Chapter 24: Past Events

Early the next morning.

Luo Di sat on his hospital bed, cradling a novel titled "Exorcism." When he became fully absorbed in his thoughts, his tongue would still involuntarily click. He did not reject this aftereffect; instead, he viewed it as a sort of "trophy."

In the intervals between reading, Luo Di looked through the window on his ward door and saw many people heading toward the room next door. The previously quiet corridor had become bustling. Beyond the nurses and doctors, there were several blond foreigners with physiques far exceeding those of ordinary people.

It seemed that Anna, in the next room, had awakened. However, Luo Di had no intention of joining the crowd and continued to pick up his novel from beside the pillow.

Time slipped away between the lines of text.

*Knock, knock.* A series of knocks dragged Luo Di back from the story to reality.

"Please, come in."

A massive figure blocked the doorway, so large that his head couldn't even be seen—and the door was two meters high. As this man stooped to squeeze into the room, what first met the eye was a custom-made, oversized suit constricting his frame. Above the collar sat a shaved head with a rough, savage countenance. The sheer pressure brought by his physique and appearance made Luo Di instinctively shift his body aside.

Following him, a somewhat plump middle-aged woman, standing over 1.8 meters tall, and a youth around two meters tall, covered in tattoos and sporting a golden buzz cut, entered the room in succession.

In the midst of this group followed the newly awakened Anna. She appeared to be recovering quite well, with only a faint, shallow burn mark left on her face, which should be fixable with laser surgery later on.

Anna, having entered the room, was waving at Luo Di. However, the bald man leading the group arrived at the bedside, blocking Luo Di's entire field of vision. He placed palms large enough to crush a skull against his chest and bowed his head in a gesture of respect.

"Sergei Ivanovich. Thank you for saving my daughter. If you ever have any trouble in Jupiter City in the future, you can come to us to handle it."

A business card with Russian text was placed on the headboard. Luo Di only nodded slightly, offering no verbal response.

The bald man continued to stare at the relatively small, yellow-skinned youth before him. "Anna said your body is quite impressive, and it appears that is indeed the case. It would be better if you were taller; perhaps you aren't getting enough nutrition. You are always welcome to join our family's barbecue parties when you have time. Humans need to eat more meat to grow tall and strong."

"Thank you."

At this moment, Anna, standing behind him, cut into their conversation. "Dad! Didn't the doctor say my condition is very good? Besides, the hospital service is excellent; there is absolutely no need for anyone to take care of me. You aren't needed here! Hurry back and handle things at home."

Sergei wanted to refuse, but he was met with a fierce glare from the middle-aged woman, who then pulled him aside. "Anna, we will head home first. We’ll come to pick you up in a couple of days."

"Understood, Mom."

As the family left the ward, the tattooed youth who walked last glanced specifically at Luo Di on the bed, then at his sister, before pulling the door shut.

***

Once her family had left, Anna let out a sigh of relief and sat on the chair beside the bed. "I hope they didn't scare you? My family looks fierce, but they are actually quite nice."

"No."

Luo Di didn't mind; he had sensed their goodwill the moment they entered. Anna clenched her fist on her lap, intending to deliver the thank-you speech she had prepared, but to her surprise, the other person spoke first.

"Did you go to hell, too?"

"Hell? Are you talking about the [Possession]? When we were dealing with the zombies, I accidentally caught a glimpse of the Tongue Demon in the woods, and then it burrowed into my mouth and possessed me. My consciousness fell into hell at that moment, fixed to a cross, waiting for death."

Luo Di nodded; it seemed the situation after being possessed was the same. "Did you see any symbols?"

"No. My eyes were only open for less than a second before they were corroded. I only caught a blurry glimpse of the hellish landscape; I didn't see any symbols. I thought everything was going to end right there. When my body was just about to be dried out by the wind, I suddenly felt something soft and moist crawl into my mouth. By the time I woke up again, I had already been sent to the hospital. Luo Di, you..."

Just as Anna wanted to ask about the specific details of the exorcism, Luo Di interrupted with another question: "What did that demon look like?"

"Hmm... let me think. It looked like a desiccated corpse, drained of all moisture, covered in scorch marks and holes. Its head seemed to have two different forms. Sometimes it looked like just a single tongue attached to its neck, flapping randomly in the air. Other times, it was a normal human face, but the eye sockets, nostrils, and ears were all filled with tongues. Ugh, just thinking about it is uncomfortable. By the way, they told me that you were the one who figured out how to break the situation, and you even took the initiative to transfer the demon from my body to yours. How exactly did you do that?"

"I have a unique scent that the demon likes, so it was willing to transfer over. Taking advantage of its need to move, I coordinated with Gao Yuxuan to reach out to the outside world."

"Oh, I see..." Anna didn't think much more of it. "To be able to think of a way in such a situation, no wonder Wenwen often mentions you in private. After all, with Wenwen's personality, she rarely truly praises her peers. Later, when the IV is finished, let's go check on Wenwen in her ward. Because of me, she was seriously injured; her studies might even be delayed because of this."

"A few days of delay shouldn't matter, right? This practical exercise will be a great help for future admissions."

Anna propped her chin on her hand, seeming to recall a bad memory. "That's hard to say. Wenwen's family is very strict about academics... Ever since Wenwen had an incident over a year ago, she rarely went out to play with me like she used to, meeting up at most on weekends."

"Over a year ago?"

Luo Di recalled something. He remembered that Wu Wen had transferred to their class in the second semester of her freshman year of high school, and she had quickly replaced the previous class monitor with her outstanding comprehensive qualities.

Anna explained, "Yes, originally we were going to the same high school, the best one in Jupiter City—the First Middle School. Although Wenwen was at the top of her class in middle school, she didn't seem so outstanding when placed among the monsters and geniuses at the First Middle School. Perhaps because of the heavy family pressure, her grades kept slipping. Later, during the sports test near the end of the term, she got into a conflict over a trivial matter, hurt someone, and was forced to drop out."

"Hurt someone?"

Although Luo Di rarely interacted with the class monitor, based on his daily impressions, she basically always wore a smile in front of everyone, and every word she spoke was very gentle. He couldn't imagine a scene where she would get into a conflict with someone else.

Anna sighed, "It's for the best. After transferring to your school, Wenwen seems to have returned to her old self. With her level, plus the proof provided by this special practice, Wenwen will definitely be able to squeeze into the top hundred in the city for next year's admissions. It might even be better for her than staying at the First Middle School. Once she recovers, the four of us should have a good get-together. It really wasn't easy to survive this time... Thank you so much. From now on, we are good friends. Just like my dad said, if you ever have any trouble in Jupiter City, you can find our family anytime."

However, the "thanks" that Anna had finally gotten out remained unanswered. Luo Di was staring blankly at the ward door, seemingly lost in thought.

Anna clenched her fist and let it fall lightly on his arm. "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Luo Di was slightly startled and whispered in response, "Friends, huh?"

"Of course! Remember to keep in touch. Even though we aren't at the same school, we can still make plans to hang out on weekends or holidays."

Little did she know, Luo Di's jumping train of thought had landed on something else.

"By the way, do you have that habit?"

"What habit? Why are you acting so weird?" Anna was confused by the question and even reached out to touch Luo Di's forehead, suspecting he might have a fever.

"This habit."

*Click.*

When the tongue-clicking sound came from Luo Di's mouth, Anna was instantly startled and sprang up from her chair, standing at attention. Her heart rate spiked instantly, and her body even vaguely felt that terrifying, hellish heat. She quickly realized that Luo Di had woken up earlier than her and must have undergone comprehensive testing; if there had been any problems, he would have been sealed away long ago.

"Luo Di, you want to scare me to death? Can't you say something before making that sound?"

Luo Di said calmly, "I occasionally click involuntarily now. I assume it's a side effect of the possession. You don't have it?"

"No... absolutely not! I have a strong stress reaction to that sound, let alone making it myself."

"Strange. Even though your possession time was longer than mine, could it be that I have this habit because I was the last individual to be possessed? Or perhaps it's because I don't resist the sound itself?"

Anna looked at Luo Di with a disgusted expression and quickly backed away from the bedside. "I'm not staying with you anymore, it's too creepy! I'm going back to my ward; I'll come find you later!"