Beneath the Dome, Sin within Sins - Chapter 87 - Awakening

The night wind swept past my ears, and I couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. Life has a knack for being awkward like this-just when you think you have everything under control, it all turns to chaos, leaving you hanging by a thread.

Still, it’s not all bad. A life for a life-it was worth it. Lu Xun’s marksmanship is exceptional. That shot earlier was enough to end the impostor’s life!

Thinking this, my consciousness began to fade. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to just drift off like this. After all, I’m exhausted…

The darkness overwhelmed my mind. For some reason, the faces of the bandaged man and the impostor filled my thoughts. Their expressions alternated in my mind, like a relentless hammer suffocating me, making it hard to breathe.

I need air! I need to breathe!

Suddenly, I snapped my eyes open, catching sight of the emergency lights above me and hearing the beeping of medical equipment. It was only then that I felt truly alive again.

Still groggy, I heard an excited and slightly relieved voice exclaim, “The patient is awake! The patient is awake!”

The noise was grating on my nerves. So what if I woke up? Was it really necessary to make such a big deal out of it? All I did was sleep peacefully-there was no need to proclaim it to the entire world!

I wanted to tell the doctor to keep it down. But before I could get a word out, a sharp, excruciating pain surged through my chest, spreading rapidly throughout my body until it hit my head. And then, just like that, I blacked out again.

The next time I opened my eyes, I found myself wearing an oxygen mask, with tubes sticking out of me everywhere.

Looking at the state I was in, I couldn’t help but twitch the corner of my mouth. Seriously, was all this really necessary? All I did was fall off a cliff! There was no need to make it seem so overly dramatic, like I was on the brink of death or something.

But when I tried to move and summon a nurse to remove all these tubes, I realized that my body was completely limp, as if it wasn’t mine at all.

Just then, the ward door suddenly opened, and I heard the sound of footsteps. Since the only part of my body I could move right now was my eyes, I had no way of knowing who had come in.

However, as soon as the person walked up to me, I knew who it was. The visitor was none other than my sister, Lu Che.

“Che, hurry up and get the nurse to pull these tubes out of me!”

I really wanted to say this to Lu Che, but the words that came out of my mouth were utterly indecipherable. I even started to doubt if this voice box was still mine.

Fortunately, my attempts at making noise caught Lu Che’s attention. When she saw me, her eyes reddened. Before I could react, she shouted, “Doctor! Doctor! My brother is awake!”

As much as I wanted to laugh at her outburst, it left me with a sinking feeling instead. For someone as calm and level-headed as Lu Che to lose her composure like this, what exactly had happened to me?

The doctor came in at Lu Che’s call. After checking my vital signs, everyone present looked visibly relieved. The doctor patted Lu Che on the shoulder and said, “Your brother’s body has mostly recovered. Tomorrow, we’ll remove the tubes, and after another month of hospitalization, he should be good to go. However, since his body is just starting to recover, many of his nerves aren’t responding yet. He’ll need to undergo rehabilitation during this time.”

Many of my nerves aren’t responding…

What kind of statement is that? Does that mean I’ve been unconscious for a long time?

It wasn’t until I listened to my sister’s tearful yet reprimanding words that I learned I hadn’t just been unconscious for a long time-but for an extraordinarily long time.

From Lu Che’s explanation, I slowly pieced together what had happened after the incident.

After I fell off the cliff, Lu Xun shot the impostor dead and immediately called for help.

Hundreds of people searched for me at the foot of the mountain for an entire day and night but came up with nothing. At that point, everyone thought I was a goner. Fortunately, Su Mo refused to give up. It was he who found me impaled on the branch of a crooked tree.

When everyone saw the state I was in, they assumed that even if I were rescued, I wouldn’t last more than a few days. But against all odds, I not only survived but also woke up. The price, however, was that I became a vegetative patient lying in a hospital bed for an entire year.

When I learned I had been unconscious for a year, I was utterly shocked. But after the initial astonishment wore off, I found myself more curious about the fate of those criminals. What happened to them?

Unfortunately, my throat couldn’t produce any sound at the moment. All I could do was keep blinking at Lu Che, hoping she’d notice my attempts to communicate.

But Lu Che pretended not to see it at all.

I was furious inside, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Around noon, Lu Xun came by to drop off lunch for Lu Che. When he saw that I was awake, guilt immediately flashed across his face. He walked over to my hospital bed and said, “Lu-Ge, I’m sorry.”

This apology completely caught me off guard. What was this kid apologizing for all of a sudden?

Just as I was puzzling over it, Lu Xun’s next words made it instantly clear why he was apologizing.

It turned out that the person who had indirectly caused me to fall off the cliff was none other than Lu Xun’s twin brother. After Lu Xun took the shot that killed him, he had been overcome with guilt, believing that my accident was partially his fault.

But in truth, this matter had nothing to do with him at all. However, in my current state, I wasn’t exactly in a position to comfort anyone.

In the afternoon, Su Mo came to visit me. I thought he’d at least talk about the case, but surprisingly, he just sat quietly by the bed, staying until evening. Other than exchanging a few polite greetings with my sister, he didn’t utter a single word.

It wasn’t until nighttime, when Lu Che urged Su Mo to leave, that he finally spoke. “Che, you should go home and rest tonight. I’ll stay here and watch over your brother.”

“That’s not a good idea. It’s too inconvenient,” Lu Che objected.

“It’s more convenient for me to stay than you,” Su Mo replied firmly. “After all, I’m a man. And besides, Lu Xun has been beside himself with guilt. He’s barely spoken more than a few words all year.”

Hearing this, Lu Che paused for a long while before saying, “He’s putting too much pressure on himself. This was never his fault to begin with. Alright then, Su-Ge, I’ll leave my brother in your care.”

“You can count on me,” Su Mo reassured her.

After saying that, Lu Che packed up her things and left.

As soon as she was gone, I found myself on the verge of breaking down. At least while Lu Che was here, I had someone to talk to. Now, with only Lu Xun around, I felt like I was going to be bored out of my mind.

When the lights went out that night, I eventually managed to doze off. But just as I drifted into sleep, I heard the faint sound of someone quietly sobbing nearby. The voice was soft, but I caught every bit of it.

Curious, I opened my eyes. To my surprise, Su Mo was sitting in the chair next to my bed, tears streaming down his face.

What on earth is wrong with this guy? Crying in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Tomorrow, I’m definitely going to suggest to Lu Che that Su Mo be banned from staying overnight!