Chapter 599: Pain Transfer Pills

“It’s not enough! Not enough!”

The annular tumors above the sea of fire multiplied, and Dr. Liu’s hands moved with increasing speed.

The scalpel sliced through rough skin, cut through thick fat, parted muscle and nerve, and scraped a clear gash across the periosteum. Then, the gash suddenly shifted, sliding off to the side.

In the blink of an eye, the wound vanished without a trace. In the sky, however, an annular tumor faltered and fell, plunging into the sea of fire.

Dr. Liu gritted his teeth and looked up again at the ring-shaped Shadows above the sea of fire.

‘Still not enough.’

The pain came too often and vanished too easily. It was warping his perception. Sometimes, a wound would be there, but he’d feel nothing. Other times, he’d have already transferred the injury, only for the excruciating pain to strike him suddenly.

At the same time, a powerful drowsiness washed over him. The searing heat from the flames left Dr. Liu parched.

He tried to open his mouth, but his lips were so dry they cracked and split. Dr. Liu raised the scalpel and sliced his own mouth open. A moment later, that wound, too, vanished.

After the wound healed, a tingling numbness remained. A phantom ache, barely there yet all-encompassing, took over.

‘Now… I can’t feel the thirst…’

The wounds could be transferred, but the blood remained. Dr. Liu was covered in gore, like a demon emerging from a Sea of Blood. Yet despite losing so much, he felt no symptoms of anemia.

A black cloud rose above the sea of fire. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a mass of annular tumors, packed tightly together and surging out from beyond the flames.

The flames continuously burned these horrific creatures, but they replicated just as relentlessly, their numbers swelling.

Char, earth, ruins… all became breeding grounds for their replication. Not even the towering flames could halt their advance.

‘Too slow.’

No matter how fast he wielded the scalpel, he couldn’t stop the annular tumors from drawing near.

Dr. Liu stood before the sea of fire, the scalpel in his hand trembling.

He turned his head, looking back at the towering high-rises.

‘Everything behind him was so peaceful, just as it had been before the cataclysm. If the abyss hadn’t come, he might be in one of those buildings right now, having dinner with his family. But now…’

Dr. Liu shook his head, casting aside his stray thoughts. He fixed his gaze forward once more, his resolve hardening.

‘Perhaps he was the only one standing between the apocalypse and peace.’

It had been a long time since he’d heard anything from his teammates. The fire raged ever higher, and the black cloud drifted ever upward.

Dr. Liu sighed. He stopped cutting himself with the scalpel and began to walk forward slowly.

‘He’d experimented before. Injuries to inanimate objects couldn’t be transferred. Perhaps to the relic, such damage didn’t even count as an “injury.”‘

‘So, the only way to inflict damage now was to harm himself.’

As Dr. Liu walked forward, he broke off a few more Pain Transfer Pills and swallowed them.

‘The scalpel was too slow. Even if I steeled myself to inflict injury, I wouldn’t be fast enough to stop the spreading annular tumors.’

‘The black cloud is drawing nearer. There’s only one way…’

Dr. Liu took a deep breath and stepped into the sea of fire.

‘If cuts can be transferred, then burns must be transferable too!’

Scorching flames instantly engulfed Dr. Liu’s body.

“AH!” A pained scream tore from his lips. Instinct took over and he stumbled back, but he forced himself to a halt. He wrenched his head up to look at the black cloud above.

“Transfer! Transfer!”

Instantly, the black cloud burst into flames.

‘It worked.’

Dr. Liu’s body healed once more. The nerves in his incinerated skin regenerated, and the pain returned with a vengeance.

“AH!”

He couldn’t stop himself from wailing. His clothes and hair had been burned away completely, leaving his scorched skin exposed to the fire. The slightest gust of wind sent waves of horrific pain through him.

The soles of his feet felt as though he were standing on a bed of needles. The soul-rending pain shot from his regenerated nerves straight to his brain.

“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!”

Dr. Liu grabbed the red-hot scalpel, plunged it viciously into his own eye, and began to stir frantically.

‘If I just scramble my brain, the pain will stop…’

“Transfer! Transfer!”

His consciousness suddenly cleared. The wound in his brain had been transferred.

But the flames began to sear his flesh once more, and another wave of agony washed over him.

At this moment, Dr. Liu had only one thought: Keep going!

He once again gripped the scalpel embedded in his eye and began to stir…

The black cloud in the sky burned ever more fiercely. Moreover, the annular tumors were being scrambled by an invisible assault. A chunk of the once-condensed black cloud was forcefully torn away.

The glare of the fire blinded Dr. Liu’s one good eye. He could only vaguely make out the black cloud above, but he kept muttering through his charred lips:

“Transfer! Transfer!”

“I can’t let them get through!”

The scalpel churned ceaselessly in his brain. Dr. Liu’s consciousness had faded completely, his body now moving on pure instinct.

In the swirling flames, Dr. Liu thought he saw his teammates.

The soldier from before limped to his side, took his hand, and helped him scramble his own brain.

Another teammate crawled behind him and held his legs, steadying him on the needle-sharp ground.

Another held his chin, helping him keep his head raised toward the black cloud in the sky.

More and more teammates appeared. They held Dr. Liu’s body fast, allowing him to stand firm within the sea of fire.

In that moment, Dr. Liu felt a sense of ease.

He didn’t need any strength to stand; he could focus solely on transferring his wounds.

His captain appeared at his side, making the sea of fire burn even hotter. Then he walked around to face him and pulled him into an embrace.

“It hurts a lot, doesn’t it?” the captain asked softly.

“It hurts so much! It hurts so much!” Tears streamed from the corners of Dr. Liu’s eyes, only to be instantly vaporized by the heat.

“It’s all right. We’re here,” the captain whispered, leaning close to his ear.

“I’m just a doctor, why do I have to fight…” Dr. Liu could no longer contain his anguish and began to sob. “I became a doctor precisely because I was so afraid of pain…”

“Captain, weren’t you all afraid? Doesn’t it hurt you?”

“I was afraid, too. And it hurt so much…” the captain replied faintly, his own voice trembling.

“Then why did you all charge in?! I’m the only one left! I should have run away! Why did I have to fight? Why did I have to be just like you?!”

The captain said nothing in response to Dr. Liu’s questions, only patting him gently on the back.

“For everything behind us.”

The captain gently raised his head, his gaze seemingly fixed on what lay behind Dr. Liu:

Blue skies, white clouds, green grass, lush trees, towering buildings…

Dreams, tranquility, home, life, humanity…