Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was a white ceiling in a white room... Where was he? After a brief, chaotic scramble in his mind, Lin Luo gradually regained consciousness... Right, he had passed out the moment he connected to the Misaka Network.
Sitting up, steadying himself by resting a hand on his forehead, Lin Luo's face contorted in pain. Ten seconds within the Misaka Network had flooded him with the memories and experiences of every single Sister. He now knew that without truly immersing himself in their collective consciousness, he could never grasp the sheer misery of their existence. For them, experimentation and death were the only constants in life; their entire reality was built upon countless accumulated fatalities, with no other hue to color their world.
This repeated death, each time in a different fashion, saturated the Misaka Network with despair and anguish. This wasn't merely generated by the Sisters' emotions; it was the residual instinct clinging to the memories post-mortem, a massive darkness coalesced from that instinct.
Though the Sisters themselves felt nothing, Lin Luo experienced it all the moment he entered the network... In those brief ten seconds, this darkness revealed everything, and he felt it as if it were his own. 10,029 deaths—in a sense, his own spirit had been 'slain' 10,029 times in that instant!
No one could bear the torment of tens of thousands of deaths. At least, in Lin Luo's estimation, outside of the self-unaware Misaka clones, no other living person could withstand such agony.
That he merely passed out instead of dying on the spot was, in itself, a miracle.
Lin Luo didn't know how the Sisters would face this pain once they possessed true emotions—would they accept it, or reject it? Whichever path they chose, it would undoubtedly be a devastating, soul-wrenching experience...
“Forget it, thinking about this now is useless.”
With a sigh, Lin Luo finally took in his surroundings... It appeared to be a hospital room. Was he currently hospitalized?
Testing his limbs, Lin Luo felt no discomfort. His vitality was restored to full capacity. Apart from the lingering echoes of tens of thousands of deaths in his mind, everything seemed perfectly normal.
Swinging his legs off the bed, he glanced at the wall clock; it indicated ten-thirty the next day. He hadn't been unconscious for very long, after all.
Lin Luo let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness it was only one night. If he had accidentally slept for seven or eight days, wasting the precious time Yoshikawa had fought to secure, that would have been a true tragedy.
As this thought crossed his mind, the door to the room opened, and a doctor in a white coat stepped inside.
Lin Luo looked up, and the sight of the person before him made him pause, eliciting an involuntary exclamation: “Dark Schneider!”
Indeed, the man entering possessed a frog-like face and operated under the creed of never giving up on a patient, rumored to be capable of transcending the boundary between life and death. In this world, purely judging by medical skill, few could rival him.
And matching his surgical prowess was a moral integrity that commanded universal respect.
“To think my first time being hospitalized lands me the legendary Dark Schneider. Is this some kind of protagonist perk?” Lin Luo muttered internally with a wry grin.
Dark Schneider regarded him calmly. “Since you are already able to get out of bed, it seems there are no lasting issues.”
“Mhm, I think so too. So, Doctor, may I be discharged now?”
“First, a full body examination.”
“Huh? Didn't you just say there was no problem? Why the full check-up?”
“It is the duty of a physician.” Dark Schneider’s tone brooked no argument.
“Fine, an examination it is then.” Lin Luo sighed and obediently lay back down on the bed. If it had been any other doctor, he might not have been so compliant, but since it was Dark Schneider, it was better to respect his professional duty... He might need the man’s help later on.
The examination concluded minutes later; everything was normal. This result was entirely without suspense; the status displayed by the Contract Tome was far more precise than any machine.
“Alright, it seems there genuinely isn't an issue. Change into your clothes and prepare to leave,” Dark Schneider said softly, putting away the equipment and gesturing toward the hospital gown Lin Luo was wearing.
“Clothes?”
“They are in the cabinet next to the bed. Yoshikawa brought them this morning; since you weren't awake, I left them there.”
“Oh.” Lin Luo responded, opening the bedside cabinet. Sure enough, a set of casual clothes was neatly folded inside, sized perfectly for him... Tch, perhaps that woman Yoshikawa was more thoughtful than he gave her credit for.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. I have other patients waiting,” Dark Schneider stated, not waiting for a reply, and left the room without looking back.
A few minutes later, Lin Luo, now clad in fresh clothes, exited the ward. Walking down the hospital corridor, observing the staff and patients rushing past, listening to the symphony of their joys and sorrows, he felt a pang of emotion. When would the Sisters ever be able to express their feelings so genuinely, so freely, like these people?
Though the path might be arduous and distant, success would eventually come... Looking at those weeping tears of joy after being cured of their ailments, a smile touched Lin Luo’s lips. He had manufactured a miracle in his original world; therefore, miracles were certainly not impossible to achieve in this one!
Lin Luo was unaware of the profound shift occurring within him. While he had previously resolved to risk everything to save the Sisters, that initial drive was largely motivated by Mikoto. But now, having entered the Misaka Network and witnessed the totality of the Sisters’ reality, Mikoto's former wish had completely transformed into his own desire...
It wasn't a matter of duty or heroism; it was purely... an inherent calling!
“Doctor, can you truly help me?”
Passing a closed door, a young girl’s voice drifted out from within. Lin Luo paused slightly, feeling a strange familiarity in the tone. He instinctively turned his head, and through the glass panel in the door, he caught sight of a girl’s silhouette—her beautiful, raven-black twin-tails draped over her shoulders, exuding an intoxicating charm.
“Of course. Who do you think you’re speaking to? I am a doctor!” Dark Schneider’s voice followed, a kingly proclamation. As he spoke, a piece of black cloth was drawn across the glass panel, seemingly sealing the inside and outside into two separate worlds...
A flicker of disappointment crossed Lin Luo’s eyes. For some reason, that figure stirred an unconscious concern within him. Shaking his head, he banished the feeling. He was already swamped dealing with the Misaka Sisters; inviting any other entanglement now would be far from wise.
Sighing again, Lin Luo quickened his pace toward the exit, while faint voices still carried from the room.
“But my identity…”
“I don’t care what your identity is. The only thing that matters is that you are my patient right now. And my duty is to fight alongside my patient and bring her back from the battlefield unscathed!”
“I understand. Thank you, Doctor…”
“Then, tell me your name first.”
“Mhm, my name is…”
P: For the sake of the mysterious twin-tails, how about a few recommendation tickets!