Plague Doctor

Chapter 341: Chicken Thigh

Wu Siyu sensed something was different that day. She glanced at the encephalogram, the electrocardiogram and finally Gu Jun’s face. What was different?

“Did he have any other visitors today?’ Wu Siyu asked Nurse Liu. Different visitors might leave behind different presences.

“No.” Nurse Liu shook her head. “Just you guys.”

‘Well, that’s strange.’ Wu Siyu looked around. She still believed there was something different about the place. She checked the corners of the room, behind the devices and looked out the window. She found nothing but the longer she searched, the greater her confirmation that something else had been there! ‘A ghost?’ She walked back to the bedside and saw the steady pulse on the electrocardiograph... Moments later, Wu Siyu shook her head. Even after so many months, she still had no idea how to read one. She only knew that it did not read like the electrocardiogram of a person with brain death, but more consistent with the electrocardiogram of a person in deep comatose.

‘How to wake him up?’ An idea came to her mind. She got this inspiration from fairytales. Sleeping Beauty and Snow White as well as the curse on the Frog Prince was cured by a kiss. Wu Siyu attempted this several months ago and naturally it did not work. But she felt something was different that day...

“Nurse Liu, help me keep an eye on the electrocardiograph.” She decided to give it one more try. She walked to the bed and leaned down to plant a kiss on Gu Jun’s pale lips. The two sets of lips touched each other but she felt nothing. She maintained this pose for several seconds before lifting up her head. “So, is there any change?” Once again, Nurse Liu shook her head, “Still nothing...”

Wu Siyu sighed. “O well.” She tapped lightly on his cheeks and grumbled, “You’ve been lying there for 3 months already, is that not enough? You can’t be lazier than me, the world’s going to end if that’s the case.” Soon her half an hour visitation hour ended.

Wu Siyu prepared to leave. Before she left, she said, “Dirty-minded Jun, I’ll come back to see you next year. Yes, it’ll be the new year tomorrow. Happy New Year’s Eve. Hopefully, you’ll wake up soon, that’s my only new year’s hope.” She stopped for a while before leaving the room. She walked down the corridor before she stopped again. That feeling was equally strong outside the room...

Wu Siyu looked around before lifting her head to look at the ceiling. There were lights and air vents...

‘Air vents?’ There was one inside Gu Jun’s room as well. She frowned as she opened her senses to it. She saw some strange images, there were pipes, apples and boxes...’Super Mario? No, wait, it’s another game. It’s Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers! Could it be Dirty-minded Jun? Last time he was a kangaroo but this time he’s turned into a squirrel?

‘But there was another possibility, which is rat infestation. This does not appear that sanitary, I should report this to the admin. But I better be sure first.’ Wu Siyu wiggled her nose to sniff. She allowed her body to follow her senses. It felt like she was playing a game of Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Ranger, jump, jump, dodge, dodge...

“Hmm?” Nurse Liu exited the room for it was the end of her shift. Seeing Wu Siyu bounce and skip down the corridor, she could not help but frown. Gu Jun’s situation left a heavy impact on Wu Siyu. The nurses had been given orders by their superiors to pay attention to her mental state as well. Considering that the new year was coming, the celebration appeared to have caused some disturbance to her mind.

They were on the 10th floor. After Wu Siyu skipped down the corridor, she arrived at the stairwell. She then went to the rooftop of the 21st floor. The guards at the door looked suspiciously at her when Wu Siyu walked past them to study the air vent’s exit. She wandered about for a while before returning to the stairwell. She skipped down the stairs to the ground floor and left the building. She took a break when she was outside before wandering over to a nearby park. The sky was blue, it was only 5 pm. Walking among the trees, Wu Siyu sensed that the thing had already discovered her and it was trying to hide from her. She stood there until an idea came to her. Wu Siyu sighed and said loudly, “I was being too suspicious. There’s nothing around here. I should leave.”

Wu Siyu turned around and moved away. One step, two step, three step, after about 10 steps, her eyes focused and she whipped her body around. She saw a sneaky shadow slither up a maple tree in panic. It was a squirrel! A large squirrel!

“Hey, I’ve already seen you. What’s the point in hiding anymore?!” Wu Siyu ran to stand under the tree. She tilted her head up to study the animal on the branch. Recognition dawned on her. She had heard many stories from Dirty-minded Jun before. There was a particular Dreamland native that featured prominently in some of his stories. She gasped in shock while clapping excitedly, “Zoog, you’re a Zoog. Zoog, Zoog, Zoog!”

The Zoog on the tree studied her with his beady eyes. He hopped between branches as if pondering how to escape...

Wu Siyu knew that Dirty-minded Jun owed the Zoog tribes a ‘very luxurious gift’ and had a sweet dream connection with a Zoog named Lucky... Then it hit her. This Zoog should be Lucky, who came here looking for the promised gift from Gu Jun.

“Are you Lucky? The Zoog with a sweet dream connection with Dirty-minded Jun?” She asked as an excitement rose in her heart. She used to share a sweet dream connection with Dirty-minded Jun but it broke. Wu Siyu knew that the connection was much stronger than a normal mental connection and thus a bond was more easily formed. Humans failed to summon Dirty-minded Jun but who said a Zoog can’t?

Seeing Lucky was about to make his escape, Wu Siyu panicked. If she missed this opportunity, who knew how much longer Dirty-minded Jun would slumber.

“Hey, wait!” She called after Lucky. “You’re here for the gifts, right? I can arrange that for you. I know Gu Jun, I am very close to him! It’s true, I’m not lying to you. Lucky, Lucky?” She repeated the name. However, the language barrier was a huge problem. The Zoog did not understand what she was saying.

Then Wu Siyu remembered that Lucky had been on a mission with Gu Jun’s team at the House of Worm before, so he should have picked up a few Chinese words by now, for example simple vernaculars like his name and his hobby.

“Chicken thigh? Chicken thigh?” Wu Siyu mimicked the action of masticating and tearing off a chicken thigh. “Lucky, would you like a chicken thigh?”

But from the Zoog’s perspective, it looked more like she was threatening him with what she’d do to him if she ever caught him, which was to cook him and to eat him...

...

Web’s income is low so I fully depend on your support for the continuation of all my projects.

To incentivize donation, I will do my best to provide perks depending on the platform the donation(s) is made.

Donate 6 USD to get 1 bonus chapter release: https://ko-fi.com/lonelytree

Thank you so much for your continued support. This project won’t be possible without you.