I Will Teach You How to Hunt Gods

Chapter 712 - 18: The Surgery Begins (4,100 Words)

"Akas..."

Upon hearing this familiar name, the man’s movements halted, his hand stopping midway while closing the window. His eyes immediately filled with uncertainty and even a hint of murderous intent.

But soon, as he noticed Lamia beside Yun You, this wariness vanished instantly, replaced by a touch of astonishment.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment. Only the sound of condensation dripping overhead, "滴嗒."

The man’s abrupt breathing echoed in the confined space; he swayed slightly, blocking the door gap, grabbing the cold door frame to barely stand firm.

"Who?"

His voice was terribly parched.

"You said... who?"

"Akas."

Yun You stared directly at the stormy waves in his eyes, yet spoke with a remarkably calm tone.

"I am Yun You, one of Jin’s students."

"He... he left, and before he left, he left a letter asking me to bring Lamia to see you."

"Jing..."

Akas murmured the name repeatedly, the blood drained completely from his sallow face, leaving only an almost ashen pallor. His fingers trembled from exertion as they clutched the door frame.

"Left?"

He repeated, his voice as light as a feather.

Previously, Jin had come to see him. At that time, the old man’s condition was very poor, his body aging rapidly, though he masked it with the usual accumulated authority.

Jin never disclosed that he was about to leave, but Akas, both a doctor and a research scholar, could discern some signs.

Yet he never imagined that Jin would leave so swiftly... after all, he was a Tier Seven True God, a unique and great existence. How could he...

The shock in Akas’s murky eyes quickly transformed into an indescribable pain.

He seemed drained of all strength, his tall figure slightly stooped, leaning against the door frame, unfocused gaze looking out the door.

"Sigh..."

After a moment, a heavy and bitter sigh was squeezed out from deep within his chest.

That sigh contained so much — decades of guilt, hopeless atonement, the absurdity mocked by fate, and the sadness of knowing his brother had passed away without even a final farewell.

"He still didn’t wait..."

Akas’s voice was hoarse, muttering, "It’s better this way, better this way. He doesn’t have to see me in this wretched state, nor does he need to hate me anymore."

By the end, his voice was almost inaudible.

But soon... as if something came to mind, he suddenly raised his head to look at Lamia, a flicker of almost obsessive determination in his sunken eyes, carrying a sense of responsibility and perhaps a cautious glimmer of hope.

"Come in, there are too many eyes here, not suitable for talking."

He turned sideways, pulling open a gap in the heavy door, gesturing for them to come in with a wave, his voice returning to its previous hoarseness, but with less hostility.

Yun You nodded, then quickly pulled Lamia through the heavy iron door, which closed with a thump behind them, blocking out the noise from the outside cave.

Inside, it wasn’t the clinic lobby Yun You imagined, but rather a narrow, dim corridor, the intense smell of disinfectant almost overpowering all other scents, irritating the nose, and the sides of the corridor piled high with metal boxes and junk stained with unknown marks, leaving barely enough space to pass through.

Akas led the way in silence, his hunched silhouette stretching long under the dim lights.

After a while, he reached the end of the corridor and opened another heavy metal door.

The scene beyond the door immediately came into view — Akas’s secret laboratory, also where he performed surgeries.

The room was spacious but exceedingly chaotic, walls blotched with water stains and rust, with only a couple of overhead shadowless lamps functioning, emitting a buzzing electric sound as the light flickered intermittently. A gigantic old-fashioned surgical lamp hung askew above the central surgical table.

This surgical table in the secret room was probably the most "standard" and "clean" item here, made of stainless steel, never used but meticulously maintained, though traces of acid mist corrosion dotted its corners.

And surrounding the surgical table, the sight was utterly shocking...

Various models, old and new, even evidently cobbled-together medical instruments and tools piled together, cables snaking across the floor, some instruments dismantled to expose complex circuit boards for adjustment, discarded metal parts, plastic tubes, unknown chemical reagent bottles, and gauze stained with dried dark marks scattered everywhere.

Most striking were the walls and large metal file cabinets densely covered with blueprints and notes filled with frantic formulas and messy nervous system anatomy diagrams. Some blueprints were hand-drawn, written on the backs of discarded packaging paper, crooked lines yet incredibly persistent.

Rather than a "clinic," here seemed more like the worksite of a mad scientist.

Though signs of tidying were noticeable in places, proving Akas intended to organize, ultimately he gave up, not wasting time and energy on these matters.

Yun You had seen Lower City’s black clinics before, where the filth was even more exaggerated, some medicines even started to rot, so she didn’t mind this environment too much. Besides... she could understand Akas’s actions.