Chapter 280: Dignity

【System detects vital signs in the infirmary area are stable, no abnormal fluctuations】

When the cold mechanical voice echoed in the empty hospital and dissipated,

Lin Hao was leaning on the hospital bed, his gaze falling on the gun with the magazine removed on the bedside cabinet. The sound of footsteps outside the door panel had completely disappeared, and the corridor was left with only the light sound of the wind passing through the window gaps and the occasional prompt from the system.

He slowly pushed himself up, the needle marks on his arm still aching faintly, but not as heavy as before. He moved to the edge of the bed and reached out to pick up the gun.

The coolness of the metal spread from his fingertips to his arm, and the familiar touch made his fingers curl unconsciously. He remembered this gun;

it was brought back by Lin Chen from a mission. The gun body was still engraved with a shallow scratch, an imprint left during a confrontation with a mutant.

【System prompt, the firearm is in a non-combat state, the magazine is separated from the gun body, no trigger risk】

Lin Hao ignored the system's prompt. He gripped the gun handle, pressed his thumb against the cylinder latch, and pressed gently. With a crisp click, the cylindrical cylinder rotated out, revealing the gleaming bullets inside.

One,

two,

three,

four,

five,

six.

All six bullets were embedded securely in the cylinder, not a single one missing. Sunlight fell on the bullets through the window gap, reflecting fragmented light.

He stared at the six bullets, his eyes calm, without a ripple. He thought of what Lin Chen had just said, thought of the days lying in that hospital room for three days waiting for biscuits,

thought of the "I'm sorry" his mother repeated before she passed away. Those images were like old film, flashing through his mind frame by frame, yet not stirring up half a ripple.

【System detects abnormal brain waves in related person Lin Hao, triggers memory recall mechanism】

Lin Hao's fingers brushed over the edge of the cylinder, the rough texture grazing his fingertips,

and he suddenly thought of his father. Not Lin Chen's father, but his own father, the man who had rushed out to protect them on the first day of the apocalypse and never returned. He remembered his father's appearance, remembered his father's voice, remembered the way his father taught him to hold a gun for the first time. At that time, he was still young, unable to even hold the gun handle steadily. His father stood behind him, covering his hands with his own, adjusting his posture bit by bit, teaching him the structure of the firearm bit by bit.

He remembered his father teaching him how to load, how to aim, how to pull the trigger, and even more, he remembered his father holding his hand, pointing at the last bullet in the cylinder, and saying those words word by word. At that time, his father's voice was steady, carrying unquestionable seriousness, completely different from his usual gentle self.

【System prompt, memory recall depth increased, related person Lin Fu's related information being extracted】

Lin Hao rotated the cylinder back, clicked the latch shut, and put the gun back on the bedside cabinet, placing it next to the half-eaten bag of bread. He lay back on the hospital bed and closed his eyes. His father's voice seemed to still echo in his ears, as clear as if it had happened yesterday. He thought of his father's patience in teaching him how to disassemble and assemble the gun, thought of his father's back shielding him from flying debris, thought of the half-compressed biscuit his father stuffed into his hand before he went out for the last time, thought of the "wait for me" his father said while waving his hand as he disappeared around the corner of the stairwell.

【System detects Lin Hao's emotional fluctuations trending toward stability, all vital signs are normal】

He didn't go back to think about those fragments of the past, nor did he think about Lin Chen outside the door panel, and even less did he think about the people and things in the safe zone. He just lay quietly, listening to the wind outside the window, listening to the occasional prompt from the system, listening to his own steady breathing.

He didn't know how long it had been, but he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling once again on the gun.

All six bullets were in the cylinder, not one more, not one less. His lips moved, not making a sound, but in his heart, the sentence his father had taught him back then echoed clearly.

Leaving the last bullet in the gun is for one's own dignity. ===== CHAPTER 281 =====