Bai Fei lay on the hospital bed, his head turned towards the window, his expression calm.
He felt that these few days of hospitalization were the most beautiful, the most peaceful times,
Even though his entire body was wrapped in bandages like a zongzi.
"Want to go out and get some sun?" He Li mumbled, holding half a banana in his hand.
Bai Fei looked at He Li, pursed his lips, and said, "This fruit basket..."
"Mmm-hmm..." He Li swallowed the banana in his mouth and said, "It's delicious."
Bai Fei was stunned for a moment, then sighed and said, "Forget it, eat it."
He Li ate another orange, then got up and left the ward. Not long after, he returned pushing a wheelchair.
"Let's go, Brother Fei, let's go out and get some sun."
Bai Fei was very reluctant. He didn't want to move, he just wanted to enjoy the quiet time here.
"No, I don't need... alright, I can move myself."
As soon as Bai Fei refused, He Li picked him up in a princess carry and placed him in the wheelchair.
As He Li pushed the wheelchair, he exclaimed, "You're really amazing now, the wheelchair is electric. I heard the nurse say earlier that this wheelchair can go 20 miles per hour."
Bai Fei was completely helpless. He was already in a wheelchair, and he could still race?
He Li pushed Bai Fei to the park downstairs of the hospital. Looking at the patients strolling in the park, He Li sat on a bench and asked Bai Fei, "Brother Fei, are there any dietary restrictions for your injury?"
Bai Fei replied, "No alcohol, and avoid seafood and spicy food."
"That's good then." He Li nodded.
Then,
He took out a pack of cigarettes, took one out, and offered it to Bai Fei's mouth.
Bai Fei was bewildered, staring blankly at the cigarette near his mouth.
He Li: "Smoke it, don't you have any dietary restrictions?"
Bai Fei opened his mouth, took the cigarette, and He Li lit it for him, then lit one for himself.
Bai Fei's mind couldn't quite grasp it. What did smoking have to do with dietary restrictions?
One sat in a wheelchair, wrapped like a mummy, holding a cigarette,
One sat lazily on a bench, holding a cigarette, his gaze vacant, like an idiot.
On the lawn in the distance, a white-haired, plump old man was being helped by a young girl as they strolled, the old and young smiling brightly and acting intimately.
He Li asked, "A caregiver?"
Bai Fei shook his head, "No."
He Li then said, "Grandfather and granddaughter?"
Bai Fei still shook his head, "No."
He Li pondered for a moment, his expression gradually becoming serious, and said, "Lovers?"
"Yes."
Bai Fei nodded affirmatively and said, "He lives in the high-class ward next to mine. This old man's grandson is four years older than his wife."
He Li thought for a moment and exclaimed in shock, "In reality... I'm four years older than my grandmother?"
Bai Fei sighed, "Alas... the life of my dreams."
He Li was noncommittal, "Then your dreams are quite grand."
"Heh heh..." Bai Fei sighed, "This is life."
He Li pouted, "What they have is called life."
"What you have is called... not being dead."
Bai Fei was silent for a moment and said, "Push me back, I'm tired."
"Okay."
...
"How is Bai Fei?" Susan asked, holding half a bottle of wine at the bar.
He Li shook his head and replied, "He's not recovering very well. Just sitting makes him tired."
Susan frowned, "How can that be? Didn't they say he could be discharged as soon as the bandages were removed?"
He Li thought for a moment and said, "I read a book. After treatment, the injured person might experience some sequelae due to residual drugs in their body. But it's okay, the body will decompose and expel the residual drugs. Besides, Brother Fei is a spiritual warrior, so it's nothing."
"Oh, that's good then." Susan didn't think much of it. Such an injury was nothing for a spiritual warrior.
This visit left He Li feeling a bit heavy-hearted. Brother Fei was such a good person. After getting injured, he seemed like a different person. He didn't talk much to begin with, and now he spoke even less.
Alas...
He Li was sitting on the sofa reading a book when suddenly, his body felt hot and his throat dry.
"Cough cough... cough cough..."
He Li coughed a couple of times and took a sip of water from the table.
Susan turned her head, looking at He Li with an unreadable expression, and asked, "You... you've advanced?"
"What?"
He Li's hand holding the water cup paused slightly, and he said, not understanding, "I was coughing a bit, so I took a sip of water."
Susan said, "There was a distinct fluctuation of spiritual power from you just now, and the spiritual power was denser than before you drank the water."
He Li looked at the half-full glass of water on the table and fell silent. He advanced just by drinking water?
Then,
He raised the cup and drank it all in one gulp.
Susan looked at He Li, filled with envy. A spirit awakener who didn't need to cultivate, a spirit awakener whose spiritual power increased automatically. Was he truly a god, as the legends said?
"Captain, how can I unlock the next stage of my gene lock?"
The increase in spiritual power only made He Li happy for a moment. It was like getting paid; you were happy when you received it, but then there were car loans, mortgage payments, and credit cards. After paying them off, you were still in debt.
For He Li, this debt of 200 was the gene lock he yearned for.
He had been unable to find a direction to unlock the next stage of his gene lock.
This question made Susan pause. She said, "Repeatedly temper your mental strength, stimulate dopamine to constantly exceed the threshold, until the threshold reaches its peak and enters the next stage, then you can unlock the gene lock. Everyone's threshold is different, so there has never been a precise standard for unlocking gene locks.
However,
According to the legends of spirit originators, unlocking the next stage of your gene lock should be very simple for you, because your body and mental strength have always been in a state of high activity."
He Li frowned. If, according to Susan, everyone's threshold for unlocking gene locks was different, then what did his situation mean?
Was his talent high or low?
His spiritual power increased as easily as drinking water, but the gene lock that enhanced his abilities showed no signs of unlocking the next stage.
He was clearly a dual-ability user, was he going to have to walk with one leg from now on?
He Li felt some annoyance and some dejection. How exactly should he unlock his gene lock?
In fact, he didn't even know how he had unlocked the first stage of his gene lock.
Before, he had relied on sheer brute force, using his spiritual power, or having Jin Fang and the others help him eliminate demons. Now, he couldn't find any clues.
Seeing He Li's dejected look, Susan smiled and comforted him, "Unlocking gene locks often relies more on luck than accumulation and cultivation, it varies from person to person. The stronger the ability, the harder it is to unlock the gene lock."
He Li looked up and gave a wry smile, "For example... gravity?"
"Undeniably, your materialized weapon carries the gravity ability, which is powerful, an 'upper-tier' ability in nature. He Li, many second-tier gene lock users are no match for your first-tier gene lock abilities. This is your talent. If you unlock the second-tier gene lock, your strength will undoubtedly increase exponentially."
He Li opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't, and left with a deep sigh.
Watching He Li's lonely retreating back, Susan thought to herself, "Did I comfort him wrongly? That shouldn't be the case."
Susan hadn't comforted him wrongly, but for He Li, it was exceptionally heavy.
What He Li wanted to say was: "I have six other abilities like gravity, and two or three of them are even more powerful than gravity."