"Seriously ill?"
Kuroto Dan pointed at himself and emphasized to Shiroko. "I'm just an ordinary game administrator. Not one of those doctors at the CR rescue center. Do you understand?"
"This... is it really like that...?"
Shiroko lowered her head in disappointment.
Ayane's nursing ward was in the teaching building, a converted maintenance room from the infirmary. There were only five students in the school, so there were no medical teachers, nor a professional team like Trinity with specialized doctors and nurses. The only medical facilities were a truck everyone had raided and the equipment that had been preserved.
"But it's okay to go and take a look."
Kuroto Dan folded his arms and raised his head proudly. "I've already said it! There is no problem my divine talent cannot solve! None!"
"Although curing diseases and saving lives is not within the scope of the game company's services—I'll find professionals for these kinds of things in the future! I'm a game developer!"
Despite his complaints, Kuroto Dan still went to the infirmary on the first floor of the Abydos teaching building, following Shiroko, who was suddenly excited.
"Ayane, how is your health?"
Gently opening the sliding door and slowing his pace, Shiroko led Kuroto Dan inside. The room had curtains drawn.
Wrapped in medical equipment, oxygen tubes, and heart rate monitors, was a thin, short-haired girl with sunken eyes—Ayane Okusora—lying in bed.
Seeing the door open, Ayane turned her head with difficulty. "...Shiroko, I'm sorry to trouble you..."
"My body... isn't recovering very well..."
Ayane breathed hard and forced a smile.
"Shiroko, is the Helmet Gang here again?"
"Yes, but I already sent them away." Shiroko stretched out her hand and held Ayane's, who had lost a lot of weight due to her illness. The bone joints of her once-plump hands now protruded. Shiroko could clearly feel the edges and corners, as well as the skin, which was not very warm.
"Excuse me... am I hallucinating..." Ayane narrowed her eyes and looked at Kuroto Dan, standing next to the bed. "Is there an adult here?"
"Ah, I haven't introduced you yet..." Shiroko quickly said to Ayane. "This is the adult who came from outside to help us. His name is Kuroto Dan! He helped drive away the Helmet Gang and found the base where they kidnapped Serika who was handed over to the Kaiser Corporation. He's a very capable adult."
"Ahem... so..."
Ayane turned her eyes toward Kuroto Dan's face with difficulty, but without her glasses, she couldn't see it clearly. All she could discern from the blurred face was a person with a completely different temperament from Sensei she had met once.
She could feel the powerful strength, the arrogance in his look, and the eyes that examined her.
"Ahem... Mr. Kuroto Dan, thank you very much for helping Abydos..."
After hearing the whole story from Shiroko, Ayane forced herself to thank Kuroto Dan. "Thank you so much..."
"You're welcome. I just came here for the company's startup capital." Kuroto Dan nodded to her. "But, although curing diseases and saving lives isn't within my service scope, it's still something I can solve."
"My illness... just lacks medicine... it can't be cured..."
Ayane knew her body well. She had been ill for years, and the recent overwhelming events, along with being shot, had worsened her condition.
Originally, with professional treatment and proper medicine, Ayane only needed rest to recover. But the area had long been taken over by Kaiser Corporation which completely blocking their supplies. They couldn't even ask the GSC for help.
In such a difficult environment, Ayane's illness had dragged on.
"Mr. Kuroto Dan, do you have any way to help Ayane?" Shiroko asked with a pleading, hopeful look. "Since you can break through the Kaiser Corporation's blockade, it should be no problem to bring back some medicine, right?"
"That's not difficult. However, this is just a mediocre approach!" Kuroto Dan put his hands in his pockets. "Since I'm the one taking action, I won't use these mediocre methods! If I'm going to act, I have to solve it once and for all!"
Kuroto Dan opened his hands with a confident smile. "It all depends on what you choose."
"Choose...?" Ayane was puzzled.
"In the first method, you will no longer be human." Kuroto Dan raised a finger. "But you will get a new body that is immortal, with computing power beyond humans and all kinds of new abilities."
"And the second method is just to treat your body, bringing it to a healthy state without making any changes." Kuroto Dan made a "not recommended" expression. "Although I really want to recommend the first option, I still respect the patient's right to choose. So, you can choose not to accept my treatment!"
"Hmm..."
Ayane lay on the bed, quietly thinking about the decision that would change her fate.
To be fair, Ayane must be unwilling to pass up this opportunity. Even if she stood up again, she could do more for Abydos, Shiroko, and others, instead of lying on the bed like a burden and waiting to die.
So, if she had to choose, she would definitely choose. But the two options proposed by the adult in front of her were very intriguing.
'What does it mean... to no longer be human?'
Ayane used her intelligence and wisdom, but she couldn't figure it out. After all, she couldn't possibly know about the life of the 'Bugsters,' and Kuroto Dan hadn't explained it directly, so of course, it was impossible to guess.
'But... by emphasizing the benefits of the first option so much, is it profitable for Mr. Kuroto Dan? Or is he just showing off?'
Ayane couldn't understand the adult in front of her.
This Kuroto Dan gave Ayane the impression that he was more like Chairman Kaiser—mature, with profit calculations and his own set of standards. He treated them not as 'students' but as 'customers.'
After weighing everything, Ayane couldn't really come to a conclusion. Seeing that time was passing, Ayane didn't want to keep this adult who was willing to help them waiting any longer, so she chose the more conservative treatment plan.
"I choose... Option 2, please."
"Hmm..." Kuroto Dan looked a little unhappy. "Another mediocre person."