When Su Fan opened his eyes, he didn’t see a car roof, but a white ceiling.
“Looks like I was brought to the hospital.”
The smell of disinfectant lingering at the tip of his nose told Su Fan exactly where he was.
He didn’t rush to get up immediately. Instead, he lay there, recalling the details of how he had defeated the ‘Grim Reaper’.
How does one destroy a conceptual existence?
This was something Su Fan had been pondering since the moment he accepted Scarlett’s request.
He had considered the possibility that it was some kind of program, thought about exploiting a loophole, causing the Reaper to glitch and crash by disrupting its killing cycle.
However, the essence of this method was still passive defense, which Su Fan found deeply unsatisfying.
Besides, what if the Reaper suddenly decided to flip the table, refusing to follow its previous pattern of actions? One couldn’t just optimistically assume the opponent would always act as one imagined.
If defeating the Reaper in reality was impossible, what about in a dream?
This method suddenly occurred to him while he was assisting with the investigation at the police station.
The bizarre and whimsical world of dreams should be able to accomplish this.
In the end, Su Fan had been right.
It’s just that the side effects were a little… severe.
Affecting reality on such a large scale had put Su Fan under considerable strain.
“Thinking about it, it’s been months since I slept that deeply.”
With that thought, Su Fan got out of bed and stretched.
This scene was正好 witnessed by a nurse pushing a small cart who came in to administer an IV. Seeing Su Fan awake, she hurried off to notify the head doctor in the office.
What followed was a round of questions.
After confirming there were no issues, the doctor took out his phone.
“Do you mind if I make a call?”
“Mr. Su, Miss Johnson instructed me to contact her as soon as you woke up.”
Su Fan looked surprised. “Scarlett woke up early? When?”
“Actually, Miss Johnson regained consciousness not long after being brought here. She… attempted to care for you as a companion, but… well, she wasn’t quite suited for the job.” The head doctor’s expression was complicated, his tone exceedingly tactful. “She only agreed to leave temporarily after we persuaded her.”
“Actually, it wasn’t just Miss Johnson. There was also Miss Hathaway, Mr. Jamie, and the police—”
“No need to trouble you, I’ll call them myself.” Su Fan rose decisively, simultaneously rejecting the doctor’s suggestion for another check-up. He was just overly tired. After this period of rest, his energy had mostly recovered. Staying in the hospital was simply a waste of money.
Besides, who enjoyed staying in a hospital for no reason…
Su Fan found his previously changed clothes in a nearby cabinet. As soon as he picked them up, he noticed a different, pleasant fragrance.
Hmm… looks like Scarlichttook care of washing them. That was thoughtful of her.
Seeing Su Fan was determined to leave, the head doctor didn’t press further and tactfully left.
After completing the discharge procedures, Su Fan walked out of the hospital’s main entrance.
The hospital wasn’t far from his own antique shop. Coupled with it being rush hour, Su Fan decided to walk back.
With each breath, the air seemed to carry a hint of crisp chill.
In the alleys and side paths along the road, he could vaguely see small groups of homeless people sitting on the ground, eating.
It seemed winter was approaching.
Unlike the freezing cold of New York, California’s climate was warm and pleasant, making it an ideal winter destination for many homeless individuals.
Not only that, gun control here was relatively strict, requiring registration of firearm types and ammunition quantities for owners, which kept the frequency and number of shootings comparatively lower.
This also ensured the homeless were less likely to catch a stray bullet for some reason.
Add to that certain specific homeless relief policies here, which led to Los Angeles being seen as a promised land by many homeless people.
Every year, large numbers of homeless individuals gathered in this city, giving the local police constant headaches.
Having lived here for many years, Su Fan was used to the sight of these individuals.
He remembered, in his previous life, there were those dissatisfied with their domestic situation who came here through various means, dreaming of living in big houses, only to end up becoming homeless.
Su Fan strolled leisurely along the road, heading towards his antique shop. Before long, he arrived at the familiar storefront.
“I’m back.”
He silently thought to himself.
The shop was silent, but as he turned on the lights, a soft, light orange glow illuminated the many antique curios and artifacts within.
He tidied the shop, did a light cleaning, and hung the ‘Open’ sign on the door.
He boiled water, made himself a cup of tea, and sat back down in his usual spot.
This time, he didn’t take out a book to study. Instead, he began to examine the new supernatural abilities he had acquired last time.
The ability: ‘Draw Near’.
It generally appeared alongside ‘Summon Forth’. It was described as making an object return to its original position, or repositioning it according to one’s will.
Sword Art.
The Sword Art mentioned here wasn’t merely simple sword techniques, but the Dao of the Sword.
It enabled one to ride the sword through the air, control flying swords, and take an enemy’s head from a thousand miles away as easily as reaching into a bag.
Seeing this ability, Su Fan’s eyes practically lit up.
Riding the sword, borne by the wind, vanquishing demons between heaven and earth.
What young man didn’t harbor the beautiful fantasy of wandering the world with a sword, of cleaving open the gates of heaven with a single stroke?
The fact that men, regardless of age, love long, straight sticks was the best proof.
Su Fan suppressed his surging excitement and continued reading.
The last ability acquired was called ‘Slay Evil’.
This one was simple and brutal: slaying evil beings. However, it wasn’t limited to just evil spirits.
It could annihilate transformed spirits, mountain ghosts, evil gods, and malicious ghosts, acting as a natural predator against the latter.
Reading this, Su Fan couldn’t help but recall the entity he and Jamie had encountered during their trip that day.
The sense of threat it had given him far exceeded that of the previously vanquished ‘Grim Reaper’.
[I wonder how effective ‘Slay Evil’ would be against that thing.]
Su Fan pondered.
He didn’t dwell on it for too long before his phone rang in his pocket.
“Hello, who is this?”
“Su, when did you get discharged?”
It was Jamie on the phone. From the faint background conversation, it seemed he had gone to the hospital.
“Just finished the discharge procedures not long ago.”
“Is your body fully recovered? That’s great.” Jamie breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you remember the appraisal event I told you about?”
“I do. Is it about to start?”
“Yes, this weekend. I was originally worried you wouldn’t make it in time and was considering canceling your spot for you.”
“I’m fine… By the way, has the venue been decided?”
“Yes, at a museum not far from here.” Jamie paused. “The foot traffic there is quite heavy, and there will be people from other antique markets attending the appraisal.”
“Su, do your best. I believe with your skills, building a reputation won’t be a problem.”
