Ten minutes later.
Xiao Qi woke up--
--the moment she came to, she realized she was lying in a bed in the infirmary.
Jiang Xueming sat beside her, motionless.
Brother Qi's little brain hadn't caught up yet. When she saw the ring box, it completely short-circuited.
The bold, brash woman had turned into a shy little girl.
"Mr. Xueming, you just suddenly pulled out a ring. Couldn't you have given me some warning first? Next time, you could at least text me or something. Besides, people don't really go for such direct approaches these days. You could hide it in a cake or somewhere else. That might be a little more romantic."
Jiang Xueming opened his eyes and roused himself from his half-asleep state.
He ignored Brother Qi's coy act and had no intention of handing over the ring box. Her reaction had been a little frightening. If the girl actually had a health crisis and something went wrong with her cardiovascular system--
Would that count as intentional murder or manslaughter?
He put the matter of the ring aside for now. There was something he needed to take care of first.
"Did you find the things I asked you to look for, Brother Qi?"
"Oh! I found everything! I'll bring it over right away!" Xiao Qi rolled out of bed and dashed toward the door as if she were heading to the execution grounds.
After she returned to the staff lounge, found all the miscellaneous items listed on the note, and still didn't hear Mr. Xueming bring up the ring again, she suddenly felt inexplicably relieved.
Ah, I really am such a flirt! I don't want to take responsibility at all! I'm such a scumbag! I just want his body! 9527, you're a woman steeped in sin!
Brother Qi's inner monologue was going a mile a minute. She didn't dare meet Jiang Xueming's eyes, and just pushed the bundle over to the side of the bed, in front of him.
Jiang Xueming gave another instruction. "Find me a room. Somewhere quiet and out of the way, with a table."
"Okay!" Xiao Qi nodded vigorously and ran back out.
Five minutes later, Jiang Xueming carried all the luggage to the thirty-sixth floor of the Council of Five Kings. The station had set aside hotel rooms there for its passengers.
Xueming told Xiao Qi to lock the door, then immediately started sorting through the odds and ends to prepare for their departure.
He set the spirit garment and brocade box aside, then took out the briefcase containing the Universal Elixir.
Only one dose of Universal Elixir remained. The syringes weren't marked with their capacity, but he estimated there were about two hundred milliliters left.
Jiang Xueming took out a liquid-transfer tool with a hydrophobic coating and transferred the elixir from the syringe into other syringes for storage.
He gripped the locking tabs on the ring-toothed syringes, slipped plastic spacers into them, and sealed them with nitrile rubber rings, then lined them up on the desk.
The ring-shaped needles could leave twelve puncture marks in the skin. They delivered injections faster and were safer and more convenient during strenuous activity.
Without modifications, the needle could bend and block the flow of the elixir in an emergency. It would be a real shame to die because of something like that.
Last time, Cat Tree Lady, who was with the BOSS, had said that the bruising and contusions from dislocating both arms didn't require that much medicine. Jiang Xueming had decided then to divide the Universal Elixir into five doses using these ring-toothed syringes.
He tested the friction on the plastic spacer and found it just right. All he had to do was push it open with one thumb to remove the locking tab, then press the long syringe's ring-shaped needle into his skin.
These syringes were designed to use a pressure differential to deliver the Universal Elixir automatically. Even if he were on death's door and had only one usable hand, he could still save himself.
Xiao Qi watched, only half understanding what he was doing, then asked, "Mr. Xueming, do you know how to give people injections?"
"When I went to investigate Fang Feng with A Xing, I looked up first aid. I know a little." Jiang Xueming still wasn't satisfied. "Bring me two bottles of glucose."
Xiao Qi brought him what he'd asked for.
Then she watched Xueming draw liquid into the ring-toothed syringes and inject himself.
He started with both thighs, then injected his neck, and finally jabbed his butt through his clothes.
The sight made Brother Qi's teeth ache.
By the time he'd injected a whole bottle of glucose, Xueming had sixteen marks on his body. Xiao Qi could hardly describe the feeling.
It was like another woman had been nibbling on his neck.
Brother Qi knew Xueming was just making sure the syringes could deliver the liquid properly.
Jiang Xueming continued, "The needles might bend if they take a hard hit. They're long enough to pierce clothing. Could you switch these out for another set, Xiao Qi? Eighteen holes this time. The needles are made of food-grade stainless steel. If you can find better material, like titanium-coated 400-series steel or titanium alloy needles, that'd be great."
"Oh, okay! Wait here, I'll go find some." Xiao Qi sprinted out again, running from the thirty-sixth floor down to the first before hopping on her motorcycle and heading farther afield to the Research Station and pharmaceutical facilities.
The whole way there, she couldn't help thinking that Mr. Jiang Xueming was getting more and more charming.
There was something special about this man. When he was focused on a task, he put his whole heart into it, and nothing could distract him.
His serious, meticulous manner was fascinating, too. She could feel the endorphins pouring out of Jiang Xueming, like happiness spilling over and infecting everyone around him.
Everything was neatly arranged, from the equipment in the lab to the liquid-transfer tools and all the little components.
The Universal Elixir flowed from the syringe into the little vials without a single drop wasted. It was like watching a messy room gradually get tidied up, a deeply satisfying feeling.
By the time she returned to the guest room with the other tools,
Jiang Xueming hadn't wasted a moment.
He'd dug out his boots, leather pants, and thermal vest, and was trying each of them on for size.
As Xueming's loose waistband shifted with the movement of his hips,
Brother Qi caught sight of those familiar hip lines beneath the scars on either side of his abs.
She felt her cheeks grow hot. Mr. Jiang Xueming looked far too tempting, like a little cake.
The tough leather pants had been altered to sit extra low on the hips, so he could take long strides and run with ease.
Brother Qi wondered to herself, How can pants be this sexy? They look like they're about to fall right off.
And that vest, oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my.
She didn't even dare sneak a proper look at him.
"Brother Qi, get me some needles and thread, and a pair of scissors. I'll need to alter my clothes in a bit." Jiang Xueming's tone was even. "If you can find some gold, silver, or tin solder, bring that too. I'll need a soldering workbench and a hot-air gun for soldering, with a maximum temperature of at least three hundred degrees."
Xiao Qi was surprised. "Huh? You know how to alter clothes?"
"Yeah. My family was poor, and we couldn't afford new ones." Jiang Xueming explained, "I've been patching and mending for four years. I've turned my work clothes from long into short, then from short into the youth version. I know a little."
"What do you need the soldering station for? Planning to repair a phone?" Xiao Qi brought all the supplies over to the desk.
Xueming answered offhandedly, "An iron isn't hot enough, and it's too crude. They're both low-temperature jobs of a few hundred degrees, but with a soldering station, a hot-air gun, and some ice, you can do finer work."
Before Xiao Qi could ask,
Xueming answered for her. "I used to work at a battery factory. I know a little."
"Got it! I'll go find them!"
Xiao Qi nodded and rushed out of the room again.
"Oh, right!" Jiang Xueming added, "Get me a dry-powder fire extinguisher, a fire bucket, two gas masks, a pair of work gloves, and a portable electronic medical kit with a cooling function. Safety first."
Only then did Brother Qi understand--
--Xueming was treating this place like a workshop.
After exhausting herself gathering everything, she returned to the guest room and crouched beside Jiang Xueming like an inquisitive little kid.
She remembered how her father had liked tinkering with things when she was little: making furniture at home, installing soundproofing in the ceiling, repairing the TV and washing machine, and all sorts of other things.
It was like she'd gone back to childhood. She could smell the sharp scent of rosin and hear the clatter of metal objects and tools. She could also see the fine sweat on Xueming's forehead, and a patch of sweat had darkened his vest.
That vest.
Hehehehehe.
"Wipe your drool, Brother Qi," Jiang Xueming kindly reminded her. "You're drooling on my pliers."
"Oh, oh, oh! Sorry!" Brother Qi pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth clean, then wiped the sweat from Xueming's forehead for him. It was a pretty despicable thing to do.
But Xueming didn't mind--
--as long as it didn't get in the way of his work, anything was fine.
He adjusted the new syringes for the Universal Elixir to their optimal settings, then noted down all their dimensions in a notebook so he could manufacture more easily next time.
Then he cut open the spirit garment and turned it from a long robe into a loose-fitting jacket. He took great care with the whole process--
--using ice and a hot-air gun to slowly loosen the original gold-thread embroidery, then re-stitching it and finishing the edges with gold thread.
He cut the leftover fabric into two fingerless gloves.
There was still material left over--
--so he cut the scraps into one-inch-wide strips.
He immediately dragged over the greatsword and wrapped the strips around the grip, following the pattern of the wrapping on the hilt.
When Xiao Qi looked back at the Universal Elixir on the table, Mr. Xueming had already put it in the medical kit to keep it cool.
After that, Jiang Xueming filled the other syringes with glucose solution. Using the vials to gauge their size, he marked pocket positions on the tough leather pants in pencil and began altering the pockets, magazine panels, and temporary storage pouches.
The ring-toothed syringe needles had trouble piercing the tough leather, so he cut openings at the large blood vessels on both thighs and sewed on bright orange reflective fabric. That way, medical personnel—and he himself—could find the emergency injection points in the dark.
He cut the crotch open, leaving it completely uncovered. Xueming had done this to make room for the straps and buckles in the MOLLE system.
In Xiao Qi's eyes--
--those work pants had gone from mildly risqué to outrageously so.
She couldn't understand that kind of fashion sense. It was as bizarre as a rock star from the fifties or sixties, yet somehow had an unusual sexiness to it.
Finally, he finished the altered openings with binding. The silver and gold threads danced beneath those rough hands.
He was like an endorphin machine, completely absorbed and meticulous whenever he was working.
Xiao Qi reminded him, "All done?"
"Not yet." Jiang Xueming stood and stretched his muscles, loosening his waist, then took off his vest and handed it to Xiao Qi. "This vest is good. It doesn't need alterations. Wash it for me, and get a few more."
"Okay." Xiao Qi was about to head to the laundry room again.
"Wait. Bring me..." Jiang Xueming glanced around the room, then seemed to get stuck, unable to remember.
More than an hour of intense work had left his eyes and brain exhausted. The sewing and the high temperatures from the soldering gun were taking a toll on his body.
He followed Xiao Qi out into the hallway to get some air.
"I remember now. Bring me two files, and 600-, 800-, 1,000-, and 1,500-grit sharpening stones. A 3,000-grit automotive polishing compound, a bottle of silica-crystal coating solution, and eighteen inches of pearl fish skin. Thanks."
Xiao Qi's expression shifted from shock to disbelief. "What do you need all that for?"
"The BOSS gave me an iron rod. It's too rough and catches on my hand, so I'm going to give it a quick treatment." After that, Jiang Xueming explained, "I used to do bench fitting and lathe work at the battery factory. You know how it is, right?"
Xiao Qi covered her mouth and laughed. "You know a little?"
"Yeah, exactly." Jiang Xueming laughed in response.
At that moment, Ms. Zhao Yangchun came hurrying over.
She asked as she walked, sounding furious.
"What are you two doing in the guest room? There are sparks flying everywhere, and people above and below you are complaining!"
But when she was still ten or so meters away,
Zhao Yangchun's expression turned strange.
She saw Jiang Xueming without a shirt, his muscles covered in bright red scars, and sweat pouring off him.
When she came up to them, she saw the room's neatly arranged equipment and the fire-safety supplies, and finally relaxed.
Yet Ms. Yangchun took another look and noticed rows of ring-shaped bite marks on Mr. Jiang Xueming's body.
"You two... play that rough?"
"No, no, no!" Xiao Qi blushed bright red and hurriedly tried to explain. "It's not what you think!"
"Fine!" Ms. Yangchun gave them a strange smile. "I won't worry about the complaints today! I'll move those guests to other rooms, then take the rest of the day off! I won't interrupt you! I get it! You're giving each other shots!"
With that, the older sister skipped away like a little girl.
Brother Qi looked at Xueming with an innocent expression.
Xueming looked back at Xiao Qi with a perfectly serious expression.
"Don't just stand there. I'm going to wash my face. I'm waiting for you to bring the rest of the stuff back so we can keep working. Your supervisor's off duty, so we won't disturb the other guests anymore. Could you bring me a clamp too? And, if it's not too much trouble, an angle grinder?"
"What angle what?" Xiao Qi asked.
Jiang Xueming pushed Brother Qi toward the door, making it clear he was sending her out.
"You're always joking around."
Two hours later.
Jiang Xueming finally finished sharpening the greatsword.
He smoothed the sharp edges of the iron rod and ground off the oxidized rust on the blade. Repeated polishing and grinding had used up half a ton of water.
He cleaned the iron rod, which was named the Magic Wand but looked like a greatsword, washing off the diamond polishing compound with oil and blowing it away with air.
Then he worked silver, a metal with excellent self-cleaning properties, into the fragile pores and pits. Silver was fairly soft, making it a good structural cushioning material for the rod.
The tiny pits in the blade had originally looked like terrifying, pockmarked wormholes. Dotted with silver, they became a sparkling sea of stars.
He sealed it with anti-oxidation grease, then wrapped the grip with fish skin. He bound it tight with strips of silver thread and finally used the hot-air gun to melt the material and secure it completely.
"Sorry, I didn't have much time this time, so I just gave you a quick polishing package." Jiang Xueming raised the sword and spoke to the greatsword in a conciliatory tone. "Next time, I'll build a steel furnace."
Before he could finish, suddenly--
--a heart symbol appeared on the blade.
Jiang Xueming was baffled by the strange sight. "What's going on?"
Xiao Qi was just as baffled. "The BOSS's stuff is all weird. How would I know?"
Then--
--blinding light swallowed them.
Last time it had lit up, it had been eight hundred lumens.
This time, Jiang Xueming was ready. He shut his eyes at once, but could still feel the intense light piercing his eyelids and illuminating the capillaries beneath them.
This time it had to be at least eighteen hundred lumens.
It was as bright as a tactical flashlight used to disorient enemies and clear out alleys in combat.
"You have to behave," Jiang Xueming said to the Magic Wand in a soothing voice. "You only light up when I tell you to, understand? Otherwise, I'll turn you into a toilet plunger."
The Magic Wand immediately returned to normal, and no more words or symbols appeared on it.
Jiang Xueming turned to speak with Brother Qi, just about to open his mouth.
Brother Qi covered her reddened eyes and was already answering for him. "Got it. Two pairs of sunglasses."
Jiang Xueming reminded her, "Three pairs. Bring one for A Xing, too."
Xiao Qi was about to head out.
Jiang Xueming called her back again.
"Wait! Brother Qi, I'm actually curious. This rod was a gift from the BOSS. So, did the BOSS give you anything?"
"Yeah." Xiao Qi pulled a rod out from under her collar. "Two of them, actually!"
It was a pair of silver chopsticks.
Jiang Xueming was stunned, at a loss for words.
"It's fine now. You can go. Your staff... is pretty impressive."
Half an hour later—
—A Xing finally came back. More specifically, the manager helped him back.
As soon as he came through the door, he rushed into the bathroom and started vomiting like crazy.
Jiang Xueming couldn't make sense of it—
—how a bowl of sour soup beef noodles, combined with motion sickness, could make A Xing throw up for hours.
The lobby manager waited by the door, holding A Xing's spirit robe and staff, along with a large lock set with fiery red gemstones. Those seemed to be A Xing's three safeguards.
Xue Ming stepped forward and asked, "Sorry for the trouble. Did something happen to his health? Has he been throwing up this whole time?"
"No." The lobby manager's face was expressionless, his tone cool. "He and Ling Weng went to the big entertainment room on the Four Directions Terrace and drank at every bar."
The sounds of vomiting coming from the bathroom were truly alarming—
—Xue Ming and the manager just stared at each other in silence for a long while.
Xue Ming broke the silence. "The BOSS didn't do anything about it?"
The manager set down the things and prepared to leave, offering one last comment.
"The BOSS joined them, then drank his way through all the bars again."
Before you continue