Just as Lin Wuming was stuck in his predicament of being lost, a man in a white coat pushed open the door and entered the room belonging to Lin Wuming and Torami Toumi.
The room was, of course, empty.
The man adjusted his glasses, scanned the surroundings again, and upon confirming no one was present, he frowned.
Silently, he flipped the safety lock on the handgun in his pocket, then pulled out his mobile phone from another pocket.
"What's going on? The boy isn't in the room!" he questioned into the phone. "Didn't you say his hands and feet were broken, and he couldn't move? Did you get the room number wrong?"
Failing to receive a satisfactory answer, the man scoffed and hung up. Then, he reached back into his pocket and gripped the handgun—he had finally gotten a rare opportunity to catch the target alone, but he came up empty. What should he do next? Abandon the commission, or wait here?
After a brief thought, he decided to stay and wait.
Torami Toumi and Dr. Sakurai wouldn't be back for at least another half hour, so he only needed to wait for 007 before then.
If he was accidentally discovered by other doctors or nurses, it didn't matter. After all, he was one of the doctors here himself, so it wouldn't be strange to say he was conducting a room inspection.
—A Level 3 Psychic can't withstand a point-blank shot from a customized armor-piercing bullet. Four rounds should be enough to send him to hell. Afterward, he would simply leave the room and dispose of the gloves, white coat, and handgun.
Perfect! No one would suspect him, a legitimate doctor—after all, a doctor doesn't need a handgun to kill; there are far more discreet and convenient methods available.
If he wasn't suspected immediately, the subsequent investigation wouldn't lead back to him. The employer, "Black May", had powerful connections and influence, enough to sway the Judgment forces' investigation.
After reviewing the action plan in his mind, the man felt much more at ease.
"Dr. Yamamoto, what are you doing here?" Just as he was momentarily distracted, the door behind him was pushed open, and Dr. Sakurai asked, sounding slightly surprised.
"Huh? Dr. Sakurai!" Yamamoto was startled. He had never expected Dr. Sakurai to return so early. "Y-You... where is your patient?"
"Torami? She's in the cafeteria." Dr. Sakurai replied. Since it was dinner time, they had gone straight to the cafeteria.
Dr. Sakurai then remembered Lin Wuming, who was left alone in the room, and returned to call him to dinner.
When she opened the door, she saw Dr. Yamamoto standing inside the room.
If it were anyone else, he might have been able to bluff his way out, but Dr. Sakurai was personally responsible for both patients in this room, so she knew very well that Dr. Yamamoto had no reason to be there.
"So, Dr. Yamamoto, are you here to see Wuming-kun?" Dr. Sakurai asked.
"No, nothing at all..." Knowing the deed was impossible, Dr. Yamamoto chuckled awkwardly, stiffly turned around, and prepared to leave.
"Dr. Yamamoto!" But Dr. Sakurai blocked the door. The usually gentle and kind female doctor adopted a sharp expression, narrowing her eyes as she stared at his pocket. "You should know, I once interned as a field doctor."
"W-What are you talking about?" Cold sweat trickled down his temples. His fingers, gripping the gun handle, tightened from nervousness.
"As a doctor, what are you hiding in your pocket?" Dr. Sakurai's tone grew stern. "Dr. Yamamoto, you haven't been bought off, have you, coming here to silence Wuming-kun?"
As one of the boy's future attending physicians, Dr. Sakurai was aware of Lin Wuming's situation and predicament—the Judgment forces suspected he might have escaped from an illegal research facility. Therefore, the facility might very well take steps to silence him for secrecy!
This kind of action wasn't unheard of for "illegal research facilities" in Academy City.
The hospital had been prepared, but they hadn't expected the attack to come so quickly, and from an "insider"!
Dr. Yamamoto was only a part-timer, not a professional killer. Seeing his intentions completely exposed, he was already flustered.
Instinctively, he acted according to the scenario he had rehearsed repeatedly—he flipped the safety off the gun...
By the time he snapped out of his daze, Dr. Yamamoto realized that in the instant he lost focus, his fingers had tightened instinctively, pulling the trigger repeatedly.
Four bullets screamed out.
Dr. Sakurai had never imagined the other party would brazenly open fire to kill!
Even after managing to evade the first two shots through battlefield experience and a bit of luck, she was struck by the last two bullets.
Blood gushed out, staining her white coat crimson.
Dr. Sakurai immediately collapsed.
It was only then that the recovered Yamamoto realized what he had done.
Fortunately, the handgun and ammunition were specialized for assassination and didn't make too much noise, so they shouldn't attract the attention of people outside or in the next room.
Dr. Yamamoto quickly stepped forward, dragged Dr. Sakurai away from the doorway, and hid her under the bed. Ignoring the blood covering the floor, he carefully stepped over the pool of blood and fled the room...
After asking for directions along the way, Lin Wuming finally found the room where he was temporarily staying.
"I didn't realize I had a poor sense of direction..." Lin Wuming was still worried that he might be mistakenly entering someone else's room as he pushed the door open.
However, the first thing that met his eyes was a floor covered in crimson, and the metallic stench of blood mixed with the smell of disinfectant.
He no longer had the time to worry about whether this was his room. Following the trail of blood, Lin Wuming's gaze fell upon a body hidden beneath his bed.
The killer—if this was a murder—had been very careless in hiding the body, perhaps due to panic? More than half the body was exposed, not completely pushed under the bed.
Speaking of which, a hospital bed wasn't exactly an ideal hiding spot anyway.
The victim's fingers, lying in the pool of blood, twitched slightly. Lin Wuming caught this detail and immediately realized the person was still alive!
Ignoring everything else, he used his psychic power to push his wheelchair right over the blood on the floor, making the mess even worse, while simultaneously using his psychic power to lift the hospital bed away.
"Dr. Sakurai!" Lin Wuming instantly recognized the victim's identity by her highly distinctive figure.
—Why would the doctor be attacked in my room?
Lin Wuming was shocked, but this was no time to dwell on such matters.
He immediately used his psychic power to press the emergency call button by the bed and rushed forward to check Dr. Sakurai's injuries.
Lin Wuming didn't know first aid, but he knew the basic principle of applying pressure to stop bleeding—whatever else, he couldn't let her continue to bleed like this!
Most of her white coat was soaked in blood, so Lin Wuming ripped open Dr. Sakurai's clothing to find the wounds.
Just then, he heard the sound of breaking glass; simultaneously, in Lin Wuming's perception, the flow of time around him slowed down.
—He had once again entered the "Bullet Time" state, which he'd experienced during his near-death fall.
Then, Lin Wuming indeed saw the attack that threatened his life—a blonde, green-eyed girl crashed through the window, holding a slender sword and thrusting straight at him!