Hell's Handbook

Hell’s Handbook 70: Going to Die

Han Mengyao’s subordinates worked very quickly, so the boat was ready to go by the time the four of them arrived at the jetty. At the same time, a red fog filled the air rapidly behind them. The red fog was coming out from the tomb.

Even as the boat left the jetty, the red fog did not stop pursuing them. It finally stopped going after them after the boat was a few kilometers away. But the fog didn’t dissipate and continued to hang over the island.

“How did things turn out this way?” Han Mengyao asked Su Jin.

Su Jin smiled politely and said, “Why are you asking me? You’re the one who insisted on coming. I’m only in charge of ensuring your safety, and I think I’ve actually done a pretty good job of that.”

“Tsk!” Han Mengyao rolled her eyes at him. But she was really shocked by this turn of events. Before this, both the Special Police and the Department of Supernatural Affairs had sent teams here to check out the tomb but didn’t find anything significant. A few seniors noticed something amiss, but before they could do anything about the island, they went into seclusion and cut themselves off from the rest of the world.

She didn’t have high hopes when she brought Su Jin over either. She figured that they might end up returning with nothing again. To her surprise, they triggered something inside the tomb and caused the entire island to be surrounded by a red fog. It was going to be hard to explain this away to the citizens of S City.

“We’ll head back to S City immediately,” said Han Mengyao. She turned to Su Jin and the other two men with him and said, “I’m feeling a little tired, so you’re free to go elsewhere, I’m going to take a nap.”

After she walked away, Su Jin turned back to look at New Moon Island. The thing inside the tomb was extremely powerful and if Han Mengyao wasn’t around, he might have tried to explore a little more. But he couldn’t guarantee her safety if he had done that, and now, there was no way he could get back on that island.

Just then, he felt a warmth near his chest. A look of shock colored his eyes as he realized that was where he had placed his Handbook. In short, the Handbook was reacting to New Moon Island.

“No, I have to leave this place as soon as possible,” thought Su Jin. He didn’t want to be implicated in anything related to the Handbook now.

The boat didn’t take long to reach the other side. His Handbook finally quietened down and no longer emitted heat only after Su Jin had gotten off the boat.

The day before Han Mengyao and the rest went to explore New Moon Island, Doctor and King Kong stood inside the operating room of the Department of Supernatural Affairs and prepared for surgery. All the latest gadgets made by King Kong had been placed in a special container and Situ Jin was lying quietly on the operating table.

“Are you two confident?” Bo Ya was rather worried. Doctor and King Kong had told her just now that the gadgets they were implanting this time were much more intricate. The more intricate they were, the more room for mistakes there were.

Doctor was in charge of this surgery and he started getting nervous after hearing Bo Ya’s question. He smiled stiffly and pleaded with her, “Sis, could you leave the room? Any distractions at this time could result in disaster. Didn’t he ask you to find the person who wiped out his memories the last time? Why don’t you attend to that instead?”

Bo Ya realized she had put unnecessary pressure on Doctor and nodded apologetically before walking out immediately. Once she had left, King Kong exchanged glances with Doctor and they nodded solemnly to each other.

The bright light above the operating table was turned on and Doctor began the delicate job of operating on Situ Jin. King Kong stood by his side to explain what each gadget was for and where it should be placed, as well as serve as Doctor’s assistant.

Time slowly ticked by and Doctor’s expression slowly grew more and more nervous. Perspiration kept dripping from his forehead and King Kong’s heart began to sink as he helped to wipe Doctor’s sweat away. Something must have gone wrong, he thought.

“Sew him up,” said Doctor. King Kong immediately proceeded with suturing. His suturing skills were as good as any professional surgeon.

Once the operation was over, King Kong immediately asked Doctor, “Doctor, did something go wrong? Your expression didn’t look too good just now!”

Doctor nodded quietly and King Kong became even more anxious. “What happened? Did the implanting go wrong somewhere?”

“It wasn’t the implanting. But when I put in those gadgets, I noticed that there’s something wrong with part of his body.” Doctor sighed and went on before King Kong asked more, “A large part of Boss’ lungs have hardened.”

“His lungs have hardened? What does that mean?” King Kong was an expert at suturing but he wasn’t trained in medical school.

Doctor explained, “It means that once too much of it hardens, Boss will no longer be able to breathe and he will eventually die from suffocation.”

King Kong was too shocked for words. This wasn’t the answer he expected. “What caused this? Is it his smoking habit? Will the hardening slow down if he quits now?”

Doctor shook his head helplessly. “His smoking habit might have worsened it, but that’s not the main cause. From what I can see, the batteries that run some of those gadgets have seeped into his lungs. And I think…I think Boss has probably noticed a decline in his own health.”

“Why didn’t he say anything?” King Kong couldn’t understand what Situ Jin was thinking.

“Because he’s the boss, that’s why. If we didn’t do this round of implanting, we would probably only find out after he’s dead,” said Doctor as he shook his head sadly.

King Kong nodded. That was certainly something Situ Jin would do. He was a stubborn man who also formed the backbone of the Department of Supernatural Affairs. He could die, but he made sure he never looked frail or weak.

“Should we tell the rest about this?” asked Doctor.

King Kong thought about it, then shook his head. “Since Boss doesn’t want us to know about it, we’ll let things be. But Doctor, could you think of a solution? His lungs might be dying, but I’m sure there’s a way to fix this.”

Doctor nodded. Their hearts were heavy as they woke Situ Jin up. He noticed how crestfallen they looked and asked puzzledly, “What’s with this expression? Did the surgery go badly?”

“No, everything went well.” Doctor forced himself to smile, then helped Situ Jin to sit up. “Boss, you’ve got to thank Spectacles. If not for the drug he concocted, I don’t think you’d be able to sit up like this for at least a few days.

Situ Jin stretched his limbs, then looked at his wound. A greenish liquid had been applied on it and his wound was barely visible even though it had only been 20 minutes after the surgery. This was the work of Spectacles.

“Spectacles is indeed gifted in this aspect, but he’s always engaged in very dangerous experiments and I’m afraid he might hurt himself someday. Doctor, make sure we keep all the antidotes properly. We might need them to save this fellow’s life someday,” said Situ Jin with a smile.

Doctor quickly nodded in response as Situ Jin got off the operating table and started walking towards the door. But he suddenly tripped over himself and fell forwards.

King Kong was right beside him, so he caught Situ Jin before Situ Jin hit the floor. He noticed that Situ Jin’s face was turning gray, so he quickly yelled, “Doctor! Doctor!”

Doctor got a shock and he got King Kong to put Situ Jin back on the operating table again. Doctor quickly hooked up a large number of equipment to observe Situ Jin’s vitals and looked grimmer and grimmer as he checked the data. After some time, he looked away and shook his head without saying anything.

King Kong was almost going insane with worry. He grabbed hold of Doctor’s shoulders and said, “Don’t just stand there and shake your head! What the hell is going on?!”

“The infection within his lungs is very unstable. It might remain the same for several days, but it might also suddenly worsen in minutes,” said Doctor quietly.

Situ Jin slowly opened his eyes again and coughed a few times. King Kong and Doctor rushed over to help him up. Situ Jin took a few deep breaths, calmed down, then said, “There’s no need to make such a big fuss. I know my condition well. I’m not going to die yet.”

“Boss, leave your work to us for the time being, I’ll call the top brass to let you take medical leave,” said King Kong.

Situ Jin shook his head. “You think too poorly of me. Also, if taking a rest from work improved the situation, I would have applied for medical leave a long time ago. But since it’s pointless, I’m not going to waste time on doing such things. I don’t have much time left, so I’ve got to make full use of every minute I have.”

Situ Jin got off the operating table again and said to Doctor, “Call Bo Ya for me. I’m sure she’s managed to contact the person who erased my memories the last time by now.”

Ten minutes later, Situ Jin changed back into his own clothes. He walked into the department’s guest lounge to see a man teasing Bo Ya.

“Bo Ya, are you free tonight? I’d like to treat you to dinner!” The man looked around 25 or 26 years old, had his long hair tied up in a ponytail and had such delicate facial features that made him look as pretty as Bo Ya. If he didn’t say anything, someone would mistake him for a woman.

“Xu Ran, I think I need to find you a girl to keep tabs on you,” said Bo Ya with a sigh.

Situ Jin frowned at the other man in the room and said in a stern voice, “So, it was really you. If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have asked Bo Ya to call a little bastard like you over.”

The man turned around to look at Situ Jin and grinned. “The feeling is mutual. If Bo Ya wasn’t the one who asked me for help, there’s no way I would be willing to help an idiot like you!”

Bo Ya felt really awkward. These two would be at each other’s throats every time they met. They hadn’t met for a few years now, but they still treated each other like that.

Xu Ran glanced at Situ Jin and looked rather surprised, then he laughed hollowly and said, “Well, well, well. Congrats, you look like you’re not far from death.”

Situ Jin snorted and sat down across from Xu Ran. “Enough of this nonsense. Since you’re the one who wiped out my memories the last time, help me to recall some of it now.”

“I didn’t wipe out anything important the last time, so why are you so anxious to get it back? Or…did you discover that I had also wiped out the part about me owing you money? But that’s impossible! I’m sure I did a very clean job the last time…” Xu Ran flippantly dug his ears as he continued being annoying.

But Situ Jin remained calm. He knew that this was just the way Xu Ran talked. “I’m not asking you to get back the memories you wiped out the last time. I suspect…someone erased some of my memories just a few days ago. I want those memories back.”