Leaving the teahouse, Lu Feng and his cousin went to the county hospital, heading straight for his mom's ward.
He now had the 200,000 yuan his cousin and Brother Lin's group had pooled together, plus another 202,000 from selling the gold jewelry. He felt a lot more relieved.
Just as he reached the ward, he saw a doctor examining his mom. When the doctor saw him arrive, he immediately said, "Mr. Lu Feng, your mother's condition is rather poor. She needs to undergo a specialized balloon angioplasty. Fortunately, our hospital upgraded its equipment last year. Otherwise, we would have had to send her to a Grade-A Tertiary hospital in the city for this kind of surgery."
"As for the surgical fee, you need to be prepared. Because the equipment is expensive, this type of surgery also requires us to bring in a visiting expert. Plus, it's a special case condition not covered by medical insurance, and we need to order special imported medicine from the city. It will cost 500,000 yuan."
"Please pay the full amount first so we can make the arrangements. As for subsequent treatment, that will depend on the situation."
Lu Feng's brow furrowed at his words. He hadn't expected his mom's illness to be this complicated.
A special case condition wasn't a terminal illness, but since it wasn't covered by insurance and required special imported medicine, it could sometimes be more troublesome than a terminal illness.
In other words, the more than 400,000 yuan he had wasn't even enough for the surgery. And crucially, judging by what the doctor said, the follow-up treatment would likely cost another fortune.
No wonder they say vascular diseases are major, difficult-to-treat illnesses. It would be a huge blow even for a well-off family, let alone one like his.
He immediately looked at the gold shop in the game interface.
'I have to get all the Gold out of there.'
Yang Ming also frowned and said, "Doctor, can you give us a few more days?"
But the doctor's voice was firm. "I'm sorry, but it's hospital policy. The payment must be made before the surgery. This is a very complicated operation, and we have to bring in a visiting specialist to perform it. We can only apply for the special medication after the fee has been paid."
As modern society develops, the level of medical technology in hospitals is getting higher and higher, but some procedures still leave people feeling helpless!
Hearing the doctor, Yang Ming put a hand on Lu Feng's shoulder. "Xiaofeng, don't worry. You stay here and watch over Auntie. I'm going to a dealership to sell my car. That should be enough to pull together the surgery fee."
Without giving Lu Feng a chance to react, he gestured to Lu Lin, and the two of them left immediately.
After dropping out of high school, he had started following Lu Feng's father.
His uncle had treated him very well, and had even taken a knife for him once.
Although his uncle had died after falling into gambling, he had never forgotten his kindness.
Lu Feng watched his cousin's departing figure, his fists clenched tightly. In a society where even fathers and sons would turn on each other for money, people like him were a rare blessing.
Not long after Yang Ming left, a petite and pretty girl ran anxiously into the ward. She looked at Lu Feng and asked urgently, "Lu Feng, how is Auntie?"
Looking at the girl, a hint of tenderness surfaced in Lu Feng's eyes.
Fate had always been cruel to him in life, but it had been exceptionally kind to him in matters of the heart, allowing him to meet a girl who could bring warmth to his entire world.
Yang Qingxue wasn't a world-stunning beauty, nor did she have a bombshell figure, but she was exactly his type. He liked everything about her.
"Here, take this." Yang Qingxue took a card out of her small purse and handed it to Lu Feng. "There's 50,000 yuan in here that I've saved up. Use it for Auntie's treatment for now."
She knew about her boyfriend's family situation. Under the current circumstances, he must be under immense pressure. She just hoped she could share some of his burden.
"Qingxue, thank you!" Without another word, Lu Feng pulled Yang Qingxue into his arms.
He knew this was money his girlfriend had worked hard to save. She was studying to be a makeup artist and hoped to open her own small cosmetics shop after she graduated.
This money was likely everything she had saved up over several years, intended for opening her shop in the future.
He often wondered if Fate, after tormenting him so cruelly in life, was trying to compensate him by sending people who brought warmth to his world.
And so, he often chose to forgive Fate.
"Qingxue, please help watch my mom for a bit. I have to go take care of something," Lu Feng quickly said to Yang Qingxue before leaving the hospital, his mind already racing.
Since he could enter the game world of *After the Apocalypse*, he couldn't let himself be defeated by the difficulties before him.
After all, the Gold in that one jewelry store alone could be exchanged for millions, right?
Now, he had to figure out a way to get all that gold jewelry out.
After leaving the hospital, Lu Feng went straight back to the steel mill where he worked.
The steel mill had a specialized steel shaping machine that could shape and polish steel. He planned to make a simple steel blade.
In the game, the jewelry store was swarming with so many zombies. He had to take care of all of them before he could get the gold out.
Anyone who had seen movies or TV shows knew that with zombies, you had to destroy their heads. Otherwise, they could survive even if you chopped off their limbs or cut them in two.
A regular knife wouldn't work for chopping zombies; its edge would dull after just a few hits. He needed a heavy, durable steel blade.
Besides, *After the Apocalypse* wasn't just this one jewelry store; it was an entire world.
On top of that, he needed body protection. Otherwise, if he got injured by a zombie, he was afraid he'd be stuck in the game world forever.
When Lu Feng arrived at the steel mill, it was lunch break. No one was in the workshop, so he took the opportunity to go to a machine, find a piece of scrap steel, and begin shaping it.
He had operated this machine for two years and was completely proficient with it. Before long, the rough shape of a steel blade was born in his hands.
Next, he began to hone the steel blade.
Finally, a 1.2-meter-long steel blade emerged from the machine. He had even ground a spiral pattern into the handle area so that once it was wrapped with cloth strips, it wouldn't slip from his grip.
Lu Feng finished forging the blade, then found some foam paper to wrap and camouflage it, and carried it straight out of the factory.
After that, he headed straight for a military surplus store.
Although the military camouflage sold in the store wasn't genuine army gear, it was still very durable. If he wore a couple of extra layers underneath, along with leather gloves and a helmet, he could at least maintain a basic level of safety when entering the game world.
Then, he hurried back to his rented apartment. The factory actually provided him with a dorm, shared with several other guys, but now that he had a girlfriend, living in the dorm was out of the question. Otherwise, it would be inconvenient whenever he went on a date with Yang Qingxue and wanted to... do things.
Back in his rented apartment, he took out the steel blade. He had honed the edge until it was razor-sharp, and it emanated a cold gleam.
He immediately found some cloth strips and wrapped the handle of the blade to make it easier to use.
Next, he began to put on the camouflage fatigues and other protective gear he had bought, making sure everything was secure. Then, he looked at the game world on the luminous screen in his mind and, with a single thought, vanished from the apartment.
The next moment, Lu Feng appeared inside the jewelry store in the game world. The stench of decay immediately assaulted his nostrils, jarring his nerves.
Raspy hisses reached his ears, and then a zombie with a rotting head noticed him and lunged.
Lu Feng didn't hesitate, swinging the blade directly at the zombie's head.
Due to his profession, he was stronger than the average person. Combined with the sharp edge, the steel blade cleaved directly into the zombie's skull. He yanked the blade free, and the zombie collapsed to the ground.
[Congratulations! You have killed a zombie and earned 5 EXP!]
He immediately swung a second time, striking another zombie. He succeeded again, felling the second zombie to the ground.
[Congratulations! You have killed a zombie and earned 5 EXP!]
With two zombies down, the others reacted, lunging madly at Lu Feng. He hurriedly swung his steel blade and killed another one.
By this point, the zombies had basically surrounded him. He didn't want to fight them head-on—and there was no need to. With another thought, he chose to exit the game!
[Decontamination complete!]
In the next instant, he reappeared in his apartment.
Even with protective gear, it would be foolish to fight these zombies head-on. When you can exploit a bug, the right way is to slowly and safely wear them down.
On the game screen, the lunging zombies hit empty air. They seemed to be suddenly stunned and, having no intelligence, simply stood frozen in place.