Just at this critical moment—
"Knock, knock."
The sound of knocking rang out, and immediately the ward door was pushed open.
"Mr. Amamiya, your breakf—"
The nurse, carrying a breakfast tray, stopped halfway through her sentence, paused by the heavy atmosphere in the ward and the four uninvited guests.
Hashimoto Ayaka and the other three quickly stood up, closing their mouths and returning to a normal standing posture. But the residual tension in the air and Amamiya Rin's face, pale as paper, made the nurse feel a hint of wrongness.
"Uh... do you have guests?" the nurse asked hesitantly.
Hashimoto Ayaka turned around, a social smile already hung back on her face.
"Yes, we are the drivers from the accident. We are discussing compensation matters with Mr. Amamiya."
Her tone was natural and fluid, as if nothing had happened just now. The other three also turned sideways in sync, revealing almost identical smiles to the nurse, their movements coordinated to a hair-raising degree.
Amamiya Rin gasped for air, cold sweat soaking the back of his patient gown. He stared dead at the four people, his heart still drumming madly.
(Just now... what on earth was that?!)
Although the nurse felt the atmosphere was strange, she didn't discover any specific abnormalities, so she said, "It's best if visiting hours don't affect the patient's rest. Mr. Amamiya just woke up and needs quiet recuperation."
"Yes, we are leaving right now."
Hashimoto Ayaka nodded readily, then turned her head to look at Amamiya Rin, saying with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Mr. Amamiya, we hope you will seriously consider our words again. We... will come to see you another day."
Having said that, the four filed out of the room door, not forgetting to nod politely when brushing past the nurse.
The door closed gently. The nurse placed the breakfast on the bedside cabinet, watched the four women leave, then turned back, looking at Amamiya Rin with concern. "Mr. Amamiya, are you alright? Your complexion looks very bad."
Amamiya Rin opened his mouth, wanting to speak of the terrifying scene just now, but swallowed the words back when they reached his lips.
(If I say it... will anyone believe it? Things like tentacles inside a human mouth...)
He ultimately just shook his head.
"No... it's nothing, just a bit tired."
Although the nurse still had doubts, seeing he didn't wish to say more, she couldn't well ask further. After helping feed Amamiya Rin breakfast, she packed up and left.
The Hospital Ward was left with only Amamiya Rin again.
Lying his exhausted body on the hospital bed, Amamiya Rin couldn't help but think of those four women just now.
"Yōkai? Or do they have superpowers?"
Amamiya Rin's expression was grave. He might have seen wrong, but there was definitely a problem with those four women, and there was a problem with this world too! And, he could be certain, those four women would definitely come knocking again. At that time, it wouldn't be as light as today.
(What to do? Compromise? Just 10 million in compensation, treat it as money to buy my life...)
Amamiya Rin gritted his teeth, wanting to compromise, yet feeling unwilling. Moreover, those four women had already exposed themselves in front of him. Now it wasn't a question of whether he was willing to compromise, but whether they were willing to let the matter rest.
Being silenced! This was the worst possibility!
Amamiya Rin was never willing to pin his hopes on the benevolence of others; he had to consider this worst-case possibility.
(But, what can I do if I don't compromise?)
He was currently a patient who couldn't even get off the bed properly, while the opposition was four adult women suspected of having special powers. Going head-to-head was absolutely a dead end.
(Golden Finger... what use is my Golden Finger exactly?)
That long and clear Nightmare surfaced in Amamiya Rin's mind again. A month of exam prep experience—the knowledge points were remembered clearly, but could this stuff be used to fight? Could it be next time they come, he performs solving calculus for them on the spot? He'd probably be beaten to death right there.
(No, calm down...)
Amamiya Rin forced himself to take deep breaths, letting his brain think normally.
(Don't scare yourself. Being scared away by a nurse proves the four of them lack the power to insta-kill me, and their abilities don't possess overly strong concealment. I am a reincarnator with a Golden Finger after all; there's no reason to be stumped by such mini-bosses!)
(As long as a nurse is present every time they visit, I don't need to worry about being attacked. During this week where I can't move, if I can hone a killing move in the Dream World, the success rate of a counter-kill by catching them off guard definitely won't be zero.)
(Even stealing some hospital drugs, utilizing high school knowledge points to manufacture lethal weapons, I wouldn't be without the power to resist.)
Anxiety gnawed at Amamiya Rin's heart like snake fangs. The intense sense of crisis forced him not to be as lax as yesterday.
(Rehab training, I must increase the intensity!)
During the day's rehabilitation training, Amamiya Rin was even more diligent than the day before.
"Mr. Amamiya, please don't be so anxious. Recovery needs to proceed step by step."
Looking at Amamiya Rin, who was sweating profusely and gritting his teeth to persist, the nurse advised with some worry.
"It doesn't matter... I want to get better sooner."
Amamiya Rin answered panting, trying hard to lift his leg higher. When the training ended, Amamiya Rin was tired to the point of near collapse, and physical exhaustion could also make it easier for Amamiya Rin to fall asleep.
Night fell again.
The lights in the hospital corridor became dim, and human voices gradually became scarce. Lying alone on the hospital bed, the day's fatigue swallowed his limbs. Gradually, Amamiya Rin's consciousness blurred again, sinking into the chaotic dreamscape.
For a moment, only Amamiya Rin's even but slightly exhausted breathing remained in the ward. Moonlight cast a bright band of light on the floor through the gap in the curtains.
In the dead of night, the Hospital Ward's door was silently pushed open.
Four slender figures glided into the room like ghosts, their movements coordinated without a single superfluous sound. The moonlight shone on their faces, reflecting countenances sufficient to make Amamiya Rin's scalp tingle, because those four were precisely Hashimoto Ayaka, Mikami Yui, Hatano Yua, and Momonogi Kana.
Amamiya Rin could never have imagined that Hashimoto Ayaka and the others' retaliation would come so quickly! This was simply not giving him time to develop! Making enemies during the day, wiping out the enemy that same day!
Decisive in killing to this degree—if the old ancestors in cultivation worlds were this decisive, not a single protagonist would have the chance to rise.
The four women had no expression on their faces, their eyes indifferent. They approached the hospital bed step by step, standing separately on both sides of the head of the bed.
"Stingy man. If you were a bit more generous, we wouldn't have needed to do this."
The four women lowered their heads, eyes pale white, looking at the sleeping Amamiya Rin with an indifferent and disgusted gaze. Their cherry lips opened slightly. The next moment, dozens of tentacles as thin as IV tubes slid silently out of their mouths.
Those tentacles glistened with wet watery light, the needle-point cold glint flickering at the ends. They twisted slowly like living things, weaving together into a bundle, connecting the four into a weird whole.
The shape of the tentacles was originally a common image in hospitals, but drilling out of human mouths in such a way that violated common sense appeared exceptionally horrifying. They vibrated slightly in the air as if possessing autonomous consciousness.
Subsequently, these tentacles surged toward Amamiya Rin's mouth in unison, drilling into the interior of Amamiya Rin's oral cavity. The needle points accurately pierced into his tongue, upper palate, tongue root, and other parts.
____
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