Chapter 242

Lu Mian looked at Jianna and curled his lips:

"This is because you still don't have the self-awareness of an 'Assassin,' no realization that you have already stepped into the mystical world. Otherwise, in the past month or two, you could have completely used Franca to contact some mystical gatherings and collect some useful items. Although that certainly wouldn't compare to the bottle of healing potion I just used, at least it would have allowed you to do something, instead of having to watch your mother's condition deteriorate."

Jianna didn't fly into a rage as usual or respond with profanity, but remained silent for a few seconds before saying "Mm."

This left Lu Mian unable to continue, so he could only "tsk tsk" and say:

"Of course, you don't have much money, and you're still carrying the pressure of debt and tuition. Even if you really attended mystical gatherings, you wouldn't be able to afford anything. That would have been more of an opportunity for you to earn money or items by taking on commissions."

At this moment, Jianna's brother, Julian, had already arrived with a doctor and two nurses.

The doctor glanced at Elodie and said suspiciously:

"I remember she didn't seem to have any need for emergency rescue..."

"You remembered wrong." Lu Mian calmly interrupted the doctor.

The doctor had already treated many injured people, and his memory had long since become chaotic. Hearing this, he felt that he must have misidentified the person, so he simply treated Elodie's remaining external injuries and had the porters put her on a carriage to wait for transport to the hospital.

Connecting the Quartier des Nobles and the Market District is a bridge named Paxi, one of the five bridges spanning the River Serenz in the Trier urban area.

Right next to Paxi Bridge is the Saint-Palais Hospital, funded by the Church of the "Eternal Blazing Sun." As a believer of the "Eternal Blazing Sun," Elodie was sent here and placed on the top floor of the six-story white building, squeezed into the same ward with five other injured people.

Watching the doctors and nurses either drawing blood, examining, or hanging IV bottles, Jianna, who was standing against the wall, sighed in a low voice:

"In the past few years, the hospital has changed a lot..."

"Hm?" Lu Mian expressed confusion.

Jianna said with a slightly dejected expression:

"A few years ago, when my father and the others were sent to the hospital, those with serious injuries were directly operated on, and those with minor ones were bandaged and given medicine, then left to wait and see the effect. There was no blood drawing, and examinations were just done simply. It's completely different from now; the whole process seems to have changed."

"That's a good thing." Lu Mian nodded.

It looked more professional.

While the two were communicating in low voices, Jianna's brother, Julian, had been cooperating with the doctors and nurses, busy here and there. He would answer questions about the injured person's usual physical condition, help move IV stands, and be sent to the pharmacy.

By the time the busy white-coated ones had finished, he still hadn't returned.

The doctor in charge of Elodie took a record board, walked up to Jianna, and looked at her rose-colored little dress, his expression softening a bit.

"Is Elodie your mother?" he asked.

"Yes." Jianna nodded.

The male doctor deliberated and said:

"Your mother's condition is better than I expected. For now, it seems there's no need for surgery. Of course, this is just a preliminary assessment; the specifics will depend on the results of various examinations."

"This is the good side. The bad side is that your mother's body has suffered quite serious damage. She might have to stay in the hospital for a few months, or even half a year or a year. And even if she recovers, she won't return to how she was before; she will be in a relatively weak state."

"The emergency costs for the first two days will be covered by the Church's charity foundation, and will be deducted after the factory's accident compensation comes down. The subsequent treatment costs will need to be borne by you yourselves. This is not a small sum, and you shouldn't have too high expectations for the accident compensation. According to my experience, it takes an average of three to five years to get it. You need to be clear that in order to protect commerce, our Intis laws are biased toward factory owners and bankers."

Jianna didn't hesitate:

"I will have my mother treated until she recovers."

She had already thought about it. If she needed to come up with a large sum of cash at once, she would borrow from Franca and Lu Mian and repay it in installments later. If the treatment costs were paid monthly or weekly, she could completely cut down on expenses, reduce the amount of debt she was repaying, and cover it with the income from her part-time job as an underground singer.

No matter which method, she couldn't just be an underground singer for one year as she had previously planned; she might have to do it for two, or even three years.

The doctor looked at Jianna's appearance and her little dress and said no more:

"Then take this slip and go to the finance window on the first floor to prepay 200 verl d'or."

200... Jianna breathed a slight sigh of relief, signed the informed consent form with her real name, "Cherry Bellot," took the slip, and went down the stairs.

On the way, she glanced at Lu Mian, who was following beside her, and hesitated before saying:

"If, if a large medical bill is needed later, I think, I think I'd like to borrow some from you."

Jianna had always been a stubborn person with her own principles. Previously, when she was struggling to earn money at several dance halls in the Market District, she had never thought of borrowing from Franca or asking her to help arrange a part-time job that was both easy and had high income. But now, for the sake of her mother, Elodie, she intended to let go of this insistence.

Although Lu Mian had "squandered" his money down to just over seven hundred verl d'or and had already pre-drawn most of the earnings he could get from the Breeze Dance Hall, and was preparing to pay another 4000 verl d'or to exchange for the "Pyromaniac" Beyonder characteristic, he felt no difficulty at all and said nonchalantly:

"Okay."

Jianna looked at him suspiciously:

"I thought you would hesitate for a while. I heard from Franca that you recently have something very important that requires a large amount of cash."

Lu Mian smiled:

"That's for advancement, to buy the main materials for 'Pyromaniac,' but that doesn't affect me lending you money. As a Beyonder, as the leader of the Savages, even if I didn't have a single kopek on me, I could still get enough money for you."

"The simplest way is to have René sign a long-term contract with you, pre-drawing 10,000 verl d'or, and then deducting 50% of your income from the dance hall every day to repay it in installments. Once you've finished repaying, the contract will naturally terminate."

Jianna was silent for a moment, finding that a matter that had caused her great difficulty and headache was so relaxed and simple in Charles's mouth.

Lu Mian turned his head to look at her and chuckled:

"As an 'Assassin,' you shouldn't have been worried about such medical expenses in the first place. The money you'll need for your future advancement will be in the tens of thousands."

"You need to change your way of thinking now. Don't take the law too seriously. You heard it just now: Intis law doesn't protect the poor; we can only protect ourselves."

"Once you've thought it through, we'll go kidnap that factory owner, grab enough cash, and when the verdict comes out and he pays your father's accident compensation, you can donate that money to those in need."

"As long as we do it cleanly, plus Franca's anti-divination, the probability of success is very high, and we won't be traced afterward. That kind of factory owner is unlikely to have Beyonder bodyguards."

Jianna was moved by what he said and hesitated for a moment:

"I always feel like something is wrong..."

"Damn, are you the 'Provocateur,' or will I become the 'Provocateur'? How can you be so good at bewitching people?"

"Won't wantonly violating the law eventually come at a price?"

Lu Mian smiled:

"I haven't finished yet. We only do what is necessary; we cannot act wantonly. That would not only bring danger but also increase the risk of losing control. And kidnapping that factory owner is just taking back the compensation your family should have received long ago."

Jianna was silent once again.

Seeing that they were about to reach the first floor, she hurriedly said:

"I'm going to the restroom."

By the time she came out of the restroom, she already had a stack of banknotes worth 200 verl d'or in her hand.

Watching Jianna prepay the first installment of the treatment costs, Lu Mian looked at her rose-colored little dress and said:

"You can't take care of a patient like this. I'll go back to the dance hall to bring your previous clothes over, and by the way, I'll ask for leave for you."

"If your mother's condition shows signs of deteriorating, come find me or Franca immediately."

He had just observed Elodie's fortune and confirmed that her condition was no longer critical, but it hadn't turned in a better direction yet; it was a bit chaotic, and it might depend on the hospital's treatment effect.

"Mm." Jianna pursed her lips and nodded.

Second floor of the Breeze Dance Hall.

Lu Mian was just preparing to find the manager, René, to explain Jianna's situation and have him rearrange tonight's performance, when he saw Louis coming over.

Louis looked left and right, lowering his voice:

"Boss, about half an hour ago, the Big Boss sent someone to deliver a bag of things, which was put into the finance safe, saying it was for you."

Things sent by the Big Boss... Auxiliary materials for the "Pyromaniac" potion? As expected of a mid-sequence Beyonder of the "Hunter" pathway... Lu Mian nodded slightly, happily passing through the café and entering the second-floor corridor.

As soon as he opened the finance safe, he felt a slight heat.

Inside the grayish-white cloth bag were three glass bottles: one filled with crimson blood, which was bubbling, and every time a bubble burst, a bit of flame would shoot out; one with reddish powder at the bottom; and one containing a finger-sized stone emitting a crimson glow.

Fire Salamander blood, Red-Crowned Phoenix Flower powder, Magma Luminous Stone... Sure enough, these are the auxiliary materials for "Pyromaniac"... Lu Mian picked up those items with satisfaction.

3 White Coat Street, outside Apartment 601.

Lu Mian, having left the Breeze Dance Hall, came directly here to find Franca, intending to borrow 4000 verl d'or, using his share of the "Harvest Festival" as collateral.

After opening the door and seeing Lu Mian, Franca "tsked" and said:

"Do you know? An explosion occurred at a factory in the southern part of the Market District. During this period, quite a few things have happened in the Market District, giving me a feeling that a torrential rain is about to arrive."

Hearing this, Lu Mian instantly remembered something.

He said in a deep voice:

"It was an accident at the Goodville Chemical Plant, and this morning, the owner of the Goodville Chemical Plant went to the office of a Member of Parliament."

PS: First bonus update for June monthly votes, begging for July's base monthly votes~

(End of chapter)