Chapter 1  

Even with the three o’clock afternoon sun streaming slanted onto the hospital’s corridor, it was difficult to bring about a sense of warmth.

Ultimately, Yang Xi was still unable to accept the fact that his little sister was now a vegetable.

A middle-aged lawyer in a black suit was currently communicating with his father. “My condolences, but no one can control this kind of thing. It just so happens that Miss Yang was in that convenience store when the ‘Glacier Hero’s’ Freezing Gas Blast deviated because of the Mystic Beast…”

Father Yang snarled angrily, “He’s killing people!”

The middle-aged lawyer seemed to be used to such situations. His expression did not change even when Father Yang grabbed his collar. He even put on a professional fake smile. “But he’s saved even more people, hasn’t he?”

“None of us want this tragedy to happen, but we have to admit that it’s a necessary measure to maintain social order. Heroes aren’t gods. They’re already doing everything they can to fight Mystic Beasts and criminals with Esper Abilities. There are bound to be times when they slip up.”

“I will never sign this document. Take your stinking money and get lost!”

Father Yang threw the document the lawyer handed him onto the floor in a huff.

But unexpectedly, Mother Yang moved forward and quietly picked up the document.

Father Yang roared, “What are you doing? Are you going to exchange Feifei’s life for money?!”

At this point, Mother Yang exploded. “Will pursuing the responsibility of this matter wake my daughter up? She’s in a vegetative state now! She can’t see or hear anything. She can only rely on this set of survival equipment! But how long can our family’s money keep this machine running? Five years? Or even a year?”

Mother Yang clutched the document in her hands tightly and sobbed. “This is the money for Feifei’s life!!!”

Yang Xi supported his mother and brought her to sit on the green recliner in the hospital. He took the document over with his right hand and read it carefully.

This document was an undisguised offer of exchange. 300,000 Azure dollars, plus his sister’s treatment fees, in return for Yang Xi’s family to never pursue the incident of the Glacier Hero accidentally injuring someone.

Yang Xi looked at the lawyer, “I wish to add another condition.”

The lawyer frowned. He had noticed this young man the moment he entered the ward. This youth had short black hair and gold-rimmed glasses, and he gave off the impression of an intellectual.

The lawyer said, “Tell me about it first.”

Yang Xi seemed very calm. “I hope that the perpetrator, the Hero called Glacier Hero, can apologize to my family in person.”

As expected…

The middle-aged lawyer felt that this was a very thorny problem. He knew that person very well. With his arrogance, it was practically a fantasy to expect him to obediently come here and bow down to these ordinary people.

“Can I apologize on his behalf?”

Yang Xi shook his head.

“Oh right, Kunlun Corporation’s management agency will also give an official apology.”

Yang Xi still shook his head as he stared at him expressionlessly.

“At the press conference, Glacier Hero will also be bowing and apologizing to the public.”

Yang Xi shook his head again and said, “I still hope that he will come personally.”

Helpless, the lawyer could only say, “Wait a moment, let me make a call.”

Exiting the ward, the lawyer first lit a cigarette for himself, and then helplessly stubbed it out under the nurse’s aggressive gaze.

The call went through after three rings.

On the other end of the line, Glacier Hero Li Canyang was working out.

“Lawyer Wang, are you done so quickly? I’ll get my assistant to transfer the remainder of the compensation later.”

He gulped a mouthful of blue energy drink. This was the “Glacier Series’ Pulse” that he endorsed. Blueberry flavor.

As he drank, Li Canyang touched his chest. The side effects of this thing were getting worse. He didn’t even know what he was thinking at that time. That Freezing Gas Blast clearly could have avoided the convenience store…

However, he had to admit that the instant the Freezing Gas Blast landed on the convenience store and exploded, he’d undoubtedly felt an indescribable joy in his heart.

Damn it!

Li Canyang tightened his grip on the dumbbell hard. The pain transmitted from his hands seemed to make him feel like his real self again.

“There’s a family member here who wants you to make an apology personally.”

Huh?

Li Canyang thought that he had heard wrongly. They wanted an A-rank Hero like him to apologize? What was the other party thinking?

Could it be that this family was not simple?

He asked, “Are they rich businessmen, officials, or the family members of Heroes?”

“None of that. Other than the fact that the victim was a top student at a Hero high school, it’s just a regular family.”

Li Canyang sneered. “Then why are you calling me? Lawyer Wang, did I pay your lawyer fees just for you to call me at every turn? If you can’t handle it, I don’t mind changing to another lawyer.”

With that, Li Canyang hung up.

“Why is this dumbbell broken again?” He casually threw the broken dumbbell away.

The dumbbell was broken into two pieces as it landed on the ground. Because of the inertia, it rolled to the corner of the wall. The corner was already filled with damaged equipment. There was no dust on the pile of damaged equipment, which meant that they had been broken very recently.

Li Canyang gazed at the white clouds outside the French casement windows and fell into a trance. A blue glint flashed across his eyes.

At the side, his assistant shivered and felt the temperature drop.

Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Lawyer Wang stood somewhat awkwardly in the corridor. A gust of wind blew past and lifted the few hairs on his head.

…

“He’s not coming?”

“I’m really sorry. You should know that an A-rank Hero’s schedule cannot be freely arranged. Glacier Hero himself really wants to come. He asked me to convey his apology on the phone and is willing to add 100,000 Azure dollars as compensation.” This was the maximum compensation that Lawyer Wang could give under his authority.

“Alright, you can talk to my mother about the fees. I’ve already signed my name.”

Yang Xi handed the document to the middle-aged lawyer. He looked at his sister on the hospital bed. Yang Feifei’s hair, which had just been dyed pink, now looked listless, like withered grass.

A few days ago, he’d even threatened to teach her a lesson if she didn’t dye her hair back.

“This lass, you always like to do the opposite of what I tell you.”

“Look at you now. No matter how I bully you, you don’t have any reaction. It’s not interesting at all.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to introduce your best friend to me to be my girlfriend? Where is she…”

Muttering one sentence after another, Yang Xi held his sister’s thin hand. A few warm tears fell onto the back of her hand.

“Truth be told, I’ve been hiding it from you all along. Feifei, you’re not the only one in our family who has awakened a Esper Ability. I’m also an Esper.”

Yang Xi had awakened his Esper Ability when he was eight-years-old, but he had never told anyone about it.

His Esper ability was’ Strip’, which could rob other people’s Esper Ability, forming them into Esper Ability Beads.

The current Yang Feifei had met the criteria for activating his Esper Ability: “The target must have lost the ability to resist”.

At the moment he activated the Esper Ability, nothing unusual could be observed on the surface. However, Yang Xi could sense that something was being extracted from his sister’s body.

[Esper Ability Stripping Completed]

A crystal clear bead appeared in Yang Xi’s hand. It was about the size of a marble and yellow in color.

[Esper Ability: Spirit Shock

Introduction: Send out a spirit shockwave to attack the enemy.

Evaluation: D-rank. Although it’s a little weak now, this is your little sister’s superpower. It holds a special meaning.]

Grade-D Esper Ability?

That’s right. If her ability was a little stronger, Yang Feifei wouldn’t have been unable to block Li Canyang’s “mistake” at all, and instantly turned into an ice sculpture.

“However, in order to find out the truth of the matter, I don’t have much time to practice.”

“Since my strength can’t keep up for the time being, I’ll have to go and harvest enough Esper Abilities as a gift for Feifei…”

“After all, some Espers don’t deserve to have Esper Abilities.”

“And it just so happens that I’m here to correct all of this.”