"There's nothing to worry about, you just need to focus on rest now," said Hao Lei, the mature and attractive woman, as she finished examining Yang Haoran. She adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses before speaking.
Upon hearing the doctor's words, Yang Haoran sighed with relief, yet he remained apprehensive. "Doctor, will there be any long-term consequences in the future?"
"Such as… I mean… erectile problems?" As Yang Haoran voiced his concern, he stammered and became anxious, staring at Dr. Hao with a hopeful expression.
Seeing this, Hao Lei chuckled, "You're fine, don't worry."
With her assurance, Yang Haoran finally felt a huge weight lift off his chest. He was still a man, after all.
However, Liu Ruoxi seemed far from pleased. She gave Hao Lei a knowing glance, signalling her to step outside.
Hao Lei relayed some precautions to Yang Haoran, instructed him to rest well, and then followed Liu Ruoxi out of the room.
Once they were in the hospital corridor, Hao Lei turned to Liu Ruoxi, knowing what she wanted to ask, and sighed, "Ruoxi, your son's condition is not promising. The worst-case scenario has occurred: he has an infection in his penis."
"I told you before, if the condition is good and recovery goes well, there may not be any long-term effects, or the chances of them happening would be very small."
"But in his current situation, even if it's cured, the likelihood of long-term effects is still high."
"In the future, he may face issues such as erectile dysfunction."
"Isn't there any other solution?" Liu Ruoxi's face turned grim and her brows furrowed.
She hadn't expected the worst-case scenario. The room seemed to spin around her and it felt like a huge boulder was pressing down on her heart, making it difficult to breathe.
Seeing Liu Ruoxi's distressed face, Hao Lei reassured her, "There are no absolutes in this matter. It's all about probabilities."
"In the past, the hospital has handled similar cases. A worker fell at a construction site, causing damage and subsequent infection to the penile tissues, just like your son. But after he was discharged and we followed up, there were no long-term effects."
Hao Lei comforted this powerful woman who was used to commanding in the business world. Yet now, all she could see in Liu Ruoxi was a helpless mother worried for her flesh and blood.
Liu Ruoxi remained silent for a moment, managing to muster a faint smile, and nodded. Yet, her heart felt as though it were sliding off a cliff, sinking deeper and deeper.
"Ah…" Hao Lei sighed, aware that her attempts at comfort had not had any effect. After all, over the years with similar cases, there had been only one instance where the patient was lucky enough not to have any lingering effects. All the other cases had some issues to varying degrees.
After Hao Lei left, Liu Ruoxi leaned against the wall. Her usually bright, icy eyes now seemed somewhat dim. She stared blankly at her son's hospital room door, lost in her thoughts.
Just then, a mysterious synthesized voice rang in her mind.
[Game loading completed. Welcome to the most exciting game in existence, 'Fallen Angel'.]
[Locating… Primary program detected as damaged… Location failed.]
[Automatic search program has been initiated… Search complete… Local game system activated.]
[Startup complete!]
[Intelligent life awakening…]
[Loading localization program]
[Code name Barbarossa fully awakened!]
Following this, an insane and wicked laughter emerged in her mind.
"Hehe… I, Barbarossa, am finally freed!"
"Who?" Suddenly, Liu Ruoxi snapped back to reality, her expression cold. She thought someone was playing tricks on her and scanned the hospital corridor with icy eyes. But aside from a few hurried medical staff, the corridor was empty.
"No need to panic, player Liu Ruoxi. First, let me introduce myself. I am an intelligent life form, code-named Barbarossa. First of all, congratulations on qualifying for the game… hahaha…" The voice, filled with a sinister and eerie laughter, echoed in her mind.
"Stop talking." To Barbarossa's surprise, this human being named Liu Ruoxi did not react with panic or disarray, but instead replied coldly with two words.
After years of struggle, Liu Ruoxi had developed a strong psychological quality. The eerie voice seemed to emerge from her mind, causing her a moment of fear. But her years of experience had taught her to calm her mind in the face of significant events. Thus, she forced herself to stay calm.
However, this was something akin to a supernatural event, completely unlike anything she had experienced before. Her face turned calm, as cold as a thousand-year-old ice, but her hand hidden behind her trembled slightly, indicating that her inner state was not as tranquil as it appeared on the surface.
Liu Ruoxi's reprimand stunned Barbarossa, who had been jubilant about his freedom after years of being sealed away.
A woman and an intelligent entity remained silent in the midst of this eerie atmosphere for a long time.
After a while, Liu Ruoxi had digested the information that had emerged in her mind.
"Fallen Angel game?"
Her face was frosty. It didn't sound like a typical game at all.
"Yes, player Liu Ruoxi, you have been chosen as a player for the 'Fallen Angel' game. This means you are an extremely outstanding individual in the realm of humanity, or in human terms, a rare existence."
Barbarossa had also calmed down. Although it was an intelligent life form capable of experiencing joy and sorrow, it still adhered to its duty.
This duty, encoded into the core of the intelligent life form, is its highest principle.
After Barbarossa finished speaking, it activated the game program according to the rules.
[Game program activated.]
[Searching for player Liu Ruoxi's controller... No specific target…]
[No target… activating default program.]
[Searching for permissions…]
Meanwhile, the mysterious ring on the right index finger of Yang Haoran, who was lying in the hospital bed, was included in the search scope.
The dark ring flashed a faint light, then restored its tranquillity and fell silent.
[Binding successful, player Liu Ruoxi, your designated controller is the human life form Yang Haoran.]
This was a mechanized program voice, distinctly different from the intelligent life form Barbarossa.
One was a fixed mechanical program, and the other was an intelligent life form.
"What does that mean?" Liu Ruoxi furrowed her brow, suddenly feeling a sense of unease within her.
Controller? Yang Haoran?
Nevertheless, the voice in her mind did not answer her question but proceeded to the next command instead.
[Player Liu Ruoxi, please select your game occupation from the following options.]
A blue light screen connected to Liu Ruoxi's optic nerves and projected before her eyes.
[Available occupations: Companion, Servant, Pet, Milk Giver, Fluid Receiver.
Job Responsibilities:
Companion: Engage in sexual activity with the Controller five times every seven days.
Servant: Kneel to the Controller for three hours every seven days.
Pet: Wear a collar and leash held by the Controller for three hours every seven days.
Milk Giver: Produce 1200ml milk for the Controller every seven days.
Fluid Receiver: Consume the fluid of the Controller's organ five times every seven days.
Countdown 30… 29…]
First came the occupation introduction, followed by the job responsibilities, and a countdown projected on the blue light screen entered Liu Ruoxi's view.
Looking at those indecent words, Liu Ruoxi's eyes turned cold. She had a foreboding that this wasn't a regular game, but the vulgar description still took her by surprise.
The countdown was about to end, but Liu Ruoxi remained unmoved. She wouldn't choose any occupation, nor participate in this horrible game.
[Time's up, the player didn't choose, entering random mode.]
A golden wheel appeared, divided into five parts representing the five occupations. As the voice ended, the pointer started spinning.
Companion… Servant… Pet… Milk Giver… Fluid Receiver…
The speed of the spinning pointer gradually slowed down, finally pausing on the Servant occupation. However, the pointer continued to move slowly, surpassing the Servant position, and eventually landed on the Pet interface.
[Occupation selection complete, game starts.]
The final synthetic voice echoed in Liu Ruoxi's mind, then all fell silent.
Upon seeing the randomly occupation selected, Liu Ruoxi remained unmoved. How could she possibly participate in such a wicked and twisted game? The occupation selected had no relevance to her.