Chapter 208: Disclaimer
“I’m not talking nonsense!”
Xiaoman put one hand on her hip. “This patient’s bones are completely shattered, meridians severed, internal organs ruptured and bleeding, muscle tissue in the left arm dissolved, and there’s a penetrating wound through the abdomen. Her whole body temperature is so low she feels like a corpse, yet her brain is burning up with a fever far beyond normal levels. By all logic, she should be completely, utterly dead!”
Wow.
Even Xu Zhi herself was a little shocked by that description — She’s actually still alive?
Qi Yanxin didn’t understand all the medical details, but she could tell it sounded serious. Her face grew more worried, while the doctor, Dr. Zhuang, stared at Xu Zhi as though looking at a creature that shouldn’t exist.
“How are you still alive?” he asked, incredulous.
Xu Zhi sighed helplessly. “Doctor, I’d really like to know that too.”
In truth, she genuinely didn’t know how she’d survived. Her self-healing ability had stopped working, her body contained no trace of transcendent energy, and yet somehow… something was still keeping her alive.
Dr. Zhuang frowned, pacing in place. “Are you a transcendent?”
If she were an augmented human, Xiaoman would’ve sensed it already. Since she hadn’t said anything, that probably meant Xu Zhi wasn’t one. But even for a transcendent, this kind of vitality was downright terrifying.
“But I don’t sense any transcendent energy in her,” Xiaoman said, confusion clear in her voice. She had wondered the same thing — maybe Xu Zhi had a survival-related ability? But no, she could feel no flow of transcendent energy inside the patient’s body.
“Not a transcendent? That’s impossible!”
Dr. Zhuang’s expression turned uneasy. If she were just an ordinary human and had still survived such injuries, then he might have stumbled into something extremely dangerous. Maybe he should pack up and run tonight.
“I don’t remember. Maybe I used to be?” Xu Zhi said, looking dazed.
“Trouble. Big trouble!” Dr. Zhuang muttered as he paced in circles, visibly anxious.
Transcendent or not, either way — she was trouble.
If she was a transcendent, then what was she doing in the slums? No transcendent lived here; she must’ve come from outside — and someone like that was bound to bring danger.
If she wasn’t a transcendent, that was even worse. For a modified human to have such terrifying vitality, someone must have done something to her — and whoever could achieve that level of biological manipulation definitely wasn’t ordinary. That meant there was a powerful organization behind her.
But still…
Dr. Zhuang’s eyes flickered with curiosity. He was tempted. So curious. What kind of injury could do this? What kind of method could keep her alive? He had never encountered such a patient before. Healing her might be difficult, but it would also be the most fascinating challenge he’d ever faced — even more interesting than that one case years ago!
Seeing his conflicted expression, Xiaoman frowned. “Wait, are you scared?”
“What? Scared? What are you babbling about!” Dr. Zhuang snapped, glaring at her.
“We’re illegal practitioners anyway,” Xiaoman said casually. “If things get bad, we can always run, can’t we?”
Her tone was light and easy, and that seemed to calm him down immediately. “You’re right.”
If things went south, they’d just run. Stable workplaces were hard to find, sure — but cases this bizarre and rare were once-in-a-lifetime!
Lying on the table, Xu Zhi’s forehead throbbed. What the hell? Is everyone in this world this unreasonable?
“Don’t worry,” Dr. Zhuang said, “I’ll do my best to treat your sister. But her condition isn’t simple… so the treatment fee…”
He didn’t look sleazy at first — in fact, he had a bit of a reliable middle-aged-doctor vibe — but as he rubbed his hands together and made a money-counting gesture, something about his look and tone suddenly turned very sleazy indeed.
Qi Yanxin hurriedly pulled all the money she had from her bag. “Doctor, is this enough?”
Dr. Zhuang frowned slightly. “It’ll cover the first course of treatment, but given her state… she’ll probably need several.”
Qi Yanxin’s face turned anxious. “Doctor, I’ll find a way to get more. Please, just start treating her first!”
“Of course, of course,” he said, taking the money — then added seriously, “but I have to make one thing clear first.”
“I can’t guarantee a full recovery. The treatment might involve some experimental procedures. If something goes wrong, you can’t blame me.”
A very obvious disclaimer.
“This…” Qi Yanxin hesitated.
Xu Zhi, however, spoke up first. “We agree, doctor. Please start as soon as possible.”
The clinic’s rules might be sloppy, but that sloppiness was exactly what protected her. If this place followed proper medical procedure, her case would attract far too much attention.
As for those so-called experimental methods he might use during treatment…
Once she recovered even a little, she wouldn’t be as helpless as she was now. Then, things wouldn’t be entirely on his terms anymore.
Assuming, of course, that this doctor actually could help.
Having taken the money and secured his legal protection, Dr. Zhuang immediately became more enthusiastic. “Let’s start by testing your transcendent potential — see if you’re really a transcendent or not.”
“Xiaoman, print out her condition for me.”
Treatment plans for ordinary people and transcendent ones were very different, and he still didn’t fully understand the extent of her injuries. Xiaoman’s scan would make that clear.
Her ability was essentially an upgraded form of X-ray vision — able to detect every physical injury and even print out the results.
Its only limitation was that it couldn’t detect injuries caused by transcendent powers. Maybe she’d gain that ability once she advanced further. After all, when she first awakened, she could barely detect surface wounds.
While waiting for Xiaoman to “print” the results, Dr. Zhuang went into another room to rummage around and soon came back holding a vial of strangely colored liquid.
If Xu Zhi had to describe it, it would be… iridescent white?
“Let’s start by testing your transcendent affinity,” Dr. Zhuang said as he approached her. He shook the vial, pulled out a small tray from beside the table, poured a drop of the reagent into a petri dish, and looked at her. “I need a drop of your blood.”
What kind of weird test is this?
Maybe noticing her doubt, Dr. Zhuang explained, “This reagent is designed to test transcendent affinity — and determine which attribute you’re most attuned to.”
“When it comes into contact with any biological blood, it fuses with it and releases a strong attraction to the transcendent energy in the air. The stronger the affinity, the stronger that pull.”
“Afterward, the fusion will change color, corresponding to your strongest attribute.”
“But if you’re not a transcendent, just an ordinary person, it won’t react at all.”
Xu Zhi gazed curiously at the reagent — it was indeed fascinating. Back in the Federation, identifying someone’s transcendent type required the use of another transcendent’s ability; there was no such convenient testing fluid.
She couldn’t help wondering now — which of her affinities was stronger?
[Moth], or [Lamp]?
