92: Chapter 92 Free Medical Checkup

Inside the Wuhu shop, Barnes filed in with nine other soldiers.

They automatically formed a loose line at the entrance that completely blocked all lines of sight.

Two of them turned their backs to the counter, vigilantly facing the door.

The crowd's reaction was faster than a scalded cat; the queue, which had been as packed as a subway during morning rush hour, instantly split to the sides, revealing a passage wide enough for a large man to pass through.

A young man in a custom Wall Street suit retreated so quickly that his leather shoes let out a piercing screech against the floor, nearly tripping himself into a pretzel.

No one laughed at him because everyone saw the insignia on those uniforms. In the United States, you could curse the President, burn the flag, or even streak in Times Square, but you absolutely did not mess with people wearing that skin.

Because they really would give you acute iron poisoning.

Barnes stood firm in front of the counter, his posture as straight as a utility pole. He pulled a neatly folded paper from his tactical chest pocket, held it between two fingers, and handed it to Kara.

“Official procurement by the United States government; this is an executive order signed by the President. According to the agreement reached between the White House and the Planet Wuhu representatives last night, the military has the right of priority for potion experimentation.”

These words weren't just for Kara; they were for the crowd behind her. The people who had been grumbling about them cutting the line instantly went silent.

A fat man wearing a red MAGA hat had just opened his mouth to protest when he saw Barnes's dead-fish eyes staring back at him. He forced his words back down, nearly choking into a hiccup.

Facing the crowd, Barnes announced sternly, “All of you who just claimed to have awakened,” he pointed toward the door, “there are free medical checkups at the entrance. All of you, go get checked.”

As soon as he finished, the crowd completely exploded.

“On what grounds?!”

“This is a violation of freedom! Our constitutional rights!”

“I don't pay taxes to support the military just to be used as your lab rats!”

The loudest shouter was a programmer in a plaid shirt. Just a moment ago, he had been bragging to everyone about awakening a 'BUG Foresight' ability; now his face was whiter and cleaner than his code comments.

In a corner of the crowd, the old vagrant who had loudly proclaimed his 'Restored Virility' was crouching down like a shedding old cat, trying to slip away along the wall.

The two soldiers standing guard at the door had eyes sharper than eagles. Two arms shot out simultaneously, as precise as bear traps, clamping onto the old vagrant's shoulders from both sides.

“Ow!” The old vagrant let out a scream comparable to his earlier 'awakening.' “I was just bullshitting! I didn't awaken at all! That thing of mine retired thirty years ago! I don't want a checkup!”

The two soldiers ignored him. One of them expressionlessly punched him in the stomach, instantly shutting him up.

Then, like dragging a sack of potatoes, they dragged the curled-up old vagrant out the door and handed him over to the medical staff who were already waiting.

Those guys in white coats were all smiles, pinning the old vagrant directly onto a stretcher as if they were receiving a batch of free experimental samples delivered to their doorstep.

Karl glanced at Kara, his antennae twitching slightly: Should we intervene?

Kara shook her head slightly: This is an internal human matter; let's not get involved for now.

With the previous example serving as a warning, those who had claimed to have awakened were now like chickens caught by the neck, obediently following the soldiers out the shop door.

Before the remaining onlookers could breathe a sigh of relief, Barnes spoke again.

Only this time, his tone was much more relaxed: “Those of you left who didn't get a free checkup, don't be sad.”

He pointed outside: “You can pick up a voucher on your way out. With this voucher, you can get a free checkup at any major hospital.”

He forced a smile that could make a child cry: “This is all the government thinking of your physical and mental health.”

The crowd was silent for a moment, then someone cursed under their breath, “Holy shit, they just want our biological data to study Special Abilities.”

The voice was small, but everyone heard it.

Barnes heard it too, but he remained unfazed, as if the comment was merely a compliment on his hairstyle today.

At that moment, a white old lady in a floral shirt was the first to say righteously, “Make way, make way, I'm going to get my checkup voucher. It wasn't easy for these old bones of mine to catch a government benefit; anyone who blocks me is going to have a problem with me.”

Her old friend beside her nodded repeatedly. “Exactly, exactly. A full-body CT at the city hospital costs three thousand dollars; that's enough for six months of my blood pressure medication.”

“Isn't it? My knees have been hurting lately; this is the perfect time for a free checkup.”

Thus, a bizarre phenomenon occurred: far from being deserted because of the military clearing the area, the Wuhu shop was flooded with even more customers.

They were all old men and old ladies.

These people converged from all directions at a speed that would make mall security guards feel ashamed.

Some leaned on canes but walked like the wind; some rode electric wheelchairs with the flair of a Ferrari; others were supported by their children but looked more energetic than them.

Their goal was highly consistent: buy the cheapest potion, drink it, and then go outside to collect the checkup voucher.

A shrewd old lady even did the math on the spot: “A bottle of potion is only a thousand, and a full-body checkup voucher is worth three thousand on the market. That's a net profit of two thousand! This chance to fleece the government won't come twice!”

The old man beside her nodded repeatedly, stroking the potion bottle he had just bought with a look of intoxication. “I've lived most of my life, and finally, I have a chance to make the government spend some money on me.”

With that, he unscrewed the cap and downed it in one go.

Kara, near the counter, fell silent. She suddenly felt that the universe was vast and full of wonders; she had thought these soldiers were here to disrupt their business, but she didn't expect them to increase it.

Barnes ignored the farce behind him and turned to knock on the counter.

“One hundred bottles.”

Kara looked at him, leaned down, and pulled out a silver metal box from under the counter.

She pushed it over. “You can only drink it here; you can't take it away.”

She smiled. “Don't make things difficult for us.”

Before she finished her sentence, a ball of fire suddenly flared up in Karl's hand. The flame hovered quietly above his palm, flickering slightly like an orange flower.

But the heat it radiated made several soldiers behind Barnes instinctively clench their fists.

Barnes's eyelids didn't even twitch as he glared back at Karl.

As an elite soldier who had fought through hails of bullets—someone who could get back up and fight even if a rocket exploded beside him—a small flame was nothing.

Two pairs of eyes clashed in the air; one could almost hear the sizzle of their gaze colliding.

“We know the rules,” Barnes spat out coldly.

He grabbed the box with one hand, turned back to the corner, and distributed the potions to several soldiers.

The sound of swallowing rose and fell in the corner.

However, the next moment, ten people, ten faces, looked at each other.

Their faces were all written with a big 'That's it?'.

Barnes frowned. He clenched his fists, felt his body, and hopped in place.

Nothing.

No flames spewed from his mouth, his skin didn't turn to steel, and even the lower back strain that had lasted for twenty years hadn't healed.

He felt like what he had just drunk wasn't an alien Special Ability potion, but a slightly more expensive bottle of Gatorade.

When he usually gave pep talks to the soldiers in his squad, the physiological reaction was greater than this.

The other soldiers also looked at each other. A burly Black sergeant rubbed his arm, his face full of disappointment. “I thought I'd at least grow some muscle, but there's no reaction at all.”

“Could it be expired?” another soldier whispered.

“Does this stuff have an expiration date?”

“Should we wait a bit longer? Maybe it's time-released.”

As a group of elite soldiers who trained year-round, they were exceptionally sensitive to changes in their bodies; any slight change would definitely not escape their perception.

Barnes stood up with a frown, his gaze locked on Kara, preparing to go forward and argue with her.

Suddenly!

“Ahhhhhhh!”

A scream pierced through the clamor inside the shop.