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Chapter 220: Chapter 220: The Awkward Deal
"Don’t..." Han Yi’s voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable. He had no strength in his body, and even speaking seemed to drain him of his energy.
Han Jiaojiao hurriedly helped him sit up and stuffed several pillows behind his back before saying, "Brother, what do you want to say? ... I’ll go get you a glass of water."
Han Yi grabbed Han Jiaojiao’s hand, weakly but firmly.
"Don’t cry, baby..."
Hearing Han Yi’s voice, so hoarse it was nearly indistinguishable, Han Jiaojiao’s tears fell even faster. When had she ever seen Han Yi looking so frail?
Her tears poured down as she sobbed, "You scared me to death, do you know that? ... Brother, don’t scare me like this again, I’m frightened..."
The sight of Han Jiaojiao’s pitiable tears broke Han Yi’s heart. He pulled her into his arms and comforted her, "Brother was wrong... There, there, don’t cry..."
"I will cry, I will cry!" After being anxious for a whole day and night, Han Jiaojiao seemed to have found an outlet for her emotions, and she began to cry loudly on Han Yi’s chest.
Perhaps her loud crying alerted the people outside, as several people suddenly rushed in—
"What happened? Did something happen to Brother Han?"
"Jiaojiao! What’s going on? ..."
"Brother Han?! ... Brother Han, you’re awake!"
Han Jiaojiao’s crying was stuck in her throat, not knowing whether to cry or stop. Her face turned red with embarrassment, and she wished she could dig a hole and hide in it.
Yan Xiao, seeing the awakened Han Yi, couldn’t help but widen his eyes and exclaim, "... Oh my god, the way you were crying just now almost gave me a fright! It made me think something terrible had happened..."
Professor Luo and Zhu Chengzhi also ran in and, seeing that Han Yi was fine, they both heaved a sigh of relief. They had been under the most pressure recently, as someone would come to ask why Han Yi hadn’t woken up almost every hour.
Xiao Jian bowed his head, concealing his reddened eyes, and said, "I’ll go notify Brother Lu."
—Changyuan arrived quickly, accompanied by Zhu Changfu and others. Upon seeing Han Yi conscious, a look of relief and joy appeared in everyone’s eyes.
"How do you feel? That Li Jian injected something into your back, a special drug that suppresses abilities. It not only causes superpower users to lose consciousness but also has a paralyzing effect on the nerves. We’ve already administered the antidote; do you feel a bit better now?" Changyuan asked.
Although Changyuan appeared calm on the surface, the fact that he spoke such a long sentence in one breath betrayed the excitement within him.
Han Yi closed his eyes slightly and after a moment reopened them, saying, "The ability is not a problem, but there is still some numbness in my body."
Professor Luo explained, "Don’t worry, your ability will definitely not be a problem. Their drug is specially designed to capture superpower users. It only makes a superpower user lose their defensive capabilities, and then they use special equipment to extract the ability from the superpower user’s body. So before they extract the ability, there won’t be any damage to the ability. The numbness in your body is also temporary; it will gradually recover after a few hours..."
"Extract the ability from a superpower user’s body?" Yan Xiao exclaimed in shock, "Is that what you guys are working on at Qingyang Base?"
Zhu Chengzhi quickly shook his head in denial, "Those things have nothing to do with us! The drug was brought into the research by outsiders! It has nothing to do with us!"
Professor Luo also hurriedly clarified the relationship, "You have also been to the research institute, and you know the conditions there can’t possibly produce any kind of potions, nor do we have any precise instruments. We were kept inside to be responsible for testing the effects and functions of medications. Li Jian reached a cooperative intention with someone outside, and that person sold him Ability Potions that enhance abilities, in exchange for delivering Superpower Users regularly. However, Li Jian seemed not to trust his partner much, so every time the potions were brought into the base, we needed to confirm the actual efficacy of the potions to ensure his safety."
Zhu Chengzhi followed with a nod and added, "You must have seen his face; it didn’t use to look like that. He suffered side effects after injecting the Ability Potion, so he’s extremely careful with each usage, afraid of another accident..."
Yan Xiao called out with a sense of absurdity, "Is he stupid?! If there are side effects, why keep using it?!"
"If he doesn’t inject the potion regularly, his abilities will gradually disappear," Zhu Chengzhi explained to him. "Also, originally Li Jian could only mimic environmental colors, but after using the Ability Potion several times, he gained transformation, disguise, and cloning abilities. He became more and more powerful, and increasingly dependent on the potion. Almost all of the Transformation System Superpower Users in the base have been captured, so he started to catch Superpower Users from the outside..."
Yan Xiao, feeling somewhat queasy, turned to Lu Changyuan and said, "Brother Lu, why does this make my head spin? Extracting abilities from Superpower Users, turning them into potions to sell to normal people, making them into Superpower Users... Who came up with this idea? Are they insane?!"
"Haven’t they ever thought about what they’d do if one day all the Superpower Users were captured?" Xiao Jian spoke up.
Lu Changyuan laughed nonchalantly and replied, "These expensive potions, of course, are not something that everyone can afford. If they are only serving a small group of people, there are still plenty of sources... After all, nowadays, more and more people are awakening to their abilities."
"Then we need to be more careful in the future," Yan Xiao said with a frown. "This potion is too powerful; just a tiny dose can knock a person out. If it’s fitted onto an anesthesia gun and shot while people are off guard on a mission, it would certainly be a successful capture!"
Han Jiaojiao sat silently next to Han Yi, listening. Upon hearing Yan Xiao’s words, her large eyes rolled around as if she had thought of something amusing, and she smiled with her mouth pursed.
Yan Xiao, with sharp eyes, immediately saw her snickering and teased, "Yo, our little lady is not crying anymore? And now she’s laughing? What happy thought did you have?"
Feeling embarrassed because Yan Xiao remembered her earlier crying, Han Jiaojiao turned her body to face Han Yi, avoiding Yan Xiao’s gaze.
Han Yi reached out to wipe the undried tears from Han Jiaojiao’s cheeks with a smile, "Why does my darling have so many ’golden beans’..."
"Isn’t that the truth, she must have shed so many tears in the past day and night, I’m thirsty just on her behalf."
Han Jiaojiao turned her head and scowled fiercely at Yan Xiao.
Yan Xiao said with a playful laugh, "Don’t get angry, come on, tell me what you were just laughing about?"
Raising her head with a humph, Han Jiaojiao retorted, "Nothing much, just thinking that when the weather gets cold later, everyone will be wearing thick clothes, and it’d probably be hard for the needle to penetrate the flesh."
With temperatures below forty degrees, people would inevitably bundle up in seven or eight layers, wouldn’t they? The tiny needles would likely lose their threat completely.
Everyone thought about it and couldn’t help but smile at the realization.
Yan Xiao praised, "Our young lady is clever indeed!"
Han Yi cast a casual glance at him, and Yan Xiao quickly corrected himself, "Oh, oh! I mean Han brother’s young lady... ah, no, Han brother’s clever sister!"
The room erupted with laughter.
The awakening of Han Yi, was like lighting a beacon that illuminated the path ahead, providing everyone with a sense of security as if they had found their pillar.
As Han Jiaojiao saw everyone laughing, she too joined in the harmonious atmosphere, but Han Yi, watching her without even blinking, had a flicker of indescribable emotion flash through his eyes.
