In the darkness, a smell of disinfectant pierced into his nostrils. Stimulated by this odor, Sun Hang's eye twitched twice as he slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing that came into view was a rectangular ceiling light fixture. The pale cold-tone light appeared lifeless, but fortunately, the frosted glass cover made the light seem less glaring.
"This place...is...where? I..." Sun Hang tried to recall what happened before he lost consciousness, but a stabbing pain deep in his brain immediately made him give up on thinking.
"Mr. Sun, you're awake?" A young female voice sounded beside him. Sun Hang turned his head and found it was a young nurse in a pink uniform skirt, holding a clipboard, "I have good news for you, your surgery was very successful."
Surgery? Very successful?
Sun Hang hesitated for a moment, instinctively moving his right hand, which was under the blanket, towards his legs.
Thankfully, what should be there was still there.
"I... why... am I here? What happened to me? What... surgery?" He said with some effort, his voice extremely hoarse and raw, sounding like a man in his fifties or sixties.
Sun Hang realized that, aside from his name, he remembered nothing.
"Temporary amnesia is a very common side effect, considering your brain suffered a severe trauma." Another male voice came from behind him. Sun Hang turned his head to the other side—a doctor in a white coat, most of his face covered by a mask, and the rest obscured by a large-black-framed pair of glasses.
"Severe...trauma? What happened to me?"
"Not long ago, in a mysterious assault incident, a stray bullet hit your head," the male doctor said. "Fortunately, the hard skull changed the bullet's direction, sparing you from a fatal injury. The bullet has been removed, and you're out of danger; all you need is to calmly recuperate. As for the amnesia, it's just temporary; after some time resting, you'll gradually recover your memories."
"Mysterious assault incident? Stray bullet?" The amount of information in the brief explanation by the male doctor could be described as "explosive," making Sun Hang feel like his head hurt even more.
"Forty-eight hours later, you'll have your first dressing change. Pay attention to any potential postoperative complications," the male doctor told the nurse on the opposite side of the bed, instead of answering more of Sun Hang's questions. "Notify the duty doctor immediately if any vital signs become abnormal."
"Understood, Director," the young nurse nodded.
The two quickly left, leaving Sun Hang alone on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling light.
For some reason, Sun Hang felt that the pale light was a bit too cold.
"It would be great if it were a warm light," he thought.
In a daze, the pale cool light suddenly turned into a warm yellow light, and then all the lights in the ward began to flicker violently. The next second, all the lights suddenly went out, leaving only the emergency light panel at the wall's base emitting a faint green glow.
"What's going on? Was there a power outage?" The nurse's voice came from the hallway outside the hospital room... it seemed the blackout affected more than just Sun Hang's room—the hallway outside was also plunged into darkness.
"I don't know; the nurse's station has already called the electrician," another nurse replied.
Meanwhile, Sun Hang lying in the hospital bed was deeply shocked and doubtful.
Was the change in lights and the blackout caused by the thought that had just popped into his mind, or was it mere coincidence?
But as Sun Hang wanted to think carefully, a stabbing pain deep in his brain struck again, shattering his willpower. He lay back in the hospital bed, staring blankly at the dark ceiling, taking deep breaths.
Had the power not gone out now, the machines by the bedside monitoring Sun Hang's heart rate and blood pressure would have already been sounding continual alarms.
"What's going on... what on earth is happening..." Sun Hang's chest heaved violently. He tried to sit up from the bed, but his limbs twitched uncontrollably.
His eyes widened, and instinctively he wanted to call out for help, but his throat felt as if it were clamped shut, unable to produce a sound.
Like drowning, the suffocating feeling pulled his consciousness into the depths of an abyss. Just when Sun Hang thought he was about to black out again, all the abnormalities suddenly ceased, his racing heart rate gradually calmed, and control over his body returned to him.
"Pop."
The lights turned on, and everything in the ward returned to normal. A medical trolley passed by the hospital room door; Sun Hang could faintly hear the sound of rubber wheels rubbing against the floor, the soft clink of ampoules and plastic stands, and nurses softly complaining about the sudden power outage.
Amid these subtle yet noisy sounds, a clear clacking of high heels against the floor emerged, coming closer. Finally, it stopped at the door of Sun Hang's hospital room.
The owner of the high heels pushed open the door and walked in.
"Hello, Mr. Sun." This was a tall woman in a black suit and black trousers, with the buttons of her white shirt fastened up to the top. Her exquisitely made-up face showed no expression.
"I apologize for disturbing you when you most need rest, but I must promptly discuss some things with you." She pulled over a chair from the side and sat by the hospital bed.
"Who are you...?" Sun Hang instinctively asked, glancing at the bronze badge on the left side of her chest symbolizing her identity as a government official.
Though Sun Hang had lost his memory, these common pieces of knowledge hadn't been erased from his mind.
"I am the person responsible for handling the aftermath of the mysterious assault incident," she began, "In this assault incident, the entire block was turned to rubble, with more than a hundred fatalities. Including you, only six survivors made it out alive."
Sun Hang said nothing, quietly waiting for her to continue.
"For humanitarian reasons, we promptly rescued the survivors, including you, and advanced all expenses..." She paused before continuing, "However, apart from your name, we found no items on the scene that could verify your identity, nor could your DNA be matched with any existing profiles in the citizens' database. No tax records, no insurance contributions, and no work history..."
"I've lost my memory..." Sun Hang frowned slightly, detecting an insinuation in her words.
The situation didn't seem very favorable.
"I understand you've lost your memory, but based on the information we currently have, we can only temporarily classify you as either a stateless individual or a migrant from another city-state," she said coolly. "Our state has no obligation to provide you with free aid services, including your surgery costs, which will all be listed as debt under your name."
This person seems to have come to settle scores.
Sun Hang took a deep breath and asked, "How much do I owe you?"
"So far, the total is three million eight hundred ninety thousand six hundred twenty-seven yuan."
"So much?" Sun Hang frowned slightly. He clearly remembered this era's currency purchasing power—for the average person, a million could definitely be considered a fortune, and in his current penniless state, repaying this debt seemed almost impossible.
Unless his pre-amnesia identity was a wealthy heir.
"Since you don't have citizenship and medical insurance, all expenses are fully charged without discounts," her voice was icy, devoid of a trace of emotion. "Every bullet, every drop of gasoline, and every surgical knife blade used to save you must be fully borne by you."
"What if I can't pay this debt?" Sun Hang squinted his eyes.
With a debt nearing four million, he definitely couldn't produce the money... He had no money, and he didn't really want to give his life either.
"That's the main purpose of my visit." She retrieved a tablet from her briefcase. "All you need to do is sign this employment contract, and work off the debt. Once you've completed the required number of tasks, our state will exempt you from the entire debt and any interest accumulated from it, and grant you legal citizenship."
"A slave contract?" Sun Hang paused, instinctively blurting out.