The Transaction of Time

Christine was quite reasonable and directly gave Li Congxin her phone number.

After entering the phone number, Li Congxin took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts for a moment, and then pressed the dial button.

In truth, he had absolutely no confidence in whether he could persuade the other party.

After all, he had just argued with the other party at a charity masquerade ball a few days prior, leaving a very bad impression. Now, asking for a favor, it was likely hopeless.

However, the situation was urgent. Even if he knew the chances were slim, Li Congxin had no choice but to brace himself and try.

A moment later, the call was answered, and Strange's somewhat arrogant voice came through, "Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, Dr. Strange, I am Clark Li." After introducing himself, Li Congxin continued before the other party could speak, "Are you interested in making a deal with me regarding time?"

Li Congxin and Strange's relationship had essentially deteriorated from 'cold' to 'hostile.' If they used normal communication methods, the other party would likely hang up without hesitation after just a few words. To avoid that, Li Congxin had to find an alternative approach, directly throwing out a topic that would pique the other party's interest, thereby allowing the conversation to continue.

And Strange, before becoming a superhero, had a very annoying personality, but he also possessed a unique advantage: he cherished time immensely.

This was evident from his hobby of collecting famous watches from around the world.

Perhaps in his eyes, those were not watches at all, but time itself!

As expected, upon hearing the word "time," Strange's finger, which had been hovering over the hang-up button, slowly moved away. His tone, however, remained indifferent: "Go on."

"I've bought the restaurant above Martha's Gym and plan to turn it into Martha's Gym's VIP area, specifically for entertaining my good friends."

Stephen Strange sneered upon hearing this, "I don't think we can be considered friends. Tell me, what are your terms?"

He had indeed successfully piqued the guy's interest. Li Congxin's face finally broke into a relieved smile. "As I said, this is a deal about time. The conditions to become a VIP member are very simple. I just want you to work an extra shift and perform a surgery for me."

Strange was taken aback, "You're injured?"

"Yes, but..."

Before Li Congxin could finish, Strange burst into schadenfreude laughter, "I refuse. You can just wait to die!"

Li Congxin, hearing the other party say that but not immediately hang up, felt his smile become confident:

"The environment in the VIP area is much better than the regular area. Not only do you not have to wait in line to use the equipment, but the fitness results there are also much stronger than in the regular area. An hour of exercise there is equivalent to about an hour and a half of exercise outside."

Strange hesitated for a moment, ultimately unable to resist the temptation of saving half an hour of precious time each day. He spoke again, "Enhancing workout results, how do you guarantee that?"

"Trade secret! However, you can refer to the fitness results of the regular area."

"When does the VIP area open?"

Got it!

With Strange personally handling it, the surgeries for Nalan Qing and Li Congxin went very smoothly.

Especially for Nalan Qing. Having had his kidney shot through, even if he survived, his fertility would have been affected. However, thanks to Strange's near-perfect surgery, he was finally able to preserve his dignity as a man. As long as he recuperated for a period, procreation would be completely fine.

Although this incident was ultimately caused by Li Congxin, Old Master Nalan Long was a very reasonable person. Not only did he not blame Li Congxin, but he also expressed his sincere gratitude for him inviting Strange to heal Nalan Qing.

Li Congxin dared not accept the old master's gratitude. However, when the old master offered to teach him his ultimate secret techniques, Li Congxin found it impossible to refuse.

After Li Congxin was discharged from the hospital, the old master not only imparted all the killing moves and secrets of the Twelve-Road Shaolin Tan Tui but also taught him a weapon skill – the Four Gates Staff Technique!

Four Gates Staff Technique: A widely spread staff technique in military camps, emphasizing strength and ferocity. Its moves are practical and concise, easy to learn but difficult to master. It was this staff technique that Nalan Qing used when fighting Crossbones.

Li Congxin seemed to have a natural affinity for this staff technique, which was primarily based on brute force. He learned it with incredible speed, reaching a state of perfect mastery in just over ten days. While the BGM certainly played a role, even with the BGM, his progress in practicing Tan Tui was far from comparable.

The weather grew colder, and the autumn chill deepened.

The late autumn mornings and evenings in New York were equally cold. In the early mornings, there were almost no pedestrians on the streets. However, in an abandoned factory in Manhattan, a young man was practicing his secret techniques in thin clothing, accompanied by background music.

"Lying like a drawn bow, standing like a pine tree, motionless and steady like a bell, moving like the wind. Southern fists and Northern kicks, Shaolin and Wudang skills, Tai Chi Bagua Chain Palm, China has divine skills!..."

This young man was Li Congxin, who, amidst the BGM of "Chinese Kung Fu," was focused on practicing the recently learned Four Gates Staff Technique.

A large staff, gleaming with metallic light, was swung by him with a whistling sound, and just by the sound of it cutting through the air, one could imagine its terrifying power.

After finishing a set of staff techniques, Li Congxin turned his head to look towards the entrance of the abandoned factory. Old Pi and his daughter, dressed in thick autumn clothes, were watching him with great interest.

He put the large staff aside by the wall and casually asked, "How was that matter handled?"

Li Congxin was referring to the incident where he shot Crossbones. Murder is a serious crime under the laws of any country. Fortunately, Li Congxin had the justification of self-defense, and with Old Pi's support, he wasn't afraid of being falsely accused.

However, Old Pi had promised from the beginning to handle the matter through his private lawyer, and Li Congxin had even been spared the routine questioning process. He had been uncertain about the outcome, which prompted him to ask.

"You don't need to worry about self-defense," Old Pi's words made Li Congxin frown. However, judging by his confident smile, the outcome seemed to be quite good?

At this point, Old Pi continued, "This is what happened."

Clearing his throat, Old Pi began to narrate what he called "the facts": "You were attacked by thugs in an alley. Nalan Qing happened to arrive with your portable music player, and you were both shot by the assailant. The killer is still at large, and the police have issued a warrant for their arrest."

Li Congxin was stunned on the spot. So, he had gone from being a murderer to a completely innocent victim?

Old Pi waved his hand and then said, "The forces behind those who targeted you are not simple. In fact, they were likely after me."

"However, it's clear they didn't want to escalate the situation. When the police arrived, not only was the killer's body and weapon gone, but even the bloodstains on the ground had been cleaned up."