Trembling in the Skies

Chapter 49: A Silver Lining in Misfortune

A moment later, upon seeing the large pool of blood beneath him, Li Teng felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. It was the wound the vulture had pecked that was bleeding—and the blood wouldn’t stop. With no other choice, Li Teng used the vulture’s claws to tear the bedsheet into strips, then selected a suitable one to bandage the wound. The pain was so intense that Li Teng nearly fainted. Finally, the wound was bandaged. The blood was still flowing, but the flow had slowed considerably. That was all he could do for now. There was one problem with bandaging it this way: it seemed he couldn’t urinate. But for him at this stage, the most important thing was to stop the bleeding first; as for urinating, that would have to be a concern for later. Not being able to urinate wouldn’t kill him right away, but if the blood kept flowing, he would certainly die. Consuming the vulture’s flesh and blood had given Li Teng the energy to stay conscious. But the pain he felt while conscious was almost unbearable. Especially since the pain he felt was several times more intense than the pain in other parts of his body, making him feel as if he were on the verge of death. “Giving birth must be even more painful than this, right?” “If women can endure it, so can I!” “I can’t take it!” “This hurts like hell!” As I was about to fall asleep that night, the bleeding stopped, and the pain finally eased a little. However, the urine buildup in her bladder had become a major problem. Li Teng knew nothing about medicine; he didn’t know if it was safe to untie the bindings now. If he loosened the bindings and the bleeding started again, he’d be in big trouble. But what terrified Li Teng even more was… he realized that although the temperature around him hadn’t dropped, he felt very cold. There was only one explanation: he had a fever. The fever caused his body temperature to be higher than the ambient temperature, which is why he felt cold. This seemed to be a sign of a bacterial infection. He didn’t know if it was an infection from his wounds or from eating the vulture—a scavenger—but there was no doubt that any infection at this point would be fatal for him. Sepsis would follow, and if the helicopter didn’t come to pick him up by tomorrow, the infection would take his life outright. The aching pressure in his bladder, the burning pain in his wound, and the inexplicable pain caused by his high fever—all of this combined made Li Teng feel as if he were in hell. And there was no end in sight to this hell. In the end, Li Teng didn’t know whether he had fallen asleep or lost consciousness. But whether he fell asleep or lost consciousness, it was a blessing for him. His body’s instinctive stress response had temporarily numbed his pain; otherwise, his willpower might have collapsed under the torment of such agony, leading to a complete physical breakdown. Dawn broke once more. A gust of wind blew by, making Li Teng feel very uncomfortable. There was also a rumbling sound. In an instant, Li Teng suddenly realized something. He quickly opened his eyes and saw that a black helicopter was approaching! And a rope ladder was being lowered toward him. “Finally, I’m saved.” At that moment, Li Teng felt an urge to cry. But he soon realized there was a problem. Due to the infection and high fever, he had developed severe sepsis; he was now in critical condition, his body so weak and emaciated that he couldn’t move a muscle. It could be said that, given his current condition, the fact that he had regained consciousness was a miracle in itself. It was a testament to his powerful will to survive. To think he could climb the rope ladder on his own and get into the helicopter under these circumstances was nothing short of a pipe dream. “I have to get up!” “I have to get into the helicopter!” “Otherwise, I’m as good as dead!” Li Teng roared inwardly. But to climb into the helicopter, sheer will to survive wasn’t enough. His body wouldn’t move—it was all for nothing. His bodily functions had completely shut down; his desperate attempts to sit up only brought him to the brink of unconsciousness. Perhaps because they’d been waiting too long, the helicopter—without waiting for Li Teng to climb aboard on his own—retracted the rope ladder, seemingly preparing to leave immediately! “Don’t go!” Li Teng wanted to shout, but no sound came out. The helicopter didn’t leave. Instead, it descended, lowering the cabin door to Li Teng’s level. But even so, Li Teng was still unable to enter the helicopter’s cabin. His body was completely drained of strength; he was clinging to life by sheer willpower alone. After a moment, a metal plate extended from inside the helicopter. Two mechanical claws also extended from either side of the cabin door. The two mechanical claws picked up Li Teng’s body as if he were cargo, placed him on the metal plate, and then retracted him back into the cabin. “They’re not going to haul me back in like a corpse, are they? I’m still alive!” Li Teng sensed that things weren’t looking good. Wasn’t that how the elegant old woman’s body was retrieved last time? Once he was retrieved as a corpse, the fate awaiting him would be to be sealed in wax. So, he couldn’t die just yet. He had to wake up the moment he entered the film studio and prove to them beyond a doubt that he wasn’t dead. After Li Teng was retrieved into the compartment by the robotic arm and metal plates, the compartment door closed, and it became pitch black inside. Li Teng knew there was a box nearby containing bread, cookies, drinks, and other items that could help him recover. However, he couldn’t sit up to open the box and take them out. To keep himself from falling asleep—and thereby slipping back into a coma—Li Teng kept scratching himself with his fingernails. Due to his high fever, his sense of pain had become much weaker, making it difficult for him to stay awake. His bladder was so swollen and painful that it had gone numb. Just as Li Teng felt he was about to give in and slip back into unconsciousness, he tried desperately to urinate. The movement caused his wound to tear open; a sharp, distinct pain made Li Teng gasp, finally bringing him back to his senses. This also gave his arm a little strength. Li Teng quickly raised his hand to feel around—the box containing food and drinks in the cabin was right next to his arm! These foods and beverages were high-tech products, and Li Teng had already experienced their miraculous effects twice. Consuming them allowed his body to recover from a state of extreme weakness to near-normal levels. Although he didn’t know how they worked… he didn’t need to understand how they worked. All he needed to do now was get his hands on them and find a way to get them into his stomach. His hand found the lid of the crate, but even such a simple task as lifting the lid and taking out the food and drinks was beyond his strength. After struggling for a moment, his raised arm fell limply back down. For him right now, the distance between him and the food and drinks in the box was the difference between life and death. If he wanted to stay conscious by the time he reached the film studio—so they wouldn’t mistake him for a corpse—it all came down to whether he could get his hands on that food and drink right now. The fact that the helicopter was coming to pick him up today was a stroke of luck in the midst of misfortune. It was essentially a second chance. He had to seize this opportunity to survive. In that moment, Li Teng suddenly realized something. He realized the true meaning behind the three taps the woman in sunglasses had given him on the head when they parted ways last time. He also figured out why she hadn’t let him ask her to confirm the answer after he’d figured it out.