The Gift

When he opened his eyes, what met his gaze was not an unfamiliar ceiling. Instead, it was the runny-nosed, grinning face of the youngest Lu child, who turned his head and bellowed toward the room, "Mom, Second Bro is awake! He's awake!" The familiar smell of disinfectant drifted through the air, accompanied by the bustling clamor of the corridor outside. Ji Jue looked around in confusion, realizing he was in a hospital room. On the bedside table right next to him, the third child was furiously catching up on homework through tears, too busy to even cry properly. Only then did he see Mother Lu's anxious face. She looked as though she had stayed up the entire night without a wink of sleep. Ji Jue tried to recall how he had ended up here, only to discover his head throbbing in waves—not just from the depletion of spiritus, but more importantly, from alcohol. God only knew how much he had drunk last night. Now, looking back on that chaotic night, everything felt blurred, as if from a past life. The only thing he remembered was someone at the table clapping him on the shoulder while he was puking his guts out, doubled over with laughter: "This little Ji is such a lightweight~" "Come on, another round! Big sis will make a real man out of you~" "Still breathing? Fine, if you're not dead you can still drink! Down the hatch!" Snapping back to reality, Ji Jue went numb. So the criminals failed to kill him, but someone from the Security Bureau ended up putting him in the hospital? Where was the justice in that? Where was the rule of law?! "Ji Jue, tell me the truth." Mother Lu's face darkened as she grabbed his ear, asking coldly, "What did you do last night? Let me tell you, think carefully before you speak. Doggy has already confessed everything." "Huh?!" Dumbfounded, Ji Jue glanced past Mother Lu to Lu Feng, whose face was black and blue and slathered in iodine. He tried to bluff his way out. "Uh, well, I think I drank a bit too much... I don't really remember what happened af—*hiss!* Mother Lu, I was wrong! I'm sorry! Ow, gently, please!" "You still dare lie to me?!" Mother Lu unleashed a deafening lion's roar and smacked the back of his head. "Officer Wen told me everything! That bastard Doggy dragged you out drinking and picked a fight!! If it weren't counted as acting for the public good, I would've had to go down to the precinct today and kowtow to people begging for a letter of forgiveness! And you're still covering for him!" "Ah? Oh, oh! Yeah, that sounds about right!" Ji Jue looked at Lu Feng, who was winking and twitching his eyebrows frantically, and broke into a cold sweat. *I thought you knew Brother Feng went on a rampage alone in that nightclub and wiped out an entire criminal syndicate.* "Right, right, it was all Brother Feng's doing!" Tears and snot running, he promptly shifted the blame. "I'm innocent, Mother Lu! You can't blame me!" After all, Lu Feng killed all those people, and that mongrel collected every single kill. At most, Ji Jue had only helped wipe the surveillance footage and stomped the gas pedal on a truck a couple of times. Besides, the snake they killed didn't look like an endangered species anyway. Rounded off, it was basically none of his business! In the end, Mother Lu had a soft spot, especially for a 'good boy' like Ji Jue. The rolling pin, mop handle, and broom she usually wielded against 'Doggy' were nowhere to be seen. Even the two slaps to the back of his head had mostly landed harmlessly against the nape of his neck, completely devoid of the ferocious might that could shred a tire bare-handed. Seeing that Ji Jue was contrite and swore never to do it again, her attitude softened considerably. Only after a stern scolding did she say slowly, "The doctor said you need to stay in the hospital for a few more days of observation. You behave yourself and stay put. You're not going anywhere, understand?" "Huh?" Ji Jue was dumbfounded. "I'm already fine! Look, healthy and full of energy! Wait, Mother Lu, hang on—" No amount of objection mattered. There was an illness in this world known as "your mother thinks you're sick." Mother Lu was a mother, too, and when she dug her heels in, she was scarier than any actual mother. She didn't let Ji Jue pay a single cent for the room or the examinations. On top of that, she was going home to slaughter a chicken and brew soup to nurse Ji Jue back to health. As for the drooling 'Doggy' beside them... that rebellious son would only get chicken bones! "Lively in here, isn't it?" A tall figure leaned against the doorway, fingers tapping on the room's door. She looked in with a faint smirk. At the sight of that familiar biker jacket and riding gear, Ji Jue's scalp prickled once more. Wen Wen! "Sorry to interrupt," she said with a bright smile. "I'm just here to finish up some statements. Won't take long." Mother Lu grabbed her hand in endless gratitude before leaving. Once the others had stepped outside, Wen Wen leisurely dragged a chair over, crossed her legs, and sat down. As if doing a magic trick, she produced a can of beer and offered it over. "Hair of the dog?" Seeing Ji Jue turn pale as if he were about to throw up, she shook her head in amusement, cracked it open, and chugged half the can herself. Belching lightly, she mused, "Little Ji, your tolerance is pretty terrible. You need more practice." *Of course I need practice—otherwise, who could keep up with a living booze barrel like you?!* Ji Jue grumbled internally. Gauging her expression, he ventured tentatively, "Supervisor... Wen?" "Why so formal? Official titles with the Security Bureau aren't meant to be advertised openly. Just call me Sis Wen. We don't stand on ceremony." Leaning back in her chair, Wen Wen waved a dismissive hand. "Relax, I know what young folks like you worry about. The field report and investigation are already concluded. Neither of you is implicated. Everything's settled on the Security Bureau's end. You two brothers just act like nothing happened and live your lives in peace." "Oh, thank you so much!" Ji Jue rejoiced, tempted to scramble out of bed and kowtow to big sis right then and there. A woman of such broad-minded generosity surely wouldn't hold his petty internal grumbling against him. Except... After hesitating for a good while, he couldn't help asking, "Uh... so, those people... what was going on with them? Were they vampires, or...?" "Bloodthirst Syndrome. In the hospital—well, in the records of a certain hospital—it's ranked 109th among plague viruses in terms of social threat level. Trying to explain the Nine Scourges of the Highest Good right now would only turn your brain to mush, so just think of it as an infectious disease that turns people into zombie-vampires." Wen Wen stated nonchalantly, "Someone in Yacheng has been secretly spreading the virus to stir up trouble. The people who attacked you were basically all infected by it. Most people go to the doctor when they get sick, some hide away in fear, and others... think it's a blessing from heaven and try to exploit it for gain. You saw the result for yourself. Reduced to beasts, ugly without even realizing it. In life, puppets for someone else; in death, not even leaving behind a whole corpse, reduced to sacrificial offerings." Ji Jue swallowed hard, his skin crawling. Never mind why such a terrifying monstrosity only ranked 109th—implying there were 108 even more absurd horrors ahead of it—just the fact that Bloodthirst Syndrome was deliberately engineered and spread in Yacheng was enough to light a fire under him. He wanted nothing more than to urge Mother Lu and the family to pack up and flee right away. "Relax. Rest up until you're discharged, go to school when you should, work when you should, and live your life as usual." Wen Wen flashed a bold, sharp grin. "Though I can't share details on the investigation, those Dragon Cult bastards won't stay hidden for long. Give me a few days. Once I grind those dogs to dust and scatter their ashes, everything will be fine." At this point, her smile turned meaningful. "Of course, if you're not at ease and want to get involved yourself, I wouldn't mind." "No, no, no! Me, completely useless! Too weak to truss a chicken! Getting involved would just waste the Security Bureau's rations. I won't trouble you!" Ji Jue shook his head frantically, like a pellet drum. "Is that so? What a pity." Though she said it was a pity, Wen Wen didn't actually seem to mind. She didn't even press him about the strange abilities he had displayed the previous night, merely patting his shoulder. "Since you're sick, get some good rest... Oh, by the way, take this. Consider it a keepsake." With that, she pulled a sealed plastic bag from her pocket and tossed it casually onto Ji Jue's bedside table. The crisp clack made his eyelids twitch. He glanced over, froze, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. Yet no matter how he looked, inside the clear sealed pouch was a women's wristwatch. And it looked an awful lot like... could it be... the 'Red Wing' Zhu Hong had worn on her wrist last night? 5.1 million?! The moment that final bid flashed in his mind, Ji Jue felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his ears ringing. "I-Is this... really okay?" He stared blankly at Wen Wen, beginning to wonder: Could this woman be lusting after his good looks? Or had his brain finally fried? But this was 5.1 million... That was an absurd amount of money! Enough to raise a hundred Ji Jues from orphanhood to adulthood. Enough for seven Ji Jues to pay off their Tianmen University student loans all at once. Enough for one Ji Jue to sell it, buy a luxury seaside flat downtown, and purchase the Universal Mustang he used to only wipe clean for other people. No, scratch the car—use the money to buy a storefront property to lease out, and he could join the ranks of high-class downtown gentry! So... was it too late to fall to his knees, pledge his body to her, and serve her like a loyal dog? He fell silent, his eyes practically glued to it. After a long moment, wishing he could slap himself twice across the face, he tore his gaze away and waved his hands. "I can't take this. Really." *Take it away quickly, or I'm actually going to regret this.* *Don't say another word.* Wen Wen wasn't surprised by his reaction, nor did she care. After cleaning up the scene, the police department had handed this over as a 'tribute' following 'customary practice.' Naturally, that wasn't the only thing they'd offered—they had even pitched in plenty out of their own pockets, hoping she would show mercy and not drag the net too wide. She had no idea what kind of murderous demon the rumors made her out to be, but she didn't intend to let any guilty chicken off the hook. As for the monkeys who hadn't meddled in this mess, so long as they learned to behave, she wouldn't go slaughtering their entire families. Don't touch what you shouldn't. It was best if they learned that lesson well. "Don't worry about it. If you don't take it, those useless bastards will just sell it for cash anyway. Better to give it to you. Think of it as... compensation for the victim. Besides, didn't you bravely fight against evil?" Wen Wen patted his shoulder, wearing a strange smile. "Especially that famous line of yours—positively deafening to the ears. Even my colleagues were thoroughly impressed when they heard about it." "Stop, please, I beg you, stop." Ji Jue wanted nothing more than to clutch his head and burrow a hole through the bed straight into the Earth's core. He wailed in despair, "I was possessed! That wasn't me, really! I'm not usually an edgy chuunibyou!" "Chuunibyou or not, it doesn't matter. I really liked what you said." Wen Wen's expression grew serious. "Ji Jue—nowadays, people who can awaken on their own without relying on secret rituals and receive Heaven's Choice are exceedingly rare. People like you are fewer still. But other than you, I've seen far too many Celestial Chosen who think they're above everything." "Some start off high-spirited, thinking power makes them omnipotent. But after a few setbacks, they turn bitter and radical, preaching that they have 'no other choice' or that it's 'for the greater good and the future,' before walking right down a dark, dead-end road. Others sprint toward ruin from the very beginning, ensuring their own survival while leaving no room for anyone else to live. In the end, they bring disaster upon others and themselves, spawning endless calamity..." Wen Wen told him, enunciating every word, "And so, they all died." "..." Ji Jue started to speak, wanting to ask for details, but looking at her calm, near-indifferent expression, the answers to many questions already seemed clear. There was no need to ask further. "Don't forget what you said, Ji Jue. And don't use your abilities to commit evil." Wen Wen raised her hand, giving a light shake of her dainty, exquisite fist. "Don't be like them." In the silence, Ji Jue stared at her fair palm, slender fingers, and that harmless-looking 'little fist,' then swallowed dryly. He nodded furiously, meek as a lamb. "Good. Then my trip wasn't a waste." Wen Wen pushed back her chair and waved goodbye. "Farewell, student Ji Jue. I hope you become someone who truly makes a difference." Ji Jue instinctively started to get up to see her out, but hearing her parting words, he froze where he was. He nodded earnestly and told her, "I will." Wen Wen smiled at that. She turned and walked away. For a time, the empty hospital room held only Ji Jue, accompanied by the faint ticking from the table. Inside the sealed pouch, the gift—thoroughly cleaned and neatly restored by a specialist—ticked on unhurriedly, its movement running true. It waited for the grace and favor of a new owner. Yet holding it in his hands, beneath the joy, Ji Jue couldn't help nursing a headache. Over five million! More than five million! In all his life, he had never seen so much money. All he had to do was pocket it and make a trip to the black market, and he'd have everything... Well, obviously not everything. Without proof of purchase or the original box and papers, middleman brokers would fleece him mercilessly on the margin; fetching a third of its value would already be a miracle. Worse yet, he might get nothing out of it while painting a target on his back, inviting endless trouble. He couldn't possibly wear it himself, could he? Wait, he already had a watch. If he wore another, wouldn't his first watch get jealous? Besides, a broke guy like him wearing something like this would just be assumed to have bought a knockoff. Nobody would take it seriously. Wait... maybe that wasn't such a bad idea? He looked up instinctively toward the door, where heavy footsteps were approaching. A burly, stout woman carried a filled thermos in one hand and a large bag of snacks and tonics in the other, making her way toward the room. Even with bandages wrapped around her own head, a warm smile remained on her face, as though no hardship in the world could ever knock her down. "Mother Lu?" Ji Jue smiled too, raising his hand. "Brother Feng and I pooled our savings to buy you a little gift... Oh, it's not worth much. Look, it's just fancy and flashy, super cheap. Just wear it and try it on!" "Well, look at that. You finally learned how to butter me up?" Setting her bags down, Mother Lu gave Ji Jue's cheek a playfully rough pinch, casually taking the watch. "Don't think acting cute gets you off the hook. You're still staying in this hospital bed... Stop buying this kind of junk. Total waste of money." Even as she grumbled under her breath, a beaming smile broke out the moment she held it against her wrist. She strapped it onto the narrowest part of her sturdy wrist, gave it a couple of twists, and felt that something so exquisite didn't quite suit her. "Do you think it fits?" "Of course it fits." Ji Jue leaned back against the bed, watching her smiling, joyful face. "It suits you better than anyone."