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Steven was too worried about Mouri Ran and Vermouth's lives to care about system messages.
The speeding car quickly caught the attention of traffic police.
"Annoying flies. They're everywhere!"
When Steven set Mouri Ran down and touched her forehead, he nearly burned his hand. It was scorching hot.
If this dragged on any longer, her life would be in serious danger. Even if she survived, there could be lasting complications.
He wasn't in the mood to play games with the cops.
So he decided to do something extreme.
Steven opened the car door, letting the freshly grabbed curls whip around in the wind.
Rumbling explosions echoed behind them.
The pursuing traffic police car was blown to pieces, everyone inside dead. The road was completely blocked.
"Wrong."
Vermouth was bleeding badly, her face pale as paper. She stared straight ahead and suddenly spoke.
"What's wrong?" Steven was confused.
"The route is wrong. The FBI knows I've been shot. They'll definitely alert all the major hospitals in advance. Going to a hospital is basically walking into a trap."
"Ah…"
Steven finally realized it and silently cursed himself for being an idiot. How had he missed something so obvious?
"Turn around up ahead. Go to Tianchao Street."
Vermouth was one of the Organization's elite, holding an enormous amount of intelligence.Every country, every city, where the underground clinics were hidden, she had already mapped it all out.
Twenty minutes later.
Following Vermouth's directions, Steven parked in front of a veterinary clinic.
"Are you serious?"
He looked up at the gold-lettered signboard and seriously suspected Vermouth was delirious from blood loss.
Treating gunshot wounds… at a vet clinic?
That was a first.
"No mistake. Go inside."
Vermouth got out of the car, clutching her wound, and walked in.After hesitating for a moment, Steven picked up Ran Mouri and followed.
Lives were on the line. There was no time to waste.Since they were already here, he could only trust Vermouth this once.
But the moment they entered, the scene stunned him.
The lobby was crowded with people. Long lines had formed at the payment and pharmacy windows. Several nurses hurried around guiding and supporting patients. It looked exactly like a small general hospital.
This was a veterinary clinic?
That question popped up in Steven's head again.
"Underground hospitals can't see the light of day. They need a cover sign. Now you believe I wasn't lying, right?"
As Vermouth spoke, she headed toward the reception desk.
"Damn. This is really something else."
No sooner had Steven muttered that than a nurse walked over.
"You're Chinese?"
Holy crap.Hearing Mandarin here felt incredibly comforting.
"Yeah, I am."
Steven replied in Chinese, clearly delighted. Running into a fellow Chinese person abroad felt like pure luck.
Strictly speaking, he wasn't lying.He really was Chinese. After transmigrating, that trash system had forcibly fabricated an American identity for him. He'd had no say in it.
"I'm Chinese too. If you're here to see a doctor, please come this way."
The nurse smiled warmly and started to lead him inside.
"That friend over there is with me. Can she come too?"
Steven guessed they might not need to wait in line and glanced at Vermouth.
"Of course."
Before long, under the nurse's guidance, the three of them arrived at the clinic's traditional Chinese medicine wing.
An old TCM doctor with white hair and a youthful face sat behind the counter, deeply focused on a medical text.
"Doctor Tomoaki Araide, you have guests," the nurse said softly, then nodded to Steven and left.
"A friend comes from afar. Isn't that a joy?"
Doctor Tomoaki closed his book and slowly walked over, looking Steven up and down, then glancing at Ran Mouri and Vermouth.
"The girl with the high fever isn't a serious case. Brew a decoction of herbal medicine, combine it with physical cooling, and she'll improve overnight."
"The one who's been shot needs the bullet removed. That'll take some time."
"Young man, I'll arrange a suite for you. It'll make it easier to take care of both patients."
Clink.
That was it?
"Young man, I know you have a lot of questions. Go ahead and ask."
Doctor Tomoaki returned to the counter, opened a drawer, and began selecting herbs.
"Doctor, with your skills, you could easily run your own clinic. Why hide in a veterinary clinic? And this place is just bizarre. The sign says vet, but everyone here is human."
Seeing that Doctor Tomoaki was the real deal, Steven poured out all his doubts in one breath.
Saving lives made sense.But that signboard was seriously misleading.
"Young man, I'm the owner of this clinic. Over thirty years ago, I came to Okinawa. With these fists and my medical skills, I took control of the entire Tianchao Street."
"On the surface, I give the island nation's government some face, so I hang up a vet sign. But if any locals dare cause trouble on this street, I never show mercy."
"The front is a clinic. The back is a luxury hotel. Doesn't matter if you're being hunted by the underworld or wanted by the authorities. As long as you're Chinese, you're absolutely safe here."
"As for the local medical system, the discounts are great, but who gets treatment depends on who you are. I treat everyone equally. Over there, they treat animals. Over here, I treat people."
After speaking, Doctor Tomoaki placed the prepared herbs on the counter and explained how to use them and what to watch out for.
Only then did Steven truly understand. Doctor Tomoaki was a veteran at playing the system.
About the time it takes to burn a stick of incense later, a young man came to the TCM wing.Following Doctor Tomoaki's instructions, he led Steven to the prepared suite.
Everything was there: food, clothes, daily necessities, even tools for boiling medicine.
Doctor Tomoaki's full-service package was free for Chinese patients. Foreigners paid only if he felt like charging them.
After thanking the young man, Steven placed Ran Mouri on the bed.
He then followed Doctor Tomoaki's instructions, started boiling the medicine, and applied physical cooling.
"Sorry about this, Ran. I had no choice if I wanted to save you."
Cooling her down inevitably meant some exposure.Her clothes were already soaked through anyway. They needed changing for proper treatment.
There was unavoidable skin contact during the process, but none of it was intentional.
Steven might be a hardened outlaw, but he would never take advantage of someone in that state.
By the time he finished feeding Ran the medicine and lowering her fever, it was already past midnight.
Steven sat on the sofa, rubbing his temples, when he suddenly remembered the system notification from earlier.
He opened the status panel.
[Five-Star Good Citizen System]
[Host: Steven]
[Achievement Points: 0]
[Active Achievement: Explosion Is Art]
[Achievement Title: Lawless Madman]
[Basic Skills: Size Manipulation, Explosion Fruit Ability, Awei's Eighteen Forms (Low-End Version)]
[Card Skills: Mechanical Mastery, Genius Inventor, Master of All Weapons, Full HP Revival, Auto Target Lock]
[Inventory: Spiked Club, Wolf Claw Gloves, Strength Belt, Tool Treasure Box, Materials Treasure Box, Identity Trio (Household Register, ID Card, Passport), Bank Card]
[Shop: Not Open]
[PS: Young man, well done. Keep it up and continue striving toward becoming a criminal genius!]
"There's an extra achievement title now. What the hell is this thing? I don't feel any boost in strength at all."
Frowning, Steven clicked to view the detailed description of the title.
"....."