No matter where the investigation went, Keekee's name would often crop up from time to time. Was it the star of the show? Was it the secondary cast? Or even the one recognizable extra who shows up in every episodes?

  In the end, we have yet to ask the real question:

  Was she awake yet?

  "STOP KEEKEE! I......Ah...I'm still in I.C.U. Th-thank the gods."

  Sorry to disappoint you, Martial Kim, but you had a dream.

  The last thing he remembered was standing vigil and taking a moment to meditate. Never did he expect he would slump so deep to have a nightmare, let alone realize the sun was at its noon zenith.

  "...Keekee. Forgive me."

  No matter how many times the young master rubbed his eyes or pinched his cheek, nothing really changed. The Keekee he knew and admired was still laying in her hospital bed the whole time. The only sound that came from her, was the soft wheezing of her breathing through the oxygen mask.

  Somehow, that alone was loud enough to drown out the beeps and bings of the many machinery attached to her body.

  --- No improvement. And I don't need those sad excuse for modern doctors to confirm it. Her pulse shows no sign of improvement. Completely opposite of Fae Fae's progress when she suffered the same fate.

  The young master sighed, a sound as if he was about to die.

  --- I don't understand. Spiritual Healing isn't working. And the nurses prevent me from giving her herbal medicines. What else am I supposed to do to cure her? And I can't even provide Keekee acupuncture treatment without being scolded.

  Even when Martial Kim was just the friend of the patient, he was still a certified doctor in his own right. Then again, if you type his name into the college of physician database, the results would return zero. If it were the Jade Empire records, on the other hand, totally different story.

  With his skill, experience, and imperial degree – he could operate a hospital as director if he wanted to.

  But in this strange new world, he was nobody. And he can't do anything.

  --- Oh. H-how blasphemous of me!

  Why did the young master panic? Well he realized he was accidentally holding hands with Keekee! Le gasp, what a scandalous move!

  Blushing, the young master whipped his hand back into his sleeve and tried to pretend nothing happened. But even so his conscious weighed heavy, as if he woke up next to a naked woman after a drunken escapade.

  --- I-it should be around that time, for the nurses to come and give her a bed bath. As much as I should supervise them and make sure they clean her properly but...

  His face turns redder and you know why.

  --- My face. I need to wash my face. Th-that's what I should do. Amitabha. Amitabha!

  Odd.

  The usual bathroom Martial Kim would use was undergoing some sort of maintenance. Something about a sink leaking. Meaning he couldn’t use it on the same floor. Of course, there was two other bathrooms. However, one of them would slander him as a pervert, while the last one were meant only for ‘family’ of three or four. Like, that’s what the sign says, right?

  So like any normal human being, Martial Kim would take the stairs... Hold on, stairs!? In this modern era? Shouldn’t he be using the elevator...

  Ah right. He was never a fan of those convenience. The only time he would ever ride on such a complex and convenient death box, was when he was with someone familiar.

  But he ended up walking into one anyway. Well, not by his own free will.

  “OOF!”

  “Excuse us, pardon us, coming through.”

  A group of people, rather bulky for their size, came walking into the young master. One way or another, he ended up being swept away in their path, like a tiny pebble in the river. Next thing he knew, he was shoved into the corner of the elevator.

  Even though he was able to squeeze out of the corner, he hesitated getting out.

  Well the doors were shutting on him. Despite he was only an arms length away from the OPEN DOOR button...he didn’t know how they work. Why, he always let Professor Stone, or even Keekee, handle the automatic driving.

  --- Curses. Why have I not been paying attention to these details? H-have I gotten sloppy!?

  Perhaps.

  Thus Martial Kim muttered under his breath at his feeble attempts to open the elevator door. It was no better than a pitiful dog pawing at the door face. No amount of scratching or whining will make it go Open Sesame...Wait. Stood corrected.

  Didn’t take long before the elevator doors opened again. No one got out, oddly, but a lot more people came in. Just as burly. Once more the pebble was flooded and pushed back into a corner. Wedged in bank of the stream with no where to go.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  --- ...Strange...why does this particular elevator ride feel different? If I hadn’t known better, do I detect a killing intent?

  Danger. That was what his body was telling him. Where? In this box full of civilians and hospital visitors. Sure, they were rather large in size, but size and shape shouldn’t be the instinctive trigger. Not to mention everyone was going about their day, chatting with each other, fiddling on their phone, etc.

  --- Assassins? Here of all places? Now that I think about it...these passengers. Nothing feels normal about them, no matter how tamed they look.

  What should the young master do? Was he over thinking things or?

  “... Perhaps we can come to some sort of negotiation.”

  Huh? What was that? Who are you talking to Martial Kim? D-don’t tell us, you’re speaking to EVERYONE? They’re all giving you the weird eye. Because everyone knows, you don’t just openly talk to strangers in an elevator ride. I-it’s just damn awkward!

  “My friend suffered great injuries. She needs peace and quiet to recover. I prefer not to have any major interruptions disturbing her rest.”

  What are you on about Martial Kim? Everyone thinks you’ve gone loopy, Or worse, you’re actually a patient who snuck off a secure unit! Don’t make them call security to drag you ‘back’ into Psychiatry!

  “...Maybe, I wasn’t clear.”

  Martial Kim, wh-why are you looking at that pregnant lady all of a sudden!? Sh-she’s not a ninja in disguise right? Sh-she doesn’t have an array of weapons hidden in a basket tucked under her belly right? Right!?”

  “Madame. My sincerest apologies, but would you kindly exit on the next floor. On foot.”

  Don’t need to tell her twice, you weirdo! The pregnant lady quickly hit a random button, away from her intended floor. The moment the doors opened, she waddled out and tried to forget how close the young master was, the crazy man!

  Out of the 10 passengers, she was the only one who had common sense to walk out. So when the door slid to a close and continued on its trip...

  Everyone’s eyes started to change. From staring into space, to an animal on the hunt.

  Martial Kim did a head count, waving his finger like a conducting.

  “You must be the one responsible for breaking the sink, no? You smell. No, I didn’t mean to insult you. That bathroom I normally frequent has this unique stench of dead fish in the air. Especially in their sink, their water – for some odd reason – produces a foul odour. Makes me wonder, how does this hospital survive on such a tainted water system...”

  The young master scanned his environment, as if planning where and how to move in the crowded space.

  “... And you, sir, your hands are smudged. The same residue and colour as the ‘Maintenance’ sign that was stuck on the door. Perhaps you should pay attention to what you were touching...”

  The elevator shifted, never once stopping. Like a shuffling players in a foot ball formation.

  “Also. The gentlemen near the door. I noticed you didn’t press a button like the others. And you came in alone. Are you that lazy to search a floor, or are you gambling that other people will press the right floor for you?”

  Muscles stiffen, neck tenses. Fists secretly cracked under their sleeves.

  “Honestly? Unarmed? How daring.” Martial Kim hummed as he secretly warmed up his hands and wrist behind his back, “Clearly each and every one of you are well trained experts. And you have the right mind to plan this all out. Surely you should know who you are dealing with?”

  No answers, but there was no need for a verbal exchange. Actions spoke louder, right?

  Why, even Martial Kim was already plotting what skill and techniques he would use based on the angle, position, and distance of his ‘targets’.

  “Now, before we begin...Is there anyone who wants to step out and re-think their life choices?”

  Everyone was waiting for the elevator.

  The hospital was always a busy place, for employees and visitors. Even when they had four brand new elevators to use – they were just too slow. So by the time any one of them arrived, hordes of people would cram themselves inside like a pack of sardines in a can.

  No one wanted to be left behind, no one wanted to wait another hour for a ride up the many floors.

  Today, it was the opposite.

  When one of the elevators finally arrived, the crowd screamed and scattered like fish in a pond. No one wanted to use that particular elevator. Fortunately, it wasn’t carrying a morgue patient.

  Would have made more sense if it had.

  Out of the 10 occupants inside of that elevator, only one survivor stumbled out. The others were piled up in corners, left either half dead or unconscious. All of them with black eyes, twisted jaws, or just mangled rag dolls.

  The survivor hit a button inside the elevator, to send it away before anyone else would get scared off.

  “...Perhaps...I should be the one re-thinking my life choices. Uurg.”

  The survivor, Martial Kim, suddenly doubled over as if ready to paint the hospital floor a brand new mural with his guts. Although nothing came out, he had trouble just standing up straight.

  His head was spinning, knees weak, hands shaking. Yet, there were no visible wounds on his person. Not even his face was blemished with an elbow strike to the eye or cut on the cheek. Nothing.

  Not like the guys stuffed in the elevator box.

  --- Aaaagh. My head. Why is the world spinning under my feet? This constant nausea throbbing in my chest. Has it been clinging onto me since this morning? My vision is fading, my eyes so heavy...Could it be...I’m tired?

  Well Martial Kim, when was the last time you slept? Try as you might surviving on martial discipline alone, you’re still human!

  --- ...Keekee...I need to go back to Keekee.

  Alas, the young master shrugged off his difficulties and continued to push on. This time he was smart, he would take the stairs. As he scaled the many steps, his mind started to think things over.

  --- Those men in the elevator. They weren’t thugs. They were highly trained men...but lacked the killing intent of an assassin. Why, even when they went all out against me – they missed every opportunity to have tried to kill me. What is going on?

  Such attention to detail, even when he was just targeted for an attack. That’s a young master of the Martial World for you.

  --- Actually. The foundations of their fighting. Where have I seen it before? One of them felt familiar, just the way I twist his arm behind his back. Why, they even shared the same scream?... Have I faced them before? But where?

  Impossible. Martial Kim had been nothing but an upstanding citizen in this strange new world. Never once did he come into contact with gangs or the mafia. So who would put a hit on him, and in a hospital of all places!?

  --- ...Something isn’t right... Am I really the target?... No. No it couldn’t be.

  1/4 tank of gas.

  That was how much enemy Martial Kim had after many days and nights of vigilance. Despite his condition, his blurring vision and his light headedness, he would out race even the best sprinter in the world by scaling up the stairs...

  ...Actually, running was too slow! Let’s fly!

  --- Three Steps of the Summer Cicada!

  Martial Kim drew upon his Inner Energy to lighten his body and take to the sky, or in this case up the spiralling stair wells. Every kick off the railing would send him fluttering higher and higher. Screw the stairs!

  In a blink, he would arrive back on the floor where his friends was and wasted no time to search for her room.

  “Keekee! Keekee! Are you alright!?...Oh...oh thank heavens. You’re safe!”

  The young master never felt this sort of relief before. He made it back just in time, to resume his post and watching over his dear friend. The bed was still there, the person was still laying there, all the machines that kept a close eye on her heart and breathing were always there where it should be.

  Martial Kim’s chair, on the other hand, was gone. But then again, the nurses loaned it to him so it would make sense for them to take it back.

  “...Keekee...It’s alright. I’m right here. I won’t leave you.”

  “...Oh! Patient 5’s boyfriend!” A certain Stout Nurse hobbled in after she got report from the previous shift. “Aren’t you supposed to be with your girlfriend?”

  The room suddenly went cold.

  Martial Kim tried to ignore the lump in his throat, “Wh-whatever do you mean. This is Keekee is she........A man!?”

  What? Keekee turned into a man!?...Wait, hold on – the patient’s name is completely different! Is this someone else!? A bed swap of all times!?

  “M-Miss Nurse. Wh-where is Keekee? Please! Please tell me, s-she didn’t pass away while I was out! Right?”

  “Oh no, heavens no! Don’t worry. She’s being moved to another unit.”

  “A-another unit!? Where? In her current condition? H-gow come no one told me!?”

  “What do you mean? I just told the officer to notify you...They didn’t do that?”