Overdraft Crisis

The cold notification chime echoed faintly through the depths of Lin Xiao's consciousness like a tolling bell:

Warning: Source Energy Points severely overdrawn! Current value: -1.4!

Core function efficiency reduced... Basic scanning and modification operation energy consumption increased by 300%... Deep analysis and rule-level interference functions forcibly frozen...

Please replenish Source Energy Points as soon as possible, host! Otherwise, unpredictable consequences will occur, including but not limited to mental exhaustion, physical collapse, and core unit shutdown...

Each word was like an ice pick, viciously gouging at Lin Xiao's nerves, which were already on the verge of collapse.

He felt as if countless needles were stirring inside his brain. His temples throbbed violently, and his vision repeatedly went dark.

A powerful weakness originating from the depths of his soul, like invisible shackles, instantly wrapped around every inch of his body, making him almost collapse.

This weakness was not merely physical pain—the bone fracture in his right arm still caused piercing agony—but also an exhaustion that felt as if the source of his spirit had been hollowed out, as though every last bit of vitality had been drained from him.

"Ugh..." He groaned, clutching his forehead tightly with his left hand. His body swayed uncontrollably, and his back slammed into the cold metal locker with a muffled clang.

Cold sweat instantly soaked through the already filthy undershirt of his school uniform, clinging cold and sticky to his skin.

He gasped for breath, every inhale carrying scorching pain, and struggled to focus his gaze on what lay before him.

Su Qingxue still stood rigidly in place.

The icy, peerlessly beautiful face still bore the ice-blue halo left behind by her breakthrough. Her skin glistened like jade, and when her eyes opened and closed, shards of ice seemed to flicker within them. Powerful aura belonging to a true martial artist radiated from her entire body.

Yet at this moment, the look she gave Lin Xiao was indescribably complicated.

Shock! The ultimate shock of witnessing a miracle!

The deadlock that had plagued her family—and her for an entire year—had actually been casually broken open by the disheveled, delinquent-looking man before her, through a method she could not understand at all!

Confusion! What had that cold, vast will been just now, the one that seemed capable of controlling everything in her body?

What had that sensation of being "peered into," reaching deep into her bones and straight into the secrets of her bloodline, been?

All of this lay beyond the limits of her understanding!

Fear! The instinctive dread of an unknown power!

She felt as if she were an object that had been completely dismantled and casually altered, with her life, death, honor, and humiliation all resting on a single thought from the other person!

That feeling of losing control made her tremble from the depths of her soul!

And there was also that uncontrollable, intense dependence, like a drowning person clinging to a piece of driftwood!

Power! The power she had long yearned for was finally in her hands!

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

Lin Xiao's face, made especially pale and even somewhat distorted by the overdraft and intense pain; the cold sweat beading at his temples; and his left hand covering his forehead, its knuckles white from exertion—all of it fell clearly into Su Qingxue's eyes.

She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.

Did she want to question that terrifying power?

Did she want to express her gratitude for the breakthrough?

Or did she want to reiterate that humiliating "transaction"?

In the end, all her words stuck in her throat.

Lin Xiao's condition, along with the gaze in his eyes that forcibly suppressed his pain yet remained sharp as a blade, as if it could pierce straight through the human heart, made her feel pressure so suffocating that she could barely breathe.

The immense sense of humiliation surged up again. Mixed with the ecstasy of her recent breakthrough and that deep fear and dependence, it formed an indescribable torrent that nearly overwhelmed her.

"I..." She managed to utter only one hoarse syllable before she could not continue.

Her cool eyes swiftly swept over Lin Xiao's deathly pale face, then darted away as if scalded, finally landing on the strange pile of dust on the floor that represented the sandbag. Her pupils contracted again.

She abruptly lowered her head, as if trying to evade Lin Xiao's gaze that saw through everything,

and as if trying to conceal the emotions roiling in her eyes.

Both hands clenched the hem of her martial arts uniform tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"I... I'll leave first!"

Su Qingxue's voice carried a faint, nearly imperceptible tremor and panic, like a startled winter sparrow.

She did not even dare look at Lin Xiao again. She abruptly turned around and staggered toward the shabby wooden door, almost fleeing.

Creak—bang!

The door slammed shut, cutting off the bleak moonlight outside, as well as that cool yet flustered figure.

The changing room was once again left with only Lin Xiao, the thick, undispersable smell of dust, rust, and blood, and utter silence.

The dizziness caused by the overdraft surged over him again like a tide. Along with the continuous, sharp pain in his right arm, it made his vision go black.

Leaning against the metal locker, Lin Xiao slowly slid down and sat on the cold, filthy floor. He gasped for breath, trying to calm the weakness and agony churning through him like storm-tossed seas.

Damn it! 2.5 points! The price was way too high!

He forced himself to stay alert and summoned the light screen in his mind.

The dark-blue light screen remained cold, but it was clearly much dimmer, and even its edges flickered with a trace of instability.

At the center were glaring red warning words and that horrifying number: Source Energy Points: -1.4.

He tried to "touch" with his mind the icons at the bottom of the light screen, which had already been blurry and dim.

Aside from the gear icon representing basic modification, which he could barely sense a faint connection with—though it felt as if operating it would be extremely difficult—the other areas were completely dead gray, as if frozen beneath a thick layer of ice that his thoughts could not penetrate.

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

Lin Xiao mulled over the words in the notification, and his heart sank further.

This meant that an operation on the level of modifying Su Qingxue's "Jade Balance Hidden Meridian" was out of the question for the short term.

Even slightly adjusting his own recovery speed would probably consume an astonishing amount of energy, making it completely not worth the cost.

Source Energy Points! He had to find Source Energy Points immediately—right now!

He stared greedily at the doorway through which Su Qingxue had disappeared.

She definitely had some!

She was the eldest daughter of the Su family—even if she was only from the Branch family, she should at least have a few Energy Stones on her, right?

How had he forgotten to extort her just now?

Overwhelming regret surged into his heart, but reason quickly suppressed it. Should he chase after her now?

Not to mention his current weakened condition, Su Qingxue had just left and her emotions were at their most unstable. If he pushed her too hard and she exposed his secret, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He could only maintain this connection for now and proceed gradually.

Then where else could he get them?

Rob someone? In his current state, he might not even be able to beat an ordinary thug.

Steal them? But from whom?

Just as Lin Xiao was being tormented by the weakness of his overdraft and the crisis of his Source Energy Points, a voice rang out—

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

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

Fatty Wang's panicked shouts, tinged with sobs, came from the dark corridor outside. Accompanied by heavy, frantic footsteps, they drew rapidly closer to the changing-room door.

Bang!

The wooden door was violently knocked open, and Fatty Wang's plump figure charged in like a cannonball. He was clutching a bulging, grease-stained plastic bag, inside which gauze, disinfectant, and several blister packs of anti-inflammatory medicine were faintly visible.

He was drenched in sweat, his fat face deathly pale, and his small eyes filled with terror and worry.

When he saw Lin Xiao slumped beside the metal locker, covered in blood and grease, his face pale as paper, and his right arm crudely immobilized, Fatty Wang was completely stunned.

"Bro... Brother Xiao?"

Fatty Wang's voice changed pitch, and the plastic bag in his hand dropped to the floor with a smack. He scrambled over to Lin Xiao's side. His thick palm wanted to touch him but did not dare, and his voice was choked with sobs. "My god! How... how did you get hurt this badly? That bastard Zhao Hu—he... he..."

He stammered incoherently. His gaze swept over the twisted contraption securing Lin Xiao's right arm, the dried blood and vegetable leaves on his face, and finally the dark-red pool of blood not far from his side, which had not yet completely dried—the blood Zhao Hu had left behind. His pupils abruptly contracted, and all color drained from his face.

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

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

"I'm not dead..."

Lin Xiao barely lifted his heavy eyelids. His voice was hoarse as sandpaper scraping against stone, thick with exhaustion and weakness. "What are you howling for... Fatty, where's the medicine?"

"The medicine! It's here!"

Fatty Wang came back to himself as if waking from a dream. He hurriedly picked up the plastic bag and dumped everything out at once. "Gauze, iodine, Yunnan Baiyao, anti-inflammatory medicine... I even bought some food... Brother Xiao, what... what happened? Where's Zhao Hu? I heard... heard that he..."

Fatty Wang frantically searched through the medicines while asking incoherent questions, his small eyes full of lingering shock and disbelief.

When he had left, Lin Xiao had been disheveled, but he had absolutely not been this badly injured!

And the strange rumors about what had happened at the cafeteria entrance had left him even more confused.

Lin Xiao had no strength to explain, nor did he want to for the time being.

He reached out with his still-mobile left hand, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, twisted off the cap, and tilted his head back to gulp down several mouthfuls.

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

"Stop with the nonsense. Help me deal with this first." Lin Xiao pointed at his right arm, still secured to the rusty iron pipe and still throbbing with unbearable pain. His voice was weak but carried an unquestionable authority. "Gently... Damn it, the bone might be cracked."

"Oh... oh! Right! Right!"

Looking at the twisted brace and the blood seeping from Lin Xiao's arm, Fatty Wang swallowed, suppressed his fear and questions, and cautiously began removing the crude "splint."

When the bloodstained rags and rust-covered iron pipe were taken away, revealing Lin Xiao's visibly deformed right arm, its skin bruised purple and an abnormal protrusion even visible beneath it, Fatty Wang sucked in a sharp breath, his hands trembling.

"Brother Xiao... this... this needs a hospital! The bone is definitely broken!"

Fatty Wang's voice trembled.

"I'm not going."

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth as cold sweat slid down his temple. His tone was firm and decisive. "I won't die. Do as I say! Disinfect it, apply the medicinal powder, and secure it again with clean gauze—tighter this time!"

Seeing the unyielding harshness in Lin Xiao's eyes, Fatty Wang did not dare advise him further. He could only brace himself and awkwardly begin cleaning Lin Xiao's wound and applying the medicinal powder with trembling hands.

Every touch caused Lin Xiao's body to twitch faintly and drew out a muffled groan he forcibly suppressed.

Throughout the process, Fatty Wang's small eyes kept sneaking glances at Lin Xiao, filled with suspicion and astonishment.

He saw the extreme exhaustion and weakness on Lin Xiao's face, but what shocked him more was the lingering coldness deep in Lin Xiao's eyes and a nearly ravenous yearning.

That gaze did not resemble that of someone gravely wounded and on the verge of death. Instead, it resembled a lone wolf driven into a desperate corner, licking its wounds while keeping its eyes fixed on its prey!

And what was that unusually fine, evenly distributed gray-white dust in the corner amid the mess covering the floor, apart from the bloodstains?

Why did it feel as if something had been completely burned to ash?

What exactly had Brother Xiao gone through?

And what had happened to Zhao Hu's injuries?

And Su Qingxue, who was rumored to have suddenly broken through to become a martial artist... Hadn't someone just seen her leaving from the direction of the gymnasium in a panic?

Countless questions churned within Fatty Wang's heart, bringing him waves of inexplicable chill.

Lin Xiao closed his eyes and endured the second wave of pain caused by Fatty Wang's clumsy bandaging. All his will was focused on fighting the weakness of the overdraft and the agony in his right arm.

But in his mind, that glaring red -1.4 kept flashing like a death warrant.

He had to think of something! He had to get Source Energy Points as soon as possible!

He could not count on Su Qingxue for now.

Fatty Wang was an ordinary student. What Energy Stones could he possibly have?

His gaze, almost tangible, landed on the plastic bag Fatty Wang had dropped on the floor—the several blister packs of white anti-inflammatory tablets.

Could the modifier modify medicine?

The thought began growing wildly like weeds!

If he could modify the medicine's effects, even if the improvement was tiny, then perhaps...

Lin Xiao's heart suddenly leaped!

An enormous impulse, mixed with hope and the thrill of risk, surged up within him!

He abruptly opened his eyes. Though they were bloodshot from the overdraft, they now blazed with an almost obsessive, greedy light as he stared fixedly at the two anti-inflammatory tablets Fatty Wang was preparing to feed him.

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