Chapter 160: Taking a Mother-in-Law as a Disciple (Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter)

Cal's eyes fluttered open as he carefully surveyed his surroundings, quickly "understanding" everything.

Because his daughter, Daisy, had gone missing in an accident during her childhood, he and his wife, Jiaying, had a bitter falling out. He searched for her tirelessly everywhere, while his wife returned to Afterlife and sought the help of Gordon, who possessed the power of teleportation.

Perhaps due to excessive trauma, both of their mental states had suffered somewhat. They slept significantly longer than others and occasionally suffered from amnesia—a rare and baffling medical condition in this world, one that even he, a Doctor Without Borders, could not figure out.

He had never even heard of such a thing.

Twenty years had flashed by, and with the help of Little Wang, Daisy had finally been found.

With the family of three finally reunited, Little Wang learned the specifics of their situation and arranged for Fitz to treat them.

To be able to cure such a rare and stubborn medical condition—Fitz was truly remarkable. And Little Wang, who had nurtured and trained Fitz, was even more extraordinary. He was indeed a man worthy of his daughter's affection.

For some reason, despite the limited time they had spent together, his impression of Little Wang was exceptionally good. He felt that the young man was capable, handsome, wealthy, powerful, influential, and well-connected. Furthermore, Little Wang carried himself with a steady and generous demeanor, exuding a very comforting aura. He was cute, endearing, and deeply beloved by the middle-aged and elderly alike.

Reliable!

Entrusting his daughter to such hands gave him absolute peace of mind!

However, Cal couldn't help feeling a bit worried.

A man like Little Wang was destined to have more than one woman in his life.

Oh, daughter, dear daughter, this father of yours is truly concerned.

It seemed he would need to have a serious discussion with his wife, joining forces to help their daughter fight for her man.

Even if they couldn't make their daughter Little Wang's only woman, at the very least, she had to be the most important one.

No matter what, his daughter must never be wronged.

"You're awake, Mr. Johnson."

Old Wang walked straight over, helped Cal remove the helmet, and casually channeled a stream of vital qi into him to regulate his bodily functions, before asking, "How do you feel?"

"Ah, I'm fine. Dr. Fitz's equipment treatment is exceptionally effective."

Cal's expression was warm. He turned his head to look at Jiaying, who was still inside the life-support pod, and asked, "How is she right now?"

"Ms. Jiaying's condition is slightly more severe than yours, but her treatment should be completed within two weeks."

Old Wang offered a word of reassurance and said, "Mr. Johnson, Daisy is waiting for you in the virtual laboratory."

"Right, I'll go find her." His daughter was greater than the heavens; Cal hurried off to find Daisy.

"Uh, Boss, there is something I must remind you of."

Fitz gestured with his hands as he organized his words: "The human brain is extremely complex. Although part of the memories were erased and some were modified, there are still remnants left behind, and discontinuous fragments will often surface in the mind. If he's lucky enough, he might even recover those memories."

"Luck? If he's considered lucky, there probably isn't a single unlucky person left in this world." Old Wang wasn't worried at all.

A kind-hearted medical expert went to China to serve as a Doctor Without Borders, and when he finally managed to find someone he loved, she turned out to be an ancient monster who had lived for hundreds of years.

Later, they had a daughter, only for his wife to be captured, dismembered, and chopped into dozens of pieces.

After painstaking efforts to stitch her back together—even sacrificing the lives of an entire village in the process—his wife was resurrected, but his daughter went missing.

After searching for twenty years, he himself had turned into a monster who could lose his life at any moment.

Wife and daughter separated, family torn apart and destroyed.

When he finally found his daughter, his wife had changed; for the sake of revenge, she was even willing to sacrifice their daughter and would not hesitate to kill her with her own hands.

If one could see his character stats, his "Luck Value" would be at 1 point at most!

"All right." Having given the necessary warning, Fitz had fulfilled his responsibility and continued to monitor Jiaying's vital signs.

Old Wang walked up to Jiaying.

What Jiaying needed was not only spiritual treatment, but physical healing as well.

Although she could absorb other people's lives to resurrect herself and achieve eternal youth, purely in terms of physical constitution, she actually fell short compared to even the Black Widow—otherwise, she wouldn't have been left with so many cracks.

The Kree experiments had endowed the Inhumans with infinitely potential genes, but realistically speaking, Inhumans—much like mutants—could only be considered a shortcut on the path of evolution. Though fast enough to complete tens or hundreds of thousands of years of evolution in just a few hours, problems were bound to arise.

Every Inhuman had genetic flaws, and every superpower lacked perfection—

Black Bolt didn't even dare to open his mouth under normal circumstances, and Daisy's shockwaves easily injured her own body.

Jiaying's superpower had flaws as well.

These were those very flaws.

Old Wang reached out and pressed his hand against the life-support pod. Thick vital qi transformed into a green mist that enveloped Jiaying's body, slowly seeping inward.

Vital qi was the fundamental energy of life itself; it could not only harm but also save.

Compared to vital qi, Jiaying's superpower was not worth mentioning.

As the mist seeped in, the cracks on Jiaying's face healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, slowly fading away.

And not just her face.

Every inch of skin and muscle on her body, and even her internal organs—all her wounds and chronic ailments—rapidly vanished under Old Wang's treatment. Right now, she was healthier than an eighteen-year-old maiden; every inch of her skin was tender enough to break at the touch, and every single cell was brimming with vitality.

Nourished by the vital qi, her superpower even received a certain degree of enhancement.

"How miraculous! This is simply a divine miracle of God!"

Although he had long known of the boss's abilities, seeing it with his own eyes for the first time meant he had to act sufficiently exaggerated, whether out of genuine awe or flattery.

Simmons was right: the boss's body was the most perfect body in the world, the most fascinating thing to any scientist.

He really wanted to put the boss on the operating table and slice him up...

Old Wang withdrew his hand and nodded inwardly.

He could distinctly perceive Jiaying's condition, as every single cell seemed to be crying out two words:

Starvation.

Jiaying's superpower seemed ordinary, possessing almost no combat capability and utterly useless aside from granting longevity.

In truth, that was only because it hadn't been utilized properly.

She had always remained in a state of starvation.

Out of kindness, bound by laws and morality, and held back by her own fears, she had never absorbed anyone's life force except to maintain her longevity and resurrection.

She helped so many Inhumans develop their powers, yet she had never developed her own.

The cost was simply too high.

If she were willing to continuously absorb the life force of others, her vitality would undoubtedly elevate to an unimaginable level—perhaps one day rivaling an adult red dragon, or even the Red Dragon Queen.

Jiaying was actually the most suitable person in the world to be a villain.

Every superpower had flaws, but since they were flaws, they could be remedied.

Black Bolt could not speak aloud, but communication on a mental level would certainly pose no problem, or he could simply learn sign language from the deaf.

Daisy's shockwaves harmed her body; she merely needed to strengthen her physical fitness.

Jiaying's superpower required absorbing life force, but life force could be obtained not only from other living creatures but through other methods as well—and even if it had to be drawn from living beings, she simply shouldn't target her own people.

"The most suitable occupation for Jiaying appears to be a monk..."

"Vital qi" was the energy of life itself, which in essence was life force.

Why were the most powerful monks always Pandaren?

Because of their robust physiques, their broad-mindedness, and because a larger, bulkier body meant greater life force. Because they could eat, and for a monk, the greatest source of vital qi came from "refining essence into qi," acquired through food.

Pandaren were uniquely blessed by nature.

No ordinary monk could absorb the life force of their enemies, but Jiaying could.

If she were a monk, she wouldn't need to turn into a glutton, nor would she need a bulky physique, yet she would still possess an endless stream of life force and continuous vital qi.

Under the nourishment of vital qi, her physical fitness would also continuously improve, potentially even rising to the level of the Hulk or Thanos.

Infinite potential.

"Perhaps... I could take Jiaying as a disciple and nudge her into becoming a monk?"

Old Wang stroked his chin, feeling that the relationships were getting terribly tangled.

Pacing back and forth and hesitating for a long time, Old Wang finally made up his mind.

"Fitz, when modifying the memories, pay attention to maximizing Jiaying's favorable impression of me."

"And her passion for kung fu!"

Fitz froze for a moment, looking thoughtful.

"As much as possible?"

"I understand!"

Gugu the Mighty Duck says:

Asking for baseline monthly tickets. The updates this month should be relatively frequent, except for the beginning of the month. Today is April 1st, wish you all a happy April Fool's Day, and also wish my daughter a happy birthday. At my wife's request, I'm taking them out for a trip; the other two chapters will be updated tonight...