"The demon that devoured anger"

Han Youwei was a little annoyed by Fang Yuan staring so brazenly at her thighs. She raised her textbook and tapped him on the forehead. "What are you looking at?"

"Your legs... hey, no... I'm studying my own superpower trait."

Fang Yuan snapped out of it and hurriedly corrected his slip of the tongue.

The school belle of Donghai No. 1 High School drew plenty of attention, so the students around them all looked their way.

Some even whispered among themselves, discussing silly things like how hitting and scolding were signs of affection.

At the same time.

Fang Yuan noticed a change in the "Rage Points" on his attribute panel.

A flaming +1 popped up above his Rage Points.

Two or three seconds later, another +1 appeared.

The Rage Points on his attribute panel also changed to 2.

Then his Rage Points began rising, +1 after +1.

They finally reached 12 before gradually stopping.

Fang Yuan kept staring at his attribute panel, pondering where these Rage Points came from.

Judging by the name, they should have come from absorbing anger.

Wrath was one of the seven deadly sins.

Some legends also told of demons growing stronger by devouring human emotions such as anger and hatred.

Had I become a demon that devoured anger?

Seeing that Fang Yuan was distracted, Han Youwei asked, "Want to spar in the martial arts classroom after school? During summer break, I absorbed a star slot trait called 'Static Electricity Control.' I'd like your help developing it."

"Not today. I'm going to the hospital to see Xiaozhu," Fang Yuan declined.

"All right, then. Your little sister comes first, of course."

Han Youwei took a box of chocolates from her schoolbag and held it out to Fang Yuan. "Take these to Xiaozhu. They're panda chocolates. She'll definitely like them."

Fang Yuan saw the English on the box but didn't reach for it. "These don't look cheap."

"My eldest aunt brought them back from abroad. I can't finish them, and letting them expire would be a waste. Isn't giving Xiaozhu a sweet treat a good thing? You don't have that sort of self-important pride too, do you?" Han Youwei gave him a gentle smile.

Fang Yuan smiled, reached out, and accepted the chocolates. "Then I'll thank you on Xiaozhu's behalf. But these panda chocolates are so cute, she might not have the heart to eat them."

"Xiaozhu is so adorable. I'll go visit her another day when I have time." Han Youwei's warm smile made talking to her feel comfortable.

"I'm off. I'll help you test Static Electricity Control another day." With that, Fang Yuan waved, got on his bicycle, and left school to visit his sister at the hospital.

After Fang Yuan left, Han Youwei also prepared to head home.

Just then.

Li Weilian walked over and said with great courtesy, "Youwei, how about I spar with you?"

"No, thanks. I'm heading home," Han Youwei politely declined.

A flash of anger immediately crossed Li Weilian's face. "You clearly just invited Fang Yuan to spar with you. Why are you going home now?" he demanded.

His accusatory tone left Han Youwei rather displeased.

She said coldly, "What does my inviting Fang Yuan to spar have to do with you?"

"That Fang guy's strength and talent are both pathetically weak. What good would sparring with him do? I'm one of only two A-ranks at Donghai No. 1 High School, and I absorbed a star slot trait over summer break too. Doesn't that make me the best person to spar with you?" Li Weilian grabbed Han Youwei's wrist to stop her from leaving.

Han Youwei shook off his hand, turned, and glared at him. "Can you calculate the speed of my kick the instant I throw it?"

"Why would I calculate that?" Li Weilian argued.

"Fang Yuan can, to two decimal places," Han Youwei said firmly.

"What use is that?"

"Of course it's useful. The calculated data tells me whether my kicks have gotten faster or slower, whether I've improved or regressed. Then, factoring in my superpower trait and martial techniques, I can find the fighting style that suits me best."

"A machine can do those calculations," Li Weilian said angrily. "If you need one, I can have someone deliver one to school right now."

Han Youwei shook her head and smiled. "If I wanted to use a machine, don't I have one at home? Why would I need you to send one? In some respects, machines will never measure up to people."

"When it comes to calculating data, machines can be dozens of times more precise than people," Li Weilian insisted.

"You've probably never heard of this. The grade-eight fitters of the past could do many things even CNC machine tools couldn't. What people can do goes far beyond your imagination."

With that, Han Youwei tossed her ponytail and strode away.

She left Li Weilian standing there, his face full of anger.

Room 201, inpatient department, Donghai Hospital.

Several medical interns followed a resident on rounds.

A young woman who had just graduated from medical school approached bed 1. Seeing that the patient was a nine-year-old girl, she spoke in a coaxing tone. "Little girl, I'm making rounds. Can I ask you a few questions? What's your name?"

The lively, cheerful girl made a V sign over her eye. "My name is Fang Xiaozhu. Xiaozhu means the little bamboo pandas love to eat."

"You like pandas? I have a panda fridge magnet at home. Shall I bring it for you tomorrow?" The female intern picked up her pen and began taking notes.

"Thank you," Fang Xiaozhu said politely.

"Where's your family? Don't your parents stay with you in the hospital?" The intern looked around and asked in puzzlement.

Fang Xiaozhu wasn't upset at all and explained cheerfully, "Mom and Dad have to work, so they can't stay with me every day. But my big brother will be here soon. Don't worry about me. I've been in the hospital a long time. I know it really well, so if there's anything you don't understand later, you can ask me."

Somewhat surprised, the intern opened the little girl's medical record and discovered that she had been hospitalized since last year.

Just then, Fang Xiaozhu suddenly slid out of bed and ran barefoot toward the door, calling, "Big Brother!"

Then she jumped up hard and clung to Fang Yuan's neck like a koala.

Holding his sister, Fang Yuan turned in a circle before carrying her back to bed. "Don't run so fast. What if you faint?"

"It's fine. I haven't fainted for days. Maybe I'll be better tomorrow." Fang Xiaozhu was so cheerful that she didn't seem at all like a child who had spent over a year in the hospital.

Fang Yuan took out the box of chocolates and waved it in his hand. "Look what I've got."

"Pandas..." Fang Xiaozhu immediately beamed and reached for the box.

Fang Yuan opened it, took out a foil-wrapped chocolate, and placed it in his sister's hand. "Only one a day."

Fang Xiaozhu cupped the panda-shaped chocolate in both hands and giggled. "Only pandas can eat bamboo. Bamboo can't eat pandas."

The chocolate was shaped like a panda's head, and the foil also had a panda printed on it.

Fang Yuan unwrapped the chocolate and flattened the foil. "Look, the panda's on the foil. We'll eat the chocolate and keep the foil."

"All right." Fang Xiaozhu broke the chocolate in half, putting one half into her own mouth and the other into her brother's.

After they finished the chocolate, Fang Yuan bought two meals from the hospital cafeteria and ate dinner with his sister in her room.

"Mom has a lot of work today and can't come over. I'll have dinner with you. Is that okay?" Fang Yuan asked as he laid out the meal boxes.

"It's not the first time. I'm used to it already." Fang Xiaozhu sat up straight, ready to eat.

As they ate, several meows came from outside the window.

Two cats, one orange and one gray, jumped onto the room's windowsill.

The intern was still making rounds in room 201. Hearing the meowing, she hurried over to shoo them away. "How did stray cats get up here? Shoo! Shoo!"

Fang Xiaozhu quickly picked a fish out of her meal box, placed it on the lid, and ran toward the window with it. "Doctor, don't chase them away. They're just hungry. They'll leave after eating the little fish," she said as she ran.

As she spoke, she placed the fish on the windowsill, and the two cats lowered their heads and began eating.

Fang Xiaozhu stood by the window watching them, looking very happy.

Fang Yuan recognized the two cats. They were strays from near their home, and he had no idea how they had followed her to the hospital.

The intern came back and stood beside Fang Yuan. "Your sister is so adorable."

"She is. How could such a kindhearted little girl not grow up healthy?" Watching his sister feed the cats, Fang Yuan silently swore that he would make sure she recovered.

With that thought, Fang Yuan used his ability to check Fang Xiaozhu's attributes, hoping to see whether her attribute panel could reveal the cause of her illness.

Name: Fang Xiaozhu

Star power level: none

Attributes: strength 3, agility 5, constitution 3, spirit 10

Superpower trait: none

Skills: none

They were the entirely ordinary attributes of an ordinary person. Only her spirit was a little high; all her other attributes were perfectly in line with her age.

Even her spirit attribute of 10 wasn't particularly strange.

Sometimes, children really did have higher spirit than adults.

He still couldn't tell the cause of her illness from her attribute panel. He didn't know whether his investigative ability's level was too low, leaving too few attributes visible.