The white homeless man, slapped by Wayne, immediately stumbled and fell to the ground.
Dead?
Wayne looked stunned.
A flood of fragmented memories about repairing furniture instantly rushed into his mind.
Clearly, this homeless man had been a furniture repairman in his lifetime, and quite skilled at that. It was unclear how he had ended up in such a state.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
"David!" Wayne shouted.
A black head immediately poked out from the tent flap. David asked:
"Hey, sir, what's the prob… WTF!"
He quickly crawled into the tent, helped the homeless man up from the ground, checked his breathing, and said to Wayne:
"Bro, he's dead."
Wayne nodded:
"I know."
Obviously—I already picked up the skill.
David said apologetically:
"Bro, I knew he was on Enhancement Drugs, but I didn't expect him to take so much…"
Then he flashed an excited grin:
"But selling him off will earn us a few hundred bucks! Good thing I noticed something was off and brought him here."
With that, he picked up the corpse and crawled out of the tent to make a phone call.
Wayne clicked his tongue, speechless.
Compared to Mike, David seemed more like a reckless kid.
Only two and a half clients in one night—the efficiency was indeed a bit slow.
And so far, not a single cent earned.
Maybe he had been too naive earlier. If practicing medicine illegally didn't work out, he might have to try smuggling with the Dimensional Backpack.
At least he had gained a new skill tonight.
Wayne looked at the Panel and without hesitation placed the [Furniture Repair (Specialization)] skill into the Fusion Pool.
After a moment's hesitation, he then placed the [General Practitioner (Intermediate)] skill in the main slot and immediately chose Sacrificial Fusion.
In an instant, the [Furniture Repair (Specialization)] skill disappeared, leaving only [General Practitioner (Advanced 65%)].
His General Practitioner skill had directly leveled up!
A flood of experience and memories related to general practice quickly surfaced in his mind, while the memories of repairing furniture rapidly faded.
His medical proficiency had improved once again.
The medical knowledge he now possessed undoubtedly surpassed that of most American family doctors, giving him de facto full qualifications to practice.
It was just a pity that client acquisition was too slow…
Just as he was thinking this, a slightly excited yet hesitant voice sounded outside the tent:
"Excuse me… is the Mage… sir at home?"
Wayne raised an eyebrow and said:
"Come in."
The tent flap was then lifted, and the Mexican illegal immigrant named Paul crawled in with a bright smile on his face. Behind him followed a thin, middle-aged black man with slightly graying hair.
Paul, beaming, said to Wayne:
"Respected Medium, I came to thank you. After you performed the exorcism, in just one night, the swelling in my ankle has gone down, and I'm hardly coughing anymore. Now I don't have to worry constantly about my children going hungry if I fall ill..."
As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes:
"I also don't have to take time off to see a doctor... I truly thank you... You saved me..."
During this period of illness, his stress had been immense. Now, seeing hope for recovery, it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and he felt a profound sense of relief.
Wayne looked at Paul and saw that the previously swollen ankle had indeed subsided. Moreover, the sickly appearance was gone, replaced by a refreshed and energetic demeanor.
While antibiotics plus dexamethasone were indeed miraculous, this was almost too effective.
Combined with his recently upgraded knowledge of General Medicine, Wayne suddenly understood.
Under the strict control of the medical-industrial complex, aimed at maximizing profits and squeezing every last drop from patients, the vast majority of people in America had rarely used antibiotics.
This made antibiotics exceptionally effective on them.
They were practically born antibiotic saints!
To antibiotics, they were as pure as a blank sheet of paper that had never been tainted.
Wayne nodded slightly, his expression impassive as he spoke in a low voice:
"It was Bondye who saved you. Thank Bondye."
Seeing that Wayne had fallen silent, Paul hurriedly pulled a roll of cash from his pocket and handed it to Wayne with both hands, saying:
"Medium, thank Bondye, and thank you for the exorcism. This is all the cash I have on me. If it's not enough, I'll make up the difference next time."
Wayne glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, estimating it to be around two hundred dollars, and said:
"That's enough. Place it in the altar."
Paul respectfully placed all the cash into the Bone Pile Artifact before him, then hesitated, as if wanting to say more.
Wayne had already noticed the person behind Paul but pretended not to see, asking indifferently:
"Is there anything else?"
In his previous life at Dongda University, he had arrested several fraudsters posing as spiritualists. He had handled a few cases from arrest to interrogation to sending them to detention centers, so he had some insight into playing the role of a spiritualist.
The first rule was to maintain an air of authority—never let the facade slip. Remain emotionless, maintain mystery, and let distance create authority.
It was essentially the same approach as being a leader.
Paul quickly pulled the Black man behind him forward and said with a smile:
"Mr. Wayne, this is my friend Billy. He's been having diarrhea these past few days..."
"Possessed by an evil spirit," Wayne interjected calmly before Billy could finish. "I sensed it the moment he entered. Recently, a Higher-Dimensional Passage has opened near Seattle, and some evil spirits have appeared in this city."
To Wayne's surprise, upon hearing his words, Billy trembled all over, knelt before him, and murmured:
"It's Tikorosh! It must be Tikorosh! So it's an evil spirit causing this... No wonder I've been feeling so terrible these past two days... I never thought it would follow me all the way from my homeland, Haiti, to America... Please, sir, I beg you, save me!"
Wayne couldn't help but pause.
What a coincidence. He hadn't expected to actually encounter a follower of Voodoo, and one from Haiti at that.
It is well known that Voodooism is most prevalent in Haiti.
As for Tikorosh, based on Wayne's superficial understanding of Voodooism, he only knew it was a type of demon from the Xiusha Waters that could transform into a large bird with a baboon's head. Beyond that, he knew nothing else.
If you say so, then so be it.
"Correct," Wayne said calmly. "You can sense the evil aura of Tikorosh as well. Don't worry, it's just a bit of his saliva that splashed onto you. It can be expelled soon."
With that, he casually pulled a long, intricately carved bone from the pile of bones, pointed it at Billy, and commanded:
"Lie down!"
Since you're in the know, I'll make it more formal.
Old Billy immediately lay down.
Wayne cleared his throat, gently tapped Old Billy's back with the bone, and quickly chanted:
"Startled from a deathly illness, I rise; how could I be a common man? First, I summon Ultraman Tiga; next, the old bat of Gotham; third, the man who wears his underwear outside; fourth, the mighty Steel Megatron..."
Old Billy lay on the ground, feeling the rhythmic tapping of the bone on his back. He couldn't help but feel that this Voodoo Medium was unlike any he had encountered before, exuding an aura of immense power.
Just the smooth, flowing incantation alone was something he had never heard from any native Haitian Voodoo Medium.
The rhythm and cadence of the chant even made him unconsciously sway his head along.
Tap!
The long bone pressed against Old Billy's forehead as the Medium before him said calmly:
"Done. Drink this cup of milk infused with magical power, and it will expel the evil spirit from you."
Old Billy eagerly took the milk and drank it in one gulp. Then, with shining eyes, he looked at Wayne and said sincerely:
"Thank you, Medium. I already feel much better!"
Wayne nodded slightly. As expected of an illegal immigrant from Haiti, steeped in his native culture—his psychological response was stronger than most.
[You performed a treatment. Your General Medicine skill has improved (Advanced 65% + 5%). Experience +5]
[Your Minstrel Performance skill has improved (Beginner 30% + 5%). Experience + 10]
[Your title, Voodoo Medium, has been enhanced: Voodoo Medium (20%)]