Chapter 8

The National Army Capital Hospital was bustling.

Doctor Baek Min-ho was even busier.

“Dr. Baek, are you available for consultations today?”

“No.”

The new military doctor holding a file scratched her head.

She wondered if she had come to the wrong place and double-checked the nameplate.

[Resident Baek Min-ho]

– Awakening Specialist –

“Y-you are Dr. Baek, right?”

“Obviously.”

“But we need to see patients now.”

The military doctor’s voice trembled.

“No.”

Baek Min-ho glared at her.

His body, leaning back in the chair, tilted backward.

Baek Min-ho gestured for her to speak.

“Well, the patient has issues with their sexual function, so we need to check…”

“Send them to a university hospital. Why are you bothering me with this nonsense?”

“They said only you can handle it. They’re being really persistent. You need to check right now.”

The military doctor swallowed dryly.

“Is everyone else absent today except me?”

“No.”

Baek Min-ho let out a low grumble.

He checked the desk clock.

The sound of his clicking tongue reached the military doctor.

“Damn it, it’s exactly on time.”

Exactly on time?

The military doctor recalled the schedule.

Today was just VIP status checks and consultations.

Baek Min-ho, seemingly in a hurry, prepared to leave, grabbing his white coat and various documents.

“So, the patient, what’s their gender?”

“F-female. In her 40s—”

“Enough.”

Baek Min-ho scribbled on the medical report.

He quietly clenched his teeth.

With a twisted face, he barked instructions.

“Hand over their identity to the military police. Use this report as evidence.”

“Like last time?”

“Yes. Stall for time until then… And clear all VIP duties today. I’ll handle the special ward patient.”

While the military doctor was flustered,

Baek Min-ho had already neatly dressed himself.

His stubble and hair were perfectly groomed.

“Tell them not to even think about coming near without my permission.”

“Yes, sir! Loyalty.”

The military doctor saluted upon hearing the response.

“Loyalty.”

Baek Min-ho grumbled as he walked out.

The military doctor quickly followed to assist him.

“Who, who is it?”

Baek Min-ho was on the skybridge.

He wasn’t alone.

He was having a private conversation with someone.

Well, it wasn’t exactly private.

The sunlight was so bright that it was obvious.

‘K-Kang Mi-young!’

As if she were a spy, the military doctor eavesdropped on their conversation from a distance.

A few female residents and nurses did the same.

“Thank you for coming all this way, Major.”

Baek Min-ho approached Kang Mi-young with large strides.

He lightly bowed and handed over the documents he brought.

“…Baek.”

Kang Mi-young, holding the railing,

Tilted her head with a sarcastic expression.

“What’s today’s agenda, a consultation?”

Baek Min-ho inquired about her intentions.

“His condition is still stable. He’s improved significantly.”

“That’s good to hear. Your [Delusions of Persecution] have nearly killed us more than once.”

Baek Min-ho glared at both ends of the skybridge.

“There are a lot of eyes here. This VIP, his name is Lee Seong-han, right?”

Kang Mi-young flinched for a moment.

“Lee Seong-han. That’s right. Why are you so interested in that kid…”

Baek Min-ho’s shadow fell across his cheekbones.

He took a sip of iced Americano.

“When it comes to romance, I’m an expert. Is it his face? Or his personality? Even I think he could make a few girls cry.”

“…Huh.”

Kang Mi-young scoffed as if amused.

“You’ve been bewitched by a fox.”

Baek Min-ho pressed his index and thumb against his temples.

“Alright… This isn’t a psychiatric consultation, right?”

“No.”

“Let’s get to the point.”

Blocking the corridor was a red-eyed madwoman.

The Iron Blood Empress, Kang Mi-young.

For ten days, she had been tailing Baek Min-ho, requesting to see the patient.

Now, it was the limit.

She could no longer hide it.

The VIP’s condition.

Baek Min-ho looked at Kang Mi-young and took out his phone.

Ring-ring-

Ring-ring-

“Ah, yes. Security team leader. It’s Dr. Baek. I need some personnel deployed here.”

After shooing away the flies,

Baek Min-ho returned to the main topic once the unmanned security team arrived.

“First, I’ll add my professional opinion. The patient’s condition will be difficult to improve. Without quality treatment and rest, that is.”

He looked at the ground and shook his head as if there was no hope.

The National Army Capital Hospital.

The best doctor in the Awakening Department.

Even he couldn’t promise perfection.

“So, early treatment is impossible?”

Kang Mi-young clicked her tongue in response.

She felt like the first button had been wrongly fastened.

Lee Seong-han’s condition improving, that is.

Didn’t he provide research data during the first expedition?

Even at the cost of his own limbs!

She hated the thought of such talent being wasted in a hospital bed.

‘I have to take responsibility.’

Kang Mi-young exuded a murderous aura.

“How long for recovery?”

“At least a month. Regardless of severity, it’s a miracle he’s alive.”

“Can’t it be faster?”

“You fought Hatchlings, right? Not everyone is as strong as you, Hunter. Here, take this.”

Baek Min-ho handed over a chart.

Along with X-ray images.

“You probably don’t understand medical terms. Just think of everything from here to here as completely shattered.”

He marked the X-ray images with a red marker.

Lee Seong-han’s body.

Only then did Kang Mi-young recognize the injuries.

‘It’s completely shattered.’

Even to Kang Mi-young, it didn’t look normal.

It looked like a corpse photo.

As if someone had blown it up multiple times, there wasn’t a single intact part.

“But injuries like this heal with some ointment, right?”

“You Hunters are the weird ones. Not everyone has [Steel Body] or [Adrenaline Stabilization]. And [Regeneration]? That’s a top-tier trait.”

Originally, Kang Mi-young had no medical knowledge.

Moreover, she recovered from most injuries with [Regeneration].

She was well-versed in monster dissection, though.

Baek Min-ho scratched his head and clicked his tongue.

“Ahahaha. This is why dealing with Hunters is such a pain. Let me summarize it simply…”

Baek Min-ho scanned her annoyed expression and calmly listed the facts.

“Here, here, and here. See this?”

“Internal organs and ribs.”

“Correct.”

He roughly tore the X-ray image. Kang Mi-young flinched at the sudden movement.

“I usually avoid using this word, but it’s completely shattered.”

“Go on.”

Kang Mi-young’s eyes turned red with anger.

“Whoa, don’t get mad, just listen. It’s astonishing. I’ve never heard of research results showing humans surviving such extremes. I even wrote a paper on it.”

“What about Elixir administration?”

“Do you think I haven’t considered that?”

Elixir.

The world’s ultimate panacea.

A quest reward obtained by defeating Hatchlings.

Originally, it was supposed to be owned by the Hunter Management Bureau, but now Kang Mi-young possessed it.

She intended to use the Elixir to treat Lee Seong-han.

If Lee Seong-han was treated, what then?

‘I can’t let such a patriot rot in a hospital bed.’

She intended to take Lee Seong-han to the front lines.

The front lines.

The DMZ area was still a battlefield.

“Well, limbs and bones can be restored, I guess.”

Baek Min-ho declared.

Even with the Elixir, it only shortened the time.

Ultimately, it still meant a hospital stay.

“It’s a miracle he’s alive in that state, a miracle. I’m busy. I have a lot on my schedule today.”

Baek Min-ho made his declaration and returned to his duties.

– Dr. Baek Min-ho of the Awakening Department. Dr. Baek Min-ho of the Awakening Department. Please proceed to Room 117 immediately. Patient is calling.

The announcement echoed.

Room 117.

The VIP room of the Capital Hospital.

Prepared for high-ranking officers, but now occupied by a mere soldier.

Baek Min-ho leisurely walked down the corridor.

When he first received the patient,

He couldn’t hide his shock.

Shattered internal organs.

Broken bones.

Coma from excessive blood loss.

At least six months.

Optimistically, six months.

But suddenly, he woke up?

That’s impossible.

“Doctor, you’re here?!”

“You called. I had to come. The patient needs me. What’s the problem?”

Room 117.

At the door, the military doctor bowed his head.

“The patient’s condition is improving.”

“If he wakes up in this state, it’ll be a disaster. I’d bet my leg on him having a panic attack. Increase sedatives and painkillers by 2%—”

The military doctor swallowed dryly.

“That’s not it.”

“Huh? Didn’t you call?”

“T-the patient himself.”

“You should’ve said that first!!”

Baek Min-ho hurriedly entered the room.

A first-class ward only available to national resource Hunters.

After entering the password, the automatic door slid open smoothly.

“Lee Seong-han! Lee Seong-han?! I’m here to check your condition. Can you hear me?”

Lee Seong-han, lying on the bed, blinked his eyes.

Still unable to move his body, only his pupils darted around.

“What? Is he a Regenerator?”

The military doctor, startled, checked the patient’s identity.

Awakened Ones could have their traits identified through certain equipment.

Though not precisely.

The records upon admission showed no [Regeneration]-related abilities.

Baek Min-ho instinctively realized.

This Hunter was different.

“Nurse! Is he a Regenerator?”

“N-no, he’s not a Regenerator.”

“Then he’s Awakened. Double Awakening. A theoretical grade only discussed in academia!”

Baek Min-ho’s face turned pale as he continued.

“Traits are determined at birth, like holding a spoon. Gold spoon, silver spoon, stuff like that.”

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

Baek Min-ho looked down at Lee Seong-han.

Then he pulled the microfiber blanket up to his collarbone.

“Patient, can you hear me?”

Blink.

Lee Seong-han’s pupils moved up and down.

“Do you have a grade?”

Blink. Blink.

This time, his pupils moved side to side.

“Get some more rest. You’ll be very busy soon.”

He shouldn’t know more.

Especially those with loose lips.

Baek Min-ho administered a sedative.

“How many people know about this?”

After the situation ended, a voice was heard.

“Two of our residents. Including the assigned nurse and other medical staff—”

“Just gather everyone from top to bottom. If this leaks, it’s our necks.”

Lee Seong-han quietly closed his eyes as he listened to the doctor.

[‘■■■■ Eye (EX)’ is watching you.]

Something entwined around his body.

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