Chapter Four: The Unconventional Healing Technique

The moment the faint green glow in Zhong Shenxiu's hand touched the gaping wound on the scrawny young man's head, the bleeding ceased instantly. The raw flesh beneath began to heal, as if time itself was rewinding, and the split skin knitted back together in unison. The miraculous effect of this healing art was plain to see.

It wouldn't be long before the wound on the young man's head was completely cured by Zhong Shenxiu. Yet, Zhong Shenxiu stopped midway.

Because… the system notified him that the task was complete.

[Ding, Novice Task: Successfully heal a human—completed.]
[System fully unlocked.]
[Novice gift pack issued. Please check to receive.]

Since the task was already finished, there was no need for him to waste any more energy on this chance-met youth. Thanks to his treatment, the youth's wound, though still bleeding, was no longer life-threatening. A grave injury had become a minor one.

Let this be the reward for helping Zhong Shenxiu complete his novice task.

Besides, unless the task required him to restore the wound to its original, flawless state, Zhong Shenxiu had no intention of fully healing it. To do so would be to take a risk—a risk of exposure.

Earlier, when he dragged the young man into a corner, even though no one noticed, his actions were still caught on surveillance. Normally, no one would bother to sift through footage of a thousand-odd prisoners, especially with a gang war raging nearby as the main event.

But if the young man woke up later, found himself without a scratch, and went around boasting about it—claiming he'd taken such a heavy blow and walked away unscathed—those words might catch the wrong ear. Someone might report it to a mysterious organization, prompting them to check the prison surveillance. They would surely notice Zhong Shenxiu dragging the youth into a blind spot.

As for concrete evidence, Zhong Shenxiu had been meticulous; they would find nothing. But it would still needlessly increase the risk of suspicion.

Although Zhong Shenxiu knew he was a nobody, and all his elaborate precautions might be for nothing—perhaps no one would ever pay him any mind—his life was his own. Whatever he did, he had to be responsible for himself, leaving behind no trace that might arouse suspicion.

He put a little distance between himself and the scrawny youth, then eagerly summoned the system interface in his mind.

The first line was still the countdown timer, but now it read:

[532 hours 06 minutes 14 seconds]

Three whole weeks—504 hours—had been added!

Having been suffocated these past days by the relentless countdown, Zhong Shenxiu finally breathed a deep sigh of relief. Three weeks might not be long, but it was far better than thirty hours. And with the system in hand, Zhong Shenxiu now felt more confident than ever: he could walk out of prison alive!

Beneath the countdown, the system interface, in stark white text, was now much more complex.

[Slacker System]
Host Name: Zhong Shenxiu
Combat Power: 5 (Note: Comprehensive score based on strength, speed, defense, skill, ability, reflexes, etc. For reference only; actual combat depends on various factors and ability counterplay. Please proceed cautiously.)
Mental Power: 8/10 (Recovers during sleep; current recovery rate: 1 point per hour.)
Passive Abilities: None
Active Abilities: Mutant Healing Art Lv.1 (Note: Due to some unknown mutation, when healing a target, there is a random chance each second to acquire the target's unique ability.)

Mutant Healing Art Lv.1 consumes 1 point of mental power per second of use.
World Points: 100 (Increases by 1 every 24 hours in the main world.)
Overall Rating: F
......

He scrutinized his stat panel over and over, and every time he saw the special ability attached to his mutated healing art, he could not help but tremble with excitement.

Ecstatic!

He was simply overjoyed!

This mutated healing art could only be described as “broken.” Its appearance utterly changed Zhong Shenxiu’s plans, giving him the confidence to reach for the heights of this world.

In the Marvel universe, superpowered beings were in no short supply. All he needed to do was keep healing them—sooner or later, he’d copy all their abilities for himself.

Imagine if he possessed Thor’s thunder, Thanos’ Titan physique, Spider-Man’s spidey-sense, Wolverine’s regeneration...

It was simply absurd!

Zhong Shenxiu could not help but sigh again in his heart.

But then there was the matter of mental power...

He quickly realized the biggest limitation of his mutated healing art. Healing others gave a chance to acquire their abilities, with a new roll every second. It was like drawing cards—the more you drew, the higher your odds. So, how could he draw more? By increasing his “currency”—his mental power—or the rate at which it recovered.

Currently, his recovery rate was far too slow. Not only did he have to be asleep, but he gained only one point per hour. In other words, it took an hour of sleep for just one second of healing—for just one attempt.

He had no idea how low the acquisition rate actually was. If his luck was terrible and it took a thousand seconds of healing to finally gain a superpower, then, even if he slept 23 hours a day and the superpowered test subject waited for him daily, it would still take 43 days!

Far too slow. The moment he saw his stat panel, Zhong Shenxiu knew that increasing his maximum mental power and its recovery rate were now his top priorities.

“System, how can I raise my mental power cap and recovery rate?” After a moment’s thought, Zhong Shenxiu asked in his mind.

[There are approximately 3,700 ways to increase mental power. Would you like me to list them all?]

Zhong Shenxiu hurriedly stopped it. If that mechanical voice really did list 3,700 methods, his head would explode: “No, no, just summarize—keep it under five.”

[Very well. Please wait. In the meantime, the system recommends you claim your novice gift pack first.]

Novice gift pack?

If the system hadn’t reminded him, he would have forgotten. He’d been too caught up in the excitement of his new overpowered healing art.

“Claim.”

A massive gift pack, wrapped in cheap rainbow effects, instantly appeared in his mind. It bounced and twisted, accompanied by tacky faux fireworks, and opened itself.

“Truly worthy of the Slacker System...” For a moment, Zhong Shenxiu almost felt transported back to the days of old MMORPGs—brother, come gank my base—

Then, two mechanical notifications sounded in unison.

[Mental power cap +5]
[Passive ability 'Medical Mastery' acquired. Would you like to learn it?]

“Learn.” Zhong Shenxiu didn’t pay much attention to “Medical Mastery”; all his focus was on the +5 to mental power.

He quickly checked his stat panel, and saw that his mental power now read:

Mental Power: 13/15 (Recovers during sleep; current rate: 1 point per hour.)

Fortune was smiling on him—just as he needed mental power, the novice pack granted it. What perfect timing.

On second thought, Zhong Shenxiu figured the system knew what was in the novice pack; that’s why it prompted him to claim it first.

For all its slacker branding, the system was pretty smart.

The boost in mental power was immediately obvious. With just five extra points, Zhong Shenxiu felt his mind clear up, and he faintly sensed his awareness of his surroundings had grown keener.

At this moment, the system had finished its summary:

[There are three main ways to increase mental power:]
[One, task rewards.]
[Two, cultivation techniques or abilities that strengthen mental power.]
[Three, items that boost mental power.]

Upon hearing this, Zhong Shenxiu pondered a while. The last two options were meaningless to someone currently imprisoned like him.

But task rewards.

He guessed this referred to rewards like the novice pack—straightforward, effective increases to mental power.

Tasks...

He recalled that at the bottom of his stat panel was a task option, which he had to open in his mind to view.

He was about to enter the system interface to take a closer look when—

A thunderous crash erupted from all directions, and the entire prison shook as if struck by an earthquake!

Then...

A monstrous figure, crowned with a rhino’s horn and clad in steel-gray flesh, burst from the underground cells, eyes blazing red! Concrete and steel beams shattered like tofu at its charge!

Speared upon its horn was a human.

The man’s abdomen had been pierced clean through, blood pouring like rain.

Blond, tall, and thin.

Zhong Shenxiu’s pupils shrank in an instant.

That man was... White!!!