Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Xu Bai was extremely excited.

However, just as he was about to press the level up button, he suddenly remembered some of the 'side effects' of leveling up, and forcefully suppressed the desire in his heart.

When Xu Bai was in junior high school, he had finally come into contact with video games, and thus wondered if he was living in a game. To test it out, he shouted like a superhero and jumped down from the fourth floor.

It hurt.

Xu Bai was in so much pain that he felt like he was about to faint. Feeling like he was on the verge of death, he clicked on the level up button.

Seconds later, the injuries caused by jumping down from the fourth floor fully recovered. When the people in the school reacted to what he had done, they saw Xu Bai, who had been wailing on the ground, suddenly jumping up and down like nothing had happened.

Then, when Father Xu and Mother Xu arrived at the school and heard what had happened, they gasped in shock. Father Xu took off his belt on the spot and Mother Xu grabbed a slipper, both vowing to beat Xu Bai black and blue.

Thus, considering the side effects of the level up, he restrained himself.. Instead, after being examined by the nurse, the ambulance took him to the hospital. After he was admitted, his arms were put into a cast.

The moment he realized how severe his injuries were, he did not dare to press the level up button. 

When he was young, he was ignorant. Now that he had grown up, he realized that instant recovery would not invite worship or admiration. Instead, there was a high chance that he would be pulled into a laboratory to become a guinea pig.

Xu Bai stood in front of the mirror in the ward, admiring his figure in the reflection. Seeing his two arms in casts, he thought of something.

"If the casts are painted with metallic paint, will I look like a mecha warrior?"

As he spoke, Xu Bai turned around and looked at Su Meng, who was just like him, but in better condition. She would only need to stay in the hospital for a day in order to recover.

Su Meng's waist was wrapped in gauze. She leaned against the bed and looked down at the documents in her hands.

Xu Bai approached her.

"Mengmeng."

"Ah?"

Su Meng looked up with a cute expression. 

"Master, what's wrong? Does it hurt? I'll call the nurse."

Xu Bai shook his head.

"No, what are you looking at? Medical records? Whose?"

"Liu San's."

"Hmm?"

Xu Bai raised his eyebrows.

Su Meng pointed at Liu San's medical records that she had obtained from the hospital while Xu Bai was getting casts placed on his arms.

"According to the hospital's records, when Liu San was sent to the hospital yesterday, he had multiple fractures. In this state, it should have been impossible for him to recover so quickly."

The hospital's report showed that after Liu San was given basic treatment and bandaged, he left the hospital that night when the nurses on duty were not paying attention. 

After that, in less than twenty-four hours, Liu San appeared in front of Xu Bai and Su Meng in Room 804. Not only was he full of energy, but he could even hurl her into the wall like a ragdoll.

This was obviously very wrong.

Xu Bai looked at the confused Su Meng and thought of the info panel above Liu San's head when he saw him.

A fugitive who had escaped from the Great Desolate World…

Possession…

He was still a little confused about what this meant.

"Possession?"

"Ah!"

Su Meng heard Xu Bai's voice and blinked. "Brother Bai, what did you just say?"

Xu Bai came back to his senses. He kicked off his shoes and sat on his bed. Leaning against the headboard, he changed the topic. 

"Don't think too much about the case. Since he's already dead, you might as well think about the bonus you'll receive for the case."

This was the most practical thing.

According to the rules of the Feng City police department, if there was a murder case, the detective in charge would be given a special bonus if they could solve it.

Usually, the bonus would be around ten thousand federal coins, which was equivalent to Xu Bai's current salary for about forty days, and was equivalent to more than a month's worth of treatment fees for his sister.

At this moment, a cold voice spoke from outside the door.

"Can't you have some ambition?"

"... Sister An Ya."

Su Meng was slightly stunned as looked at the person who pushed open the door. A hint of surprise appeared on her face.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to see you."

Wearing a black, tight-fitting, long-sleeved T-shirt, a pair of slender skinny jeans, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and with a mole under her left eye, An Ya walked in with two bags in her hands. She smiled at Su Meng and said, "You must be hungry."

Su Meng caught a whiff of the fragrance of food coming from the bags in An Ya's hand and gulped, nodding honestly.

"Thank you, Sister An Ya."

"There's no need to thank me."

An Ya smiled at Su Meng and then stopped smiling when she turned to look at Xu Bai, who had not said anything since she came in. 

"Are you alright?"

Xu Bai waved his hand.

"I won't die."

"That's good."

An Ya nodded and said nothing more.

Su Meng, who was sitting on the bed and fiddling with the food An Ya brought, blinked and coughed. She looked at Xu Bai and said, "Master, come and eat some too."

Xu Bai waved his arms that were in a cast, flailing as he could not bend them at all.

"Forget it, you go ahead. I won't starve to death if I don't eat."

Su Meng did not know what to say.

An Ya expressionlessly took out a box of rice from the bag and put some of Xu Bai's favorite stir-fried meat with green peppers on top of the rice. She stood up, and was preparing to walk over to Xu Bai when…

"Damn it, where are my people?"

A loud voice was heard from outside. Then, the door was pushed open with a loud bang. Then, the square-faced team leader, who was holding a transparent goji berry cup, walked in hurriedly. Looking at Xu Bai and Su Meng, he laughed out loud. "How is it? Are you feeling better?"

An Ya, who had just walked to Xu Bai's bed, turned her head to look at Team Leader Zhou.

Team Leader Zhou looked at An Ya, who put down the bowl and chopsticks and turned around expressionlessly. He was momentarily stunned before eventually greeting, "Team Leader An is here too."

An Ya simply nodded.

Team Leader Zhou shook his head and said, "Team Leader An, I don't mean to criticize you, but if you hadn't taken Little Bai's gun, he might not have been injured today."

An Ya remained expressionless.

"Someone complained, so we had to deal with it. Those are the rules, Team Leader Zhou."

As she spoke, she stuffed the bowl and chopsticks into Team Leader Zhou's hands.

"It's good that you're here. It's inconvenient for him to eat in his condition."

After saying that, An Ya walked straight out the door.

Team Leader Zhou lowered his head and looked at the bowl and chopsticks in his hand. He blinked.

Wait a minute…

What was he here for?

…