Chapter 00015: Not a Surprise, but a Shock
# Not a Surprise, but a Shock
Chapter 15
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 15: Not a Surprise, but a Shock
"You're also an Inner Strength Martial Artist?" Cheng Jianjie’s eyes narrowed. He was now certain that Lan Xiaobu was an Inner Strength Martial Artist; otherwise, he would never have been able to sever his arm.
But how could that be possible? Lan Xiaobu was only in his fourth year of university, and according to the information he had gathered, he should still be under twenty years old. An Inner Strength Martial Artist under twenty was unheard of.
If it were so easy to cultivate Inner Qi, it wouldn't be so rare. Most martial artists today merely practiced superficial forms, with only a select few exceptionally gifted individuals able to cultivate Inner Qi. Such martial artists could truly be called Inner Strength Martial Artists. However, even those with extraordinary talent typically only managed to cultivate Inner Qi after the age of thirty.
As for the stages of tempering strength, bone refinement, meridian unblocking, and the Innate Realm that Lan Xiaobu was aware of, those concepts only became known after the explosion of spiritual qi on Earth. Before the outbreak of spiritual qi, there were only martial artists who had cultivated Inner Qi and those who had not.
Although Lan Xiaobu had not been exposed to the martial artist world, he knew what an Inner Strength Martial Artist was. To him, an Inner Strength Martial Artist was equivalent to the Tempering Strength Stage, while he himself was in the Bone Refinement Stage. By that logic, he was slightly stronger than an Inner Strength Martial Artist.
"That's right, I entered the ranks of Inner Strength Martial Artists ten years ago. You, a mere grasshopper, dare to cause me trouble? I'm sorry, but you can only hope that someone remembers you and burns some paper money for you this time next year." Lan Xiaobu was not one to shy away from bloodshed. Even though Cheng Jianjie looked terrifying at that moment, Lan Xiaobu slowly approached him, holding a kitchen knife.
"You can't kill me." A flicker of panic flashed in Cheng Jianjie’s eyes. If he had remembered that Lan Xiaobu was an Inner Strength Martial Artist earlier, he would never have spoken so harshly. He would have left first. No matter how powerful Lan Xiaobu was, could he really contend with the Savage Crocodile Gang?
Lan Xiaobu nodded. "Right, I can't kill you. But when you kill me in the future..."
"Wait..." Cheng Jianjie clearly sensed Lan Xiaobu’s murderous intent. "Don't you want to know what that wooden box you took from me is?"
Lan Xiaobu was taken aback; he had just remembered that Cheng Jianjie had come to kill him because of that box.
"What is it?" Lan Xiaobu instinctively asked.
Cheng Jianjie softened his tone. "If you swear to let me go, I promise to tell you what that wooden box is."
Lan Xiaobu’s gaze softened, and he slowly lowered the kitchen knife in his hand. "Very well, then tell me about the wooden box..."
As soon as he mentioned the wooden box, the kitchen knife in Lan Xiaobu's hand suddenly transformed into a line of blade light, swiftly slicing across Cheng Jianjie’s neck.
No matter how curious he was, he had to eliminate the opponent first. Lan Xiaobu had survived in a world where people devoured one another for years and knew better than anyone what danger was.
A golden needle fell from Cheng Jianjie’s left hand, and he slowly knelt down, staring at Lan Xiaobu. "You... will regret this..."
After uttering those words, Cheng Jianjie collapsed to the ground.
Regret? Lan Xiaobu held disdain for that word. If he didn’t kill Cheng Jianjie, he would be killed by him. What was there to regret? What could be worse than being killed right now?
Lan Xiaobu looked at the blackened golden needle that had fallen to the ground. He was grateful that he had suppressed his curiosity; otherwise, the one lying on the ground could very well have been him.
Cheng Jianjie’s pockets contained only a phone and a short knife tucked at his waist. This short knife was clearly not an ordinary item, and Lan Xiaobu unhesitatingly claimed it as his own. He opened the door again and found a leather bag at the entrance. This bag was likely left there temporarily by Cheng Jianjie, probably because he was worried that carrying it would hinder his movements.
Inside the bag were not many items, but each looked extremely exquisite. There was a seemingly iron plate, about the size of a bank card, with a few golden characters in the center: Thousand Sounds Auction. There was also a black jade token the size of a baby’s palm, engraved with an alligator, with the words "Right Minister" written beneath it.
Right Minister, you should be going to serve the First Emperor! Lan Xiaobu scoffed inwardly but placed these items into his pocket.
What Lan Xiaobu valued the most was naturally the wallet.
Inside the wallet were various bank cards and some unknown membership cards, all looking very high-end. Unfortunately, these items were worth nothing to Lan Xiaobu, which left him quite disappointed.
At the very back of the wallet, Lan Xiaobu saw another box, approximately half a foot long and as wide as his palm.
He opened the box, revealing something wrapped in yellow cloth. Picking up the yellow cloth, it felt heavy and substantial. When he unwrapped it, the object inside emitted a faint white glow.
Is this a piece of jade? As Lan Xiaobu held the jade, an extremely warm sensation coursed through him, filling him with ecstatic joy. He had seen before a piece of sheep fat jade that fetched a price of two hundred million. This top-grade sheep fat jade, if valued, might even exceed that amount. What he needed most was money; with money, he wouldn’t have to remain here as an intern—such a waste of time.
...
Lan Xiaobu dragged Cheng Jianjie’s corpse and the useless items to the wilderness to bury them. After thoroughly cleaning the house, the sky had already brightened.
Even as a Bone Refinement Stage practitioner, after a night of turmoil, Lan Xiaobu was utterly exhausted. He decided to rest for a day before leaving.
Lan Xiaobu was certain that Cheng Jianjie would not tell anyone about his visit. Since he had eliminated Cheng Jianjie, he could not remain here any longer; otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before he was exposed. Once he entered Kunlun Mountain, whether he was exposed or not would be irrelevant.
It wasn't until the afternoon that Lan Xiaobu was awakened by a phone call.
"Xiaobu, why didn’t you come to work today?" Ji Zheng’s enthusiastic voice came through, clearly not calling to investigate his absence.
Lan Xiaobu quickly replied, "I got up late this morning and was a bit lazy, so I didn’t go to the hospital."
It wasn’t his first day missing work. Ji Zheng was calling him today because of the paper publication. Ji Zheng thought he had done a good deed, but for Lan Xiaobu, it was a huge pitfall.
Ji Zheng was somewhat speechless at Lan Xiaobu's excuse but still said, "Xiaobu, you have a chance for your job to become permanent. Why don’t you come to the hospital tomorrow? I have something very celebratory to tell you; it’s definitely a surprise."
Ji Zheng guessed that Lan Xiaobu still didn’t know he had become a global celebrity and was preparing to bring him to the hospital to give him a surprise.
"Director Ji, just tell me what it is. As for the job, I plan to resign. A friend of mine recently found a good project, and I plan to collaborate with him." Lan Xiaobu casually brushed off the subject as before.
He knew what Ji Zheng’s surprise was, and to him, that surprise felt more like a shock. Lan Xiaobu was too lazy to blame Ji Zheng; Ji Zheng had good intentions, and now that things had happened, discussing anything else was pointless.
"Xiaobu, do you know your paper was published in the Dao of Medicine?" This was Ji Zheng’s first reaction.
Regardless of whether Lan Xiaobu had graduated or not, as long as a paper was published in the Dao of Medicine journal, there would be countless medical institutions seeking him out, so he wouldn’t have to worry about work at all.
Lan Xiaobu sighed, and before he could speak, Ji Zheng continued, "It’s the paper we co-researched about the deadly risks of Lancomycin. I was worried you wouldn’t agree, so I took the liberty of putting your name on the paper. You are the first author, and I am the second author. Now that the paper has been published in the Dao of Medicine, it has caused a stir in the medical community, and soon you won’t have any free time."
Lan Xiaobu was speechless, so that was why Cheng Jianjie could find him so quickly. And also that hurried Luo Caisi. Publishing a paper on the deadly risks of Lancomycin in the Dao of Medicine, especially as the first author, would make him famous.
Cheng Jianjie didn’t even need to go out of his way to inquire; he could easily find out where Lan Xiaobu was.
"Xiaobu?" Seeing that Lan Xiaobu was silent, Ji Zheng called out again.
Lan Xiaobu sighed, "Director Ji, you really mean well for me. Not only did you put my name on it, but you made me the first author."
"Of course. Although my workload was greater than yours, the key parameters and opinions were all yours. It’s only right for you to be the first author," Ji Zheng said with a serious tone.
"Director Ji, I still want to resign. I won’t be going to the hospital, sigh..." After saying this, Lan Xiaobu hung up the phone.
Ji Zheng stared blankly at the busy tone coming from the phone, not understanding what had just happened.
Just as he was still trying to figure things out, the office door was pushed open again. This time, not only was Vice Dean Gu Xiren present, but also Dean Chen Xun and the leading orthopedic specialist, Xing Yigeng.
(Today's update ends here, friends, good night! There is a moderator who is usually quite busy. Those with ample time and willingness can apply to be our moderator; authors should refrain from applying and focus on updating more.)
(End of this chapter)