Chapter 585: Chapter 56 The Stupendous Master
“[The cold-hearted and vile no-morals doctor, Chikou Zhenfan Your Excellency]”
“[You who turn a blind eye to the pleas of the weak, bear the great sin of pride]”
“[Tonight at 8:30, Thorn District, Witch Ring Road]”
“[You shall pay a hefty price for your past arrogance]”
Gongsun Ce glanced over the warning text message and sincerely suggested, “Spam message, just delete it.”
The doctor took back her phone: “Your suggestion is equally worthless.”
“Alright, I know what you’re worried about, usually nobody would be able to get this number, let alone your name…” Gongsun Ce guessed, “But then again, the sky city is so large, it’s not odd to have a few electronic superpower users, perhaps it’s some audacious newcomer seizing the opportunity to extort you?”
“The risk is too high,” the doctor assessed.
Indeed, it was hard to imagine a superpower user with no offensive abilities purposefully provoking the most dangerous doctor for money; it sounded as strange as prank-calling Aorus. And if it wasn’t for profit…
“It sounds like a personal vendetta. Just to be safe, I’ll ask, you haven’t caused any medical accidents recently, have you?”
The doctor looked at him coldly: “What do you think?”
“I trust in your professional standards,” Gongsun Ce said with a sheepish smile, “So, what enmities do you think you might have incurred recently?”
That was a good question. The doctor meticulously reviewed her recent actions, confirming she hadn’t provoked any odd individuals. If there truly were any grudges, they’d probably have to be traced back to a much more distant past.
The chaos upon her arrival in the sky city? Or perhaps, the remnants of the Demon Project?
The latter made the doctor anxious, but her rationality told her this was impossible. The current sky city was controlled by the Empire; Zero Island people couldn’t possibly reach out here, and the Demon Project had collapsed long ago…
But Ayane is still here, her rationality reminded her. Since Ayane could still come to visit her, were those adults still alive?
The doctor didn’t show any sign of anxiety in front of Gongsun Ce, just shook her head.
“I can’t think of any.”
“It could also be an attack by a thrill-seeker; I know there are plenty of lunatics into that,” Gongsun Ce proposed a third possibility, “Anyway, I feel like you don’t plan to ignore it—so it’s easy, we’ll call a few more guys, and go check out the situation together tonight.”
“No,” the doctor refused without a second thought, “I’ll go alone.”
“Don’t be like that, doctor. You know you’re not invincible, what if they’ve really set a specific trap for you?” Gongsun Ce quickly analyzed, “Listen to me, first get Big Brother or Qiluo to trace the enemy’s movements—”
“No,” the doctor stubbornly vetoed his suggestion.
Gongsun Ce felt like he was looking at a hedgehog that had curled up into a ball, its cold spines facing the outside world. The doctor didn’t want to expose her privacy or ask for help, she was a typical superpower user.
But the doctor wasn’t as strong and confident as she seemed—that was clear as day in her dreams—she was undoubtedly perplexed by this matter, otherwise she wouldn’t have explained the situation to him.
Gongsun Ce pondered for a few seconds and came up with a rotten idea.
“We won’t tell others about this, but at least let me go with you, okay?” Gongsun Ce said smiling, “Consider it a way to repay you for looking after me in the past, Sister Zhenfan.”
Gongsun Ce’s remark had a marked effect; the doctor looked at him with a disdainful gaze he found all too familiar, lifting his chin with her finger.
“Three years’ time turns the Demon back into a clown.”
“Rewind three years, and the clown was still a demon,” Gongsun Ce raised his hands, “After all these years as a regular customer, others might not, but surely you trust me, right?”
Gongsun Ce’s strategy received the response he hoped for, the doctor reluctantly agreed. After setting a time to depart, Gongsun Ce left the clinic.
Ayane was squatting just outside the door, her black eyes lively as they followed Gongsun Ce’s face. She stood up, handed him a piece of paper, and then darted away.
Gongsun Ce looked at the note, thinking this girl truly lived up to being the doctor’s friend, acting just as peculiar as her.
After they had agreed on a time to meet up, Gongsun Ce left the doctor’s clinic and delved back into his own training.
The afternoon passed in another round of excruciating dreams. Gongsun Ce battled anew with himself, repeating hundreds of times the bitter struggle, analysis, and occasional verbal sparring with the Alandia of the dreams…
Until in reality, night fell. He hurriedly ate something and rushed to the clinic an hour early to meet up with the doctor.
At 9:00 p.m., the Demon and the doctor strolled leisurely on the edge of Thorn District, appearing as if they were taking a nighttime walk.
“The agreed time was 8:30.”
“So we’re half an hour late on purpose,” Gongsun Ce analyzed with a mischievous grin, “Look, if that person can’t wait even that half-hour, it proves he’s an insignificant player, and you have no need to worry.”
“What if he’s still waiting?” the doctor asked.
“Then it means we stood up a bad egg for half an hour. Imagine him checking his watch and muttering ‘Why hasn’t the doctor arrived yet’ every few minutes. Isn’t that funny?”
The doctor glanced at him, saying helplessly: “Childish.”
“If they have the right to send a text, then we also have the right to play a prank in return.”
Gongsun Ce observed their surroundings, noticing no idle passersby. This area seemed to have been cleared in advance, the unknown inviter had clearly prepared for battle. This realization made Gongsun Ce determined: knowing to clear out bystanders meant the person behind this had some basic sense. As long as it wasn’t one of those lunatics ready to engage at any moment, things should be much easier to handle.