Chapter 97: Heal Me
"I don’t know. I didn’t see them after the calamity started... I ran for my life, without looking back once."
The guy paused before he gave off a bitter smile, "They laughed at me. My face... people said I looked more like a girl than a man. Some even said I should’ve been a pretty hostess instead of a nurse. I didn’t mind at first. But then the bullying... grew worse."
He took a shaky breath, his soft voice breaking slightly. "I thought... maybe if I just kept working hard, they would stop. But even the patients sometimes stared at me strangely. No matter how much effort I gave, I... I was never respected. Still, I told myself that if I can save lives, then my dignity doesn’t matter."
"For once, I wanted to be cruel, I... wanted to live. So I left."
Ling Yu leaned back, her eyes never leaving him. A male nurse who was ridiculed for his beauty and punished for his kindness, but still clung stubbornly to the belief that helping people was enough. That stubbornness... was exactly what the apocalypse would chew up and spit out.
No wonder he had been targeted the moment he awakened as a healer. Kindness without strength was a crime in this world.
But Ling Yu’s system suddenly pulsed before her eyes.
[Target: Xian Yu]
[Class: Healer (Rare)]
[Primary Skill: Angel’s Mercy (World-Class Seed)]
[Evaluation: Incomplete]
[Unlock Conditions for Angel’s Mercy (S-Class Evolution):]
Heal allies 10,000 times [Progress: 5/10,000]
Perform 100 successful operations [Progress: 0/100]
Revive a target from the brink of death at least 10 times [Progress: 0/10]
[Potential Rating: SS]
[Warning: Target unlikely to meet conditions due to low survival expectancy. Premature death projected.]
Ling Yu’s eyes sharpened.
As I thought. He has the seed of a world-class skill, but the system shackled it with absurd conditions.
Ten thousand heals? One hundred operations? Resurrections? In a collapsing world where most people wouldn’t live long enough to see tomorrow, those requirements were nothing short of impossible. Most likely, Xian Yu would die in obscurity before ever blooming.
Her lips curved faintly. Well, that is something yet to happen, unless she intervenes.
Fluffy suddenly puffed up, bouncing onto her lap with a squeak of protest, its tiny paws batting at her hands as though to scold her for even thinking something reckless.
"Shh." Ling Yu stroked the little creature absently, her mind already racing.
The divine sponsors watching her stream erupted with chatter.
[Unknown Cosmic Deity is staring intently at Xian Yu.]
[Unknown Cosmic Deity mutters: "A healer with Angel’s Mercy... ohhh, interesting, interesting. If he survives, he could rival even divine physicians."]
[Unknown Cosmic Deity snickers: "But without her, he’d already be dead. Heh. So fragile."]
[Asclepius, God of Medicine, has entered the stream.]
[Asclepius observes: "That boy is a seed. He must be nurtured properly or he’ll rot."]
[Asclepius glares at Ling Yu: "If you waste such a talent, I’ll curse you with eternal festering wounds."]
[Unknown Cosmic Deity hisses: "Back off, old healer! He belongs to my Fang!"]
[Bastet, Goddess of Guardianship, has gifted 50 Gold Coins: "The girl knows what she’s doing. Let her test him."]
Ling Yu ignored the divine bickering. She had already made up her mind. Her gaze returned to Xian Yu, who shifted nervously under her silence, his fragile beauty glowing faintly in the lantern light.
"You said you’re a healer," she said quietly.
He blinked, startled. "Y-yes. I can close wounds. Stop bleeding. Ease pain. I-I know it’s not much compared to fighters, but—"
"Then heal me."
Before Xian Yu could even react, Ling Yu drew a dagger from her belt. Its blade gleamed wickedly in the lantern glow. In one smooth motion, she turned the edge against herself, pressing it to the pale skin of her forearm, and dragged it across.
Blood burst forth in a crimson stream. The wound was deep, ugly, slicing into flesh with a deliberate cruelty.
Xian Yu froze, horror overtaking his delicate features. His voice broke into a panicked cry.
"W-What are you doing?!" He scrambled forward on his knees, hands reaching helplessly toward her arm. "Y-You’ll hurt yourself! Stop, please!"
Ling Yu’s facial expression remained calm, serene even, as blood dripped steadily onto the dirt floor. Her voice was steady, merciless. "Show me. Heal it."
"I—I can’t—" His voice cracked, tears already forming in his eyes. His hands trembled violently as he pressed them over the wound, golden light flickering faintly from his palms. "Please, don’t— don’t do this...!"
The system flared.
[Target Xian Yu has activated: Minor Heal (Seed of Angel’s Mercy).
][Healing efficiency: 14%.]
[Skill Progress +1 Heal. (Total: 6/10,000).]
’Just as I thought...’ A grin spread across Ling Yu’s face.
The wound knitted slowly beneath his touch, trembling golden light weaving over her skin like fragile threads of dawn. It wasn’t perfect; seeing how the scar lingered faintly, the bleeding also slowed a bit, but not fully sealed. Sweat poured down Xian Yu’s face as he pushed harder, the golden glow intensifying, his lips whispering desperate pleas.
Ling Yu watched him coldly, yet there was something unreadable flickering in her gaze. "Is that all? This is what you call healing?"
Xian Yu’s shoulders shook violently. "I... I’m sorry! I promise I’ll get better! Just don’t hurt yourself like this again!"
Fluffy screeched in protest, leaping up onto her shoulder and yanking at her sleeve with tiny claws, eyes wide with panic.
The divine sponsors erupted.
[Unknown Cosmic Deity roars with laughter.]
[Yes! Force him! Break him against the wall of his own weakness until he either shatters or ascends!]
[Unknown Cosmic Deity gifts 100 Gold Coins.]
[Asclepius is furious.]
[This is reckless! He’s not ready for this yet! Do you want him to collapse from shock?!]
[Ares sneers at the Divine Physician Asclepius]
[Tch. Pathetic. If he faints from this much, then let him die. The strong don’t wait for the weak to catch up.]
[Bastet’s tone softens towards the Host.]