Su Qingyue continued to speak for a while, mostly asking Lin Yuan if he felt any lingering discomfort.
...
Lin Yuan lightly pressed her shoulder. “Qingyue, I’m fine. But what about you? Did you not sleep at all last night?”
“I dozed off for a bit in the visitor’s chair.”
“The visitor’s chair is stiff, and the blanket is thin.”
“The blanket was quite thick. Besides, I’m an ice ability user; I’m not afraid of the cold.” She looked at him earnestly.
“Would an Ice Phoenix be afraid of the cold?”
Hearing this, Lin Yuan simply stared at her for a moment, nodded slightly, and then spoke slowly. “That’s good then.”
Being cared for by Lin Yuan like this, Su Qingyue’s fingers hanging at her side lightly toyed with the fabric of her sleeve, and she didn’t reply.
The conversation had actually lasted less than ten minutes, but neither of them felt like they should be the first to end it, making the scene a bit awkward.
Just then, Shen Man’s raised voice came from inside the room. “That’s enough of that. Su Qingyue, come in here; I have something to tell you.”
“Lin Yuan, get your ass over to see your friends. Once you’re done, pack your things. We’re leaving for Magic City after lunch.”
Being scolded by Shen Man didn’t upset Lin Yuan; instead, he felt grateful.
He tilted his head to peek into the room.
Shen Man was still slumped in the chair, the light from her phone screen reflecting a face that clearly said, ‘If you keep being this mushy, I’m going to vomit up my milk tea.’
The tips of Su Qingyue’s ears turned a subtle shade of pink. She quickly said, “Go see your friends first,” then lowered her head and hurried past him into the room.
Watching Su Qingyue jog into the ward, Lin Yuan noticed the pink on her ears.
He scratched his head in confusion and muttered to himself, “What’s going on? We were just having a normal conversation. Why are her ears red?”
...
The hospital corridor wasn’t long.
The temporary inpatient department of this hospital had been converted from an old administrative building, and old signs like “Records Room” were still stuck on the walls.
Lin Yuan walked down the hall and knocked on three doors in succession.
Bai Li was leaning against the bed by the window, her left arm wrapped in bandages and held in a sling. She had swapped her moon-white casual clothes for a striped hospital gown.
When she saw him push the door open, she instinctively tried to stand up, which tugged at the wound on her arm. she hissed softly through her teeth, but her eyes were bright.
“Senior! You’re okay?”
Lin Yuan looked at Bai Li on the bed and stood by her side for a moment.
The shallow scratch on her face from the Hexagon Building had already scabbed over, and she looked much more energetic than she had last night.
“I’m fine. How’s your arm?”
“Just a superficial injury. The nurse said the bandages can come off in a couple of days.”
She paused for a moment, remembered something, and smiled at Lin Yuan.
“Xiaxia’s injuries are a bit more serious—she broke two ribs—but luckily they’ve been set. She’s in the room next door complaining that the hospital food tastes bad.”
Lin Yuan listened closely and realized that Xiaxia was indeed yelling.
Even across half the corridor, he could hear her arguing with the head nurse about “why there isn’t any soy sauce in the braised pork belly.”
The head nurse replied with even more vigor, “You have broken ribs, you can’t have soy sauce,” which shut her up for quite a while.
He went to Xiaxia’s room, gave her a brief greeting, and then left.
Jiang Ran was in the room at the end of the hall, sharing a triple room with Chen Mo and Song Zhiyi.
Lin Yuan spoke with them for a few minutes, confirming that everyone’s injuries were recovering steadily.
Then he walked back to his own room. The moment he pushed the door open, he heard Shen Man speaking to Su Qingyue in a tone that said she had everything calculated.
“I’ll get you a replacement space ring once we get to Magic City. As for your secret technique, 《Frosty Heavens, Myriad Forms》, the Ice Academy has already pulled it from the archives. You can start practicing it as soon as we arrive.”
“Fill out this form on the way...”
Su Qingyue sat in the visitor’s chair, a pen and several forms thrust into her hands by Shen Man, her expression still a bit dazed.
Shen Man looked up and saw Lin Yuan at the door. She stood up, brushed off her clothes, and picked up her milk tea cup from the windowsill.
“Finished visiting? Then pack up. We leave after lunch. Don’t dawdle; I’m a very busy woman.”
As she reached the door, she looked back and added to Lin Yuan.
“That fruit of yours—wait until we get to Magic City and find a cultivation room before you absorb it. Don’t get an irresistible urge to munch on an S-rank spirit fruit while it’s stuffed in a ten-cubic-meter space ring.”
Lin Yuan chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not that greedy.”
...
For lunch, everyone chose to eat at the hospital canteen.
The canteen wasn’t large and was currently packed with injured people and rescue workers. It was crowded, lively, and noisy.
Long lines formed at the serving windows. The canteen chef banged his ladle against the metal trays, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Last serving of braised pork belly!”
Lin Yuan carried three trays, exerting effort to squeeze through the crowd.
The power of his Ten Rounds of Bone Tempering body showed its advantage in the throng. No matter how much people bumped into him, the trays in his hands remained as steady as a mountain, without the slightest wobble.
“This recovery rate is perfect for carrying trays,” he mused.
Lin Yuan set the trays on the table, turned back, and brought over several bowls of soup.
Su Qingyue sat by the window, holding her chopsticks and staring blankly at the heap of food in front of her.
Shen Man was not at all reserved. She snapped her chopsticks apart and started eating while scrolling through her phone, checking the train schedule from Hangzhou to Magic City.
On the screen, most of the departures were marked with bright red “Suspended” notices.
She scrolled down several pages before finding a single train running normally, and her face immediately fell.
“The Hangzhou superconducting train station was mostly destroyed by monsters, and the high-speed rail tracks were torn to shreds by rock-armored lizards.”
“The only trains running now are freight and rescue specials. Passenger trains won’t resume for several days.”
Shen Man set her phone on the table, picked up a piece of braised pork, and said casually, “Finish your food and follow me. We’re driving.”
Lin Yuan’s hand paused mid-bite. “Driving?” he asked in surprise.
“I left a car in Hangzhou. I bought it two years ago and kept it at a friend’s place. They’ve been taking good care of it for me, doing regular maintenance. It’s always kept fully fueled.”
“Hangzhou’s public transport is basically paralyzed, so driving is the most convenient. We’ll drive to the neighboring prefecture-level city first, then catch a train to Magic City from there.”
Hearing this, Lin Yuan didn’t ask any more questions. As long as they could leave smoothly, it was fine.
After lunch, Lin Yuan went from room to room to say goodbye to Bai Li, Xiaxia, Jiang Ran, and the others.
Bai Li’s left arm was still in a sling. When she learned he was leaving immediately, she pressed her lips together tightly. She didn’t ask him to stay, but she whispered a reminder: “Once you get to Magic City, remember to let us know you’re safe.”
Xiaxia leaned against her headboard, scrolling through her phone without looking up. She just casually tossed out, “Yeah, yeah, get lost already.”
...
At the entrance of the hospital parking lot.
Lin Yuan and Su Qingyue followed Shen Man to the far corner of the lot. When they arrived, Lin Yuan froze on the spot.
Parked before them was a dark purple, four-seater maglev sports car!
The body was long and low-slung, with sharp, aggressive lines that exuded a powerful presence.
Under the sunlight, it shimmered with a deep metallic luster. On each side of the car, a silver lightning pattern was engraved, looking incredibly cool.
The front windshield was a single, seamless holographic screen. The maglev engine cluster at the rear was dark gold. Even when not running, it radiated a sense of extreme speed and overwhelming pressure.
Lin Yuan couldn't help but blurt out, “Holy shit.”
Shen Man pressed the key fob, and the doors swung upward instantly—an incredibly flashy display.
She pulled open the driver’s side door and looked back at Lin Yuan.
The kid was already wide-eyed with excitement. He was squatting down to examine the wheel hubs, walking circles around the car, and lightly stroking the silver lightning patterns on the body, his face full of adoration.
“I’m definitely going to buy a car even cooler than this one day!”
Lin Yuan talked to himself, his voice not lowered at all, his heart filled with genuine love for the machine.
Su Qingyue stood by the passenger side, watching Lin Yuan circle the car again and again. She couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from curving upward.
“Get in the car!”
Shen Man sat in the driver’s seat, shoved her milk tea into the cup holder, and said irritably, “If you keep rubbing it, you’re going to rub the paint right off!”
Only then did Lin Yuan snap out of it. He pulled open the door and sat in the back.
The car started with almost no noise at all.
The maglev engines lit up with a faint, dark gold glow, and the car rose smoothly, hovering half a meter off the ground.
Shen Man lightly turned the steering wheel, and the dark purple sports car glided out of the parking lot and onto a well-preserved expressway in the eastern part of Hangzhou.
The further west they went, the more severe the road damage became. Potholes, building debris, and covered monster corpses were everywhere—a total mess.
Shen Man’s driving was extremely steady. She avoided every obstacle in advance, and the car remained perfectly level without the slightest bump.
Once they left the city limits, the road conditions improved instantly.
...
The scenery outside the window slowly transitioned from ruins to farmland, then to rolling hills.
Su Qingyue sat in the passenger seat, quietly watching the landscape. A few stray strands of hair fluttered in the breeze from the air conditioner.
While driving, Shen Man chatted with the two of them about Magic City Academy.
Lin Yuan sat in the back, chiming in from time to time, mostly asking when he could go to the Abyss Sea to kill monsters.
Su Qingyue asked detailed questions about the enrollment process for the Ice Academy, her tone serious as she made preparations in advance.
Seeing their reactions, the corners of Shen Man’s mouth turned up slightly as she lightly stepped on the accelerator.
The dark purple sports car sped along the afternoon highway, racing toward a prefecture-level city.
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