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Lu Bu'er fell ill again.
His head ached as if it was about to split open, with thousands of steel needles seemingly piercing his nerves simultaneously. His body felt as though it was cracking and collapsing inch by inch. He took deep breaths, enduring the pain without letting out a single cry, even as sweat soaked his back and his fingernails dug into his flesh.
Instinctively reaching for medication, he remembered that he had been without it for a week now.
With a loud crash, the empty medicine bottles piling up on the table were swept off by his arm, scattering all over the place.
The dorm room was silent, its tightly shut windows trembling in the cold wind. Outside, the patchy walls of the building, the dilapidated external unit of an air conditioner dripping water, and a dry old tree topped with a clump of bird nests could be seen.
It took him a long time to recover, lying on his bed gasping for air, his gaze empty.
A yellowed calendar on the wall was marked with conspicuous red circles.
Today marked the 3,001st day of Lu Bu'er's battle against cancer on January 17th, 2046, according to the Gregorian calendar. And every day after stopping his medication, he had to endure severe cancer pain. He didn't know how long he could hold on; theoretically, once his cancer treatment stopped, death was not far away.
"Big Bro Lu, we're heading out."
Knocking came from outside the dorm, He Sai poked his head in for a look and asked worriedly, "Are you sure you're okay staying in school alone? If it's really not possible, you can stay at my place, my parents are divorced anyway. We can also wait together for Pure Land's open beta, haven't you been waiting a long time?"
He did not get to finish before being interrupted by Lu Bu'er.
"The dorm's not bad, you go on back."
To Lu Bu'er, this was the only friend in the world who still cared about him, hence he couldn't trouble him further, "I'll meet you at the internet cafe tomorrow, if you don't leave now the dorms will be locked up."
He Sai scratched his head and finally sighed,
"All right then, let's meet up tomorrow without fail."
He waved his hand and turned to join the others at the end of the corridor.
The playground outside was deserted, darkness spreading under the night sky.
Now, Lu Bu'er was the only person left in the school. After the final exams ended, it was winter break, and everyone had left to reunite with their families, no one wanted to stay in this 'prison cage' any longer.
Especially since the meteorological station had issued a warning for an extremely severe storm tonight, a rare occurrence in nearly a hundred years. The distant skyline was shrouded by dense clouds, occasional fiery lightning flickering, seemingly tearing a hole in the darkness, with the rumble of thunder rolling in the distance.
Rain was coming, the strong smell of earth wafting in even through the window. The wind whipped up sand and leaves on the ground, seemingly eager to swallow the whole world.
Lu Bu'er went back to close the dorm door only to find bags full of fast food and daily necessities left at his doorstep, piled up to the brim.
"That kid..."
In truth, he did not have much time left and didn't want his close friend to waste time or money on a dying man, for there was no meaning in it.
Thankfully, it should be the last time.
Returning to the washroom to wash his hands, his pale reflection in the mirror resembled a paper man. His right hand was covered with swollen needle marks, which was a horrifying sight.
The palms of his hands were riddled with puncture wounds from his fingernails, which stung when rinsed with cold water. But for someone accustomed to cancer pain, this was nothing, as he had long become numb to pain.
Despite the new era's treatment techniques, healthy diet, and regular exercise to maintain his body in decent condition, nothing could alleviate the pain caused by cancer.
At least the end was in sight.
The last period of his life will be spent in the school dormitory.
Because Lu Bu'er no longer had a home; his parents died ten years ago, and after moving from a large flat to rented housing and a leaky attic, he ended up in this small dormitory.
He still remembered being five years old when a shadow was discovered in his brain, and even though the tumor was surgically removed, by the next year it had grown back, confounding the hospital's chief physician. Considering the high risk of another surgery, they decided to opt for conservative treatment.
The price was a fortune.
Lu Bu'er's parents, both chief researchers at a network technology company, could afford the treatment costs, but tragically, they died in a car accident during a business trip.
Everything collapsed.
Eventually, only Lu Bu'er was left, struggling on his own with the inheritance and compensation money until he hit rock bottom.
Some say the hardest illness to cure in this world is poverty.
And there may be some truth in that.
Lu Bu'er could no longer afford the expensive cancer medication, and the cancer cells had long spread. Last month, some quack doctor even suggested he try some ancestral talisman ash water, which almost made him laugh in frustration.
After drinking that stuff, the cancer cells would indeed die, but the corpse would also be swarming with flies.
In the end, some illnesses are simply fate.
So he accepted his destiny and began to countdown what remained of his life.
He was not afraid of death; he just didn't want to live like a walking corpse.
There was one last thing he had to do before his life ended.
"Big Bro Lu, don't forget about the Pure Land open beta."
He Sai sent him a reminder message.
The time was 6:45 PM, only fifteen minutes away from the Pure Land open beta. The school's messenger group was ablaze with discussions about the revolutionary new game, and everyone had pre-ordered the neural network connection virtual headsets, already prepping at home.
It seemed everyone was doing well, just far removed from Lu Bu'er's own life.
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