Chapter 1728: 1728: Making Peace with the Departed
Chapter 1728: Chapter 1728: Making Peace with the Departed
Xu Huo received an employee card and entered the residential area with Zhao Yiming and his girlfriend Meng Xiaoman.
During the free clinics, they would be accompanied by recording devices that monitored their behavior throughout, so before entering, Zhao Yiming reminded Xu Huo not to act “impulsively,” or they might be pursued by robots.
This wasn’t a densely populated residential area, so the number of people in each building was small. Before entering, identification registration and verification were required, their purpose explained again, followed by the residential management center contacting the households to inform them of the intent. Only after the residents expressed interest in receiving a free clinic, could they enter.
Each time they could only visit one household, and after the free clinic was over, they could proceed to another household. Before starting and after finishing, they needed to sign on the tracking monitoring device.
The ping-pong ball-shaped monitoring device hovered around them in flight, not only recording their actions and demeanor but also avoiding them as they moved, while reminding them of the direction of the upcoming household visit and the preferred way to knock—although all communication was through a one-way communication channel.
After going through the tedious process, they finally met the first household. This household of three had an elderly member who had been bedridden for years but could now walk after treatment, although his legs hadn’t fully recovered and he required rehabilitation therapy regularly. They were frequent visitors of the free clinic.
“Today’s doctors are new,” the hostess said, smiling as she welcomed Xu Huo and the others in, and after serving them tea, she brought out previous treatment and free clinic records to inform them about the elder’s health condition.
Zhao Yiming and Meng Xiaoman, having received credentials for free clinics, certainly had some understanding of rehabilitation therapy. The two were responsible for the physical work, while Xu Huo was responsible for the verbal aspect, providing psychological counseling.
The hostess watched beside them throughout, eagerly expressing her gratitude by personally preparing tea and snacks for them, and warmly leaving her contact information, saying they could reach out to them directly whenever needed, money being no object.
After completing several households, Xu Huo and the others arrived at Pu Hui’s home.
Pu Hui lived alone, having married and had children years earlier, but his wife’s genetic defect meant the Evolution Potion didn’t work well, leading to her early death, and his son had the same fate. Since then, he’d lived alone.
This seemingly slightly dull old man said to them, “I don’t have treatment records, but I want to discuss some psychological issues.”
Zhao Yiming looked toward Xu Huo, “This is Teacher Xu, an expert in psychological disorders. You can ask him any questions.”
Pu Hui sat down and first asked Xu Huo whether he had any religious beliefs.
This was a double-edged question; its purpose was to preliminarily judge whether Xu Huo could resonate with him. However, Xu Huo adjusted his glasses and gently said, “Don’t take this matter too seriously. Some uneasiness in life can also be considered psychological issues. You can regard us as robots capable of providing some real feedback without being too concerned.”
Pu Hui was silent for a moment, then said, “I didn’t believe these things when I was young; Zone 019 was thriving, people had long lifespans, and accidents were rare, so there was nothing to speak of as fate.”
“But later, my wife and son died one after another; two women I newly acquainted died in accidents because of me. I began to believe in fate, that every mistake a person makes must be repaid in this life.”
His words implied that the cost of people’s mistakes is losing loved ones. What mistakes did the loved ones make?
“Do you think losing life or living peacefully with guilt is more severe?” Xu Huo asked.
“I understand; I’m alive and have no right to say much,” Pu Hui clearly had thought about this issue, “but my living is punishment for me, and their dying is also punishment for me.”
“The older I get, the harder it is to sleep at night. I worry that one day I’ll die guilty in my dreams and be unable to reunite with my wife and son in death.”
“Have you committed a serious crime?” Meng Xiaoman couldn’t help but ask. Zhao Yiming quickly signaled her to stay quiet, but Pu Hui didn’t mind and followed the conversation, “I indirectly caused someone’s death. In a mining accident, I was supposed to do the testing that day, but I let an acquaintance replace me, and he died in the accident.”
Zhao Yiming and Meng Xiaoman exchanged looks at Xu Huo; apparently, this person wasn’t directly related to the mining accident, just psychologically troubled due to surviving by chance.
Seeing Xu Huo remain silent, Meng Xiaoman spoke again, “To be frank, this is survivor’s syndrome; you haven’t done anything wrong.”
Her words seemed to hit a sore spot, as Pu Hui suddenly became furious, “If I wasn’t wrong, would my wife and son have died?! If I wasn’t wrong, they wouldn’t have died!”
Meng Xiaoman was slightly shocked and was about to defend his stance when she heard Xu Huo speak, “From the results, indeed someone died because of you, whether intentionally or unintentionally, it’s an unchangeable fact.”
“I guess your concern isn’t to alleviate inner guilt, but rather that this sin might prevent you and your family from finding peace after death. Have you ever paid tribute to your friend?”
Pu Hui showed a pained expression, slowly reached out to cover his face, “No, not even once…”
This really stunned Zhao Yiming and Meng Xiaoman; what a bizarre contradiction of behavior—tormented by inner guilt while believing their misfortune is divine retribution, yet showing no intent to atone. What kind of lunatic is this?
Xu Huo’s expression remained unchanged, “You surely have unmentionable reasons for making this choice, but my suggestion is you could discreetly look after your friend’s family, or find some of his relics or memorabilia, and express your feelings to them directly to alleviate the emotions.”
“Your guilt is directed toward your friend; you only need to confess to him. Of course, this won’t completely soothe your inner self, but it could be a good approach. If souls exist after death, it’s naturally better for your sin to be lesser. If you don’t speak, who would know you realized your wrongdoing?”
Pu Hui slowly lifted his head to look at him, with somewhat wooden eyes, “Will this help me reunite with my wife and son after death?”
“Who knows unless you try?” Xu Huo nudged the cup closer to him, “You can’t reconcile with yourself, maybe because you haven’t tried reconciling with your friend.”
Pu Hui looked down at the cup and slowly picked it up, “You make sense.”
Xu Huo stood up at this time, “We’ll take our leave now.”
Zhao Yiming and Meng Xiaoman followed him out, “Won’t you ask something else? It seems like he knows a lot.”