Accident and Tree

Although Lu Shu didn't know why he hadn't died, or why he didn't feel any pain, the blood on his body was real, as was the warmth he felt, and the mark of the tree sapling in his palm.

Whatever had happened, Lu Shu wasn't entirely sure, but the signs seemed to indicate that he was indeed different from ordinary people.

In his current state of mind, part of him was experiencing palpitations after the accident. After all, being hit by such a large truck would frighten anyone.

Another part of him felt a small sense of excitement deep inside. Adolescents always hoped to be different from others, and if every teenager faced a choice at the age of seventeen about whether they could possess incredible abilities, between yes and no, probably 90% of them would choose yes.

Yet another part of him was... regardless of whether he was hurt or not, he was walking on the pedestrian sidewalk, there were no traffic lights here, and it was wrong for the other party to hit him.

He had just come out to buy instant noodles for Lu Xiaoyu, and he was hit by a large truck. Where could he go to reason?

Wouldn't it be acceptable to make a fraudulent claim? Besides, it didn't even qualify as a fraudulent claim; he had been genuinely hit.

But there was one problem... could his injuries be verified? After that surge of warmth, his entire body was completely normal. Lu Shu was certain of that.

So if he went to the hospital and the other party found that he was unharmed, would the compensation still proceed?

And then there was the memory of the acrobat being taken away during the day. If he went to the hospital and nothing was found wrong after the accident, but his body's abnormality was discovered, would he be taken away too?

At this moment, Lu Shu was a little worried about what would happen if he was taken away, and also a little worried about what would happen to Lu Xiaoyu if he was left alone.

If Lu Shu hadn't seen everything that happened behind the scenes of the acrobatics performance earlier in the day, he might have boldly gone to the hospital for a check-up. But he did see.

Clearly, he could have made a huge insurance claim right now and then used the money to reach the peak of his life, but Lu Shu hesitated.

Since the normal claims process wouldn't work, he had to go through an abnormal process...

"You're in trouble!" Lu Shu slowly climbed up from the ground.

When the driver saw Lu Shu rise from the ground covered in blood, he was shocked. How could he still get up! At that moment, he wanted to run. This scene was too bizarre!

"Public or private..." Lu Shu was about to say, but the driver yelled "ghost" and ran off without saying another word, leaving the car behind.

Lu Shu stood silently in place...

"I can't believe it..." he wiped the blood off his face and looked at the fleeing figure of the driver, realizing that there was nowhere he could claim compensation now.

Lu Shu turned and walked away. It was simply too scary to witness what happened to the acrobat during the day. Who knew if the other party would appear here soon?

He had originally planned to go straight home, but after some thought, he continued walking towards the supermarket. This area only had Zhang Donglai Supermarket open on the evening of the third day of the lunar New Year.

"Boss, a pack of braised beef noodles," Lu Shu handed over a five-dollar bill, his face covered in blood. The middle-aged boss of the supermarket, Zhang Donglai, looked at Lu Shu with suspicion.

Lu Shu grabbed two packs of braised beef noodles from the shelf and left. He knew his appearance was too scary.

The snow was still falling. When the snowflakes fell past the dim streetlights, this scene resembled a familiar movie scene.

Lu Shu walked on the thin layer of snow, leaving behind a long string of footprints. The white snow against the black ground, the dim light against the deep darkness of the sky, it was abrupt yet harmonious.

Suddenly, he looked back at everything he had just passed, as if something in his life had started to change.

...

"Lu Shu! What happened to you!" When Lu Shu opened the door of his house, Lu Xiaoyu asked in panic.

His appearance was too conspicuous with all the blood, and Lu Shu had encountered two pedestrians on the road just now, who were also frightened and kept their distance.

"It's nothing, I was hit by a car, but I'm not injured," Lu Shu explained.

Lu Xiaoyu looked at Lu Shu as if she was looking at a fool. How could he say he wasn't injured with all that blood?! "So you killed the car, right?! It bled so much?!"

Lu Shu's face turned black. "What do you mean I killed the car? Can't you talk properly! I'm going to take a shower, you cook instant noodles for yourself... and make me a bowl too!"

He didn't bother explaining anything to Lu Xiaoyu anymore because he knew this matter couldn't be explained.

As hot water washed over his body, Lu Shu stood in the shower and examined himself. The steam fogged up the mirror in the bathroom.

"Nothing seems different," Lu Shu muttered to himself. His body still looked the same as before, at least from the outside.

If it weren't for the tree sapling mark that appeared in his palm, he would have thought that what had just happened was just a daydream.

Lu Shu stared at the pale tree sapling imprint in his palm, and suddenly a menu appeared in his mind: Main Menu.

Below the main menu were two options: Shopping Mall, Lottery Center, Income Record.

Lu Shu clicked on the shopping mall in his mind and glanced at the list. Only one item was highlighted, and everything else was grayed out, making it impossible to see what they were.

And this one purchasable item was somewhat eerie.

Stellar Fruit, Price: 1000.

And below the store was a line of small text: Balance, 697.

Lu Shu was a little puzzled. What was this 697 about, and what was the currency in this store? How did he have a balance in it?

Then, at that moment, 697 suddenly jumped and became 701!

Lu Shu remembered there was also an option for income records on the main menu outside the store. He quickly clicked on the income record to take a look. There were some income details inside.

Negative emotions from Zhang Donglai, +131, +27, +5, +1, +1.

This seemed to be ongoing, but what was going on with the negative emotions from Zhang Donglai? Wasn't Zhang Donglai the fat boss of the supermarket? Could it be that his negative emotions turned into Lu Shu's income because he scared him with his blood-stained appearance?

Could it be that he had the devil king attribute where he would become stronger the more frightened others were? But while others became stronger directly, he had to buy items to level up?