American homeless people, surviving in the city

Chapter 166 Nightmares

Dr. Su Leiya's response was reasonable and well-founded, but that's not what Lin Qi wanted to hear right now. He knew his body wasn't fully recovered, but he was more afraid that something even more dangerous might happen while he was waiting to recover.

So he tentatively asked, "...Can I only rest in the hospital? Actually, I feel almost fully recovered these past few days, so it would be okay to go out and recover slowly, right?"

Dr. Su Leia looked up at Lin Qi seriously: "Theoretically, it's possible, but only theoretically. It's like how humans can theoretically eat raw meat and drink untreated water, like primitive humans. But if they did that, it's hard to say how many years they could live."

"Mr. Lynch, I know you may be a little anxious lying in the hospital room, but I have to think about your health. If you are discharged now, what if you accidentally encounter some accident that affects the healing of your bones and causes your ribs to grow crooked?"

What if your weakened immune system leads to increased inflammation, causing pathogens to spread to your bloodstream and internal organs?

"You'll suffer lifelong health problems, and it will be too late for you to regret it. So please heed my advice: it's too early for you to be discharged from the hospital."

The tall Eastern European woman spoke gently but earnestly, her words revealing her concern for Lin Qi, leaving him speechless.

Seeing that the other person was considering his feelings, he couldn't be too forceful, so he reluctantly nodded: "...Alright, I'll do as you say, doctor, and stay here for another two days. But please let me know as soon as I'm feeling better."

"That will be the case." Dr. Su Leiya nodded in satisfaction.

She took care of some miscellaneous tasks in the ward, then called over the nurse on duty to give her some instructions regarding Lin Qi's IV infusion that evening, before leaving the ward.

The night grew deeper.

Just like many days and nights before, Lynch ate dinner in his hospital bed, watched some TV for a while to pass the time, and then turned off the lights around ten o'clock to prepare for rest.

The lights in the ward were dimmed, leaving only the faint green glow of the monitor. Because he would be receiving an IV drip that night, he rested one hand on the armrest of the bed while lying comfortably in the blankets.

Lin Qi lay on the bed, his breathing gradually becoming even. Although a faint unease still lingered in his heart, as the night deepened, his body, which desperately needed to recover, yearned for sleep, causing his consciousness to gradually fade.

Before he knew it, he had fallen into a deep sleep.

However, perhaps because he had something on his mind, Lin Qi didn't sleep well. He could feel that he had fallen asleep, but it was as if he was still awake, his eyes half-open and half-closed, as if he could still see the scene in the ward in his dream. At the same time, bizarre and fantastical dreams were playing out repeatedly in his mind.

After an unknown amount of time, half-asleep and half-awake, Lin Qi suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis rise up from his spine!

A sense of crisis instantly jolted him awake from his dream. The sense of crisis was coming from his left front, and the intensity of the crisis was extremely strong. It instantly dispelled Lin Qi's sleepiness. The stimulation was like being suddenly pierced by a cold needle in a dream.

Lin Qi suddenly opened his eyes.

The moment he awoke, the ward was still quiet as usual, with only the faint sounds of the medical equipment. In the dim light, Lin Qi seemed to see a blurry figure standing beside his bed.

In the shadows of the ward, the person was a complete black shadow, and Lin Qi could not make out any details of his appearance.

The figure moved softly and stealthily. The moment Lin Qi opened his eyes, he saw the figure reaching out towards the IV bag that was being used to administer the IV.

What happened? Did the nurse come to change my IV bag?

Although he had been awakened, Lin Qi's consciousness was not clear enough for the time being; he was still in a daze and unable to think calmly.

But as the scene before him gradually became clearer, Lin Qi was shocked to see that the figure was holding a thin syringe in his hand, and the needle was already aimed at his IV bag!

Combined with that intense sense of crisis, Lin Qi instinctively made a judgment: regardless of who the figure in front of him was...

Who is he? His actions must be malicious!

A sense of crisis made Lin Qi's heart clench. In the dead of night, he almost instinctively shouted, "Who is it?!"

The figure moved at the sound, trembling violently, clearly startled, and almost dropped the syringe in its hand.

Upon hearing Lin Qi's roar, he didn't hesitate at all, turned around and ran wildly towards the ward door, his movements so swift that they were completely unlike those of a medical worker.

The ward door was suddenly pushed open, slammed against the wall with a loud bang, and then slammed shut with another loud bang as it bounced back.

The black figure burst out of the ward between the two loud bangs and disappeared from Lin Qi's sight.

Seeing that the other person was about to escape, Lin Qi struggled to sit up, but the pain in his shoulder and ribs, along with the IV needle in his hand, prevented him from getting up. He decisively changed his strategy, frantically pressing the call button by the bedside while shouting hoarsely, "Help! Help!! Someone's broken in!"

After a few seconds of his frantic ringing of the doorbell, the night shift nurse rushed in, panting, and asked, "Mr. Lynch, what's wrong? What happened?"

Lin Qi, panting heavily, pointed towards the door: "Just now! Someone sneaked into the ward! He was just standing here... next to my IV stand, holding a syringe... Someone's trying to harm me!"

He glared at the nurse, his voice trembling slightly, partly from the shock of surviving the ordeal, and partly from anger: "...Where were you just now? Did you just come in? Did you see that person?!"

The young nurse looked blank and shook her head: "I was sitting at the nurses' station the whole time, right outside your room... I didn't doze off, and I didn't see anyone go in or out of your room..."

Did you have a nightmare?

Lin Qi didn't answer; instead, he looked at the nurse with suspicion.

This nurse was someone he was quite familiar with at the medical center. Occasionally another nurse would switch shifts with her, but most of the time she was responsible for taking care of Lin Qi's daily life in the ward and handling all sorts of trivial matters.

During the time Lin Qi was unable to get out of bed, she did all the work of cleaning up after him, including taking care of his bodily functions.

After spending some time with the young nurse, Lin Qi had developed a high level of trust in her professional ethics and skills. Therefore, while it wasn't entirely impossible that she would doze off at the nurses' station, it was unlikely.

But she actually said she didn't see anyone enter or leave the ward?

Lynch couldn't even imagine the possibility of this happening.

Is she lying? Why?

Just as Lin Qi was hesitating and wanted to ask a few more questions, Dr. Su Leiya arrived with two security guards after hearing the news.