Chapter 229: On Both Sides of the Balance 10
“Is there really no danger?” Kui Xin asked.
Yu Hansue snapped back to reality from her memories and forced a smile, saying, “To say there’s absolutely no danger would be a lie. No one can claim to be 100% safe. The situation I’m facing right now is relatively safe. And…” She lowered her voice, “I’ve become Awakened; I can protect myself now. The injuries on my body aren’t a big deal; it’s just the amputated part that’s a bit troublesome… If it weren’t for the fear of being discovered by my aunt and uncle, I could be discharged from the hospital right now.”
“Then what about going to university to study clinical medicine in the future?” Kui Xin asked.
“I can change my major,” Yu Hansue replied. “There are always more solutions than difficulties. I won’t give up on my life.”
“You have plans and goals, so I’m relieved,” Kui Xin said, looking at her. “Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Isn’t that something I should say to you?” Yu Hansue looked at her strangely. “You’ve been working harder than I have. Setting aside this game, you’ve always pushed yourself more in life, with clearer goals and plans than I do.”
Kui Xin pushed herself because she had no support, no parents to care for her, and no guidance on what to do. Yu Hansue, at least, had parents to rely on. Children with parents and those without are completely different.
But now, Yu Hansue no longer had parents… her safe harbor had vanished.
“Aren’t you going to ask me what my Extraordinary Abilities are?” Yu Hansue said. “This is superpower! The kind we fantasized about every day in our middle school days.”
Kui Xin smiled a little and followed her lead, asking, “What is your Extraordinary Ability?”
Yu Hansue glanced at the hospital room door, which was already closed. The door had a glass observation window, which was only partially covered by a curtain. Kui Xin immediately understood and walked over to tightly pull the curtain shut.
Yu Hansue raised her arm, tore off the bandage, and revealed the burn-scarred skin as she said, “Watch closely, Xin Xin.”
Suddenly, a miraculous change occurred within her body.
The terrifying and twisted wounds healed at a visible speed, cells divided, scabs formed on the surface of the wounds, the color of blood clots deepened, then they fell off, revealing new, pinkish skin and patchy scar tissue underneath. Gradually, the pink skin returned to a normal color, and the raised scars flattened…
In just ten seconds, Yu Hansue completed the entire process of healing, scabbing, and scar recovery, as if time had accelerated!
As long as she wanted, she could instantly return to a healthy state. Currently, she lay in the hospital for the reason she mentioned, fearing that others might discover something abnormal.
“I adjusted my body’s time to two weeks later. Two weeks from now, my wounds will have completely healed. An Awakened’s recovery speed far exceeds that of ordinary people; it’s almost inhuman,” Yu Hansue moved her uninjured arm, but her right hand, missing fingers, did not regenerate. “Unfortunately, regrowing lost limbs requires at least an S Rank Awakened. I need to enhance my cellular activity before that can happen. After all, abilities like the Heterogeneous Blooded… Maybe one day in the future, I can regrow new fingers like a gecko.”
Kui Xin was in awe. “So you just healed your body… What if the nurse sees…”
“Don’t worry,” Yu Hansue said.
As soon as she spoke those words, her body underwent another change.
Time reversed, and her previously healed arm suddenly displayed uneven scars, resurfacing blood clots. The clots disappeared, and the unhealed, oozing burn wounds reappeared on her arm.
This scene was like a camera being rewound, radiating strong discord and strangeness.
Yu Hansue manipulated the hands of the clock and the gears of time, becoming the master of time. She could accelerate time; time would speed up. She could make time reverse; time would rewind.
Yu Hansue rewrapped the bandage around her arm and said softly, “This is my ability, so don’t worry about me. I’m quite formidable. Even if I encounter danger, I won’t die.”
“Everything has a price. Do you remember that saying?” Kui Xin said. “The stronger the ability, the greater the side effects. What price does your ability require?”
“I certainly remember; it left a strong impression,” Yu Hansue said. “But right now, there’s no price I can’t bear.”
It wasn’t that she could truly bear those costs… she simply didn’t care what the price was. Kui Xin sensitively picked up on this issue.
Yu Hansue’s nonchalant words were the biggest problem; her mentality had changed drastically compared to before, as had her personality and how she handled things.
“Xin Xin, what about you?” Yu Hansue scrutinized her closely. “Are you facing difficulties in the Second World? Tell me.”
“I was originally in danger, but the situation has improved a lot… I’ve become an undocumented resident,” Kui Xin said. “In the federal government files, I am recorded as deceased.”
“That’s good…” Yu Hansue lowered her head, considering for a moment. “It seems our situations are quite similar. In the cracks between crises, we both have some temporary respite. I can’t tell you too much; it wouldn’t benefit you. You don’t need to tell me too much either… If you get captured or I get captured, and the Federation interrogates us, our identities might be exposed.”
Yu Hansue frowned in distress. “Really, I shouldn’t showcase my abilities to you either, but if I don’t say anything, you’d worry, right? Anyway, what I mean by telling you this is to hide well and not worry about me. I have the ability to protect myself, so don’t come looking for me… I won’t seek you out either unless… unless I’m completely out of danger, then I’ll go find you.”
Kui Xin thought for a moment and asked, “Do you have the opportunity to contact anyone outside? Do you have a private residence?”
“No, work is really busy; I live in the Employee Dormitory and don’t go out much,” Yu Hansue replied. “Do you want to contact me in the Second World? Don’t think about it. I’m in the Federal Administrative Center, where the surveillance is terrifyingly strict.”
“Alright,” Kui Xin said. “I won’t look for you or contact you for now unless you’re completely safe.”
Yu Hansue nodded and smiled.
She pondered for a few seconds before saying, “I’ve always thought that a person like you, no matter whether in our world or in that world, would achieve great things. You work so hard; who knows, you might become a leader in some field here. Even in the Second World, you won’t be far behind; you’re a determined person. When faced with difficulties, you rarely hesitate but quickly choose a path forward. I know.”
“You have too much confidence in me,” Kui Xin couldn’t help but say.
“I have always had great confidence in you,” Yu Hansue said.
Kui Xin sighed and glanced at her phone to check the time.
“Are you in a hurry to handle something?” Yu Hansue asked keenly.
“I need to get my medical records and submit my application for a leave of absence,” Kui Xin replied. “I don’t have much energy left.”
“Yeah, I wanted to advise you to do the same. It’s important to adjust your state. Stress can lead to problems. But… what about the medical records?” Yu Hansue whispered, “You can do fakes online…”
Kui Xin reassured her, “Don’t worry, there are plenty of ways; this is just a minor issue.”
Yu Hansue’s phone and SIM card had been destroyed in a fire, so she couldn’t go to the service center to replace them herself. She was now using a new SIM card provided by a relative. Recently, Kui Xin had been busy dealing with the Dark Realm’s arrival and only found time this week to check on Yu Hansue’s situation. Kui Xin noted her new contact information for timely communication.
She walked to the hospital room door and waved to Yu Hansue.
Yu Hansue also waved to Kui Xin, watching her leave.
…
After Kui Xin left, Yu Hansue lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling, falling silent once more.
Yu Hansue’s aunt and uncle were busy with work, so when they couldn’t look after her in the hospital, they would hire temporary caregivers. Yu Hansue didn’t need a caregiver, but she had to stay in the hospital obediently for the sake of disguise.
Yu Hansue picked up the phone that was on her bedside, skillfully typed in the URL, logged into the Crimson Soil player forum, switched to the backend, and saw a new message in her private messages, written in English.
“I’ve got the goods you wanted, a high-level Heterogeneous Blooded. He has consumed a large amount of Divine Blood in the Second World, and his ability has been boosted to B rank. Are you satisfied with this level?”
Yu Hansue replied, “Can you find a higher rank?”
“Are you making it hard for me? Are you not satisfied with this level?” the other party replied bluntly, “Even if I can find one, it would be difficult to control him to cross the ocean to hand over the goods to you. This B rank is already too high for my liking; because he has consumed so much Divine Blood in a short time, his body is soon going to mutate, and at most a week later, he’ll experience a noticeable transformation and then decay and die on his own.”
Yu Hansue paused her fingers on the screen for a moment. “Then he will do. How long until he gets to me?”
“Three days.”
“Too long.”
“Travel also takes time, my friend.”
Yu Hansue pondered and said, “Alright, expedite it.”
“You’re quite anxious,” the other party replied mockingly. “Did your body suffer some tremendous injury? You’re so eager to gain flesh and blood regeneration.”
Yu Hansue glared coldly at her phone screen. “Mind your own business.”
“Alright, see you in three days,” the other party finally said. “Don’t forget our agreement, Remover 9908.”
“I will uphold my end of the agreement. I hope you can do the same, Remover 777,” Yu Hansue typed the last letter.
The other party responded, “Please call me Augus.”
Yu Hansue directly shut off her phone, ignoring the final message.
Remover 777, Augus, had entry conditions for his personal section “Seven” that required members to be Removers.
Yu Hansue was a Remover. After much contemplation and thinking, she joined this section and began communicating with Augus. They were mutually using each other; Augus wanted some objectives from Yu Hansue, and Yu Hansue also wanted to reach some advantageous agreements with Augus.
In a win-win situation, everyone is happy.
Yu Hansue surmised that Remover 777 was not merely here to deliver a package; he wanted to do something more significant.
What he wanted to do didn’t concern Yu Hansue; whether Augus was coveting this or that, she didn’t care. She wanted to seize the short-lived period of stability to obtain powerful strength to protect herself. An A Rank Wheel of Time was not enough, far from sufficient. To ensure her survival, she needed to acquire more.
Yu Hansue silently browsed through posts for a while when a new message popped up on her phone.
Kui Xin: “The matter is settled, I’m back at school.”
Yu Hansue’s expression brightened instantly, smiling as she replied, “Good, the leave of absence went smoothly!”
