"I've become somewhat impure," whined Wang Jixuan's Dao Heart continuously.
He... had been touched by this woman in most areas of his Dao Body...
Fortunately for him, the delicate parts of a man were not disturbed. Dr. Wei Na clearly knew the legal boundaries between care and harassment, otherwise, he would have had to 'wake up' prematurely.
Wang Jixuan did not relish the various explanations he might have to provide upon awakening, as they tended to be overly verbose and lacked any sense of liberation; moreover, Zhou Zhengde and his allies also intended to extract his secrets.
The lore is not to be imparted lightly, which is the fundamental tenet of our sect.
He had no reservations about spreading the Breathing Cultivation Method he had created himself, but he had not had enough time to develop a new Cultivation Technique, which would be prematurely taken and no doubt make a laughingstock of him.
"Black Fire Gang."
Wang Jixuan analyzed the snippets of information he had heard.
It looked like he was going to have to make a trip to Lower City.
He needed to see with his own eyes the eradication of the Black Fire Gang and ensure that the regeneration of 'key figures of Black Fire Gang using other bodies,' as mentioned by Zhou Zhengde and his team, did not occur.
Lower City held many things that were now essential to him.
Blade Beast Blood, Blade Beast Bones;
and the still uncertain existence of a Blade Beast 'Demon Core.'
Generally, a Demon Core forms within a demon beast and serves as the base of cultivation for powerful demon beasts. Cultivators can use it for Alchemy and Artifact Refining.
Wang Jixuan had a more direct idea—he might be able to use the Demon Core to set up a Spirit Gathering Array, release the Spiritual Energy within, and accelerate his own cultivation.
Besides this, Wang Jixuan realized there was another critical task he had to undertake.
Red Dust Heart Refining.
"True nature? What is true nature?"
Wang Jixuan lay in bed lost in thought.
Gradually, strands of Spiritual Energy wafted from the air and gathered around him.
Since he was feigning sleep and couldn't meditate, his absorption rate of Spiritual Energy was nowhere near what it would be in sitting meditation postures like Five Hearts Facing Heaven or Bao Yuan Shou Yi... but it was certainly better than doing nothing at all.
He silently estimated, using Qi to nurture his flesh and blood in conjunction with the Healing Spells he knew—that the gunshot wound through his left shoulder would take approximately seven days to heal.
'Bang.'
The sound of a sniper rifle reverberated continually by Wang Jixuan's ear.
He needed to learn more about the common knowledge of this world, master the use of various types of weapons, and consider methods to counter firearms.
"I wonder when I can begin Artifact Refining."
...
Like everyone else in Middle City, Dr. Wei Na's priority on normal workdays was to complete her job duties first.
The Thirteenth Floor temporarily housed a squad from the Clean-up Troops, and with the Black Fire Gang declaring a cessation of retaliations, Dr. Wei Na no longer needed to stay in the security shelter at the security office.
After work each day or on weekend holidays, Dr. Wei Na would come to the Thirteenth Floor's medical center to take care of two special patients—
Mu Liang and Lan Yuzai.
Dr. Wei Na had long noticed that Mu Liang's wounds were healing at a non-human rate.
Every time she checked Mu Liang's shoulder wound, she saw inexplicable changes that continually overturned her medical beliefs.
Moreover, various signs indicated that Mu Liang had actually woken up long ago, but had not communicated with them.
For instance, the sanitary bedding Wei Na prepared for Mu Liang was always exceptionally clean, and the bathroom next to the medical room used much more water than usual.
Dr. Wei Na did not expose Mu Liang's ruse.
She was waiting for Mu Liang to initiate a conversation with her, just like a hero who had just saved the world, to showcase his mysterious charm to her.
Wei Na quite liked this feeling of anticipation, which brought a rare sense of expectation to her repetitive, uneventful Fortress routine.
Today was the sixth day after the ambush battle in Joyful City.
Wei Na ended her shift at the district medical room on time, returned to her place, bathed, shampooed, took half an hour to apply a simple makeup, changed into a black silk maid's outfit, and then concealed it all under a white lab coat.
'Will he wake up today?'
Wei Na pursed her red lips in the mirror, stepped on her high heels, hummed the latest popular radio song, and hurried to the medical center.
Turning a few street corners, she walked into the central circular garden, slowly reducing her pace.
She frowned at the somewhat crowded entrance to the medical center.
Approximately a dozen officers in light blue uniforms and six or seven soldiers dressed in camouflage formed two overlapping lines of defense, blocking the only entrance and exit.
Two middle-aged men in brown trench coats were negotiating with the security team officers.
Wei Na walked forward at a leisurely pace, hearing their argument from afar.
"Our 13th Biological Research Institute has the right to access all human sample data, and it's incorporated into the war zone legislation!"
"You're not letting us in? Why aren't you letting us in? Get your captain over here!"
"We suspect a Spiritual Ability User is here! Move aside! The security team is rubbish! Are the Clean-up troops so great? Don't make me go directly to your supervisor!"
The two middle-aged men were shouting loudly.
The two security team officers they were negotiating with just smiled and shook their heads, displaying remarkable composure.
One officer's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Dr. Wei Na, you've arrived? Please come in."
The man in the trench coat immediately shouted, "Why does she get to go in!"
"Because I am a doctor," Wei Na spoke softly.
She took out her ID badge from her lab coat, hung it below her collar, and then winked gently at the two men.
"This is a medical center, not a research center of the Institute. Do you even know the basic medication for a cold?"
"What do you mean!"
"Don't disturb my patients' rest. Moreover, medical research shows that men who like to shout loudly are often less confident in their masculinity."
Wei Na threw them a flirtatious glance and then breezed past the defense lines.
But she soon realized that the atmosphere here was somewhat tense.
"Dr. Wei Na," a soldier captain said gravely, "Captain Zhou is waiting for you in that room."
"Oh? Is he awake?"
Wei Na quickened her pace.
However, as she pushed open the door to the hospital room, saw the empty bed on the outside, and Zhou Zhengde sitting at the window seat, holding his forehead in thought, she quickly walked forward and lifted the curtain hanging in the middle of the bed.
Behind the curtain on another hospital bed;
Lan Yuzai, dressed in hospital garb and sipping from a bag of nutritious rice porridge, trembled a few times in fright.
A middle-aged woman, forced to wear noise-canceling headphones and currently feeding Lan Yuzai, hurriedly said,
"Doctor! My son suddenly woke up! Does he need an examination?"
This aunt was Lan Yuzai's mother, a dedicated woman who had worked for the fortress for thirty years, and she would come to take care of Lan Yuzai after her daily work.
Her activities here were restricted, and she could only wear a pair of thick headphones to ensure she would not overhear any confidential information.
"Where's Mu Liang?"
Wei Na's voice suddenly raised an octave as she turned to look at Zhou Zhengde sitting beside her,
"Did you hide him because people from the Thirteenth Institute came looking?"
"No,"
Zhou Zhengde sighed, smiling wryly,
"He's extraordinary, as if he can anticipate danger in advance. The Thirteenth Institute arrived half an hour ago, but two hours before that, I received a report from the medical center. The physician who did the afternoon rounds discovered that a patient named Mu Liang was missing from here.
"And then… he left this."
Zhou Zhengde took a piece of paper from his coat pocket; it was filled with cursive handwriting.
Wei Na took it and looked over it before furrowing her brows tightly, "I recognize every character, but why, why can't I understand it?"
"Read it vertically and from right to left. There are two arrows marked there. Although the handwriting isn't pretty, I always feel there's a force penetrating the back of the paper…"
"Thanks to both of you, I am unharmed…"
Wei Na read softly.
[Thank you both for your help, I am now well.
The Black Fire Gang has committed numerous atrocities and disregarded human life, with heinous crimes that must be eradicated. This matter has yet to be resolved. I need to end this karma myself since Captain Zhou faces many restrictions and I have none.
Later, I will go incognito in Lower City to take care of the Black Fire Gang and ensure no remnants are left. Then, I will return to the Thirteenth Floor to recuperate and personally thank both of you.
To express my gratitude, I have left three talismans behind. Burn them, and consume the ash mixed with rice porridge to alleviate Captain Zhou's chronic leg injury and to regulate Dr. Wei Na's unbalanced Qi.
Do not bother to look further, I will also be cautious regarding the Thirteenth Institute matters.
Additionally, I have borrowed some medical paper to scribble a simple 'Finger Snapping Divine Skill' cultivation method for Lan.
Furthermore, I have taken some pharmaceuticals to exchange in Lower City. The value can be deducted directly from my General Quota.
Mu Liang, respectfully.]
Wei Na felt a strong sense of loss as she softly asked,
"How… how did he manage that? What about the surveillance system? Can it track his movements?"
"We only saw a blurry shadow. He mentioned he would return, so later, I will arrange for someone I trust to impersonate him here."
Zhou Zhengde raised his hand and rubbed his forehead before picking up a nearby water glass that contained some…
ash-mixed rice porridge.
"Try this."
Wei Na instantly made a face of disgust, "What is this?"
"According to what Mu Liang said, of the three talismans, I used two. I'll have the remaining one researched and analyzed by someone I know."
Zhou Zhengde remarked,
"It really worked! It took effect in half an hour! My leg doesn't hurt for the first time in a long while!
"Initially, it was hurt by supersonic fragments from a Blade Beast, leaving a chronic injury, but now I feel so relieved for the first time!"
"I now suspect that rotten fish was also awakened by his doing. Mu Liang is truly incredible!"
"Really?"
Wei Na frowned as she took the water glass,
"I feel like you're mocking my expertise."
She pinched her nose and took a couple of sips, then steeled herself and gulped it down.
There was no immediate reaction.
Suddenly, a feeble voice came from Lan Yuzai, "Um, didn't he leave me the Finger Snapping Divine Skill cultivation method? May I take a look at that, you two big shots?"
Zhou Zhengde energetically stood up, grimacing from the pain as it pulled at his abdominal wound.
He smiled gently at the middle-aged woman, spreading several medical prescription notes in order, placing them on a small table in front of Lan Yuzai, and sighed,
"You wouldn't like it, trust me."
Lan Yuzai blinked, excitedly gazing at those four characters.
[Finger Snapping Divine Skill]!
One, to practice this skill, you must first train your finger strength; please perform One-finger Zen training daily.
One-finger Zen push-ups thirty times;
One-finger Zen pull-ups thirty times;
One-finger Zen loaded exercises thirty times;
Two, the improvement of finger strength must also be accompanied by the use of strength to ensure the accuracy of finger snapping…
The papers even thoughtfully included some simple sketches.
Yet, as Lan Yuzai smiled, tears began to well up.
He quietly lifted his arms; only a section above the elbow remained on his left arm, while his right forearm was somewhat better preserved, with everything above the wrist still intact.
Lan Yuzai alternated his gaze between these papers, his bandage-wrapped joints, the papers again, and his bandaged, bare arm joints…
"Dammit!"
…
About twenty-eight hours later.
Fortress 49th Floor.
In the northwest corner of 'Resurrection City,' controlled by the Black Fire Gang, in front of a smokey bar.
Wang Jixuan looked up at the bar's sign featuring the Black Fire Gang's emblem, pulled down the brim of his cap, and seemingly empty-handed, pushed open the glass door.
"I'll have a pot of Biluochun Tea."