This Deal Was Worth It

Sean smiled like a sly little fox.

Today's mess really wasn't his fault.

Cyclops had started it. If he and Wolverine hadn't attacked Yuriko first, Sean would never have joined the fight.

Anyway, Sean White had completely shrugged off his side's responsibility.

A righteous heart makes one strong!

Doctor White had earned this money with a clear conscience!

Cyclops Scott Summers, 88 kilograms! Subtract the complimentary cerebral palsy, rounded from 1 kilogram, and that left 87 kilograms. Deducting the 1-kilogram cost, then doubling it for a house call, the net profit came to 172 kilograms! What a killing!

Iceman was much lighter, only 66 kilograms. He was pretty skinny! And since polio itself weighed quite a bit, the profit was much lower.

Even so, Sean still made over seventy kilograms in profit.

"You all know my consultation fees, right?"

Sean asked, rubbing his palms together.

"..."

Silence. Dead silence.

Who here didn't know about black-hearted Doctor White's fees? Someone had spread the word long ago.

Two thousand dollars per kilogram, doubled for a house call... and the infuriating part was that this situation counted as a house call!

Seeing that no one spoke, Sean turned to Cyclops.

"Scott, why don't you go first? Eighty-eight kilograms. Doesn't look like it. Three hundred and fifty-six thousand. Want treatment?"

Cerebral palsy obviously couldn't answer, so Sean directly checked the ledger.

Hmm... he was willing...

Cyclops seemed fairly wealthy. To prevent him from offsetting the debt, Sean shamelessly arranged a medical loan with a monthly interest rate of two percent! No early repayment allowed!

According to the ledger's rules, he had to notify the debtor. He couldn't just rip people off in secret.

"Since you can't afford the medical expenses right now, I've prepared a package for you: a one-year medical loan, interest first and principal later. It's a great deal!"

Sean rattled on about his loan package until Phoenix Jean could no longer stand it. "Hurry up! Scott isn't short on that little bit of money!"

"Sure thing. Just watch."

Sean immediately removed the cerebral palsy, and Cyclops regained control of his body almost instantly.

"You damned devil!"

The first thing he did after recovering was try to kill Sean with a glare!

Was it really okay to be this arrogant in front of your creditor?

Have some cataracts!

Cyclops let out a scream. The optic blast from his eyes was reflected back by his own cataracts, nearly blowing out his eyeballs. That hurt like hell.

"What did you do?!"

Phoenix Jean Grey demanded angrily.

"What did I do? Didn't you see what he was trying to do?"

Jean gritted her teeth, her face darkening.

Sean noticed the air around them beginning to tremble, and his heart started pounding. He hadn't pissed off Dark Phoenix enough to bring her out, had he?

Phoenix Jean Grey had another personality inside her, a dark personality that Professor X had always kept locked away! That one was called Dark Phoenix, and she was far stronger than Phoenix. Once she emerged, she would be beyond Omega-level. If she got angered into coming out...

Sean would be in deep trouble!

"Calm down, calm down. It's not a big deal!"

His casual tone managed to stop Phoenix Jean from erupting.

Sean wiped cold sweat from his heart. It seemed he would have to be more cautious when dealing with Phoenix and Cyclops in the future. It was best not to provoke people who could lose control at any moment!

Next was Iceman Bobby, who had attacked him earlier.

"Little Bobby, were you trying to freeze me just now?"

"No, no! I was only trying to stop you. I didn't mean to freeze you!"

Iceman had caved. Doctor White really lived up to his reputation. He could give someone polio? Who in this world could afford to provoke him?

"Want treatment?"

"I... I don't have any money!"

"That's fine. Medical loan, two percent monthly interest, interest first and principal later. Use it for as long as you want!"

"Okay, okay!" Bobby was probably bad at math, because he agreed immediately.

Before anyone else could stop him, Sean had already removed the polio.

"Bobby! Two percent monthly interest!" Rogue shouted angrily. "That's nearly eight thousand in interest every month!"

"Ah!~~~" Iceman was dumbfounded.

"White! You've gone too far! He's still a child!" Storm rebuked him.

"Fine, then. As long as you say you're willing to take on this two-hundred-and-sixty-four-thousand-dollar debt, I'll transfer it to you right away!"

Sean rolled his eyes and said disdainfully.

Storm immediately choked up. She was already drowning in debt herself. How could she possibly take on someone else's debt?

"Hmph, hmph~"

Sean snorted twice. No one liked being in this situation. What did she mean, he was still a child? Then they should pay the child's medical bills!

"I'll pay for Bobby."

Professor X spoke up.

Sean pursed his lips, looking troubled. He hesitated before saying:

"Professor... you still haven't paid off your one hundred million in debt. You're not qualified to take on this debt."

Professor X Charles: "..."

Everyone else: "..."

"Professor, you..."

Phoenix Jean Grey looked at Professor X worriedly.

"How could you owe him so much?"

Professor X was stunned when he heard Sean's words, then shook his head with a bitter smile. He did not answer Phoenix Jean's question. It would not help anything.

"That's settled, then. See you around?"

Seeing that there was no new business left to develop, Sean decided to leave.

He had actually hoped Phoenix would take on Iceman's debt. That way, he could see how much the Phoenix Force was worth. If possible, he could directly buy the Phoenix Force. Wouldn't that let him do whatever he wanted?

But... unfortunately, Phoenix did not seem that noble!

As he left, Sean glanced at Lorna, who had remained quiet the entire time, and gave her a slight nod.

The girl had performed well just now.

"You did pretty well, so I'm taking back your punishment!"

Polaris instantly felt her self-control return. The constant urge to keep her legs tightly clenched vanished, and she burst into tears in excitement.

Tsk, was it really that scary?

It made it look like he had done something terrible to her. Sean got a toothache just thinking about it.

Time to go!

Sean dragged Yuriko away. If he stayed any longer, who knew how everyone else would look at him!

Although Cyclops had ripped off the roof of the car, it could still run.

The two left in the little wreck. Before leaving, Sean cast an envious look at the X-Men's jet. If only he had something that could fly, he could get back to New York quickly. Vanessa was still waiting for him...

Tsk, he had been gone all night, and Vanessa couldn't even reach him...

Sean suddenly felt that the entire world was full of malice toward him!

"Back to New York!"

Getting from British Columbia, Canada, to New York meant crossing the entire North American continent. That was no ordinary distance.

There was no way they could manage it in a roofless car like this.

Take a plane?

Did two people without any money deserve to take a plane?

Sean just hoped to find a populated place where he could sell the wreck for enough money to buy plane tickets and see if they could fly to New York.

They were fairly lucky. Before the car ran out of gas, they finally reached a small town.

The wreck only sold for three hundred dollars. Forget plane tickets, it wasn't even enough for transportation to the airport.

Three hundred dollars... buying Yuriko a set of clothes used up a third of it!

Sean was deeply troubled. He almost wanted to borrow some money from the ledger himself.

But the ledger did not permit that kind of operation. Nothing he could do~

As a major creditor holding over a billion in claims, he was being stumped by a mere few hundred dollars... wasn't that too embarrassing?

"Yuriko, how do you think we should get to New York?"

Sean sat on a rock by the roadside, looking helplessly at the sky.

"Chua~"

Yuriko's Adamantium claws sprang out, and she looked ready to steal a car.

"Hey, wait. We need to obey the law. Don't go committing violent crimes so casually. Put those claws away~"

"Chua~"

Yuriko obediently retracted her claws. They looked extraordinarily sharp, no worse than Wolverine's.

"Watch me demonstrate~"

Sean jumped down from the rock, struck a flamboyant pose by the roadside, and stuck out his thumb at an approaching car, clearly looking for a ride.

For his first attempt, perhaps because his pose was too flamboyant, a car actually stopped.

Sean immediately became a mess~

I was just demonstrating, damn it!

"Hi, man!"

A sweet red-haired girl poked her head out through the window. "Going to Vancouver?"

"Yes!"

"Get in!"

This sweet girl was nice—pretty and warmhearted. Sean eagerly opened the rear door and prepared to get in.

"Come sit in front!"

Sean froze... the car was right-hand drive!

He walked around to the left side and got into the passenger seat.

Then came Yuriko. The girl was a little heavy, and the car rocked slightly.

But the sweet girl driving did not seem to mind.

She started the car and continued on her journey.

"You're not Canadian, are you?" the sweet girl said to Sean.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes. Canadian doctors wouldn't hitchhike~ They have drivers."

"You make it sound like Canadian doctors earn a lot?"

"They earn a lot. The doctor in our town makes 1.5 million Canadian dollars a year."

"Isn't that... a little exaggerated?"

"Of course not. He always performs surgeries during holidays!"

"..."

Sean fell silent. Naturally, surgery fees were higher during holidays... but there could not be many people in that town, right?

"You're thinking, how many people could there possibly be there, right? He's the only doctor who can perform surgery in four nearby towns."

What could Sean say? He could only pity the poor Canadians.

"My name is Mary Walker. What's yours?" The sweet girl introduced herself generously.

"Sean. Sean White."

Sean had a favorable impression of this sweet girl with such a pleasant personality.

"I'm planning to drive from here all the way to Seattle. What about you?"

Mary Walker briefly explained her itinerary.

"To the United States? We want to go back to New York, but..."

"Come with me! It's so lonely driving alone."

Mary said happily.

"We're going to New York..."

"You can go to Seattle first, then New York~ handsome~"

Mary's tone changed slightly, as though she were trying to seduce Sean.

"Uh~"

Sean did not know how to respond. They were getting a free ride—how could he possibly complain?

Guess who Mary is~

Call me Diligent Tree! Another 3K-word chapter! Send in those recommendation votes!

Thanks to Qidian's Meow Meow's Mommy, and QQ Reading's Huang Chao and hedonism (Heaven Weeps, Earth Cries) for the tips!