Chapter 56: Returning Alive

The vast operating room was empty, echoing with silence. This was not an official surgery—in fact, if word got out, Christine would be in serious trouble. Fortunately, the incurable romanticism of foreigners had come to their rescue; to any outsider, it would simply appear as if a pair of lovers were using the vacant operating room for their own purposes.

Christine’s skilled hands steadily stitched up the gruesome wound on Mei Mumu’s chest. Surgery, she thought, always seemed terrifying with its opened flesh and exposed organs, but in truth, once the bleeding and the wound itself were under control, the rest was left to the patient’s own ability to heal.

“By the way, did you really go and study Kathmandu witchcraft?” Christine couldn’t help but ask.

Mei Mumu snapped his fingers, and a short whip of magic appeared between his right index and middle fingers. That golden, fiery band of light made Christine’s eyelids twitch wildly.

“That’s enough. Stop scaring me,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Sorry.”

There was a sudden silence before she spoke again, “You never used to apologize. You were always such a—”

“Arrogant bastard, right?” Mei Mumu smiled as he spoke, lifting his left hand. The unique wristwatch he wore immediately caught Christine’s eye. He wasn’t sure why he did it, only that he suddenly felt compelled.

She remained silent.

“When a person has wandered the gates of hell and returned, they are bound to change. And I’ve done it not once, but twice.” Mei Mumu raised his hand, scarred and battered, displaying two fingers.

Christine, however, wasn’t willing to answer him directly, choosing instead to change the subject. “Because this was an emergency, I disinfected everything as much as possible, but to prevent infection, you must—”

“I understand, but—” Stephen *Wood* Mei was already a surgical expert.

“Enough! Mei! What do you want from me? You get in a car accident, and I’m already relieved you didn’t turn from an egomaniac into a hopeless wreck. Then you suddenly disappear to learn some sort of voodoo magic. Then out of nowhere, you show up, telling me you’ve been stabbed and become a sorcerer, and right in front of me you fight a war with ghosts. How am I, an ordinary person, supposed to accept this?” Christine’s emotions rose as she spoke.

Mei Mumu pursed his lips. “Well, last time when the aliens came—”

“At least I could see the aliens!”

He shrugged helplessly. “Sorry I scared you. Speaking of aliens, all I can say is, there’ll be another invasion in two years. This time, I’m choosing to stand with the Avengers.”

“You…” Christine was stunned. She had never imagined that the ordinary man she once knew, her ex-boyfriend who was only slightly exceptional as a doctor, would ever say he’d become an Avenger.

She wanted to argue with Mei Mumu, but she couldn’t deny the bizarre, incomprehensible mysteries she had just witnessed.

Mei Mumu drew a deep breath. “Medicine can’t save the world. Faced with powerful extraterrestrials, I chose to accept my fate and duty—‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ That’s all.”

With great power comes great responsibility.

It was a phrase passed down and revered by countless people. Christine, who had been gathering her medical instruments, froze upon hearing it.

She turned to look at Mei Mumu, and in that moment, saw the spirited, confident man she once knew had returned. Only now, compared to his former arrogance, he had gained a measure of gravity and maturity.

She had once fallen for his talent, unable to help herself when she was with him. It was his endless arrogance and stubbornness she couldn’t endure, which was why they parted.

But now that he had matured so much, what was she to do with herself?

Christine felt a little lost.

“Will we… will we see each other again? Or are you going to vanish into these mysterious wars…” She unconsciously twirled a strand of hair by her temple with her right index finger, gently biting her lower lip.

“Uh, unless something unexpected happens, I’ll be spending quite some time at the New York Sanctum. It’s not far from here. I should be able to sneak out from time to time.”

“Really?” Christine didn’t notice that the gloom had already lifted from her face. Her sweet dimples emerged, and Mei Mumu found himself momentarily entranced. “You’re lying! Aren’t you supposed to be out protecting the world?”

Snapping back to himself, Mei Mumu joked, “Come on! Nobody pays me to protect the world—I still need to eat. Maybe when my hand heals, I’ll come back for a few surgeries every month. It’s not like I’m going to steal to get by, right?”

Mei Mumu was once again speaking the blunt truth.

Kamar-Taj was, in fact, a place little better than a slum. The sorcerers received no salary, and that religious community demanded a life of selfless devotion. While food and lodging were provided, most personal resources were distributed collectively.

It was just like in the third Avengers movie, where Doctor Strange settled Wong’s hunger with a single meal. One could well imagine how poor the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj truly were.

At this moment, Mei Mumu got up from the bed.

“Wait, where are you going?” Christine instinctively tried to make him lie down. Every patient needed rest after surgery.

“A villain even more terrifying than the last bunch in New York is coming—so powerful he can alter the laws of nature and reduce Einstein’s theories to rubbish. I can’t be late for this war between gods and demons.”

Christine pressed her lips together, her expression clearly saying, “Are you kidding me?” but in the end, she didn’t argue.

She supported Mei Mumu’s arm and led him to the storage room. When she opened the door, she saw the circular portal sparkling with golden sparks and froze once again.

There really were far more unbelievable things in this world than she could ever have imagined.

Mei Mumu stepped through the portal. “I have to go.”

She wanted to say something, but in the end, all her words condensed into a single sentence: “Come back alive.”

“Mm.”

“Remember to reply to my email.”

“I’ll try!”

With that, the tall man vanished as the portal disappeared. Watching the two-meter-wide golden doorway blink out of existence before her eyes, Christine was still left in a daze.

After Mei Mumu had gone, she looked around and felt as if she had just awakened from a dream.

Suddenly, a broom clattered to the ground.

“Ah!” Christine jumped in fright.

Meanwhile, stepping once more onto the floor of the New York Sanctum, Mei Mumu, though knowing the battle was likely over, remained vigilant.

The corpses of the Fallen still lay scattered across the corridor. Though he had dispatched each and every one of them himself, it was still a strange sight—those cultivators with sunken, darkened eyes sprawled lifeless on the ground.

Returning to the vault, Mei Mumu saw the Crimson Magic Sash—the metallic pieces had been disassembled and lay scattered across the floor.

Kaecilius was gone, leaving only a pool of black blood behind.