"There isn't really much to do around here. If someone nearby gets hurt and comes in, just give them first aid until the ambulance arrives!" Kurosaki Isshin said, his expression gloomy as he walked through the clinic with Wu Biao.
Kurosaki Ichigo followed behind Wu Biao, carrying a shoulder bag.
Kurosaki Isshin came to the counter, took out a few bills, and handed them to Kurosaki Ichigo. "Try not to spend it all. Our household expenses are a bit high!" As he spoke, he cast a discreet glance at Wu Biao.
"..." Kurosaki Ichigo's mouth twitched. He nodded, then turned to Wu Biao. "Well... Wu Biao, I'm heading to school."
Wu Biao looked at Kurosaki Ichigo with some pity. The poor kid still had to go to school. Brother Biao absolutely couldn't stand those soporific lectures. "Don't call me Wu Biao. Just call me Brother Biao. No need to be so formal!"
Brother Biao?
Kurosaki Ichigo looked at Wu Biao's clearly fourteen-year-old face and was speechless. He was already fifteen, nearly sixteen... Still, Wu Biao was an awkward name to say.
"Okay!"
"That's more like it!" Wu Biao clapped Kurosaki Ichigo on the shoulder without the slightest formality, then started wandering around the clinic.
After greeting his father, Kurosaki Ichigo turned and left the clinic for school.
Once his son had gone, Kurosaki Isshin watched Wu Biao poke around the clinic and couldn't help sighing again. After hesitating for a while, he finally asked, "Um, Wu Biao..."
That name really was awkward to say.
Kurosaki Isshin couldn't help grumbling to himself.
Wu Biao felt the same way. He thought the names here were incredibly awkward too. And why give someone a four-character name? It was such a hassle to say.
"What's up, boss?"
Boss?
This was a respectable clinic!
Kurosaki Isshin sighed helplessly. He couldn't be bothered correcting Wu Biao's form of address, so he simply asked, "Let's talk about your pay. How much do you think I should give you a month?"
Though he said that, Kurosaki Isshin had already decided that if this kid demanded an outrageous amount, then no matter what his son said, he absolutely wouldn't hire the bottomless pit.
"Pay?" Wu Biao blinked. "Didn't you already give it to me?"
"Huh?" Kurosaki Isshin froze, staring blankly at Wu Biao. He had no idea what he meant.
Wu Biao didn't bother explaining. "I'm just helping out. You're providing food and a place to stay. Why would you need to pay me?"
Kurosaki Isshin was genuinely surprised this time. After staring at Wu Biao strangely for a while, he asked, "You mean... you don't want a salary?"
"What would I need a salary for? I've got food and a place to stay. Why would I need money?" Wu Biao looked at Kurosaki Isshin as if he were an idiot.
"..."
He really didn't ask for much...
Kurosaki Isshin's mouth twitched. For the first time, he thought that apart from eating too much and being a bit of a dope, the person his son had brought home was actually pretty decent.
"Forget it!" Kurosaki Isshin shook his head and looked at Wu Biao. "How about this: if you want to buy clothes, come to me and I'll give you the money."
"Sure!" Wu Biao replied casually, but his eyes had already settled on a pack of cigarettes on the counter. Pointing at it, he said, "Boss, can I have that pack? I haven't smoked in ages!"
"You smoke?" Kurosaki Isshin frowned. Minors weren't allowed to smoke, after all.
Wu Biao didn't realize that, in other people's eyes, he had gone from a twenty-five-year-old man to a fourteen-year-old kid. He answered as if it were only natural, "I've been smoking for almost ten years."
"..." Kurosaki Isshin.
Ten years? What a joke. How old are you?
Kurosaki Isshin shook his head and couldn't be bothered dealing with this ungrateful brat. "Do whatever you want. I'm heading back. Keep an eye on the place, and come get me if anyone shows up!"
"Oh!"
Kurosaki Isshin turned and walked through the small door at the back of the clinic. The Kurosaki Clinic and the Kurosaki Family home were connected, and that door led straight into the house.
Wu Biao sat down in the chair behind the counter, lit a cigarette, and took a satisfied drag.
"So Brother Biao's got a place to stay now, but what should I do?" Wu Biao muttered, bored. He looked around and realized the clinic didn't even have a TV.
"There's not even anyone to fight. I feel like my body's going to rust. Should I go out tonight and find a few punks to beat up? Ichigo seems pretty good at fighting too. When he gets home from school, I'll ask if he wants to throw down."
Back in his old world, Wu Biao had spent most of his time either hauling bricks at construction sites or looking for punks and hooligans to pick fights with, usually after coming up with some random excuse.
But now he had suddenly found himself in a different environment, and Wu Biao felt uncomfortable. Then again, that was Brother Biao for you. Anyone else would have felt far worse.
Sometimes, Brother Biao's easygoing nature was admirable.
"I wonder if there are any experts in this world. That guy I met at the underground fight club last time was pretty good. He couldn't take many hits, but getting hit by him still hurt. Too bad I'll never see him again!"
In the end, with nothing better to do, Wu Biao started working out in the clinic.
He alternated between push-ups and squats.
When Kurosaki Isshin came to call him for lunch at noon and saw what was happening inside the clinic, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Wu Biao was holding a piece of medical equipment across his shoulders as he did squats, counting as he went: "10,023, 10,024, 10,025..."
Most people didn't know this, but Kurosaki Isshin knew very well that the medical equipment on Wu Biao's shoulders weighed... a ton!
Was he really human?
Wu Biao was soaked in sweat, the muscles all over his body rippling as he squatted and rose. Kurosaki Isshin couldn't help feeling alarmed. Apart from a few exceptional people, he had never seen anyone with such terrifying strength.
And there was no doubt that Wu Biao was an ordinary human, not part of any special group—completely ordinary. But his strength was... frankly, absurd.
Kurosaki Isshin wasn't the only one who thought so. Wu Biao himself was starting to feel puzzled. If he remembered right, he had only managed five thousand squats before while carrying a one-ton object.
But now he had passed ten thousand. He was exhausted, but he hadn't felt that he was anywhere near his limit.
Had I gotten stronger again?
The reason he said "again" was that Wu Biao had a very unusual constitution—one could even call it natural strength. Ever since he was little, he had been far stronger than his peers.
On top of that, he loved fighting and had kept up his training. His strength had reached a level that the human body shouldn't be able to achieve. In fact, Wu Biao had never hit anyone with all his strength in his entire life.
He was afraid he might accidentally kill someone!
Wu Biao could act like a bit of a dope at times, but he understood his own body. He just never bothered wondering what was going on with it.
Kurosaki Isshin watched for a while, but couldn't find anything besides Wu Biao's strength that set him apart from an ordinary person. He shook his head and said, "Wu Biao, that's enough. Get ready for lunch!"
"Oh, okay! Coming!" Wu Biao replied, then carefully set the medical equipment down.
Kurosaki Isshin nodded in approval. His earlier worry that Wu Biao might damage the equipment vanished. But... once they sat down to eat, Kurosaki Isshin once again felt that this guy really didn't seem like an ordinary human.
That appetite... an ordinary person would have burst by now!
Before you continue