Chapter 123 : Chapter 123

Chapter 123. Spring of Life, Lei Zhen’s Severed Arm Regrows!

“Start!”

In the villa’s back garden, a shrill whistle rang out across the broad racetrack, and the race cars answered with thunderous roars.

Jiang Yichen released the clutch, and his dazzling red-and-black race car shot forward like a cannonball, drifting recklessly along the winding course.

Beside him, Su Linyu drove a pink race car close behind.

“Brother Yichen is so fast. I can barely keep up.”

Su Linyu’s admiring voice came through the headset, while Jiang Yichen merely smiled without replying.

With his powerful Mental Perception, he knew she had had several chances to overtake him, but each time she had chosen to stay behind him on purpose.

Still, having someone willing to play with him and go a little wild with him was already more than enough.

Ever since he had laid down the burdens on his shoulders and embraced a good life, he had found himself curious about all sorts of new things.

For example, last night, when he could not sleep, he watched the film Pegasus and suddenly became interested in racing.

That perfect control over speed, that stylish feeling of driver and machine becoming one, had captivated him deeply.

If it had been his past self, then even if he had had the means to try it, he would only have thought about it and let it go. Rather than wasting time on something like this, he would have preferred doing something more important.

But now, whenever he became interested in something, he simply had it brought right in front of him.

After all, the funds rewarded by the System had nowhere else to go. He might as well use them to experience life.

A smile tugged at Jiang Yichen’s lips as he gripped the steering wheel with both hands, watched the barriers on either side fly past, and listened to the tires screech against the road.

Even for a half-baked amateur driver like him, the thrill of it was overwhelming.

Ten minutes later, the two race cars thundered across the finish line like charging beasts, their tires grinding against the ground and sending up thick white smoke.

The two racing coaches he had hired immediately stepped forward and opened the doors for them.

“Congratulations, Young Master Jiang. You were one minute and thirty seconds faster than last time.”

“Wow, Brother Yichen is amazing. You get faster every single time.”

“...” Jiang Yichen’s lips twitched. Why did that sound a little strange?

He took off his helmet and stepped out of the car.

Then he saw Su Linyu remove hers as well. Her long hair spilled down like a waterfall, swaying lightly, and together with her pink fitted racing suit, she looked strikingly cool.

“You were going easy on me again, were you not?” Jiang Yichen asked with a smile, gently stroking the body of the race car.

A flicker of panic crossed Su Linyu’s eyes at being seen through. She fiddled with her hands and shook her head. “No. This was all Brother Yichen’s skill.”

As she spoke, she jogged over to him and looked up at him with admiration.

“Brother Yichen, you learn so quickly. Can you teach me yourself? I am a little slow.”

Su Linyu blinked those lively eyes at him.

Jiang Yichen smiled and pinched her cheek. He had to admit, the emotional gratification she gave him was truly unmatched.

He knew that after he had messaged Su Linyu last night saying he wanted to try racing, she had probably stayed up all night again to learn it herself.

This girl really was good at everything. No matter what it was, she could master it in an incredibly short time.

Was this the power of pure devotion?

With a smile lingering at the corners of his lips, Jiang Yichen thought for a moment and said, “All right, I will teach you.”

Su Linyu’s eyes instantly sparkled. In her mind, she had already begun imagining Brother Yichen holding her hands, guiding the steering wheel, and speeding across the track with her.

“All right. I will study seriously.”

Just as she was about to put on her helmet and enjoy some close time with Brother Yichen, Uncle Feng suddenly walked over.

“Young Master, Lei Zhen from Spark Team is here. He says you invited him.”

Jiang Yichen paused in surprise, then said apologetically, “I will teach you in a little while. I need to see Lei Zhen first, all right?”

The light in Su Linyu’s eyes dimmed slightly, but she nodded with understanding.

“I will go with Brother Yichen.”

Jiang Yichen hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

The two of them entered the main hall, where Lei Zhen, a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard, immediately stood up.

“Boss. Captain.”

After greeting them, he asked worriedly, “Boss, may I ask where Sleep God went?”

“He went somewhere that suits him better. Do not worry. He is fine.” Jiang Yichen patted Lei Zhen on the shoulder.

Yet Lei Zhen still looked uneasy. “That kid Sleep God... without me shocking him awake, what if he falls asleep?”

He and Sleep God had been quite close. Since neither of them had any family, they had become a pair of fellow sufferers.

With Sleep God vanishing so suddenly, it was only natural that he could not accept it right away.

“Uncle Lei, Sleep God said that once he can control his power, he will come back,” Su Linyu said gently in consolation.

Lei Zhen could only nod. Then he looked toward Jiang Yichen. “Then Boss, what did you call me here for today?”

Jiang Yichen took out the Spring of Life from his System Space. “I said before that after the finals, I would give you a surprise.”

Lei Zhen’s and Su Linyu’s gazes immediately converged on the emerald-green jade bottle.

Su Linyu froze. Her hand tightened unconsciously, and in the end she could only let out a soft sigh.

Her father had rejected it back then, so Brother Yichen was not wrong to give it to someone else.

But as a daughter, she also wanted to see her father healthy and free from illness and pain.

“Boss, what is this?” Green light from the jade bottle reflected over Lei Zhen’s face as curiosity appeared in his eyes.

Jiang Yichen looked at the right arm covered by Lei Zhen’s black glove. “It can regrow a severed limb.”

!!!

That simple sentence made Lei Zhen’s entire body tremble, and his eyes widened in shock.

“B-Boss, this...”

His voice was full of disbelief. Ever since his right arm had been torn off by a monster, he had thought of countless ways to recover it and had searched through all kinds of information in hopes of returning to the military district.

Only divine treasures born within ruins might be capable of regrowing a severed limb.

But he was merely a low-level martial artist. Leaving aside the dangers of ruins, he did not even have the qualifications to enter one.

As for buying such a thing with money? Divine treasures from ruins were almost never available for sale, and even if they were, he could not afford one even if he spent several lifetimes earning money.

But now...

Lei Zhen’s hand trembled slightly as it moved toward the jade bottle, yet just before he could grab it, he stopped and slowly drew it back with a faint clench of his jaw.

“Boss, I... if I accept this divine treasure, I will never be able to repay you.”

Deep down, he knew that when Phoenix Team and Thunder Team had left the Boss, he himself had once thought about repaying Jiang Yichen’s kindness and then leaving as well.

Since he had harbored thoughts like that, he simply did not deserve to be treated so well by the Boss.

“Lei Zhen, this is your reward for helping Spark Team win the championship. You earned it through your own effort.”

Jiang Yichen did not bother arguing with him. He simply stuffed the Spring of Life into Lei Zhen’s arms. “Try it.”

Lei Zhen stared at the jade bottle in his arms for a long time.

Then he suddenly straightened his chest, brought his feet together, and gave Jiang Yichen the highest salute of the military.

“Boss, I will not accept this for free. From now on, whenever you need me, just say the word.”

Jiang Yichen smiled. “No need to be so tense. We may be in an employment relationship, but the way you have carried yourself makes me very willing to accept you as a friend.”

Lei Zhen’s eyes trembled. “Thank you, Boss.”

Then he removed the black leather glove, revealing the metallic palm of his mechanical hand. After tapping a few spots on the back of it, the mechanical arm suddenly gave off a harsh sizzling sound as it detached from his flesh.

Lei Zhen gritted his teeth against the pain. The mechanical arm slipped from his sleeve and fell to the floor, while blood quickly soaked through the cloth at his stump.

Lei Zhen opened the jade bottle and looked at the emerald liquid inside, unable to suppress the excitement in his eyes.

It had been more than four years. Countless times, he had fantasized that if his arm were still there, he could have remained in the military district and slaughtered every last one of those damned monsters.

Now the Boss had given him a chance to be reborn.

Lei Zhen’s gaze suddenly turned resolute. He tilted his head back and drank down the Spring of Life in one gulp. The emerald glow traveled slowly from his mouth down his throat before dispersing throughout his entire body.

He felt the cells all over his body dividing at a rapid pace. His Blood Qi surged, and the severed place on his arm itched unbearably.

Lei Zhen lowered his head to look at his empty right sleeve and was just about to scratch at it to relieve the itch.

But in the very next second, something happened that shocked him beyond measure.

The blood-stained, empty sleeve began to fill out at a visible speed. A blood-red hand pushed out from the cuff, while veins, finger bones, and skin gradually formed...