Healing the Sick and Saving Lives? I'm Just Here to Snatch Resources

Late at night, the shelter's air was thick with the smell of disinfectant and a faint trace of blood.

Lu Chen lay on the rock-hard bed, wide awake.

He had naturally caught the meaningful look in Captain Lin's eyes.

Heh, you want to play?

Then I'll play along.

He rolled over and let his consciousness sink into the system panel.

His father's condition was what concerned him most right now.

"Neural regeneration agent... out of stock?"

Lu Chen's gaze instantly turned cold.

That stuff was the key to treating his father's current post-apocalyptic condition.

Without it, the old man probably wouldn't last much longer.

"Looks like I need a different approach." A wicked smile curled Lu Chen's lips. Rather than snatch it by force, he could... borrow a hen to lay eggs.

Early the next morning, Lu Chen strolled into the medical area.

Sister Chen was run off her feet, several nurses were shuttling stretchers back and forth, and the air was thick with the smell of despair.

"Busy, Sister Chen?" Lu Chen approached her with a smile, his handsome face offering a measure of comfort.

Sister Chen looked up and saw Lu Chen. Her tone was reasonably polite. "Lu Chen, what brings you here? We're very busy. If you need treatment, go register over there first."

Lu Chen waved a hand and pointed at a patient in the corner whose face had been burned beyond recognition. "Sister Chen, I heard someone with pretty serious burns was brought in yesterday. How about I give it a try?"

Sister Chen froze for a moment, then shook her head. "Nonsense! Treating burns takes expertise. What can someone with an awakened flame talent do? Get in the way?"

Lu Chen wasn't angry. He simply gave her a mysterious smile. "Sister Chen, don't forget, fire can save lives when it's used right. And my flames aren't ordinary flames."

With that, Lu Chen walked over to the patient.

The man was wrapped head to toe in bandages, with only his eyes exposed, full of fear.

"Don't be scared, buddy. I'm here to give you a makeover." Lu Chen grinned as a tiny flame sprang to life in his palm.

Sister Chen came over, frowning. "Lu Chen, stop messing around! Heat is the last thing a burn patient needs. Are you trying to make him die faster?"

Lu Chen ignored her and slowly brought the flame toward the wound.

Something miraculous happened!

The seemingly scorching flame didn't burn the wound. Instead, like a deft scalpel, it precisely cauterized the dead tissue, forcing out thin traces of black, bloody grime.

The patient's pained groans gradually stopped, replaced by an unbelievable calm.

Sister Chen's eyes grew wider and wider. She could hardly believe what she was seeing.

This... this is even more precise than the most advanced laser surgery!

"H-how did you do that?" she stammered, her voice full of shock.

Lu Chen smiled mysteriously. "Secret. Sister Chen, my flame control is a family inheritance. So, how's that for results?"

Sister Chen nodded repeatedly. Without stopping to ask more, she hurriedly directed the nurses. "Quick, get sterile gauze and saline! And bring the best burn medicine!"

Over the time that followed, Lu Chen became the star of the medical area.

He used his flames to clean burn patients' wounds and stop the bleeding. His speed and results were simply astounding.

Sister Chen bustled around him, bringing him tea and pouring him water. Her attitude had taken a complete turn.

"Lu Chen, you're a genius! If it weren't for you, these burn patients probably wouldn't have made it through today," she said, her face full of gratitude.

Lu Chen waved a hand and asked, as though in passing, "Sister Chen, you know about my dad's health. It hasn't been good since the apocalypse. I heard there's a medicine called a 'neural regeneration agent' that's especially effective. I was wondering..."

Sister Chen looked troubled at once. "Well... the neural regeneration agent is a controlled medicine. Only the higher-ups can authorize its use. And there isn't much left in stock..."

Lu Chen had expected this all along. He smiled slightly. "Sister Chen, as you know, my flame talent will surely be a great help in the future. How about you help me apply for some? You could consider it... an investment in the future."

Sister Chen hesitated. She looked at Lu Chen's earnest expression, then thought of his miraculous flame control, and finally made up her mind. "All right, I'll try. But don't get your hopes up."

Lu Chen was delighted, though his face betrayed nothing. "Thank you, Sister Chen!"

Just then, Lu Chen noticed that the burn patient lying on the bed was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"What's... what's going on?" A thought occurred to Lu Chen, and he quickly activated [Infinite Replication].

[Target: Li Si]

[Talent: Cell Regeneration (C-rank)]

[Copy?]

"Copy!"

In an instant, a warm current surged into Lu Chen's body, and he felt his cells grow more active.

[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully copied the C-rank talent [Cell Regeneration], which has automatically been upgraded to the SSS-rank talent [Infinite Regeneration]!]

SSS-rank [Infinite Regeneration]! Lu Chen was ecstatic. This was practically a divine skill!

With it, would he ever need to fear getting hurt again?

He didn't let it show, however. Instead, he asked with feigned confusion, "Sister Chen, isn't this man recovering a little too quickly? Could it be... a side effect of my flames?"

Sister Chen took a careful look and found it a little strange too, but she didn't think much of it. She simply smiled and said, "Maybe. Your flames really are amazing. But that's a good thing!"

Lu Chen nodded, laughing to himself. Yes, it's a good thing-a tremendously good thing!

With [Infinite Regeneration], Lu Chen worked even harder to help Sister Chen treat the wounded.

He moved between the beds, cleaning wounds with his flames and using [Infinite Regeneration] to speed up the patients' recovery.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten his main goal-copying talents.

[Target: Wang Wu]

[Talent: Toxin Decomposition (D-rank)]

[Target: Zhao Liu]

[Talent: Mental Soothing (E-rank)]

In just one day, Lu Chen copied more than a dozen support talents, all of which were upgraded to SSS-rank.

[SSS-rank Toxin Immunity], [SSS-rank Mind Control], [SSS-rank Physique Enhancement]...

He felt like a mobile medical station, equipped with all sorts of miraculous abilities.

He would collect as many more talents here as he could, laying a solid foundation for his future "Godslaying Legion."

Night fell, and the shelter lapsed into silence.

Lu Chen quietly left the medical area and headed toward his father's room.

Deep in the quiet night, Lu Chen carried his father out through the base's main gate...

Xiao Lu followed silently behind him.

The night was black as ink. The searchlights around the base were like a few feeble eyes, barely holding back the darkness.

Lu Chen carried his father carefully, his steps light and resolute, as though he held not a sick man, but the hope of the entire world.

Xiao Lu followed close behind, like a startled fawn, her eyes full of worry.

"Did you think I didn't know what you were doing?" A cold shout suddenly came from behind them, breaking the silence.

Captain Lin's voice was like a sharp knife, slicing through the stillness of the night.

Lu Chen stopped and slowly turned around, a disdainful smile curling his lips.

The searchlight fell across his face, leaving one half bright and the other in shadow, giving him a particularly eerie appearance.

"Oh? What do you mean, Captain Lin?" Lu Chen's tone carried a hint of teasing, as though he were joking with an old friend.

Captain Lin stepped out of the shadows, staring sharply at Lu Chen as if trying to see right through him.

"Drop the act. Did you think you could fool me? Stealing the neural regeneration agent and trying to take a patient out of the base without permission-do you take me for a blind man?"

Lu Chen shrugged, looking utterly unconcerned.

"Who still believes in all those rules these days? I just want to save my dad. What's it to you?"

"The base has its rules, and they can't be broken!" Captain Lin's tone was firm, refusing to yield an inch.

Lu Chen's eyes turned cold, and his smile vanished in an instant.

"Rules? The apocalypse is here, and you're still talking to me about rules? I am the rules!" As he spoke, fierce flames erupted all over him, warping the air around him with their heat.

"Go ahead and try to stop me."

Captain Lin's expression changed, clearly cowed by Lu Chen's imposing presence.

He took an involuntary step back, but still forced himself to say, "Y-you... what are you trying to do? I'm telling you, this is the base, not a place where you can run wild!"

Lu Chen didn't answer. He merely smiled contemptuously.

He slowly held his father closer, then took a sudden step forward.

A suffocating pressure filled the air.

His father coughed twice with difficulty. Lu Chen gently patted his back and said softly, "Dad, it's all right. With me here, no one can stop us."

In the distance, a sudden rhythm of marching footsteps drew closer and closer, as though a vast army were charging toward them...