Overdraft Crisis

A chilling prompt echoed like a death knell, resonating faintly in the depths of Lin Xiao's consciousness:

[WARNING: Source Energy Points severely overdrawn! Current value: -1.4!]

[Core function operating efficiency reduced… Basic scan, modification operation energy consumption increased by 300%… Deep analysis, rule-level interference functions forcibly frozen…]

[Please host replenish Source Energy Points as soon as possible! Otherwise, unpredictable consequences will occur (including but not limited to mental exhaustion, physical collapse, core unit downtime)…]

Every word was like an ice pick, brutally stabbing at Lin Xiao's near-breaking nerves.

He felt as if countless needles were churning in his head, his temples throbbing, his vision blurring.

A powerful sense of weakness, originating from the depths of his soul, like an invisible shackle, instantly coiled around his limbs, almost bringing him down.

This weakness was not just physical pain (the fracture in his right arm still sent piercing agony), but a depletion of his spiritual core, as if his entire essence had been drained.

"Urgh..." He grunted, clutching his forehead tightly with his left hand, his body swaying uncontrollably. He slammed heavily against the cold metal locker with a dull clang.

Cold sweat instantly soaked through his already filthy school uniform, clinging stickily and coldly to his skin.

He gasped for air, each breath carrying a burning pain, his gaze struggling to focus.

Su Qingxue remained frozen in place.

On her stunningly beautiful, aloof face, the residual ice-blue halo from her breakthrough had not yet completely dissipated. Her skin was smooth as jade, her eyes seemed to flash with shattered ice as they opened and closed, and a powerful aura belonging to a true martial artist emanated from her.

However, the look she gave Lin Xiao now was incredibly complex.

Shock! Utter, god-like astonishment!

The deadlock that had plagued her family and her for a year was broken by this disheveled, roguish guy in a way she couldn't comprehend!

Bewilderment! What was that cold, vast will that seemed to control her body just now?

What was that "peering" sensation that reached into the marrow of her bones and the secrets of her bloodline?

All of this was beyond her understanding!

Fear! A natural fear of the unknown!

She felt like an object that had been completely disassembled and casually modified, her life and honor dependent on the other person's whim!

This loss of control made her tremble from the depths of her soul!

And that hint of uncontrollable, desperate reliance, like a drowning person grabbing a lifeline!

Power! The power she had long craved was finally within her grasp!

And all of this stemmed from the mysterious and dangerous man before her!

Lin Xiao's face, exceptionally pale and even contorted from exhaustion and pain, the cold sweat beading on his forehead, and his left hand, which he used to cover his forehead, his knuckles white from the force.

All of this was clearly visible to Su Qingxue.

She opened her mouth, seeming to want to say something.

Did she want to question the terrifying power?

Did she want to express her gratitude for the breakthrough?

Or did she want to reiterate the shameful "transaction"?

But in the end, all words caught in her throat.

Lin Xiao's current state, and the gaze in his eyes that forcefully suppressed pain yet remained sharp as a knife, as if it could pierce through people's hearts, filled her with a suffocating pressure.

A great sense of humiliation surged again, mixed with the ecstasy of her recent breakthrough and that deep, fearful reliance, forming an indescribable torrent that almost overwhelmed her.

"I..." She only managed a dry syllable before she could say no more.

Her cool eyes quickly swept over Lin Xiao's pale face, then quickly moved away as if burned, finally landing on the pile of strange dust on the ground that represented the sandbag. Her pupils contracted again.

She abruptly lowered her head, as if to avoid Lin Xiao's all-seeing gaze, And as if to hide the turbulent emotions in her eyes.

She tightly gripped the hem of her martial arts uniform, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"I... I'm leaving!"

Su Qingxue's voice carried a barely perceptible tremor and panic, like a startled sparrow.

She didn't even dare to look at Lin Xiao again. She turned abruptly and, almost fleeing, stumbled towards the old wooden door.

"Creak—Bang!"

The door slammed shut, cutting off the dim moonlight outside and the aloof, conflicted figure.

In the locker room, Lin Xiao was once again alone, with the thick smell of dust, rust, blood, and dead silence.

The dizziness from overexertion returned like a tide, accompanied by the continuous sharp pain in his right arm, making Lin Xiao's vision go black.

He leaned against the metal locker and slowly slid to the cold, dirty ground, gasping for air, trying to calm the overwhelming weakness and agony.

Damn it! 2.5 points! This price was too damn high!

He forced himself to focus and brought up the light screen in his mind.

The faint blue light screen remained cold, but it was noticeably dimmer, its edges even showing a hint of unstable flickering.

The center displayed glaring red warning text, along with the shocking number: [Source Energy Points: -1.4].

He tried to "touch" the icons at the bottom of the light screen with his mind. These icons were already blurry and dim.

Besides the gear icon representing [Basic Modification], which he could still faintly sense a connection to (though it felt like it would take immense effort to operate), the other areas were completely dead gray, as if frozen by a thick layer of ice. His consciousness couldn't penetrate them at all.

"Deep analysis... rule-level interference... frozen..."

Lin Xiao chewed on the words from the prompt, his heart sinking.

This meant that operations like modifying Su Qingxue's Jade Balance Hidden Meridian, as he had just done, were out of the question for the time being.

Even trying to slightly adjust his own recovery speed would likely consume an astonishing amount of energy, making it not worth the effort.

Source Energy Points! He had to find Source Energy Points immediately!

He greedily looked towards the doorway where Su Qingxue had disappeared.

She must have some!

As the eldest daughter of the Su family, even if she was from a collateral branch, she should have some energy stones on her, right?

Why didn't he think to extort some just now?

Immense regret washed over him, but it was quickly suppressed by reason. Should he chase after her now?

Setting aside his weakened state, Su Qingxue had just left and was likely very unstable emotionally. If he pushed her too hard, she might reveal his secrets, and the consequences would be unthinkable.

This avenue would have to be maintained for now, and he'd have to proceed slowly.

So where else could he get them?

Robbery? In his current state, he might not even be able to defeat a common thug.

Theft? But who would be the target?

Just as Lin Xiao was agonizing over his depleted strength and the crisis of Source Energy Points—

"Brother Xiao! Brother Xiao! How are you, Brother Xiao?!"

"Holy crap! Brother Xiao, where are you? Don't scare me!"

Fatty Wang's voice, laced with tears and panic, called out from nearby and grew louder. Accompanied by heavy, frantic footsteps, it came from the dark corridor outside, rapidly approaching the locker room door.

"Bang!"

The wooden door was violently kicked open, and Fatty Wang's bulky figure charged in like a cannonball. He was tightly clutching a bulging plastic bag stained with oil, inside which bandages, disinfectant, and several boxes of anti-inflammatory drugs were faintly visible.

He was covered in sweat, his round face deathly pale, and his small eyes were filled with terror and worry.

When he saw Lin Xiao slumped by the metal locker, covered in blood and oil stains, his face ashen, and his right arm crudely bandaged, he was utterly stunned.

"Bro... Brother Xiao?"

Fatty Wang's voice cracked. The plastic bag in his hand fell to the ground with a thud. He scrambled to Lin Xiao's side, his thick hands hovering, afraid to touch. His voice trembled with tears, "My goodness! How... how did you get so injured? That bastard Zhao Hu, he... he..."

He stammered, his gaze sweeping over Lin Xiao's awkwardly fixed right arm, the dried blood and vegetable leaves on his face, and finally landing on the dark red pool of blood not far from him (left by Zhao Hu). His pupils contracted sharply, and the color drained from his face.

"Blood... so much blood! Brother Xiao! Are... are you still alive? Say something, Brother Xiao!"

Terrified out of his wits, Fatty Wang thought Lin Xiao was dying. He reached out a trembling hand to check Lin Xiao's breathing.

"Not dying..."

Lin Xiao forced his heavy eyelids open, his voice hoarse like sandpaper, filled with exhaustion and weakness. "Stop mourning... Fatty, where's the medicine?"

"Medicine! Medicine's here!"

Fatty Wang snapped back to reality, fumbling to pick up the plastic bag from the ground and dumping its contents out. "Bandages, iodine, Yunnan Baiyao, anti-inflammatories... I also bought some food... Brother Xiao, what... what happened? Where's Zhao Hu? I heard... I heard he..."

Fatty Wang frantically searched for the medicine, babbling incoherently, his small eyes wide with lingering fear and disbelief.

When he had left, Lin Xiao, though disheveled, was not this severely injured!

Moreover, the bizarre rumors about the outcome at the cafeteria entrance had left him utterly confused.

Lin Xiao didn't have the strength to explain, nor did he want to explain at the moment.

He extended his usable left hand, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, twisted off the cap, and tilted his head back, gulping down several large mouthfuls.

The cool liquid slid down his dry, burning throat, slightly alleviating the heat and dizziness in his body.

"Stop the nonsense and help me with this first," Lin Xiao pointed to his right arm, which was still throbbing with pain, fixed to a rusty pipe. His voice carried an undeniable weakness, "Gently... damn it, my bone might be cracked."

"Oh... oh! Okay! Okay!"

Fatty Wang looked at Lin Xiao's distorted makeshift splint and the blood seeping from his arm. He swallowed hard, suppressing his fear and questions, and cautiously began to help Lin Xiao remove the crude "splint."

When the blood-soaked rags and rusty iron pipe were removed, revealing Lin Xiao's clearly deformed, bruised right arm, with an abnormal bulge visible, Fatty Wang gasped, his hands trembling.

"Brother Xiao... this... this needs to go to the hospital! Your bone must be broken!"

Fatty Wang's voice quivered.

"No."

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. His voice was firm and resolute, "I won't die. Do as I say! Disinfect it, apply the powder, and re-bandage it tightly with clean gauze!"

Seeing the undeniable fierceness in Lin Xiao's eyes, Fatty Wang dared not argue further. He could only steel himself and, with trembling hands, clumsily began to clean Lin Xiao's wound and apply the powder.

With every touch, Lin Xiao's body twitched subtly, eliciting suppressed groans.

During the treatment, Fatty Wang's small eyes kept darting towards Lin Xiao, filled with astonishment.

He saw the extreme fatigue and weakness on Lin Xiao's face, but what truly unsettled him was the lingering coldness deep within Lin Xiao's eyes and a craving that bordered on hunger?

That look wasn't like someone gravely injured and dying; it was more like a lone wolf, cornered and licking its wounds, yet fiercely fixated on its prey!

And what about the mess all over the floor? Besides the bloodstains, what was that unusually uniform and fine ash-white dust in the corner?

It felt like something had been completely burned to ashes.

What exactly did Brother Xiao go through?

And what happened to Zhao Hu's injuries?

And Su Qingxue, who supposedly broke through to become a martial artist suddenly... didn't someone see her leaving the stadium in a panic just now?

Countless questions churned in Fatty Wang's mind, sending waves of inexplicable chills through him.

Lin Xiao closed his eyes, enduring the secondary pain caused by Fatty Wang's clumsy bandaging. All his willpower was focused on fighting the exhaustion, the weakness, and the intense pain in his right arm.

But in his mind, the bright red <strong>[-1.4]</strong> flashed like a death knell.

I have to find a way! I need to get Source Energy Points as soon as possible!

Su Qingxue couldn't be counted on for now.

Fatty Wang, just an ordinary student, what kind of energy stones could he have?

His gaze, almost tangible, fell upon the plastic bag Fatty Wang had dropped – the few blister packs of white anti-inflammatory pills.

Can the modifier alter medicine?

The thought grew like wild grass!

If he could modify the effects of the medicine, even a tiny improvement, could it also...

Lin Xiao's heart leaped!

A surge of immense impulse, a mixture of hope and recklessness, washed over him!

He suddenly opened his eyes. Though bloodshot from exhaustion, they now blazed with an almost obsessive, greedy light, fixing intently on the two anti-inflammatory pills Fatty Wang was about to feed him.

"Fatty..." Lin Xiao's voice was hoarse and urgent, carrying an undeniable command, "The medicine... give it to me!"