Do you think this world is serious?

Seeing Angelia Shaniat trying to argue like a cat with its fur standing on end, Cecilia Shaniat couldn't help but smile sweetly.

“Angelia, don’t worry, Chen Xiuming will wake up tomorrow.”

"Uh-huh!"

Angela Shaniat nodded happily, then, as if she had thought of something, asked in surprise, "My brother-in-law has just recovered from a serious illness and can't eat ice cream, so does that mean his ice cream feast is mine?"

"No way, Angelia, you'll get sick if you eat so much ice cream."

"Eh? Cecilia, please, please~"

Angelia Shaniat stared at Cecilia Shaniat with feigned pitifulness.

Cecilia Shaniat smiled helplessly and said, "You're not allowed to have two ice cream feasts, but you're allowed to have one extra ice cream."

"Wow, Cecilia is so nice!"

20. Cecilia's Feeding

A strong sense of weightlessness enveloped Chen Xiuming's body, yet it was also like an invisible hand dragging him into a deep, viscous darkness.

The feeling of suffocation was like the death hand gripping his throat, making it hard for him to breathe, but not dangerous enough to kill him.

Chen Xiuming tried to open his eyes, but found that his eyelids felt like they were filled with lead, so heavy that he could only open them a crack.

Even a tiny crack was enough for him to glimpse the world before him.

—This is a dark world, like a deep, dark sea.

At the edge of the line of sight lay a massive corpse whose shape was difficult to discern.

Even though he could only make out a blurry outline of a shadow, Chen Xiuming was inexplicably certain that it was a corpse.

Before Chen Xiuming could figure it out, he heard the sound of surging waves and a wonderful, ethereal song that seemed very distant.

"I gaze at the sky through the starlight, so high and distant compared to Earth?"

"I've divided the sea, and await my guests with the uninteresting wind."

"Look! A subtle visitor, welcome to my abode!"

The ballad was sung in a language Chen Xiuming had never heard of before, yet he could inexplicably understand its meaning directly.

This song sounds so familiar...

Chen Xiuming was certain that he had heard this song before he time-traveled, or at least heard its melody or accompaniment.

Just as he was trying to search through his memories to find the exact fragments, the song abruptly stopped and was replaced by an ethereal female voice.

"Oh dear~ It seems there are more lost humans... Wait, they're not lost humans after all?"

"Hmm? I see... Has this day finally come?"

“Let’s go back—it’s not time for us to meet again yet, but that day isn’t far off.”

As the ethereal female voice rang out, Chen Xiuming felt as if he were hearing indescribable and terrifying ramblings. Although he understood the specific meaning, his consciousness inevitably became somewhat dazed.

In a daze, the enormous corpse, whose shape was difficult to discern, quietly shed its veil of mystery, allowing Chen Xiuming to glimpse its true face.

It was a monster that resembled a ray, but it was already torn to pieces.

In the center of the largest piece of corpse, a huge, indistinct spear emitted a dim light, appearing both sacred and eerie.

At the same time, the ethereal female voice rang out again, but Chen Xiuming felt the weightlessness suddenly disappear, and a strong sense of falling swept over him, causing the strange scene in front of him and the ethereal female voice in his ears to disappear.

"It seems she's been sleeping for quite a while this time, and I don't know how much longer she can stay alive—my beloved Kiana, you really went all out."

"But... you're finally going to be free, my beloved Kiana."

"It's just a pity that I might not be able to see that scene..."

The ethereal female voice gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

The shattered remains once again covered the unknown veil, and the tranquil darkness once more devoured the dark depths of the sea.

The ethereal ballads, however, resounded again as the ethereal female voice disappeared, as if singing of the deeds of an indescribable great being, or as if tempting lost souls to embrace the indescribable great being.

……

The strong smell of disinfectant filled Chen Xiuming's nostrils, stimulating his nerves and pulling him back to reality from his drowsy nightmare.

Looking at the unfamiliar ceiling, Chen Xiuming couldn't help but utter a classic line from Japanese anime.

"Unfamiliar ceiling..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Xiuming tried to sit up, but found himself weak and powerless, even weaker than when he had handed over "public grain" five times in a row.

However, the penetrating wound in the lower abdomen was not very painful, and it didn't even look like a penetrating wound in the lower abdomen.

After a few seconds of groggy thinking, Chen Xiuming realized the reason: he must have been treated by Cecilia Shaniat.

Since he was too weak to prop himself up, he simply gave up and stared blankly at the unfamiliar hospital ceiling, his gaze somewhat lost in thought.

"Was it just a bizarre dream, or was it real...?" Chen Xiuming murmured to himself.

After waking up, his memory of the "dream" became very vague, with only the mangled skeleton of the ray remaining in his mind, much like an ordinary nightmare.

That's why he wondered if it was all a dream.

Chen Xiuming's voice suddenly woke Cecilia Shaniat and Maria Shaniat, who were sleeping by the bedside, and they both looked up at Chen Xiuming.

Upon seeing that he had awakened, they were overjoyed.

"Honey, how are you feeling now? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"I feel pretty good now, but my whole body feels weak and my limbs feel powerless."

"You will recover after a period of recuperation."

Cecilia Shaniat breathed a sigh of relief, then asked gently, "Would you like something to eat now?"

"Hmm, I'm a little hungry."

"I feed you."

Cecilia Shaniat tore open the bread packaging, broke off a small piece, and held it to Chen Xiuming's lips. "Darling, open your mouth—ah~"

As Chen Xiuming watched Cecilia Schariac make onomatopoeic sounds as if coaxing a child, he felt a strong sense of déjà vu as he opened his mouth to accept her feeding, and couldn't help but look for Angelia Schariac's figure.

Angela Shaniat had done something similar before, but back then she fed him ice cream.

Then he saw Angelia Shaniat sitting in a chair, her head drooping, still half asleep.

"Cecilia, have you been staying by my side the whole time?"

"Yes, after all, we were just attacked, and we don't feel comfortable leaving you alone in the hospital."

Cecilia Schariac thought for a moment, then looked at Maria Schariac and said, "Maria, go to the doctor and buy a wheelchair."

Maria Shaniat was happy and delighted by Chen Xiuming's awakening, but she did not disturb Cecilia Shaniat and Chen Xiuming's conversation. She sat quietly on the other side of the hospital bed, seemingly lost in thought, occasionally glancing at Chen Xiuming.

Maria was startled when she suddenly heard Cecilia Shaniat call her name, and she quickly stood up.

"Sister Cecilia, why do we need to buy a wheelchair?"

“Chen Xiuming is very weak and has difficulty moving around, so a wheelchair will make it easier to move him around.”

"It's okay! I don't mind doing it behind my brother-in-law's back..."

Maria Shaniat hadn't finished speaking when she realized her mistake and quickly changed her words: "Sister Cecilia, I'll go right now!"

Then, Maria Shaniat rushed out of the ward, which woke Angela Shaniat.

"Hey? Brother-in-law, you're awake?"

Angela Shaniat opened her eyes groggily, saw that Chen Xiuming had woken up, and uttered a nonsensical sentence.

Cecilia Shaniat said with some exasperation, "Angelia, go wash your face and clear your head."

"Good~"

Angela Shaniat responded obediently, then staggered out of the ward.

In an instant, only Cecilia Shaniat and Chen Xiuming remained in the ward.

Cecilia Shaniat put down the half-eaten bread, stood up, moved closer to Chen Xiuming, and then gently kissed his lips.

A moment later, their lips parted.

Cecilia Shaniat pressed her forehead against Chen Xiuming's forehead, looking directly into his eyes.

"Honey, does your wound still hurt?"

"It still hurts a little, and I need my beautiful wife to soothe the pain with a loving kiss."

"Seriously."

"It won't hurt as long as you don't touch the wound."

"That's fine."

Cecilia Shaniat kissed Chen Xiuming again, but did not try to go any further. She quickly sat back down in her chair and continued to feed Chen Xiuming bread.

21. Discharge from the hospital and nightmares

After confirming Chen Xiuming's physical condition, Cecilia Shaniat suggested that he be discharged from the hospital.

The original plan was to send Chen Xiuming to the hospital to bandage his penetrating wound in his lower abdomen and to let him rest in the hospital ward for the night.

Chen Xiuming has now regained consciousness, and the wound on his lower abdomen is basically healed, so he decided to be discharged from the hospital and go check if the house is still habitable.

If the house is still habitable, then we'll make do and stay there for a month.

If it was no longer suitable to live there, the group decided to stay at the hotel for a while.

Cecilia Shaniat asked Maria Shaniat to buy a wheelchair so that it would be easier to push Chen Xiuming out of the hospital.

When transferring Chen Xiuming to the wheelchair, Maria Shaniat and Angelia Shaniat wanted to help, but when they saw Cecilia Shaniat easily lift Chen Xiuming, they realized that Cecilia Shaniat possessed strength far exceeding that of a normal person.

The wheelchair made a creaking sound when it moved, giving it a very cheap feel.

Cecilia Schariac pushed the wheelchair, while Maria Schariac and Angela Schariac sat on either side of Cecilia Schariac.

Even without Cecilia Shaniat's explicit reminder, Maria Shaniat had already begun looking for hotel rooms to ensure that she could check into a hotel directly once it was confirmed that the house was unsuitable.