Isn't This Our Old Friend?

Whether it was the membership or the special channel, Welt had contacted Einstein to help arrange it. In the end, Welt Yang successfully brought the three of them inside.

After the three finished their examinations, Raiden waited outside for the other two. He had no idea why they had gone in together when he had finished so much faster than them.

Still, he guessed it had something to do with what they had encountered yesterday. "Strange, Professor Welt is gone too?"

Li Ming lay on the hospital bed. It had only been supposed to be a simple physical examination, but after Raiden finished his checkup, Li Ming was somehow still stuck doing blood tests and ultrasounds.

After three tubes of blood had just been drawn from his right arm, the ultrasound room he was sent to seemed a little more advanced as well. Neither Li Ming nor Himeko found that strange. Himeko simply did not understand, while Li Ming guessed it was probably related to Anti-Entropy testing for Honkai Energy.

When the reports came out, Welt Yang was the first to see both of them. However, their reports were worlds apart.

"There are no signs whatsoever of Honkai Energy corrosion in Himeko's body. Instead, she shows signs of a mild concussion. Li Ming's Honkai Energy concentration has reached 200 HW, yet none of it is being emitted. Very strange. Could he be becoming a Herrscher?"

Welt was extremely curious about such an unusual report. "There are also remnants of Schicksal serum in his body. Ryoma reported that at the time, but it seems Li Ming did not complete the serum treatment. To prevent him from becoming a Herrscher, we'll have to pay closer attention to his mental state."

Yet there was still one matter giving him a headache. "The Honkai Energy in Li Ming's body still needs to be dealt with. Otherwise, he'll eventually be corrupted by Honkai. Looks like I'll need to research the matter."

"Li Ming, how was it?" Welt Yang asked gently with a smile as he looked at Li Ming, who had just come out of the ultrasound room. Himeko seemed fine, and she and Raiden were both watching him.

Being watched by several people did not make Li Ming uncomfortable in the slightest. He merely said calmly, "The report won't be ready for another couple of days, so I don't know the specifics yet. But I think my body's in pretty good shape. After all, I practice martial arts!"

Li Ming was actually feeling a little guilty inside. He did not know whether the hospital would write down his Honkai Energy corrosion in the report.

As for whether they could detect it, there was no way they could fail to do so. After all, Anti-Entropy had even sent out its leader just to bring him in.

Look at how important I am!

"Now that the physicals are done, let's head out!" Li Ming adjusted his expression and spoke to the two of them. Then he asked Welt Yang beside him, "By the way, Professor Welt, we'll be parting ways here. Thanks for your help."

Welt Yang smiled and adjusted his glasses. "It's nothing. I happen to be on vacation too, so I'll go out and have fun with you. I'd like to experience some youthful energy."

Neither Himeko nor Raiden suspected anything. This sort of thing was actually quite normal. Himeko did not mind having a teacher around, while Raiden was used to it. Li Ming was somewhat troubled, but he was even more afraid of becoming that shattered star.

"It's fine, but we're pretty poor, so you might not enjoy wherever we go." Still, he had to give it a try. What if Old Yang decided not to come after being turned down? What if Old Yang went on a honeymoon with Ms. Tesla instead?

But there were no what-ifs.

"The world..." Welt merely smiled. Oh no, he was going to say that line. I'm going to get shattered!

Under Li Ming's horrified gaze, Welt slowly spoke the next sentence. "The world kisses me with pain, and I answer with song. Since I'm on vacation, naturally I'd prefer somewhere more lively."

"Hehe, that's pretty good. Professor Welt is quite poetic," Li Ming said with a twitch of his lips and a smile.

Welt smiled and adjusted his glasses, watching Li Ming's expression change as though he were performing face-changing. Sure enough, Li Ming's mental state is unstable right now. Further confirmation is needed.

With Welt staring at him like that, Li Ming figured that by the time they went out, he would become that shattered star.

Leaving aside the shifts in the two men's thoughts, the moment the group stepped outside, they discovered that the crowds that had been packed outside had vanished in an instant.

"Huh, where did everyone go?" Himeko asked curiously. Raiden asked a passing nurse and learned that the free physical examination event had already ended.

"Huh, that fast?" Li Ming was rather surprised. Such events in Shenzhou generally lasted the entire day, but Raiden explained the reason to him.

"Unless people can guarantee their regular health insurance payments, very few are willing to come to the hospital for checkups. The high costs are also a considerable burden for many families, so free examinations are extremely rare opportunities for everyone."

"I see." Himeko did not know much about this sort of common knowledge either. The physical examinations had taken up the entire morning, so the group had a great time for the rest of the day.

After dinner, Li Ming and the other two parted with Welt Yang. The three walked along an unlit road at night for a while before reaching their apartment.

After returning to the apartment, Li Ming rested for a while. Going out today had eased some of the pressure in his heart. As he let out that pressure, his mind gradually calmed down. But after he lay in bed and fell asleep, he suddenly sat up again an hour or two later.

Perhaps he was thinking about yesterday's dream, or perhaps he was pondering how to make money.

"Get up and find Zhang Huaimin!" Li Ming rubbed his eyes. Perhaps because of that, they looked a little red. "Ah, pfft. Go make money."

Sitting on the sofa by the window, he sighed. "Hey, should I consider robbing the robbers? With H&K Company collapsing recently, it'll probably stir up quite a bit of turmoil in America. Isn't it fair for me to pick up some scraps?"

No sooner said than done. He directly summoned Candlelight Armor: First Light and put it on. It had originally gleamed silver, but after the upgrade, the armor had become matte. The scale-like patterns on its legs were clearer, and the armor itself was much thicker. Moon God's Protection sat securely in its holster, though the damaged armor around his waist still had not been repaired.

However, even though he had just woken up, his brain was not broken. After thinking about it, he realized that he still needed to cover his face.

But all he did was wrap a piece of cloth around his face before vaulting out the door. What was the difference between that and not covering it at all?

"Man, I wonder when I'll get the chance to change skins. This outfit is still way too conspicuous."

After checking where he would land outside the window, Li Ming climbed out over the wall. He gripped the outer edge of the windowsill with both hands, flipped himself upward, and landed on the roof.

Honestly, though, he was pretty lost right now. He only knew that H&K Company's California branch was near the movie theater from that day, but he could not determine its exact location.

As he ran along, Li Ming sprinted across the rooftops and felt like some kind of nighttime vigilante. Well, it would not be bad to uphold justice either. "From now on, I'll be Failure Man... Uh, forget it. I should pick another title."

No longer dwelling on the matter, Li Ming performed several flips and landed atop the tallest building near DreamWorks.

After surveying the surroundings, he found that far fewer people went out at night. Basically, after eight in the evening, hardly anyone came outside. At that moment, the faint sounds of several gunshots tore through the darkness of the night.

All sorts of people took the stage, and Li Ming saw the darkness of this city laid bare before him. Amid that darkness, the few remaining lights were like stars in the night sky.

Though he saw it, Li Ming did not intervene. Watching blood spill across the ground and the vicious expressions on those thugs' faces, he found his heart unexpectedly calm.

Whenever he did act, he used Moon God's Protection to directly kill those thugs. He did not know the exact location of H&K Company's branch, but the building where that clone had appeared yesterday should be the right general area. Watching that place could not be wrong.

"Huh! Something's happening over there." Flickering firelight and explosions appeared within the ruins from yesterday. Li Ming put Moon God's Protection into its holster, turned his back, and leaped down. He did not care that it was a building over twenty stories high. His body plummeted through the wind at high speed, tilting sideways and pressing close to the outer wall as he fell straight down. Sparks flew from the friction between his armor and the wall. Just before reaching the ground, he kicked violently off the wall, dispersing most of the force, and finally landed on the roof of another building.

Even so, Li Ming's blood churned for a moment. He took several deep breaths to calm his ragged breathing, then bounded toward the source of the disturbance.

The location was roughly west of the movie theater. After getting his bearings, Li Ming used the cover of night to land atop those ruins.

This had been the location of the movie theater, but due to yesterday's destruction, all the lights around it had gone out, and warning tape had been put up.

The relevant personnel had not come to repair anything around here yet. The nearby residents and shop owners showed no signs of returning either.

Looking at the collapsed buildings, Li Ming found the entire street empty, dark, and silent. It instead carried the desolate feeling of the end of the world.

Standing quietly where he had landed yesterday, Li Ming watched firelight burst from the collapsed ruins in the distance, accompanied by the occasional explosion.

A faint smile curled at his lips, though the cloth covering his face meant only his gleaming eyes could be seen.

After landing on the ground, Li Ming made several leaps and reached the top of the ruins. What surprised him was that a deep pit had appeared at the center of the rubble, extending dozens of meters underground. He did not know whether he had failed to notice it yesterday or whether it had always been like this.

Li Ming had no intention of thinking about it. At first, he had come to make some money. Now, he simply wanted to vent some of the restless unease in his heart.

"Hmm, anyone who can still show up here now should be from H&K Company. Even if they aren't, they must have some connection to it."

He carefully observed the activity in the pit. Two groups were currently exchanging fire. One group looked like ordinary grunts, while the other was fully equipped, wore uniform clothing, and had even brought out mechs.

Seeing that familiar red Titan Mech, Li Ming's eyes lit up. Oh! Isn't this our old friend, the Zhu Yan Mech? It's only been a few days, and it's gotten pretty cocky, huh?

Li Ming guessed those people were local street toughs. Judging from the situation, this had not been going on for only a short while. Since the guards still had not arrived, none of them could be good people.

If they were Anti-Entropy personnel, Li Ming figured he would turn himself into the guards and play the oriole waiting behind the mantis.

He secretly tightened the cloth over his face. After those who tried to blow up the Zhu Yan Mech with handguns were swallowed by flames, the remaining people began cleaning up the mess.

"Hehe, here comes your little flying stick!"

Li Ming grinned, then leaped fiercely into the air and descended toward the ruins beneath the moonlight.