Chapter 110: Earning Points【Third Update, Please Vote!】

Resolving the threat posed by that assassin had become Zhang Wenhao's utmost priority at this very moment. Lying on his bed, he devised two tentative plans in his mind. The first plan was to find a way to silently infiltrate the Hilton Hotel and eliminate the assassin in his room. The second plan involved staking out the entrance of the Hilton, waiting for the assassin to emerge, then tailing him and choosing an opportune moment to strike outside the hotel.

At first, Zhang Wenhao believed that striking inside the Hilton would be the most difficult. However, after careful consideration, he realized that finding an opportunity to eliminate the assassin outside wouldn’t be easy either. For one, he would need to tail and track him, but since the assassin had already encountered him once and even tested him, being discovered while following him would make it nearly impossible to carry out the plan. Moreover, the assassin’s destinations were unpredictable, and if they were always crowded and noisy places, Zhang Wenhao would hesitate to act recklessly, regardless of his courage.

That night, Zhang Wenhao resolved to first find out which room the assassin was staying in at the Hilton Hotel, as well as the identity he had used to register. With this information, he could gain some initiative, and if the situation became urgent, he could choose to act within the Hilton.

However, Zhang Wenhao knew little about the Hilton Hotel—he had only been there once before, when he accompanied his cousin to pick up a bride from out of town who was staying there during a wedding. They had just taken the elevator from the lobby to the room, made some noise, and then brought the bride down. Since then, he had never returned to the Hilton.

Now, Zhang Wenhao was certain that the assassin’s base in Jiangcheng was at the Hilton, but the hotel had at least a hundred rooms. How could he possibly know which one the assassin occupied?

After much thought, a bright idea struck him. Hotels like the Hilton surely had comprehensive security and guest registration systems. If he could hack into the hotel’s network, he might obtain detailed information about the target. He could even access the Hilton’s surveillance system, enabling him not only to track the assassin’s movements but also to understand the coverage of the cameras and find the safest point of entry.

With this in mind, Zhang Wenhao activated his Super Learning System and opened the skills list. The first thing he saw was the computer network skill package. Unfortunately, it was expensive—redeeming it required 20,000 points. The package contained nearly all knowledge related to computers and the internet: software development, programming, hardware architecture, internet security, and more, covering around twenty subcategories.

He asked the system, “If I only want to become a top hacker, which skills do I need to learn?” The system replied, “If you only want to be an internet hacker, please redeem the Internet Security skill package. It contains all knowledge related to internet security.” Zhang Wenhao glanced at the price next to the Internet Security package—damn! It cost a full 1,000 points! But he currently only had 640 points, falling short by 360 points.

Frustrated, Zhang Wenhao felt the sting of losing the ability to earn points through simulated exams ever since the system stopped recognizing them. The elite medical skill package wasn’t something he could use at will; it required patients to practice on. While combat training could earn some points, he couldn’t just randomly pick fights on the street. Besides, the system hadn’t reacted at all when he defeated Mo Sinan in two moves, proving that the system wouldn’t endorse “bullying the weak.” So how was he going to make up those missing 360 points?

The problem weighed heavily on him. 360 points was no small sum, and time was running out. If the assassin found out about him in a few days, killing him a thousand times wouldn’t help.

In his frustration, Zhang Wenhao decided to focus on the elite medical skill package since earning points through it felt safest and most reliable. After some thought, he resolved to visit Ren’ai Hospital in the High-Tech Zone the next day. That hospital had a large number of patients, making it a treasure trove for earning points. Moreover, he had a few acquaintances there. If he could persuade them to “lend” him some patients for treatment, earning 360 points would be a breeze.

Originally, Zhang Wenhao had thought Chen Feng insisting he take the Scirocco was a minor inconvenience. The car couldn’t be driven to school, lest it attract attention; he couldn’t drive it home because he didn’t know how to explain his self-taught driving skills; and more importantly, he lacked a driver’s license, making driving risky. But after just one day, he realized the tremendous utility of having the car.

If not for the car, he wouldn’t have parked in the neighborhood where the Passat was usually stationed; he wouldn’t have discovered someone secretly tailing him; nor could he have followed that person all the way to the Hilton and uncovered his whereabouts. Now, without the car, traveling late at night across districts to the distant High-Tech Zone would have been a real hassle.

Zhang Wenhao spent the entire day distracted, unable to focus on classes or study, eagerly awaiting evening self-study to finish so he could head to Ren’ai Hospital.

At Ren’ai, he only knew two people: Dr. Li Changyun, an emergency room doctor, and a nurse who worked the same night shifts with him. Zhang Wenhao had met them twice during their night shifts, so he chose to come at night.

Parking his car at the emergency entrance, Zhang Wenhao headed straight for the doctor’s lounge. He knocked, and when someone opened the door, he saw four doctors inside. Li Changyun was sitting at his desk playing on a laptop. Looking up and recognizing Zhang Wenhao, he smiled and asked, “Wenhao, what brings you here?”

Zhang Wenhao smiled faintly and stood by the door without entering. Li Changyun sensed that Zhang Wenhao might want to discuss something private, so he stood and led him to the emergency room entrance before asking, “What’s up this time?”

Embarrassed, Zhang Wenhao said, “Actually, I came to ask for your help.”

Li Changyun nodded and said, “Don’t be so polite. Just tell me what you need.”

Seeing no one else around, Zhang Wenhao asked, “When you go out on emergency calls, can I come along?”

“You want to join?” Li Changyun smiled brightly. “What made you think of coming with me on emergencies?”

Zhang Wenhao thought, I can’t exactly tell him I’m here to earn points, so he replied vaguely, “I’m just free and figured it’s better to spend my time doing something meaningful.”

Li Changyun laughed heartily. “That’s good! Ever since I saw you save Chen Feng last time, every emergency call makes my heart race with worry that my medical skills might not be enough to save the patient. Whenever I see a serious case, I get nervous. Having you come along would be fantastic.”

Li Changyun had no idea Zhang Wenhao’s real purpose was to earn points. To him, Zhang’s medical skills were outstanding, so he assumed it was either for experience or for the satisfaction of saving lives, and thus gave no further thought.

Zhang Wenhao asked, “If I come along, would that cause any problems?”

“No problem,” Li Changyun waved off the concern. “We’re short-staffed on night shifts. Usually, an emergency car has a driver, a doctor, and a nurse. Drivers rotate night shifts, so not every doctor knows each other. I can find you a white coat to wear. Just follow me and Li Li on emergency calls—drivers won’t ask questions.”

Zhang Wenhao was overjoyed and nodded. “That would be great.”

Li Changyun added, “But not now. We have four doctors on duty, and each car goes with two doctors and two nurses. Later at night, when the others rest, it’ll just be me and Li Li on duty. That’s when you can come along.”

Zhang Wenhao nodded. “I’ll wait here until then.”

Li Changyun glanced at his watch. “It’s only ten o’clock now. How about Li Li takes you to the lounge to wait? No one’s there now.”

Zhang Wenhao thought two hours with nowhere to go was better than wandering and agreed. Li Changyun led him to the nurse’s office, knocked, and called out to the young nurse—barely in her twenties—who had smiled and greeted him warmly before.

The nurse recognized Zhang Wenhao and exclaimed with surprise and joy, “Oh, Zhang Wenhao? You’re back!”

Li Changyun closed the door and pulled her aside. “Take Wenhao to the lounge to rest. If anyone asks, say he’s my brother. After the shift change, Wenhao will come out with us on emergencies.”

“Really?” The nurse’s eyes lit up. Excited, she glanced at Zhang Wenhao, then back at Li Changyun. Seeing Li’s serious nod, she pumped her fist and hurried over to tug on Zhang Wenhao’s sleeve, leading him quickly to the emergency department’s lounge.

The lounge contained several sofas and beds, plus a TV, but was empty at the moment. The nurse told Zhang Wenhao, “Sit anywhere you like. I’ll get you some tea.”

Zhang Wenhao was about to decline, but before he could speak, the nurse dashed to the water dispenser, took out disposable cups and tea leaves from the cabinet below, and poured a large cup of hot water.

“Are you really going out on emergencies tonight with me and Dr. Li?” the nurse asked incredulously as she placed the tea before him.

Zhang Wenhao nodded and smiled. “Yes, sorry to trouble you.”

“No trouble at all,” she giggled. “Dr. Li talks about you often. Every time we go out on emergencies, especially serious cases, he wishes you were there.”

Zhang Wenhao smiled faintly and asked, “Why is it always you two on night shift?”

The nurse pouted in resignation. “Li and I are the last to come in. We have little seniority and connections at the hospital. Night shifts rotate monthly, but we’ve been stuck on nights for almost two months with no chance to switch to days.”

Zhang Wenhao couldn’t help but remark, “The hospital seems unfair. Something as simple as shift rotation depends on connections.”

“Tell me about it,” the nurse grumbled. “There are eight nurses and one head nurse in emergency. I’m the only one with a proper nursing degree. The others are from vocational schools, some barely with associate degrees or adult education diplomas. Yet I’m the hardest worker and get paid the least.”

“Why not go to other hospitals? Ren’ai isn’t exactly top-tier in Jiangcheng, right?” Zhang Wenhao asked.

“Getting in here was lucky enough,” she said wryly. “No connections, no bribes. Nursing has low barriers to entry and decent pay, so it’s not as strict as medicine for professional qualifications. You know how hard it is to get into city hospitals, especially in Jiangxin District? Nurses either have connections or pay to get in. I’ve applied multiple times but only once met an interviewer. The whole thing was a formality—they showed me the door in two minutes.”

Zhang Wenhao shook his head and sighed, “I didn’t realize your field could be so dark.”

The girl nodded with a smile. “It’s really tough. I’ve been here almost two months. Every afternoon I take an hour-long bus, finish at seven in the morning, then take another hour-long bus home. My monthly salary is just over two thousand yuan.”

“That’s so little,” Zhang Wenhao said, shaking his head. “That’s too hard.”

She smiled. “But at least healthcare workers have good benefits, stable jobs, low risk, and decent security.”

Zhang Wenhao nodded. The girl glanced at the clock and said, “Rest here for a while. If you get bored, watch TV. I have to get back to duty. When the other doctors go to rest later, you can go to Dr. Li’s office.”

“Okay,” Zhang Wenhao smiled. “Thank you. By the way, what’s your name?”

She winked at him and then stood to open the door and leave.

After Chen Li left, Zhang Wenhao called his mother to say he’d be sleeping over at a classmate’s house. His mother didn’t ask further. After informing his family, Zhang Wenhao waited in the lounge until 11:50 p.m., when Chen Li sneaked back over and whispered, “Wenhao, come out now. They’ll be back soon.”

Zhang Wenhao quickly stood and left the lounge, pacing outside. After 12:05 a.m., he went straight to Li Changyun’s office.

Only Li Changyun remained inside. After inviting Zhang Wenhao to sit, he said, “Don’t worry, just stay here. The others have gone to the lounge to sleep. Usually, when two emergency cars go out simultaneously, it’s just Li Li and me handling most calls. If patients come in and we need help, we’ll wake them up. Otherwise, they won’t come out.”

To be continued.