The Great Thief

Lu Li was almost out of time now anyway. He had an important task to complete tomorrow, so he simply logged off with no regard for the hundreds of players who had been following him.

As he was worried about the results from his sister’s medical examination, he did not get a good night’s sleep. He walked out of his room the next day with a pair of dark circles around his eyes, which shocked everyone else.

“Looks like you’ve been over-indulging yourself,” said the landlord suggestively.

Lu Li’s only response was to fart loudly. He sat at the table and watched his sister eat her rice porridge.

Lu Xin didn’t know what was happening; all she knew was that something wasn’t quite right with her brother.

“Pervert,” Dou Jing Jing exclaimed, “Since you’ve gotten up, you’ve done nothing but stare at your sister.”

“Lu Li, can I ask you a question?” Zhou Huan Huan was the most normal of them all.

“What is it?” Lu Li had eaten some rice porridge, but his mind was still preoccupied.

He was desperately hoping that this examination would uncover his sister’s illness. It sounded a little stupid, but if it didn’t, then maybe the disease would continue to lurk in her until it was too late.

“It has to do with the Death Mines – we have been trying to kill the Elite-difficulty Piercing Heart Wolf General for a few days now. Can you give us some advice?” Zhou Huan Huan carefully asked. She did not think that Lu Li had any obligation to tell him, so she was a little apprehensive.

“There isn’t much advice I can give there; your Main Tank is just too weak,” Lu Li bluntly replied, unafraid of causing any offense.

“Our Main Tank is already LV18. Our guild actually has two LV18 Main Tanks. One of them is with Water Fairy and the other is with us,” Zhou Huan Huan gloomily sighed.

Zhou Huan Huan and the others had been integrated well into Drizzle Court, and were now part of a small, elite team. The guild had also provided them with strong Main Tank and DPS players. Despite this, they had failed every time they attempted the Death Mines.

“You guys can reach out to Azure Sea Breeze for help. For two hundred gold, he’ll let get you through the Death Mines at Elite-difficulty. Get your guild to pay the money.”

Lu Li wiped his mouth before standing up to hug his sister and send her to school.

“Two hundred gold! That’s so much.”

Dou Jing Jing stuck out her tongue and started calculating how much that was in real money.

“The guild will definitely agree to two hundred gold,” Willow said definitively, “Other guilds are capable of paying two hundred gold, but don’t have the connections for something like this.”

“Yeah.”

Zhou Huan Huan let out a sigh and self-deprecatingly said, “The guild leader probably made us into a separate elite group because we know Lu Li.”

Although Dou Jing Jing was reluctant, she couldn’t deny that point.

After Lu Li sent his sister to school, he immediately went to the hospital where Lu Xin had her medical examination.

Medical developments had still barely made any progress. Contrary to the predictions made by researchers, terminal illnesses were still untreatable, a variety of new, incurable diseases were still being discovered, and a large proportion of deaths each year were still occurring on hospital beds.

“You were the one who came in for the check yesterday right? Where is your sister?” the old doctor with thick reading glasses sluggishly asked, while flipping through the medical records.

“She’s at school, doctor…” Lu Li slowly replied.

“You are fine – just a little malnourished, but that can be handled with some supplements. But your sister…”

The doctor looked through his lens and saw Lu Li’s clothing before gently sighing.

“What’s wrong with my sister?”

Lu Li hand had unconsciously grabbed his thigh, but he was so nervous that he didn’t feel any pain.

“Have you heard of Heart Failure Syndrome?” the old doctor asked mildly.

Lu Li felt bitter, but he could only stiffly shake his head.

“It is a very rare heart disease. I have been practicing medicine for 30 years and have only encountered three cases. Its cause is very complex. If she doesn’t receive treatment, she won’t live past eighteen.” The old doctor sympathetically looked at Lu Li, anticipating that he would break down in tears.

“There must be a way to cure it right?” Lu Li’s eyes were fixed on the doctor.

“The cure… is really expensive. Regular insurance that provides for basic health cover is usually insufficient,” the doctor said as he shook his head, “The amount of relief that the hospital can provide is also very limited.”

“Money isn’t an issue!” Lu Li’s expression was firm.

Otherwise, what use was his rebirth?

To climb into the upper echelon of society?

To wake up in paradise, intoxicated and surrounded by beautiful women?

No, it wasn’t for any of these reasons. In these past few weeks, he had never for a moment thought about these!

There was only one thing that his mind was fixated on and he would do this thing right, no matter what.

No matter what, his sister could not die!

The doctor was shocked; he swallowed his saliva and replied, “For this kind of disease, there are two mature treatment programs. Do you want to hear about them?”

“Please do tell me.”

For Lu Li to know that there was a cure would make him less frightened.

“The first kind is a conventional treatment. It involves surgery, and drugs to control the disease and improve her heart’s function. If it goes well, your sister will be able to live like a normal person…”

“How long will her lifespan be?” Lu Li interrupted.

“We’ve detected it fairly early, so it can be more easily controlled. I cannot give you a guarantee, but my professional opinion is that she will easily gain 20 years,” the doctor dutifully replied.

Previously, Lu Xin’s condition had been discovered in its later stages, so the doctor could only predict an additional 10 years if the treatment was successful. However, Lu Li was unable to afford this.

“What about the other kind?”

Previously, the doctor had talked about a transplant, but didn’t go into detail as he knew that Lu Li didn’t have any money.

“A full transplant. This will cost much more money.”

The doctor glanced at Lu Li’s clothing again. He was convinced that this kid was at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.

“How much longer will a full-transplant allow my sister to live?” Lu Li asked anxiously.

“A full-transplant is quite different from a traditional transplant in that it can result in a complete recovery. However, this treatment is predicated on two conditions - that there is a donor and that the patient undergoes a high-end regenerative treatment after surgery.”

The doctor almost couldn’t bear to continue, “But I must remind you, the surgery will cost at least $1 million and the regenerative treatment after will be even more expensive. An average family is usually unable to afford this option.”

“As long as my sister can be cured, I can pay any amount of money.”

Lu Li reached across the table to grab the doctor’s hand and pleaded, “Doctor, please help us. Please find a donor for us…”

“A donor can only come along by chance. I will contact the general hospital to see if they have any reserves.”

The doctor was impressed with Lu Li’s impulse, but he bitterly said, “Boy, this really isn’t a small amount.”

Lu Li took out his mobile phone and fiddled with it to open up his bank account. He handed his phone to the doctor and said, “You see, I have $1.1 million in my account right now…”

The old doctor didn’t believe Lu Li, but curiosity got the better of him. When he saw Lu Li’s phone, he almost jumped.

After repeatedly checking the amount, he confirmed that there was definitely over $1 million.

A million dollars wasn’t actually that much; this old doctor had seen many patients who were millionaires. He had even seen some billionaires too, but all those people were successful professionals.

Yet before him was a young man in a ten-dollar t-shirt who had more than $1 million.