Hospitalization

"Thump, thump, thump!"

"Thump, thump, thump! Old Xu?"

"Old Xu!"

Early in the morning.

Huang Sen stood in front of Xu Feng's door, holding a bowl of soup and knocking vigorously.

The sound of the knocking even woke up Fatty Wang Long, who had messy hair.

Wang Long rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked, "Brother Huang, what's going on so early in the morning?"

"It's strange. Old Xu usually gets up this early? He's not even here, and it's clearly way too early for Xiao Dan to be heading to school."

Huang Sen said, looking puzzled.

Wang Long replied speechlessly, "He probably crawled into some woman's bed."

"Give it a rest. I've never seen anyone crawl into bed while bringing a kid along," Huang Sen rolled his eyes.

At this, he turned to look at Wang Long and handed him the meat soup he was holding. "Here, this was meant for Xiao Dan, but you can have it."

Wang Long thanked him immediately, "Then I'm going back to sleep."

"Sleep, sleep, sleep. Go ahead and sleep. The world outside is being turned upside down, but you just keep on sleeping."

Huang Sen said irritably.

"What's the situation? What do you mean the world is being turned upside down? I was working on a new drug last night and stayed in the basement. What happened outside?"

Wang Long scratched his head and asked in surprise.

Huang Sen frowned as well. "I heard from a friend that a bunch of people died last night. Some expert was on a killing spree in the Shanty Town, though nobody knows why."

Fatty was immediately shocked, his body trembling. "Ah?! A bunch of people died? An expert on a killing spree? Damn, can we even stay in this hellhole?"

Huang Sen frowned and said with disgust, "Can you clean yourself up? I'm saying, just because you do research doesn't mean you have to look like Einstein.

Although there was an expert on a killing spree, the base sent out an expert of its own to suppress them.

They say it was a beautiful female expert, and many people saw her, so there's no need to worry too much."

"A beauty?" Upon hearing the word 'beauty,' Fatty's eyes lit up instantly. "Is there really a beautiful expert? I thought all those experts were big, burly brutes.

Damn, I need to go wash my hair quickly. If a beauty takes a fancy to me, I'll be set for life."

Huang Sen: "...Huh?"

"Chirp, chirp~~"

"Coo, coo~ coo, coo~"

"Cough, cough."

Xu Feng let out a soft cough and woke up from his slumber.

The sight of the clean white ceiling left him in a long state of daze.

The faint scent of disinfectant permeated the air.

Everything around him was stark white.

Outside the window were lush green plants and the cheerful chirping of birds.

For a moment, it felt as if he had returned to his previous life.

"This is... a hospital! Right, I'm in the Base Hospital now!"

Xu Feng snapped back to reality and instinctively reached toward his side.

However, he touched nothing.

His Flying Blade and Battle Blade were both gone.

He immediately fell into a panic.

"Nurse! Nurse!"

Following Xu Feng's panicked shout, the other two patients in the ward stood up in surprise and looked at him.

"Hey! Brother, stop yelling. There's a call button by the bed. This is a hospital, not your home!"

A one-armed man in the adjacent bed frowned and scolded him.

Xu Feng gave the man an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

He then pressed the call button.

Soon, a petite nurse in white walked in quickly. "Mr. Xu, what's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"

Xu Feng waved his hand and quickly smiled apologetically. "No, I'm not uncomfortable. I just wanted to ask, where are my personal belongings?"

"Personal belongings? You didn't have any items with you when you arrived," the nurse said, stunned for a moment.

"That's impossible. Where are the Flying Blade and Battle Blade I had on me? I carry them with me at all times!"

Xu Feng's expression shifted slightly.

"Pfft—" The one-armed man nearby and the other patient immediately burst into laughter. "Haha, brother, you don't think you're still out in the wild, do you? This is the Base Hospital. It would be a miracle if you could bring weapons in here."

"Ah? Is that so?" Xu Feng was momentarily stunned.

"Please rest assured, sir. If you have any personal belongings, they are all stored in the hospital's warehouse and can be retrieved when you are discharged," the young nurse said with a gentle chuckle.

"Also, your friend, Ms. Lu, asked me to tell you to focus on your recovery and that your daughter is with her."

Hearing Lu Fei's name, Xu Feng finally let out a long sigh of relief.

That woman was incredibly reliable.

Then there shouldn't be any problems.

"Sorry for the trouble, and thank you, thank you."

Xu Feng quickly pressed his palms together to show his gratitude.

After the nurse left, the one-armed man in the ward looked at Xu Feng and asked curiously, "Are you from the Shanty Town, brother?"

Xu Feng smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, it's my first time in a hospital, so I don't know the rules."

The man raised an eyebrow, then said with surprise, "You must have connections, brother. Usually, the martial artists from the Shanty Town get treated at the Second Hospital. Only those of us who are proper warriors get to come to the First Affiliated Hospital."

Hearing the hint of surprise and arrogance in the other man's tone, Xu Feng shook his head slightly.

Even hospitals had tiers.

Besides, what was there to be proud of?

"Just lucky. I know a friend, which is how I managed to get in here." Xu Feng shifted the topic without a trace. "What happened to your arm, brother?"

"Sigh, damn it, don't even mention it. Our exploration squad ran into an alien attack in the Wumeng Mountain. Old Zhao and I were lucky; we only lost an arm. The others... they lost their heads."

As the one-armed man spoke of this, his entire demeanor slumped.

Xu Feng then noticed that the other patient was actually missing a leg. Yet, looking at his expression, he seemed quite at ease.

"Your mindset seems very good, brother," Xu Feng said, looking at Old Zhao.

"Haha, I kept my life, isn't that lucky enough?" Old Zhao's words immediately earned Xu Feng's admiration.

There truly weren't many people with that kind of mindset.

The one-armed man sighed and shook his head. "Old Zhao has always had a good mindset, but I don't. My whole family relies on me to provide. With a broken arm, my combat power will plummet. I won't be able to stay in the exploration squad anymore; I'll have to do odd jobs for the base Patrol Squad."

"The Patrol Squad isn't bad either. A monthly salary of at least fifty thousand is enough to cover the family's living expenses," Old Zhao countered, comforting the one-armed man instead.

"Forget it, let's not talk about that. I haven't asked your name yet, brother? I'm Wang Qiang, an Intermediate Warrior," the one-armed man said with a smile.

"Oh, I'm Xu Feng. I'm just a quasi-warrior," Xu Feng quickly replied.

Upon hearing this, a flash of disdain crossed Wang Qiang's eyes.

Zhao Wuji chuckled and picked up a banana from the bedside table, tossing it to Xu Feng. "I'm Zhao Wuji, just call me Old Zhao. It's fate that we're in the same ward; maybe we can be friends in the future. I'm an Intermediate Warrior, too."

Xu Feng caught it. "Thanks."

Hearing this, Wang Qiang curled his lip and shook his head slightly.

Be friends?

He glanced at the information sheet at the head of Xu Feng's bed.

What was there to gain from associating with a forty-year-old quasi-warrior?

However, Xu Feng did not notice this.

His heart stirred, and he took the opportunity to ask the two of them about the daily work and lives of the base's official warriors.

The two of them were clearly idle as well.

The three of them simply chatted away, discussing life at the base.

Xu Feng was an extrovert by nature.

Because of this, in less than an hour, he had hit it off with both of them.

He also learned quite a few things he usually wouldn't have been qualified to know.

However, he could sense that although they didn't say it outright, they held a faint sense of disdain for the residents of the Shanty Town.

But there was no helping that.

After all, most of those living in the Shanty Town were Martial Servants.

Just as the three were deep in conversation.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The hospital room door was suddenly rapped upon.

Soon after.

A figure wearing a trench coat strode in, accompanied by a young man in a white robe.

"Director Liu."

"Hello, Director Liu."

Zhao Wuji and Wang Qiang hurriedly greeted the young man in white with smiles.

They then looked on in astonishment as the two walked up to Xu Feng.

The young man in white nodded slightly, then followed Lu Fei to Xu Feng's bedside, saying with a gentle smile:

"Mr. Xu, I have already reviewed your case. There is nothing serious; you just need to get plenty of rest when you return.

For your age, your physical condition is already quite impressive.

Junior Sister Lu, you can rest easy. I have already had the necessary medication packed up for him.

If any issues arise later, just contact me directly."

Seeing the renowned Director Liu of the First Affiliated Hospital being so courteous to Xu Feng.

Wang Qiang and Zhao Wuji exchanged glances, simultaneously casting a new, scrutinizing look at Xu Feng.