Chapter One: The Physician

Bureau Tower.

An ambulance pulled up in front of the building.

The doors opened, and several young, robust men fully armed emerged, carrying Lin Lei, who lay on a stretcher.

At this moment, Lin Lei was wrapped in bandages, lying helplessly on the stretcher, his face etched with resignation.

On his arm, a metallic ring was fastened.

This device, known as the "Source Suppression Ring," was a special artifact used to restrain Lin Lei’s source energy.

Not only him, but Wen Xiang and Zhen Shuang, who had also participated in the Forbidden Zone liberation mission, wore these rings as well.

The Forbidden Zone was unique, saturated with intense source energy, and all three had only recently advanced to the second tier. The sudden surge in their source energy could potentially cause mental instability.

Therefore, they needed to be observed for a period, monitoring their mental and emotional fluctuations, as well as the extent of source energy corrosion. Only once deemed harmless would the Source Suppression Ring be removed.

Moreover, as an artifact of the Bureau, the ring was imbued with a "Seal." No matter how much voracious energy Lin Lei possessed—even two thousand units—he could not "devour" it.

The armed personnel surrounding him were both his security escort and his guards.

The group swiftly carried Lin Lei into the building, arriving at a special intensive care ward.

Carefully, they placed Lin Lei on the bed, but did not leave. Instead, they stood vigil around the bed, keeping watch.

Lin Lei felt extremely uncomfortable, but there was little he could say.

Soon, a figure entered from outside.

It was a woman, dressed in a white lab coat and wearing a mask.

Though her face was partially hidden, her eyes and brows revealed her beauty. Yet, she appeared to be at least thirty-five years old.

She carried a silver case in her hand.

Li Xueshu nodded politely to her.

The woman approached Lin Lei’s bedside. “Hello, I am Physician Zhou Ru from the Bureau.”

Lin Lei raised his brows slightly. “Hello, Dr. Zhou…”

He needed no further explanation to know that Zhou Ru’s “Physician” title was not the ordinary kind.

In truth, with his current constitution, regular medical treatment was utterly ineffective.

Zhou Ru’s eyes curved in a gentle smile as she nodded, opening the silver case to reveal a refined metal syringe and a small bottle of blue reagent beside it.

It looked very similar to the vial used for the Enlightenment Serum Lin Lei had received before.

“Give me your hand—” Zhou Ru fitted the blue reagent into the slot on the syringe and approached Lin Lei.

Lin Lei extended his hand but cautioned, “My skin is much tougher than average. Ordinary syringes might not pierce it—”

Zhou Ru smiled, took his arm in one hand, and plunged the metal syringe into his arm with the other.

Hiss!

The slender needle easily pierced skin tougher than leather.

“This…”

The blue liquid slowly entered Lin Lei’s body.

A wave of coolness spread instantly from his arm throughout his body.

Lin Lei shivered, feeling more alert.

Zhou Ru smiled, withdrew the syringe.

“We have plenty of source-energy users from the Physical Augmentation Path in Biyang, some at the fourth tier. Their bodies are far stronger than yours…”

“The Bureau has syringes of various specifications for different physical strengths…”

Lin Lei paused, then laughed.

No matter how formidable he was, he was only second-tier. He might rival some third-tier users, but compared to fourth-tier, he was far behind.

Zhou Ru set aside the syringe, then stepped forward, placing her hand on Lin Lei’s chest.

Her palm was warm, slender, and smooth.

A gentle force radiated from her touch, suffusing Lin Lei’s body.

Soon, warmth spread throughout him, as if he were wrapped in an electric blanket on a cold winter night—cozy and pleasant.

“Oh~”

His wounds tingled and itched, pain vanishing; Lin Lei couldn’t help but moan in comfort.

After a while, Zhou Ru withdrew her hand.

“In the coming days, you may feel some soreness. That’s normal.”

“Thank you, Dr. Zhou,” Lin Lei nodded.

Zhou Ru smiled and shook her head.

Lin Lei studied her eyes and couldn’t help but ask, “Dr. Zhou… Have we met before?”

He couldn’t shake a strange sense of familiarity.

Zhou Ru’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “That’s a rather clichéd line.”

“Cough, cough…”

Lin Lei felt awkward, then his eyes suddenly brightened.

“I remember now—Dr. Zhou Wei! Dr. Zhou, your eyes are so much like those of Zhou Wei, the source-energy consultant. And you both have the surname Zhou… Are you sisters?”

Zhou Ru paused, then shook her head with a smile.

“Zhou Wei… She is indeed a relative of mine, but we’re not sisters. Actually, my generation is lower than hers…”

Lin Lei was taken aback.

Zhou Wei looked no older than thirty, whereas Zhou Ru, even behind a mask, appeared at least thirty.

He hadn’t expected such an answer.

But sometimes, a younger person can have a higher seniority—it’s not uncommon.

Zhou Ru said nothing more, gave Lin Lei a quick check to confirm he was fine, then picked up her silver case and left.

No sooner had she departed than another figure entered—youthful and lively, a lollipop dangling from her lips: Li Xueshu.

Li Xueshu glanced at the armed men around, “You may leave now!”

“Yes, Leader Li!”

With Li Xueshu present, even if Lin Lei mutated, she could handle him easily; their presence was unnecessary.

Li Xueshu walked up to Lin Lei.

“You’re lucky. If not for the special nature of this mission, you wouldn’t have had the chance for the Physician’s treatment.”

Lin Lei raised his brows, “By ‘Physician’ you mean…”

Li Xueshu replied, “It’s a special title—referring to Zhou Ru. Normally, she only treats third-tier or above, or certain special individuals.”

Lin Lei nodded in realization. He unwrapped the bandage from his arm, revealing that the ten-centimeter wound beneath had vanished, fully healed without a trace of scar.

It was no less effective than the recovery he achieved by ‘plundering’ living flesh.

Lin Lei then checked all his wounds, finding them nearly all healed.

His body still felt faintly sore, not entirely gone, but it was no longer an issue.

Lin Lei marveled, “This treatment is far superior to ordinary medical serums…”

Li Xueshu shook her head, amused. “Low-grade serums naturally don’t work well.”

Lin Lei raised his brows, instantly understanding.

“So you mean… some high-grade serums with better effects can achieve similar results?”

Li Xueshu nodded, “There are some, but they’re rare and extremely valuable, hardly found even in the branch.”

Lin Lei nodded.

Serums were consumables, not restricted to specific users. In certain circumstances, their role was irreplaceable.