Earth, China, Magic City.
On a bed in a hospital, a man in a hospital gown slowly opened his eyes. Bewildered, he stared at the familiar, modern LED lights on the ceiling and the snow-white walls around him.
"Where... am I?" Chen Si looked at the IV needles in both his hands and the two bottles steadily feeding saline into them.
His gaze flickered, and his mind quickly cleared. Were those IV needles? Saline? He looked again at an electronic screen on the wall. Unable to move either hand, he could only blink hard. Was that a television?
Uncertainty and shock filled him. He turned toward a machine on the bedside table, its screen displaying his heart rhythm, then lowered his gaze to the round electrodes attached to his chest.
At that moment, he finally understood that he was in a hospital ward. What on earth was going on?
"Kid."
"Who's there!" Chen Si tensed, his gaze instinctively sharpening.
"You little fool, what's got you so worked up? I just wanted to tell you not to move around, or you'll dislodge your IV needles!" a middle-aged patient lying in the bed beside his said.
"You're speaking... Chinese?" Shock rocked Chen Si, and his pupils trembled slightly.
"Hey! Don't get me started! This is China. What else would I speak if not Chinese? No wonder people say you Magic City folks look down on outsiders. Only you lot are fancy enough!" The man was clearly a little angry.
"I'm sorry, sir! Sorry, sorry, that's not what I meant!" Chen Si apologized repeatedly.
"I've only been here a day, but you've been asleep for a whole day and night without waking up. Your illness must be pretty serious. Heh, don't take what I said to heart." The man seemed to realize