Chapter Sixty-Five: One Hand Covers the Sky

“Consider the car as borrowed from me. Tomorrow, come to where I live and drive it back yourselves, because I won’t be the one returning it.” Fang Yuan thought for a moment and wrote his address down for the driver.

After the excruciating lesson just moments ago, the driver was too afraid to take the slip of paper from Fang Yuan’s hand when he reached out.

“Do I look like a monster, that you’re so scared of me?” Fang Yuan laughed, tucked the paper into the driver’s pocket, and then drove off in the tiny sports car, leaving that troublesome place behind.

Halfway down the road, Fang Yuan remembered the driver and wondered if he had made it back yet. He sincerely hoped the man hadn’t called the police—if the officers found out, they might subject him to endless questioning.

If that happened, Fang Yuan truly wouldn’t know how to explain things to the police.

He glanced at the time; it was already past eleven, nearly midnight.

Though he doubted the driver would still be waiting there, Fang Yuan decided to turn back just in case.

From a distance, he spotted the taxi parked by the roadside—who else could it belong to but the driver?

So much time had passed, perhaps the driver really had called the police. Fang Yuan approached, apprehensive, only to find the driver asleep in his car.

Relief washed over Fang Yuan. A sleeping man surely wouldn’t have called the police.

“Uncle, wake up.” Fang Yuan called softly as he reached into his pocket for the man’s identification.

Those people were experienced; to ensure the driver didn’t run off without delivering the money, they had actually confiscated his ID card.

“Ah, you’re back. They didn’t give you any trouble, did they?” The driver, groggy from sleep, didn’t immediately notice the bloodstains on Fang Yuan’s clothes or the ill-fitting jacket.

“I’m fine, here’s your ID. Honestly, Uncle, at your age, how could you hand over something as important as your ID so easily? Aren’t you afraid they might use it for something bad?” Fang Yuan hadn’t intended to say much, but seeing how honest the man was, he couldn’t help but lecture him a little.

“They snatched it from me. There were too many of them—I couldn’t fight them off. But don’t worry, this ID is expired anyway, I just haven’t had time to replace it. Thank you, young man.” The driver was fully awake now, and, looking up, finally noticed the blood on Fang Yuan’s clothes.

He stared in shock. “Young man, is that... blood on your shirt?”

“Yes, it’s blood. I got into a fight with them inside. I brought your money back too. If you ever run into something like this again, just call the police. Don’t just do as they say and deliver the money.” Fang Yuan made no attempt to hide the truth, but he didn’t go into detail either.

The uncle was far too honest—Fang Yuan worried he’d get himself hurt someday, so he felt compelled to warn him.

“You fought with them? Are you hurt? Where are you injured? Let me take you to the hospital.” The man was deeply concerned, thinking Fang Yuan must be badly hurt, given all the blood.

“It’s not mine. Remember, if this ever happens again, call the police—always call the police, even if you have to pay a price for it. Don’t forget.” With that, Fang Yuan handed over the money and drove away.

Luckily, when he returned, Manager Xue had already gone home; otherwise, she would have questioned him endlessly.

There was only the night receptionist in the lobby, who appeared to be asleep at the front desk.

Fang Yuan quietly slipped into the elevator, returned to his room, showered, and changed into clean clothes.

The smell of blood gone, he felt much fresher.

The recent fierce fight had left him wide awake, so he sat by the floor-to-ceiling window with a bottle of beer, replaying the night’s events in his mind.

“Chongchong, why did I feel a warm current flowing through my body just now?” Unable to figure it out himself, Fang Yuan asked Chongchong.

In previous fights, he hadn’t felt anything unusual, only that he grew stronger. But this time, he distinctly sensed a change.

After the warm current coursed through him, Fang Yuan could tell his body was different.

“Master, that’s because you lost consciousness earlier. While you were out, your body’s genes began to change. From now on, every time you lose consciousness, your genes will alter again. However, such changes aren’t always good; sometimes they can be bad. For example, you might lose your sight, or your leg might become lame.” Chongchong explained seriously, hoping Fang Yuan would take it to heart.

“Didn’t you make me blind last time, too? I remember you fixed it quickly,” Fang Yuan said. He hadn’t realized a single bout of unconsciousness could have such a huge impact.

“That was different. Genetic changes are irreversible for me. If you experience such changes, the only way to recover is by luck. If you’re fortunate, maybe the next time you lose consciousness, those genes will be repaired. But that’s up to chance.” Chongchong said, having only learned about this after Fang Yuan’s genes were affected.

Previously, it had only known that fainting would bring trouble, but hadn’t realized it could alter his genes.

“So what changed in me this time?” Fang Yuan only felt a vague difference, but hadn’t discovered anything specific yet.

“It’s your brain’s neural system—specifically, the nerve endings responsible for memory have been altered, but the affected area is small. There’s nothing else to worry about,” Chongchong explained.

The changes to his memory nerves meant Fang Yuan’s memory would be exceptional. Things he couldn’t easily recall before, he could now remember with ease, never forgetting anything he stored in his mind.

Hopefully, this change would last. If he ever wanted to learn something new, it would be much easier now.

To test if his memory was really as powerful as Chongchong claimed, Fang Yuan picked up a book and began to read.

After finishing a page, he set the book down and closed his eyes, carefully recalling every detail he had just read.