Rescue

Wang Wen was just an ordinary person now. He couldn't reach World Tower Plaza any faster than an ambulance.

The only thing he could do in time was climb into the ambulance with the stretcher and stay by the boy's side.

The boy was covered in countless wounds, as if countless crossbow bolts had pierced right through him.

The massive blood loss had left his face pale with a grayish tinge. After the doctors' emergency treatment, it took both nutritional fluids and a blood transfusion just to give him a faint pulse.

There were too many wounds, and his injuries were too severe. They couldn't operate in the ambulance, so they could only bandage him and stem the bleeding for the time being.

The doctor glanced at Wang Wen and said, "Are you family? Judging by his condition, he might not last much longer."

"We're classmates at the Academy." Wang Wen looked down at the boy and answered, "We've already contacted his mother. She's on her way."

The doctor nodded and said nothing more, focusing on stopping the bleeding.

Wang Wen thought for a moment, then took out the only World Tower item he had on him, [Ginseng Fruit], and handed it to the doctor. "Can he take this? It's a Ginseng Fruit from the 250th floor."

The doctor glanced up at him in surprise, then accepted the [Ginseng Fruit]. "I'll try. He can't eat anything right now."

He turned and asked his assistant to mash the fruit in a clean cup, then carefully fed it into the frail boy's mouth a little at a time.

World Tower items had extraordinary properties and dissolved as soon as they entered the mouth, so there was little risk of choking.

The fruit was gone.

There was no noticeable improvement in the boy's injuries.

But he woke up.

He was still extremely weak, but at least he could open his eyes.

He slowly turned his gaze toward Wang Wen beside him. A smile flickered in his eyes, but pain soon washed over it.

"It hurts..." The boy's hoarse voice rasped from his throat.

The doctor stopped him from saying anything more.

"Don't be scared," Wang Wen said softly. "It's just a small injury. They'll stitch you up at the hospital, and you'll be fine."

The boy started coughing, blood seeping from all over his body with each cough.

The doctor and his assistant were soon drenched in sweat from their efforts.

After working for a while, the doctor checked the instruments. His expression turned helpless. "In the end, these are serious injuries, not old age. The Ginseng Fruit can only do so much."

He turned to look at the boy in pain, took off his mask, and stopped trying to keep him quiet. Then he nodded to Wang Wen. "You two, say whatever you need to say."

Wang Wen's hands, usually as steady as a mountain, trembled. He looked up at the ambulance driver. "Sir, how much longer until we get to the hospital? Sorry for the trouble, but could you hurry a little? Thank you."

The driver seemed to understand what was happening in the back. He said nothing, silently flooring the gas pedal.

The frail boy struggled to raise his hand. Wang Wen saw and quickly reached out so he could rest it on his.

"Am I... going to die... soon?" the boy said haltingly, his hand resting on Wang Wen's.

Wang Wen pressed his lips together. "I won't let you die."

The boy gasped for breath as if he were suffocating. Once he had steadied himself, he struggled to shake his head.

"Don't waste your effort..."

"I was... prepared for this..."

"I can handle Scientific Deciphering..."

"I didn't think the mechanisms... would be so hard..."

"Why did you go into the tower?" Wang Wen asked, frustrated. "Didn't you know first-year students aren't advised to enter?"

The boy's pale lips spread into what seemed to be a smile. He said:

"I wanted to earn money... so I could treat you to a meal..."

"That way..."

"You wouldn't have to be... so busy..."

Wang Wen looked at him in silence, unable to speak.

They reached the hospital.

But the boy closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

The medical staff rushed him toward the operating room.

Just before they went inside, the doctor stopped Wang Wen. "We'll do everything we can, but you need to prepare yourself."

Wang Wen nodded. "Don't hold back on the cost. Use the best of everything."

The operating room doors closed.

Not long afterward, the frail boy's mother arrived.

She was also a small, thin middle-aged woman. When she saw Wang Wen, she was drenched in sweat, as if she had run all the way there.

She seemed composed rather than completely distraught. Calmly, she asked Wang Wen what had happened. When she learned that her son was in the operating room, she nodded, sat down on a chair by the wall, and waited quietly.

Wang Wen gave her his phone number and told her to call if anything came up.

The boy's mother didn't ask anything else. She thanked him, then fell silent.

Wang Wen strode out of the hospital and took a taxi straight to the First Consortium's headquarters.

When he reached the Intelligence Department and saw its Central Group Leader, Tong Xiaolei, he asked her, "Is the Department Head here?"

Tong Xiaolei tilted her head to indicate that he was in his office.

They knew each other well enough that she didn't need to show him the way. Wang Wen went straight into the Department Head's office and said to the old man, who was busy reviewing verification reports, "I want to borrow something. I can't afford it now, but I'll repay the First Consortium tenfold within a year."

The old man put down the report in his hands and took off his glasses. "What do you want to borrow?"

"The rare item from the 500th floor, the Great Restoration Golden Pill."

The old man smiled and shook his head. "We don't have one."

Wang Wen insisted, "You must have one!"

The old man asked in puzzlement, "Everyone knows that the highest floor humanity has reached is 499. What makes you think we have an item from the 500th floor? And a rare item that's impossible to come by, at that?"

Wang Wen said earnestly, "With the First Consortium's resources, you must have already trained an elite team capable of reaching the 500th floor and beyond. Please lend me the pill. I need it to save someone. It's urgent."

"That's ridiculous." The old man continued shaking his head, torn between laughter and exasperation. "What are you thinking? Leaving aside whether we even have one, why would we lend it to you? Just because you asked?"

Wang Wen pressed his palm against the desk. "Lend it to me. I'll remember this favor for the rest of my life. Whatever you need in the future, just ask. I won't hesitate."

The old man fell silent.

He thought for a long time.

But still shook his head.

"Not even a little consideration?" Wang Wen straightened up, his brow furrowed.

The old man lifted his teacup to cover his mouth and nose, speaking in a muffled voice. "Wang Wen, you should understand what a rare item from the 500th floor is worth. Forget a year—I'm afraid you couldn't repay it in your entire life."

Wang Wen nodded.

He gave the old man a long, deep look.

Then he turned and left.

The old man put down his teacup.

He gazed at the boy walking away with heavy steps.

A flicker of sympathy crossed his heart.

After a moment's thought, he opened a drawer and took out a strangely shaped communicator. He turned it on and spoke into the receiver. "Is the Great Restoration Golden Pill still in our group's vault?"

A voice came through the other end. "Authorization?"

"Gu Jianbing."

"Please wait... It is."

"Send it to the Intelligence Department. I need it."

"...Department Head Gu, are you sure? This will cost you all the shares you hold."

"..."

The old man looked toward the door, where the Upper Group Leader had stopped Wang Wen, and hesitated for a moment.

Then he smiled carefree and said, "I'm sure. Send it immediately."

Young man, I hope you keep your word. Don't disappoint me.

He picked up his teacup with a cheerful chuckle and watched through the glass as he waited patiently for the long-awaited bout.

Wang Wen looked at the Upper Group Leader, Mo Ran, expressionlessly. "What is it?"

Mo Ran drew a mechanism from his waist and held it in his hand. He said solemnly to Wang Wen, "Mo Ran, Upper Group Leader of the Intelligence Department. Please grant me a match."

Wang Wen was impatient. "I'm busy right now. Another time."

Mo Ran ignored him and charged straight in.

A cold glint flashed from the mechanism in his hand.

Everyone in the Intelligence Department turned to look.

The Upper Group Leader was publicly known as the most powerful person in the Intelligence Department.

Everyone had heard about this bout long ago.

They had indeed been looking forward to it.

They only hoped that the rude boy would last a little while against the group leader, so that all those days of arrogance wouldn't have been for nothing.