Hospitalized

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Knock, knock, knock! Old Xu?"

"Old Xu!"

Early that morning.

Huang Sen stood outside Xu Feng's home, holding a bowl of soup and pounding hard on the door.

The noise even woke Wang Long, the tousle-haired Fatty.

Wang Long blinked sleepily and asked, "Brother Huang, what's going on so early?"

"Strange. Old Xu got up this early? He's not even home, and it's still a while before Xiao Dan has to go to school."

Huang Sen said, sounding puzzled.

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

"Come on. I've never heard of anyone bringing a kid along when they climb into bed with someone." Huang Sen rolled his eyes.

He glanced at Wang Long and handed him the soup. "Here. I made it for Xiao Dan, but you can have it."

Wang Long thanked him at once. "Then I'm going back to bed."

"Sleep, sleep, sleep. Keep sleeping while the world outside is falling apart."

Huang Sen grumbled.

"What's going on? What do you mean, the world's falling apart? I was working on a new drug in the basement all night. What happened outside?"

Wang Long scratched his head, looking baffled.

Huang Sen frowned too. "A friend told me a bunch of people died last night. Some expert went on a killing spree in the Shanty Town, but nobody knows why."

Fatty's whole body jiggled in shock. "What?! A bunch of people died? Some expert went on a killing spree? Damn, can we even stay in this place?"

Huang Sen frowned in disgust. "Could you at least tidy yourself up? I know you're a researcher, but do you have to look like Einstein?

"Some expert went on a killing spree, but another expert from the base showed up and subdued them.

"Apparently, she was a beautiful woman. Lots of people saw her, so there's no need to worry too much."

"A beautiful woman?" Fatty's eyes lit up. "There really was a beautiful expert? I thought all those experts were huge and burly.

"Damn, I'd better wash my hair. If that beauty falls for me, I'll be set for life."

Huang Sen: "...Huh?"

"Chirp, chirp~~"

"Coo-coo~ coo-coo~"

"Ahem."

Xu Feng coughed softly and woke from his sleep.

The pristine white ceiling above him left him dazed for a long moment.

The faint smell of disinfectant filled the air.

Everything around him was white.

Outside the window, green plants swayed as birds chirped cheerfully.

For a moment, it all felt as if he'd returned to his previous life.

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

Xu Feng snapped back to his senses and instinctively reached beside him.

His hand found nothing.

Neither his Flying Blades nor his Battle Blade was there.

Panic seized him.

"Nurse! Nurse!"

At Xu Feng's alarmed shouts, the other two patients in the room sat up in surprise and looked at him.

"Hey, man, quit shouting. There's a call button by the bed. This is a hospital, not your home!"

The one-armed man in the neighboring bed frowned and scolded him.

Xu Feng gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry."

Then he pressed the call button.

A moment later, a petite nurse in white hurried in. "Mr. Xu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Xu Feng waved his hand and quickly forced a smile. "No, I'm fine. I just wanted to ask where my personal belongings are."

"Your personal belongings? You didn't have anything with you when you came in," the nurse said, taken aback.

"That's impossible. Where are my Flying Blades and Battle Blade? I always carry them with me!"

Xu Feng's expression changed.

The one-armed man and the other patient burst out laughing. "Haha, man, do you think you're still out in the wild?

"This is the Base Hospital. It'd be a miracle if they let you bring weapons inside."

"Oh? Is that how it works?" Xu Feng said, stunned.

"Please don't worry, sir. If you had any belongings with you, they'd be kept in the hospital's storage room. You can collect them when you're discharged."

The petite nurse smiled gently.

"Also, your friend, Miss Lu, asked me to tell you to focus on recovering. Your daughter is with her."

Hearing Lu Fei's name, Xu Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That woman was reliable.

So everything should be fine.

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

Xu Feng quickly clasped his hands in thanks.

After the nurse left, the one-armed man in the room looked at Xu Feng curiously. "You're from the Shanty Town?"

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

The man raised his eyebrows, then asked in surprise, "You've got connections, huh?

"Usually, the martial artists from the Shanty Town go to the Second Hospital.

"Only proper warriors like us get into the First Affiliated Hospital."

Xu Feng caught the surprise and pride in his tone and shook his head slightly.

Even hospitals had different levels.

What was there to be proud of?

"I was lucky enough to meet a friend who got me in," Xu Feng said, smoothly changing the subject. "What happened to your arm?"

"Ah, damn it. Don't ask. Our exploration team ran into an Alien Race attack in Wumeng Mountain.

"Old Zhao and I got off easy—we only lost an arm. The others were decapitated on the spot."

As the one-armed man spoke, his whole demeanor slumped.

Only then did Xu Feng notice that the other patient was missing a leg.

Yet the man looked quite relaxed.

"You seem to be taking it pretty well," Xu Feng said, looking at Old Zhao.

"Haha, I got to keep my life. How could I call that bad luck?" Old Zhao's answer impressed Xu Feng.

Not many people had that kind of attitude.

The one-armed man sighed and shook his head. "Old Zhao's always had a good attitude. I can't manage that.

"My whole family depends on me. Losing an arm will wreck my combat strength.

"I can't stay with the exploration team anymore. I'll have to do odd jobs with the Base Patrol Squad."

"The patrol squad isn't bad. You'll make at least fifty thousand a month. That should cover your family's living expenses."

Old Zhao tried to comfort the one-armed man.

"Forget it. Let's not talk about that. I still haven't asked your name. I'm Wang Qiang, an Intermediate Warrior." The one-armed man smiled.

"Oh, I'm Xu Feng. I'm only a Quasi-Warrior," Xu Feng quickly replied.

A flicker of disdain crossed Wang Qiang's eyes.

Zhao Wuji chuckled and picked up a banana from the bedside table before tossing it to Xu Feng.

"I'm Zhao Wuji. Just call me Old Zhao.

"Sharing a hospital room is fate. Maybe we'll be friends someday. I'm an Intermediate Warrior too."

Xu Feng caught the banana. "Thanks."

At that, Wang Qiang curled his lip and shook his head slightly.

Friends?

He glanced at the information card by Xu Feng's bed.

What was there to gain from associating with a forty-year-old Quasi-Warrior?

Xu Feng didn't notice any of this.

He was simply intrigued, and took the opportunity to ask them about the daily work and lives of the base's formal warriors.

The two men clearly had nothing else to do.

So the three of them chatted about life at the base.

Xu Feng was an extrovert to begin with.

In less than an hour, he and the two men were already getting along like old friends.

He also learned quite a few things he'd never been qualified to learn before.

Still, he could sense that although neither man said it outright, they looked down on the residents of the Shanty Town a little.

But there was nothing he could do about that.

After all, most of the Shanty Town's residents were Martial Servants.

Just as the three of them were deep in conversation—

"Knock, knock, knock—"

Someone suddenly knocked on the hospital room door.

A moment later,

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

"Director Liu."

"Hello, Director Liu."

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

Then they watched in surprise as the two newcomers walked over to Xu Feng's bed.

The young man in white nodded slightly, then followed Lu Fei over to Xu Feng. Smiling warmly, he said,

"Mr. Xu, I've looked over your condition. There's nothing serious. Just get plenty of rest when you go home.

"For your age, your physical condition is already quite good.

"Don't worry, Junior Sister Lu. I've had someone pack up all the medicine he needs.

"If anything comes up later, just contact me."

Seeing Director Liu, the famous doctor at the First Affiliated Hospital, treating Xu Feng with such courtesy, Wang Qiang and Zhao Wuji exchanged looks and quietly reassessed him.