Yes, this intense feeling wasn't an illusion.
It even made Chen Huaian unable to control his sinful hands.
He grabbed the set of silver needles.
Glancing at the old man next to him, a sinister smile curled at the corner of his mouth. It carried a hint of recklessness, a touch of perversion, a dash of arrogance, a sprinkle of nonchalance, and an overwhelming 88% eagerness.
Then he opened the needle case.
Inside lay 36 silver needles. As his fingers brushed over the needle tips, a familiar sensation surged in his heart, as if he were caressing his girlfriend's fingers.
"Sorry about this!"
Chen Huaian silently clasped his fists toward the old man next to him.
Then he picked up a silver needle.
In one swift motion, he stabbed it into his own leg.
Using someone else's silver needles to poke his own leg—
wasn't this, in a way, a form of NTR for the needles?
This was his profound apology to the old man and the needles!
As for why he didn't poke the old man?
Are you crazy? He was just acting on a whim and a bit of curiosity. He wouldn't do something as irresponsible as randomly poking others. But poking himself? No psychological burden there. After all, he was about to die anyway, so he was willing to try anything on himself.
His gaze fell on his leg, and before his eyes, acupuncture points and meridians appeared, faintly overlapping with the acupuncture point map from the game. His fingers moved like lightning, the needles gliding like flowing clouds over water. In the blink of an eye, all 36 needles were inserted into his right leg.
Chen Huaian took a deep breath and held it.
Next, he adjusted the depth of each needle one by one, twisting the ends to stimulate the acupuncture points on his leg. His hands, which usually trembled even when holding a water bottle, were now shockingly steady.
After a while, the acupuncture was complete.
Chen Huaan put the needles back into the case and returned it to its original position.
That tantalizing little feeling was finally gone.
"Feels good." He rubbed his hands together, satisfied, and left.
His right leg was the one that was fractured, and that was the leg he had poked.
Now, the bruising on his leg was already showing signs of fading, though the bone was still twisted. But the fracture itself wasn't the most serious issue—it was the tissue damage caused by the fracture that needed to be addressed. Reducing the bruising was naturally very important.
The acupuncture had taken less than ten minutes, but the effects of reducing swelling and bruising were already noticeable.
Even Chen Huaian found it unbelievable.
Wait, this game is really that hardcore?
You can actually learn things from it?
But surely not everyone could learn it so easily. Who else could memorize the acupuncture methods and point maps after just one try like he did?
But he hadn't had such a good memory before.
This was a bit eerie…
Chen Huaan pondered for a while, then suddenly his eyes lit up, and he punched his palm. "That's it, I get it now, hahahaha!"
Outside the ward, Dr. Wu and Dr. Zhang walked over, still discussing Chen Huaian's situation.
"This young man is a college student with no history of mental illness. Are you sure there's something wrong with his head?" Dr. Wu had already reviewed Chen Huaian's records and questioned Dr. Zhang's judgment.
"Nyahahahahahaha! It's the cancer! The mysterious cancer cells have unlocked my genetic potential! I'm a genius!"
Chen Huaian's muffled, maniacal laughter came from the ward.
"See?" Dr. Zhang shrugged and tilted his head toward the ward.
Dr. Wu: "…"
It seemed the young man might have been a bit overstimulated after seeing the mirage on Mount Tai. Medical intervention was indeed necessary.
"Young man…" Dr. Wu entered the ward.
"Doctor, I'm not sick. I want to be discharged. Or do you have a power bank here? If you do, I'll stay a bit longer."
"…" Dr. Wu stared at the serious-looking young man on the hospital bed, wondering if he needed to increase the dosage.
Dr. Zhang, however, noticed Chen Huaian's leg and was stunned. "Huh? How is your leg better?"
He remembered clearly that when he went to find Dr. Wu earlier, Chen Huaian's fractured calf was severely swollen, with the worst part already turning black—it was on the verge of necrosis.
But now, the swelling had significantly reduced, and the bruising was much less severe.
Chen Huaian noticed the doctor's gaze and sheepishly tucked his foot away, chuckling awkwardly.
"I've always been tough. I have a bit of a natural talent for self-recovery."
There was no way he could say the bruising was resolved by the secret golden needle technique. No one would believe him, and it would just cause trouble.
As for demonstrating the acupuncture technique to the two doctors right now—that was out of the question.
The old man next to him would indeed make a great test subject, but before he could even try, he'd probably be dragged off to the psychiatric ward. Besides, he wasn't confident.
Just because it worked on him didn't mean it would work on someone else.
In today's society, even helping someone cross the street requires considering whether you can afford the consequences, let alone poking someone with a set of needles.
Dr. Zhang thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out.
All he could say was that, for now, the osteosarcoma on Chen Huaian's leg hadn't disappeared. If even the osteosarcoma were gone, he'd really have to find a way to keep Chen Huaian here and report this to his superiors.
"Young man, you need to find a way to treat this cancer. If you just leave it alone, it won't end well…"
"I understand, but I don't have the money," Chen Huaian said with a smile.
"Didn't you buy insurance?"
"No."
"What about your parents?"
"They're gone."
"…Sigh." Dr. Zhang fell silent, the conversation leaving him speechless.
As a veteran physician with decades of experience, he had encountered too many cases like Chen Huaian's—people with nothing, just waiting to die.
But few were as genuinely indifferent as Chen Huaian.
"Doctor, I know my situation. I don't have extra money. Just treat the fracture normally, that's fine."
Dr. Zhang nodded but added, "If you need help with fundraising, let me know. Maybe I can help."
"Thank you. If I can earn the money, I'll definitely seek treatment."
While Chen Huaian and Dr. Zhang were talking, Dr. Wu had been observing.
He noticed that the young man was clear-headed, his eyes bright—there was no sign of mental illness. At most, he was a bit of a chuunibyou.
…He almost had someone bring out the tranquilizer gun.
False alarm.
…
Chen Huaian stayed in the hospital until the afternoon.
His fractured right leg had been operated on, and a plaster cast was now in place.
According to the doctor, it was best to stay for observation, but he declined, citing a lack of funds. Before leaving, he bought a set of silver needles from the pharmacy next to the hospital.
"Power bank! Power bank!!!"
Once out of the hospital, Chen Huaian was like a starving wolf, his green eyes scanning the surrounding stores.
He needed a power bank!
He hadn't logged into the game all afternoon. If Li Qingran got attacked by demonic beasts again, he'd be devastated.
Besides, he'd already spent nearly 60,000 yuan on the game. If the character was gone, he'd be so angry he'd jump off the second floor of the hospital.
"Hands off that power bank!!!"
Under the terrified gaze of a female student,
Chen Huaian, leaning on his crutches, dashed over and grabbed the last power bank on the restaurant's charging station.
He turned it on and opened the game.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Qingran was still safely unconscious inside the Xuanjia Formation.
Chen Huaian, with the power bank in his mouth, one hand on his crutch and the other holding his phone,
sat down at a table in the restaurant under the bewildered gaze of the female student. "Boss, three liang of dry noodles."
"Coming right up! Want a fried egg?"
"No, but I'll take some noodle soup!"
The boss: "Got it~"
A fried egg costs three yuan! Not getting it!
Noodle soup is free—definitely getting that!
Since Li Qingran was still unconscious, he opened the Luck Koi prize pool.
He was still 500 pulls away from the guaranteed reward.
"Tsk, I guess I'm just not lucky."
Chen Huaian snorted coldly. As the payment confirmation popped up,
his finger tapped on the draw button.
He went all in!