"Jimmy, why are you here?" Abby looked at her little brother in confusion, "Where is this place?"
"This is the hospital. " Jimmy walked over to Abby, he looked at his sister with eyes full of heartache, "Two days ago, a woman named Jenny called the house. She told me you were attacked by mutant monsters in the wilderness, so they took you to the hospital. You were in a coma for two days and I thought you would never wake up. Thank God, now you're finally awake."
"I was unconscious for two days?" Abby couldn't believe it.
"Yes." Jimmy said, "I was so worried about you. I've already lost my brother, I can't lose you again."
Abby's heart sank when Jimmy mentioned their brother and she said in a low, sad voice, "Mike is just missing, it doesn't mean we've lost him forever."
Abby's brother's name was Mike. He is The Awakened, working as a hunter. A month ago, Mike disappeared while on a mission. The Hunter's Union, where Mike worked, determined that Mike had suffered a tragic death. The manager of the hunters' union had come to Abby's house to ask her mother to sign a document relating to the accidental death of her brother, and by signing the document she would be entitled to a sum of money in compensation.
Convinced that her son was not dead, Abby's mother tore up the paperwork and threw the manager out of the house. Since then, Abby's mom has been sick. Abby had to go to work to make ends meet. But in today's society, there are not many jobs left for ordinary people, so Abby takes the well-paid but dangerous job of janitor. But she never imagined she would be attacked by a venomous spider cub on her first day on the job.
Abby thought of the sounds she had heard while she was unconscious. Could it really be the system that saved her?
"The doctor said to let him know when you wake up. " Jimmy's voice interrupted Abby's thoughts as he said, "I'm going to get the doctor over here right now."
Presently a doctor came to the hospital room. He gave Abby a physical examination, and at the end of it, the doctor exclaimed, "This is a miracle. Usually after being bitten by a venomous spider cub, very few people heal, and you're the first one I've ever seen."
"What usually happens to people after being bitten by a venomous spider cub?" Abby asked uneasily.
"The venomous spider cub's fangs contain a high level of poison that would incapacitate The Awakened if he was bitten and not treated in time. And an ordinary person bitten by a venomous spider cub usually dies. "The doctor asked Abby,"Are you The Awakened?"
"I'm just an ordinary person." Abby answered truthfully.
"Are you sure?" The doctor looked at Abby incredulously, "Your body's recovery rate is not like that of an ordinary human's physique."
"Yes, I'm pretty sure."
After the apocalypse descends, a portion of the human race will become the Awakened, who reach adulthood and possess special abilities. To better manage these "Awakened," the government has decreed that citizens who have reached the age of 18 must go to a designated testing facility to have their abilities tested. There will be special instruments to test whether people have special abilities.
Abby had gone to the testing facility a week earlier, and the results of the test showed that she was not "Awakened". Learning of this result, Abby was overwhelmed with dismay. She could not understand why her brother was "awakened" and she was not.
"I'm gonna draw your blood for tests. Once the toxins are completely removed from your blood, you can leave the hospital." The doctor said.
Abby nodded her head.
So the doctor left the room after taking Abby's blood. By noon, the nurse brought Abby lunch. A sandwich and vegetable salad with a cup of hot milk and a bottle of nutritional solution.
These foods may seem ordinary, but they are precious to the average person. Large swathes of arable land have been destroyed since the apocalypse descended, and food shortages have caused prices to rise. Many ordinary people can only eat the kind of synthetic food that has no nutrients, and only those who are financially well off can afford to buy natural foods that have nutrients.
"Jimmy, are you hungry?" Abby looked at her skinny brother. His cheeks were slightly sunken, his skin an unhealthy waxy yellow, and his collar-bone was plainly visible beneath his baggy clothes. He was twelve years old, and his whole frame looked thinner than his years.
Abby forced herself to hold back the sourness inside, she said to Jimmy, " You can eat this food."
"Don't you want to eat? " Jimmy asked suspiciously.
"I'm not hungry. " Abby said, picking up the bottle of nutrient solution," I'll take the nutrient solution."
Jimmy hesitated for a moment, but he finally picked up the sandwich and ate it.
"Is mom okay at home? " Abby asked with concern.
Jimmy nodded, "Mother is the same. She doesn't go out but stays in bed." Then Jimmy stopped chewing, as if he had thought of something.
"There's not much medicine left in the house." Jimmy looked at Abby with a worried look in his eyes, "You know mom can't stop taking her medicine or her illness will come back."
"Don't worry." Abby reassured Jimmy, "I'll find a way to make some money."
"Are you planning on staying a cleaner? " Jimmy asked. Jimmy asked.
"Yes, I am. "Abby replied.
"But it's a dangerous job," There was anxiety in Jimmy's voice.
"It was just an accident. "Abby smiled, "Besides, I'm fine now. Don't worry about me, Ok?"
"Ok."
"You have exams coming up, right?" Abby remembered that in less than a month Jimmy would be taking his last test before graduating from elementary school. The exam would determine whether Jimmy would get into a good secondary school.
"Yes." Jimmy replied.
"Then you should go home after lunch." Abby encouraged Jimmy, "You have to prepare well for this exam. I'm sure you'll get into a good middle school."
"I've always been at the top of my grade. It will not be hard for me to get into a good secondary school. " Jimmy's eyes shone with confidence.
Jimmy was the brightest and wisest child in the family, and Abby hoped that in the future he would go to a good university and work in scientific research, so that Jimmy would not have to work in dangerous jobs like she and Mike did.
Presently Jimmy finished his lunch and left the hospital. As Abby prepared to lie down and rest, an icy sound reached her ears.
"The system panel is automatically opened, please familiarize the host with all the functions on the panel as soon as possible."
Abby freezes, so that system is not a dream, it's real. Then, a virtual panel appears in Abby's line of sight.