Hospital corridors, even when pierced by the slanting rays of the 3 PM sun, failed to bring any warmth.
Yang Xi still couldn’t accept the fact that his sister had become a vegetative patient.
A middle-aged lawyer in a black suit was speaking with his father.“My condolences. No one could have foreseen this. It was sheer misfortune that Miss Yang happened to be inside that convenience store when the Glacier Hero’s freezing bomb veered off course due to the aberrant beast.”
Yang’s father roared, “That was murder!”
The lawyer, seemingly accustomed to such confrontations, remained unfazed despite being grabbed by the collar. He even maintained a professional, insincere smile.“But he saved more people, didn’t he?”
“None of us want tragedies like this to happen, but we can’t deny that maintaining social order requires sacrifices. Heroes aren’t gods—they’re already doing their best, fighting aberrant beasts and superpowered criminals. There are bound to be accidents.”
“I won’t sign this document! Take your blood money and get out!”
Yang’s father slammed the document onto the ground.
But Yang’s mother quietly picked it up.
Yang’s father bellowed, “What are you doing? Are you really going to trade Feifei’s life for money?!”
Yet, Yang’s mother snapped, “Will holding someone accountable wake my daughter up? She’s a vegetable! She can’t see, she can’t hear—her only lifeline is this medical equipment! And how long can we afford to keep it running? Five years? Or just one?”
Clutching the document, she sobbed uncontrollably.“This money is what will keep Feifei alive!”
Yang Xi supported his mother, guiding her to a green reclining chair in the hospital corridor. With his right hand, he took the document and read it carefully.
It was a naked exchange—300,000 Blue Star credits and full coverage of his sister’s medical expenses in return for his family forever waiving any claims against the Glacier Hero’s “accidental” injury.
Yang Xi looked at the lawyer.“I’d like to add a condition.”
The lawyer frowned. The moment he entered the ward, he had taken note of this young man—short black hair, gold-rimmed glasses, giving off the impression of a scholar.
“Go ahead,” the lawyer said.
Yang Xi’s voice was calm.“I want the culprit—the so-called Glacier Hero—to personally apologize to my family.”
As expected.
The lawyer found this particularly troublesome. He knew all too well the arrogance of that man. Getting him to bow his head to ordinary people was next to impossible.
“I could apologize on his behalf.”
Yang Xi shook his head.
“Oh, and Kunlun Brokerage will issue an official apology as well.”
Yang Xi shook his head again, expressionless.
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“There will also be a public press conference where the Glacier Hero will bow in apology.”
Still, Yang Xi shook his head.“I’d prefer he come in person.”
The lawyer sighed.“Wait here. I’ll make a call.”
Stepping out of the ward, the lawyer lit a cigarette, only to be met with a sharp glare from a passing nurse. Sighing, he extinguished it.
The call connected after three rings.
On the other end, Glacier Hero Li Canyang was in the middle of a workout.
“Lawyer Wang, settled already? I’ll have my assistant wire the remaining compensation in a bit.”
He took a swig of a blue energy drink—his own branded “Glacier Series Pulse,” blueberry-flavored.
Li Canyang absentmindedly rubbed his chest. The side effects were worsening. He still couldn’t understand why he had done it—that freezing bomb could’ve avoided the convenience store.
And yet, he had to admit… when it detonated inside the store, for a fleeting moment, he had felt an inexplicable thrill.
D*mn it!
He clenched his dumbbell tighter, letting the pain remind him he was still himself.
“There’s a family member who wants you to apologize in person,” said Lawyer Wang.
“…What?”
Li Canyang thought he misheard.An A-rank hero like him, making a personal apology?
“Who are they? A wealthy tycoon? A government official? A hero’s family?”
“No. Aside from the victim being a top student at a hero academy, they’re just an ordinary family.”
Li Canyang let out a scoff.“And you’re calling me for this? Lawyer Wang, I’m paying you to handle these things, not to waste my time. If you can’t do the job, I’ll find someone who can.”
With that, he hung up.
“The hell? Another broken dumbbell?” He tossed aside the handle he had just crushed.
It rolled to a corner, joining a pile of other broken equipment, all relatively new—no dust on them.
Li Canyang stared out the floor-to-ceiling window, lost in thought. A faint blue light flickered in his eyes.
Nearby, his assistant shuddered involuntarily—the room suddenly felt colder.
Back in the hospital corridor, Lawyer Wang listened to the disconnected tone on the phone, standing awkwardly as a breeze lifted what little hair he had left.
“He won’t come?”
“I’m very sorry,” Lawyer Wang replied smoothly. “You must understand, an A-rank hero’s schedule isn’t easily adjusted. Glacier Hero truly wishes he could come, and he asked me to convey his sincerest apologies. Additionally, he’s willing to increase the compensation by another 100,000 Blue Star credits.”
That was the most Wang could offer within his authority.
“Alright. You can discuss the finances with my mother. I’ve already signed.”
Yang Xi handed the document to the lawyer and turned toward his sister’s hospital bed.
Yang Feifei’s freshly dyed pink hair looked dull, like withered grass.
Just a few days ago, he had threatened to punish her if she didn’t dye it back.
“You always have to go against me, huh?”
“And now, no matter how much I mess with you, you don’t react. How boring.”
“Weren’t you supposed to introduce me to your best friend as a girlfriend? Where is she?”
One sentence after another, Yang Xi held his sister’s frail hand, his warm tears dripping onto her skin.
“…Actually, I’ve been hiding something from you.”
“You’re not the only one in our family who awakened an ability. Your big brother is an ability user too.”
Yang Xi had awakened his power when he was eight years old. But he never told anyone.
His ability was Stripping—he could extract other people’s abilities and condense them into ability pearls.
And now, his sister fit the activation condition: a target unable to resist.
The moment he activated his ability, nothing seemed to change outwardly. But within Yang Xi’s perception, something was drawn out of his sister’s body.
Ability extraction complete.
A translucent pearl materialized in his palm, roughly the size of a marble, glowing with a faint yellow hue.
Ability: Mental ShockDescription: Releases a mental shockwave to attack enemies.Rating: D-tier. Weak for now, but it’s my sister’s ability—it has special meaning.
D-tier, huh?
Well, if it had been stronger, Feifei wouldn’t have been instantly turned into an ice sculpture by Li Canyang’s “accident.”
“But I don’t have time to train this power slowly.”
“If strength isn’t enough yet… then I’ll just collect more abilities.”
“Consider it a gift for Feifei.”
“After all… there are plenty of ability users out there who don’t deserve their powers.”
“I’ll just have to correct that mistake.”