Chapter 3 Difficult Choices_1

"Tap, tap!" A soft shake, and a clear sound emanated suggesting that something was inside.

Huang An received the information he wanted from the Eye of Insight.

[Near-expiry cancer suppression drug box: Produced by 2055 Silver Galaxy Bank, tablets inside can significantly suppress the growth of human cancer cells. Expires in one month, rendering it entirely ineffective. Quantity: 1. Exchange price: 0.45kg of gold.]

[Please note, need to be taken with plenty of lukewarm water and may have some side effects.]

Nine tael of gold was nothing to Huang An, his eyes fixed on the characters on the drug box he didn't recognize.

Were they "Cancer suppression tablets"?

This was what he urgently needed.

A conspiracy? He didn't care anymore.

For the dying, there is little to be wary of.

Huang An swallowed. His painful throat caused a slight desire to eat.

This surging feeling of life forced him to tears.

He could no longer remember how long it had been since he last felt a desire to eat.

He wanted to swallow this tablet.

He had the nine tael of gold, right there in his office!

In less than a half a minute, he could have his hands on the tablet.

However, Huang An paused; his hand faltered for a moment.

He was suspicious. Firstly, he didn't know the potency of the medication, whether it worked as the Eye of Insight described.

Or perhaps, the Eye of Insight hadn't even verified its ability at all.

Of course, for Huang An, worrying about this was unnecessary. Whoever brought him here wouldn't deceive him on such a matter.

What truly concerned Huang An was something else.

He didn't know whether this medication had any side effects, whether he would still be capable of performing his unfinished tasks after taking it.

If he passed out or was too weak to work after taking the medication, he was destined to perish.

If time was procrastinated and tasks got delayed, he would be forcefully eliminated.

That was Huang An's fear.

Being eliminated on the first day in the Interstellar Waste Dump for missing work because of medication was a foolish mistake Huang An refused to make.

He could die from sickness, but not from foolishness!

He set aside the medication, slowly got up, suppressing the excitement and urgency in his heart, he resumed his previous work.

However, he now felt a slight strength in his body.

The desire to live that led to a power too great for his illness to stop.

Thirty minutes passed, Huang An threw the last shovel of sludge and wet waste paper into the waste port, his eyes fixated on the timer on the opposite side.

[Remaining waste to be cleaned: 0kg.]

Familiar voices suddenly echoed in his mind.

[Today's task is completed, you can choose to rest, or continue cleaning the waste.]

"Pant, pant!"

Huang An undid his automatic cleaning safety suit, then collapsed on the ground, gasping for air like a drowning man.

Sweat slid down his cheeks, blurred his vision. His neck was damp, so uncomfortable, his flesh felt as if thousands of ants were gnawing at it. However, Huang An felt relief in his heart.

He could live for another month, it seemed like a faint hope to continue living.

After about five minutes of respite, Huang An's body regained a bit of strength. He didn't bother to get up, he simply sat crumpled on the ground, muttering numbers, ready to leave.

"Gotta leave."

"Ten, nine, eight....."

"One."

As soon as the ten seconds were up, Huang An's body jolted suddenly, immediately his surroundings spun. Already having a big change of heart.

Suddenly.

"Meow~"

A cat's cry suppressed Huang An's urge to vomit.

It was his cat.

The old cat's voice echoed next to the window, then came some noise, Huang An knew, the old cat came in.

Sure enough, the purring quickly sounded beside him, his arm too could feel the soft fur and the slight warmth from the old cat.

His vision was deteriorating due to his illness, Huang An reached out and his hand met the warmth and softness.

"Meow~"

To prevent another bout of nausea, Huang An forced a smile, pushed the old cat aside, and struggled to get up.

The symptoms of pancreatic cancer were too numerous and torturous.

"Pat, Pat, Pat!"

Brushing the dust off his buttocks, Huang An staggered towards the incandescent light and switched it on.

This was his office, and also his bedroom, Huang An was well-acquainted with this room.

After switching on the light, Huang An suppressed his excitement and moved towards the office desk.

Pulling the key from under a book on the desk, Huang An bent slightly to stick the key into a drawer under his desk.

Once the key was inserted, the drawer creaked open instantly.

Inhaling deeply, a smile of joy crossed his face for the first time in a while.

In this drawer, lay around five kilograms of gold.

Which he had collected since he was young.

His adoptive parents had run the recycling plant just outside of Tan City for more than thirty years.

Huang An was picked up from a trash heap by his adoptive parents, he had just been born at the time.

From an early age, Huang An knew his origin, his adoptive parents didn't keep it from him. In fact, after finding Huang An, they put their fertility thoughts to rest as they were infertile.

The factory was not overly large, but not small either, Huang An grew up amongst junk, and had found quite a few treasures, including gold and silver jewelry.

His foster parents had given everything to Huang An.

If the rightful owner came to claim them, they would return the items naturally.

If the owner didn't show up, after a while, the items would become a bonus for Huang An in the factory.

Including the doting of his foster parents who treated him as their biological child, Huang An received at least one piece of gold jewelry every month.

He melted the gold and made it into gold lumps of various sizes.

After all, his pocket money was sufficient, and there was no need to sell the gold.

The gold lay quietly in the drawer, symbolizing Huang An's hope for survival.

Without being too picky, Huang An took out a round gold lump weighing about two to three pounds and began silently reciting numbers.

Soon, Huang An's figure disappeared within the room.

"Meow~"

"Meow~"

Urgent meows of an old cat echoed from within the room, full of anxiety.

This cat was very sensitive; it sensed that its close companion was on the verge of death.

Its sudden disappearance had driven it into a frenzy.

Huang An stood in the center of the landfill square in Wan Realm.

"Use 0.45kg of gold, exchange for a cancer suppressant."

Huang An held the medicine in one hand and the gold in the other.

The next moment.

"Exchange successful, you can handle your items freely."

The moment the voice fell, his right hand, holding the gold, suddenly felt light.

It was about a pound lighter.

Huang An rejoiced but had no interest in testing the space transportation and gold cutting abilities of Wan Realm landfill.

He recited numbers and soon left the Wan Realm landfill.

In the office, Huang An sat with the old cat lying in his lap.

A white medicine bottle was in front of him. Huang An looked at the bottle, hesitated for less than a minute, then decided to take the drug immediately.

The drug would expire in a month, and there was only one pill.

If the drug had a few more years of validity and a few more pills, Huang An could research and replicate it using state and capital resources, thus delaying his condition and extending his life.

Unfortunately, there was only one pill.

Huang An and his foster parents, despite having some assets, could not afford the astronomical cost of drug research and development.

This did not even account for the time wasted establishing a research team, analyzing the drug, as well as the lengthy research and development cycle.

Alternatively, he might reveal the existence of the Wan Realm landfill site. Even if the government believed him and Huang An received their support, pancreatic cancer in its late stages remained incurable.

The only drug couldn't save him.

Because Huang An could not identify the ingredients of the drug. The characters on the drug bottle could only be recognized in the Wan Realm landfill with the aid of the Eye of Insight.

Regrettably, Huang An had checked before but couldn't find the cost of the medicine; only a few types were listed, and there was no information about the drug making process.

Being in the waste disposal business, his social status wasn't high either.

Even if he did reveal it, the only medicine wouldn't end up in Huang An's hands.

Compared to capital and power, the Huang family was too weak.

Huang An decided to take the medication immediately.

Getting up, he started preparing to take the medication.

He needed to prepare a large amount of warm water.

Plugging in the kettle, Huang An, enduring the cold, got some cold dishes and cooked meat from the nearby staff canteen.

Being cautious by nature, even now with a cancer suppressant in his hand, he still moved at a steady pace.

Illness can utterly change a person, a fact Huang An was deeply aware of.

He now felt like a grasshopper struggling in late autumn, struggling to hop despite the word "death" carved on his forehead.

While waiting for the water to boil, Huang An took out his unfinished will that he had written and stopped numerous times, and started a new round of writing.

"Father, mother, your unfilial son has an incurable disease..."

The unfinished will from before was quickly completed, as Huang An had been contemplating it for nearly two years.

Removing the completed will, he also found the hidden medical record and put them in his suitcase.

If nothing happened after taking the medicine, he would continue to hide the will, medical record, inspection form, and bank card.

If he died, all struggles would end and his parents would naturally find these when they came to sort his belongings.

He had prepared himself for death.

After a while, Huang An wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes, went to the door, wiped the perspiration and tears off his face with a wet towel.

Finding the old cat, Huang An returned to the chair in front of his office desk, having chased the cat out and closed the door.

He was ready.

Then, Huang An opened the bottle and poured its contents into his palm.

A gray pill, smaller than his little fingernail, lay quietly in his palm.

Licking his lips, Huang An fell silent.

It looked no different from a common cold pill, utterly unremarkable.

"Hu~"

About ten seconds later, Huang An took a deep breath, controlled his trembling hands, held a cup of water in one hand, and the pill in the other

Tilting his head back, he swallowed the pill.

Resisting the urge to vomit, Huang An forced the pill down his throat.

Warm water went down, carrying the pill along, its temperature soothing Huang An's entire body, alleviating the pain for a moment.

He drained the cup of warm water.

He then sat on the chair, quietly waiting for the drug to take effect.