"Inspector Bill, first I need to make something clear: this man is still in critical condition. If you lock him up now, he'll definitely die."
"What you're doing is completely inhumane!"
"And I hear you still have no evidence that he's broken any American laws. You can't take a seriously ill man out of the hospital."
Inside the hospital, Xu Xiao's attending physician, Dr. Jonathan, was arguing his case with the local inspector, Bill.
With Xu Xiao's physical abnormalities treated as a treasure and connected to his future research, he naturally chose to side with his own interests.
He had discussed the matter with the hospital's upper management and wanted to study this special patient. He could gain fame and fortune, while the executives might make some special discoveries.
Research into the brains of special patients often yielded enormous medical rewards, enough to make them stand up to the local police.
"All right, all right, Dr. Jonathan, calm down." Inspector Bill could do nothing in the face of the agitated doctor.
In the past, injured suspects and his fellow officers had all been sent to this hospital for treatment. Offending Dr. Jonathan was a minor matter; the hospital's owner behind him was the one they really couldn't afford to cross.
After seeing the suspect wake up on the monitor, Bill had brought his men over intending to ask a few simple questions, only for Dr. Jonathan to protest vehemently. The man's attitude made him want to lose his temper, but there was nothing he could do.
Jonathan was right. For now, they had no evidence that gave them grounds to arrest the yellow-skinned man before them, although he was undocumented.
But that was the immigration bureau's business... If they tried to force the issue...
Under Jonathan's furious tirade, Inspector Bill could only compromise in the end:
"We're just going to ask a few questions. We won't take him away for now."
Once the police gave their assurance, Jonathan gave a haughty snort and left, accompanied by the doctor's assistant at his side.
Inside the ward, Xu Xiao was overjoyed to hear the argument outside come to an end.
Early that morning, a doctor calling himself Jonas had rushed into the ward.
He had mysteriously told him something along the lines of, "Cooperate with my research, and I'll do my best to cure you."
"Your injuries are very serious. If you leave the hospital, you could die at any moment."
The series of threats and tempting promises had only one purpose: to make Xu Xiao stay in the hospital and cooperate with his research.
Xu Xiao had no objection.
Cooperating with the doctor who called himself Jonathan at the hospital would amount to blood draws, CT scans, and other such tests at most.
If the man revealed his unusual condition to America's upper echelons, he would probably end up being sliced apart for research.
Xu Xiao had also tactfully told him that he had done a little something against the law and that the police might take him away.
Dr. Jonathan had pounded his chest and assured him that as long as he cooperated with the research, he would handle the police.
Naturally, there was nothing more to say.
After that, Inspector Bill and two officers questioned Xu Xiao for an hour.
Xu Xiao fobbed off every question by claiming he had been attacked by an unknown assailant and couldn't remember clearly. They had no solid evidence to arrest him, and with Dr. Jonathan's warning as well, they could only slink away in the end.
Once they were gone, the rest of the time belonged to Xu Xiao.
Because he had agreed to Dr. Jonathan's research conditions, the doctor had thoughtfully assigned a young nurse to look after him.
All Xu Xiao could say was that Dr. Jonathan was a good man, a very good one.
"Miss Mary, sorry to trouble you, but could you get me some more food? Thank you."
"Miss Mary, sorry to trouble you, but could you pour me a glass of water? Thank you."
"Miss Mary, sorry to trouble you..."
Xu Xiao ran the young nurse off her feet, fetching food and drinks one moment and helping him use the bathroom the next.
Xu Xiao was a patient, and with Dr. Jonathan's instructions, she could only put up with it in silence.
After keeping her busy for a full two hours, Xu Xiao finally let the young nurse off once he had eaten and drunk his fill. Then, pretending to be considerate, he sent her away.
"I think you must be tired after looking after me for so long. You can go rest for a while. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Xu Xiao gave her a harmless smile.
The young nurse Mary didn't think much of it. The room was monitored around the clock anyway, so she promptly slipped out to take it easy.
Xu Xiao had sent her away so he could properly feel the changes in his body.
Only one night had passed, yet upon waking, Xu Xiao could feel that his mind was brimming with vigor, and he felt better than ever before.
His five senses had become extremely sharp, and there were even signs that he could give intangible thoughts a tangible form-the beginnings of Telekinesis.
Calming his mind in the empty ward, Xu Xiao quickly grasped the trick to controlling this mental power, sending a few strands of hair dancing wildly.
They looked like stray hairs being ruffled by a current of air, but in truth, they were the handiwork of Xu Xiao, whose eyes were growing brighter.
This Telekinesis isn't as difficult as I imagined. It's a little awkward, but surprisingly easy to use, and this progress...
Perhaps this is the benefit of absorbing the Superpower Crystal alone. This ability is growing much faster than I imagined.
Xu Xiao kept trying to master the extraordinary power he had longed for. He could feel that he had yet to tap into its true potential.
To keep his ability hidden, Xu Xiao, who was getting carried away, covered himself with the blanket and began using it as cover to train his control of Telekinesis further.
No one would pay attention to a patient covered in medical equipment burrowing under the covers. Even the officers who occasionally glanced at the monitor only paused briefly when they noticed Xu Xiao's movements.
As long as they could confirm Xu Xiao was still in the ward, they had no desire to concern themselves with whether the suspect was playing some kind of game.
And out of their sight, Xu Xiao slowly concentrated and began to work at understanding his Telekinesis.
As his mind reached outward, the invisible Telekinesis acted like a pair of newly grown hands, moving at his command. First it lifted his loose hospital gown, then the buttons shifted bit by bit as he slowly began trying to undo them.
This was Xu Xiao's test of how finely he could control his Telekinesis. He needed to know whether he could really wield this power as easily as his own arm, just like in the movie.
Like a child with a new toy, Xu Xiao reached out with his mental power, excitement written all over his face. He constantly adjusted the output of his Telekinesis and began learning to control it.
In less than ten minutes, Xu Xiao felt he had mastered the method of controlling Telekinesis.
The buttons on his hospital gown came undone as if an invisible hand were unfastening them, then fastened themselves again.
The whole process was smooth, without the slightest pause or mistake.
Not bad. Although I can't test how much force my Telekinesis can exert, this degree of fine control is already very good.
He had only just been exposed to the Superpower Crystal's radiation, and his Telekinesis had grown this strong in a single night. Xu Xiao was already very satisfied.
In the original story, Andrew, the protagonist most skilled at fine control, had only managed to assemble building blocks with Telekinesis in the third week.
Xu Xiao had reached this level in just ten minutes. Besides absorbing the Superpower Crystal by himself, it had even more to do with his experiences.
In the apocalypse Xu Xiao came from, there were people with similar superpowers, and their abilities were even more varied.
They had all kinds of abilities, from flying through the sky and tunneling through the earth to possessing boundless strength and controlling fire and water, though those came from natural mutations.
The world Xu Xiao lived in had suffered a great cataclysm when he was sixteen, and some of the world's living creatures had evolved.
Most of humanity died in that cataclysm, and some of the survivors were fortunate enough to evolve into new humans.
People like Xu Xiao, who had no background, no resources, and not enough luck, eked out an existence in that cruel world.
As the saying went, even if you'd never eaten pork, you'd seen plenty of pigs run. In those times, the powers of ability users were no secret.
Meditation was a method ability users employed to strengthen themselves, and even ordinary people knew about it.
Through meditation after birth and injections of superpower potions developed by new humans, many ordinary people had joined the ranks of ability users themselves.
After going to sleep the previous night, Xu Xiao had actually been silently meditating and controlling his Telekinesis ever since he woke that morning, without stopping for a moment.
He felt enough urgency to drive himself to grow stronger. He couldn't waste a single minute.
Whether in the apocalypse or in this world, he was still far too weak at present.
Having seen so much of the apocalypse's cruelty, he knew that only the strong could control their own destiny.