's" arm muscles bulged as he yanked hard on both ends of the rope.

*Snap!*

Following a crisp, sharp sound, the man strangled by the rope lowered his head.

[Warning!]

[Advanced item "Ring of Loving Protection" has blocked a fatal injury for you today. It can only be used once per day.]

[Damage reduction for this instance: -25%]

Feeling "Dad" loosen his grip, Ji Linmo still didn't open his eyes.

"Oh, son... Dad has made you suffer. But you can't go on without taking your medicine. Let's have a good chat tonight."

Dad helped Ji Linmo up, sat him back on the stool, and wiped his face for him.

Looking at the blood-red chunk of meat, Dad swallowed hard.

But he didn't take a bite himself. Instead, he picked up a wooden mallet and began to mash the meat, as if intending to turn it into a paste to force-feed Ji Linmo.

Wait... could it be...

Was this why his sister didn't resist when she died!?

Ji Linmo’s eyes widened suddenly. The attack he had just endured had helped him regain a great deal of his composure.

He hurriedly looked at the phone again, focusing on the last part of his sister's message.

[Little Sister]

[I don't actually blame Dad. Dad only wanted what was best for me; it is I who let him down.]

—As patients of Meteor Purple-Eye Syndrome, even if they die, they come back to life at night!

Although they live as corpses, in the eyes of their parents, a person being killed and then coming back to life is normal and reasonable!

This was the reason Dad treated them so casually—because even if they died, they would wake up again at night!

"So that's how it is..."

Ji Linmo frowned tightly. He hadn't expected that he had been wrong from the very beginning.

He had originally thought "Dad" didn't love his sister at all, and had killed her in a fit of rage.

But in reality, even if he was volatile and irritable, Dad had never lacked affection.

—This man, in a world where values had been twisted, still loved his children, offering them what he believed was good.

"Dad... my sister, it was an accident, right?"

Ji Linmo picked up the hemp rope from the floor, slowly raised his head, his eyes dark and murky.

"Back then, the authorities were searching for the infected sister, and she was very weak because she refused to eat the medicine."

"So you wanted to kill her, feed her the medicine, and then wait for her to revive and wake up at night, isn't that right?"

"But you never expected that after you killed her, she would never open her eyes again."

According to the records, as the original carrier who first contracted the virus, his sister possessed the ability to transmit it but lacked the symptoms of infection.

In other words, his sister’s death would not result in her coming back to life as a walking corpse like the others.

"You..."

In an instant, "Dad's" expression became grotesquely twisted.

The man, covered in lividity, stared blankly at Ji Linmo, seemingly shocked that he had suddenly woken up, or perhaps stunned by his words.

"Dad, but you didn't dare to bury her, because you were afraid that one day, your daughter would suddenly wake up and be left crying helplessly underground."

"But her body grew smellier by the day. Even if you put her in a new school uniform and cleaned her fingers, you couldn't stop it."

"You were afraid others would smell the odor, so you sealed her in a wooden barrel and put it in the attic, so that as soon as there was movement, you could save her in time."

Ji Linmo gripped the rope in his hand, and after a brief silence, looked up at the man.

"But Dad, she is truly dead."

"She will never wake up again."

Suddenly, Dad went berserk and lunged at Ji Linmo.

"Shut up! Shut up! Your sister isn't dead, she’s just too weak! That’s why she’s waking up slower than anyone else!"

"As long as there is more medicine for her to eat, she will wake up soon!"

The mashed meat scattered across the floor. Dad grabbed Ji Linmo by the collar in a fit of uncontrollable rage, as if he might kill him again the next second.

But Ji Linmo merely watched him expressionlessly and held up the phone.

"Dad, she had long ago guessed that she would never wake up again."

"She doesn't blame you; she just... didn't want to live like this. She said she was the one who let you down."

Dad, covered in corpse spots and wrapped in bandages, looked at the message on the phone in despair. He froze for a long time, and hot tears rolled down his face.

But the next second, Dad suddenly contorted his purple-red eyes, let out a howl not humanly possible, and turned hysterical toward Ji Linmo.

"Impossible... she will wake up! She will wake up!"

"I stole so many reagents from the lab, I injected them all into her! She will definitely recover and wake up just like us!"