Deep in the Living
Chapter 343 - 331: Return

Chapter 343: Chapter 331: Return

[Synarchia, Repair Center, Prop Storage Room]

All the items on patients who fall into a deep coma and are in an unstable condition upon admission are temporarily stored here.

Whether living or dead, there are dedicated storage areas.

Caw~

A crow’s call echoed,

The administrator on duty looked impatient.

Just as he was about to use the neural whip in his hand for physical appeasement, he noticed the crow, previously docile, had spread its wings wide, with all feathers ruffled.

Beneath each feather was an eye, symbolizing the night and the curse, glaring viciously at him.

As if daring the whip to fall, a terrible curse would relay over.

"A Crow Colt... and a purebred one at that, how troublesome."

But the administrator remained professional.

He put away the neural whip,

and retrieved a special fabric designed to block influences, intending to cover the entire birdcage, isolating the curse and silencing the call.

Just as he approached with the fabric,

Clang!

A massive noise of something falling came from the storage area not far away, along with a flashing red alarm light.

The administrator immediately abandoned the Crow Colt and hurried over.

He saw that a Skull Box, used to seal a cursed object, had fallen, and incredibly, had a fine crack, despite its supposed invulnerability.

Weird gray smoke seeped from the crack, hinting the cursed object might break free.

Additionally, the monk’s robe stored in a box persistently thumped against its lid.

The administrator quickly identified the root of these issues,

Both the Crow Colt and these two items belonged to the same patient, an outlier patient housed in intensive care due to ancestral injuries.

"Luo Di!"

He used duct tape to repair the Skull Box, suppressing the restive items, and immediately reported the situation to the hospital.

The response was prompt, instructing him to bring these items to the intensive care unit.

As he considered questioning the order, an urgent message arrived.

With no choice, the administrator loaded the restive items onto a cart and took the elevator upstairs.

The closer he got to the proper floor, the more the items grew agitated.

"What’s going on here?

Items with soul bonds are understandable, but this blade handle used to belong to Evil Play. How could an outsider invoke such strong resonance?"

The elevator dinged at its stop,

and as it opened,

a wave of heat surged in, alarming the administrator, who prepared for combat, suspecting a Spine attack. Yet, this happened inside the hospital, where an attack should first be noticed outside, with invasion reports already widespread.

The heat wasn’t alone; it mingled with something unlike the Spine, a fine substance that threatened the administrator’s Game Brain.

"Ancestor Material... impossible! Did the treatment fail for this patient? Is the ancestor material in his body expanding outward, trying to infect the environment?

No, if that were so, the hospital would’ve already enacted a response plan.

Moreover, my body seems unaffected; the ancestor material is sparse and harmless."

The administrator reached the corridor’s end, the intensive care room door was open, with steam steadily pouring out, obscuring interior details.

As he pondered entering,

a muscled arm reached from the steam, grabbing the cart and pulling it inside.

The administrator, needing to confirm his delivery’s recipients, couldn’t let the items go. He tried retrieving the cart but failed; the opponent’s strength was formidable.

He was pulled in, arriving inside the intensive care unit.

The steam slowly dissipated,

and the administrator witnessed an inconceivable scene,

The "healing nerves," meant for life support and injury repair, were inactive, connecting with no one.

The patient supposed to be suspended was now standing before him.

Moreover, the patient had opened a box, inserting a monk’s robe bristling with metal spikes into his body.

The attire wasn’t fully donned,

revealing a unique spine protruding from the patient’s back. The administrator had met many Spine cases and seen various types, but never like this one.

Though soon concealed by the attire, the ancient gray texture burned into his mind.

"Ancestral... spine?"

The administrator then looked at the person’s face,

gray hair draping,

metal jaw,

prominent nose,

and within the black Demon eyes, something like tentacles swayed, watching him sideways.

The aura and gaze forced the administrator to step back, releasing the cart.

When he steadied himself and looked again, the other had sheathed the Curse Blade Handle at his waist, the Crow perched on his shoulder.

"Mr. Luo Di, you’re already recovered?"

"Yes, thank you for safeguarding these things for me."

"N-no problem, just doing my job."

As they talked, the steam fully cleared. Only then did the administrator notice someone else besides Luo Di in the intensive care room, a presence of such rank he could never reach.

"Master Director! You’re here too!"

"Since the items are delivered, you may leave."

"Understood."

The administrator hurried to exit, not daring to linger. But the curiosity from his Game Brain made him keep looking back at the strange Otherworld youth.

He could feel the youth possessed Game Brain but sensed a subtle difference.

Clearly, the youth belonged to the Spine, yet he felt no hostility.

...

"Thanks, boss."

Returning the items put Luo Di in a great mood, and this foray into the Human World yielded unexpected rewards.

David’s arm teemed with brain worms brought back by Luo Di, most achieving replication; with time and material, these human-recorded devices could become their own.

"No need to thank me, it’s just our transaction.

After studying a while, I’ll confirm the filmmaking possibilities and notify you. In the meantime, you can choose to stay at the Grand Theater or elsewhere in the city."

"I’ll stay at the Grand Theater, not like I have much money."

"Let’s move then... ah, I’m quite eager myself."

David’s focus wasn’t on Luo Di or even the Old Spine exuding ancestral aura.

His eye sockets sprouted two narrow arms, rubbing continuously.

His attention was wholly on these Otherworld theatrical devices, eager to return and begin the cinematic appreciation.

"Boss, wait a bit... I brought something else back."

"Didn’t you give me all the brain worms? What’s left?"

"I brought a friend... the one you saw when you peeked into my memory."

"Hmm? That ’Squad Leader,’ didn’t you say she was deep down? Moreover, she didn’t seem like a creature of Hell, nor were you chosen by True Hell. How’d you bring her here?"

David grew intrigued, focusing some attention back on Luo Di,

The slender arms from within the curtain eye sockets ceased rubbing, forming a telescope to amplify his vision, gaining a flesh-penetrating view.

He saw an anomaly, deep within Luo Di’s abdomen.

"That! An embryo... and it bears Hell attributes."

Luo Di, a male without reproductive organs, had somehow generated a unique embryo inside his stomach pouch.

Rapidly developing, it was expected to form preliminarily in less than a day.