Chapter 164: Ten years of sleep.
Immediately after having a conversation with Weijun, Liwu returned to the general ward where the children in the coma were. They were in the same was as she had left them, but now, their faces were pale like porcelain dolls. Machines beeped steadily, but the silence between each sound was suffocation. A team of doctors, led by Doctor Mu, was still running tests and observing the children.
The parents were still outside, huddled together in the waiting hall, their eyes red and their voices trembling with grief and anger.
Liwu received another call from the chief. Apparently, a lot of people were anxious. Twelve dead children was not a good look for system hosts. It was the start of a witch hunt with scary dogs and pitch forks, or in the modern world..guns!
Her bad luck points were not yet enough to trigger a minor misfortune. Her chaos points were available, but she didn’t want to cause chaos in a hospital. So, unless they got nothing at all, and the children’s lives were at stake, she would save that card as a last resort.
Stepping out of the ward, she removed her trench coat that felt too heavy. Liwu scanned the crowd of mothers who were clutching bags, photographs, vacuum flasks and anything that could steady them. Fathers who were pacing like trapped animals, some itching to smoke or hit something. A few siblings in the mix that were staring at the floor. Fear was touching each of them, like an invisible ghost. It’s scent was strong in the hospital, crawling along the walls like a lizard.
"Everyone,"Liwu began, her voice calm, as if she was talking them trough a bomb diffusion, "if I could have your attention for a moment please."
Her badge was on the belt of her jeans, sparkling enough to command their attention. She raised it for a moment, "I am detective Liwu, with the SOB. Going forward, I will be in charge of the case, concerning your children. I know that you want to scream questions at me and I understand your pain, but I urge you to be patient. You are all afraid because the hospital is in lockdown and cell service has been cut. This is an emergency measure that will be lifted once we confirm that none of us in here is afflicted by a strange disease."
Some women whimpered.
Liwu raised her hand, pausing their questions. "I am saying that your children have a strange disease, all we know for now is that this is somehow linked to a system. We suspect that someone with a system linked to dreaming is involved." She observed their faces, to see if any of them would react suspiciously or give something away. "Your area of movement will be limited. During the duration of this lockdown, only my team will be allowed to move freely. We will feed you and provide everything you need. I promise you--" she paused for effect, "that we will put an end to this."
As she expected, a woman was the first to break down. "How can you promise to put an end to this when you don’t know what is wrong? My daughter was fine one moment and unconscious the next. If she is sleeping and simply dreaming, can’t someone wake her up?"
Liwu’s eyes softened. She stepped closer, resting her hand on the woman’s shoulder. "We can’t make a move without knowing what it is that we are facing. Forcing the children to wake up could be disastrous. I cannot erase your fear, but I can assure you that there are a lot of people working to rescue your children. They will not stop until we have a happy ending."
The father at the back clenched his fists. "You have already identified this as a system host problem. Be honest, what chance do our children have? My brother is a system host that can bend reality for five minutes. I have seen what he can do. I know how deadly it is."
Liwu’s gaze sharpened. She made a mental reminder to ensure that his brother was registered and red flagged. "That’s why you have us. Systems can be powerful but they are not invincible and the hosts are human like you and mommy. Every system has a flaw. And flaws are what we hunt."
The waiting hall fell into uneasy silence. Parents exchanged glances, torn between hope and despair. Liwu felt the weight of their trust and her promises pressing down on her shoulders like iron chains. But, she projected confidence, because that was what they needed.
"Now, officers are going to take your statements. You need to be truthful. Whatever you saw in the hospital, whatever your children ate, who they interacted with, what illness they have, when they went to the bathroom...everything. Do not live out a single detail. If you don’t know these things, provide the cell number of the person that does so that we can get into contact with them."
A dozen officers poured into the waiting hall to take down this information, while Liwu rushed outside to meet Weijun, and his dream system connection.
She found him in the parking area, which was as far as he was allowed to go. As soon as he saw her, he pulled her into an embrace. His eyes were set with grim determination, but beneath that, there was worry. He was a husband first, a leader second.
Behind him, Mo Xia and Cross had a woman in shackles, with a brand new shiny black eye and busted lip. Her eyes were hollow, skin pale.
"She didn’t come willingly, did she?" She asked, voice muffle by Weijun’s shoulder.
Weijun let her go.
Cross answered the question, "She didn’t take too kindly to us pulling her out of a ten year sleep."
Liwu’s mouth gaped slightly open. Ten years! How could someone sleep for ten years? That was very abnormal, even for system hosts. "Ten years of sleep! Did you bring me a human or a vampire?"