Shiba Aya leaned closer for a look, her breath hitched, her fingers trembled as she pointed at the screen, her lips quivered, and she couldn't speak for a long time.
Shiba Haro also suddenly stood up, leaned over to look, his eyes instantly widened, the color drained from his face, then rushed back, turning crimson.
He looked up at Tatsuya, then at Lucci, his voice trembling: "This... this is... so much money? Tatsuya... did you... didn't do anything... illegal, did you?"
"Dad, Mom, don't worry."
Tatsuya put his phone away, his tone steady and firm.
"The source is absolutely legitimate; it's a share of the profits from the Liu Family's proper business as a thank you. All tax issues will be handled by Lucci's side, completely clean."
Lucci quickly assured them: "Uncle and Auntie, it's absolutely true! This money's origin is crystal clear, I can vouch for it with my entire family!
"Tatsuya's contribution is worth this price! Just use it with peace of mind!"
Shiba Aya clutched her chest, as if she couldn't breathe, and Shiba Hoshino quickly patted her back gently.
After a while, she finally recovered, but tears fell: "But... this is too much... Tatsuya, this..."
"Mom, it's not too much."
Tatsuya squatted down and held his mother's rough hands.
"Hoshino's illness needs money, and this family needs money too. This is just the beginning."
He looked up at his parents and stated the main point for today: "So, I plan to use this money to buy a new house for the family first."
"It needs to be in a good environment, quiet, close to the hospital, convenient for Hoshino's future check-ups and recuperation. The remaining money will be enough for all of Hoshino's subsequent treatments, as well as the family's expenses. Dad, Mom, you won't have to work so hard anymore."
These words were like another heavy hammer, leaving Tatsuya's parents stunned for a long time.
Buy a house? And one with a good environment close to the hospital? How much would that cost?
They had worked hard for most of their lives, and the money they saved was a drop in the bucket compared to their daughter's illness. They had never dared to dream of moving to a new house.
"This... how can this be... this money is yours..."
Shiba Haro murmured, seemingly unable to process the immense amount of information.
"Dad, we are a family." Tatsuya's tone was unequivocal, "What's mine is the family's. Hoshino's illness is the most important, and your health is also the most important.
"I've already decided on this!"
Lucci chimed in from the side: "Uncle and Auntie, just listen to Tatsuya! He's capable now, and that's a good thing!"
"Sister Hoshino needs a good environment to recuperate, and you two elders should enjoy life too! Leave the house-hunting to me, I guarantee I'll find a comfortable and convenient place!"
Shiba Hoshino leaned on the bed, looking at her brother, her eyes sparkling with complex emotions: surprise, unease, but more than anything, an unreserved trust in her brother.
She gently took her mother's hand: "Mom, listen to brother, brother won't lie to us."
Shiba Aya looked at her daughter's pale little face, then at her son's firm and steady gaze, and then at Lucci's sincere expression beside them.
Finally, the immense joy and the relief after long-term suppression broke through her last hesitation. She gripped Tatsuya's hand tightly, tears flowing even more profusely.
They were no longer tears of sadness, but of seeing a glimmer of dawn finally breaking through endless darkness.
"Okay... okay... listen to Tatsuya... listen to Tatsuya..." She choked, repeating these words.
Shiba Haro sank heavily back into his chair, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders trembling slightly. After a long while, he lowered his hands, his eyes red, but he let out a long, deep sigh, releasing the stale air that had been trapped for too long.
"Good boy..."
He looked at Tatsuya, his voice hoarse, but with an unprecedented sense of ease and pride.
"You've made something of yourself... Dad... Dad is happy for you..."
...After staying with his parents and sister at the hospital until past nine in the evening, seeing the finally relaxed expression on his mother's face and his father's furrowed brow unfurrow, Tatsuya felt a significant loosening of the tension in his heart.
Coming out of the hospital, Lucci yawned and rubbed his lower back: "I'm done for, I'm exhausted these past two days."
"Tatsu-bro, let's grab something to eat, just us two brothers, to celebrate? Today's progress is worth a drink!"
Tatsuya shook his head, picking up his car keys: "No, I still need to go to the lab. Teacher's project data still needs to be pushed forward; it's not good to drag it out too long."
Lucci's eyes widened, looking at him as if he were a monster: "Damn, Big Brother! You've been busy all day with gold, houses, hospitals, and you still have the energy for academics?"
"Are you made of iron? Even a donkey from the production team wouldn't be used like this!"
He was truly impressed; Tatsuya's energy was ridiculously abundant.
"I can only relax once it's handled." Tatsuya didn't explain further, opening the car door, "How are you getting back?"
"I'll just take a taxi, it's very convenient." Lucci waved his hand, then leaned closer to the car window, lowering his voice, "Then be careful. And... don't push yourself too hard with that... basement thing."
His eyes held a hint of lingering fear and a warning.
"I know." Tatsuya nodded, "Thanks, Lucci."
Watching Lucci hail a taxi and leave, Tatsuya took a deep breath of the cool night air, started the car, and drove towards Haicheng University.
The lab was quiet. At this hour, only a few'study kings' were still burning the midnight oil.
Tatsuya sat down at his workstation, opened his computer, and pulled up the backlog of data files.
The numbers and charts on the screen used to require his intense concentration for a long time to analyze, but now, the feeling was completely different.
Due to the further reinforcement brought by Chakra, the processing power, thinking speed, and concentration of his Multiverse Physique had all elevated to a superhuman level.
Complex experimental data seemed to automatically decompose and combine in his eyes, and the intrinsic connections and patterns emerged clearly.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, almost creating afterimages, as lines of code and analytical conclusions were generated smoothly.
The efficiency and precision surprised even himself a little.
Unconsciously, the sky outside the window turned from deep black to grayish-white, then gradually brightened.
Tatsuya didn't even feel much fatigue, only drinking a few sips of water in between.
By around one in the afternoon, the final analysis report was generated. He had not only completed all the content Hizan requested but had also done several in-depth extended analyses, proposing some new and quite insightful perspectives.
He packaged the report and sent it to Hizan. Not long after sending it, his phone rang.
The caller ID was indeed Hizan.
"Tatsuya... the report you just sent..." Hizan's voice carried obvious surprise, even a hint of imperceptible excitement, "The data modeling methods and those new inferences about the target points... how did you think of them?"
"I've been reading some cross-disciplinary literature recently, got a bit inspired, so I tried integrating them." Tatsuya's tone was calm, his answer flawless, "The data has been repeatedly verified, and the logic should be sound."
Hizan's attitude was noticeably much better than before, his tone even full of praise: "More than just sound... the direction is very valuable, and the efficiency is high! Keep up this state, and I'll be confident in the project's progress!"
"Thank you, Teacher, I will."
After hanging up, Tatsuya let out a soft breath.
The academic front was temporarily stabilized as well.
The troubles in the real world were being removed by him one by one.
...
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