chapter 2: New body, new life, but what about the world?

How much time has passed?

Where am I?

Am I dead or still alive?

I had no answers to any of the questions filling my head. All I knew was that the cold, hard ground had turned into something warm and comfortable.

If I had to guess, I'd say it was a bed, but how was I rescued?

I can tell I'm in a hospital because of the tube connected to my hand. I'll never forget this feeling I experienced when I used to attend examination sessions.

My body doesn't respond to any of my commands except for my eyelids, but I find it difficult to open them. With my repeated failed attempts, I hear the sound of pages turning and a fragrant scent invades my nose.

It seems there's someone sitting on my left reading a book. 

It must be a nurse. Minions of the devil! Who's the fool who called them merciful angels? They showed no mercy when they were sucking my blood over and over again. They turned me into a lifeless corpse.

Wait, I can smell! I can smell again. Have I been subjected to a factory reset?

My eyelids were affected by my repeated attempts, becoming lighter to the point where I was finally able to open them. The darkness fades and light succeeds in invading my vision, but the light was more intense than needed. 

From pitch darkness to bright light, the result is the same: I can't see anything.

"Finally awake"

The sound of a waterfall falling on a rock? No, that's the wrong analogy.

Let's say like the chirping of birds on autumn and spring days. No, no, what am I saying? Let me try again.

A voice that makes birds ashamed of their monotonous performance. Yes, that's better.

From a bright light gradually fading to blurry objects that become clearer over time, the girl's face appears to me.

Wow, how do I describe this? Let me try.

The sun sets early, for what use is it when her face lights up the world? Damn, I'm truly awesome.

She really is an angel. I take back my words. Sorry, man, for calling you a fool.

"I'll call the doctor"

As the angel approaches to leave the room, her type of clothing becomes clear to me, and I realize she's not a nurse as I thought.

Man, I don't take back my words. You're still a fool.

The sound of the door closing wakes me from my silly thoughts and makes me focus on my current situation.

I can open my mouth a little, but my tongue is heavier than rocks, making what comes out of my mouth mere mumbles.

I stayed in this state for about half an hour. Where could this doctor be? Is he in another dimension?

Speaking of another dimension, it's impossible for me to be sent to another world.

I feel that my body is different and I've never seen that angel before.

This reminds me of the clichés of the novels I used to read. The hero wakes up to find a woman with skin like glowing pearl and golden hair falling like a waterfall on the edges of her shoulders.

I always thought this kind of description was exaggerated, but honestly, I can't find a more accurate description for her.

A group of men wearing black suits burst in on me, surrounding the bed I was lying on, and before I can comprehend what's happening, they start shouting.

"My bones beg to be broken, and my flesh longs to be torn. There is no life after my failure, and no peace after my death. Please, sir, punish me for my incompetence."

Loud voices but coordinated as if it were a show they had stayed up all night to coordinate, but their effort was in vain. I'm in no condition to comprehend any of their nonsense.

"What do you think you're doing?"

From outside the room, a man's voice bursts through the group, and they disperse to reveal an old man in his fifties. 

He approaches my side, bows his head to me, then turns to the group with a dark face that makes each of them tremble, lowering their heads and closing their mouths, holding their breath.

Despite the crowded room, no sound is heard, as if it were empty.

"I will deal with you at the appropriate time. Now, all of you return to your positions, and anyone who moves again without permission, I will send to the brothels to witness his wife serving customers there."

Contrary to what you'd expect to be the reaction of men like them to such a threat:

"Understood and will be executed"

Before leaving, a man from the group steps forward, bows his head just like the old man, then after 3 steps back, turns to leave the room. 

The group follows the same approach, making me feel like some kind of king. The room returns to its normal state in a matter of seconds.

In the previous world, the royal family didn't follow this approach when leaving, fearing public criticism and conflict with official protocols. 

Who exactly is the owner of this body?

"Finally a doctor could honor us with his presence. I hope we haven't disturbed your rest"

The old man's expression is still dark, even darker after the doctor's appearance.

With quick steps, he begins examining me while apologizing over and over again, with visible sweat drops on his forehead from nervousness and fear.

"Fortunately, there are no complications. He's still under the influence of anesthesia, so he can't move or speak. He needs more rest. Don't let anyone enter his room for the next 24 hours"

After the doctor leaves, the old man approaches to whisper in my ear:

"Report to Sir, as you ordered. No one knew about the operation, and the meeting will be postponed to next week due to the assassination attempt. Let the Sir rest, I will deal with the doctor"

As soon as he finishes speaking, he bows his head with 3 steps back to withdraw, leaving the door closed.

I wracked my brain as much as possible to gain some understanding of the situation I'm in, but all I gained was a set of mental pain that puts me into a deep slumber.

I woke up from sleep feeling extremely confused. 

I didn't know what time it was, and all I knew was that I had been in this state for a day or two. 

I would wake up for minutes, sometimes for seconds, then go back to sleep again.

But this time, my body was responding to my commands. 

I raised my hand, amazed by its firmness, but this simple movement caused pain in all my joints.

I couldn't bear lying on the bed anymore, so I sat on its edge, ignoring the pain. 

I removed all the wires connected to me, which made the machines emit an annoying beep that caused a headache.

With an uncoordinated movement, I extended my arm and turned off the switches causing the beeping, stopping my headache only for my body ache to start due to my random movements.

"Aaaargh"

I took a few breaths before deciding to stand up with the help of the bed edges. 

This pain was nothing compared to what I'd been through in the past four years. 

The problem is that this body has a height and weight I'm not used to yet.

With each step I took, the pain increased, and as it increased, my determination to reach the bathroom grew. 

If what I had in mind came true, I couldn't imagine the future. All kinds of scenarios came to my mind. Had the dreams of millions of readers come true with me?

When I reached the door, I pushed it with all my strength without caring about the pain, and after that, I leaned my weight on the sink, took two deep breaths, then slowly raised my head to see my face in the mirror.

My hair is black as night, hanging on my shoulders in a medium length, neither long nor short. My eyebrows are sharp and curved like a knife, and my eyes are black and full of life. Damn, I'm really handsome! I took off the shirt I was wearing, and I couldn't suppress a laugh of amazement.

My muscles are toned, my arms are huge, and my shoulders and chest are solid. 

Most importantly, the dream of millions, I have prominent abdominal muscles, a "6-pack"!

It seems that the owner of this body got this body through great effort, as it's covered with many scars and burn marks. My God, there are even traces of gunshots. No doubt I'm a gangster.

Despite my admiration and happiness with my new body, fear overtook me. 

I'm just an otaku, and now I've become a gang leader. How will I handle the situation if someone discovers that I'm not the real leader? What will their reaction be?

Why don't I have the memories of the previous body owner? All the heroes in novels were able to persevere thanks to their memories, or at least were able to avoid interaction with the outside world. Even after getting this amazing opportunity, I'm still surrounded by fear and a sense of helplessness.

Also, where is my system? Where is my cheat tool? Don't tell me he doesn't have one! Who is the son of a bitch writing this story?

(Author: I'll show you who the son of a bitch is, just wait.)

A sound from outside my room caught my attention. 

With more focus, it became clear to me that it was some kind of news broadcast. It seemed like an opportunity to know what kind of world I had transferred to.

The pain began to fade with each step I took, and I became more stable and balanced.

I opened the door and left the room to face pitch darkness, where my vision was barely limited to something thanks to the dim lights emitting from computer and medical devices.

As I was heading towards the source of the sound, I noticed the absence of any patients, and there wasn't even a trace of nurses. 

I tried to explain this to myself because of the late hour.

I found a medium-sized screen hanging on the wall, and in front of it a group of chairs indicating a waiting area. 

I sat on one of these chairs, and directed all my focus towards the news bulletin, hoping to learn something that would save me from this predicament.

The news is presented by a woman in her late thirties, and her features are not unfamiliar to me. I feel like I've seen her before.

"The government and security forces have witnessed a series of successive failures in recent years, leading to gangs controlling several sensitive sectors in the state. What provokes public resentment is the government's justification for its positions, as summarized by the word of the head of the investigation office as follows"

The screen switches from the studio to a press conference, where an old man wearing an official uniform stands on the podium, with a group of microphones in front of him. 

During his speech, his face is hit by camera lights as a series of photos are taken by journalists.

"Legally, we have no choice but to sit and watch."

He was interrupted by one of the journalists after finishing his sentence:

"How do you expect us to watch while the economy deteriorates because of a group of highway robbers?"

The old man answers in a voice emanating impatience:

"The highway robbers you're talking about have been released after serving their sentence and none of the allegations against them have been proven"

"Really? Then where did they get the money to invest in shares of the most important national companies?"

"The money was received from an investor after investigating his background, we found nothing suspicious. And he was asked why he gives money to those convicted of serious crimes, he answered: 'I like to give people a second chance.'"

"Second chance my ass! Why doesn't he give me a chance with his mother?"

After that, a series of insults spread before the scene switched to the presenter saying:

"What's the importance of law when your state is in danger? We wait, wait for what? Collapse? After collapse there's chaos, enemies on the borders are lurking. Danger inside and outside."

She's very direct and bold to publicly demand the government to ignore the laws.

"I can hear voices saying how can you demand the government to bypass laws? So let me tell you a short story that will be familiar to you"

Is she a fortune teller or what? How did she hear me now?

"Five years ago, you remember the state's efforts in eliminating the group of fraudsters who call themselves doctors, and were the cause of death for many children under the slogan 'For Better Focus'."

As soon as I heard the words "For Better Focus", my eyes widened and my heart rate increased, as if what I heard wasn't enough.

"The approach taken by the government, wasn't it against the law?

Weren't parents, doctors, and nurses executed?

Didn't the state seize all their properties? Didn't we celebrate then and praise them?

All I want the people to know is this: the life of our children is like the life of our economy.

We must be intolerant. If the government doesn't do something, then the people must.

This was Suzy Looney with you, until another meeting, long live the Nameless Kingdom ."

I stood up from the seat, taking a random direction, not caring where my steps would take me.

If my steps before were like a zombie's, now they're more like a drunk person's.

All the way I'm trying to digest what I heard, now I didn't go to another world, it's the same world but in the future.

Since I'm in this body, it means I died, which means I was autopsied. And through the advanced technology of the Nameless Kingdom, my identity and my parents' identity will be known.

And through what the presenter just said about executing parents, this means one thing: my parents have died.

I don't know why, but drops are falling on my cheek, quickly and without thinking I raised my arm to wipe what's falling from my eyes, but the water continues to fall. 

Damn, why am I crying for them? They are the cause of my suffering and torment, they brought this upon themselves.

I don't care, I don't care about them. 

Damn you, stop crying! 

As if my eyes finally obey my orders and stop crying.

In the midst of my turbulent emotions, I feel warm water on my bare feet.

Because of my inability to see during the pitch darkness, I thought it was due to heavy crying. I realize that I'm not a cartoon shedding a fountain of tears.

Suddenly, my leg hit something solid, and I fell on my face, letting out a groan from my mouth:

"Aaah"

I tried to stand up, leaning on something beside me. Because of its strange texture, I turned to see what it was, and discovered it was an arm.

Without thinking much, I threw it away from me with a scream, and got up from the ground soaked in warm water. When I raised my hand to my face, I finally realized that it was blood.

It took seconds for me to comprehend my surroundings, which was full of torn organs and blood scattered everywhere.

I couldn't recognize the owner of the corpse at first, until I saw the head among them with terrifying features and lifeless eyes staring at me as if I was the one who killed him.

The doctor who treated me before.

Nothing came to my mind except one word the old man said before: "assassination attempt".

There's a killer in the hospital who wants to kill me.