"Did you know? I was injured in the line of duty while saving an entire subway train."
"Really?"
"Of course. Look, this is the official WeChat account of the Mode Capital Metro, and this is Shanghai Releases. They both reported on me. Didn't you see the news?"
"Let me see... It really is you?"
"Of course."
"You're amazing. Can I know what you were thinking at the time?"
"Of course. At the time, I was thinking..."
"He was thinking about what to eat for dinner the whole time. Then he stood there spacing out on the tracks and was run over by the train, leaving him completely crippled."
Mei abruptly inserted herself between Xu Qi and the unfamiliar girl.
With just one glance, the girl saw Mei's beautiful, makeup-free face—beautiful enough to outshine any celebrity—and lowered her eyes, suddenly feeling inferior.
As if he hadn't noticed Mei's arrival, Xu Qi stared blankly and said, "Mei? Why did you come here? Your crowdfunding group is ④561279④0."
"If I'd arrived any later, were you planning to risk reopening your wound and have sex with this girl in some bathroom?"
The explicit, mocking tone made the girl's face turn scarlet. She also finally realized what relationship this beautiful woman had with Xu Qi...
She glared angrily at Xu Qi, seemingly blaming him for provoking her despite having such a beautiful girlfriend. In any case, she hurried away.
Xu Qi shrugged. "I was just chatting with her."
"Is that so?" Mei narrowed her eyes slightly. "I only went to take an exam, and you pull something like this?"
"Uh..." Xu Qi was suddenly at a loss for words.
"Phew..." As if already accustomed to his lecherous ways, Mei straightened Xu Qi's slightly disheveled hospital gown, then stepped forward and supported him. "What you need now is rest. Let's go back to your room and lie down."
Now, everyone in the hospital knew that Xu Qi had such a beautiful girlfriend.
Some people even whistled at Xu Qi.
Halfway through supporting him, Mei suddenly sensed that something was off...
"You did that on purpose?"
"Huh?" Xu Qi looked as though he had no idea what she was talking about. "What did I do? Did I do anything?"
Mei narrowed her eyes again, but for some reason, she didn't press him further. Instead, like a queen returning in triumph, she carried her spoils of war back with her.
"Fine, I have to admit it. When they thought you were my girlfriend, the way they looked at me made me feel... pretty good."
"That's just your vanity acting up."
"It could also be possessiveness."
Mei suddenly stopped walking.
Her breathing was noticeably uneven, as though she hadn't expected Xu Qi to say something so bold.
He clearly... He clearly never treated me like this before...
Before, no matter how much she provoked him, he would always play dumb and refuse to take that first step. But now... he was actually taking the initiative to attack.
Attack me?
Attack me, Raiden Mei!?
His sudden change in attitude made Mei instantly understand what Xu Qi was thinking, but...
When the moment actually arrived, she instead began to retreat, hesitating...
"Let's go back to the room first. I really do need to lie down and rest."
"Mm."
Back in the hospital room, Mei helped Xu Qi lie down on the bed again, then took out the dinner bento she had prepared from its bag.
Two meat dishes and one vegetable dish. She knew Xu Qi was a carnivore who couldn't live without meat.
But compared with usual, Mei felt somewhat uncomfortable while doing all this today, because Xu Qi's gaze... remained fixed on her the entire time.
It was intense and full of passion.
Unable to bear it, Mei turned toward Xu Qi with a flushed face. "Why do you keep looking at me?"
"You look good."
Mei finally couldn't take it anymore.
She hurriedly tossed out a line.
"I'm going to the bathroom!"
Then she fled the hospital room as if running for her life.
Xu Qi sighed. She's so cute it makes me want to commit a crime... Mei...
"Were you being a little too hasty?"
Su walked in from outside the room and teased him.
"This is part of the plan, Doctor. And I owe her all this... I rejected her for too long. Now, I'm just making up for it."
"I don't understand the thoughts of you young people."
Su shook his head and began examining Xu Qi's bones.
He lifted the blanket and moved both hands over Xu Qi's body. If it had been another man, Xu Qi would have minded considerably, but this was Su—Doctor Su was different. He possessed a noble spirit.
After a while, Su straightened up. His eyes were still narrowed, making his expression impossible to read.
But Xu Qi could tell from his facial expression alone—Su was astonished.
"Your body's recovery ability is exceptionally impressive. I won't hide it from you, since you should be able to guess."
"It's those drugs from the professor, right?"
"That's right. You've been blessed by misfortune this time. The drugs hidden inside your body have been reactivated. Your physical capabilities have probably reached an entirely new level.
"I even suspect that you could maintain normal brain function and stable bodily functions in an environment of twelve Gs."
"That wouldn't be human anymore."
"Do you really think... you can still be considered human?"
Xu Qi narrowed his eyes. Could the professor's joking remark that day... not have been a joke after all?
"That's right. You are indeed human."
"Doctor Su, when did you learn to make such inexplicable jokes?"
"Haha." Su smiled and patted Xu Qi on the shoulder. "Isn't it nice to joke around once in a while?"
"When can I leave the hospital?"
"Next week. It would be best to observe you for a few more days. Once you go back, don't rush back to work. Rest at the Golden Courtyard for a while. I don't think your company will mind."
"Indeed... But that only leaves me a few days..."
Hearing Xu Qi sigh, Su looked puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
Xu Qi gave Su a mysterious smile.
"I mean, I only have these few days to make things official with Mei."
Su understood at once, then clapped his hands and laughed heartily.
"Then good luck. Xu Qi—although she has a very favorable impression of you, you've seen it yourself... She isn't a girl who's easy to win over."
"Indeed."
"I'll be leaving now. Get plenty of rest, and don't do anything reckless in the short term."
"Of course, Doctor."
After watching Su leave, Xu Qi lay back down on the bed. He had to think carefully about what to do next.
······
After leaving the hospital room, Su returned to his private office and made a phone call.
"Hello? Professor."
"How did it go, Su?"
Su picked up the cup of tea on the desk. It was still warm. He swirled it slightly, and his previously narrowed eyes slowly opened.
Those long, bright eyes were filled with shock.
"The results were beyond expectations... I'm afraid he can already control V2V."
"Is that so... That means he can withstand up to fifteen Gs at his limit."
"No, Professor. You've misunderstood me."
"What?"
Su took another small sip from the teacup.
"He can completely control V2V."
"What!?" The professor's voice on the other end of the phone grew much heavier. "That's impossible!"
Su looked up at the window, an inscrutable expression in his eyes.
"Yes... I wish it were impossible too."
Twelve—wasn't that Bronya? I'll get her QQ contact for sure.
"Supervisor Xia, the investigation report for 914 is ready. Please take a look."
With his hand still wrapped in bandages, Li Fucong handed the USB drive to Xia Ya. A lengthy document appeared before him, covering every detail from the circumstances of the incident to the analysis of its causes.
Overall, after the train reached a speed of sixty kilometers per hour, an aging cable problem that hadn't been discovered during the previous rectification work caused the braking signal to fail to transmit.
The aging cable could be identified as the bus cable in section (10238).
The cause was simple, but since this was an excellent document, it naturally included the troubleshooting process and relevant examples, as well as follow-up improvement measures.
It was indeed an excellent investigation report. It could even be published directly as a graduate student's thesis.
"The cause was an aging cable problem... that hadn't been discovered during the previous rectification work." The corners of Xia Ya's lips curled into a smile. He deliberately paused on the words "previous" and "hadn't."
Li Fucong acted as though he hadn't caught Xia Ya's meaning.
"That's right. This is the direct cause uncovered by the investigation."
"Is that so..." Xia Ya neither agreed nor disagreed. He glanced at Li Fucong's bandaged left hand and asked with concern, "You're still coming to work despite an injured arm. You're a model for the young people of today."
Li Fucong's face lit up.
"Supervisor Xia, you're joking. It's only right."
"Mm... Is it difficult to use?"
"It's fine. I can manage."
Then it must be extremely difficult... Xia Ya looked at the excellent investigation report before him, supposedly written entirely by Li Fucong, and suddenly burst out laughing.
Li Fucong looked puzzled.
"That's all. You can go now. I'll have the department leaders submit this investigation report to the group."
"Yes! Thank you, Supervisor Li!"
Watching him leave, Xia Ya finally couldn't hold back his mocking smile.
"If you'd merely said someone else helped write it and that you were responsible for providing the ideas, I might have believed you a little. But you wrote all of it yourself? One-finger typing, is it?"
With that, he deleted the document outright.
He could tell at a glance that the report's style came from one of the group's deputy chief engineers.
To just take it and use it without shame... Li Fucong, you really have no sense of embarrassment at all.
And the cause of the accident—so ridiculous that Xia Ya almost felt sorry for him.
Before you continue