I'd rather be dead

Blue Star, Yangcheng No.1 Middle School, connects to the indoor area.

More than a hundred monitoring beds were neatly arranged, making it look like a field hospital at first glance. Beams of light connected the people on the monitoring beds to the magic circle.

The entire connection room was very quiet, with only the hum of the instruments and the occasional whispers of the monitors.

Suddenly, a sharp, urgent "beep beep beep" alarm broke the silence, and the guardian in charge of the area looked up sharply, following the sound.

Normally, the monitor will only issue a warning when the delivery personnel regain consciousness, but it is not time for personnel rotation yet.

Moreover, the heart rate on the instrument suddenly increased from 35 to 140 at rest, blood pressure soared, body surface temperature rose rapidly, and brain wave activity showed a violent burst of mixed theta and delta waves, accompanied by high-frequency beta wave spikes.

This numerical change is far higher than in cases of normal consciousness return.

"Report, bed number 13 has abnormal vital signs!" The monitoring staff immediately reported the situation, and several medical experts in white coats rushed in with grave expressions.

"What's going on?" A life science expert frowned as he looked at the curves on the screen that were bouncing wildly like a rollercoaster.

However, before she could finish speaking, Wang Xun on bed number 13 suddenly sat up, his movements stiff as a puppet on strings, and a heart-wrenching gasp came from his throat, like a suffocating person finally taking their first breath.

"Ho—"

His eyes were wide open, almost bursting, his pupils unfocused, revealing only the extreme fear that was truly present.

His body trembled violently and uncontrollably, his eyes scanning his surroundings in a daze. He was unresponsive to the figures surrounding him and the calls he was being made, as if he were completely immersed in the aftershocks of some great trauma and fear.

"Comrade Wang, can you hear me? What happened? How are you feeling?" The doctor next to him tried to rouse him from his reverie.

Several medical staff quickly stepped forward to check his pupils and pulse, trying to calm him down.

After several seconds of confusion and bewilderment, the voices of the people around him and the familiar environment gradually entered Wang Xun's consciousness, like light piercing through the thick fog.

He suddenly looked down to check his body. All his senses had returned, and his reason was slowly returning as well.

"I'm not dead?" He looked up at the tense and concerned faces around him, his voice trembling with excitement at the joy of surviving the ordeal.

"You're not dead, Comrade Wang Xun. You're back. You're safe," the medical staff said with certainty.

With the gentle comfort of medical staff and the help of warm water, Wang Xun's wildly beating heart and disordered breathing gradually calmed down.

He slumped against the headboard, greedily breathing in the familiar air. A feeling of utter exhaustion swept over him, but more than that, he felt an indescribable sense of relief at surviving.

"What exactly happened, Comrade Wang Xun? What did you experience over there?" The doctor asked immediately when he saw that he had calmed down a bit. This was information they needed to know and record.

Wang Xun took a deep breath to calm himself and recalled what had happened not long ago: "During our reconnaissance mission, we were ambushed by a monster..."

He gave a general account of what happened, and as his memory returned, more details gradually emerged.

"I thought I was really dead, but I never expected..." Wang Xun gave a bitter laugh as he recalled the events leading up to his death—his last words, and... his final, helpless plea born of fear: "I don't want to die... I miss home, I want to go home..."

That fragile, even cowardly, behavior was like a red-hot branding iron, fiercely searing his dignity.

He, Wang Xun, is a true man of steel...

How could he show such a cowardly and afraid-of-death attitude in front of his comrades?

This is fucking...

Wang Xun's face instantly turned bright red, the redness extending all the way to his ears, as embarrassment and shame overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.

"Damn it, I'd rather be dead..."

Having gained a general understanding of the situation, the medical staff also understood.

Those dramatic fluctuations in physiological indicators were the actual reactions produced by consciousness experiencing "death" in another world.

"It seems that death in a state of consciousness projection doesn't necessarily lead to the actual death of the original body," one expert stated, his voice filled with excitement and disbelief. "This...this is simply...this means our margin for error in another world has been greatly increased!"

"That's right! Although you will experience an extremely realistic near-death experience, which is a huge test for your mind, your body is safe!" another expert added excitedly.

"Excellent! This is a major discovery. Report this to Commander Qin immediately."

The staff inside the connection room were still excitedly discussing this major discovery and recording valuable data.

No one noticed that the hero who had just crawled back from the brink of death was now immersed in another form of "living a life worse than death".

……

At Emberstone Ridge, Matthew, who was just about to head to Ironrock City with Conrad, also sensed something amiss. After careful observation, he confirmed that someone from the reconnaissance team in the Misty Mountains had "sacrificed" themselves.

His heart sank, unsure whether this sacrifice was true death or the end of some forced calling.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Conrad, who was preparing the carriage, noticed Matthew's unusual expression and asked with concern.

"There's been a small problem. We'll set off again in a bit." Matthew replied quickly, his consciousness immediately sinking into the crystal pendant. Based on a special anchor point he had left inside the crystal pendant during the previous summoning, he cast the summoning magic again to see if he could summon the "sacrificed" person back.

If so, it means he's not dead; otherwise...

As the magic circle lit up, a goblin figure materialized from the ethereal and quickly solidified.

This immediately put Matthew's mind at ease, especially since he could feel that mysterious connection again, which confirmed that the other person was not dead.

Wang Xun was summoned back again. He was confused for a moment, but then he immediately realized what was happening and looked at Matthew, giving him a military salute.

"What just happened?" Matthew asked, eager to voice his doubts.

Wang Xun immediately replied, "Comrade Matthew, our team was just ambushed by a monster, and I unfortunately died from my injuries..."

Wang Xun briefly recounted what had happened.

Matthew also confirmed that after Wang Xun "died" here, his consciousness returned to his original body on Earth, and he did not actually die.

This news excited him, because its strategic significance was immeasurable.

Reconnaissance soldiers can carry out the most dangerous close-range reconnaissance and even infiltration missions.

Even if they are discovered or killed, the intelligence can be brought back, and the person can be put back into battle.

When facing a powerful enemy, one can also adopt more aggressive and fearless tactics, using repeated "deaths" to obtain intelligence, wear down the enemy, and create opportunities for battle.

The margin for error is greatly increased when venturing into dangerous areas for exploration or conducting field tests of high-risk technologies.

Anyway, you can just die and start over, endlessly restarting.

Although resummoning requires consuming magic to condense a new goblin body, magic can be slowly restored and is regenerated, but human life and knowledge are priceless.

Once the warriors are free from the fear of death, how astonishing will their courage and fighting power be!

This is no longer a survival game that requires extreme caution and fear of casualties, but a strategy war where you can constantly "save and load" and use countless trials and errors to achieve final victory.

……

[Thanks to everyone for the monthly votes!]