Fatherly Love

Seated on the living room sofa, David held Edie on his lap. Hans and Bertha were all smiles. Their family had never felt this warm before.

"David, this is a Level 2 Fortified Agent. Take it over the next couple of days and focus on your training. Do well on the college entrance exams!" Hans took a small metal box from his pocket, set it in front of David, and looked at him as he spoke.

David was startled. Enhancement Serums might not sound impressive, but none of them came cheap.

Enhancement Serums had to be made by specialist companies using precision equipment and skilled technicians with years of experience. Their raw material was Fortified Meat from Zerg.

Almost no one used Fortified Meat from Larvae or Level 1 Zerg to make Enhancement Serums. That would be a tremendous waste.

The Level 2 Fortified Agent in front of David was the cheapest kind of Enhancement Serum, but that was only in comparison with other Enhancement Serums.

The main ingredient in a Level 2 Fortified Agent was a Level 2 Zerg. Whenever one appeared on Panshi Planet, it brought disaster. Killing one usually required many Armored Warriors working together and paying a steep price.

In fact, whenever a Level 2 Zerg appeared on Panshi Planet, the usual response was to deploy a Combat Ship and attack it with heavy weapons from the air. The result was that almost nothing could be salvaged beyond a tiny amount of materials, let alone Fortified Meat.

That made Level 2 Fortified Agents scarce on Panshi Planet. Even with Hans's National Scholar title, they were hard to come by.

"Father, you should use this Level 2 Fortified Agent yourself. I'll do my best to get into a good university!" David said, trying to refuse it.

He did need a Level 2 Fortified Agent, but he knew that Hans had left the family with nothing when he moved out. Bertha's family was wealthy, but Hans would never ask them for help, given his personality. So he didn't have much money.

Handing over this agent probably emptied his savings.

"David, take it. I'm in good health!" Hans said with a smile, waving his hand.

As he smiled, a fit of violent coughing seized him.

"Are you all right, Father?" David asked, worried.

"I'm fine. It's an old problem. Keep the agent; my body can't handle a Level 2 Fortified Agent." Hans's smile never faded as he listened to David's concern. Once he had stopped coughing, he spoke.

His gaze swept across the living room, and nostalgia showed in his eyes. He had rarely come in here since his relationship with David had soured.

"Please take care of yourself. I'll accept the Level 2 Fortified Agent." Feeling his father's love, David didn't refuse again. It reminded him of how he had once been with his own father.

He also noticed his stepmother, Bertha, a beautiful woman with impeccable manners. Her gaze held concern and affection for him.

After chatting for a while, little Edie grew sleepy and kept nodding off in David's arms.

"David, don't work yourself too hard while training. We should get going," Hans said, standing up with a smile.

"Father, Aunt Bertha, you should bring Edie over more often." David handed Edie to Bertha and smiled too.

After seeing Hans's family off, David looked at the metal box in his hand. He carefully opened it. Inside, a glass bottle was secured in the center with foam padding.

He could feel the deep fatherly love contained in the Level 2 Fortified Agent.

He wasn't the person who had lived in this body before. In this lonely world, these relatives were the only family he had. Was he really going to spend his whole life alone?

He didn't use the Level 2 Fortified Agent right away. He planned to improve his Body Technique further before taking it. That way, he could absorb more of its essence and improve his body even more.

The next morning, David didn't try to absorb any Knowledge Light Orbs. Instead, he kept practicing the Eighteen Forms of Body Technique.

Every practice brought him new insights. Before merging with the Body Technique Knowledge Light Orb, he wanted to raise his skill level as much as possible so he could improve even more.

Although a day of training hadn't produced any measurable improvement on his Data Panel, David could feel the difference. If he had been at school, he could have seen exactly how much he had improved on the Force Measuring Device.

In the end, while the Data Panel was convenient, it couldn't show subtle improvements that weren't large enough to change the numbers.

David planned to absorb a Knowledge Light Orb that evening. He didn't want to waste a single one of the Knowledge Light Orbs he had now.

But before evening came, at two in the afternoon, his Identity Bracelet displayed an incoming call.

The caller's name on the Identity Bracelet was Officer Bob. After thinking for a moment, David remembered him: he was the officer who had handled the matter at the bookstore yesterday.

"Hello, Officer Bob!" David answered the call on his Identity Bracelet, selecting a video call. He greeted the officer as his image appeared on the screen.

The Identity Bracelet supported both voice calls and video calls. Video calls were usually used with close friends, for official communications, or when the caller requested one and the recipient agreed.

Officer Bob had requested a video call, which made the communication seem very official. The police system would also record their conversation.

"David, if you're free, please come to the Police Station. The compensation for your injuries has been determined, and you'll need to sign for it," Officer Bob said with a smile.

"Officer Bob, it's already been settled?" David asked in surprise.

When he heard Officer Bob say that, he even wondered whether the other man was trying to lure him out and harm him.

But Officer Bob had only asked him to come to the Police Station, so David knew that couldn't be the case.

Yesterday's tragedy had caused panic in Peilan City. The morning news had shown more than ten Interceptor Drones patrolling the skies over the city.

At least until the tension eased, Peilan City would be the safest place around. No one would dare cause trouble in the streets under these circumstances.

"David, the person who drove the air skiff into the crowd was a wanted criminal. The criminal's bounty will be distributed among all the victims as compensation," Officer Bob explained, still smiling.

He wouldn't have paid much attention to David if he were just anyone. But after looking into David's background, he had taken a special interest in him.

David's mother was the deputy director of the Peilan City Legal Department. Although she wasn't a deputy director with real authority, he still couldn't afford to offend her.

"Thank you. I'll head over now," David agreed, then ended the call on his Identity Bracelet.

Although the danger outside was slight, this time he decided to drive. Traveling by car would be much safer, and faster too.

He entered the garage through the side door beside the living room. He remembered that the family owned a car, but this was the first time he had seen it in person.

It was a car that was more than thirty years old, though its exterior showed no sign of its age.

That was partly because it was used in an urban environment, but more importantly, its metal contained Insect Shell from a Level 1 Zerg.

The Gladstone Type III Car was an older model from the Gladstone brand. But Gladstone was the best car brand on Panshi Planet, and David's mother had paid a considerable sum for this used car when she bought it.

She had bought a Gladstone Type III because of her deep sense of insecurity. That same extreme insecurity had also driven a wedge between David's mother and his father, Hans.

In fact, even if David's mother had been ten times richer, she still wouldn't have been able to afford a brand-new Gladstone.

In his predecessor's memories, he had been very dissatisfied with the Gladstone Type III because its style had long since gone out of fashion.

But David was very pleased with it now. The Gladstone Type III's safety was beyond question. Every generation of Gladstone cars had been built to the same high standard.

Though the shell of a Level 1 Zerg was not as strong as its teeth or claws, it was harder than most metals.

Seated inside a car made with this material, the driver would be difficult to harm unless the attacker was an Armored Warrior or used heavy weapons.

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