An Unfamiliar Ceiling

In the darkness, the smell of disinfectant stung Sun Hang's nostrils. Under its influence, his eyelids twitched twice, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing that met his gaze was a rectangular ceiling light. Its stark white, cold-toned illumination was utterly lifeless. Fortunately, the frosted glass cover softened the glare, making it less harsh.

"Where... is this? I..." Sun Hang tried to recall what happened before he lost consciousness, but a sharp pain from deep within his brain immediately made him abandon the thought.

"Mr. Sun, you're awake?" a young female voice sounded beside him. Sun Hang turned his head and saw a petite nurse in a pink uniform dress, holding a clipboard. "I have good news for you: your surgery was a success."

Surgery? Success?

Sun Hang blinked. His right hand, hidden beneath the blanket, instinctively moved towards his lap.

Thank goodness, everything that should be there still is.

"Why... am I... here? What happened to me? What... surgery?" he managed to say, his voice rough and hoarse, sounding like that of a man in his late fifties or sixties.

Sun Hang realized that besides his name, he couldn't remember anything else.

"Temporary amnesia is a common after-effect, especially after a severe head trauma," another male voice came from behind him. Sun Hang turned his head to the other side. It was a doctor in a white coat, his mask covering most of his face, and a pair of rigidly styled, large black-framed glasses obscuring the rest.

"Trauma? What... happened to me?"

"During a recent Anomaly attack incident, a stray bullet hit your head," the male doctor said. "Fortunately, your hard skull changed the bullet's trajectory, preventing a fatal injury. The bullet has been removed, and you're out of danger. You just need to rest and recuperate. As for the amnesia, it's only temporary; you'll gradually regain your memories after a period of recovery."

"Anomaly attack incident? Stray bullet?" The doctor's brief statement contained an "explosive" amount of information. Sun Hang felt his head throb even harder.

"First dressing change will be in forty-eight hours. Monitor closely for any post-operative complications," the male doctor continued, not answering Sun Hang's questions. He then looked up at the nurse across the bed. "If there are any abnormalities in your vital signs, notify the on-call doctor immediately."

"Understood, Director," the female nurse nodded.

The two soon left, leaving Sun Hang alone in the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling light.

For some reason, Sun Hang felt the stark white light was a bit too cold.

I wish it were a warm light, he thought.

In a daze, the stark white cold light suddenly shifted to a warm yellow. Immediately after, all the lights in the hospital room flickered violently. The next second, all the lights abruptly went out, leaving only the emergency exit sign at the base of the wall emitting a faint green glow.

"What's going on? Did the power trip?" a nurse's voice echoed from the hallway outside the room. It seemed Sun Hang's room wasn't the only one affected; the hallway outside was also plunged into darkness.

"I don't know. The nurse's station already called the electrician." another nurse replied.

Meanwhile, Sun Hang, lying in his hospital bed, was filled with deep shock and suspicion.

Did the change in lighting and the power outage happen because of the thought that had just crossed his mind, or was it merely a coincidence?

Just as Sun Hang was about to ponder further, the sharp pain in his head once again overwhelmed his will. He lay on his back, staring blankly at the dark ceiling, breathing heavily.

If the power hadn't gone out, the alarms on the machines monitoring his heart rate and blood pressure next to the bed would likely be blaring non-stop.

"What's happening... what is going on..." Sun Hang's chest heaved. He tried to sit up in bed, but his limbs spasmed uncontrollably.

His eyes widened, and he instinctively tried to cry out for help, but his throat felt as if it were being squeezed shut, rendering him unable to make a sound.

A sense of suffocation, like drowning, dragged his consciousness deeper into the abyss. Just as Sun Hang thought he was about to lose consciousness again, all the strangeness vanished. His racing heart gradually stabilized, and control over his body returned to him.

Click.

The lights came back on, and everything in the room returned to normal. A medical cart passed by the room's doorway. Sun Hang could faintly hear the sound of rubber wheels grinding against the floor, the soft clinking of ampoules and plastic stands, and the nurses' hushed complaints about the sudden power outage.

Amidst these subtle, noisy sounds, a crisp sound of high heels clicking on the floor cut through. The sound grew closer, eventually stopping in front of Sun Hang's hospital room.

The owner of the heels pushed the door open and walked in.

"Hello, Mr. Sun," said a tall woman dressed in a black suit and black trousers. The white shirt she wore underneath was buttoned all the way to the top. Her face, meticulously made up, showed no discernible emotion.

"I apologize for disturbing you when you need rest the most, but there are some matters I must discuss with you promptly." She pulled over a stool from the side and sat down by the hospital bed.

"Who are you...?" Sun Hang asked instinctively. His gaze flickered to her left chest, where a bronze badge, symbolizing her official status, was pinned.

Although Sun Hang had lost his memory, common sense things like this had not been erased from his mind.

"I am a staff member responsible for handling the aftermath of Anomaly attack incidents," the woman replied. "This attack reduced the entire block to ruins, with over a hundred casualties. Including you, only six survivors made it out alive."

Sun Hang remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"Out of humanitarian concern, we immediately provided rescue for the survivors, including yourself, and covered all expenses..." The woman paused before continuing, "However, apart from your name, we found no items at the scene that could prove your identity. Your DNA information also yielded no matching records in the citizen database. There are no tax records, no insurance payment records, and no employment records..."

"I have amnesia..." Sun Hang frowned slightly, having already caught a hint of what she was implying.

This situation isn't looking good.

"I am aware that you have amnesia, but regardless, based on the information we currently possess, we can only classify you, for now, as an undocumented person without citizenship or as a refugee who illegally crossed from another city-state," the woman stated calmly. "This state is under no obligation to provide you with free aid services. All expenses, including surgical fees, will be recorded as debt under your name."

This woman is here to collect, Sun Hang thought.

He took a deep breath and asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"As of now, a total of three million eight hundred ninety thousand six hundred twenty-seven yuan."

"That much?" Sun Hang frowned slightly. He clearly remembered the purchasing power of currency in this era. For ordinary people, one million yuan was an astronomical sum. And in his current penniless state, paying off this debt seemed almost impossible.

Unless his identity before losing his memory was that of a rich second-generation heir.

"Since you have no citizenship or medical insurance, all costs are charged in full, with no discounts," the woman's voice was chillingly devoid of emotion. "Every bullet fired, every drop of gasoline consumed, and every scalpel blade used to save you must be fully borne by you."

"So... what if I can't pay it back?" Sun Hang narrowed his eyes.

He definitely couldn't afford nearly four million yuan right now. He had no money, and he certainly didn't want to give up his life.

"This is the primary purpose of my visit," the woman said. She took out a tablet from her briefcase. "As long as you sign this employment contract and repay your debt through labor, after completing the specified amount of work, this state can absolve you of all debt and any accrued interest, while also granting you legal citizenship."

"A contract of servitude?" Sun Hang blurted out, stunned.