Baby-Like Sleep (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Fang Cheng watched the three men ask the nurse for a name, then head toward one of the wards.

When he turned to look, he found Li Dingjian had gone back to the laundry area.

With his back against the window, a cigarette between his fingers, he stood beneath a pair of red underwear in a contemplative pose.

"Uncle, why are you smoking again?"

"It's nothing. Go check on your grandfather first. My craving hit, and I couldn't hold it back, haha..."

Li Dingjian gave an embarrassed laugh, his eyes glinting slyly as he quickly looked back over his shoulder.

Fang Cheng gave him two puzzled looks, then headed alone toward his grandfather's ward.

As the cancer inpatient ward, the atmosphere here was clearly more oppressive and solemn than on the other floors.

Everyone he passed wore a tightly furrowed brow, hurrying silently by with water bottles, urinals, or medical reports in hand.

When Fang Cheng passed the nurses' station, another burst of commotion broke out, shattering the heavy atmosphere.

Someone seemed to be shouting and fighting, mixed with the heart-wrenching cries of a child.

"Please, please stop hitting him!"

"Ma Ge, give me a little more time! I promise I'll pay you back, principal and interest. I absolutely won't delay again!"

The noise was coming from Ward 803.

It was very close to his grandfather's ward, with only two rooms between them.

Then, with a loud crash, the ward door was kicked open brutally.

Immediately afterward, a short Huang Mao grabbed a young woman by the hair and forcibly dragged her out of the ward.

The young woman's clothes were disheveled and her hair hung loose. She flailed her arms wildly, trying to get up and protect the child another man had carried away.

It was the same three men who looked like gang members, now in conflict with the patient's family.

The Stretchy Shirt Strongman came out last, one hand clamped around the neck of a skinny man.

The man's face was flushed red. He weakly reached out to pound at him, but it was like scratching an itch.

The scene drew out the other visiting family members, who gathered in the corridor to watch.

Some nurses were At a Loss, while others hurriedly called for security.

Fang Cheng stood among the crowd as well, silently watching.

He had seen this couple a few times before.

The husband was a Truck Driver, while the wife had quit her job to care for their child with leukemia, looking after him full-time.

Since their ward was close to his grandfather's and they had both been hospitalized for a long time, they occasionally visited each other and were fairly familiar.

He had heard from his mother that the child's chemotherapy alone had cost tens of thousands.

To complete the entire course of treatment and the surgery, they would need at least another three hundred thousand. Compared to his own family, their burden was several times heavier.

They had probably been forced into borrowing from a lending company with gang connections to raise medical expenses.

The wife suddenly broke free like a madwoman, Pouncing Towards the Stretchy Shirt Strongman and tightly hugging his leg.

"Big Brother, please show us some mercy. Give us a little more time. My son is about to undergo a Bone Marrow Transplant. Nothing can happen to him now!"

"Ah..."

The strongman showed a troubled expression and sighed.

"Miss, begging me is useless. The boss gave us a strict order. We're all just working for someone else, so it's hard for us too."

He turned to the man whose throat he had been holding, loosened his hand, and continued, "How about this? Settle the interest first, so I have something to report when I go back."

The husband coughed violently several times, gasping for air as he stammered, "But... the interest is too high. It's over forty thousand. We're still short by a lot for the Surgical Fee..."

"Ying Jun, A Dong!"

Hearing this, the strongman unhappily ordered the two young punks to continue.

The husband hurriedly shielded his wife with his body. His knees gave way, and he dropped to the ground.

"Ma Ge, come at me if you want something. Don't hurt my wife and child!"

"I... I really contacted a boss who's willing to buy my kidney. As long as I can get the money and cure my child, I'll transfer every cent left over to you..."

By then, the Security Guards had arrived after hearing the news. Holding Riot Batons, they shouted and asked what was happening.

Ying Jun, the yellow-haired man, immediately jumped forward and flashed a folding knife, threatening fiercely, "I'm warning you not to meddle in other people's business. If we don't get the money today, we'll take it out on whoever gets in our way!"

The Security Guards looked fearful and could only keep urging, "Everyone Calm Down, calm down."

Other than that, they had no way to respond.

Fang Cheng Stared intently at the three gang members causing trouble.

When he heard a few weak coughs from the ward behind him, his brows furrowed even tighter.

That was his grandfather's voice. He must have been woken up by the noise too.

"These useless idiots can't even handle a few thugs."

Behind the crowd, Li Dingjian poked his head out and muttered quietly.

He had even deliberately put on a medical mask, looking sneaky as hell.

"Sir, how much do they even make in a month? If it were you, would you dare go up there?"

A young nurse beside him couldn't help retorting.

A patient's family member seemed to sympathize and sighed as well. "Ah, they're all unfortunate people..."

Though the onlookers felt pity for them, they only whispered among themselves. No one dared step forward.

The Stretchy Shirt Strongman looked around at the situation, frowned, and issued an ultimatum. "Fine. We'll take the child back as a guest for now. When you've scraped together the money, come get him."

"Don't do this, Ma Ge! Please, show us mercy!"

"Xiao Bao, my Xiao Bao!"

The young couple screamed themselves hoarse, desperately trying to snatch their child back.

"Let go! Fuck, all of you, get the hell away from me!"

Ma Ge's two Thugs had been provoked as well. They kept kicking the couple and threatening the Security Guards to clear the way.

The child was wearing a hospital gown. He was innocent and confused, but he still knew his father and mother were being beaten.

So in the stranger's arms, he wailed nonstop, his little face streaked with tears.

In the midst of the chaos, suddenly—

A voice shouted, "Hey, can you keep it down?!"

The voice was not loud, yet it pierced through the layers of noise in the ward area and reached everyone's ears.

"Who? Who the hell dares pick a fight with us?"

Huang Mao immediately looked around, still somewhat worked up.

"I said—"

Fang Cheng stepped forward, revealing himself from the crowd.

"This isn't a market. It's a hospital. Watch yourselves and don't disturb the other patients' rest."

Huang Mao's brows shot up, his expression Taken aback.

He seemed to recognize Fang Cheng as the pretty boy he had encountered in the elevator earlier.

"You little punk, you like showing off, huh? Grandpa will teach you a lesson first!"

He walked toward Fang Cheng while waving the folding knife in his hand, putting on an utterly unruly posture.

Fang Cheng remained calm, showing no fear whatsoever.

On the contrary, anticipation and excitement faintly flickered deep in his eyes.

He then raised both arms and assumed a classic boxing guard.

Seeing this, Huang Mao let out a sneer. "Oh? You've learned Boxing? Want to try disarming a blade barehanded? Want me to carve a few cuts into that face of yours?"

Fang Cheng remained unmoved.

He merely imitated a Professional Boxer, turning his body sideways and using his elbows to protect the vital points at his ribs, his gaze fixed on the gleaming folding knife.

When his opponent came within about an arm's length, his shoulder twitched and he suddenly stepped forward.

His right arm Exerted Force in an instant. His fist, as agile as a bee's sting, tore through the air and shot toward the other man's face.

Huang Mao clearly hadn't expected him to actually be this bold.

Instinctively, he threw his head back and raised the folding knife, intending to slash him.

However, it was only a feint!

Fang Cheng's left fist flicked out, then immediately withdrew.

At the same time, his right leg flew up in a kick aimed directly at his opponent's groin.

"Fuck!"

Huang Mao's pupils contracted sharply. With his experience in fighting, he knew he had fallen for it.

He hurriedly thrust his backside backward, trying to evade the vicious low kick.

But Fang Cheng took advantage of his unstable center of gravity. His right hand shot out and swiftly grabbed the knife hand.

Huang Mao reacted half a beat too slowly. By the time he came to his senses, he found his wrist already caught.

He looked up into Fang Cheng's eyes.

They seemed to hold a trace of mockery, as if saying, Who told you boxers can only use their fists?

"You fucking..."

He tried to resist and fight back.

But he discovered that Fang Cheng's fingers were like iron tongs, firmly clamping down on his wrist.

The more he struggled, the deeper they dug into his flesh, locking tightly around the bone as though it were about to break.

The rest of his curse was instantly choked back down his throat.

Cold Sweat streamed down his face from the pain. He smacked his thigh fiercely with his other hand and cried out repeatedly, "Ah—quick, quick... let go!"

Clatter.

The folding knife slipped from Huang Mao's hand and fell to the floor.

Fang Cheng kicked the knife away with his toes before loosening his fingers.

The "Iron Fist" effect had greatly enhanced the toughness of the bones and muscles in his hands.

It did not merely make his fists harder. The increase to his grip strength and grabbing power followed naturally as well.

Twice an 11-point Constitution meant the non-human effect of a 22-point Constitution.

Fang Cheng figured that even if he grabbed a blade directly with his hand, the damage it caused would probably be very limited.

"Can you be quiet now?"

He lowered his gaze at the thug kneeling before him, crying out in pain without end.

"I'll quiet your mother!"

Huang Mao was still stubborn. After cursing, he tremblingly extended his right hand, still marked with dark Fingerprints.

He wanted to pick up the folding knife and wave it around again. Clearly, he believed Fang Cheng had won through trickery and foul play.

Fang Cheng's gaze flickered. His loosened fingers clenched back into a fist.

Bang!

As his knuckles smashed violently into Huang Mao's jaw, Huang Mao fell straight backward as if struck by a pendulum.

He lay flat on the ground in an instant, like he had been injected with surgical anesthetic, and did not make another sound.

"Fuck you!"

Just then, a thermos suddenly came smashing toward him.

Seeing his companion defeated, A Dong immediately dropped the child and launched a Sneak Attack.

Fang Cheng leaned back, twisted his hips, and switched his stance with a cross-step.

He changed direction on the spot, shaking to the opponent's weak side, then threw two rapid punches from the opposite stance.

Bang! Bang!

The thermos fell to the floor, its inner liner shattering with a crash.

A Dong clutched his abdomen with Both Hands and collapsed limply into a sitting position.

His entire face looked as though he were wearing a mask of agony. He retched while tears streamed down his face.

Left Swing, Butterfly Step, Liver-Busting Double Strike.

In just a few seconds, he had easily taken down two men. Only the Stretchy Shirt Strongman remained standing there, stunned at the Original Spot.

Fang Cheng rubbed his wrist and asked again, "Can you be quiet now?"

The entire place fell silent. No one answered.

The nurses, Security Guards, and patients' family members all held their breath, staring at him in dumbfounded shock.

At the same time, a line of Prompt Information emerged before Fang Cheng's eyes.

You defeated two Unknown Soldiers. Boxing Skill experience +25

Boxing Lv1 (25/250)

In the frozen atmosphere, the Stretchy Shirt Strongman suddenly moved.

Then he started walking toward Fang Cheng.