Furious Rage

Lin Zhen walked back in high spirits. When he reached the entrance to the alley by his residential compound, he suddenly stopped.

The roadside was a complete mess. A breakfast cart had overturned by the curb, with baozi, soy milk, and other things scattered everywhere. There were even specks of blood on the ground.

He knew that cart all too well. It was his father Lin Liye's breakfast cart. That unremarkable little thing had paid for Lin Zhen's schooling all these years and was the foundation of his family's livelihood.

Nothing like this seemed to have happened in his previous life!

Panic rose in Lin Zhen's heart. He looked around and spotted Aunt Wang, a neighbor from his compound, among the gathered crowd. He immediately ran over. "Aunt Wang, what happened?"

Aunt Wang recognized Lin Zhen and hurriedly said, "Lin Zhen, you're finally back. Your father was beaten up by several thugs and has been hospitalized. He's at Jisheng Chinese Medicine Hospital at the north end of the compound. Hurry and go see him!"

Without another word, Lin Zhen turned and ran north.

Jisheng Hall was a low-end hospital nearby, the kind only poor people came to. Lin Zhen sprinted through the early morning at the speed of a hundred-meter dash, each hundred meters taking him less than eight seconds. He reached Jisheng's entrance in under three minutes.

"Excuse me, a man named Lin Liye was just admitted. Where is he now?"

"I'll check for you."

The nurse at the entrance opened a notebook and glanced through it. "Lin Liye, right? His head was split open, and two ribs were fractured. His wounds have just been treated and bandaged. He's in the surgery ward on the third floor. Go look for him."

Lin Zhen did not even take the elevator. He rushed up to the third floor in a few strides and headed straight for the surgery ward.

The moment he reached the ward area, Lin Zhen spotted his parents.

Li Qin sat in the hallway holding an IV bottle, looking for somewhere to hang it. His father, Lin Liye, lay in the corridor on a dirty blanket, his head wrapped in gauze stained red with blood. His eyes were tightly shut.

Lin Zhen's heart ached in waves. He hurried over and took the IV bottle from Li Qin's hands. "Mom! What happened?"

Before Li Qin could answer, Lin Liye, who had heard his voice, opened his eyes.

"My son's back. Hurry and tell me, how did your graduation exam go?"

Since Lin Zhen had changed out of the Martial Hall uniform after returning that morning and was still wearing his old clothes, Lin Liye did not know that he had already joined Raging Wind.

Seeing that his father's condition did not seem too serious, Lin Zhen relaxed slightly and forced a smile. "It went well, Dad. I joined Raging Wind Martial Hall and became a Second Class Student. The Martial Hall has already signed a contract with me. Not only will I earn five hundred thousand a month, but they'll also provide us with a standalone villa to live in. They even helped arrange pensions for both of you. Someone will come by in the next couple of days for you to sign the paperwork."

At Lin Zhen's words, Lin Liye and Li Qin's eyes glimmered. The enormous surprise struck them so hard that neither could speak for a moment.

"Good boy, good boy! That's my son! Good—cough, cough, cough!!!"

Lin Liye's face flushed with excitement, aggravating his rib injuries and sending him into a violent coughing fit.

"Old Lin, calm down. You're injured, why are you getting so worked up? This is a good thing. You should be happy." Li Qin's eyes brimmed with tears as well, and she kept trying to soothe Lin Liye.

Lin Zhen quickly patted his father's back. It took a while before Lin Liye finally calmed down.

"Mom, Dad, tell me what happened. And why are you staying out here in the hallway? Why aren't you in a ward?"

"Sigh, the nurse said there were no rooms left. We weren't even asking for a private room, just an ordinary ward, but she said there were no beds. I could clearly see plenty of empty beds, yet she said they'd all been reserved. They're just bullying us because we're poor. I saw Liu Baiwan, who runs that big breakfast shop on the street. He only scalded his hand, and he arrived later than your father, but he still got a big private room."

Li Qin was only an ordinary woman. She had been holding in her grievances, and now that she saw her son had made something of himself, she could not help but complain.

"Liu Baiwan? The one who's always competing with Dad?"

"Who else? He's been spreading rumors that the meat in your dad's baozi isn't good. He even forced your dad off the street. Whenever he sees us, he mocks us."

Lin Zhen frowned slightly and said to his mother, "All right. I'll ask about Dad's situation in detail later. For now, I'm going to get him a room. Wait here. I'll be back soon."

Lin Liye hurriedly said, "Son, don't go causing trouble. We can't afford to offend doctors and nurses. What if they charge us even more for medicine?"

Lin Zhen turned back with a smile. "Dad, things are different now. If I can't even get you a hospital room, then there's no point in me calling myself a Raging Wind Martial Hall student."

Lin Liye froze. Only then did he truly realize that his son, Lin Zhen, had grown up. He had become someone above ordinary people, a lofty Martial Artist.

Just as Lin Zhen was about to leave, a young man walked over.

"Oh! Isn't this Lin Zhen? So, the graduation exam is over? Which Martial Hall took you in? Why aren't you wearing a uniform? Don't tell me you failed?"

Lin Zhen looked up and took a while to remember who he was.

Liu Le, Liu Baiwan's son. No good either.

Lin Zhen had no time for him. "Whether I passed or not has nothing to do with you. Move aside. I'm going to find my dad a hospital room."

Liu Le sneered. "Then you'd better hurry. As your big brother, let me give you a reminder: even if you find one, it'll only be one of those big rooms with more than ten beds. My dad has the last private room, so you won't find one."

"Then I really want to try. If it's not a private room today, my dad isn't staying."

"Tch! Does your family even have that kind of spare cash? Even if you can scrape it together, there are no private rooms left. Go ahead if you don't mind getting humiliated."

Lin Zhen ignored Liu Le and headed straight to the nurse's station, pushing the door open and walking in.

"Who are you looking for? Changing medication?" a nurse asked without even lifting her head.

"I'm Lin Liye's family member. Find him a room now. A private room."

The young nurse raised her head and looked at Lin Zhen, surprise and disdain in her eyes.

Lin Zhen was one meter seventy-eight, not exceptionally tall, but he stood straight and carried a cold, sharp bearing. Because of his Mental Power training, his eyes became especially clear whenever his emotions fluctuated, almost dazzlingly so.

Though simply dressed, he gave off an intense masculine presence just standing there, making people reluctant to meet his gaze.

But Lin Zhen's clothes were far too ordinary. At a glance, the nurse could tell he was just another resident from the nearby compound, a commoner from the very bottom of society.

No matter how handsome he was, without money or power, people would still look down on him. The nurse curled her lips. "There are no private rooms. Forget private rooms, there aren't even beds in the regular wards. Can't you see how many people are getting IVs in the hallway?"

"My father has a head injury and fractured ribs. How can an environment like this help him recover? He needs a hospital room." Anger was already rising in Lin Zhen's heart. Even before joining the Martial Hall, he had reached the Star Realm in his previous life. Countless years of experience had left him with an instinctive feeling that ordinary people were like ants. If not for worrying about his father, he would have erupted long ago.

To his surprise, the nurse sneered. "You think the hallway environment is bad? If you don't like it, go somewhere else. Ice City Hospital in Jiangbei is great. Can you afford to go there?"

Faced with the nurse's mockery, Lin Zhen took a deep breath. "I saw someone surnamed Liu who arrived after my father get a private room. So don't tell me there are no private rooms. Let me ask you this: can you make the decision about hospital rooms or not?"

As he spoke, threads of Mental Power leaked out beyond his control. His voice was low and his words slow, yet they carried an oppressive, suffocating weight.

The nurse instinctively grew afraid. Arrogant as she was, she was still only an ordinary young woman. How could she withstand Lin Zhen on the verge of exploding? Her voice dropped. "For regular ward arrangements, the doctor can decide. For a private room, the director has to approve it."

"Take me to your director."

Lin Zhen restrained his emotions. He truly did not want to waste another word on her.

The nurse rose reluctantly and shuffled forward step by step.

"Faster!" Lin Zhen shouted.

The nurse jolted and hurried ahead.

When they reached the director's office, the nurse seemed to regain some courage. After knocking twice, she pushed the door open and entered.

"Director Wang, there's a patient's family member here who insists on getting his father a private room. I told him all the private rooms were gone, but he came to the nurse's station and made a scene. I'm scared..."

As she spoke, the young nurse's eyes actually reddened, and she looked at Director Wang with a wronged expression.

Director Wang was a portly middle-aged man. Instead of comforting the nurse immediately, he first asked, "Who is the patient?"

"Nothing special. He's just that old man from the nearby compound who sells baozi and soy milk every morning. His son says Mr. Liu arrived later and still got a private room, so why doesn't his father have one?" The young nurse wiped her tears away, her voice full of contempt.

Hearing this, Director Wang immediately relaxed. Just then, he saw Lin Zhen entering, and his expression turned cold.