Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Panda's Methods

A handful of ambulances sluggishly rolled into the hospital, half-alive amidst the noise and chaos. Nurses emerged with languid steps, stuffing patients from the vehicles into an already overflowing facility.

Emergency doctors rushed out, and the paramedic accompanying the ambulance quickly explained, “It’s a case of mass food poisoning. We suspect a chemical extracted from pesticides was added to the food. Most patients are unconscious, showing signs of multi-organ failure.”

Then, the paramedic covertly signaled to the two who had just stepped off the ambulance—Panda and Marx.

The emergency doctor nodded, immediately moving towards them.

“Hurry, these two need to be taken straight to the examination room!”

The nurses rushed forward.

Panda shouted, “I’m fine, save my big brother first! Save him!” He punched himself angrily, remorse etched across his face. “It’s all my fault. I insisted on going for a drink. I knew the prices were too cheap and something was bound to be wrong. But I kept thinking I’d be a fool not to take a bargain, wanting to save money and eat well, so I got what was coming to me. But what did my big brother do to deserve this? It’s all on me, all my fault! Doctor, you have to wake him up as soon as possible!”

Panda clung to the emergency doctor, crying bitterly.

The doctor felt an inexplicable irritation, just about to shake Panda off, when he suddenly noticed a thick wad of bills had been slipped into his pocket.

He paused, discreetly gauging the heft, and a broad smile bloomed across his face. His tone softened, “Sir, rest assured, we’ll certainly do everything to save your brother. Nurse, come over—be gentle, send him to the VIP ward first. Call the doctors for an immediate consultation. Food poisoning is serious—no room for negligence!”

With that, the doctor and four or five nurses wheeled the two beds straight back into the hospital.

The remaining dozen food poisoning victims were carelessly dumped in the plaza.

Three minutes passed and the paramedics, seeing no nurses come to fetch the patients, simply called their colleagues, tossed the poisoned patients onto the ground, turned, and drove the ambulance away.

The patients sitting on the ground watched all of this with numb eyes, their expressions unchanged. After so many days at the hospital entrance, they’d seen such things countless times. The strangeness had faded; it was routine.

This society had long been twisted—money was everything.

Panda was taken to a luxurious ward, quickly diagnosed. He had simply eaten something bad; two days bedridden would suffice.

Marx, however, was not so lucky. He’d ingested far too much—the signs of organ failure were widespread, and heavy metal poisoning was evident. After emergency treatment, he finally regained consciousness.

But kidney failure, exacerbated by the heavy metals, could no longer be contained.

Ugh, my head hurts... Where am I?

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“Big brother, you’re finally awake! I was so worried!” Panda clutched Marx’s hand, tears streaming.

“What happened to me?” Marx was still confused, clutching his head as he tried to recall the past.

“Marx, I’m so sorry!” Panda repeated his prepared speech, blaming himself in a torrent of tears and snot, leaving Marx bewildered.

“No, don’t cry. Weren’t we drinking before? How... how did we end up in the hospital?”

“That restaurant was trouble—we got food poisoning. I was lucky, just caught a bout of enteritis, a few days of stomach trouble. But you...”

A chill ran through Marx. He grabbed Panda’s arm. “What about me?”

Panda’s face was pained. “Marx, you...”

“Tell me!”

“The doctors said you have kidney failure and heavy metal poisoning. At most... at most you have two weeks left...”

Marx was stunned, the words “two weeks” echoing endlessly in his mind.

He remembered the three years of agonizing imprisonment.

He remembered his childhood promises to friends.

He remembered the mad days of stealing cars during his downfall.

The most important memories of his life flashed before him like a lantern parade.

“Don’t worry, big brother. I’m thinking of a way, a way. Right! I heard Elysium Space has a rare universal medical pod that can heal any disease. If we can get a spaceship...”

Panda’s face turned bitter. “But lately, so many people have gotten rich overnight. The smugglers who used to deal in ships have changed trades, all the channels we used to have are gone...”

Marx’s eyes lit up. “You’re right. As long as we get into Elysium Space... as long as we get in...”

His mind spun rapidly, quickly sorting through possible contacts.

Seeing Marx enter this state, Panda’s lips curled into a sly smile.

Yes, that’s the way. Get your brain moving, sweetheart. You have no time for a peaceful life anymore. If you don’t get me into Elysium Space in two weeks, you’re as good as dead!

Marx suddenly looked up. “Panda!”

“What is it, big brother?”

“We’re checking out right now!” Marx said firmly.

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“But big brother, the doctor said you need to rest, and we don’t have time...” Panda tried to feign concern, but Marx’s gaze sharpened. “Panda, I have no time left.”

Panda was silent for a moment.

“I understand. I’ll go handle the discharge paperwork.”

The hospital was packed with patients, doctors and nurses rushing about, caring little whether he was well or not. As long as the bill was paid, they could leave in minutes.

From the moment Marx awoke to the two leaving the hospital, less than ten minutes had passed.

To save every second, Panda even took the initiative, arranging for a car to wait outside the hospital.

They got in. Under Marx’s direction, the car drove onto the highway toward a hidden spot in the neighboring community.

After passing a mountain of garbage, the car stopped before a neighborhood built from stacked shipping containers.

Nearby, some Black men with guns rushed over, but seeing Marx step out, they didn't ask a single question, simply stepped aside.

A burly, shirtless White man covered in tattoos walked up, giving Marx a thorough once-over before slapping his shoulder and laughing, “Marx, long time no see! So you’re finally out!”

“Brown, I need to see Black Spider!”

“No problem at all. In fact, Black Spider has been waiting for you since two weeks ago! And this is?”

The burly man glanced at Panda, who grinned sheepishly.

“He’s my friend, came with me!”

“All right then!”

The big man sized him up, then led the two inside the containers.

The interior was unexpectedly spacious. From the outside, it looked like a random pile of abandoned containers, but inside, the floors had been opened up, creating a substantial area.

They passed a group of men sorting mechanical parts and entered the computer room at the back.

Black Spider sat hunched before the monitors, smoke curling around him.

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