Chapter 493: Friendship Is Not Discounted

Li Hao wiggled his bottom, walking with a brisk and attentive gait to a shop in the Galaxy Center to buy a basket of fruit... He picked one that was on a limited-time discount; after all, he felt it was all the same to Xilian.

At the Galaxy Center hospital, Xilian was lying in the best ward, still in a coma. Anlita and the others were all there, the atmosphere extremely oppressive; they had been beaten until they had no temper left.

To them, being the runner-up had no meaning, and everyone was quite dejected. In truth, there had been opportunities, but they were just a bit short on luck. More importantly, their boss was still in a coma. The doctors had performed a comprehensive examination and said there was nothing physically wrong, but for some reason, he just couldn't wake up. When it involved the brain domain and the Golden Zone, they had no further solutions.

The reason they were still staying here was that after Anlita examined him, she discovered that there was an artificial power fluctuation in Xilian's mental world, very likely a restriction placed by Li Hao. This type of mental-system method was already beyond her capability. She hadn't told the others yet; in this emotional state, there was no telling what extreme situations might arise. She still had to find Li Hao, but the grievances between the two sides were a bit deep, and if she went to beg Li Hao, she might end up being insulted.

Just as Anlita was hesitating, an argument broke out outside. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Klein blocking Li Hao from entering.

"Winning is winning, our boss is still in a coma, Li Hao, no need to come and insult us again!" Klein hadn't slept all night, trapped in deep self-reproach. In the crucial final, he had performed the worst, making one mistake in the solo match and one mistake in the team battle.

"Klein, I really don't mean anything else, I just came to take a look..." Li Hao waved his hands. Klein's eyes were red, and he felt that if the standoff continued, he might risk his life. Li Hao hurriedly shouted, hoping there would be someone reasonable among the Shadow Sentinels.

Anlita came out and looked at the fruit basket in Li Hao's hand, unable to figure out what Li Hao was trying to do. "So it's Team Leader Li, what brings you here?"

"Anlita, I've come to see Xilian." Li Hao pointed to his fruit basket.

"A cat crying for a mouse—fake compassion! Li Hao, even if I can't beat you, I'll risk my life to disgust you!" Klein said.

"Klein, stop arguing for a moment, please come in." Anlita said. Li Hao coming at this time and even greeting them with a smile—she feared things weren't that simple, and she herself had a favor to ask.

Xilian's butler, Ma'er, also walked out. Seeing Li Hao, a murderous aura appeared on his face. Anlita hurriedly stopped him, "The boss's situation still needs Li Hao to resolve."

Ma'er took a deep look at Li Hao, wanting to speak but stopping. He was clearly intending to say something threatening, but it seemed it wouldn't be of any use against Li Hao. However, if anything happened to Xilian, this time would be different from back then; the Meraphis Family would absolutely not let it rest.

The entire corridor was full of bodyguards, all staring at Li Hao. Li Hao smiled and handed the fruit to Anlita, "A small token of my appreciation."

Anlita was dumbfounded, not knowing what Li Hao wanted to do, but she took it anyway and placed it to the side. "The boss's injuries are not serious, why hasn't he woken up yet?"

"I placed a small restriction to let him rest. He was drunk by a bunch of people yesterday, and I came over as soon as I woke up. I'm truly sorry, look at how this turned out." As he spoke, Li Hao moved to approach Xilian.

Anlita and Ma'er exchanged a glance. Ma'er's hand went into his coat, and Davari also looked unkind, though Li Xiangshan was very calm; if Li Hao was willing to come, he wouldn't be here to cause trouble.

Li Hao smiled, "Really, no need to be so vigilant. We just played a match; everyone is a law-abiding good citizen, right? Besides, all of you added together are not my match."

Anlita and Ma'er's eyes flickered. Although they were on guard, they didn't dare to act rashly. If Li Hao really wanted to deal with them, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.

Li Hao's hand rested on Xilian's body, and golden light enveloped Xilian. The light flames fluctuated continuously. A few minutes later, with a 'pop' sound, a ray of light shattered. Li Hao wiped the sweat from his forehead. Everyone's expressions became tense; if there were any abnormalities, Ma'er would definitely gather his men and fight Li Hao to the death at any cost.

Xilian's body on the hospital bed trembled, and he took a sudden deep breath, like the first breath of a drowning person.

The awakened Xilian's pupils contracted, his cold gaze fixed on Li Hao. In an instant, the people outside also rushed in, with over a dozen guns aimed at Li Hao.

Li Hao shrugged helplessly and pointed to the fruit basket on the table, "I really came to give a gift."

Xilian's expression slowly relaxed, but he remained indifferent. He waved his hand, and Ma'er nodded, immediately ordering all the bodyguards outside before closing the door. However, the few of them remained, and Klein was still like a puffed-up fighting frog, ready to fight Li Hao to the death at Xilian's command.

Xilian sat up, and Anlita hurriedly adjusted the angle of the adjustable bed for him. Xilian waved his hand, "I'm fine," then looked at Klein, "Losing is losing, don't be a sore loser."

Klein lowered his head. Clearly, when Xilian was restrained, he knew they would lose. Li Hao was also worried about him setting up tactics, so he didn't even give him a chance to speak.

Looking at Li Hao, he laughed at himself, "This is the second time you've plunged me into darkness. To think you'd actually dare to wake me up—aren't you afraid of my revenge?"

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Li Hao very self-consciously pulled up a chair, "I drank too much yesterday and was still weak, otherwise I would have come yesterday. Besides, it was just a competition; not giving it my all would be disrespectful to you. Don't blow things out of proportion. Besides, aren't you all the same? We're even."

Seeing Li Hao's nonchalant appearance, Xilian's expression tightened, his face looking unkind, "You're still as arrogant as ever. Do you really think you're flawless?"

"Look, you're overthinking it again. I really didn't mean that. Back then, you were actually quite unlucky. I only found out later that Nangong's death wasn't entirely because of you, but because he injected genetic drugs and lost control after overdrawing his power. If you hadn't killed him, he would have killed you. You had no choice. Actually, you really have reason to take revenge on me. I was in a coma for three whole years, then waited another two, and came to Tianjing. I was already prepared to take a beating. So, it's not arrogance, it's that I believe you have your own principles in doing things." Li Hao said with a smile.

There was silence in the room. Klein, Anlita, and the others were suppressing their agitation. Their duel back then had been tacitly approved by the Tianqi Youth Class; they hadn't even intended for anyone to die. Who would have thought that Nangong Yuhang would actually use some kind of forbidden drug? If they hadn't fought back, they would have died. In the end, they became the villains instead. Li Xiangshan felt this the most; in recent years, whenever they encountered Hunters at the World Championship, they would be mocked. But how were they not wronged? It was a fight where everyone used their own means; who was the wronged one?

Xilian laughed, a light chuckle, followed by a loud laugh.

"Li Hao, your flattery is really of no quality. I'm still very angry. My comeback, which I waited five years for, was ruined by you again. What are you going to do?" After laughing, Xilian appeared exceptionally relaxed, but he still wouldn't let it go with his words.

"You can't say it like that. Sometimes we have to change our perspective when looking at things. Look at you, handsome, rich, and powerful, able to summon wind and rain, capable of anything. Being born at the peak makes life too boring. I'm just helping you create some ups and downs in your life for fun. We've known each other for so long, so I won't ask you for a fee." Li Hao laughed.

Xilian didn't know whether to laugh or cry; it was clearly him who had been beaten.

"Forget it, I'm not someone who can't afford to lose. Tell me, what do you want from me?" Xilian said.

Li Hao still wanted to be reserved, "Nothing much, just came to see you."

Xilian smiled slightly, "Don't pretend. If there wasn't anything, you wouldn't have brought things. If you don't want to say it, forget it."

"Look, I was right. As expected of the wise and mighty Xilian Meraphis, there is indeed a small matter," Li Hao nodded hurriedly, "It's just that the orphanage I used to stay at is going to be demolished or something. Can you stop it? The kids are used to living there and really don't want to move. Among the people I know, only you have this ability."

When asking for a favor, one's attitude must be proper.

Xilian glanced at Ma'er, "Go check it out."

"Yes, Young Master, it will take about ten minutes."

"No rush, no rush!" Li Hao said hurriedly, his face already blooming with joy. This was burning incense at the right temple; how magnanimous.

"Anlita, wash the fruit that Team Leader Li brought and share it with everyone. I heard Team Leader Li has two major characteristics: besides being able to fight, he's stingy. It's very rare for him to give gifts." Xilian still didn't forget to tease Li Hao.

Seeing that Xilian was unharmed, Anlita's mood also relaxed. She picked up the basket, "It's hard on Team Leader Li's heart, he even specifically picked a discounted one."

Li Hao couldn't help but blush; he had forgotten to tear off the tag. Damn it, who would have thought he would actually eat it? It was just a gesture, just going through the motions.

Seeing Li Hao blush, everyone couldn't help but laugh.

Anlita washed them quickly, and Xilian actually started eating them. Klein and the others knew how picky Xilian was; he was eating this kind of junk?

Soon Ma'er returned, "Young Master, I've checked. Tianjing is undergoing urban development. There is a small company that has taken a fancy to the land around the orphanage and wants to start a resort project."

"How much will it cost to get it done?" Xilian didn't want to know the details.

"The project depends on your plan. To scrap this matter would cost about 80 million in facilitation fees." Ma'er said, glancing faintly at Li Hao.

Xilian smiled slightly. With the Meraphis brand, a simple word would suffice for this small matter; no one would dare not give him this face.

"Li Hao, I'll help you with this favor. 80 million, with 10 percent annual interest."

Li Hao immediately turned into a bitter melon face. Although he had won the championship, he was a military academy student within the system. Students in school were not allowed to be overly commercialized, and many things were regulated. He was already on pins and needles for secretly being a small boss; this huge debt would take him a long time to pay off.

But what could he do?

Li Hao feigned composure, "Ahem, can the interest be lower?"

Xilian shook his head, "No!"

Li Hao immediately turned into a bitter melon face, "Alright."

"Although the interest cannot be lowered, if you do me a favor, this debt can be wiped clean."

(End of chapter)