Chapter 1: Bullet wound

 Gao Yi woke up.

He felt intense pain, cold, and extreme weakness, all stemming from a wound in his chest. The surface beneath him felt icy and metallic, and he could hear someone whispering nearby. The smell of disinfectant and a heavy scent of blood filled his nostrils.

Was he dying, or was he already dead?

Opening his eyes just a slit, Gao Yi saw two figures in white lab coats standing on either side of him. Doctors? Then perhaps he was saved? But behind these doctors stood a middle-aged man in a floral shirt, who looked very excited.

"He's not dead? How can he be alive after a shot to the heart?"

"This guy is a mirror image person, meaning his organs are reversed, so his heart is on the right. Congratulations, boss... this heart can fetch a good price."

The doctor's words sent Gao Yi's heart plummeting into an abyss. The boss placed his hand over Gao Yi's heart, feeling a faint heartbeat. With his experienced touch, he could tell the heart was still beating.

"Great!" The boss turned urgently. "We didn't prepare a heart transplant transport box. Go get one, quickly! This heart could be worth millions!"

Hearing this clearly, Gao Yi understood his situation. He had known for a long time that he was a mirror image person. He survived the gunshot because the bullet that should have pierced his heart hit his lung instead, rendering him immobile but alive. The main problem now wasn't pain but extreme weakness.

There were no restraints on his body, nor had he been injected with anesthesia, as those intending to harvest his organs assumed he was already dead. But Gao Yi didn't have the strength to get up.

Despite his despair and confusion, Gao Yi knew what he had to do: extract every last ounce of potential from his dying body.

He had trained in martial arts since he was five, practicing Xing Yi, Bagua, Bajiquan, and Xinyi. His training wasn't just for show; he had real fighting skills.

Although his martial arts couldn't stop a bullet, as long as he wasn't dead, he had more chances to create miracles than most.

As long as he was alive, there was a chance.

The doctor didn't rush into action because he needed to make thorough preparations. Preserving a living heart was a high-stakes operation. This gave Gao Yi some time, and time was what he needed most.

At this moment, another voice called out, "Boss!"

A man walked up to the so-called boss and whispered, "The furnace is already burning four bodies. This one can go in next."

Rage, extreme rage. Gao Yi couldn't die yet. If he had to die, he would take down these organ traffickers first.

The boss picked up his phone and started a call. "Hello, how are the matching results... It's a match? Great! I have more good news: the donor's heart is intact! He's a mirror image person, so we can use his heart!"

After a brief pause, the boss, beaming with joy, said, "We're starting the procedure here. You should talk to Mr. Matthews about the price; try to raise it a bit... Let me tell you, there's a reason for this."

Whatever was said on the other end, the boss responded earnestly, "Let me put it simply: the donor killed a hitman from the Andec Corporation with his bare hands, took a bullet to the lung, and has been alive for three and a half hours. Shouldn't that kind of resilience command a higher price?"

Gao Yi heard the conversation. He felt no fear, only anger and a tremendous sense of urgency.

"Boss, everything is ready."

"The doctor is ready. I'm going to start the surgery. You handle the negotiations."

Ending the call, the boss moved to the operating table, greedily eyeing Gao Yi's body.

Four people, four pairs of eyes, all focused on Gao Yi. The boss cracked his neck, waved his hand, and cheerfully said, "We want the heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys, as well as the corneas. This heart is especially valuable, so be careful."

After giving these instructions, the boss stepped back, raised his phone to record, and said, "Wait, let me start filming... Go ahead."

The doctor's scalpel moved toward Gao Yi. He opened his eyes.

The doctor didn't notice Gao Yi's eyes because he wasn't looking at his face. Gao Yi suddenly reached out and grabbed the doctor's wrist, eliciting a terrified scream.

With a speed defying his grievous condition, Gao Yi sat up, snatched the scalpel from the doctor's hand, and plunged it into the doctor's carotid artery with lightning speed.

A move both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar because he had practiced it countless times, unfamiliar because he had never used it on a person before.

Blood spurted out, covering Gao Yi's head and face. As the doctor on his right fell, Gao Yi turned, stabbing the left doctor's eye with the scalpel, pushing it in until it was fully embedded and his palm pressed against the doctor's face.

The two people standing beside the operating table were in shock. The middle-aged boss instinctively took a step back, but only one step.

Gao Yi felt incredibly slow, weak, and powerless. He had never felt this weak in his life.

No strength meant using the most efficient methods, targeting the enemy's weakest points.

Gao Yi's two fingers, weak and light, stabbed into the boss's eye sockets. To the boss, Gao Yi's speed was incredible.

Gao Yi felt some resistance, but even in his weakened state, his fingers were unstoppable. Blinding the enemy wouldn't kill him immediately but would quickly neutralize his combat ability.

A horrific scream erupted. Gao Yi's left side had a rack filled with surgical instruments. While his right hand blinded the boss, his left hand grabbed another scalpel. As the boss flailed blindly, Gao Yi's left hand slipped past the arms and slashed the boss's throat, cutting through half of it.

One more person, who finally managed to pull out a gun. If Gao Yi weren't seriously injured, this person wouldn't have had a chance to draw the weapon. Now, Gao Yi struggled to stay upright, lacking the strength to throw another punch.

Lacking strength, he relied on technique.

Gao Yi leaned forward, and his right hand reached up, grabbed two spherical objects, and crushed them. "Monkey Steals the Peach," a move he had never used or needed before, became a lifesaver in his extreme weakness.

As he exerted his last bit of strength, darkness engulfed his vision, and his head spun. The person, gun in hand but groin crushed, convulsed and bent forward, bringing his head within Gao Yi's reach.

His right hand grabbing the peach, his left hand drove the scalpel into the final opponent's throat.

Though the effort was minimal, it still left Gao Yi dizzy. He steadied himself on the operating table, waiting for the vertigo to subside. Once he gathered enough strength, his first action was to take the gun.

A gun, a tool that killed with just a finger's pull.

In his home country, he had never handled or seen a gun. But at least he knew how to fire one.

Holding the gun, even in his weakened state, gave him the ability to fight back. The previous screams must have drawn attention, and Gao Yi could already hear footsteps.

Lying on the ground, he hid the gun behind a corpse. As soon as he finished, the door was kicked open.

People shouted, but no one entered. Inside, there were five bodies on the floor, including Gao Yi's.

Yes, Gao Yi looked more like a corpse, naked, with a bullet hole in his chest, covered in blood.

Two men entered, one with a gun and the other with an iron hook, both visibly frightened, speaking rapidly in a language Gao Yi didn't understand.

As they both entered, Gao Yi suddenly raised his hand. A gunshot rang out, and the man with the gun collapsed immediately.

Less than three meters away, even an inexperienced Gao Yi couldn't miss a headshot.

Guns were effective. Gao Yi fired again.

The bullet hit the man with the iron hook, but it wasn't as effective. The man charged at Gao Yi, swinging the hook down.

Another shot, and another. Gao Yi fired two more times, then quickly tilted his head as the hook smashed into the tiles beside him. The man fell next to Gao Yi, writhing.

A gunshot to the head finished him off. Four shots to kill the last opponent.

Gao Yi took a deep breath, blood frothing from his mouth and chest wound. He wasn't sure if the gunfire would bring more people, but he had no energy left.

Scanning his surroundings, he saw a small, empty room with white tile walls and floors, an operating table, some equipment, and two racks.

No windows, no view outside, but he knew there was a crematorium outside.

Struggling to his feet, Gao Yi grabbed a cotton swab from a rack. Stuffing it into the bullet hole in his chest, he felt excruciating pain.

Shaking uncontrollably, he gasped for air. The cotton seemed to stop air from escaping the wound.

Opening the door slightly, Gao Yi peeked outside. Clearly, he was in a temple, with a pagoda nearby emitting fire from its base. Inside a temple, it's called a transformation tower; outside, it's a crematorium.

With no other living people in sight, this was a place designed to destroy evidence, requiring few personnel.

It was time to call for help.

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