Chapter 98: Younger Brother Luo Hua

“Mom, what’s wrong with Luo Hua? What exactly happened?” Luo Feng’s heart was racing even more than when he had killed Li Wei.

“Xiao Feng, you, you don’t panic either,” his mother, Gong Xinlan, spoke with a voice on the verge of tears. “Earlier, your younger brother nearly drowned, but now he’s been saved and is fine.”

“Drowned? Mom, how could this happen?”

Luo Feng couldn’t understand how his younger brother could have an accident inside the city base. Wasn’t there a nanny always with him?

“Xiao Feng, this is what happened. This afternoon, the nanny took your younger brother, Xiao Hua, to the nearby park to play. As you know, your brother often goes to the park… This time, in the park, he met the parents of his girlfriend, ‘Xiao Nan.’ Xiao Nan’s parents invited your brother to chat nearby.”

Luo Feng frowned…

His younger brother Luo Hua’s relationship with his girlfriend had always been kept from her parents. Now, her parents had approached Luo Hua, clearly for some reason.

“At that time, your brother asked the nanny to step aside. He talked alone with Xiao Nan’s parents for about an hour. Then Xiao Nan’s parents left,” his mother’s voice on the phone was slightly hoarse, likely from crying. “Later, your brother said he wanted to walk around the park alone and asked the nanny to wait for him at the park entrance.”

“The nanny, Auntie Qin, thought there was no danger in the park, just some scenery, so she didn’t think much of it and waited at the park entrance for your brother.”

“But no one could have imagined what happened next. Your brother wheeled his wheelchair to the edge of the scenic lake in the park. The lake had long frozen over, with only some spots broken open by children playing. Your brother actually flipped himself into the lake and fell into one of the ice holes.”

Luo Feng’s face turned pale as he listened. Although he knew his brother was safe in the end, falling into an icy lake hole was almost a death sentence, especially for someone like his brother, who was disabled and had thoughts of suicide.

“Fortunately, there was a young martial artist named ‘Qiu Yi’ in our community who was present. He immediately jumped into the lake, broke through the ice, swam beneath the ice layer, searched for your brother, and finally found him, rescuing him to the surface! By then, your brother had already stopped breathing. Fortunately, Qiu Yi knew some first aid and managed to save your brother’s life. Later, the doctor in our community said that if he had been just a little later, and your brother had been submerged a little longer, he would certainly have died.”

“I don’t know what harsh words Xiao Nan’s parents said that drove my son to attempt suicide. Don’t they have children of their own?”

His mother’s voice on the phone broke into sobs, unable to hold back her grief.

Luo Feng clenched his fists tightly.

His younger brother had been disabled since childhood and spent most of his time alone at home, even receiving his education through online homeschooling. Years of solitude made him very introverted and insecure, only showing his cheerful side in front of family. His mental resilience was fragile.

“Xiao Nan’s parents probably only cared about their daughter and used harsh words, demanding my younger brother to stay away from their daughter. They probably didn’t care whether he could bear it or not.”

In truth, people are all the same.

In Luo Feng’s heart, his parents and younger brother were the most important. In Xiao Nan’s parents’ hearts, their daughter was naturally the most important too!

“Mom, how is my brother now?” Luo Feng asked urgently.

“The doctor in our community said there’s no problem now. However, your brother’s emotions are unstable, so your father and I are taking turns watching over him. We’re afraid he might do something foolish,” his mother, Gong Xinlan, shook her head. “Xiao Feng, please come back home early. Xiao Hua gets along with you better, and he’s reluctant to share many things with us.”

After all, Luo Feng and Luo Hua were of the same generation, and naturally, Luo Hua preferred to confide in Luo Feng.

“Yeah, I’ll be home first thing tomorrow morning,” Luo Feng nodded.

He would sell the dragon egg and the combat suit and then rush back home by train that very night.

…

After hanging up the phone call, Luo Feng sat on the sofa, his mood heavy. Over the years, his brother had actually lived quite well, especially after moving into Mingyue Community and meeting Xiao Nan. His brother had been very happy and content. Yet, unexpectedly… this first love that had brought him joy could also drive him to attempt suicide.

“A failed first love hits my brother much harder than it would an average person.”

“Xiao Nan’s parents probably stopped their daughter from dating my disabled younger brother,” Luo Feng took a deep breath. “It won’t be long now. If I’m lucky this time, I might earn the 30 billion Huaxia credits needed for the ‘Water of Life’ from this deal!”

30 billion!

Of course, the dragon egg wasn’t worth that much. The most valuable items were the combat suit and the sword.

“I hope it’s SS-grade. If it really is, then I’m in luck,” Luo Feng thought. He himself couldn’t determine the grade; it required some professional instruments, which he didn’t have. Moreover, he didn’t want to involve people from the HR Alliance or the Limit Martial Arts Gym to inspect these items.

Time passed minute by minute.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

There was a knock at the door. Luo Feng got up and opened it.

Standing outside was a middle-aged man with a mustache, wearing a leather jacket and carrying a large backpack. As soon as he saw Luo Feng, he sensed the sharpness typical of a martial artist in Luo Feng’s eyes. He smiled and said, “Are you Mr. Wei?”

“Wang Hou?” Luo Feng raised his eyebrows. The martial arts forum ad had included a photo.

“That’s me,” Wang Hou smiled.

“Please come in,” Luo Feng invited him inside and shut the door behind him.

They sat down on the sofa.

“I heard Mr. Wei say you have something good?” Wang Hou’s smile was bright, but his eyes gleamed with the excitement of a predator spotting prey.

Luo Feng smiled slightly and directly opened his large backpack. The biggest item inside was the large green dragon egg. Luo Feng took the dragon egg and placed it on the sofa, smiling at Wang Hou, “Wang Hou, this is a dragon egg. I’m sure you can determine what kind of dragon egg it is.”

“A dragon egg? A dragon egg worth over 10 billion credits? Could it be the dragon egg of the Azure Dragon of the Eastern Sea?” Wang Hou was startled.

Luo Feng was taken aback.

The Azure Dragon of the Eastern Sea was a King-level monster, far more powerful than a Lord-level one. Over the years, only one Azure Dragon egg had ever appeared. It was said to have sold for over 50 billion credits on the martial artist network.

“What eyes does this guy have? I’ve been in business for so long, I thought he’d recognize it at a glance.” Luo Feng shook his head but said nothing.

He didn’t realize how few dragon eggs had been discovered worldwide.

Wang Hou had only seen two dragon eggs in his life. With his level of expertise, how could he recognize this one?

“No, the Azure Dragon’s egg is bigger than this,” Wang Hou said again.

“I never said it was the Azure Dragon’s egg. You should test it quickly,” Luo Feng couldn’t help but urge.

He had only said that his item was worth over 10 billion credits, not that this single item alone was worth that much.

“This is the first dragon egg I’ve ever acquired,” Wang Hou’s eyes sparkled.

“A dragon egg,” Wang Hou quickly opened his backpack, took out one of three briefcases, and opened it. He pulled out a set of instruments, attaching the spider-like device’s multiple probes to the surface of the dragon egg. Instantly, the screen displayed a flood of data.

As he looked at the data, Wang Hou smiled, “Mr. Wei, you’re truly amazing to have gotten your hands on a dragon egg! Nowadays, any monster that can be called a ‘dragon’ in this world is not to be trifled with.”

“Have you tested it yet?” Luo Feng looked at the screen.

“Almost,” Wang Hou smiled, not at all impatient.

“Oh.”

Wang Hou’s eyes lit up as he stared at the screen, then looked at Luo Feng with a grin. “According to the database comparison, this is the egg of an Ironclad Dragon! The Ironclad Dragon is considered a mid-tier among dragon-type monsters worldwide. The market price for such a dragon egg would be around 5 billion Huaxia credits. I’ll be straightforward, and I hope you will too—5 billion Huaxia credits!”

Luo Feng, of course, had researched the market beforehand. 5 billion credits was indeed a generous offer. Even if he sold it to the HR Alliance, he wouldn’t get much more than that.

“Fair enough,” Luo Feng smiled. “That’s the price.”

“I pride myself on my business reputation,” Wang Hou grinned. “Business is about steady streams. If I were to rip you off, you’d definitely post about it on the forum later… and my reputation would plummet, making future deals impossible. So—everyone who does business with me knows I’m a man of integrity.”

Seeing this, Luo Feng smiled slightly.

“Mr. Wei,” Wang Hou couldn’t help himself. “I suspect you have more to offer, don’t you?”

“I do.”

Luo Feng nodded and directly pulled out a sword in its sheath from his backpack.

“Oh?” Wang Hou’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw the sheath. He gave Luo Feng a surprised glance. “This is truly a fine sword. The sheath alone is worth a fortune. May I take a look?”

“Please,” Luo Feng said, feeling hopeful.

He didn’t know the sword’s grade, but he hoped it was at least S-grade (9-series).

“Shh,” Wang Hou drew the sword, examining it carefully. He couldn’t help but nod approvingly. “A fine sword, a truly excellent sword. This is likely a weapon used by a War God. If I’m not mistaken, it should be an SS-grade sword. This sword is indeed quite valuable.”

Luo Feng’s heart leaped with joy, not expecting the sword to actually be SS-grade.

“The price of a sword weapon also depends on its condition,” Wang Hou explained with a smile. “A newly crafted sword has 100% integrity, but as warriors use it in countless battles against monsters, the sword sustains subtle, often invisible damage. Over time, the damage becomes more severe until one day, the weapon might snap during combat.”

Luo Feng nodded… For example, an S-grade weapon is described as durable enough to engage nearly all S-grade monsters head-on without breaking.

This illustrates that weapons can indeed break.

“The higher the integrity, the higher the price. The lower the integrity, the lower the price naturally.”

“I’ll test it now,” Wang Hou immediately opened another briefcase and pulled out another set of instruments. A dreamlike glow emanated from the instruments, enveloping the sword. The instrument screen quickly gathered a large amount of data. Based on the software database and other analyses, the result was soon ready.

“100% integrity?” Wang Hou exclaimed in surprise.