"Congratulations, host. You successfully killed the supervillain Brock Rumlow, completing your first battle and victory with a character from the storyline since transmigrating. You will receive the reward 'The System's Encouragement.' The reward will now be issued."
"Host, you're awesome!"
"Reward issued. Please keep up the good work!"
Hearing the system's notification beside his ear, Li Congxin's lips twitched uncontrollably.
Now that was truly encouragement from the system!
Apart from encouragement, there wasn't a single practical reward!
Come on, Crossbones was at least an important villain. Was he really worth so little?
And when had this God-Tier BGM System started acting like such a clown?
However, after hearing the system's notification, Li Congxin also abandoned the idea of going back to finish Crossbones off. He turned to look toward the other side, where Nalan Qing lay behind a dumpster, blood still pouring from his wounds.
"Big brother!"
At that moment, Nalan Bai also rushed over from the entrance of the alley behind them. She stared anxiously at Nalan Qing, who lay motionless on the ground, not knowing what to do.
The tears covering her face showed that she had been secretly watching the battle from the beginning.
Still, Xiao Bai had at least grown up in a martial arts academy. Although she had never practiced martial arts herself, she had seen enough situations to know that jumping out during a fight like that would only cause trouble. So she had silently hidden nearby and watched until everything had settled before running out.
After switching off the BGM, Li Congxin endured the severe pain in his arm, removed the weights once more, and tossed them aside. Then he asked Nalan Bai, "You two came all the way here?"
"When you left, you forgot to ask me for your portable music player. Big brother drove me here to deliver it to you," Nalan Bai explained. "We happened to see you fighting that guy in the skull mask when we caught up with you. Big brother told me to hide nearby, then charged over with his club."
Hearing Nalan Bai's explanation, Li Congxin couldn't help laughing bitterly inwardly.
He hadn't forgotten about the portable music player at all. He had simply seen how happy Nalan Bai was listening to it and hadn't asked for it. The thing was useless to him anyway—just a decoration. He could always buy another one later.
He had never expected that this casual decision would drag the two of them into such a huge mess, leaving Nalan Qing seriously wounded.
This wasn't the time for self-reflection. Li Congxin immediately said to Nalan Bai, "It's good that you have a car. Give me a hand and help me carry your brother into it. We need to get him to the hospital immediately."
"But your arm..."
"It won't kill me!"
Nalan Bai was weak, and Li Congxin's arm was injured. The two of them struggled with all their might before finally managing to carry Nalan Qing into the car.
Fortunately, the Nalan Family's vehicle was a midsize van with a spacious cabin. As Nalan Bai helped Nalan Qing lie down across the rear seats, she said without looking up, "I'll take care of my brother. You drive."
Li Congxin: ...
After hesitating for a moment, Li Congxin forced himself to ask, "Um, Xiao Bai, can you drive?"
"I can't..." Nalan Bai turned to look at Li Congxin, then asked somewhat awkwardly, "If you drive with one hand, that should be fine, right?"
Li Congxin's old face flushed. "It wouldn't be a problem no matter how many hands I used. The problem is, I can't drive."
"Um, do you need some help?" A voice suddenly came from behind them. When they turned around, they saw a man carrying a bow and arrows and wearing an eye patch smiling at them harmlessly.
Li Congxin froze when he saw him, then quickly said, "Hello, my name is Li Congxin. You can also call me Clark Li. May I ask who you are?"
Clinton Francis Barton's impression value +10!
Clinton Francis Barton?
Hawkeye?
Another character from the storyline!
Completely unaware that his identity had already been exposed by Li Congxin's cheat with true-name recognition, Hawkeye continued to play mysterious. "If I wanted to reveal my identity, I wouldn't be wearing an eye patch. But don't worry. I have a driver's license, and I mean you no harm."
Looking at the other man's outfit, which resembled that of a circus performer, Li Congxin figured that Hawkeye probably hadn't joined S.H.I.E.L.D. yet.
Besides, if the man truly meant them harm, Li Congxin—currently in the state of a one-armed hero—would have no ability to resist anyway. There was no reason for him to play dirty.
Having figured out the important points, Li Congxin nodded at Hawkeye. "Then I'll trouble you."
Hawkeye didn't stand on ceremony. He simply climbed into the driver's seat. "Where to?"
"The hospital." After a slight pause, Li Congxin added, "The best hospital in New York!"
When they arrived at the hospital, Hawkeye, who didn't want to reveal his identity, took the initiative to disappear. With the medical staff's help, Li Congxin sent Nalan Qing to the emergency room, and he stayed behind as well.
"Well, if it isn't Clark. You're back again."
The nurse treating Li Congxin's wounds happened to be the same nurse who had cared for him during his previous hospital stay. He remembered that her name seemed to be Christine or something, but Li Congxin had been overwhelmed with matters concerning the Quantum Realm at the time and hadn't thought to ask for her full name.
Still, there was truly no way to respond to this girl's greeting.
Li Congxin had no mood to complain, however, and hurriedly asked, "How is he?"
"Things don't look good." Nurse Christine sighed and shook her head. "Besides the bullet, there are large amounts of buckshot embedded in your muscle tissue. You'll need surgery to remove all of it. Otherwise, your body's unusually fast healing ability will only make the situation worse."
"I wasn't asking about me!" After listening to her talk for so long, Li Congxin realized she had been describing his wound. He hurriedly asked, "What about the patient who came in with me—the one who was shot in the abdomen?"
"His condition is even worse," Christine said. "The bullet pierced his left kidney, causing massive internal bleeding. The suturing surgery will be extremely difficult. An ordinary doctor simply wouldn't be capable of performing it."
Nalan Qing had been sent to the emergency room, while Nalan Bai, who had come along with him, could only wait for news with Li Congxin. The moment Christine revealed what she knew, the young girl immediately burst into tears, clutching her head.
"Xiao Bai, don't panic. There has to be a way." Li Congxin hurriedly comforted Nalan Bai, then turned to Christine and asked, "You said an ordinary doctor couldn't perform the surgery. That means an extraordinary doctor can, right?"
Christine nodded. "As far as I know, only Dr. Stephen Strange would be confident performing this kind of surgery. But he got off work not long ago, and he never agrees to work overtime. If that patient doesn't receive treatment soon, he may not last until tomorrow morning."
Hearing this, Nalan Bai's tears began streaming down her face again.
Li Congxin patted her shoulder with his uninjured right hand and comforted her in a low voice. "It's all right. I'll think of something."
"Stephen Strange, is it? I'll make him work overtime."
"Miss Christine, could I trouble you to give me Dr. Strange's phone number?"
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