Reborn as a lotus, she initially refuses to hand it over to the state.

Military off-road vehicles drove out of the Ninth Bureau base.

Outside the car window, Linjiang City was still bustling with traffic. The shopping malls were brightly lit, the street food stalls were steaming, and pedestrians were coming and going.

Lin Qingxue felt a strange sense of disorientation.

Just a few days ago, she was deep in the Black Dragon Mountain, thinking she was going to die there.

Thick fog, the roar of beasts, and Professor Zhao's tragic death.

Even now, she is still terrified and wants to recall what happened in the mountains, but she can no longer remember anything about Black Dragon Lake; it has all been erased.

Just then, my phone vibrated, and the familiar startup message popped up.

The phone, which had been temporarily held by the Ninth Bureau for a few days, was finally returned to her hands.

"Ding ding ding!"

Dozens of missed calls popped up instantly, almost all from the same person: her father, Lin Jianguo.

Below are a few more brief news items:

Daughter, where have you been?

The police said something was wrong and told your family not to worry, but your mother keeps asking about you.

Call back upon seeing this message.

Your mom's condition has just stabilized, don't scare your dad.

Upon seeing the last sentence, Lin Qingxue felt extremely ashamed. She took a deep breath and immediately dialed the number.

The phone was answered almost immediately after only two rings.

A middle-aged man's voice, sounding tired and anxious, came from the other end.

"Feed? Your daughter?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was a little hoarse, as if he hadn't slept well for days. Lin Qingxue's eyes welled up with tears, and she whispered, "Dad, it's me."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a distinct sigh of relief.

"Where have you been, you child?"

"We haven't been able to reach you by phone these past few days, and we can't get in touch with you either. The police just say you had something come up and won't say anything else."

"Do you know how worried your mother and I were?"

Lin Qingxue didn't know how to explain it for a moment. Her father, Lin Jianguo, was just an ordinary person.

He worked in a machinery factory when he was young, but the factory did not do well and he was laid off. He then drove a taxi to make a living.

My biggest wish over the years has been to save money to buy her a small house so that she can have an easier life in the future.

My mother has been in poor health for many years. A few years ago, she was diagnosed with kidney disease and has been receiving intermittent treatment in the hospital.

The family had almost no savings left due to medical expenses.

So there are many things she simply can't say.

Should I tell my father?

He'd been trapped deep in the mountains for days, seen man-eating monsters, and almost died inside?

Although Chu Zhou used his mental power to erase Lin Qingxue's memories, he did not expect that Lin Qingxue would unexpectedly gain some kind of ability as a result.

In addition to her mental strength becoming stronger, her physical fitness is also constantly improving.

Lin Qingxue dared not say it aloud, fearing that if she did, the old man's blood pressure would spike on the spot.

Thinking of this, Lin Qingxue remained silent for a moment, then said softly, "Dad, I'm fine. I just encountered some special circumstances and was kept behind to cooperate with the investigation."

The voice on the other end of the phone immediately rose: "An investigation? What did you do wrong?"

"No!" Lin Qingxue quickly explained, "It's not bad, it's just work-related and involves confidentiality."

She deliberately spoke vaguely.

Sure enough, upon hearing that it was a secret, Lin Jianguo immediately lowered his voice.

"You scared me to death, kid."

"Where are you now? Are you alright?"

Lin Qingxue looked at the street scene rushing past the car window and gently shook her head: "I'm not injured. It's over. I'm going home now."

The person on the other end of the phone visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterwards, a few complaints were heard.

"Your mom has been talking about you a lot these past few days."

"I just had a check-up today, and I'm still in the hospital."

"She thought something had happened to you and cried secretly several times."

Hearing this, Lin Qingxue's heart tightened.

"Is Mom still in the hospital?"

"Yes, the indicators have been a bit unstable lately."

Lin Jianguo sighed, his voice filled with unconcealed exhaustion: "But it's not a big problem, don't worry."

"Come back and see her first. If she sees you, she'll probably feel half better."

Lin Qingxue replied that just a few days ago, she thought life was nothing more than this.

I have an ordinary job and an ordinary family. I worry about rent and medical expenses every day.

But after experiencing Heilong Mountain, she felt for the first time.

It turns out that being able to return home safely is such a lucky thing.

After hanging up the phone.

Lin Qingxue didn't waste any words and went straight to the hospital by car.

As night deepened, the military off-road vehicle finally stopped in front of the First People's Hospital of Linjiang City.

"Miss Lin, we've arrived."

The soldier spoke politely.

Lin Qingxue came back to her senses and looked at the familiar hospital building in front of her, feeling a mix of emotions.

The air was filled with a faint smell of disinfectant.

The emergency room lobby was still brightly lit, and people came and went in a hurry.

"Thanks."

After getting out of the car, Lin Qingxue walked quickly towards the inpatient department. She almost ran all the way, and when she pushed open the ward door...

The ward was dimly lit, and Lin Jianguo was sitting by the bed peeling an apple. His back was noticeably more hunched than he remembered.

On the hospital bed, a pale-faced middle-aged woman leaned against the pillow, her figure thin, with an IV drip inserted into the back of her hand.

In just a few days, Lin Qingxue felt that her mother had aged a lot.

Hearing the door open, Lin Jianguo instinctively turned around.

He was visibly stunned when he saw the person at the door.

"Daughter?"

Upon hearing Lin Jianguo speak, Lin's mother, lying on the hospital bed, turned her head. The moment their eyes met, the woman's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"Daughter?" The voice trembled.

Lin Qingxue forced herself to say, "Mom, I'm back."

As soon as she finished speaking, tears streamed down Lin's mother's face.

"Where have you been, my child? I thought something had happened to you."

As she spoke, she lost control of her emotions and struggled to sit up.

"Let Mom check! Are you hurt?"

Lin Qingxue rushed over and squatted down beside the bed.

"I'm fine, really, don't get agitated."

However, Lin's mother's emotions were clearly fluctuating too much; her breathing became rapid, her chest heaved violently, and her face turned visibly pale.

The nearby monitoring device emitted a piercing alarm.

drop!drop!

Lin Jianguo's expression changed abruptly when his heart rate became abnormal.

"Oh no, doctor, doctor!"

He didn't even care about the apple; he turned and rushed out. On the hospital bed, Lin's mother clutched her chest, her breathing becoming increasingly rapid.

His face was frighteningly pale.

"mom!"

Lin Qingxue panicked immediately, "Mom, don't scare me!"

She instinctively grasped her mother's cold hands.

At that very moment, a sudden change occurred; a faint yet warm power suddenly surged from deep within her body.

Lin Qingxue was stunned. She felt a warm current awaken in her lower abdomen.

Then, it flowed slowly into the mother's body through her palm. The force was very light, but it carried an indescribable life force.

Like a spring breeze melting snow, or a warm spring flowing, Lin Qingxue's pupils contracted.

Wait, what's this? She was also very confused.

The next second, something even more incredible happened: Lin's mother, who had been breathing rapidly, suddenly relaxed.

His chest heaving gradually calmed down, his pale face regained some color, and even the cold sweat on his forehead decreased significantly.

"I…"

Lin's mother was stunned for a moment. She touched her chest, her face full of confusion.

"That's strange, my chest felt really tight just now, but suddenly it feels better?"

Lin Qingxue was completely stunned. She looked down at her hands, her heart pounding wildly. What was that just now?

Superpowers?

Just then, the ward door was pushed open, and Lin Jianguo rushed in, panting, leading the doctor.

"Doctor, hurry! My wife was about to die!"

A middle-aged doctor quickly stepped forward, first checking the monitor, then the patient's condition, and then skillfully performed the examination.

A few seconds later, the doctor's expression suddenly turned strange: "What's wrong?"

Lin Jianguo was sweating profusely with anxiety: "I suddenly had difficulty breathing, and my face turned pale!"

The doctor frowned as he glanced at the instruments; the blood pressure was stable, the heart rate was normal, and the oxygen saturation was normal.

Even better than in the morning, the middle-aged doctor looked up with a serious expression: "Mr. Lin, this is a hospital, not a place for jokes. The patient's vital signs are very stable. You've scared our entire on-call team in the middle of the night."

Lin Jianguo was stunned: "No, doctor, I really didn't lie to you, she really couldn't go on just now."

The doctor glanced at Lin's mother on the hospital bed; her complexion was even rosier than in the afternoon, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

"Alright, the patient is in good condition, just don't get too emotional."

After saying that, the doctor looked at Lin Qingxue again: "You're my daughter, right? Too much emotional fluctuation in patients can easily trigger problems. Next time you come back, try not to disappear."

Lin Qingxue said in a low voice, "I understand, doctor."

After the doctor left, the ward fell silent again. Lin Jianguo stood there, looking utterly bewildered.

"That's strange, could I have really seen wrong?"

Meanwhile, Lin Qingxue looked down at her hands, her breathing rapid, because just now, she clearly felt that something inside her body was truly different.

The ward fell silent again.

The night outside the window was dark, and the occasional sound of a nurse pushing a cart could be heard in the corridor.

Lin Jianguo was still looking on in disbelief, muttering to himself, "That's strange. I was almost out of breath just now, how come I'm suddenly fine?"

On the hospital bed, Lin's mother herself was somewhat dazed.

She touched her chest, looking puzzled. "Yes, I really felt a tightness in my chest just now, like there was a stone pressing on it."

"But suddenly, I felt better."

"I feel much lighter now."

As she spoke, she even straightened up a bit, propping herself up on the bed.

Even Lin Jianguo was stunned.

You should know that Lin's mother has been in poor spirits these past few days. She gets breathless with the slightest movement and her face is always pale.

But now, for some reason, she looks healthier.

"Honey, are you alright? Are you really not feeling unwell?"

Lin's mother shook her head: "It's really nothing, it just feels strangely comfortable."

Lin Qingxue lowered her head, staring at her hands. The warmth she felt just now felt so real.

It's not an illusion, absolutely not.

She instinctively closed her eyes, trying hard to recall the feeling she had just experienced.

Gradually, my breathing began to steady, and a strange state inexplicably appeared in my mind.

The next second, Lin Qingxue's body jolted violently. She suddenly "saw" her own body, a sensation that was indescribable.

Blood flows, meridians and veins connect, and the heart beats.

She could even vaguely perceive how the airflow moved when she breathed.

"Could this be what Taoism calls divine consciousness, also known as inner vision?"

Lin Qingxue had read through many ancient Chinese mythological texts, and her heart suddenly raced, filled with ecstatic joy.

Her consciousness then settled on her lower abdomen, which is what Taoists call the dantian.

There, at this moment, floated a small, extremely faint wisp of cyan energy.

Like a firefly, it flickers on and off, yet constantly emits a faint warmth that then flows slowly through the body to every limb and bone.

However, this energy was too little, thinner than a strand of hair, and almost exhausted, as if it would dissipate at any moment.

Lin Qingxue realized that it was this thing that had just saved her mother.

Thinking of this, a storm raged in her heart.

Heilongshan, Ninth Inning.

Su Wan's words, physical enhancement, abnormal perception, special abilities—everything suddenly connected.

"Have I awakened?"

Her breathing became rapid, and just then, Lin Jianguo waved his hand in front of her.

"Honey, what are you daydreaming about?"

Lin Qingxue finally came to his senses. He glanced at his mother, then at his father.

With a serious expression, she whispered, "Dad, let's get Mom discharged from the hospital."

The ward fell silent instantly; Lin Jianguo was completely stunned.

"Huh? Discharged from the hospital?"

He suspected he'd misheard, raising his voice several decibels: "Your mother's condition has just stabilized, and the doctor said she still needs to be observed. What nonsense are you spouting?"

Lin's mother couldn't help but speak up: "Daughter, Mom is fine. Don't waste money and go through unnecessary trouble. Being in the hospital will give you peace of mind."

But Lin Qingxue shook her head. She glanced at the door, and after confirming that no one was there, she suddenly pulled Lin Jianguo a few steps toward the corner of the ward, her voice very low: "Dad, I think I just cured Mom."

Lin Jianguo looked at her strangely and reached out to touch her forehead: "Girl, have you been too tired these past few days? Are you delirious from the fever?"

Lin Qingxue looked helpless: "Dad, I wasn't joking."

She hesitated for a moment, then finally whispered, "Didn't you notice that Mom's condition suddenly improved? She was about to have an accident just now, but then she suddenly recovered. Don't you find that strange?"

Lin Jianguo was about to retort, but the next second, he suddenly fell silent, because something was definitely wrong; his wife's face had been frighteningly pale just now.

Now, her complexion has improved significantly, and she even seems more energetic. Normally, she would have needed oxygen by now.

Thinking of this, Lin Jianguo's expression turned strange: "Wait, what exactly do you mean?"

Lin Qingxue pursed her lips and whispered, "Dad, have you heard about what's been happening in China lately?"

Lin Jianguo was taken aback: "What's wrong?"

Lin Qingxue looked at him: "Animal mutations, people suddenly becoming stronger, those strange things on the internet, and the recent surge in spiritual energy resurgence."

Lin Jianguo's expression suddenly became somewhat subtle, and he subconsciously turned around to look at his mother on the hospital bed.

He glanced at his daughter again, remained silent for a few seconds, and surprisingly did not immediately refute her.

Instead, he muttered to himself, "You know, things have been a bit strange lately. A while ago, when I was driving a taxi..."

"A long-distance driver said that a tiger in the zoo in the next city suddenly went berserk and even deformed the steel cage."

"Another passenger said that all the fish in their village pond had grown bigger overnight."

"A few nights ago, I actually saw someone jump seven or eight meters off the overpass in one step."

"At the time, I thought I was seeing things."

At this point, Lin Jianguo suddenly paused, his gaze slowly falling on Lin Qingxue, his lips twitching: "Wait, you're not trying to tell me you've mutated too, are you?"