Carrying the newly purchased book "The Complete Guide to Server Operating Systems", Zhu Siqi felt a sense of satisfaction. This book covered most of the mainstream server operating systems and came with a bonus CD, which contained trial versions of several server operating systems. With this, most of his problems were solved. Now, he just needed to put everything into practice.
At this moment, a familiar ringing sound caught his attention. Turning around, he saw Zhang Mengqin approaching.
"Zhu Siqi, why haven't you been coming to class these past few days? Where have you been?"
"I had some things to take care of, so I asked Professor Peng for leave," Zhu Siqi replied casually.
"Leave? That was a few days ago. You must have skipped class recently. I even asked Professor Peng about it." Zhang Mengqin was a bit annoyed. She had a good impression of him—he was young but driven, often seen at the Nanjing University library, and had even cured her grandfather's stomach cancer. But now, despite his skills, he had skipped class and lied about it.
"Ah, I messed up!" Zhu Siqi had lost track of time while immersing himself in his online research. He had no idea the days had passed so quickly. If it weren't for Zhang Mengqin, he might have still thought it was the second day of his leave.
"You only just realized? Come with me to school now, the afternoon class is about to start."
Fortunately, Zhu Siqi had his books in a black, opaque bag, so he wasn't worried about others noticing. He followed Zhang Mengqin back to school.
As soon as they entered the classroom, Qian Yong, Zhao Jian, Hu Wei, and Wei Li gathered around.
"Hey, where have you been all this time? Come clean! Professor Peng asked us for your address. We told him we didn't know, but now that we've taken this risk, you know what you need to do tonight, right?" Zhao Jian asked, eyes narrowing.
"Alright, I'll treat you all to dinner tonight. How about that?" Zhu Siqi replied. He couldn't argue with them and appreciated their help. If Professor Peng had shown up at his place two days ago, they would have been in trouble.
At this point, Professor Peng Ling walked in, having heard from Zhang Mengqin that Zhu Siqi had arrived. "Zhu Siqi, you've been on leave for two days and skipped three classes. Are you treating this school like a hotel? There are rules here—if you skip a week of classes, you'll be automatically expelled. If you have something urgent, you should've informed me."
"Professor Peng, I'm sorry. I had some things to handle, but everything's settled now. I promise I won't skip class again," Zhu Siqi explained sincerely.
Seeing his honest attitude, Professor Peng wasn't too harsh on him. She just reminded him to always let her know if something came up in the future.
The afternoon class was on advanced mathematics, but Zhu Siqi had no interest. He felt confident in his math skills—he could easily hold his own against any Ph.D. He focused instead on his book "The Complete Guide to Server Operating Systems". The book began with an introduction to the minimum hardware requirements for running an operating system. After comparing his computer, he realized that it wouldn't be able to handle the load. It seemed like he would need to get a small server, but his finances were tight.
After class, Zhu Siqi headed home to his rented room, where he met up with his friends at 6:00 PM for dinner.
At home, he inserted the bonus CD into his computer and tried installing an operating system with the lowest hardware requirements. Unfortunately, halfway through the installation, his hard drive ran out of space. He had no choice but to cancel the installation.
He then logged onto the internet, created a new ID on the forum, and decided to advertise his ability to cure diseases to earn some money. He found a section dedicated to medical treatments and posted an advertisement claiming he could cure cancers that modern medicine had no solution for. He said he could cure cancer in three sessions, with the first session being free. For the second session, if the results were good, he would charge 20,000 yuan.
After posting, he exited the forum and turned off his computer, preparing for dinner with his friends.
At the restaurant, they were all there, and this time, they managed to get Wei Li and Hu Wei to blush from all the teasing. They had a good time, but the evening ended quietly. After returning home, Zhu Siqi checked his inbox and found a message from someone.
The email was from Zhang Xueying, a graduate student from a university in the South. She was inquiring about her father, who had been diagnosed with liver cancer. Despite trying various treatments, his condition hadn't improved. Zhang Xueying had seen his post on the forum and wanted to give it a try. She was willing to pay if the treatment showed any results.
Zhu Siqi immediately replied to her email, asking when they would be available. He mentioned that he only treated patients in Nanchang, and they agreed to meet in three days.
Three days later, on Sunday, Zhu Siqi met Zhang Xueying and her father at a park in the northern district of Nanchang. The park was quiet, and he had run there in the mornings before. He had arranged to meet them at 11:00 AM, and they arrived promptly.
"Are you Zhang Xueying?" Zhu Siqi asked.
"Yes, and you are?" Zhang Xueying replied, surprised that he recognized her.
"I'm here to treat your father," Zhu Siqi said calmly.
"This is my father, Zhang Zhentian," Zhang Xueying introduced the older man next to her.
"Hello, Mr. Zhang," Zhu Siqi greeted him.
"Hello, Mr. Wu. May I ask where you practice?" Zhang Zhentian asked, trying to gauge Zhu Siqi's background.
"I'm a freelance practitioner. I'm here to treat your illness, not to chat. Please extend your hand," Zhu Siqi replied firmly, not wasting time on pleasantries. He had spent a couple of hours preparing for this disguise, and he didn't want anything to go wrong.
There was a stone table in the pavilion with some stone benches around it. Zhu Siqi placed his hand on Zhang Zhentian's pulse and immediately sensed his liver was in worse shape than Zhang Aihua's. However, he was confident that it could be treated.
"Mr. Zhang, I'm going to perform acupuncture on your liver. Please lift your shirt," Zhu Siqi instructed.
Zhang Zhentian followed his instructions, and Zhu Siqi quickly inserted several needles around his liver. However, he did not hold onto the needles as usual. From his past experiments, Zhu Siqi realized that he could transfer his true energy through certain materials. He didn't want anyone to know he was using true energy for healing, so he carefully transferred his energy through his feet, into the stone bench, and then into Zhang Zhentian's body. Although there was some loss of energy during the transmission, it helped him remain undetected.
After about 20 minutes, Zhu Siqi withdrew his true energy, removed the needles, and said, "That's enough for today. Go to the hospital for a check-up. If the results aren't satisfactory, don't come back. If you notice improvements, come back tomorrow at 7 AM, and bring the payment with you."
Zhang Zhentian, eager to be cured, agreed without hesitation. "Money is not a problem, as long as you can cure me. I'll be back tomorrow."
"Good. Go to the hospital now, and let me know the results."
The next day, Zhang Zhentian went to a hospital for a check-up. The doctors were surprised at the improvement in his condition. "The scan shows significant improvement. If this continues, there is a possibility of a full recovery."
Encouraged by this progress, Zhang Zhentian was overjoyed. He couldn't believe the change in such a short time.
Zhu Siqi was pleased with the results. He met with them again the next day and, in just 10 minutes, completed the second treatment. After receiving his payment, he informed them that the cancer cells were almost gone, and only a final check-up was necessary the following day.
"Everything should be fine now. Come back tomorrow morning for a quick check, and I'll do some final energy healing," Zhu Siqi said.
Zhang Zhentian was more than willing to pay whatever it took. "Your medical skills are truly miraculous. I've never experienced anything like this. Here is 20,000 yuan as promised."
The treatment went smoothly, and by the end of the third session, Zhang Zhentian was completely cured. Zhu Siqi reminded them not to post about it online to avoid drawing too much attention.
After the treatment, Zhu Siqi felt great. He was one step closer to buying the server he needed. He had already checked the prices and decided on a model that would cost just over 100,000 yuan. He wasn't in a hurry, though—he would save up and buy it when he had enough money.
As he returned home and checked his email, Zhu Siqi saw another message. This time, it was from Zhang Mengqin.