In the end, Lin Juan’s voice grew noticeably lower, as if he had made some unreasonable demand.
Old Master Lu was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He hurriedly said, “What are you talking about, child? You’ve helped us so much. We should be thanking you. How could we ask you to pay compensation?”
“Exactly,” Lu Mingxuan chimed in. “Little Uncle, we’re family. You’re being too polite.”
“No compensation?” Lin Juan looked incredulously at the chaotic room. “But this place can’t be used anymore, right?”
“Just toss it,” the Adolescent Boy from the Lu Family—who had never worried about money—waved his hand grandly. “As I see it, not only should we not make you pay, we should give you a reward for protecting Little Uncle.”
“Right, Grandpa?”
Old Master Lu nodded in agreement. “Mingxuan is right. If it weren’t for you today, who knows what would have happened to Yanzhou.”
At that, Old Master Lu turned to look at the large bed. “Yanzhou, he…”
“He should be fine,” Lin Juan kicked aside a Mutated Giant Frog blocking his path and walked to the bedside. “I didn’t let any of those things get near him the whole time.”
Old Master Lu followed him to the bedside and looked down at his youngest son.
Lu Yanzhou was his son born in old age. He had his own ideas from a young age and rarely caused him worry. He had gone abroad to study young, built a career for himself, and after returning to the country, taken over the Lu Family’s affairs, leading the Lu Corporation to new heights.
If not for that strange illness…
Lu Yanzhou lay on the bed with his eyes tightly closed, showing no reaction to the outside world. Old Master Lu patted his hand and sighed.
At this point, how could he not see that the so-called master was a fake, and the idea of a joyous union to ward off illness was utter nonsense? Otherwise, where did all these monsters in the room come from?
This was probably all part of an interconnected conspiracy.
If not for Lin Juan, Old Master Lu didn’t even dare imagine what scene he would face come morning.
Lin Juan was the biggest variable in this incident.
No matter if Lu Yanzhou could recover or not, the Lu Family would never forget Lin Juan’s kindness.
As for the one behind it all, the tears in Old Master Lu’s eyes faded, replaced by a ruthless glint. He absolutely would not let them go!
His youngest son wasn’t even thirty yet. Before the strange illness, who saw him and didn’t praise his dragon-like bearing and phoenix poise? Young and holding great power—what a spirited sight. Now, he could only lie in bed, his vitality fading.
They had tried every method, but nothing could hold it back.
Lu Mingxuan also realized it. The so-called master was most likely a con artist. Looking at his unconscious Little Uncle, his eyes reddened.
Lin Juan couldn’t stand the heavy atmosphere in the room and spoke up to break it. “I think you all know by now that the master was a fraud. Do you need my help to deal with it?”
Having destroyed things without needing to pay compensation—and even getting paid—Lin Juan didn’t mind helping out more.
He had to live up to the employer’s reward.
“If we can’t handle it, we’ll have to trouble you to step in.” Old Master Lu pulled himself out of his grief.
Lin Juan pointed at the monsters piled up in a mess around the room. “These things need to be dealt with.”
Lin Juan didn’t ask where the monsters came from. Clearly, they were tied to the so-called master, along with the vanished Black Liquid. Once they found the master, they’d know.
The book hadn’t detailed much about the villain’s past, and Lin Juan hadn’t read it closely. By the time the story started, the major villain had already been dead for four years. Lin Juan had no idea what happened in those four years.
Old Master Lu called people to come handle it. Earlier, he’d been afraid of ruining the master’s plan and hadn’t dared bring anyone over. Now, with no more reservations, he issued orders. Soon, the sound of orderly footsteps arrived.
The butler was followed by the Lu Family’s hired bodyguards. Lin Juan took the clean clothes from the butler, ignoring the shocked expressions on their faces, and went into the bathroom.
He really couldn’t stand the filthy clothes on him anymore.
By the time Lin Juan came out, the bodyguards had already begun orderly cleanup of the messy room.
“Is there another room?” Lin Juan walked straight to the bedside, bent down, and scooped up Lu Yanzhou from the bed. He remembered the other man was quite the neat freak too.
His movements were too fast. By the time Old Master Lu reacted, his tall and burly son had been horizontally carried by his slimmer son-in-law.
“Little Lin, this is…?” Old Master Lu asked blankly.
“Oh,” Lin Juan realized he should explain. “Move him to a clean room.”
They couldn’t just leave him here.
Right, with the huge shock tonight, Old Master Lu had forgotten that his youngest son had a bit of a cleanliness obsession.
They moved Lu Yanzhou to the next room, with Lu Mingxuan following the whole way.
No matter how ill, Lu Yanzhou was still a man over 1.9 meters tall. Lu Mingxuan watched Lin Juan carry his Little Uncle without even a change in breathing and swallowed hard.
His Little Uncle’s strength was apparently no joke.
Following Old Master Lu’s instructions, the butler brought Lin Juan two cards.
“What are these?” Lin Juan took the cards, puzzled.
Why two?
The butler smiled until his face creased. “This card is your pocket money. All the younger family members have one. Fifty thousand is deposited every month, and you can withdraw more if it’s not enough. This one is your reward—ten million inside.”
“Ah?” Lin Juan, who had never seen so much money, was dumbfounded. “This much?”
“And pocket money too?” Lin Juan suddenly felt the cards burning in his hand.
Heaven knew, from childhood to now, he had never had more than fifty yuan in his pocket. This was way more than double.
“I can’t take this.” Lin Juan returned one of the cards.
He accepted the reward because he had indeed solved a major problem for Lu Yanzhou. No matter what the future held, at least for now, Lu Yanzhou wouldn’t get infected on his wedding night.
Infection!
Lin Juan remembered something important. He shoved the cards back into the butler’s hands and ran out.
Old Master Lu was discussing security with the bodyguard leader when he saw Lin Juan rushing over and paused.
“Little Lin, what’s wrong?”
“Those monsters from earlier might have infectious diseases.” Lin Juan wasn’t sure how much this world at this time knew about Weird Phenomena, so he chose his words carefully.
Old Master Lu didn’t panic. “These things look strange, so their origins are definitely not simple. I’ll have people handle them carefully.”
When the bodyguards had entered earlier, they were fully geared up. Old Master Lu and Lu Mingxuan, on the other hand, hadn’t taken much protection.
“Do you have any leads on where they came from?”
“I have some guesses,” Old Master Lu said slowly. “I heard some news before about a lab leak causing biological mutations. I figure these are those mutated creatures.”
Otherwise, it was impossible to explain the frog-human things.
Lin Juan pondered. It seemed the authorities had already noticed something was off, though he didn’t know how deep their understanding of Weird Phenomena went.
He soon found out.
Early the next morning, before dawn, a group of men in uniforms arrived silently at the Lu Family villa. Lin Juan and Old Master Lu’s group were discreetly taken to a special hospital for checks.
Old Master Lu and Lu Mingxuan had brief contact with the Weird Phenomena, so their infection was low. They came out quickly. Lin Juan, having been in prolonged contact, finished his checks and was taken to a separate office.
In the office, a young man in a white coat sat at the computer reviewing surveillance footage, utterly baffled.
Zhuang Yufeng had been a surgeon before the Weird Phenomena descended. When it did, he was infected by his pet parrot at home and awakened his Purification Ability.
His ability was very useful. Under official protection, he survived until the final battle.
That battle had been too brutal.
Human powerhouses fell one by one. Before the strongest Weird Phenomena 【Annihilation】 nurtured in Annihilation Land, they were as weak as ants.
In a world ravaged by pollution, humanity gave everything, yet before the mighty Weird Phenomena, they were still like ants trying to shake a tree.
To let his teammates hold out a bit longer, Zhuang Yufeng exhausted his ability and, at peak Pollution Value, charged into the Weird Phenomena and self-destructed.
Then, he was reborn—back to when the Weird Phenomena had just appeared.
Heaven knew how ecstatic he felt upon opening his eyes. In his previous life, they had learned many things too late, responded to the Weird Phenomena too slowly, and paid a tragic price to reach a fragile balance. Now reborn, he could provide that information early and let humanity prepare.
But that ecstasy lasted only until morning.
He had just sorted his thoughts when he got a call from above: the Imperial Capital Lu Family had been attacked by E-Rank Anomaly 【Mutated Frogman】. He was to provide support.
Zhuang Yufeng’s heart sank halfway.
In his previous life, they had finally discovered that the absurdly powerful Weird Phenomena 【Annihilation】 from Annihilation Land had been a Lu Family member in life.
One could say whether the Lu Family was lucky or not: before the Weird Phenomena, they were one of Huaguo’s top families. But at the dawn of the Weird Phenomena, the Lu Family was wiped out overnight, spared the despair of the apocalypse.
To find a way to deal with 【Annihilation】, the organization in his previous life investigated much about the Lu Family and deduced that their turning point was the day the Lu Family Head Lu Yanzhou, desperately ill, held a joyous union.
Upon receiving the notice, Zhuang Yufeng rushed to the hospital in a frantic hurry and grabbed his assistant. “Where are the Lu Family people? Where’s the most severe case?”
The assistant had never seen such panic on Doctor Zhuang’s face and jumped. “They’re over there. None are very serious.”
“Not serious?” Zhuang Yufeng found it strange.
It shouldn’t be.
His rebirth timing was shortly after the Weird Phenomena appeared. Humanity’s understanding was still in the trial-and-error phase. Zhuang Yufeng was among the first Ability Users officially recruited.
Zhuang Yufeng remembered clearly: in his previous life, the Lu Family suffered heavy losses from the E-Rank Anomaly 【Mutated Frogman】 attack. Lu Family Head Lu Yanzhou was severely polluted and didn’t last two months.
How could it not be serious?
Calming down, Zhuang Yufeng requested access from his superior and opened the surveillance.
Seeing the black-haired, black-eyed, strikingly beautiful youth standing with the Lu Family grandfather and grandson, Zhuang Yufeng frowned slightly in confusion. “Who is this person?”
His earpiece transmitted his superior’s voice: “He’s Lu Yanzhou’s new husband, Lin Juan. Apparently, he resolved the Lu Family’s 【Mutated Frogman】 incident last night.”
How?!
Zhuang Yufeng clenched his fist. In his previous life, Lu Yanzhou’s new husband had clearly died at the hands of the 【Mutated Frogman】.
Noticing his change in demeanor, the voice in his earpiece asked, “Little Zhuang, is there a problem?”
“No.” Zhuang Yufeng steadied himself. The Lu Family was gone in his previous life—maybe the intel wasn’t accurate. He needed to check more.
In the surveillance, the Lu Family was coming out of the checkup room.
The head nurse led the way: “Mr. Lin, you had the longest contact with the 【Mutated Frogman】. For your health, we’ll do a thorough separate check.”
Old Master Lu patted Lin Juan’s arm. “Go on, don’t be scared. We’ll wait outside.”
They arrived at the office, and the head nurse knocked.
“Come in.”
A mild male voice came from inside.
The head nurse opened the door. “Mr. Lin, please.”
Lin Juan entered the office. It was a large single room with an iron door on the back wall. The doctor in the white coat sat at the desk and spread his arms.
“Mr. Lin, please sit.”
Lin Juan sat across from the desk.
“Doctor Zhuang?” A name card on the desk read the doctor’s name.
“Yes.” Zhuang Yufeng smiled. He had a gentle appearance, with slightly long hair half-tied back, and his smile had a strangely infectious charm.
“No need to be nervous. We’ll just do a simple check. May I have your hand?”
Lin Juan extended his hand as instructed.
Zhuang Yufeng placed two fingers on his pulse.
He observed Lin Juan.
This was a very beautiful youth, with delicate and soft features, long hair cascading behind him. Even in a simple white shirt and black pants, he exuded a captivating presence that drew the eye.
If he had seen someone like this in his previous life, he absolutely wouldn’t forget.
But Zhuang Yufeng searched his memories and found no match for the youth.
That left only one possibility: this person hadn’t existed from start to finish in his previous life.
Lin Juan felt Zhuang Yufeng’s scrutiny and subtly frowned. He didn’t like such probing gazes.
“Are you a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, Doctor Zhuang?” Lin Juan lowered his eyes.
Warm fingers touched his skin, and a gentle energy flowed into his body from the point of contact.
His fatigue vanished in an instant.
Lin Juan raised a brow. Was this a Supernatural Ability?
“I know a little.”
No Supernatural Ability, no signs of pollution—Zhuang Yufeng was surprised inside but showed nothing. He checked again before withdrawing his hand.
“Mr. Lin, your pulse is strong and healthy.”
“Thank you, Doctor Zhuang.”
Zhuang Yufeng typed a few words on the keyboard and looked up. “If it’s convenient, could you tell me how you dealt with those Mutant Frogmen?”
“Mutant frogmen?” Lin Juan pretended not to know.
“Those were the ones you ran into last night. Frankly speaking, those things are experimental products that escaped from some laboratory. We’ve seen several cases of injuries from these experimental products. Those things carry unknown viruses, so we must take them seriously.” Zhuang Yufeng explained.
Zhuang Yufeng probed indirectly with a few questions. Lin Juan himself didn’t know much about these matters, and his answers stayed free of errors.
After sending the man away, Zhuang Yufeng pinched his brow in headache.
He had thought Lin Juan might be some kind of variable. After probing, the other party showed no supernatural ability and no understanding of weird phenomena. With no conclusions from his deliberations, Zhuang Yufeng decided to leave the headache to his superiors.
He organized the documents and reported the intelligence upward.
Lin Juan returned to the villa with Old Master Lu and his grandson. There was still some cleanup work to handle here.
“Once we finish up here, Xiao Lin, come live with us at the Lu Family. This place was meant to be your new home with Yanzhou, but now it’s dirtied. I have several other properties—pick one you like. If none appeal, we’ll buy more.” In the car, Old Master Lu signaled the butler to pass the tablet to Lin Juan for selection.
“You’re too polite, Old Master Lu. I can’t accept unearned rewards.” Lin Juan declined repeatedly.
“Take it. That boy of mine still needs your care.”
At that, Lin Juan remembered something. “Old Master Lu, since the master was a fake, what about my marriage to Mr. Lu…”
Lin Juan had stayed single until now. He never imagined that transmigrating into this book would skip straight past dating to marriage. If possible, avoiding a binding with the big villain sounded pretty good.
Unexpectedly, before he could finish, Old Master Lu cut him off in a hurry. “You’ve already exchanged the Eight Characters Match and bound your fates per Daoist rites. If that boy Yanzhou ever treats you poorly, just come find me—I’ll set things right for you.”
Old Master Lu hated the master who had tried to harm his youngest son, but he approved of this marriage a thousand times over.
No matter what Lin Juan said, Old Master Lu refused to cancel the wedding.
Lin Juan had no choice but to drop the subject. He secretly resolved to discuss it directly with Lu Yanzhou once the man woke up.
If Lu Yanzhou agreed, Old Master Lu couldn’t very well ignore his own son’s wishes… right?
