Li Xiao and Shen Shiyi stared in shock, their eyes wide.
The two brothers were even more furious: “What did you say?!”
Upon hearing this, Shen Lianyan chuckled lightly: “Alright, I accept your offer.”
Li Zhiyin’s eyes lit up: “Really?”
Shen Shiyi stepped forward to intervene: “Lianyan, what are you doing! Zhiyin is my daughter! I’m taking her home with me!!”
Shen Lianyan raised an eyebrow, unimpressed: “Oh? Have you done a paternity test?”
Shen Shiyi choked, pointing at Li Zhiyin: “With a face like that, do we even need a paternity test?!”
“If it hasn’t been done, then it’s not confirmed.” Shen Lianyan’s smile didn’t reach her eyes, and her tone carried a hint of sarcasm: “Sister, you know I don’t have an heir, and you know I’m looking for one. Now that a young girl is willing to recommend herself, don’t stand in my way.”
Shen Shiyi was furious: “There are plenty of children who want to be your heir; it’s you who doesn’t want them! You won’t take other people’s children, but now you’re trying to steal mine! This is the child I carried for ten months and gave birth to! Are you trying to take the child I worked so hard to bring into this world?!”
Shen Lianyan paused, then looked at Li Zhiyin: “Then let the child decide for herself.”
Shen Lianyan said: “Becoming my child is very difficult. I have many enemies who often try to kill me. If you become my designated heir, being chased, kidnapped—it will all be as common as eating. You are destined to suffer hardships and live in constant fear. You need to be mentally prepared.”
Shen Shiyi looked at Li Zhiyin tearfully: “Zhiyin, Mom knows you’ve suffered a lot. If you hold resentment, you can vent it at me. Mom won’t blame you. It was Mom’s fault. Mom failed to protect you back then. Come home with me! Mom will make sure you’re happy for the rest of your life and never suffer again!”
Li Xiao’s expression was grave.
Li Yanlang and Li Xinghao suppressed their anger, glaring fiercely at Li Zhiyin.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on her.
Li Zhiyin stepped forward without hesitation, walking toward Shen Lianyan.
Shen Shiyi’s face paled, and she grabbed Li Zhiyin’s hand!
Li Zhiyin shook it off forcefully and stood behind Shen Lianyan: “Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Mother.”
The Li family stared in disbelief.
Shen Shiyi seemed as if her soul had been drained, crying out in confusion: “Why?!”
She still chose Shen Lianyan?!
A flicker of admiration passed through Shen Lianyan’s eyes: “Very well. However, to become my child, there’s one more physical examination: your combat prosthesis tolerance level must reach five. Only if your tolerance capacity for cybernetic augmentation reaches five will I formally adopt you as my goddaughter.”
Li Zhiyin nodded: “I will follow all of Mother’s arrangements.”
In this era, humans can undergo cybernetic augmentation, implanting machinery into their bodies.
Ninety percent of people can only implant cybernetic bodies without any offensive capabilities.
Combat implants require extremely strong physical fitness and willpower. Everyone has a combat prosthesis tolerance threshold.
Once body modification exceeds this threshold, they lose their sanity, becoming maniacs who kill wherever they go.
Once someone becomes a maniac, they cannot be cured and can only be confined to a mental institution or executed on the spot.
Therefore, the combat prosthesis capacity value determines the upper limit of a person’s combat ability.
If she were to become Shen Lianyan’s heir, without combat implants, she truly wouldn’t be able to uphold the status of an heir.Li Zhiyin sat on the sofa in the waiting room of the cybernetic hospital, reading a science magazine.
Shen Shiyi sat beside her, earnestly trying to persuade her: “Zhiyin, Mom knows you blame me for not protecting you well when you were young, but your Aunt Lianyan leads a very tough life, constantly fighting and dealing with all sorts of situations. What if you die?”
Li Zhiyin kept her eyes on the magazine without looking up: “Dying in a duel with an enemy would at least be glorious, better than dying from the choices of a bunch of biased people.”
Shen Shiyi: “What?”
Li Zhiyin met her shocked gaze: “You’ve been reborn, haven’t you?”
Shen Shiyi widened her eyes in disbelief.
Li Zhiyin sneered: “What a coincidence, I’ve been reborn too.”
Shen Shiyi: “!”
A nurse walked out from another room: “Miss Li Zhiyin, the device is ready. You can proceed with the detection now.”
Li Zhiyin walked into the room without looking back.
Shen Shiyi sat on the sofa, her face pale and her body trembling uncontrollably.
If she had been reborn too, that meant…
She remembered everything from her past life?!
The cause of her death, the neglect she had suffered, all the times she had been left alone at home—
She remembered it all!
Shen Shiyi stood up, feeling as if she were walking on clouds, stumbling step by step toward the observation room.
Shen Lianyan and Mo Sinian were there.
Li Xiao, Shen Shiyi, and Li Wuyou were also present.
Li Yanlang and Li Xinghao walked in with several handsome young men: “Has the detection started?”
Li Wuyou’s eyes lit up when she saw one of the young men: “Brother Chi Ye!”
Chi Ye gave her a dismissive glance and nodded in acknowledgment.
Li Wuyou suppressed a pleased smile.
These were the prospective heirs of the financial conglomerates in Country A!
Each one of them was an exceptionally handsome guy!
It was truly a feast for the eyes!
Li Wuyou’s cheeks flushed pink: “Why are all of you here?”
Li Xinghao replied: “We ran into them by chance. They came here for their regular combat implant check-ups. I told them about Li Zhiyin, and they were all a bit curious, so they came to take a look.”
Li Wuyou nodded, then shyly glanced at Chi Ye: “Sister Zhiyin is so pitiful. I don’t know how high her cybernetic body capacity score will be. I hope she doesn’t meet the standard, so she can obediently come home with us and our family can be reunited.”
Nearby, Shen Lianyan felt a bit nervous.
If Li Zhiyin’s body detection didn’t meet the standard and she couldn’t undergo combat implant modification, then no matter how much she liked this child, she couldn’t adopt her as a foster daughter.
Because that would only harm her.
The detection doctor spoke up: “Come out once you’ve changed.”
The curtain in the changing room slowly drew open.
Li Zhiyin walked out wearing a form-fitting suit.
The young men’s eyes lit up.
Li Yanlang and Li Xinghao also subtly changed their expressions.
Li Zhiyin had an excellent figure, with broad shoulders, a slender waist, and long, straight legs—full of defined lines.
Or rather, from a glance, it was all legs.
Li Wuyou’s eyelids twitched, not expecting her to look so good in the form-fitting suit. She glanced at the panel displaying her height.
One hundred and seventy-three centimeters.
She gritted her teeth unconsciously and instinctively looked toward Chi Ye.
Chi Ye was staring intently at Li Zhiyin.
In his eyes flickered an interest he hadn’t even noticed himself.
The doctor, holding a microphone, said: “Don’t be nervous. Walk up to the device and place your hand inside.”
A blond young man leaned against the wall, smiling as he watched Li Zhiyin’s figure: “Speaking of which, Big Li and Little Li’s combat prosthesis tolerance level is eight points. I wonder how many points your biological sister will score.”Li Xinghao sneered, “I guess she’s at most four points.”
Li Yanlang scoffed, “In any case, it can’t be five points.”
Li Wuyou looked at the young men, “I remember besides my brother being eight points, the rest of you are all nine points, right? You’re all so amazing!”
After all, with a full score of ten points, those who could reach nine points were extremely rare.
And those who reached nine points while also being handsome were even rarer!
The young men didn’t bother to respond to her, directly ignoring her words as they stared at the detection room.
The sound of the device grew heavier and faster, as if scanning something difficult to analyze within the body.
The doctor stared at the values on the panel, astonished, “Starting off at seven?!”
Seven?!
Li Yanlang and Li Xinghao’s expressions changed.
Shen Lianyan pushed aside the person next to him, staring intently at the values on the panel!
The first baseline value that jumped was level seven!
And the value was still increasing!