On the east side of the exchange hall, Vader pressed his palm against a crystal board that was as smooth as a mirror. After a few flashes of blue light, the alloy door in front of him immediately opened to two sides. This time, the AI system actually switched to a sweet female voice.
"Authentication successful. Welcome back, Officer Vader. Have a pleasant night."
Ding Meng suddenly let out a long sigh. He had imagined many things about the private lounge of these high-ranking mercenaries, but none of them were as unexpected as the one in front of him.
This room didn't have the elegant and luxurious resting facilities that he had imagined, nor was it fully equipped with a dazzling array of weapons and technological devices. There was almost nothing in this place, not even a bed.
Due to the material of the crystal board, the entire room was spotlessly white. When one walked in, they would feel as if they had walked into a completely enclosed subspace.
However, Ding Meng's eyesight had always been good. He noticed that at the corners of the room on the east and west sides, there were white cabins that were filled with technological auras. They were completely integrated with the surrounding environment and would be hard to notice if one didn't look carefully.
He didn't recognize the cabin on the east side, but it was similar to the cryogenic cabin used by spaceships during long-distance voyages. Once a person lay down in it, the cabin door would automatically close and the person would be able to sleep for a long time inside.
However, Ding Meng was certain that this was definitely not a cryogenic cabin, nor was it a bed.
He had seen the cabin on the west side before. It was like a small coffee table with a transparent, ellipsoidal protective cover covering it. This was one of the more high-end, general-purpose medical cabins nowadays — the "Guardian V", or the "V" medical cabin for short.
This medical cabin could treat many serious diseases, including those famous chronic diseases in human history: rheumatoid arthritis, AIDS, cell mutations, neuronal atrophy, and so on.
Other than that, this room was really empty. Ding Meng never imagined that Vader's private lounge would be so simple. It was so simple that it was almost crude. One had to know that although Vader wasn't the number one person in the base, he was still one of the commanders among the higher-ups. His status was far higher than that of ordinary mercenaries.
It was hard to imagine that someone like Vader would live in such a monotonous and boring place. Of course, compared to the rest of the labourers outside, this place could be said to be heaven on earth.
At this moment, Vader's hand was already pointing to the west. "Go in."
Ding Meng did not hesitate. He quickly got into the medical cabin and lay down. He knew that in this world where the environment was so harsh that he could die at any time, this machine was probably the only thing that could save his life.
Under Vader's control, the protective cover of the V-shaped medical pod slowly closed, and then slowly began to rotate. Dense white light spots were produced from within, sprinkling onto Ding Meng's body like rain. This was the healing energy produced by the medical pod. This kind of highly condensed and pure energy was far superior to those cheap healing mixtures.
At the same time, another virtual screen shot out from Vader's wrist device, displaying the treatment information.
Target Status: Weakened 43%;
Target symptoms: Dengue 11 variant HD type, infection degree 32%; Gram 23 generation CC type, infection degree 39%;
…
If Ding Meng could see this information, it would be easy for him to understand why he felt sick.
Simply put, dengue fever was caused by the bite of a mutated mosquito. If it was mild, it would cause a fever, and if it was severe, it would cause death from bleeding. The depths of the mining area were dark and damp, and mosquitoes were very easy to breed. Many labourers died from this strange disease. Gram was a type of corpse virus. People died in this place every day, and if one was not careful, they would be infected.
However, Vader was not clear about this. He was somewhat moved. From Ding Meng's appearance, he did not look like a person whose weakened state had reached 43%. Furthermore, he was still able to sit up straight and speak with such vigor despite suffering from two serious diseases. From this, it could be seen that this young labourer called Ding Meng had quite a strong body.
If Ding Meng was in a 100% healthy state, he would undoubtedly have the physical conditions to become an "Origin Ability User".
Vader was suddenly lost in thought. If he had a body like Ding Meng's when he was young, he would not have come to this damned place to accept missions and become a mercenary.
While he was lost in thought, the voice of the medical cabin's AI system rang out. "Treatment complete. Unknown symptoms detected. Unknown symptoms detected."
"Unknown symptoms?"
Vader was a little surprised. Looking at it from the screen, Ding Meng's virtual body was like a piece of paper that could be seen through. The virus on it was like a stain that was gradually dispelled by the healing energy. Originally, this piece of paper was already spotless, but now, there was a flashing white dot on it.
What was certain was that this was not an ordinary virus, but it was definitely not normal either. This was because from its position, it was located in the center of Ding Meng's brain.
The human brain was an extremely complex, precise, and mysterious thing. For millions of years, no one had been able to study it thoroughly. Even with the development of the human world to this day, no one had been able to see through all its mysteries.
However, one thing was certain, and that was that the human brain was like a precision instrument. Pulling one part would affect the rest of the body. It would not work if one part was missing, and it would not work if one part was added. Now, there was an abnormal symptom in the center of Ding Meng's brain. This really surprised Vader.
"Is it benign or malignant?" Vader asked without batting an eyelid.
The AI system's reply was rather mechanical. "Unable to identify. Unable to identify."
Vader took a deep breath. "Is it an Origin Energy Perception Point?"
"Unable to identify. Unable to identify." The AI system's reply was still mechanical.
Vader immediately understood that there was definitely an abnormal problem with Ding Meng's body. If this abnormality was an Origin Energy Perception Point, then the V-shaped medical cabin would definitely be able to identify it. Since it wasn't, then there was only one possibility: Ding Meng had contracted an even stranger disease, and death was only a matter of time.
Under such circumstances, he would only have a chance of surviving if he received treatment from an even more advanced medical device.
The Marshal did have such a medical cabin, and it was also the only one in the base. However, Vader wasn't stupid enough to bring Ding Meng to see the Marshal.
The Marshal was the one who had set the rule of "forbidding laborers from using medical facilities." If the Marshal were to find out that Vader had privately received goods from laborers, then he would be in deep trouble.
His diamond might be worthless here, but if he were to return to his hometown, it would be priceless. It would be enough for him to live a good life for the rest of his life.
As long as Ding Meng died and no one knew about this transaction, then he would be able to sit back and relax.
When he thought of this, Vader quickly turned off the wristwatch. The healing stars within the medical cabin gradually grew smaller and smaller until they completely disappeared. Only then did the protective cover slowly open, and Ding Meng, who had been in a deep sleep, finally opened his eyes.
Vader walked forward and watched as Ding Meng emerged from the medical cabin. The smile on his face was filled with concern and gentleness. "How was it?
Did you feel that this diamond flower was worth its weight in gold? "
Ding Meng stood still and slowly raised his arms. Then, he made a gesture of expanding his chest. Only then did he look at Vader. "Thank you, Sir, for your kind treatment. I feel much better."
There was indeed some sincerity in his tone, because at this moment, he was certain that his body had completely recovered. If Sadler, who was outside, had launched a sneak attack from behind from ten meters away, he definitely wouldn't have been caught off guard like that child. He was at least sixty percent sure that he would have been able to avoid that fatal whip.
Vader smiled. "You're a lucky man. Go. I'll see you again at this time tomorrow. I hope you can surprise me again."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you again." Ding Meng lowered his head to express his gratitude. "If Sir needs anything in the future, I'll definitely be at your service."
As he watched Ding Meng's back disappear through the door, Vader smiled again. However, this time, it wasn't a gentle smile, but a sinister sneer. He couldn't wait for Ding Meng to come to his service, because he could already see the young man lying on the plaza, waiting for the surrounding beasts to come and snatch his bundle and trample on his corpse.
In Vader's eyes, Ding Meng was already a dead man. Anyway, there were people dying here every day. No one would care if one more died, let alone a laborer who had died of a serious disease.
Sometimes, perhaps death was the best release, and living was a kind of pain.