Chapter 17: Could Chen Huai’an Be a Genius?!

That’s right, this intense feeling wasn’t an illusion.

It even made Chen Huai’an unable to control his sinful hands.

He grabbed the set of silver needles, glanced at the old man next to him, and a sinister smile appeared on his lips. That smile carried a mix of recklessness, lewdness, arrogance, nonchalance, and—most importantly—88% eagerness.

Then he opened the needle case.

Inside lay 36 silver needles. As his fingers brushed over the needle tips, a familiar sensation surged through him, as if he were caressing his girlfriend’s fingers.

“Forgive me!”

Chen Huai’an silently clasped his hands in apology toward the old man beside him.

Then, he pinched a silver needle and reversed his grip before stabbing it into his own leg.

This was his way of expressing his deep apology to both the old man and the needles!

But why didn’t he stab the old man instead?

Was he crazy? While he had a strange feeling and a bit of curiosity, randomly stabbing others was not something he would do. However, stabbing himself didn’t burden his conscience—after all, he was dying anyway and would try anything on himself.

His gaze fell on his leg. A network of acupuncture points emerged faintly before his eyes, overlapping with the diagrams he’d seen in the game. His fingers moved like lightning, and the needles flew as smoothly as clouds and flowing water. In the blink of an eye, all 36 needles were embedded in his right leg.

Chen Huai’an took a deep breath and held it.

Next, he adjusted the depth of each needle, twisted their ends, and stimulated the acupuncture points on his leg. His hand, which normally trembled when holding a water bottle, was now as steady as a rock.

After a while, he finished administering the needles.

Chen Huai’an returned the needles to their case and placed it back in its original position.

The strange itch in his heart finally subsided.

“Ah, much better.” He rubbed his hands in satisfaction and left.

The injured leg was his right leg, so that’s where he had applied the needles.

At this moment, the bruising on his leg was already showing signs of fading. While the bones were still misaligned, the primary concern with fractures wasn’t the break itself but the tissue damage and bruising that came afterward. Reducing the swelling was crucial.

The acupuncture session hadn’t even lasted ten minutes, but the results were clear: the swelling had diminished, and the bruising was receding.

Even Chen Huai’an found it hard to believe.

“Wait, is this game really that hardcore?”

It wasn’t just a game—it was actually teaching him something useful?!

But of course, not everyone could learn this. How many people could replicate the acupuncture techniques and memorize the diagrams after just one try?

And yet… hadn’t his memory always been bad before?

This was starting to get weird.

Chen Huai’an pondered for a moment. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands together in realization. “Ah, I get it now! Hahaha!”

Outside the hospital room, Dr. Wu and Dr. Zhang were walking together, discussing Chen Huai’an.

“This young man’s a university student with no history of mental illness. Are you sure he’s got problems upstairs?” Dr. Wu had reviewed Chen Huai’an’s file and was skeptical of Dr. Zhang’s assessment.

“Hahahaha! It’s cancer! The mysterious cancer cells have unlocked my genetic potential! I’m a genius!”

A bizarre, muffled laugh came from the room.

“See?” Dr. Zhang spread his hands and tilted his head toward the room.

Dr. Wu: “…”

It seemed that this young man might have been slightly traumatized after seeing a mirage atop Mount Tai. Medical intervention was indeed necessary.

“Young man…” Dr. Wu stepped into the room.

“Doctor, I’m not sick. I want to be discharged. Or do you guys have a power bank? If you do, I’ll stay a bit longer.”

“…” Dr. Wu stared at the young man on the bed, whose face was filled with seriousness, and began contemplating whether to increase his medication dosage.

Dr. Zhang, however, noticed something unusual about Chen Huai’an’s leg and froze. “Huh? What’s going on with your leg?”

He clearly remembered that when he went to find Dr. Wu earlier, Chen Huai’an’s lower leg had a massive, dark bruise at the fracture site. If left untreated, it would’ve led to necrosis.

But now, the swelling was noticeably reduced, and the bruising wasn’t as severe.

Noticing the doctor’s gaze, Chen Huai’an instinctively pulled his leg back and chuckled nervously. “I’ve been tough since I was a kid. I have a natural talent for recovery.”

There was no way he could say that the swelling had been reduced by his secret acupuncture technique. Even if he did, no one would believe him, and it’d just lead to more trouble.

As for demonstrating his needlework to the doctors, that was out of the question.

The old man in the next bed would’ve been a great guinea pig, but Chen Huai’an doubted he’d even get a chance to start before being hauled off to the psych ward. Besides, there was no guarantee it’d work on someone else just because it worked on him.

These days, you couldn’t even help someone cross the street without worrying about the legal consequences. Let alone stabbing someone with needles.

Dr. Zhang thought about it for a long time but couldn’t make sense of the situation.

At least the bone tumor on Chen Huai’an’s leg hadn’t disappeared. If it had, Dr. Zhang would’ve had no choice but to escalate this to his superiors.

“Young man, you need to find a way to treat your cancer. Ignoring it won’t end well…”

“I understand, but I don’t have money.” Chen Huai’an smiled faintly.

“Didn’t you buy insurance?”

“Nope.”

“What about your parents?”

“They’re gone.”

“…Sigh.” Dr. Zhang fell silent. A few quick questions, and even he felt defeated.

As an experienced doctor, he had seen countless cases like Chen Huai’an’s—patients with nothing to rely on, left with no choice but to wait for the inevitable.

But a patient who seemed this indifferent about his situation? Rare.

“Doctor, I know my condition. I can’t afford expensive treatments. Just treat my broken leg normally.”

Dr. Zhang nodded but still added, “If you need help raising funds, let me know. I might be able to assist a little.”

“Thank you, Doctor. If I ever make enough money, I’ll definitely get proper treatment.”

While Chen Huai’an and Dr. Zhang were talking, Dr. Wu had been observing quietly.

The young man’s thoughts were clear, and his eyes were bright—no signs of mental illness. If anything, he was just a bit dramatic.

… They’d almost used a tranquilizer dart for nothing.

Close call.

Chen Huai’an stayed at the hospital until the afternoon.

He underwent a procedure for his fractured leg, which was now encased in a plaster cast.

Though the doctors recommended hospitalization for observation, he refused, citing lack of funds. Before leaving, he bought a set of silver needles from the pharmacy next to the hospital.

“Power bank! Power bank!”

Once outside, Chen Huai’an scanned the surrounding stores like a starving wolf, his eyes gleaming.

He needed a power bank!

He hadn’t logged into the game all afternoon. What if Li Qingran was attacked by a beast again? He couldn’t bear the thought.

Besides, he’d already invested nearly 60,000 yuan in the game. If his character got deleted, he’d be furious enough to jump off the hospital’s second floor.

“Hands off that power bank!”

In the terrified gaze of a female student, Chen Huai’an, wielding a crutch, darted forward and seized the last power bank from a restaurant charging station.

He powered up his phone and logged into the game.

Phew.

Li Qingran was still unconscious in the Xuanjia Formation, safe and sound.

With the power bank clamped in his mouth, a crutch under one arm, and his phone in the other hand, he limped over to a table in the restaurant under the bewildered gaze of the female student. “Boss, three liang of dry noodles.”

“Coming right up! Want an egg with that?”

“No, but I want soup!”

“Got it~”

An egg cost three yuan—not worth it. Soup was free—definitely worth it.

For now, Li Qingran’s coma could wait.

Chen Huai’an opened the Fortune Carp lottery pool.

He was 500 draws away from the guaranteed prize.

“Tch, I’ve got no luck.”

With a snort, he tapped the screen to draw, accompanied by the “E-Pay deduction” prompt.

He went all in.

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