Chapter 79: The Celestial Spirit Fruit (Third Chapter—Seeking Recommendations)

"Help! Someone, help!"

Wang Zhongguang’s face, which had just maintained its usual calm, turned deathly pale the instant he saw Zhao Jie collapse.

I knew something would go wrong!

He cursed inwardly, but in a flash, he was already at Zhao Jie’s side, placing his palm over Zhao Jie’s heart. With his eyes, he questioned one of the medical staff who had hurried over as well.

"Director, he’s only passed out. His breathing is still normal!"

At those words, Wang Zhongguang let out a sigh of relief. As long as there was no immediate danger to his life.

"Hurry, call a doctor!"

If anything truly happened to the person before him because of this, he would bear no small share of the blame.

…

"What’s going on?"

While Zhao Jie’s fainting spell wasn’t much of an issue in itself, the timing was uncanny; the city leadership had just decided to pay a visit to this genius who had saved Wuling City.

Yet upon their arrival, Zhao Jie had once again fallen unconscious.

Now things had become dire. Wasn’t this a sign of the incompetence of their Digital Hospital?

Dean Gao Tianming’s expression remained unchanged, but anyone could see the dissatisfaction in his eyes.

"It’s my fault, Dean. This morning, Zhao came to see me, insisting on visiting his digital partner, that Agumon. But for some unknown reason, Agumon had fallen into a coma. Zhao got too emotional and attempted digital fusion, which led to his second collapse," Wang Zhongguang explained bitterly.

If he had known things would end up like this, he would never have allowed Zhao Jie to see Agumon.

"Enough, Old Gao, what’s the point in blaming the youngsters now? Saving the patient is what matters, not pointing fingers!"

An energetic elder waved his hand lightly. His name was She Gongyu, a former high-ranking provincial official.

Although he no longer held office, he still had many disciples in official circles. His presence here signified the authorities’ great concern over this matter.

"Yes, yes, Elder She, you’re right. Please rest assured, you know our hospital’s standards—Zhao Jie will be fine," Gao Tianming replied, wiping the cold sweat from his brow and breathing a sigh of relief.

It seemed this venerable elder was fair-minded. If he had insisted on making an issue of this, even he would not have been able to protect the outstanding digital beast doctor Wang Zhongguang, and would have had to demote him.

She Gongyu glanced at Gao Tianming, well aware of his intentions, but had no interest in meddling in such trivialities.

"The Agumon you mentioned—that’s Zhao Jie’s digital beast, isn’t it? What exactly happened to it?"

He fixed his gaze on Wang Zhongguang, puzzled.

Though not a digital user himself, he was quite familiar with digital beasts—they were miraculous beings and rarely encountered such problems.

"Elder She, Agumon is indeed Zhao Jie’s digital beast, but its case is quite unusual. All bodily functions are normal, yet it’s in a coma that none of our medical techniques can rouse it from. I suspect the issue lies with its consciousness, and we’ll need an expert in this field to treat it."

As Wang Zhongguang spoke of his area of expertise, he forgot his fear, and explained Agumon’s symptoms in simple terms before offering his own diagnosis.

"Its consciousness, you say…?"

Murmuring to himself, the elder glanced toward the emergency room, from which several doctors were emerging.

"What’s the situation?"

Gao Tianming, who had been watching the emergency room intently, asked anxiously the moment he saw the doctors.

"Dean, there’s no danger to the patient. He fainted from overusing his digital energy."

Everyone present breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Thank goodness it was only a faint.

"Will there be any side effects?" Elder She frowned. It had been no easy feat for Wuling City to produce such talent. If he were harmed because of this, it would be not only Wuling’s loss, but the nation’s as well.

He was well-acquainted with Zhao Jie’s deeds. Initially, he was just a typical cultivator, but when the beast tide struck, he did not flinch. He fought alongside the city’s defenders to the bitter end and even defeated a formidable Ultimate-level digital beast.

Had it not been for Zhao Jie’s final blow, the consequences would have been dire, as evidenced by the fate of several other cities.

He was a patriotic and passionate youth, already admitted early to Xiangnan University. For someone his age, there was no doubt that his digital beast would one day achieve super evolution.

Yet he could still risk his life in the secret realm.

Precisely because he understood all this, Elder She so admired this young man he had not yet met. That’s why he had come in person, rather than sending someone else.

The nation would never let a meritorious hero both shed blood and tears!

"There will be no lasting effects. However, for the next two months, he shouldn’t be able to use digital energy at all."

Two months?

That was neither short nor long, but for a digital user just starting out, Elder She felt it was a bit too long.

"Is there any way to speed up his recovery?"

The attending physician who had just entered the emergency room shook his head.

"Conventional medicine cannot help, but digital means might. For example, the Celestial Spirit Fruit. This fruit can rapidly heal his mental trauma."

Despite this, the attending doctor clearly held out no hope.

The Celestial Spirit Fruit was exceedingly rare. There were only a handful throughout the entire nation, and Wuling City certainly had none. Priced at one hundred thousand digital points apiece—if available at all—it was priceless.

The Celestial Spirit Fruit, found only in a tiny secret realm, could heal spiritual wounds. More importantly, it could raise a person’s digital energy affinity by one whole level.

The higher one’s digital affinity, the more digital energy their body could contain, making their digital beast far stronger when fused.

This fruit was strategic in importance and rarely circulated.

"The Celestial Spirit Fruit…?"

Elder She murmured, already making plans.

"Very well, I have matters to attend to and will visit this young friend again in a few days. See to it that nothing else goes wrong," he said, pausing after a few steps to glance back at Gao Tianming.

"By the way, tell him not to worry about Agumon. Since he fought for the people, the nation will find a way to help him."

PS: 2/7, three chapters today, please vote for recommendations!