Chapter 22

On the first day of the baby's hospitalization, the bronchitis turned into pneumonia, which was really depressing!

Previously, the doctor said it wasn't serious, but in just one day, it had worsened to the point where the stethoscope couldn't detect it.

Damn, expecting doctors to have medical ethics these days is probably as difficult as expecting the Chinese football team to win the World Cup.

On the first day of hospitalization, the lab fees alone amounted to over a thousand yuan. I checked the details and found that many of the tests seemed unrelated to pneumonia.

Moreover, they insisted on using the less effective cephalosporin instead of azithromycin, which is more effective. The reason, of course, is that the former is more expensive and can make you stay in the hospital longer.

Alright, I admit I might be thinking the worst, but staying in the hospital for a day is really frustrating.

Money aside, the key issue is that the baby suffered a lot, which is heart-wrenching!

Finally, I ask for your support to help me get back to regular updates as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

...

Walking down the streets of New York, although it was just a few short days, Liu Rui still felt a sense of change and nostalgia.

The people were still the same, busy with their lives, and the skyscrapers were still the same, but in Liu Rui's eyes, everything was different.

With a faint purple glow in his eyes, whether it was living beings or inanimate objects, they were all "sliced" at will with a mere thought.

In Liu Rui's eyes, the people on the street were dressed neatly one moment, and the next, they were all (naked) (running).

In another moment, they turned into live "models" with no skin, their muscles (exposed). In the next moment, the "models" in his eyes all turned into walking skulls, creating a terrifying atmosphere.

The skyscrapers on the side of the road also became 3D models in Liu Rui's eyes, and he could zoom in on specific areas and adjust the viewing mode, such as thermal imaging.

What left Liu Rui speechless was that just by casually strolling down the street, he discovered a double-digit number of places where the most primitive "activities" were happening.

The most critical point was that these places were not residences or hotels. They were either office spaces, restrooms, or even more bizarre locations.

After muttering that Americans were indeed very open, Liu Rui turned and walked toward a nearby alley.

Just a few breaths later, a middle-aged man who looked no different from an ordinary person also entered the alley.

But upon seeing that there was not a single person or shadow in the alley, the man's eyes instantly flickered, though he still maintained a normal demeanor.

Just as this seemingly ordinary middle-aged man was about to turn back, he heard a teasing voice from behind:

"Are you looking for me?"

"My God!!" The middle-aged man, who had turned around and was patting his chest, looked completely frightened.

If it were anyone else, they would likely be fooled by this perfect performance, thinking the man was just an ordinary person who was scared.

But in Liu Rui's eyes, the blood flow, heart rate, muscle contractions, and even the adrenaline secretion of this tracker were all visible.

"Are you talking to me? My God, you really scared me," the middle-aged man continued, feigning innocence.

Liu Rui, secretly impressed by the man's acting skills, immediately exposed his true identity:

"If you want to contact the guy in the car 122 meters away, there's no need to hide it; I don't mind."

"What are you talking about? Why can't I understand?" The middle-aged man, whose eyes instantly narrowed, asked with a puzzled look.

"Where's Phil Coulson? Shouldn't he be the one to contact me? Why did you replace him?" Liu Rui, ignoring the man's acting, asked straightforwardly.

Just as the middle-aged man was about to continue his act, he received an order from his superior through his earpiece.

"No need to explain, I can hear you," Liu Rui said, pointing to his ear and smiling.

"Since you want to talk, why not come directly? Why make it like this? What do you think, Director Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Mr. Liu, with your abilities, why make it difficult for them?" Nick Fury, appearing like a ghost at the alley entrance, said expressionlessly.

"Difficult? No, no, no, if I really wanted to make it difficult, it wouldn't be like this," Liu Rui said, shaking his right index finger and shrugging.

"However, to have the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. come in person, should I feel honored?"

"I know of a place nearby that serves excellent tea. Why don't we go there and talk?" Nick Fury, wearing a black leather coat and a black eye patch, suggested.

"Oh? I should definitely try it then," Liu Rui said, smiling as he "sliced" the man in his line of sight.

Faced with this harmless smile, Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., instinctively felt a chill and a sense of being preyed upon by a predator.

A few minutes later, the two of them entered a clearly Chinese-owned coffee shop, which was empty except for two staff members.

Walking into the coffee shop, Liu Rui knew without guessing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had booked the entire place.

Before long, a cup of coffee and a cup of tea were placed in front of them.

To Liu Rui's surprise, Nick Fury's recommendation was genuine; the tea in front of him was indeed excellent.

Lifting the delicate teacup, he looked at the clear and bright liquid inside, smelled the rich and fragrant aroma, and said with a smile:

"This is top-grade Da Hong Pao, right? To have such tea in a coffee shop is indeed impressive."

"As long as Mr. Liu likes it," Nick Fury said, raising his cup in a toast and taking a sip of his coffee before putting it down and asking:

"Mr. Liu, who are you?"

"Who am I? Ha ha... That's an interesting question," Liu Rui said, leaning back in his chair and looking at the bustling crowd outside.

"You call me Mr. Liu, so how could S.H.I.E.L.D. not know who I am?"

"We really don't know," Nick Fury said, shaking his head and speaking seriously.

"Really? With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities, you can't find out the background of a mere citizen?" Liu Rui said, sipping his tea teasingly.

"Mr. Liu, there's no need to beat around the bush. In our investigation, we only found that you first appeared on the streets of New York. Before that, there's no information."

Pausing, Nick Fury, who was staring straight at Liu Rui, continued:

"Or rather, there is none at all."

"None at all? Do you mean I don't really exist?" Liu Rui said, pointing to his nose and smiling.

"No, I mean your background is very clean, so clean that we can't find any information at all," Nick Fury said, shaking his head.

"But you are very familiar with S.H.I.E.L.D., even its predecessor, the Strategic Scientific Reserve."

"Moreover, you possess very advanced biotechnology. So, who are you?"

Liu Rui, not rushing to answer, quickly scanned the inside and outside of the coffee shop.

With his eyes glowing with a faint purple hue, he instantly saw the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and assault teams hidden around, ready for battle.

Even though the latest version of "Divine Blood" didn't fully satisfy Liu Rui in terms of brain usage, the conversation and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s stance made it clear that they had misunderstood something.

"From your reaction, you must think I'm a Hydra agent, right?" Liu Rui said, putting down his teacup and smiling with a mouthful of tea.

Nick Fury neither confirmed nor denied this, and the people hidden around instantly went into a state of high alert.

"Alright, alright, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, let me introduce myself formally," Liu Rui said, shrugging and speaking directly.

"My name is Liu Haotian. In Western style, I should be called Haotian Liu, a pure Chinese person."

"As for why you can't find my background, it's simple: I'm not from your world."

Even though Nick Fury had prepared for various scenarios before this meeting, his expression, which had been expressionless for years, still showed a flicker of surprise at this answer, especially the last sentence.

"You're not joking, right?" Nick Fury said, staring straight at Liu Rui.

"See, if I don't say anything, you suspect I'm a Hydra agent. If I tell the truth, you think I'm joking," Liu Rui said, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture.

"Then which world are you from? Don't tell me it's heaven or hell," Nick Fury said after a moment of silence, resuming his poker face.

"No, no, heaven or hell is a Western concept, which has nothing to do with us Easterners," Liu Rui said, shaking his index finger and continuing:

"The world I come from, from a scientific perspective, should be considered a parallel universe."

"Parallel universe?" Nick Fury asked.

"Something like that. I can't explain the specifics right now," Liu Rui said, shrugging and answering honestly.

"Does that mean you will be able to explain it in the future?" Nick Fury asked, seizing the key point.

"Who knows about the future? At least about my future, I doubt anyone can know," Liu Rui said, picking up his teacup and blowing on it with a faint smile.