Chapter 467: Lawrence Li
"Sir, should I close the doors?" the flight attendant asked the man in the wheelchair, referring to the front door of the second car and the rear door of the first car.
"Close them," the man in the wheelchair said calmly.
As the two doors shut, Xu Huo saw through the window that the player from the second car was carrying a coffin-shaped box, preparing to leave. But unable to open the rear door, he had no choice but to turn back and sit down again.
The man in the wheelchair, already facing away from the rear door, drank plain water and, with a composed expression, invited Xu Huo and the others to take their seats.
This was clearly someone not to be trifled with. After the barrier disappeared, Weiwei's parents didn't dare act rashly either, merely dragging their daughter aside to shrink into a corner.
The two groups had nearly come to blows moments earlier, but now there was dead silence. The appearance of the man in the wheelchair had invisibly defused a fight that could have ended in destruction, bringing both surprise and relief.
Dr. Deng was visibly delighted. He walked over to the man in the wheelchair and asked, "May I take a look at your legs?"
The man in the wheelchair turned to look at him and gestured for him to proceed.
Dr. Deng lifted the man's pant leg and immediately frowned. "Your muscles have completely atrophied and necrotized."
Xu Huo also glanced over. The man's legs could no longer be called human legs. If not for the layer of dried skin and a few bulging, prominent blood vessels, they would have been little more than bones.
"For this condition to remain intact without affecting the rest of the body is truly rare," Dr. Deng remarked with a sigh, then asked, "Are you using medicine or items?"
"Both," the man in the wheelchair said, rubbing his knee. "But the side effects are severe. The pain in my body lasts longer and longer. It's almost ineffective now."
Dr. Deng sat down across from him, adjusted his glasses, and said, "For a case like this, you'd need to go to an A-level wormhole point for a chance at a cure. I've heard that some game districts have medical technology advanced enough to successfully clone limbs. There's still hope for a leg replacement."
"I've already been there," the man in the wheelchair said. "Unfortunately, the surgery wasn't successful."
Dr. Deng's expression turned regretful. "This is a side effect of overusing medicine, isn't it? As long as you don't inject evolution agents too frequently, such fatal consequences generally don't occur."
Some players, in their pursuit of higher evolution rates, use large amounts of evolution agents in a short period. But evolution agents require time to digest. Overusing them might boost the evolution rate, but the effect diminishes, and in later stages, the agents become less effective, all while carrying high risks.
Of course, many players die before reaching that point, so they never learn what comes after.
Xu Huo knew that the evolution agents provided by the game must have hidden pitfalls. Since defective evolution agents could cause ordinary people to die or turn into xenomorphs, even players with stronger physiques would inevitably face these two outcomes after a certain point. He hadn't expected muscle atrophy and limb death to occur as well.
However, compared to death or xenomorph transformation, the man in the wheelchair's condition was relatively better. Moreover, this person had even been to an A-level wormhole point, indicating considerable strength—likely a high-level player who had been in the game for a long time.
In response to Dr. Deng's regret, the man in the wheelchair's expression remained unchanged. He said flatly, "Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. But I've heard there's a super agent that can heal my legs."
Dr. Deng, who usually had decent social awareness, became serious within his professional field. "As far as I know, no such agent exists. To avoid the side effects of evolution agents, you'd have to be careful from the very beginning of evolution... But if the technology at an A-level wormhole point can't help you, the only one who might save you is that legendary figure in the field of medicine."
Xu Huo shot him a quick glance. Now he understood why this man kept getting kidnapped.
"What a moron," Weiwei mouthed silently beside him.
"You're talking about Dr. Wu," the man in the wheelchair said, knowing the name. "Do you know where he is?"
"How could I know that?" Dr. Deng laughed awkwardly. "But everyone in the medical field admires Dr. Wu. He's a legendary figure."
The man in the wheelchair smiled and extended his hand. "My surname is Li. My friends usually call me Lawrence."
Lawrence Li—Xu Huo had heard this name before. Back when Dou Shengnan of the Eerie Sound Knights, along with several members of the Holy Sword Society and other high-level players, had cornered the Painting Woman at the Pearl Hotel, this name had been mentioned.
He hadn't connected that name to the player who invaded Hai City at the time. After all, there were too many players, and a name of uncertain authenticity carried too much water. But now, seeing this person in a wheelchair, calling himself Lawrence Li, and being so powerful, immediately reminded him of the wheelchair-bound player who had coincidentally held off the Eerie Sound Knights in Hai City.
That was a high-level player who could single-handedly fight the Eerie Sound Knights to a standstill.
At that level, he was at least A-rank or above, possibly even S-rank!
The Painting Woman had described the wheelchair player's appearance to him, which differed from the person before him. But changing one's appearance was too easy. And if the name Lawrence Li was so famous, the likelihood of someone impersonating him while traveling was low—the nearby Weiwei and her group turned pale at the name.
Dr. Deng, oblivious, smiled and shook hands with Lawrence Li. "My name is Deng Xian. I used to work at a small subsidiary under Stellar Pharmaceuticals, but I've quit now."
Lawrence Li was sensitive to the words "Stellar Pharmaceuticals," and his demeanor shifted slightly.
Dr. Deng didn't notice and continued on his own, "Although Stellar Pharmaceuticals can't compare to Dr. Wu, they've gathered top-tier talent from wormhole points. You might want to try there. Your player level must be high, right? If you're willing to pay or trade with super items, they might find a way to restore your legs."
Lawrence Li smiled but said nothing.
Dr. Deng grew increasingly awkward talking to himself. Finally, unable to continue, he forcibly pulled Xu Huo over. "This is my friend. He's also a very skilled player."
With the conversation handed off, Dr. Deng sat to the side, intending to stay quiet. Xu Huo, following the flow, simply changed tables without initiating conversation.
Lawrence Li seemed to have lost interest in talking as well. He folded his hands over his abdomen, closed his eyes, and began to rest.
Xu Huo had some doubts. He glanced discreetly at Dr. Deng, then heard him ask, "Mr. Li, where did you last hear about Dr. Wu?"
"At a C-level instance," Lawrence Li said. "I was one step too late."
This time, Dr. Deng was genuinely regretful. "The last time I heard about him was by chance at the Platinum Eye, about a year ago. But by the time I got there, he was already gone. The place he lived in had been dug up countless times."
Lawrence Li nodded. "The Platinum Eye is worth a try."
"Sir," a flight attendant approached and said to him, "the head chef invites you to join him for dinner."
(End of Chapter)