Chapter 17

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Chapter 17: A Mental Health Clinic

Ji Yongxing happily set off on his refreshing business trip.

He had long left the neat and tidy, albeit slightly crowded, inner city and arrived in the outer city, home to seventy percent of the human population.

And then he truly understood what chaos meant.

While the security in the outer city was not shocking, it was enough to make a sixteen-year-old Young Man feel a deep sense of concern.

Ji Yongxing seemed to carry a special aura from the inner city; even after walking a few blocks, many people couldn’t help but turn back to look at the refined young man, as if his plain clothes belonging to the outer city’s people failed to disguise anything.

Even the sneaky thieves prowling the streets eyed this seemingly extraordinary individual.

After pulling out his gun and handing a small thief over to the nearest security bureau, Ji Yongxing felt much safer. Many brazen onlookers switched from open stares to more discreet glances.

This assignment was supposed to come with a few guards.

The saying goes: A gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall. What Ji Yongxing truly feared was not the blatant targeting but rather an ignorant thug, oblivious to danger, deciding to stab him two times out of spite.

Although the Young Man lacked physical training, he had begun gun practice a few years ago. Plus, since his destination was the military base in the eastern outer city, the prying eyes grew fewer. Eventually, they vanished entirely when he walked into the army camp.

Ji Yongxing quickly completed his tasks and met the soldier, Wang Xiao, who had just received his medal yesterday—now it should be referred to as Corporal Wang Xiao.

His rank had been promoted, and he had been transferred from the Medical Soldier team to the frontline unit, becoming a team leader.

It was a significant loss for humanity if someone with his talents didn’t contribute to defending the city walls, and Wang Xiao wholeheartedly agreed. This was exactly the position he wanted, where he could truly showcase his best abilities.

Ji Yongxing didn’t meet Fresnel, as the superpowered individuals assigned to the military headquarters were always incredibly busy.

It was remarkable for him to attend Wang Xiao’s medal ceremony yesterday.

Direct superpowered individuals like them were always akin to firefighters, quickly matched to suitable tasks whenever problems arose.

After interviewing Wang Xiao, Ji Yongxing spoke to several soldiers whom Wang Xiao had saved from the city walls. They vividly recounted everything that had happened that day. Perhaps due to the "saved" buff, Wang Xiao had almost become synonymous with boundless capability in their stories.

Ji Yongxing expressionlessly dismissed some of the obvious flattery and ultimately met the observer who had failed to spot the extraordinary beasts on time, alongside the officer from the defense team who had been demoted and was currently in confinement.

In the evening, Ji Yongxing left the military camp. Having completed all his tasks in just one day, he was not quite used to resting with others.

This wasn’t a quirk of a genius; rather, it was difficult for a Young Man who struggled to enter deep sleep to entirely trust soldiers’ assurances that they wouldn’t snore.

Since the military camp didn’t care much about formality, they naturally had no Single Rooms amid limited resources.

Thus, the melancholic genius began wandering the busy streets of the outer city, searching for a suitable inn to stay in.

Freed from the shackles of research and tasks, Ji Yongxing once again thought of his model.

At first, it had merely been an idea and a hypothesis; he hadn’t anticipated that within just a year, it would become an unavoidable nightmare for him.

“If only I could forget it all…”

While aimlessly wandering, he suddenly noticed a sign hanging from a two-story building around the corner—not particularly old—that read:

“[A Mental Health Clinic].”

“Ha ha.”

Ji Yongxing couldn’t help but laugh at the clinic that amused him a little.

The research institutes actually had their own psychologists. Those individuals were always busy because the lack of progress on research could easily lead to stress.

Each day, countless gloomy researchers sought out the lifelines thrown by these psychologists, so Ji Yongxing was not unfamiliar with mental health clinics.

As he slowly approached the door, just as he was about to step inside to explore, the wooden door suddenly swung open. A hand poked out from the gap, reaching for the sign that read "Open."

Suddenly, a mischievous thought occupied his mind. The hand tried to grab the familiar sign, but upon failing, a head peeked out, and the two looked at each other in confusion.

—

Though the hour was not late, the recent extraordinary beasts attack on the walls was no secret.

Therefore, many exhibited clear signs of shock, and Lin Qingliu welcomed a little surge in business.

While he wouldn’t feel thankful for the terrifying extraordinary beasts outside the walls, the extra money gave him more confidence in life. Additionally, with recent bonuses from El arriving now and then, Lin Qingliu’s life had clearly taken a turn for the better since he crossed over.

This was also the reason he dared to close the shop early today.

So, when he poked his head out and saw a boy who looked only a bit older than El, Lin Qingliu’s smile immediately faded.

This was clearly a fellow with no gold coins to offer; he wasn’t worth extending the Business Hours for.

“Sir, ‘A Mental Health Clinic’ is closing soon. If we don’t close, the doctor might go crazy.”

Lin Qingliu said with a straight face, attempting to scare the child away with strange words.

However, the boy pointed at the wooden sign at the door, clearly indicating the posted “Business Hours: //: //—22:00,” implying that it wasn’t closing time yet.

Lin Qingliu’s grand intentions deflated significantly. He shouldn’t have felt pain over that few coins, leaving behind that half-damaged sign, and he never imagined he would be tricked by a sign twice.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke in a friendly manner:

“My services here are quite costly.”

“How much?”

“Psychological treatment packages start at two thousand information coins.”

Lin Qingliu gritted his teeth as he quoted the maximum charge as the minimum package price, hoping to discourage the boy.

To his surprise, the boy reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two thousand information coins, all while letting the light at the door reflect off the gun belt under his arm, covering all bases.

“Is this enough?”

“I think you seem fine; you have no problems at all.” Lin Qingliu accepted the two thousand information coins, saying through clenched teeth.

“I want to commit suicide.”

“Well, you should come in quickly; don’t die at my door.”