After communicating with Mir·Kasab and the attending nurse, the two of them successfully entered the ward.
"This is the little girl's medical record. Would you like to take a look?" Mir·Kasab took a file from the nurse's hands and passed it to Li Hua.
Li Hua was somewhat distracted, his gaze fixed on the little girl lying on the hospital bed, seemingly asleep. He was certain now—there was indeed a Bugster virus present in this girl's body.
"Li?"
Seeing Li Hua staring blankly, Mir·Kasab waved a hand in front of his face.
Li Hua snapped back to his senses. "What is it?"
"I see you're quite concerned about this little girl. Why don't you take a look at her medical record?"
Mir·Kasab extended the file again.
Li Hua nodded, took the record, and carefully flipped through it.
"Emily Shaw. Guardian: Victor Shaw. Admitted to the Elder Council Hospital three months ago."
"Is her current condition normal?" Li Hua noticed something unusual in the records. "According to the duty doctor's notes, this little girl has been sleeping the entire time…"
Mir·Kasab took the file back and skimmed through the notes, then smiled.
"It's true that every time the duty doctor came to check on her, she was asleep. But that only means she happened to be sleeping during those inspections. Her physical condition is completely normal. There shouldn't be any problem."
After thinking for a moment, he continued:
"It's actually understandable. After all, with this kind of illness, she has completely lost her ability to move and can only lie in bed.
Other than sleeping, there's nothing else she can do. Staying asleep most of the time is normal. Perhaps the doctors simply always came during the times she was asleep.
And for a little girl like her, perhaps she's actually freer in her dreams."
Li Hua sighed softly and spoke with a deeper meaning:
"But is it possible that… she has actually been asleep the entire time and never truly woken up?"
After learning about the girl's situation, Li Hua suspected that it was similar to the victims attacked by Fuma—loss of consciousness and falling into an inexplicable state of deep sleep.
"That's impossible," Mir Kasab shook his head and laughed.
"Li, you're overthinking it. If she had been sleeping the entire time, that would make her a vegetative patient. The hospital staff couldn't possibly have failed to notice that."
Li Hua's eyes narrowed slightly. He remained silent.
Mir Kasab gave a helpless smile and shook his head.
"How about this—we'll ask the nurse in charge."
He called the nurse over.
Although the nurse was surprised that two surgeons were paying attention to a patient with ALS, since they were indeed doctors from the hospital, she honestly explained everything she knew.
The little girl, Emily, was not always asleep.
Although every time the duty doctors checked on her, she was asleep and impossible to wake, the nurses had witnessed her waking up before.
At the beginning, the attending doctors had indeed panicked. However, after confirming that there were no abnormalities in her physical indicators, they gradually stopped paying attention.
After all, ALS was a terminal illness, and there was no effective treatment in the world. The hospital could do very little.
However, the nurses had seen the girl wake up—whenever her father came to take care of her, she would wake up.
"I told you, Li. You're being too sensitive," Mir Kasab let out a sigh of relief, patted Li Hua on the shoulder, and smiled.
"The Elder Council Hospital wouldn't make such a serious mistake. This little girl just sleeps longer than usual."
Li Hua nodded on the surface, but the doubts in his heart only grew deeper.
There was absolutely no mistake—the Bugster virus clearly existed in this little girl's body.
Moreover, it was the same type of virus found in the bodies of the gang members attacked by the person using the Hurricane Ninja Game Cartridge.
The Gamer Disease Stethoscope could not be wrong.
So why could she wake up?
And clearly, this little girl did not fit the profile of Fuma's victims.
Fuma's targets should only be ruthless gang members. So far, every known victim had been a gang member—without exception.
Li Hua had a strong premonition that something was seriously wrong.
And the key might lie with the girl's father—Victor Shaw.
The little girl was undoubtedly infected with the Bugster virus, yet she could wake up—
and only when her father was present.
There was definitely something suspicious about this!
"When does the guardian usually come to visit the little girl?" Li Hua made up his mind to meet Xiao Feng and asked the nurse.
"What, you want to meet the girl's father as well?" Mir Kasab asked in mild surprise.
He could clearly feel that Li Hua's concern for this little girl was abnormal.
Li Hua did not deny it and nodded frankly.
"Seeing this child reminds me of patients I've encountered before. And I can't help but want to understand more and see if I can help."
"All right." Mir Kasab nodded in understanding, though he wasn't optimistic—ALS was incurable.
The nurse glanced at Li Hua and Mir Kasab and told them the times when Victor usually came to visit his daughter.
Victor Shaw arrived at the hospital and awakened his daughter from the virtual game world.
"Dad! I joined a sports meet in my dream and even won a prize! There were so many people playing with me!"
The girl excitedly shared her dream, blinking her eyes.
"Lately, all my dreams come true. They feel so real! I can move freely there. You don't have to worry about me."
Victor looked at his daughter's smile, his eyes reddening slightly. He nodded and smiled.
"Emily, don't worry. Before long, you'll recover completely and be able to run freely in the real world."
A trace of sadness flashed through Emily's eyes.
After being treated in so many major hospitals without any improvement, she knew her illness likely had no effective cure. She assumed her father was just comforting her.
Victor naturally noticed her thoughts and smiled, about to persuade her—
"Mr. Shaw?"
At that moment, Li Hua knocked and entered the room.
"You are…?"
The instant Victor saw Li Hua, a sharp glint flashed deep in his eyes—but it quickly faded as he composed himself and pretended to be meeting a stranger for the first time.
Li Hua glanced at the awakened girl, deep in thought, then smiled kindly at her.
"Li Hua. Surgeon from the Holy City Hospital."
"If you're a doctor from the Holy Capital Hospital, why are you here at the Elder Council Hospital?" Victor questioned him.
"Invited here for academic exchange and temporary study," Li Hua replied, meeting Victor's scrutinizing gaze.
Victor gave a soft "oh" and continued,
"So why are you looking for me?"
Li Hua nodded, carefully observing his expression.
"There are some complexities regarding your daughter's condition. It's not just ALS. I believe she should be transferred to the Holy City Hospital for treatment."
Whether Victor truly had a problem—or was even Fuma himself—
As long as Emily was transferred to the Holy City Hospital, Li Hua would naturally have a chance to uncover Victor's true nature.
"Doctor… is my illness very serious?"
The girl's expression darkened, her voice trembling.
"Even though Dad and the doctors try to hide it from me, I can still guess…This illness of mine probably can't be cured.
If something is really wrong, can you please just tell me directly?"
Li Hua fell silent, completely at a loss when faced with her clear, innocent eyes.
Victor hurriedly shook his head and comforted her.
"Emily, don't think too much. You'll get better soon."
He then turned to Li Hua.
"Let's talk outside."
Li Hua nodded silently.
Once outside the ward, Victor spoke bluntly:
"Doctor Li, just say it directly. What is it?"
(End of Chapter)