297: Chapter 296 One More Person

Inside a special care ward at Liberation Hospital.

"Lin Jie, are you going to look like this forever from now on?" Chen Mengyi's face was still streaked with tears, her voice choked with sobs, as she raised a hand to gently stroke Lin Jie's wrinkled face.

"Number Nineteen, you must understand one thing: the fact that we were able to survive is already a tremendous stroke of luck."

Lin Jie said with a calm expression: "You should leave here quickly. I feel a faint sense of danger, and I don't think it's just my imagination. I am an ominous person; no matter where I go, disaster follows. I'm used to it, but you are just an ordinary person. Following me will only get you killed."

"Stop calling me Number Nineteen! I have a name; my name is Chen Mengyi!"

Chen Mengyi bit her lower lip and said: "You saved my life; I won't just abandon you again."

"It wasn't me who saved you; it was Big Brother Chu Xuan who saved you."

Lin Jie shook his head and said: "You don't need to feel guilty towards me. My condition is only temporary; it's a side effect of overdrawing my Talent due to the loss of spiritual energy. As long as I can obtain enough spiritual energy in a short time, I can recover to my original state."

"But if it weren't for you, none of us would have been able to wait for that rescue from Big Brother Chu Xuan." Chen Mengyi shook her head.

"Hey, hey, hey! You two little brats, how old are you anyway? Can you stop talking about this irrelevant nonsense?"

A scoff sounded from the side. A man with the insignia of an official Inspector on his shoulder asked with amusement: "Is there anything else you want to add regarding the special incident at St. Lianna Hospital?"

Lin Jie shook his head: "No, Officer. I have already told you everything truthfully."

"No need to be so polite. Since you are willing to join the official organization, we are all on the same side from now on. My name is Zhang Chi; you can call me by my name directly, or call me Brother Chi—either works."

Zhang Chi took a deep breath and asked with a smile: "Then, I want to confirm one last thing: is your Talent really Heavenly Mystery? You don't need to tell me the specific abilities; you can keep the key information to yourself."

"There is nothing to hide; everyone already knows about my Talent. I can sense special guidance from the unknown, and based on that, I can do things that are beneficial to myself. Especially when facing life-and-death crises, this guidance becomes exceptionally keen."

Lin Jie shrugged: "Of course, there might be errors, or it could be interfered with by some force; it's not necessarily accurate. For example, at St. Lianna Hospital, I almost led everyone into a dead end at the last moment."

Speaking of this, Lin Jie sighed softly and smiled bitterly: "I thought that after Awakening my Talent and binding to the System, I would be the protagonist, and the world would revolve around me. It turns out I was wrong; there are many protagonists like me out there."

"There is no need to belittle yourself. At least for now, while there are differences in strength among those who have self-Awakened Talents, compared to most Transcendents, they can indeed be called protagonists to a certain extent."

Zhang Chi said seriously: "According to assessments, St. Lianna Hospital should be an S-rank Forbidden Domain! It was already extremely difficult for fourteen of you to walk out alive, and you played an important role in that; your value has already been proven."

"The data you brought out is extremely valuable. The organization will record your contributions, and once you officially join, you can use points to exchange for many unexpected benefits and perks."

Hearing Zhang Chi's words, Chen Mengyi looked curious, but Lin Jie couldn't help but frown: "What did you just say? Fourteen people came out alive?"

"Yeah? Is there a problem?" Seeing that Lin Jie's expression wasn't right, Zhang Chi glanced at Chen Mengyi and asked in confusion: "When you guys came out, wasn't it fourteen people?"

"There's no problem." Chen Mengyi said, looking somewhat dazed: "I even specifically counted; including Big Brother Chu Xuan, it was exactly fourteen people."

"Of course that's not right!"

Lin Jie jumped up from the hospital bed and shouted:

"Before we found Big Brother Chu Xuan, there were fifteen of us in total. After finding Big Brother Chu Xuan, the total number should have been sixteen. Two died while scouting, and plus Xiao Wei being killed, there should be fourteen left!"

"But... why did fourteen people come out in the end?"

Lin Jie was trembling all over, his voice filled with indescribable fear: "Wrong! Wrong! Sixteen minus three equals fourteen? No, why can't I say that number? Sixteen minus three equals..."

Lin Jie's eyes were bloodshot; he clutched his head and gritted his teeth, growling lowly for a long while before suddenly roaring: "Thirteen!!!"

"It should be thirteen people!"

"How could there be one extra?"

Lin Jie turned his head abruptly and roared at Zhang Chi: "Among the remaining people, there must be one who isn't human! Find him quickly!"

However, Zhang Chi was looking deeply at Lin Jie at this moment, his expression extremely grave, and he said in a low voice: "Lin Jie, are you okay?"

"You... you don't believe me?" Lin Jie said, unable to believe it: "You think something is wrong with me?"

"I asked you, are you okay?" Zhang Chi pulled Chen Mengyi back a step, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword, his gaze fixed on Lin Jie.

"Yeah, Lin Jie, isn't sixteen minus three just fourteen? How could there be an extra person? Why are you obsessing over this? What's wrong with you?"

Chen Mengyi's soft voice sounded, and Zhang Chi turned his head abruptly.