Chapter 73: The Repair Tank
Mu Mu sat on the white single bed, watching Yan Gui Xing stand in front of him, holding up a piece of silvery, seemingly gelatinous, strangely shaped fabric towards the light, turning it over and over.
Golden light fell on the seemingly thin material, shimmering with flowing light and color.
But the person holding the fabric clearly had no time to appreciate this beauty, a deep crease forming between his brows, his eyes filled with worry, anxiety, and impatience.
“Which side is the head, and which side is the foot?” Yan Gui Xing looked at the material from front to back, trying to recall Gongsun’s explanation, “I can’t tell the difference anyway!”
The gelatinous fabric Yan Gui Xing was holding was actually a special adhesive bodysuit provided with the repair tank.
The adhesive bodysuit had no specific shape and could stretch infinitely to fit the body of the patient entering the repair tank. However, it has a top, bottom, front, and back; the direction must be correct to stretch.
This type of adhesive bodysuit is usually used for patients who need repair of a specific part, because the specially formulated treatment solution is medicine for the area that needs treatment, but it can cause some damage to intact skin.
Patients need to be completely immersed in the repair solution during treatment. This adhesive bodysuit can effectively protect the patient’s skin.
Because the adhesive bodysuit is inconvenient to operate, patients cannot put it on independently and it is usually put on by a nurse.
Gongsun knew about Yan Gui Xing’s almost abnormal possessiveness of his private property and understood the importance of Mu Mu to Yan Gui Xing, so he naturally wouldn’t use a nurse and instead, would personally serve Mu Mu.
Yan Gui Xing was very satisfied with Gongsun’s arrangement, but he didn’t use Gongsun; instead, he had Gongsun teach him how to put on the adhesive bodysuit.
Don’t think he didn’t know that the adhesive bodysuit needs to be worn completely naked. He was joking, how could he let another man see his lover’s body?
It’s just a bodysuit, how difficult could it be to put on? He’s not new to repair tanks.
But when Yan Gui Xing himself entered the repair tank, he was already dying, and every part of his body needed to be repaired, so he didn’t need an adhesive bodysuit.
Besides near-fatal injuries, Yan Gui Xing either used minor medical treatments for other wounds or simply ignored them.
Therefore, Yan Gui Xing’s confidence in being able to put on this adhesive bodysuit was excessive.
He had been fiddling with the bodysuit for a full twenty minutes and still hadn’t figured out how to put it on.
Mu Mu had only fallen asleep at dawn and was woken up early by Yan Gui Xing. He’d only slept for three hours, was already drowsy, and watching Yan Gui Xing struggle for so long, his eyes were about to close from sleepiness.
He yawned, his eyes watery, tugging at the straps of his clothes. His soft voice was hoarse with sleepiness, “Gui Gui, why don’t we ask the doctor for help?”
Yan Gui Xing’s brow furrowed again. He was naturally one hundred percent unwilling to accept Mu Mu’s suggestion.
But he couldn’t keep delaying Mu Mu’s treatment. He chose a compromise—video calling Gongsun for instructions on how to put on the adhesive bodysuit.
Amidst Yan Gui Xing’s clumsy fumbling, his inability to understand the instructions, Gongsun’s exasperated shouting, and his frantic desire to jump out of the screen to help, Mu Mu finally got the bodysuit on.
The repair tank was placed in the center of a room made of silver metal. The metal room wasn’t large, only about eighty square meters.
But the silver metal made the room seem particularly spacious and cold.
The door of the room could also be considered a window, occupying an entire wall. It was made of bulletproof glass bricks, allowing the doctor to monitor the patient’s condition in the repair tank through a screen connected to the tank from the other side of the room.
Nothing is one hundred percent certain in this world. Even in the interstellar era, where medical technology is nearly perfect, accidents can happen.
The Imperial repair tank has a success rate of ninety-nine percent, and the doctor’s job is to watch out for that one percent chance of an accident.
These were things Mu Mu didn’t know before, and Gongsun needed to inform him. He also needed to inform him about the pain involved in the process.
Although the treatment solution contained anesthetic components, the principle of repair is destruction and reconstruction. This is a rebirth in another sense, and it naturally involves terrible pain; the anesthetic can only help alleviate some of the pain.
Mu Mu didn’t know it would hurt before, and since he was ten, the thing he had experienced most was pain, and what he feared most was pain.
Whenever the word “pain” was mentioned, his body felt the pain of being beaten.
Mu Mu pursed his lips, subconsciously leaning against Yan Gui Xing. Only when he felt the familiar warmth from their touching arms did he feel reassured.
“Doctor,” Mu Mu looked up at Gongsun, then timidly at the repair tank in the metal room, “How much will it hurt? More than being beaten?”
When Mu Mu had first arrived with Yan Gui Xing, Gongsun, out of curiosity, had specifically learned about Mu Mu’s life from Achi. Naturally, he knew what Mu Mu had experienced growing up.
Hearing Mu Mu compare the upcoming pain to the pain of being beaten as a child, he couldn’t help but feel sympathy.
He lowered his head and pushed up his glasses, avoiding Yan Gui Xing’s warning gaze, and answered honestly, “It will be a hundred times more painful than being beaten.”
Mu Mu let out a small “ah,” his body leaning heavily on Yan Gui Xing, his gaze at the repair tank becoming panicked and helpless.
Yan Gui Xing was afraid that Mu Mu would be scared off by Gongsun’s words at this time. He glared at Gongsun, silently rebuking him for talking nonsense.
Gongsun lowered his head, avoiding Yan Gui Xing’s gaze. Logically and emotionally, as a doctor, he should inform the patient of all precautions beforehand, allowing the patient to make their own choice.
When Yan Gui Xing looked down at Mu Mu, the harshness on his face was gone, replaced by the familiar gentleness.
He held Mu Mu in his arms, his large hands constantly rubbing Mu Mu’s increasingly gaunt shoulders wrapped in the adhesive bodysuit.
Because of Gongsun’s “undermining,” Yan Gui Xing could no longer say things like, “It will only hurt for a short time” to comfort Mu Mu.
He racked his brains but couldn’t find any good words of comfort. In the end, he could only say, “Mu Mu, don’t be afraid, I’ll be waiting outside. Let’s endure it, and your ears will be fine when it’s over.”
Mu Mu was still scared, especially since the repair tank looked like a metal coffin. But hearing that Yan Gui Xing would be with him, his fear strangely dissipated considerably.
He lifted his head from Yan Gui Xing’s embrace and looked seriously at Yan Gui Xing, confirming, “Gui Gui, will you really be here waiting until Mu Mu’s treatment is over?”
Yan Gui Xing leaned down, cupping Mu Mu’s face in his hands, kissing his forehead, and solemnly said, “I promise you, the first person you see when you come out of the repair tank will be me.”
Mu Mu looked into those beautiful lake-green eyes, reflecting two tiny versions of himself. The remaining fear disappeared.
He tilted his head, kissing the crimson lips, smiling and saying, “After Mu Mu comes out, the first thing Mu Mu wants to hear is Gui Gui’s voice!”
Yan Gui Xing’s lips curved into a doting smile, “Okay, whatever you want to hear, I’ll say it to you.”
Mu Mu thought seriously for a moment and said, “The first thing Mu Mu wants to hear is Gui Gui loves Mu Mu.”
Yan Gui Xing thought about how their relationship started with his casual words of fondness and felt a little guilty towards Mu Mu. This time, he would make up for it with a true expression of love.
“Okay, when you come out, I’ll say it to you.”
Mu Mu, having received the promise, contentedly followed Gongsun into the metal room. Only when he got closer did he really see what the repair tank looked like.
The repair tank did look like a metal coffin, but it was oblong, without sharp corners.
The lid of the repair tank was transparent, revealing the light blue solution inside.
Gongsun tapped the lid a few times, and the transparent lid became translucent, showing numbers and text that Mu Mu couldn’t understand.
The next second, the translucent lid slowly opened before Mu Mu’s eyes, and the faint medicinal scent of the treatment solution wafted out.
It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, just a bit strange.
Gongsun pointed to a semi-transparent mask-like object on the ceiling of the tank and explained to Mu Mu, “Madam, after you enter the treatment solution, please remain seated. I will put on the protective mask for you.”
“The protective mask will protect your eyes and nose from the treatment solution and will also supply you with oxygen, so don’t worry.”
Mu Mu nodded seriously, “Understood.”
Gongsun extended his hand to Mu Mu, saying, “Madam, you can give me the hearing aid.”
Mu Mu took the hearing aid out of his ear and placed it in Gongsun’s hand. With Gongsun’s help, he also put his clenched fists into the adhesive bodysuit.
Finally, with Gongsun’s assistance, he climbed the stairs next to the repair tank and entered the tank. The treatment solution was even wetter, stickier, and colder than he had imagined. The unpleasant sensation made him shiver.
The seemingly transparent protective mask, once worn, plunged him into darkness. The simultaneous loss of sight and hearing caused Mu Mu to instinctively feel fear.
He called Yan Gui Xing’s name anxiously, instinctively trying to stand up from the treatment solution. But a strange temperature and pressure on his shoulders pulled him back to his senses.
That’s right, he was in the repair tank, not in some strange place, and he wasn’t in danger.
Gongsun, seeing that Mu Mu was no longer struggling, breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that Mu Mu would struggle, and with Yan Gui Xing watching outside, he wouldn’t be able to control him.
He helped Mu Mu lie down in the treatment solution, making sure Mu Mu was completely immersed in the liquid before closing the lid.
Gongsun returned to the outer room and reported to Yan Gui Xing, who was sitting expressionlessly in a chair, “Madam’s condition is stable, and all indicators are currently normal.”
Yan Gui Xing hummed in response, indicating that he understood. He stared intently at the repair tank through the glass wall, before asking Gongsun after a moment, “How long will the treatment take?”
Gongsun looked down at the data on his light brain, answering, “Ten hours.”
[Author’s Note]: Question: What did Yan Moumou want to do after asking about the time? A. Go home and sleep B. Go out with someone else C. Wait without leaving.