Chapter 50: Money Can Cure Anything

"Let them hunt me down, I am not afraid of them. Didn't that Enforcer named Jiang Tongtong scare herself to death by me today? It is nothing special."

"Jiang Tongtong is not an Enforcer, but a Tier 3 Transcender who merely took on a bounty mission within the Tower on her own accord. She did not kill herself either. Do not underestimate the enemy; you are not her match yet."

Roland was just about to question further when the artificial intelligence continued immediately, "Ms. Roland, I will contact you proactively when an opportunity arises. Before that, please do not make a similar mistake to this one again. Consider this a warning. If you insist on initiating contact with me again next time, our agreement will cease to exist."

With that, the earpiece went completely silent. For a split second, Roland felt an urge to crush the earpiece into pieces.

Roland sighed. Whether by coincidence or not, she felt that ever since she met Fang Xiaoling, her ability to control her emotions had been getting worse and worse. She tried her best to take deep, steady breaths, persuading herself not to overthink it.

She found a nearby hotel to rest. After transmigrating to this world, many truths were gradually coming to light, and completing the mission had become so crucial that she had even neglected the daily cultivation she used to practice.

The hotel bed was too soft, so Roland chose to sit cross-legged on the floor and began meditating. This was something she would do every single night, no matter which world she transmigrated to. Doing this not only cleared her mind but also enhanced her internal energy—killing many birds with one stone. However, she had only been meditating for two minutes before she unconsciously fell asleep...

Meanwhile, in the northern suburban bungalow district twenty kilometers away from the hotel, Fang Xiaoling jumped down from an apricot tree and landed firmly on all fours in front of a private clinic that still had its lights on.

"Mission accomplished, Lord of Light, I'm heading back first," Fang Xiaoling muttered to herself, then slowly straightened her body. She looked up at the bungalow clinic, its plaque covered in spiderwebs. "What kind of wretched place did this Number 301 find for me? Tao Yaozhen... a pediatric clinic??"

Fang Xiaoling was just about to call Number 301 back to find another place when a disheveled man wearing a white lab coat walked out of the clinic. He spat toward the apricot tree in the courtyard, lit a cigarette, and muttered, "Strange, how did this branch break?"

Just as he was about to pick up the broken branch from the ground, he gave a sudden shudder, evidently having just noticed Fang Xiaoling standing not far away. He straightened up and deliberately tugged his white lab coat downward in an attempt to hide the slippers on his feet. "Uhm... are you here to get medical care for your child?"

"No... I'm just passing by."

Fang Xiaoling was about to leave when the man shuffled over in his slippers, hurried down the steps, and shouted, "Don't leave yet! Those hospitals might not be as good at treating illnesses as I am! My name is Tao Yaozhen, and I used to be a very famous doctor. If you don't believe me, look me up online."

Fang Xiaoling walked to the courtyard gate and noticed that there weren't even any streetlights on the surrounding roads. What kind of village was this? Jung had said that one minute in the real world was 18.5 hours in the Starry Realm; she truly could not afford to waste any more time. She stopped at the courtyard gate, turned around, and smiled. "It's not my child; I am the one who needs medical attention. Can you treat it?"

"I can! If it's an illness, I can treat it!" Tao Yaozhen hurriedly made a welcoming gesture. "Please come inside. As long as you have money, it can be cured! If it can't be cured, no charge!"

The more Fang Xiaoling listened, the less reliable it sounded. She felt as though the man was like a charlatan con artist who had changed careers to become a teahouse waiter.

The two of them entered the clinic. Just past the threshold, one could see six hospital beds—not entirely empty, because one of the beds held an electric cooking pot with instant noodles boiling inside, bubbling away vigorously.

"Are you hungry? Want to eat something first?" Tao Yaozhen cheerfully hurried over to that bed and unplugged the power cord of the cooking pot from the socket. "Ahem... sometimes certain severe patients require company and care."

Fang Xiaoling looked around. Patients? Where were there any patients?

"This patient, please take a seat." Tao Yaozhen solemnly draped a stethoscope around his neck. "Where does it hurt?"

Fang Xiaoling did not hear what Tao Yaozhen said; her attention was entirely drawn to the rows of trophies displayed in the glass cabinet. They were of all shapes and varieties, dazzling to the eye: Model Doctor of various cities, Provincial Otolaryngology Model, Surgical Representative, "National Medical Master??"

The words slipped right out of Fang Xiaoling's mouth. She turned her head and sized him up. "You? You're faking these, aren't you?"

"Everyone in the town says so, but young lady, as the saying goes, one cannot judge a book by its cover." Tao Yaozhen uncrossed his legs and sat up a bit straighter. "Just by looking at your complexion, I can tell that your constitution is weak, your digestion and absorption are poor, you are anemic, and you suffer from irregular menstruation." With that, he pulled an elementary school handwriting practice notebook out from under his buttocks, placed it on his lap, and began to write. "I will write you a prescription. I guarantee your period will come the moment you drink it. Go fill the prescription at a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy yourself. The consultation fee is fifty."

"Hey—" Fang Xiaoling shook her head, let out a long sigh, and turned around, intending to leave, but Tao Yaozhen called out to her.

"Wait!" Tao Yaozhen stood up, a solemn expression on his face. "Your third lumbar vertebra... Oh my god, it is completely shattered, and it's pressing against your nerves. How on earth are you still able to walk?"

"You... how did you figure that out?" Fang Xiaoling turned around in astonishment. She subconsciously touched her lower back; her knitted hoodie completely covered her waist, so even with the most advanced medical skills, it should have been impossible for him to tell.

"Never mind how I figured it out. I'll just ask you one thing: how much money do you have?"

Realizing that this doctor might actually possess extraordinary capabilities, Fang Xiaoling thought of the bank card in her pocket and intentionally understated the amount by forty thousand. "Ten thousand?"

"Go lie face down in there! I'll tidy up and perform surgery on you right away." Tao Yaozhen walked over to the other side of the bed with the electric pot, pulled back the obstructing curtain with force, and revealed a surprisingly vast space inside, providing an unexpectedly spacious area.

Fang Xiaoling walked inward, passing by a series of signs: Buffer Zone, Cleaning Zone, Sterilization Zone, and finally the Operating Room. On the surface, everything seemed fine, though each zone only occupied about two square meters. Inside the operating room stood a white bed.

Without lingering on her doubts any further, Fang Xiaoling lay down, took a deep breath, and suddenly let out a wail of agony.

Tao Yaozhen was wrapped tightly in a surgical gown. At that moment, in the sterilization zone, he was holding something resembling a car-washing spray nozzle and hosing himself down.

"Weren't you just fine a moment ago? Why did the pain start all of a sudden?" Tao Yaozhen walked over to the hospital bed.

"A quick pain is better than a long one! If I don't hurt here, I'll be in pain elsewhere for much longer!" Fang Xiaoling gritted her teeth. "Stop talking nonsense and start the treatment already!"

"Oh... then do you still need anesthesia?"

"Of course I do!" Fang Xiaoling shouted. "When did I ever say I didn't need anesthesia?!"