NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 21:
Chapter 21: Stitches
Lin Fan had an extraordinary ability to endure pain and pressure—but even that had limits. Especially when faced with this kind of psychological torment. If this had happened during a mission, he could’ve brushed it off. But this? This was something else entirely.
He wanted to cry, but there were no tears. He opened his mouth—and something vile rushed in.
The taste was so strong it nearly took his breath away.
The chaos in the room immediately changed because of him.
Doctor Zhang and the tattooed man stopped fighting. The fierce woman quickly backed away. As for the spectators, they clutched their clothes tightly and retreated in disgust.
But not everyone had common sense. Some just had the urge to record everything for online fame.
One woman held up her phone and whispered, “Family, listen to this! I was just visiting my pregnant bestie with my husband, and I witnessed this! I feel sick!”
Lin Fan was overwhelmed with despair.
Even he couldn’t take it anymore. He roared at the crowd gathered around the door, “GET OUT! GET OUT!”
“Urgh… yue…”
The moment he shouted, his tongue touched something again. The sensation made his scalp go numb.
“Buddy, calm down! It’s not our fault!”
“Yeah, yell at that filthy hag with the bucket, not at us!”
Furious, Lin Fan couldn’t hold back anymore. They’re laughing at me? Fine!
He grabbed a handful of the foul mess and hurled it toward the crowd!
Chaos erupted.
“AHHHH! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!”
“It’s on my face! I’m gonna throw up!”
“It’s in my hair—gross!”
The scene turned into utter mayhem. Screaming filled the hall as everyone ran away in panic.
The two troublemakers took advantage of the confusion and fled. The bucket was gone. No second wave.
Lin Fan’s rage simmered down. But he was still humiliated.
The Border Wolf King—drenched in Oli Gei? If word of this spreads, I’ll never live it down…
Even Doctor Zhang wanted to leave. At this point, what’s the point of finishing the treatment?
“Doctor,” Lin Fan called out, “you haven’t finished the stitches.”
Doctor Zhang stopped mid-step, turned around, and stared at Lin Fan—now caked in filth, his face barely visible. He gulped nervously. It wouldn’t be right to abandon a patient.
“You… you should go wash up first. There’s a shower in the back room.”
“You need to clean the wound thoroughly, or it’ll get seriously infected.”
Lin Fan had no choice.
The doctor wasn’t a nurse; he wasn’t obligated to help him clean up.
Thankfully, due to his strong physique, the anesthesia hadn’t fully disabled him. Lin Fan grabbed a chair and used it for support as he limped to the inner bathroom.
He washed himself the simplest way—pouring bucket after bucket of water over his head.
Eventually, the filth on the outside was gone, but the stench still lingered.
He changed into a hospital gown, resigned to endure the discomfort. I’ll get the stitches done first. The rest can wait.
He also changed to a different medical room.
The previous one… was no longer fit for anyone.
Fortunately, Doctor Zhang still had some sense of duty. He disinfected the wound again and began stitching.
Just then, Shen Wuxiao returned—right on cue.
He was holding a steaming bowl of multigrain porridge, specially made soft with added ingredients. The whole thing looked like a culinary disaster.
“Brother Lin Fan, why did you switch rooms?” Shen Wuxiao asked innocently.
Lin Fan felt too ashamed to explain. He gave a vague answer, “Something happened over there. I just changed rooms.”
Shen Wuxiao chuckled silently to himself and didn’t press further. Instead, he walked closer and opened the lid of the porridge.
“Doctor, after the wound is bandaged, my brother can eat this, right?”
As he spoke, he gave the doctor a glance.
Doctor Zhang paused.
Just one look at the porridge was enough to turn his stomach.
He had been holding it together earlier, but combined with Lin Fan’s lingering odor, he was on the verge of collapse.
He instinctively raised his hand to push the porridge away. At that moment, Shen Wuxiao let go deliberately.
It looked as if the doctor had accidentally knocked it over.
The entire steaming bowl of porridge spilled directly onto Lin Fan’s freshly treated wound.
“AAAHHHHH!!!”
Lin Fan let out a roar of pain.
This time, it really hurt.
His whole body jolted up in agony.
The stitches had just been redone, and the anesthesia had worn off.
Lin Fan had originally planned to endure the minor pain in silence—he didn’t want to seem weak. But who would’ve expected this? A bowl of boiling porridge poured right onto his open wound!
[Ding! Artificially robbed the protagonist’s fortune, three consecutive attacks. Points +30,000]
Hearing the system prompt, Shen Wuxiao was overjoyed inside—but on the outside, he put on a panicked expression.
“Oh no! Doctor! Hurry, what should we do?!”
Doctor Zhang was just as alarmed.
He had only wanted to move the porridge aside. He never imagined it would spill.
Now it looked like his fault.
He quickly grabbed a cloth and began clearing the porridge from the wound.
Inside the medical room, all three stared at the now-red and blistering injury.
Shen Wuxiao spoke first. “Doctor, what now?”
Lin Fan’s face was full of helplessness, on the verge of tears.
Doctor Zhang looked devastated. He turned to Lin Fan and said, “Mr. Lin… we’ll need to disinfect the wound again.”
“All the stitches must be removed… and redone.”
Lin Fan wanted to cry but couldn’t.
Why is this so complicated? It was just a bullet wound and a simple stitch job! Why has this turned into such a nightmare?!
But what could he do now?
“Take it out,” Lin Fan sighed, turning his face away.
His patience was truly remarkable.
Anyone else would’ve exploded with rage long ago.
Shen Wuxiao quickly followed up, “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have distracted the doctor while he was working.”
“Otherwise, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Don’t say that,” Lin Fan forced a smile. “Accidents happen. I’m not someone who holds grudges.”
Deep down, though, he was crushed.
But he couldn’t bring himself to blame Shen Wuxiao.
This time, Shen Wuxiao sat far off and let the doctor work.
The room grew quiet again.
Shen Wuxiao scrolled casually through his phone, as if nothing had happened.
But inwardly, he was speaking with the system.
“System, didn’t I unlock my special abilities? Fire control, lightning control, time freeze—right?”
[Yes, host!]
“Then theoretically, if I freeze time, I could just stab Lin Fan twice, right?”
[Technically, yes. But the moment you attack, the target is released from stasis. Unless you’re ready to go all-in and fight openly, it’s not advisable.]
“Forget it then. I misunderstood—I thought they’d stay frozen even if I attacked.”
[Still, these powers are useful. In critical moments, they’re like a cheat code.]
“That’s true. But what about the lightning control ability?”
[The Lightning Control Technique allows you to manipulate electricity—including electrical appliances. You can overload systems, cause malfunctions, or trigger sparks.]
“Interesting. There’s a shadowless lamp hanging above Lin Fan’s head, and a heart monitor next to him. Both are powered.”
Shen Wuxiao nearly laughed out loud.
“You’re evil,” he muttered.
[Host, would you like to generate a mission?]
“Yes! Give me a task… let’s say, make Lin Fan get stitched one more time!”
[Ding! Generating mission…]
[Mission issued: Cause Lin Fan to get stitched again. Reward: +8000 points. Failure: No penalty.]