Chapter 120: He Was Eager for Shen Lu’s Praise
The older officer nodded. "It’s not safe around here. You shouldn’t hang around."
Shen Lu replied obediently, "I’m leaving right now."
With that, she held out her hand to the older officer.
"The child is already dead," the older officer said. "You don’t need to bother finding medicine for her anymore."
Shen Lu played along, looking shocked. "How can that be? She was still breathing when I found her..."
"Nowadays, people either don’t get sick, or when they do, their condition worsens rapidly. You don’t have to feel guilty."
"Alright..." Shen Lu sighed. "Can I have her body? I want to lay her to rest."
According to the rules here, bodies were taken away to be used as fertilizer, unless someone was willing to bury them.
It was just a little girl’s body, completely unrelated to the culprit who bombed the pharmaceutical company. After some consideration, the older officer returned Zeng Xiaodao to Shen Lu.
Shen Lu took the child, turned around, and walked out of the corporate park.
The younger officer’s brow remained tightly furrowed. His gut told him something was off about the young woman.
Yet he’d checked her over himself and found nothing out of place.
’Am I just being too sensitive?’
Shen Lu didn’t dare to stop after leaving the corporate park. She hailed a cab back to the Lower City District.
Once she was far away from the pharmaceutical company, Shen Lu could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
She carefully lifted the cloth covering Zeng Xiaodao’s face. The boy’s eyes were shut tight and his lips were pale; he looked as if he were dead.
Shen Lu couldn’t help but ask the System, "He isn’t really dead, is he?"
[Host, please rest assured. Once the nano-freezer is turned off, Zeng Xiaodao will return to his previous condition.]
Since she was traveling from the Upper City District to the Lower City District, Shen Lu had to pay an additional 100 Star Coins for the crossing fee. As she stepped out of the vehicle and saw her little shop, a sense of belonging washed over her.
’What a packed day. It felt like three days rolled into one.’
Right now, all she wanted was to take a good shower and get a long sleep.
The shop was already closed for the day. Shen Lu unlocked the door with a facial scan and carried Zeng Xiaodao up to the second floor.
She placed him on the sofa first, then went to take a shower, washing away her exhaustion.
When she came out of the bathroom and saw Zeng Xiaodao, Shen Lu tapped her forehead in frustration.
’My little clinic can only treat minor ailments and stabilize patients. It definitely can’t handle Zeng Xiaodao’s injuries, which means he needs a real hospital.’
’But by now, the hospitals in both the Upper and Lower City Districts must have an alert out for him. Even if the people from the pharmaceutical company don’t know what Zeng Xiaodao looks like, they can probably guess the severity of his injuries.’
’Taking Zeng Xiaodao to a hospital now would be the same as sending him to his death. If that’s the case, why did I go through all the trouble to rescue him?’
Unable to come up with a solution, Shen Lu stopped worrying about it. She’d sleep on it. The nano-freezer had a 12-hour duration, so it wouldn’t wear off until ten o’clock the next morning. There was no reason to lose sleep over it.
In the spare bedroom, Fu Cheng had been waiting for Shen Lu to come see him ever since she returned. He waited and waited, but it seemed she had no intention of visiting. After her shower, she just went to sleep.
Fu Cheng: ...
’Well, she’s probably just exhausted after a long day.’
’But what was she doing bringing back the body of a little girl?’
’She seemed really troubled by it, too.’
’I wonder if she was treated poorly at the Shen Family’s birthday banquet today.’
Fu Cheng had a stomachful of questions for her. His lips parted, but all that came out of his throat was an unintelligible, breathy sound.
His vocal cords could vibrate now, no longer like a rigid steel plate, incapable of producing any sound.
’In a little while longer, I should be able to say some simple words.’
His left hand had also grown stronger from the daily exercises he’d been doing.
’It still isn’t stable enough, but with a bit more training,’ Fu Cheng reckoned, ’I’ll be able to feed myself.’
’I can go from a completely helpless, useless person to a useless person who can feed himself.’
’Still useless either way, but that’s progress, isn’t it?’
’Will Shen Lu praise me?’
He thought she would.
His heart hammered twice in his chest.
He greatly looked forward to Shen Lu’s praise.
...
After sending Bai Wanwan a message to say she was home safe, Shen Lu went to sleep. On the other end, Bai Wanwan read the message with a complicated expression.
"’How can she possibly be asleep?’ Wanwan griped to her younger brother. ’Does she have no idea how much trouble she stirred up today?’"
Bai Lei was scrolling through a news feed when he happened upon the story of the pharmaceutical company being attacked by terrorists. He responded to Bai Wanwan with a couple of noncommittal grunts.
"’Just means she has nerves of steel.’"
Wanwan closed her chat with Shen Lu and turned to her brother with the same question for what felt like the thirty-ninth time. "So what do you think happened with Shen Lan and Mrs. Shen? A sudden illness, really?"
Bai Lei enlarged the video, studying the bombed-out shell of the pharmaceutical company building. "What else could it be? It’s not like they were possessed, is it? Come on, we don’t believe in ghosts anymore."
With the high advancement of mechanical civilization, things like ghosts, gods, and religion had naturally faded away. Aside from some elderly people who still sought spiritual comfort from the heavens, the younger generation born in this new age no longer believed in any of it.
Wanwan pouted. "Then I guess we can only explain it as a sudden mental breakdown."
After a moment, she added, "But everyone knows that’s just an excuse to paper over the cracks. The reputations of Shen Lan and her mother are completely ruined."
"You seem pretty happy about that."
"Of course. I can’t stand a two-faced, manipulative bitch like Shen Lan."
"And here I thought you were standing up for Shen Lu."
"’Does she look like she needs me to stick up for her?’ Wanwan’s voice rose dramatically. ’Just look at her! She has that whole vibe of ’I’ve got this, so everyone else just step aside and don’t get in my way.’’"
Bai Lei smiled without a word. That was his sister for you, always saying one thing and meaning another.
"’But,’ Wanwan paused, ’it’s good that she’s like that. At least it means the average person can’t push her around.’"
"’Really?’ Bai Lei’s smile faded. ’That’s only because they haven’t discovered Shen Lu’s true value. If those ruthless elites find out her food has a special effect on the Spiritual Sea, just think what will happen to her.’"
"What about Xue Can? Aren’t they partners?"
"You’re talking about camaraderie with a mercenary? The only thing that’s eternal is self-interest, my naive sister."
"It’s fine. Our Bai Family can protect her, too," Wanwan said, ever the optimist.
Bai Lei sighed softly as he looked at his sister, not wanting to crush her optimism.
’The Bai Family isn’t one of the top families in the Imperial City. Unless Shen Lu was willing to let them hide her away from the world, they would be helpless to do anything but watch if a more powerful family decided to make a move.’
’Maybe... I should tell Father about this?’
Bai Lei seriously contemplated the idea.
No one knew her brother better than his own sister. The moment Bai Lei started to consider it, Wanwan poked him on the forehead.
"Don’t you dare tell Dad."
"It’s the best option."
"We’re not children anymore. Stop running to Dad to solve all our problems. Even if we do tell him, it has to be after we’ve figured out the secret behind Shen Lu’s food."