Chapter 2

Unless something unexpected happens, Xu Qiao works five days a week, including four-day shifts and one night shift.

The day shifts are from eight in the morning to five in the evening.
—-
At seven fifty, Xu Qiao changed into her white coat, left the changing room, greeted passing colleagues, and went to the third floor of the clinic to check on the recovery status of her two patients.

Ability users only have superior physical qualities compared to ordinary people, with enhanced resistance to some bacteria and viruses, but they can still get sick when necessary and require treatment for injuries

Patient No. 1 has early-stage skin cancer. Not wanting to wait in line at the hospital, they came to “Dr. Hua’s Clinic” and, somewhat skeptically, chose Xu Qiao, a young doctor who had been practicing for less than two years, because her fees were the lowest.

Wearing a mask, Xu Qiao calmly finished examining the wound of Patient No. 1 and said, “The recovery is good; you can be discharged now.”

The treatment for ability users is divided into three levels:

Primary Treatment: Ordinary treatment from the old era that does not consume any mental energy; it is low-cost but has a long treatment duration.

Intermediate Treatment: A combination of mental energy, medical equipment, and medication; it has moderate costs and a short treatment duration.

Advanced Treatment: Consumes a large amount of mental energy, instantly restoring the injured person to an optimal state for treatment; it is expensive and has an extremely short treatment duration.

For severe injuries or internal conditions, most ability users in the base tend to choose the economical intermediate treatment. They utilize the doctor’s mental energy to operate equipment for rapid removal of lesions and quick healing of deep wounds, significantly reducing bed rest time, and then use ordinary recovery methods to regain full health.

Patient No. 2 is a three-year-old boy who accidentally severed a finger. His grandfather rushed him to the nearest clinic, where Xu Qiao performed the reattachment surgery.

The boy’s parents are still outside the base on a mercenary mission, and his grandfather is the one accompanying him.

While Xu Qiao bent down to examine the little boy’s finger, the grandfather looked at her clear, clean eyes, which seemed to retain a sense of innocence from her school days, and smiled as he praised, “Dr. Xu, you really are young and promising. Just yesterday, I couldn’t believe you would treat our Qiang Qiang so well. Your skills are not any worse than those of the senior doctors in big hospitals.”

Xu Qiao merely smiled, gently patted the little boy on the head, and asked the grandfather, “The bones and nerves inside have healed; there are only superficial wounds left. Would you like to do another round of treatment here, or would you prefer to take him home to recover?”

The grandfather looked embarrassed and regretful. “My son and daughter-in-law entrusted their son to me. It’s all my fault for being careless. Not only did I let him suffer, but I also spent ten thousand points.”

Xu Qiao listened quietly.

Noticing that she wasn’t responding, the grandfather felt a bit awkward and, with a forced smile, asked, “Dr. Xu, my son and daughter-in-law might be back tomorrow. The ten thousand points were from my retirement savings, and I can accept that. However, I don’t want them to scold me for being useless. Could you possibly take a little more care of us and expend some mental energy to directly help Qiang Qiang heal? After all, there’s only a bit of surface injury left; it shouldn’t consume too much mental energy.”

He spoke in a very low voice, trying not to let Patient No. 1 overhear. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes piled up, revealing a look of pleading that was hard to refuse.

Xu Qiao, with her back to Patient No. 1, gently declined, “I’m sorry, but our clinic has regulations.”

As a C-level physician, her mental energy was limited. For such bone-repair surgeries, she could only perform seven a day; any more would affect her performance.

If she secretly helped the little boy now, what would she do if she encountered a critically ill patient during the day and found herself lacking that bit of mental energy?

Although she might already possess B-level mental energy, Xu Qiao had to maintain her disguise.

Moreover, the grandfather only needed to spend another one hundred points to restore his grandson’s finger to its original state. If he couldn’t bear to spend that one hundred points for his grandson, why should he expect her, an outsider, to expend mental energy worth one hundred points on the boy?

“Please think it over. If you have any needs, you can talk to the nurse on duty.”

After saying this, Xu Qiao left the ward and went to room 206 on the second floor.
—-
Half an hour later, the nurse on duty came and asked her to prepare the discharge papers for the little boy.

One hundred points could buy ten bottles of intermediate nutrient solution, enough for a low-level ability user to last three days, so it was understandable that the grandfather hesitated to spend that much.

There was a one-and-a-half-hour break for lunch, and Xu Qiao went to the cafeteria with her colleagues.

The staff meal at the clinic included one meat dish and one vegetable dish, which was quite good; some companies only provided nutrient solutions for their employees.

Xu Qiao placed her tray on the table, then opened the tablet she had brought to browse rental listings while eating, focusing on researching rental prices in nearby communities.

“What are you looking at?” Zhao Lu sat down beside her and asked, glancing at the tablet in confusion.

Zhao Lu was twenty-seven this year. Compared to the other more mature and steady doctors in the clinic, she preferred to get closer to Xu Qiao.

Xu Qiao replied, “Xiao Yang wants to rent out his house, so I’m helping him check the market.”

Zhao Lu responded, “It must be expensive where you are; the monthly rent for a single room should be at least three thousand points, right?”

The second ring of the base accommodated over five million ability users, and the closer the location was to the inner ring’s central area, the higher the housing prices.

The Xu family lived in Ping An Community, located on the west side of the second ring, just one kilometer from the west gate of the central area, surrounded by supermarkets, hospitals, and schools.

While other communities had high-rise buildings crammed with several households on each floor, Ping An Community consisted of six-story apartment buildings, with two households per floor, spacious and comfortable.

At this point, Xu Qiao summarized the market; a three-bedroom, two-living-room unit in the Liu family’s community, without a yard, rented out for between seven thousand and ten thousand points.
—-
After work in the evening, Xu Qiao rode her bicycle home. After a simple dinner, she opened her communication wristband and messaged Lu Yang: [Is it convenient for me to go to your place to take a few photos? I need them for the rental listing.]

Lu Yang had just left the school cafeteria and had two classes that night. Upon receiving the message, he replied: [That’s fine, my room might be a bit messy.]

Xu Qiao: [Okay, I’ll send them to you after I take them.]

She and Lu Yang both had spare keys to each other’s homes, so after getting his permission, Xu Qiao went straight over.

Outside the window was dusk, with the bright evening sun pouring in from the balcony, illuminating half of the living room.

On one wall hung the wedding photo of Uncle Lu and his wife.

Xu Qiao put away all the photos before she started taking pictures, and after finishing, she put them back.

With just a middle school student in the Lu family, the place was spacious and quiet, and only Lu Yang’s bedroom had a hint of liveliness.

In total, Xu Qiao took eight photos of the three-bedroom, two-living-room house, along with the kitchen, bathroom, and small yard outside. After Lu Yang confirmed that everything was correct, Xu Qiao began editing the rental listing.

Although the Lu family’s decor wasn’t very new, Xu Qiao set the price at ten thousand points because the view from the small yard could provide positive emotional value.
—-
The next day, after Xu Qiao woke up, she turned off the silent mode on her communication wristband and found several new messages from strangers, all inquiring about the Lu family’s house. Some thought the price was too high and tried to negotiate; after being refused, they resorted to insults. Others inquired about the landlord’s situation, while some wanted to schedule a viewing.

Sorting through the numerous messages took quite a bit of time.

Once breakfast was ready, Xu Qiao called Lu Yang over to eat.

Xu Qiao asked, “Have you packed everything up?”

Lu Yang replied, “Yeah.”

Xu Qiao continued, “Then you go to school. I’ll be back early tonight, so I’ll help you move your things over. That way, we can schedule viewings for tomorrow.”

Lu Yang said, “Let’s move it now; it’s not much. I’m definitely stronger than you.”

He knew that Xu Qiao was a C-level ability user and her physique was even stronger than that of the ordinary armed police in the third ring, but in his eyes, Xu Qiao had fair skin and a slender figure, resembling a delicate beauty that needed the protection of high-level ability users in movies. Lu Yang didn’t want her doing heavy lifting.

Xu Qiao put down her chopsticks, propped her right elbow against the table, and invited, “Come on, let’s see who’s stronger.”

Lu Yang’s gaze fell on Xu Qiao’s raised right hand, her fingers long and white as jade.

“Arm wrestling?”

Lu Yang couldn’t imagine how to grip her five fingers tightly, and he certainly didn’t want to be pinned down by her. If they were going to compete, he preferred to wait until after he awakened his mental body.

He quickened his eating pace, set down his bowl, and stood up, saying, “I’ll go move the stuff.”

Xu Qiao responded, “…”

Those who prefer to rent in high-end communities in the second ring are mostly professional mercenaries. Professional mercenaries often go outside the base to undertake missions; the risks are high, but so are the rewards. Some prefer to buy houses, while others prefer to enjoy life in the moment. Rather than spending millions of points to buy a house they may not be able to live in for long, they might as well rent a nice place and spend their points on pleasure.

Gradually, people began coming to the Lu family to view the house. There were couples who were also professional mercenaries, groups of two or three mercenaries, and even solitary mercenaries who looked intimidating. Most of them were C-level ability users; those with higher ranks could easily rent in the central district for a better living environment.

Xu Qiao and Lu Yang patiently evaluated each potential renter.

Xu Qiao hoped for neighbors who were easygoing and friendly, while Lu Yang, considering Xu Qiao’s safety, only wanted female renters who posed a relatively low threat.

Although the base severely punishes crime, some ability users still commit impulsive crimes, leaving the base after committing murder or arson, never to return.

“Why isn’t this couple suitable?”
—-
After smilingly seeing off a couple of mercenaries, Xu Qiao turned around and glared at Lu Yang in annoyance.

Lu Yang pressed his lips together, watching the male mercenary’s back, and said, “The guy kept stealing glances at you.”

Xu Qiao replied, “… Fine, I’ll listen to you this time. But if I encounter someone, I think is suitable next time, even if you oppose, I’m going to settle it, unless you no longer need me to manage things.”

Lu Yang recalled the busy picture of her having to reply to other people’s messages when she ate and agreed.

In the afternoon, while Xu Qiao was consulting with a patient, the screen of her communication wristband suddenly lit up.

After the patient left, Xu Qiao opened the wristband.

It was another message from an unknown number: [Is the house listed by ID “Little Pond” still available?]

“Little Pond” was the ID Xu Qiao registered on the forum.

Xu Qiao replied: [It is.]

Unknown number: [I want to rent it.]

Xu Qiao paused for a few seconds and asked: [Don’t you want to see the house?]

Unknown number: [If you need me to, I can.]

Xu Qiao fell silent again. After being scrutinized and bargained with so many times, this renter was too straightforward.

However, she still wanted to get to know the person a bit during the house viewing to avoid accidentally finding a difficult neighbor.

Xu Qiao replied: [What time is convenient for you?]

Unknown number: [Anytime is fine, just let me know what works for you.]

Xu Qiao thought for a moment and replied: [How about 1 PM tomorrow?]

Unknown number: [Sounds good. See you tomorrow.]

After the conversation ended, a new patient came in. Xu Qiao suppressed the surprise that this straightforward renter had brought her and focused on her work.