Chapter 3 - 2: Talent [Heaven-Stealing], Sharing the Opportunity Equally!

Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Talent [Heaven-Stealing], Sharing the Opportunity Equally!

City Central Hospital. Outside the Intensive Care Unit.

Liu Yi paced back and forth in the corridor, looking anxious.

It had been a full eleven hours since he received the notice and rushed to the hospital. From the operating room at the very beginning to the intensive care unit now, he hadn’t been able to see his son even once.

The reception nurse only told him to maintain his Jingxin and wait, saying he would naturally be notified to go in for a visit or to keep his son company once the patient’s condition stabilized.

But how could he possibly calm down?

That was his son lying inside!

A perfectly fine college student had been beaten so badly that he ended up in the ICU. With his life hanging in the balance, how could Liu Yi feel at ease?

CREAK!

The door opened, and a pretty young nurse walked out, heading straight toward Liu Yi.

"Family of Liu Zimo, right?" she asked.

Liu Yi’s spirits lifted. He hurried over to meet her. "Yes, yes! I’m Liu Zimo’s father. Miss, how is my son doing? Can I go in and see him now?"

"Liu Zimo has just regained consciousness. His condition is basically stable, and he is no longer in critical danger," the young nurse explained. "You can go in and take a look, but he is currently sleeping. He must not be disturbed, so remember to be quiet."

Liu Yi nodded repeatedly. His heart, which had been in his throat all this time, finally settled down. He silently thanked all the gods and buddhas he had prayed to earlier.

He thought, "As long as he’s safe. That’s all that matters!"

Following the young nurse, Liu Yi changed into a sterile suit as required before making his way to Liu Zimo’s ICU ward.

At this time, Liu Zimo was already fully awake. He sat cross-legged on the hospital bed, his palms and soles facing the sky in a solemn, dignified posture. His breathing followed a steady rhythm—nine short breaths followed by one long breath.

He was circulating the Extreme Breathing Technique he was most familiar with to channel his Qi Blood, continuously healing his injuries.

The Extreme Breathing Technique was an Earth Level Cultivation Technique that Liu Zimo had redeemed from the military Martial Arts Library using thirty years’ worth of Military Merit after the Demon Calamity broke out.

It was the highest-level Martial Arts he practiced, and the one most compatible with his own physique.

Using breathing to accumulate Qi Blood, using Qi Blood to refine True Essence, and then using True Essence to nourish the body’s muscles and bones.

His current body was severely injured; his muscles, bones, and internal organs had suffered varying degrees of damage.

If treated with normal medical procedures, he wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed without three to five months of rest.

However, the Extreme Breathing Technique could mobilize Qi Blood, burn fat, and extract energy to continuously nourish and repair his damaged muscles, bones, and organs.

The reason he was able to sit up in bed so quickly was purely the result of running the Extreme Breathing Technique for five Circulations.

This was only because his current body was far too weak and lacked any systematic development or training beforehand. Otherwise, the effects would have been even better!

"Hey! Liu Zimo, why are you sitting up?!

"Quick, lie back down! Don’t you know how badly you’re injured? This is absurd!"

As soon as Liu Meimei walked in, she saw Liu Zimo—who was supposed to be sound asleep—sitting up. The sight frightened her into crying out, the color draining from her face.

How could this be allowed?!

This guy had broken a full five ribs, and four of his five vital organs had been beaten to the point of internal bleeding. Dr. Liu had spent the entire night pulling him back from the gates of hell.

If he rashly sat up now and his bones dislocated again, or his internal organs ruptured and started bleeding once more, they would be in massive trouble!

His current physical condition absolutely could not handle another major open-chest surgery!

Frantic, Liu Meimei trotted over and reached out, intending to help Liu Zimo lie back down.

"There’s no need!"

Hearing the commotion, Liu Zimo slowly opened his eyes. Looking at Liu Meimei as she approached, he spoke softly to stop her, "Miss, I’m almost fully recovered. Please go tell my attending physician that I want to be discharged today!"

With that, Liu Zimo flipped over and actually stood directly on the floor. Then, under Liu Meimei’s incredulous gaze, he walked over to Liu Yi, who was standing right behind her.

"Dad, I made you worry!

"But... it’s really good to see you again!"

Liu Zimo looked at Liu Yi with red-rimmed eyes, his voice trembling with emotion as he greeted his father.

He thought, "Thirty years!

"I never expected to have the chance to look at my dad face-to-face like this again.

"It’s been a long time, Dad!

"It’s so good that you’re still alive!"

At this moment, although Liu Zimo still couldn’t completely accept the reality that he had been reborn thirty years into the past, seeing his dad again before the catastrophe felt pretty damn good.

He had already tried every method he knew to break out of an illusion anyway. Since none of them worked, he could only try to accept it.

If this really was thirty years ago, and he truly had a second chance at life, Liu Zimo didn’t want to leave behind a single regret.

"You brat, you scared your old man to death!

"Just now outside, I thought I’d be the white-haired parent burying his black-haired child. I thought I’d never see you again!

"As long as you’re okay. As long as you’re okay!"

Seeing his son standing alive and well in front of him, showing absolutely no signs of being critically injured and on the verge of death, Liu Yi finally let go of all his worries. He slapped Liu Zimo hard on the shoulder, his own eyes turning red.

Liu Zimo’s mouth twitched.

His dad’s slap just now nearly ruptured the wounds he had just managed to close. What a biological father. He was still as careless and rough as ever; he didn’t even know to hold back when facing his heavily injured son.

As he grumbled inwardly, Liu Zimo discreetly glanced at the faint, white, ethereal shadow lock floating above his dad’s head. He understood now.

If this wasn’t an illusion, it meant he had awakened some kind of Superpower after his rebirth, which allowed him to see this bizarre phenomenon floating above people’s heads.

He just didn’t know what exactly this Superpower did.

[Your Good Brother, Liu Siqi, has chanced upon a windfall, triggering the ’Heaven-Stealing’ Talent Attribute. The fortune is divided equally. You have received half of his windfall: RMB +1000.]

Suddenly, a pleasant notification chime rang in his ears, stirring Liu Zimo’s mind.

Here it comes again!

He recalled hearing a similar notification when he first woke up, but he had dismissed it as an auditory hallucination and hadn’t taken it seriously. But this time, he heard it loud and clear!

He thought, "A Heaven-Stealing Talent Attribute?

"The fortune is divided equally?

"A thousand yuan?

"Are these the characteristics of my Superpower?

"It seems to have quite a ’lucrative’ future!"

Liu Zimo analyzed it silently in his heart. However, since the information currently available was too scarce, he couldn’t draw any specific conclusions.

He wondered, "Also, isn’t this Liu Siqi my attending physician here at the city hospital? When did he become my Good Brother?"

Liu Zimo quickly deduced who the "Liu Siqi" mentioned in the notification was. At the same time, some vague memories from before he fell unconscious began to fully resurface.

After being injected with a Calmness sedative, Liu Zimo remembered seemingly seeing a green shadow lock hovering over Liu Siqi’s head. An urge to lock it had surged in his heart.

In his daze, he had actually seemed to hear the click of a lock snapping shut.

Could it be that his Superpower triggered right then, turning Liu Siqi into his Good Brother?

Should he test it again?

Liu Zimo swept his gaze over his dad and Liu Meimei standing nearby. Looking at the white shadow locks suspended above their heads, he felt eager to try.

CLACK!

The door opened, and Liu Siqi and Head Nurse Bai Jingjing walked in one after another. Seeing Liu Zimo standing in the room like nothing was wrong, the two froze in their tracks.

"Liu Zimo, you... you can get out of bed?!" Liu Siqi cried out in shock. He quickly walked over to Liu Zimo, circling him and sizing him up from head to toe with a look of utter disbelief.

As Liu Zimo’s attending physician, Liu Siqi absolutely knew better than anyone just how terrible Liu Zimo’s physical condition had been. Five broken ribs, with varying degrees of bleeding and damage to his lungs, liver, spleen, and heart.

With injuries like that, it was already a miracle from heaven that Liu Zimo had survived. There was absolutely no reason he should be able to get out of bed and walk so soon!

This was a miracle!

Liu Siqi’s eyes flashed with excitement.

He had long heard that there were some lucky individuals in the world who could unlock certain hidden potentials within their bodies at the critical juncture of life and death. Could this Liu Zimo be one of those lucky bastards?

Liu Siqi’s mind raced, involuntarily recalling several medical cases over the past two years that the medical community hailed as miracles.

Someone surviving a fall from a high-rise building.

Someone regrowing a severed arm.

And someone who clearly had no pulse, yet miraculously revived the very next day.

Liu Siqi had only ever heard of such things in the past. He never expected to witness one with his own eyes today!

The astonishing recovery ability Liu Zimo was demonstrating right now could no longer be explained by normal medical science.

What a lucky guy!

This could be considered a blessing in disguise, right?

"Dr. Liu, as you can see, I’m perfectly fine now. I should be able to get discharged, right?"

Seeing Liu Siqi staring at him in a daze, Liu Zimo directly voiced his request for discharge. At the same time, his gaze casually flicked toward the green lock above Liu Siqi’s head.

Sure enough, the previously open shackle was now tightly shut. It was locked.

"Discharged?" Liu Siqi snapped back to reality and repeatedly shook his head. "No, no, no. You can’t be discharged just yet. I need to give you a full body checkup. I can’t let you leave until I’ve confirmed that you’ve made a complete recovery!"

Liu Siqi thought, "Are you kidding me? President Jiang of Longtai Group is coming over soon. If he sees this kid alive and kicking, he’ll think I was deliberately deceiving and extorting him earlier! Wouldn’t I be in deep shit then? How could I safely pocket that 100,000-yuan red envelope?

"Furthermore, this kid has awakened such an astonishing recovery ability. He is absolutely prime research material. How can I let him go so easily?"

Opposite Liu Siqi, Liu Zimo blinked in astonishment.

He clearly saw that Liu Siqi’s mouth wasn’t moving, yet he could hear Liu Siqi’s voice echoing continuously in his ears. Moreover, the contents seemed to be Liu Siqi’s innermost thoughts.

What was this, a Mind Reading Technique?

Did it really have to be this magical?

Compared to the real reasons Liu Siqi wanted to keep him here, Liu Zimo was actually far more shocked by the fact that he could hear Liu Siqi’s inner voice.

Remembering that he hadn’t heard a peep of an inner voice from his dad or Liu Meimei earlier, Liu Zimo naturally attributed this ability to the Heaven-Stealing Superpower.

After all, the Liu Siqi right in front of him had already been "locked" by his Superpower and had become his Good Brother. It seemed perfectly reasonable that Good Brothers had no secrets between them, right?