Past Events

The next morning.

Luo Di was holding a novel titled "Exorcism" in his hospital bed. Whenever he became fully immersed in his thoughts, his tongue still clicked unconsciously. He did not dislike this lingering habit; instead, he regarded it as a kind of "trophy."

During a break from reading, Luo Di saw quite a few people heading next door through the window in his ward door.

The once-silent corridor had become lively. Besides nurses and doctors, there were several blond foreigners with physiques far beyond those of ordinary people.

Anna in the neighboring ward had probably woken up, but Luo Di had no intention of joining the crowd and simply picked up the novel beside his pillow again.

Time slipped away through the gaps between the words.

Knock, knock. A knock on the door dragged Luo Di out of the story and back into reality.

"Come in."

A massive body blocked the doorway, and Luo Di could not even see the person's head. The door was two meters tall.

As the man bent down and squeezed into the ward, the first thing Luo Di saw was a custom-made oversized suit restraining his body. Above the collar sat a bald head, his features rough and savage.

The sheer oppression brought by his size and appearance made Luo Di instinctively shift aside.

Close behind him came a somewhat plump middle-aged woman over 1.8 meters tall, followed by a tattoo-covered young man around two meters tall with a close-cropped blond cut.

The newly awakened Anna was among them as well.

She seemed to have recovered quite well. Only a faint burn scar remained on her face, which could probably be repaired with laser surgery later.

Anna waved at Luo Di as she entered the ward.

But the bald man at the front walked to the bedside and blocked Luo Di's entire view.

He placed a hand large enough to crush a skull against his chest and lowered his head in greeting.

"Sergei Ivanovich. Thank you for saving my daughter. If you ever run into any trouble in Jupiter City, you can come to us, and we will handle it."

A business card written in Russian was placed on the bedside table.

Luo Di merely nodded slightly without saying anything.

Baldy continued staring at the relatively short Asian young man before him.

"Anna said you had quite a good physique. Seeing you now, that is indeed true. It would be even better if you grew a little taller. Perhaps you have not been getting enough nutrition.

Whenever you have time, you are welcome to attend our family barbecue parties. Humans need to eat more meat to grow tall and strong."

"Thank you."

At that moment, Anna cut into their conversation from behind them. "Dad! Didn't the doctor say I'm in great condition? Besides, the hospital's service is excellent. I do not need anyone taking care of me at all.

You do not need to stay here anymore~ Hurry back and deal with things at home."

Sergei had wanted to refuse, but the middle-aged woman shot him a fierce glare and yanked him away. "Anna, then we will head home first. We will come pick you up when you are discharged in a couple of days."

"Got it, Mom."

As the family left the ward one after another, the tattooed young man at the very back deliberately glanced at Luo Di in bed, then at his sister, before closing the door.

Once her family had left, Anna let out a sigh of relief and sat in the chair beside the hospital bed.

"They did not scare you, did they? My family may look fierce, but they are actually all very nice."

"No."

Luo Di did not care. From the moment they entered, he had sensed their goodwill.

Anna clenched the fist resting on her thigh, intending to say the words of thanks she had prepared beforehand, only for Luo Di to speak first.

"Did you go to hell too?"

"Hell? Are you talking about being possessed?

When we worked together to deal with the zombie, I accidentally caught sight of The Devil of Tongues in the woods. Then it crawled into my mouth and possessed me.

At that time, my consciousness fell into hell. I was fixed to a cross, waiting to die."

Luo Di nodded. It seemed the circumstances after possession were the same for everyone. "Did you see any symbols?"

"No. My eyes were corroded less than a second after I opened them. I only caught a glimpse of a blurry hellscape and did not see any symbols.

I thought it would all end like that. When my body was almost dried out by the wind, I suddenly felt something soft and moist enter my mouth.

By the time I woke up again, I had already been brought to the hospital.

Luo Di, you..."

Just as Anna was about to ask for the exact details of how the possession had been lifted, Luo Di interrupted with another question. "What did that devil look like?"

"Hmm~ Let me think... It looked like a dried corpse that had been drained of all moisture, covered in scorch marks and full of holes.

Its head seemed to have two different forms.

Sometimes, it looked like nothing but a single tongue connected to its neck, flapping about freely in the air.

Other times, it had a normal human face, but its eye sockets, nostrils, and ears were all filled with tongues.

Ugh~ Just remembering it makes me uncomfortable.

Oh, right. They told me that you came up with the method to break the deadlock, and that you even took the devil inside me into your own body. How exactly did you do it?"

"I had a unique scent that devil liked, so it was willing to transfer itself voluntarily. Using its desire to transfer, Gao Yuxuan and I worked together to contact the outside world."

"Oh~ So that was it..." Anna did not think much of it. "You were able to come up with a solution in that situation. No wonder Wenwen often mentions you in private.

With Wenwen's personality, she rarely truly praises people her own age.

Once my IV is done later, let's go visit Wenwen in her ward. She was seriously injured because of me, and it might even delay her studies."

"It should be fine if she is delayed by a few days, right? This practical exercise will be of great help for further schooling."

Anna rested her chin on one hand, as though she had recalled an unpleasant memory. "That is hard to say. Wenwen's family is very strict about academics... Ever since something happened to her over a year ago, she has rarely gone out with me like she used to. At most, we meet up on weekends."

"Over a year ago?"

Luo Di recalled something as well. He remembered that Wu Wen had only transferred into his class in the second semester of their first year of high school, quickly replacing the previous class monitor with her outstanding overall abilities.

Anna explained, "Yes. We were originally admitted to the same high school, First Middle School, the best school in Jupiter City.

Although Wenwen had been among the top students in middle school, she was not that outstanding among all the monsters and geniuses at First Middle School. Maybe because of the pressure from her family, her grades kept declining.

Later, during the physical test near the end of the term, she got into a conflict with someone over a minor matter, injured them, and was forced to withdraw from school."

"She injured someone?"

Although Luo Di rarely interacted with the class monitor, based on the impression he had built up over time, she always wore a smile when facing anyone, and every word she spoke was gentle. He could not imagine her getting into a conflict with someone.

Anna sighed as well. "Maybe it was for the best. After transferring to your school, Wenwen seems to have become her old self again. With her abilities and the certification from this special practical exercise, she will definitely make it into the top hundred in the city for next year's admissions. She might even do better than if she had stayed at First Middle School.

Once she recovers, the four of us should get together properly.

It really was not easy to survive this time... Thank you so much, especially. From now on, we are good friends. Just like my dad said, if you ever have any trouble in Jupiter City, come to our family anytime."

However, Anna's hard-won words of thanks received no response for a long while. Luo Di was staring blankly at the ward entrance, seemingly lost in thought.

Anna clenched her fist and lightly tapped it against his arm.

"Hey~ What are you thinking about?"

Luo Di was slightly taken aback before quietly replying, "Friends?"

"Of course. Remember to keep in touch from now on. Even though we do not go to the same school, we can still make plans to hang out on weekends or holidays."

Who would have thought that Luo Di's wandering thoughts had already landed on something else?

"Oh, right. Do you have that habit?"

"What habit? Why do you talk so strangely?" Anna was utterly confused. She even reached over to touch Luo Di's forehead, wondering whether he had a fever.

"This habit."

Click.

When the tongue-clicking sound came from Luo Di's mouth,

Anna instantly sprang out of her chair and stood rigidly at attention. Her heart rate shot up, and her body vaguely felt that horrifying heat of hell.

She quickly came to her senses. Luo Di had woken up before her and must have undergone a complete examination. If there had been any issue, he would have been isolated already.

"Luo Di, are you trying to scare someone to death? Can you warn me before making that sound?"

Luo Di merely said calmly, "I sometimes click unconsciously now. It is probably a side effect of the possession. You do not have it?"

"No... Absolutely not~ I have a severe stress response to that sound, let alone making it myself."

"Strange. You were possessed longer than I was. Could it be because I was the last person to be possessed that I developed this habit? Or perhaps I simply do not reject that sound?"

Anna looked at Luo Di with disgust and hurriedly backed away from the bed. "I am not staying with you anymore. You are too creepy~ I will go back to my ward first and come see you later!"