27: recuperating

Lu Jianchuan leaned against the cold, hard door panel, listening to the busy tone from his phone. Zhao Dawu's words, "It's been transferred, it's none of our business anymore," seemed to still echo in his ears. Just as he was about to relax and try to move his body, a piercing, agonizing pain suddenly exploded from his right arm and ribs, making him instantly gasp. The cold sweat that had just dried on his forehead seeped out densely once more.

Gritting his teeth, he carefully rolled up the sleeve of his right arm. Beneath it were the cloth strips he had hastily bandaged earlier, already soaked and hardened with dark red blood, sticking to the wound. The slightest movement brought a tearing pain.

He tried to take a deep breath, but a dull, heavy pain immediately came from his ribs, as if a bone had been displaced. Every breath felt like pulling at it. It wasn't just these obvious injuries; the muscles all over his body felt as if they had been taken apart and barely reassembled, filled with the soreness and weakness of overexertion.

Leaning against the door, he looked at this familiar yet now particularly empty and cold rented room. An unprecedented sense of weakness and confusion welled up in his heart. Injured like this, what could he still do?

[Consciousness Space]

Almost at the same moment Lu Jianchuan's consciousness became fully clear due to the intense pain, Han Chengyu clearly and synchronously perceived his terrible physiological state.

"System! He's awake, but these injuries... look at him! His arm, his ribs... he can barely move!" Han Chengyu's consciousness was filled with anxiety, as if he could personally feel that pain. "We have to do something! We can't just watch! Like this, forget fighting, he probably can't even hold on by himself!"

[Based on real-time vital sign monitoring data, injury assessment: moderate. Confirmed to severely affect his basic mobility and potential efficiency in subsequent missions.]

The System's electronic voice remained steady, but its analysis directly pointed toward a solution.

[According to the basic design principles of the 'Cross-Boundary Synergistic Combat Unit,' when the armor is activated and covers the user, its essence is to guide the 'Primordial Evolution Factor (evo factor)' within the user's body through a highly controllable, directional 'life evolution' process. This process will drastically accelerate metabolism, consuming the chemical energy stored in the user's body (primarily blood sugar, liver glycogen, and fat reserves). One of its priorities is to 'evolve' and 'maintain' the body's state in the preset optimal combat template. Naturally, this includes rapidly repairing tissue damage.]

"I understand!" Han Chengyu immediately grasped the key point. "So, as long as he transforms, he can consume the energy converted from the food he's eaten to quickly heal his injuries? But won't that directly drain him? He just finished a fierce battle; his energy was already low, right?"

[Correct logic. The rate of energy consumption is positively correlated with the severity of the injury. If energy reserves fall below the safety threshold, the repair process may be interrupted, or even worsen the body's weakness due to energy depletion, posing a risk.] The System analyzed calmly.

[However, this information falls under the category of 'basic equipment function explanation.' Informing the user does not violate the core principle of 'not directly influencing their decisions.' It is recommended that you explain the mechanism and potential risks to him, allowing the user to weigh them independently.]

"Good! Then tell him quickly!" Han Chengyu said without hesitation. He couldn't make decisions for Lu Jianchuan, but at least he could give him a choice, a possible path.

[Real World]

Lu Jianchuan was enduring the overwhelming pain and weakness, using his uninjured left arm to support himself, trying to struggle and crawl toward the kitchen to find something to eat. Just then, the screen of his phone, placed on the floor beside him, suddenly lit up. The eerie blue glow was particularly conspicuous in the dimness, and the familiar starry sky avatar pulsed in the center of the screen.

Panting, he stopped moving and picked up the phone with difficulty using his left hand, unlocking it. The wound on his right arm hurt piercingly with even the slightest exertion, making precise typing impossible. He could only barely use his left thumb to swipe the screen, reading the message.

.: Monitoring shows your vital signs are abnormal; the injuries are not light.

.: Facing such an enemy for the first time, setbacks are inevitable; don't be too hard on yourself. The priority now is to recover your condition.

.: You need to understand another basic characteristic of this armor. It shares the same origin as those evolutions that deviate from individuals; its essence is to guide the potential within your body through a controllable, directional leap in life.

When you summon it, it drastically accelerates your metabolism, burning the energy stored in your body—the sugars and fats converted from food. This process not only powers combat but also prioritizes 'evolving' and maintaining your body in the preset optimal state, which naturally includes repairing tissue damage.

.: In short, activating the armor can heal your injuries. But the cost is that your body will immediately need to replenish far more energy than usual. Energy is the fuel that drives all of this, and it is the price you must pay. Weigh this carefully.

Lu Jianchuan read word by word, his breathing involuntarily quickening. He wanted to reply with "Understood" or ask for details, but when he tried to lift his trembling left hand fingers, even accurately tapping the virtual keyboard became extremely difficult. He gave up on the idea, simply engraving The Forger's words firmly in his mind.

At this moment, The Forger's explanation was like a key, opening a door in his heart. Transforming... can heal injuries? At the cost of consuming energy?

His gaze fell on his still-bleeding right arm, and a bold yet seemingly logical idea uncontrollably emerged—try it!

He didn't reply to the message. Instead, using his left arm for support, gritting his teeth, he truly, inch by inch, moved his body, crawling into the narrow kitchen.

He opened all the cabinets, pulling out everything edible: half a bag of toast bread, a few packs of compressed biscuits, two or three energy bars, and even a dusty can of luncheon meat. He didn't care about appearance or taste. Sitting on the floor with his back against the refrigerator, he began wolfing down the food. Mechanically, almost frantically, he stuffed these items into his mouth, chewing and swallowing forcefully until his stomach felt heavy, even somewhat bloated, before stopping.

After doing all this, he was already panting from exhaustion, but his eyes were unusually bright. He rested for a moment, gathering a bit of strength, then without hesitation, with slightly trembling fingers, he unbuttoned his dirty, torn clothes, took them off, and once again revealed the silent, exquisite silver-gray armband on his left wrist.

Leaning against the cold refrigerator door, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, trying to block out the interference of pain, focusing all his will on that armband, recalling the feeling of power surging and the armor covering his body.

Hum—

A low, familiar resonance sounded in the silent kitchen. The crimson gem suddenly lit up, as if infused with life.

Immediately, the familiar silver biological fluid surged out again. This time, it wasn't a violent covering but moved with a strange, almost living precision and swiftness, spreading up his arm, flowing over his chest, covering his waist and abdomen, wrapping around his legs... As this silver fluid covered his entire body, Lu Jianchuan clearly felt a powerful, gentle warmth flowing through his limbs and bones, synchronized with the armor's formation. This warmth especially concentrated on his injured right arm and ribs.

There, the original burning pain and dull ache were replaced by an intense numbness and a slight burning sensation, as if countless invisible, extremely tiny craftsmen were rapidly dismantling, cleaning, and rebuilding deep within the damaged tissues!

When the helmet finally clicked lightly, perfectly sealing with the neck armor, and the visor lit up with that iconic, powerful azure blue light, Lu Jianchuan instinctively moved his body.

Gone!

The agonizing pain that had clung to him like a bone-deep parasite had vanished without a trace! He tentatively swung his right arm—the movement was smooth and free, without any stiffness or pain. He took a deep breath—his ribs felt completely relaxed, with no discomfort at all! It was as if the severe injuries that had nearly immobilized him were just a vivid nightmare!

This miraculous effect shocked him, but he didn't immerse himself in the joy of recovery. He firmly remembered The Forger's warning—the cost.

He immediately raised his right hand, his index finger precisely pressing on the crimson gem of the armband on his left wrist.

Hum... In a faint hum, the silver-white biological armor covering his entire body once again crumbled like a sand sculpture weathering, starting from the head, rapidly disintegrating into countless tiny silver light points, eventually completely dissipating into the air, revealing his bare upper body.

And at the exact moment the armor was deactivated, a terrifying hunger, more ferocious, urgent, and like a deep abyss than ever before, erupted without warning!

"Ugh!"

Lu Jianchuan grunted, his legs giving way, causing him to kneel on one knee. His stomach felt as if suddenly gripped by an invisible hand, violently convulsing and spasming, bringing sharp, hollow pains. Intense dizziness swept over his brain, his vision darkening in waves, and cold sweat instantly soaked his newly recovered skin. This extreme weakness was even more panic-inducing than when he was severely injured!

He almost crawled on all fours, lunging again toward the remaining food. The sound of tearing open packaging bags seemed particularly sharp. He didn't care about the cold or the taste, frantically stuffing every food scrap he could find into his mouth, swallowing large mouthfuls until the heart-wrenching convulsions were forcibly suppressed by the heavy weight of food in his stomach. Then, like someone exhausted, he slid down against the refrigerator, sitting on the floor, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath.

After a while, his vision gradually cleared, and that deadly sense of weakness slowly receded. He looked up, seeing in the reflection on the kitchen window glass a somewhat disheveled version of himself from the frantic eating, but with all wounds healed, not even a scar left. His eyes became incredibly complex.

Joy? There was some. But more so, understanding and heaviness.

He completely understood. The power granted by this armor was by no means a gift without cost. It was an incredibly sharp double-edged sword, capable of giving you new life and strength in desperate situations, but also capable of turning around and consuming you when you least expected it. Energy was the key to all of this, and also the Sword of Damocles hanging overhead.

He didn't try to transform again immediately. Instead, he forced himself to calm down, sitting on the floor with his back against the refrigerator, taking a short rest. He needed to give his body some time to digest and absorb the massive amount of food just ingested, truly converting it into energy reserves that the armor could call upon.

Time passed in silence. Outside the window, the sky shifted from the afterglow of sunset to deep indigo blue. The city's neon lights lit up one by one, casting changing light and shadow on his face through the window.

When the clock pointed to eight in the evening, feeling the energy in his body had stabilized and his condition had mostly recovered, Lu Jianchuan stood up. He walked into the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, and looked at the reflection in the mirror—his eyes had regained their determination, even with a bit more cold sharpness than before.

He changed into an inconspicuous dark tracksuit and jacket, carefully folding and putting away the police uniform he had taken off. He checked his phone's battery level and stuffed the remaining few energy bars into his pocket.

He glanced at his phone; the starry sky avatar hadn't sent any more messages. But he knew what to do next.

"Transferred"? "None of our business anymore"?

He gently pressed the cold armband on his left wrist.

Some things, once started, cannot easily be said to be "none of our business anymore."

He silently opened the door, like a shadow merging into the night, stepping once again into this vast and complex city, with a clear goal—find White Star. Before the situation spirals completely out of control.