Over the past three years, Old Octopus rarely mentioned his past.
In Lu Xun's eyes, the old man was a strange person.
Many of his actions were incomprehensible.
He was truly curious about what would make a man, who loved money as much as his life, who was cold and selfish, risk his life for an insignificant pendant?
Even at the last moment of his life, he showed no sign of regret.
Instead, he tightly held the pendant with a sense of mission accomplished relief.
This aroused Lu Xun's desire to explore.
The world of memory was magical, a false space-time constructed by "thoughts," where thoughts moved quickly; spending several years there might only equate to a few seconds in the real world.
Therefore, he directly traced the footage back more than 30 years.
...
That year, Old Octopus worked at the largest prosthetic hospital in the Inner City District.
No, he hadn't yet had the mechanical arm at the time, nor the nickname "Old Octopus."
He was called Lin Sheng, who became the chief surgeon at a young age, with fame and fortune envied by many.
At a surgical seminar, the dean gathered everyone to discuss a proposal for a special surgery.
The patient was a four-year-old boy.
Although the law prohibited minors and middle school students from receiving prosthetic implants or enhancement needles, there was an exception.
If the patient's condition was critical, or they were disabled and required prosthetics to survive or carry out daily activities, surgery could be performed as an exception.
The little boy had congenital heart disease with heart pump failure, urgently needing a mechanical heart replacement.
This task was too tricky, so after discussions among several leaders, it was decided to have Lin Sheng as the chief surgeon.
...
"Is this the medical accident that cost Old Octopus his license?" Lu Xun couldn't help but frown.
He moved the timeline forward.
The night before the surgery.
Lin Sheng had already formulated the surgery plan, confident it wouldn't fail.
After a good rest, he confidently walked into the operating room the next day.
Unfortunately, the surgery encountered a minor mishap, resulting in the boy dying on the operating table.
Originally, this was just a normal medical accident, but to Lin Sheng, it was a heavy blow.
He couldn't accept his failure, nor could he accept the boy's death.
He felt like a murderer!
Plunged into deep self-blame and guilt.
But this was only the beginning.
The boy's death acted like a fuse, triggering a series of tragedies!
First, the boy's mother, overwhelmed with grief, developed depression and jumped to her death.
Then, the child's father, devastated by the loss of his wife and child, also fell into mental disorder, developed bipolar disorder; one night, he assaulted a pedestrian without reason, was sentenced to three months in prison, and committed suicide in jail.
A failed operation killed a family of three.
This incident became Lin Sheng's inner demon and nightmare.
The three wronged souls would haunt him for life, never letting him find peace.
Moreover, the matter blew up, made it to the news, and under public pressure, the hospital had to revoke Lin Sheng's medical license to appease the public.
With his reputation destroyed, he was condemned by thousands, shunned everywhere he went.
Soon after, Lin Sheng also became depressed... severely depressed.
When he was about to commit suicide, something unexpected happened.
He received word that the little boy had a twin brother.
This family wasn't completely wiped out!
Lin Sheng suddenly found the motivation to live.
He asked a friend to adopt the orphan and worked hard, sending all his earnings to his friend for the child's upbringing.
Out of guilt, he never dared to visit the child, only silently contributing and atoning.
Time flew by, and decades passed in the blink of an eye.
The orphan had grown up and had a happy family.
Three years ago, he responded to the call and joined the Rift Exploration Team in Jinghai City, was infected by Medusa Poison, and became a cripple...
Old Octopus was anxious to make money to save him, so he took up the surgical scalpel he hadn't touched in a long time.
...
"Damn!"
Lu Xun couldn't help but curse.
He felt his brain cells die instantly!
His uncle had once said that in that rift exploration operation back then, many people were infected by Medusa Poison, and today, only two are still alive.
Besides his uncle, the other patient... turned out to be the orphan adopted by Old Octopus's friend?!
Is this a coincidence?
No!
Old Octopus knew everything but chose to keep it hidden.
Everything was connected!
Three years ago, Lu Xun accidentally discovered the existence of the underground clinic.
At that time, Old Octopus's underground clinic had just opened, and he needed a surgical assistant.
Lu Xun was only 14, a young boy, when he first came to learn he was kicked out.
Old Octopus had no intention of taking apprentices at all.
But Lu Xun insisted on becoming a prosthetic doctor and making a lot of money, so reluctantly Old Octopus asked him the reason.
Lu Xun told him about his uncle's situation. After a few seconds of silence, he inexplicably agreed.
Looking back now, Old Octopus must have linked this to the orphan's situation.
Both participated in that operation, were infected by Medusa Poison, were in critical condition, and needed 200,000 every month to stay alive.
Out of sympathy, that's why he accepted Lu Xun.
This also explains why Old Octopus was so money-oriented.
And previously when discussing profit-sharing, he wouldn't give up even ten percent.
Because Lu Xun's uncle and Old Octopus's "debt holder," both needed sixty million as life-saving money!
...
Buzz~
His consciousness returned.
Lu Xun was back in the bedroom.
At his feet, Old Octopus's corpse was already cold, with bright red blood staining the floor.
His eyes carried a hint of complexity.
Old Octopus thought of himself as a sinner!
This became his obsession.
For this, he spent his life atoning, never marrying, living frugally...
The pendant that never left him was not Old Octopus's cherished possession but the life of a family of three!
He gazed at the photo in the pendant each day, not to commemorate the deceased, but as a constant reminder to himself: For the rest of his days, never forget to atone!
Regarding the tragic life of the old man, Lu Xun didn't know how to judge.
After all, the man was dead, what's there to say?
He rummaged through the bedroom and quickly found five Black Gold bars and over ten million in cash in a refrigerator.
"So, you didn't take the money on the plane. Asking me to mail old furniture to an acquaintance was just an excuse; the actual intent was to send it to your... atonement target?"
"Why not just say it directly? So roundabout, were you really afraid I'd pocket your money?"
Lu Xun glanced at the body and couldn't help but sigh:
"You died cleanly but left a mess for me to sort out! Damn it!"
He said a few words of irritation.
Then he found a large travel bag and packed it with cash and Black Gold bars from the refrigerator.
He pulled out a note and looked at it—
Old furniture: Refrigerator
Shipping address: Room 302, Building 5, Shuiyunjian District 17
Recipient: Li Zhongxian
Contact: ****
...
The other furniture didn't need bothering with.
On the entire list, only this refrigerator needed shipping.
But Lu Xun was in no mood now to help him handle these matters.
He wasn't even out of danger himself!
The urgent matter was to retrieve Old Octopus's brain from the men in black.
He dialed Wuer's phone—
"Hey Brother Lu, how's the situation? If it's tough, I'll come over, the worst is getting sent back, no big deal, I'll back you!"
"I've met the killer. Da Gu, find a safe place, holographic projection to me, and just teach me the method and spell for arranging the ritual."
"Alright, give me a moment, I'll teach you in minutes!"
...
Having an Undead Race deskmate is really great!