9 Chapter 8: Rich Rewards!_2

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Sitting in the chair and pondering, a rumbling sound came from Xu Changsheng's stomach, followed by a surge of hunger pangs.

That's not right, is it?

This morning, he had clearly eaten a lot, so how could he be hungry again?

Soon, he figured it out—it was very likely that all those rewards had consumed too much energy.

By 12 o'clock noon, Yang Huancheng and the others still hadn't returned.

Xu Changsheng didn't bother with anything else and got up to head straight to the cafeteria.

The August Research Institute provided lunch; at 15 yuan, you could eat all you wanted, and the standard of food was quite high.

After coming in, Xu Changsheng simply ate six chicken legs, three bowls of rice, twelve chicken wings, twenty-one prawns, and two bowls of soup.

Looking at the huge pile of food waste in front of him, Xu Changsheng suddenly felt that the 15 yuan was quite the steal.

However, as he was about to leave, he overheard people around him whispering.

On any other day, he wouldn't have been able to hear them, given the distance.

But today!

His hearing had greatly improved.

"I have something to tell you, but don't pass it on!"

"What happened?"

"Didn't you notice? The doorman has changed today!"

"Yeah, where did Lao Zhao go?"

"Last night, something strange happened inside the August Research Institute. At four in the morning, six people died! And, the cause is unknown!"

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you? At five o'clock, everyone in C District with Fifth Rank Authorization or higher received a notice, an urgent meeting was called to discuss and find out the reasons!"

"There are still no results!"

"I see."

"How did they die?"

"I heard it was some weird cause, like severe headaches leading to death. I don't know the exact details."

...

Just as Xu Changsheng was feeling like he had made a big profit and was about to stand up and leave, he heard this conversation and couldn't help but mull it over!

No wonder the director was not around today!

So something did happen...

However...

"Four in the morning!"

"Severe headache!"

"Death!"

When these three words came together, Xu Changsheng's heart skipped a beat.

Because... the timing and symptoms seemed somewhat similar to his own!

But he wasn't sure whether the two incidents were related.

Xu Changsheng fell into deep thought.

He thought for a long time but still didn't have a definitive answer!

Because he had no idea what the cause of the "Soul Stripping" was or who the real culprit was!

Unable to figure it out, Xu Changsheng wasn't too worried.

When faced with things beyond his control, the right choice was to prepare as best as he could.

Just as Xu Changsheng was preparing to continue eavesdropping, his phone rang.

Xu Changsheng picked it up and saw it was Doctor Zhang from the mental hospital.

He hurriedly got up, left the cafeteria, and answered the call, starting with a polite greeting:

"Doctor Zhang, hello, hello. Have you had lunch?"

Doctor Zhang was the physician in charge of Xu Changsheng's sister.

Without any pleasantries, the doctor cut straight to the point:

"Mr. Xu, here's the situation: your sister's condition has worsened lately, and the original treatment plan is barely effective. She has episodes every night, and she might even injure her fellow patients."

"We now need to move her to a single room, and also, the treatment plan needs to be upgraded."

"But, this means the cost of the treatment will also increase."

Xu Changsheng, hearing about Xu Liuliu's trouble, suddenly became worried.

Indeed!

In the two days since Xu Changsheng had crossed over, he felt as though he had inherited not just the original host's body, but also a lot of his emotions.

Among the strongest was his feelings for Xu Liuliu.

Therefore, hearing the other party's words, Xu Changsheng instinctively became worried, even anxiously asking:

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"Okay! Okay! Fine, Doctor Zhang, please, you must help Liuliu. As for money, I'll figure something out. Don't worry about it! I will definitely cooperate proactively."

Doctor Zhang was silent for a moment, "Mr. Xu, you haven't paid last month's fees yet. The nurses have called several times to remind you."

"I called you today because I wanted to tell you that the subsequent expenses will be quite high. If you can't afford it, it would be better to take her home."

Upon hearing this, Xu Changsheng's face showed embarrassment.

"May I ask, how much is the total cost?"

"You've already accrued over 20,000 in debt. The expenses for each coming month could be around 30-50,000. I think you should consider this quickly and give us a response."

Xu Changsheng took a deep breath, "Okay, Doctor Zhang, by tomorrow night at the latest, I will have an answer for you!"

"Alright!"

After hanging up the phone, Xu Changsheng opened his own mobile phone.

After checking his account balance, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

It was a total of only 2666.01 yuan.

This was enough for his everyday expenses, but nowhere near enough for Xu Liuliu's medical bills.

What should he do?

Xu Changsheng suddenly felt a bit lost.

He stood still for a few minutes to organize his thoughts, then went straight back to his office.

He took a piece of paper out of the drawer.

Picking up a pen, Xu Changsheng began listing the things he needed to do, hoping to sort out his thoughts.

"Soul Stripping—Lao Zhao's mysterious death, similar symptoms, is there a connection at all?"

Xu Changsheng was only guessing, but couldn't be sure.

Whether there was a connection or not, he needed to increase his own strength, to be prepared!

So, in the face of such a complex world, the most important thing was still the issue of strength!

The second problem arose!

"How to increase strength?!"

His greatest asset was the system.

By collecting and compiling those mechanical prostheses and mysterious bizarre attachments, he could increase his strength.

The incident this morning where he found a bargain confirmed Xu Changsheng's decision to stay.

Not only could he obtain extracts through surgery.

He could also... gain some abilities through such lucky finds!

Therefore, he couldn't leave the August Research Institute.

Not only could he not leave, but he also needed to increase his authorization as much as possible, to access more places, to give opportunities to his system!

But...

Therein lay another problem!

"Strength increases are too slow!"

Indeed, if he stayed in the company, it was clear that trying to increase combat effectiveness in the short term by collecting these things was a bit tough.

No one knew when danger would strike!

So, he had to rely on mechanical prostheses.

However, prostheses in his blueprints cost up to a million each.

To form a significant combat ability, wouldn't he have to prepare three or four?!

There was also Xu Liuliu's treatment, which required money as well.

So, he encountered the fourth problem!

"Money!"

Thinking it over, Xu Changsheng suddenly realized that money might be the fastest way to increase his strength.

It could help him gain self-protection capability in a short period!

And it could solve Xu Liuliu's treatment expenses.

The final problem emerged!

"How to make money!?"

Xu Changsheng carefully analyzed his situation; he had a few ways to make money:

First: Mechanical Prosthesis.

Second: Performing black-market surgeries.

Xu Changsheng did some online research.

Soon, he found that F2 District had a large mechanical prosthesis market, similar to a black market.

Thinking of this, Xu Changsheng decided to check it out tonight.

After clearing up his situation, Xu Changsheng immediately burned the piece of paper.