Chapter 402: Chapter 402
"Ning Ning, don't you recognize Mom?"
"I'm your mom, Ning Ning..."
Unfortunately, what answered her was still the little girl's gaze, filled with unfamiliarity and a hint of bewilderment. Because the person opposite was overly agitated, her expression even carried a trace of panic.
Her body subconsciously shrank back a little.
Seeing his daughter's unusual reaction, Lu Ting quickly pulled his overly emotional wife aside. Taking a deep breath, he then lowered his head and spoke gently:
"Ning Ning, we are your mom and dad. Let's not talk about that for now. You just woke up; does your body feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Mixed with unfamiliarity and wariness, the little girl on the bed lightly shook her head.
He handed over the freshly poured warm water. Seeing An Ning hesitate but eventually drink it, Lu Ting then spoke:
"Ning Ning, what would you like to eat? How about some millet porridge?"
At least her basic life knowledge was intact. Lu Ting let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Taking advantage of his wife comforting their daughter, the Shen grandfather on the side hurried back to cook the porridge.
An hour later, lying in the hospital bed, An Ning quietly finished a small bowl of millet porridge as usual. Only, her eyes kept drifting towards the window in the outer room, her face clearly showing curiosity.
At least her basic life knowledge was intact. Lu Ting let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Taking advantage of his wife comforting their daughter, the Shen grandfather on the side hurried back to cook the porridge.
Only, her gaze still held pure curiosity and unfamiliarity, and her daily interactions remained mostly distant.
This situation persisted until two days later, the day of discharge from the hospital. Apart from a slight familiarity gained from frequent contact during this period, there were still no signs of An Ning's memory recovering.
Guessing it might be a side effect of the forced breakthrough, and considering An Ning's obvious resistance to further examination, coupled with Lu Ting's other worries, the family quickly returned home.
That evening, thanks to his good hearing, intermittent, suppressed sobbing sounds came from Shen Qing's room next door.
The Shen grandmother, heart aching, was just about to go over and comfort her when the Shen grandfather quickly pulled her back:
"Alright, it's good to let Qing Qing vent a little!"
After a moment of silence, the Shen grandfather heavily exhaled a breath and spoke seriously:
"Qing Qing is over thirty now; it's time she grew up. She can't always be as careless and straightforward as before. You've seen Ning Ning's current condition.
After what happened earlier.
The Shen grandmother, heart aching, was just about to go over and comfort her when the Shen grandfather quickly pulled her back:
A fifth-stage ability user! Thinking of the mysteriously disappeared "blood sample" at the hospital, the old man sighed again:
After a moment of silence, the Shen grandfather heavily exhaled a breath and spoke seriously:
Switch to our granddaughter, with higher abilities but an immature mind. Just thinking about it, the old man knew the covert prying would only be more numerous and more brazen.
Especially now that she's also...
Finally, the Shen grandfather spoke heavily, looking at his wife beside him:
"Even if it's for our daughter's sake, Qing Qing needs to grow up a bit!"
Her gaze lingering on her daughter, who was weeping uncontrollably in the room, the Shen grandmother ultimately said nothing more.
At the same time, using their daughter's need for quiet recuperation as a reason, they declined visits from others. In the second-floor bedroom belonging solely to An Ning, father and daughter were talking.
Or rather, it was Lu Ting asking questions one-sidedly. Fearful of triggering An Ning, Lu Ting spoke very cautiously:
Finally, the Shen grandfather spoke heavily, looking at his wife beside him:
"Ning Ning, do you remember how to control the power in your body?"
Her gaze lingering on her daughter, who was weeping uncontrollably in the room, the Shen grandmother ultimately said nothing more.
"Good that you remember!" Knowing his daughter, though having lost her memory, her mental faculties were undamaged and she remained as intelligent as before, he stopped beating around the bush. He directly knelt down, meeting his daughter's eyes at her level:
"Ning Ning, it's . Dad needs to go out for a bit and will be back soon. Before I return, can Ning Ning use this power to create a barrier to protect herself?
Just like before in the hospital, no one except me and Mom can come close."
On the bed, the little girl tilted her head slightly:
"Protect myself... so Dad... Daddy means there are bad people outside who want to catch me?"
"Yes!" Looking directly into his daughter's pure, clear eyes, Lu Ting nodded heavily:
"So Ning Ning, remember, from now on, don't trust anyone except Mom and Dad. Don't remove the protective barrier around you, understand?"
"Oh right, does Ning Ning still know how to train her ability?"
"Do you want Daddy to teach you?" However, before he could finish, he saw the little girl on the bed looking at him strangely:
"Train? Why train? Doesn't this energy just come on its own and then slowly increase?"
Thinking of the cultivation method he painstakingly created with immense effort earlier, which barely allowed him to break through to the fourth stage. The fifth stage was still nowhere in sight. Then looking at his daughter, whose power was nearly ten times his own, Lu Ting couldn't help but feel his breath catch.
After a moment, he couldn't help but take a deep breath:
"Ning Ning, you must never, ever say that to anyone else, understand?"
Seeing his daughter, though not fully understanding, still nod, Lu Ting relaxed slightly. After carefully giving more instructions, he finally got up and left.
Almost the moment he stepped out of the house, the originally somewhat gentle aura around Lu Ting instantly vanished without a trace, transforming into a sharp, murderous intent.
Immediately after, his figure rapidly disappeared from the spot.
At the same time, inside the room, the bewildered expression on An Ning's face vanished in an instant.
Receiving the information transmitted by the vines in her hand, confirming that Lu Ting was indeed heading towards that underground research facility, An Ning wasn't particularly surprised.
With this father's shrewdness and caution, even in that urgent situation where drawing blood for tests to find the cause of her coma was necessary, he would never overlook the risks involved.
He definitely wouldn't allow his daughter's blood sample to remain outside. Since he couldn't leave himself, he would certainly have sent someone to keep a covert watch.
Besides, with one instance, there would likely be a second. Since they were already enemies, it suited his temperament to personally retrieve the sample, destroy the research institute, and intimidate the people behind it.
It seems Dad Lu's men, though somewhat incompetent in failing to secure the sample, weren't completely useless after all.
However, just in case, An Ning still had the system closely monitor that underground experimental base. In the projected image, it was an underground research facility some distance away from Blaze Base.
And An Ning's blood sample was currently being treasured like a precious object on the central experimental table.
"These people really know how to cause trouble! Wasn't the previous lesson enough?"
Witnessing the scenes inside firsthand, even the system couldn't help but click its tongue in astonishment.
It originally thought that since ability users didn't have crystal cores, no one would get such ideas. But oh well, here they were again with blood transfusions, other exchanges, and using zombie crystal cores. It seems having a precedent before them, these people really learned no lesson at all!
However, soon, accompanied by flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder, in just a few moments, the underground laboratory before them was completely reduced to ashes.
Don't be fooled by how Lu Ting was beaten without being able to fight back by the lead zombie earlier. However, a fourth-stage ability user, especially one with the most offensive lightning-type ability, the energy of a full-force, determined strike was something to behold. Especially since this person was truly emotional right now!
Confirming that everything inside, whether people or things, was thoroughly dead and the blood sample completely destroyed, An Ning then retracted her vines and leisurely lay back on the big bed.
Excellent, another day without having to personally take action!