Chapter 56: Coincidence
Yu Lanfeng shook his head when he heard Nan Yu's words, but then nodded.
"It really is quite a coincidence."
What a joke. Marshal Yu was so busy, how could he possibly come to the hospital for no reason? The equipment and personnel here were already top-notch. There was no need for him to personally manage anything.
The only reason he had come here this time was because his sister had set him up.
For some reason, perhaps because of Nan Yu's recent fame, his sister had become restless. Every chance she got, she would whisper into his ear about how wonderful Nan Yu was and how missing out on him would be a regret for life.
When she saw that he had no reaction, she would continue by saying how pitiful Nan Yu was, such an outstanding child, and yet he had ended up engaged to that useless fellow from the Bai family.
Back when the two families had arranged the engagement, the Emperor himself had been the witness. Even if the Bai family wanted to break the engagement, they would have to act according to someone else's wishes.
As for who that "someone else" was, it was obvious.
Her husband.
His brother-in-law had grabbed him more than once and asked him exactly when he planned to make his move.
Yu Lanfeng found it somewhat exhausting.
Make his move? Do what exactly?
Could it be that they really expected him to snatch away someone who already had a marriage contract?
Yu Lanfeng still possessed that much morality.
Besides, the engagement between the Bai and Nan families had been mutually agreed upon. There was nothing wrong with the Emperor serving as a witness.
Speaking of which, that brat from the Bai family truly disappointed people.
Being mediocre was one thing. Not working hard was another. Failing to strive was bad enough, but he even liked fooling around.
Honestly, Bai Zhouyun was still alive only because of him.
Everyone knew that the Bai family had once shown him kindness, so he couldn't allow the Emperor to become a mere tool for repaying that debt.
Thus, Bai Zhouyun had managed to live comfortably until now.
Nan Yu asked, "Marshal, are you here to inspect the hospital?"
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"Mm."
After answering, he felt that the reply was too short and awkward, so he added another sentence.
"I heard you were here, so I came over to have a look."
"I heard your Mental Power has improved again. Congratulations."
Nan Yu nodded.
"Thank you for the praise, Marshal. But my strength is still insufficient. I still need to work hard."
Yu Lanfeng suddenly thought of something.
Once Nan Yu became a High-Tier Mental Power User, the engagement between him and Bai Zhouyun would automatically become invalid.
At that time, if he pursued Nan Yu...
Hm?
Wait.
Yu Lanfeng sighed inwardly.
It seemed he had been poisoned by his sister's words.
How had his thoughts gone in that direction?
Young people like Nan Yu should be left to other young people like Yuan Qiyang.
He was much older. He couldn't continue thinking like this.
Nan Yu looked somewhat eager.
"Marshal, are you busy afterward? If you're free, would you like to come with us and take a look?"
Yu Lanfeng was slightly surprised.
Was Nan Yu inviting him?
Should he say he was busy?
Or not busy?
In reality, he was busy every second of every day.
But right now, he didn't want to leave the hospital.
After all, he had finally managed to hide here. His sister was searching for him everywhere, trying to brainwash him.
"Sure."
Nan Yu's eyes brightened.
"Great, let's go then."
Liu Gan nervously led the way.
Soon, they arrived at Zhang Yun's room.
Because Zhang Yun's condition was special, he occupied a room by himself.
The photographs of Zhang Yun that had once appeared on school posters and forums looked like they belonged to a completely different person compared to the one lying inside.
If Liu Gan hadn't personally said that the person inside was his lover Zhang Yun, no one would have recognized him.
Nan Yu frowned.
"He looks much worse than Zhou Kunyao, but I heard their Mental Contamination levels are about the same. Why is his condition so much more severe?"
Nan Yu wasn't too worried.
No matter how severe the contamination was, it should only be slightly more troublesome than Zhou Kunyao's situation.
He could still handle it.
Liu Gan explained,
"I know about Zhou Kunyao's condition. That child from the Zhou family... the difference lies in the type and level of Ability Beasts they encountered."
"Zhou Kunyao followed some low-character adventure squads to hunt Ability Beasts. Those squads treasure their lives and know their own limits, so they never go to places that would truly get them killed. Therefore, the Ability Beasts Zhou Kunyao encountered were relatively ordinary."
"And the jerky they carried was ordinary too. For Zhou Kunyao, the problem was only the quantity of Mental Contamination."
"But Zhang Yun..."
Nan Yu understood immediately.
Zhang Yun had encountered extremely powerful Ability Beasts while carrying out missions on the battlefield.
And the meat jerky supplied by the legion all came from battlefield kills.
Thus, after Ability Users consumed jerky made from those beasts, the contamination they absorbed naturally became stronger.
It wasn't just a matter of quantity.
There was also a difference in quality and level.
"So that's how it is..."
Nan Yu murmured.
"It seems today's task won't be easy."
Liu Gan was still worried.
"Nan Yu, go inside and take a look first. If you're not confident, don't force yourself. I don't want anything to happen to you because of this."
"As for Zhang Yun... I'll think of another way."
Actually, Yu Lanfeng could help Zhang Yun contact a High-Tier Mental Power User.
His military achievements, status, and authority were all sufficient.
But he was only one person, and his power was limited.
Once he opened this precedent, there would be endless trouble.
Often, those in the highest positions were the ones least able to break the rules.
Nan Yu smiled.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. If it's really too difficult, I'll say so honestly."
"Big Brother, Second Brother, stay outside this time."
"With Marshal Yu here, is someone really going to rush in and attack me? Relax."
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen didn't insist on following.
"In that case, go ahead."
This room had no surveillance devices or eavesdropping equipment.
This was a hospital under Yu Lanfeng's legion.
Anyone daring to install such things would immediately be expelled from the legion.
Nan Yu entered the room and shut the door.
Then he drew the curtain over the transparent window, completely blocking the view from outside.
Only after confirming that nobody could see him did he slowly walk to Zhang Yun's bedside.
The bed stood in the middle of the room.
Various life-support machines and nutrient devices surrounded it.
Thick restraints bound Zhang Yun firmly to the bed.
They were there to prevent him from suddenly hurting others.
After all, Ability Users who had passed the examination and entered Yu Lanfeng's legion were no ordinary people.
Their combat abilities were frightening.
Nan Yu took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Placing his hands on either side of Zhang Yun's head, he slowly sent his Mental Power into Zhang Yun's Mental Sea.
The moment he reached the edge, he encountered resistance.
Compared with Zhou Kunyao, the resistance was enormous.
If another Mid-Tier Mental Power User had come, simply determining the degree of contamination would have been extremely difficult.
Fortunately, it was Nan Yu.
This amount of resistance wasn't a problem.
But from this unpleasant beginning, he realized that Zhang Yun's condition was probably even worse than Liu Gan had described.
He had stayed at one of Yu Lanfeng's smaller military bases °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° before.
There, there had been contamination reaching A-rank and even approaching S-rank.
Yet none of them had produced such strong resistance during inspection.
His Mental Power smoothly invaded Zhang Yun's Mental Sea.
Nan Yu closed his eyes and carefully felt the information returning through his Mental Power.
Terrible.
Absolutely terrible.
His condition was hanging by a thread.
If Zhou Kunyao's case had been dangerous, then Zhang Yun's was life-or-death.
To be honest, if Zhang Yun had eaten even one more bite of Ability Beast meat, he would have been finished.
He was now balanced exactly on that line.
After inspecting him, Nan Yu withdrew his Mental Power and inhaled deeply.
Frowning slightly, he stared at Zhang Yun.
This was a huge problem.
Could he restore him?
Yes.
But for the current him, it would indeed be somewhat difficult.
Because—
Nan Yu stopped thinking and simply sat down in the corner, leaning against the wall.
He began calculating his chances of success.
It wasn't that he had no confidence.
Nor was he completely confident.
If he had already become a High-Tier Mental Power User, treating someone like Zhang Yun would be easy.
But the problem was that he wasn't one yet.
Should he wait until after becoming a High-Tier Mental Power User?
No!
That would be too late.
Besides helping these people and drawing them to his side, he also needed to display his value as quickly as possible.
Nan Yu slowly stood and walked back to the bedside.
He decided to act immediately.
When he said he wasn't one hundred percent certain, he meant treating Zhang Yun the same way he had treated Zhou Kunyao.
Now he simply needed another method.
It would still work.
Zhang Yun's Mental Sea contained an enormous amount of contamination, and the concentration was terrifying.
It had been raging wildly inside all this time.
That was why his appearance had deteriorated so badly.
The contamination inside Zhou Kunyao had been relatively obedient.
He couldn't increase the burden on Zhou Kunyao's Mental Sea, so he had first wrapped it with his own Mental Power before operating.
But Zhang Yun's case was different.
The contamination had been running rampant all this time.
If his Mental Sea was going to collapse, it would've already done so.
Therefore, Nan Yu only needed to catch and remove the contamination.
The difficult part was precisely that.
The contamination inside Zhang Yun's Mental Sea had become accustomed to raging freely and was very difficult to catch.
There were only two methods.
The first was weaving one's Mental Power into a giant net and capturing all the contamination inside the Mental Sea in one go.
But that would create too much disturbance and place a heavy burden on Zhang Yun.
Only High-Tier Mental Power Users—and the current Nan Yu, barely—could do this.
But Nan Yu couldn't use that method.
Thus, he chose the second approach.
He shaped his Mental Power into an arrow and continuously hunted the contamination within Zhang Yun's Mental Sea.
This demanded extremely high standards.
First, one had to maintain that level of Mental Power output for a long period.
Second, if the Mental Power lacked sufficient purity, it couldn't even be shaped into a weapon, let alone controlled freely.
Fortunately, Nan Yu met both requirements.
He could do it.
He immediately began.
Without informing anyone outside, Nan Yu directly started removing the contamination from Zhang Yun's Mental Sea.
Everything went smoothly at first.
But no matter how vast and pure his Mental Power was, fatigue eventually accumulated.
When he began to feel tired, he stopped.
Retracting his Mental Power, he sat on the floor and rested while catching his breath.
He took out the Nianshen Grass from his spatial button and began restoring his nearly exhausted Mental Power.
After feeding a portion of his Mental Power into the Nianshen Grass, the plant absorbed part of it and returned something even purer.
Thus, with the help of the Nianshen Grass, Nan Yu slowly recovered and strengthened himself.
Step by step.
It would definitely work.
Checking the time, he discovered that more than an hour had passed since he entered.
Everyone outside probably knew what he was doing.
And after an entire hour, that busy Marshal should've left already, right?
But in reality—
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen stood side by side in a corner.
Liu Gan stood beside them.
The three stood perfectly straight.
Not because they wanted to.
It was because Marshal Yu was still here!
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen were surprised, but they didn't think much about it.
After all, they weren't members of Yu Lanfeng's legion.
But Liu Gan, who was already in the legion, was utterly shocked.
Their Marshal had stood there for an entire hour.
Doing absolutely nothing.
Just waiting.
Waiting...
Hm?
Waiting for whom?
Wait.
Could it be?
Did the Marshal...
Liu Gan suddenly had a thought.
Was he waiting for the result?
If Nan Yu succeeded, then this would be an extraordinary genius.
And if he failed...
Then he would have simply wasted an hour waiting?
No.
Something still felt wrong.
Liu Gan felt he had overlooked something.
He briefly thought about romance, but immediately rejected it.
He knew the Marshal's character.
No matter how useless Bai Zhouyun was, as long as Nan Yu still had an engagement, their Marshal would never make a move.
Liu Gan firmly believed this and discarded the possibility without hesitation.
As for Yu Lanfeng himself—
He didn't even know why he had remained here so long.
Under normal circumstances, he would've left long ago.
He truly was busy.
Originally, he had hidden here to avoid his sister.
After arriving, he could've simply called his private hovercraft and left.
His sister wouldn't have been able to catch him.
But just as he was about to summon the hovercraft, he happened to see Nan Yu.
For some reason, he decided to stay.
And perhaps that was for the best.
Previously, his subordinates had reported things about Nan Yu.
This was a perfect opportunity to see exactly how far he had developed.
He had already used his authority to access Zhang Yun's medical records.
If Nan Yu succeeded—
Then even though he wasn't a High-Tier Mental Power User yet, he already possessed strength approaching one.
No matter what, he absolutely had to recruit him into his legion.
And he would need to offer treatment generous enough to retain such a genius.
Only now did Yu Lanfeng begin to understand a little of his sister's thoughts.
Such an outstanding Nan Yu—
Bai Zhouyun truly wasn't worthy of him.
Time slowly passed.
Nan Yun, Nan Zhen, and Liu Gan maintained flawless military postures outside.
Yu Lanfeng still showed no signs of leaving.
Inside, unaware of everything, Nan Yu concentrated on removing contamination.
Each session lasted one hour.
He would then rest twenty minutes to rapidly restore his Mental Power.
This emergency method couldn't be used more than three times in a short period, otherwise it would damage his Mental Power.
After exhausting all three opportunities, Nan Yu collapsed against the wall.
"So tired... so tired..."
Still, the results were encouraging.
The machines connected to Zhang Yun had already detected changes.
His status had changed from critically dangerous to merely dangerous.
Previously, he had been on the verge of death.
Now he was seriously injured, but treatable.
Although the contamination level remained A-rank, it was no longer infinitely close to S-rank.
A considerable gap now existed.
This was the fruit of several hours of work.
After resting for ten minutes, Nan Yu walked to the door and opened it while stretching lazily.
"Big Brother—"
Before he could finish speaking, he froze.
Not only were his two brothers and Liu Gan present.
Yu Lanfeng was still here!
Hm?
How was that possible?
Several hours had passed, and the Marshal still hadn't left?
Had he suddenly become free?
But that wasn't the main issue.
The truly shocking thing was the crowd.
Doctors and nurses in white coats packed the hallway.
They all belonged to the hospital.
Because of Yu Lanfeng's overwhelming presence, none of them dared approach.
They only gathered from a distance around the room.
"What happened?"
Nan Yun explained,
"Little Brother, the doctors said every patient's monitoring equipment is connected to the hospital's main system."
"When the numbers changed here, they all came to check."
"But because the Marshal is here, nobody dares to act recklessly."