Zhang Heng drove the black Audi with a temporary license plate and left the car dealership. He didn't mind having spent an extra 300 thousand yuan to get the job done. His current assets were of such a volume that 300 thousand yuan was hardly any different from 30 yuan to him.
However, just when he was about to take the car home, something else troubled him. The only vehicle that he had ever ridden in his entire life so far was a bicycle and he never touched a motorcycle before. He was unable to tell the accelerator pedal apart from the brake pedal. As such, he asked for the staff from the dealership to drive him home instead, as that was a service provided by the dealership.
He sat in the front passenger seat but kept his peripheral vision on the driver's movements at all times. Due to the abilities gained after injecting the T-Virus into his body, it took him only mere moments to learn how to drive just by watching how it was done.
His family's home was located in a very old residential area and they had been living in that area for as long as he could remember before heading off to college.
Buildings from those times were five to six stories tall at most. There was no elevator and contraptions like smart locks were completely out of the question. When compared to the contemporary high-end residential areas, the area that his family lived in was so shabby that it was hardly different from slums.
He got out of the car and took the keys, tipping the driver before heading off to his family's place in glee. He was very eager to see that surprised look on his parent's faces.
Most of the people who lived in the area were old people and he ran into a familiar face as soon as he got into the stairway. The man was none other than Uncle Liu, his family's neighbor for well over a decade.
"Oh hi, Uncle Liu. Off to play mahjong again?" Zhang Heng went up and greeted him.
"Wait, you're Little Heng?" The old man who heard someone call him Uncle Liu was stunned for a bit before he chuckled and continued, "I thought you were off to college in Haizhou, kid! Why are you home now?"
"I got homesick so I had to come back." Zhang Heng answered concisely, "How have you been doing recently?"
"Not bad, I guess, just that I often can't get enough people to play mahjong with. Hell, it's been a while and you really look different, kid." Uncle Liu took a better look at Zhang Heng and felt rather surprised. When he recalled that people were waiting for him to start playing, he said goodbye to Zhang Heng in a hushed manner before he walked out of the stairway.
Zhang Heng didn't mind the quickness of the conversation and rushed upstairs to the third floor and found that familiar door of the place he grew up in. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door hard and shouted, "Mom, I'm home! Open up!"
The sound of slippers shuffling on the floor was heard from inside and it took only seconds for his father to appear at the door. The shocked expression on his face was the total opposite of his, which was that of excitement. "Why are you home so suddenly, son?"
"Dad, I haven't been home for half a year, and the New Year was just begun. Can't I come home and say hello?" Zhang Heng chuckled and said sheepishly. Zhang Heng was raised with his father having a stick in his hand the entire time. Despite it having been years since Zhang Heng's father last 'disciplined' him and that his father did look rather wizened, his father's stern demeanor stuck throughout the years. As such, he still felt rather nervous when his father questioned him like that.
"Did you get fired?" No one knew the children better than their parents. Zhang Heng's father had always known what he was up to before he actually did anything. His father looked suspiciously at him before nagging away. "Young people need to suffer hardships, you know. How could you amount to anything if you were to take the easy way out all the time?"
Zhang Heng's mother came out from the kitchen wearing an apron. She was elated to hear that her son was back, but quickly caught her husband talking and looked rather displeased. "Oh, give it a rest already, old man. It's not every day we see our son. Regardless of why he's home, you can't just tell him off like that."
"It's okay, mom." Zhang Heng took the chance to evade his father's nagging and headed straight for the kitchen. He smiled ear to ear when he saw those familiar dishes on the table. "Seems like I'm just back home just in time, mom."
"I could tell from one look that you haven't eaten. Damn, you could have at least given us a call before coming back home. I would have been able to make more." His mother said, feeling sorry to see her son hungry.
His parents' reactions were a lot more normal when compared to his excitement, as there was no way the two of them would have known that their son had gotten himself into life and death situations, and the 'life and death' part was literal instead of figurative.
The missions that came once every three months were trials that he had to put his life on the line to accomplish. Zhang Heng might actually die during one of his future missions and was living a life where he wouldn't know if he would see the next year, which made him appreciate the time with his parents even more.
The meal was quickly over in a joyous and rowdy manner.
Zhang Heng sat on the couch with his father when lunch was over, and 'reported' what he had been doing in Haizhou. However, there was no doubt that he had made up stories to put his parents' minds at ease.
"Wait, you're saying that you've invented a drug that shocked even the government authorities, and they've given you hundreds of millions as a reward?" Zhang Heng's father was not very shocked by what his son said. He simply took a deep breath and shot a suspicious look at Zhang Heng.
"Yeah, it was all luck. If I hadn't been lucky enough to run into something this groundbreaking, I guess I wouldn't have invented the drug in the first place," Zhang Heng rubbed his hands and looked as if he was trying to hide something.
"I'm thinking if you're just trying to mess with your old man here." His father's eyes looked stern.
"Dad, I'm not messing with you. Just come with me downstairs and you'll know that I'm telling you the truth right away," Zhang Heng chuckled and dragged his father out of the door.
"What? You have some secrets that you couldn't tell anyone?" his father asked as he followed his son downstairs.
Zhang Heng sighed. Regardless of how well he was doing for himself out there, he was still the same old person back home, the kid who would shudder at the sight of his stern father.
His father took a look around for a bit when they got down and turned to look at Zhang Heng, "What are you trying to have me look at, kid?"
Zhang Heng fished the car keys out of his pocket without saying anything, clapped the keys onto his father's hand, and said, "Dad, the car is for you!"
"A car? Well, you're really quite the son." His father felt rather sentimental and failed to take a good look at the keys. He pressed the unlock button on the fob and the headlights of a black car with silver accents flickered for a bit.
"Huh?" His father was dumbfounded after seeing that the car was right in front of him. He took a look at the four rings on the grille on the front end of the car and at the real leather seats before taking a deep breath and felt like all of that to be unbelievable. "I guess… the car isn't cheap. So, you've been telling the truth all along?"
"What? You never planned on believing in your son?" Zhang Heng immediately felt speechless.
Zhang Heng had to talk to his father for quite a while before he was able to get the older man to try the car out. Despite not having driven a car for years, he still knew how to drive and he was definitely a far better driver when compared to Zhang Heng.
It wasn't until his mother called and urged to two of them to return home before his father reluctantly went back to their place. As soon as they got back into the apartment, his father told his mother that their son had just bought him a car.
Zhang Heng's mother felt it all to be rather surreal and asked, "Is your dad telling the truth?"
Zhang Heng nodded and said, "I've got something for you too, mom."
"Me too?" His mother immediately shook her head and said, "No need to get me a car, son. I don't even know how to drive in the first place. It would be best that you spend the money you've earned wisely. You'll need that money to get married someday."
Zhang Heng immediately wore a bitter grin. He knew how prudent the older generation was with spending, so he wasn't surprised by his mother's answer. He simply told her, "If I'm even able to spend it all, that is. No need to think too much about it, mom. I'm about to set up my own company and we would have money pouring in from here on out. I've put 50 million bucks into your account. Go out and have a look at the bungalows and whatnot further out in the outskirts with dad when you have the time. You could spend your days doing gardening. There's no need for you to be prudent with your money anymore. Just buy whatever you fancy."
"And dad, there's no need for you to go out and set up shop anymore. Take mom out for a ride when you've got the time. Travel the whole country if you want, and remember to get a full-body check-up in the hospital every six months. No amount of money could get rid of some of the diseases out there." Zhang Heng yapped away, telling his parents everything he wanted to tell them. He finally felt relieved when he was done telling them everything that he wanted to tell them.
If there was anyone that he was worried about, it would be his parents and his younger sister. Other than wanting to try his best to save the world, the very reason why he took up the burden of becoming the Dimensional Star's host was so that he could give his family a chance to live on.
If he wasn't the host of the Dimensional Star, there was no way his family, which consisted of only common people, would be able to survive when the end of days hit.
Those words that he told his parents were also his last words in a manner of speaking. His psychological fortitude had been greatly enhanced after having undergone two life and death situations, which made it so his mental fortitude was far above that of regular humans. He had no problems whatsoever saying all of that, without showing so much as a hint that things were not what they seemed.
His parents were rendered speechless for quite a while. It took quite some time before his father suddenly sighed, flashed a smile, looked relieved and proud, and said, "My son has finally grown up. An Audi A8, a bungalow in the outskirts, I could have spent an entire lifetime working and I still wouldn't be able to afford all those. It's nice to see you growing up to be somebody, and your dad here is going to look glorious in front of everyone else from here on out."
His mother's reactions were even more baffling, as her eyes turned red after she heard all of that and rolled her eyes at her husband. "Hell, you thought your son was going to be like you? You weren't able to be half-decent working your a** off for decades. My gosh, 50 million! I couldn't earn that much even if I were to sell you off, old man. My son, in contrast, is really something…"
"What do you know, woman? If it hadn't been for me setting up an example for our son, do you really think that he would be somebody now?" his father spat back.
"Yeah, right. All of your 'examples' involved using a stick as if you know how to do anything else. Don't think for a second that I know nothing…" his mother retorted.
Zhang Heng looked at his parents bicker with a smile on his face as warmth and tenderness filled his heart. He encouraged himself somewhat at the same time.
Even if he were to not do it for the world, he deemed that he had to give it his all to save the world nonetheless, just so that his parents could live in peace.
Zhang Heng swore to himself that, for the sake of his family, he couldn't simply roll over and kick the bucket.
Even though he didn't manage to persuade his parents to buy a bungalow in the outskirts, life looked satisfying enough from his parent's perspective. Despite not being filthy rich, their lives were nonetheless quiet and secure. Additionally, having a son who was able to achieve so much would enable them to look good in front of their neighbors and relatives. If they moved to the outskirts, they would lose the chance to brag about their son and his success.
Zhang Heng still failed to change his parents' habits in the end.
He planned to take a break for a few days after coming home all the same.
He had been busy ever since he began his internship during his senior year of college. He was filled with fright and insecurity in the first three months he started to work, he even worked with all he had in the pharmaceutical company during those three months without taking a break for a single day.
After the Dimensional Star came to him, he underwent one mission after another and spent two months developing the T-0 and T-1 drugs after he came back from a life and death encounter before beginning his second mission…
Deep down, he was filled to the brim with exhaustion as the hectic days that would have made anyone collapse went on. It wasn't until then that he was finally able to truly take a break.
Zhang Heng returned to his room after lunch and dozed off. That nap went on for hours and by the time he got up, it was already evening.