My bizarre resurgence: My price is the ability to trade everything.

On the morning of the fourth day, I was catching up on sleep in the analysis room.

The communicator suddenly rang.

It's Su Mingyue.

"Xiao Fan! Come to the hospital quickly!"

"What's wrong?" I suddenly snapped out of my daze.

"Tiezhu is awake!"

I practically rushed out of headquarters and ran all the way to the hospital.

Pushing open the ward door, I saw Zhao Tiezhu leaning against the headboard.

His face was still pale, but his eyes were open and bright.

"You've come." He saw me and a smile appeared on his lips.

"How are you feeling?" I walked over and looked him up and down.

"I'm alright." He stretched his arms, "just a little weak."

"The doctor said I can be discharged after a few more days of rest."

"That's good..." I breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, I remembered the matter of CP (couple pairing).

"Wait a minute." I looked at Su Mingyue, "The CP needed for treatment..."

"That's enough," Su Mingyue said with a smile.

"What?"

"Uncle Chen's special application has just been approved," she said. "The bureau has made an exception and approved a CP (Cost Per Case) fund for Tiezhu's treatment."

"So...you don't need to worry about it."

I was stunned.

"Has the bureau approved it?"

"Yes." Chen Xuan's voice came from the doorway.

He walked into the ward and looked at me.

"I submitted a report to my superiors last night, explaining Tiezhu's situation."

"Considering that he was injured while on duty, the department specially approved 3000 CP for his treatment."

"Thank you..." I didn't know what to say.

"No need to thank me," Chen Xuan shook his head. "Tie Zhu is my apprentice."

"I can't just stand by and watch him get into trouble."

Zhao Tiezhu smiled to himself.

"Master, you still love me the most."

"Stop talking nonsense." Chen Xuan glared at him. "I told you to be careful, but you wouldn't listen. Now you almost lost your life."

"Will you dare to do it again next time?"

"I dare," Zhao Tiezhu said earnestly.

Why?

"Because Xiao Fan is still here." He looked at me. "I can't let him face the Ruins alone."

The ward was quiet for a while.

Looking at Zhao Tiezhu, I felt a mix of emotions welling up inside me.

He was injured while saving me.

If he hadn't stood in front of Su Mingyue...

Perhaps I am the one lying here.

"Thank you," I said earnestly.

"What are you thanking me for?" Zhao Tiezhu waved his hand. "No need for such formalities between teammates."

"And..." His expression turned serious, "I have something I want to tell you."

"What is it?"

"About my family," he said, "About...the Guardians."

After the doctor finished the examination and left, Zhao Tiezhu began to recount his story.

"You know the Zhao family, right?" he asked.

"I know a little." I nodded. "A famous martial arts family in Jiangcheng."

"It's not just a martial arts family." Zhao Tiezhu shook his head. "The Zhao family has had connections with the supernatural world since the Tang Dynasty."

"What contact?"

"To protect," he said. "The Zhao family's mission is to protect the 'boundaries of the rules.'"

"Rules and boundaries?"

"It's... the boundary between the real world and the supernatural world," Zhao Tiezhu explained.

"You know, there's a 'barrier' between the supernatural world and the real world."

"Ordinary people cannot perceive this barrier, but it does exist."

"And the boundaries of the rules are the weakest points of the barrier."

"If these locations are left unguarded, a large influx of supernatural phenomena will enter the real world."

"So, the Zhao family has guarded these borders throughout history to prevent the strange invasion?"

"Yes." Zhao Tiezhu nodded. "This is the Zhao family's mission."

"From the Tang Dynasty to now, it's been over a thousand years."

"The Zhao family weathered countless crises, but they never gave up."

"What is the relationship between the Zhao family and the Balancers?" I asked.

Zhao Tiezhu remained silent for a while.

"The Balancer... is the ultimate guardian of the boundaries of the rules," he said.

"The Zhao family is guarding a 'point' on the border."

"But the balancer protects the 'surface' of the boundary."

"If we compare the boundaries of the rules to a wall, then the Zhao family is one of the bricks in that wall."

"And the balancing element is the cement that holds the bricks together."

"Without cement, the wall will collapse."

"There are no bricks, and nowhere to glue the cement."

I suddenly realized.

It turned out to be the case.

The balancer and the boundary guardian are interdependent.

"Then why did you come to headquarters?" I asked. "Shouldn't you be continuing to guard the border?"

"The border can no longer be defended," Zhao Tiezhu said with a bitter smile.

"What do you mean?"

"In recent decades, the boundaries of the rules have become increasingly unstable," he explained.

"The frequency and intensity of these bizarre intrusions are increasing."

"The Zhao family doesn't have enough manpower to defend it."

"so......"

"So you came to headquarters?"

"Yes." Zhao Tiezhu nodded. "The General Administration has more manpower and resources."

"I want to find new ways to protect the borders here."

"And then..." he glanced at his wound, "I almost lost my life."

"Can the Zhao family's martial arts be used to deal with the supernatural?" I asked.

"Yes," Zhao Tiezhu said. "The 'Guardian Fist,' which the Zhao family has passed down for over a thousand years, was specifically created to counter the supernatural."

"This set of boxing techniques has two core elements: 'suppression' and 'breaking'."

"'Suppressing' is using one's own aura to suppress strange energy."

"'Breaking' means finding the core of the bizarre rules and breaking through it in one blow."

"It sounds... a bit like the cost balance," I murmured.

"They are very similar," Zhao Tiezhu said. "More than a thousand years ago, the Zhao family's ancestors and the first balancer were good friends."

"This set of boxing techniques was created under the guidance of the Balancer."

"Therefore, in essence, 'Guardian Fist' and 'Cost Balance' are from the same source."

I was stunned.

"Same origin?"

"Yes." Zhao Tiezhu nodded. "They are all forces used to maintain the balance of the world."

"It's just a different way of expressing it."

"The cost balance is between 'transfer' and 'allocation'."

"The Guardian Fist is about 'suppression' and 'destruction'."

"It's like..." he thought for a moment, "one is a shield, and the other is a spear."

"Using them together will yield better results."

"Can you teach me the Boundary Guardian Fist?" I asked.

Zhao Tiezhu glanced at me.

"You want to learn?"

"I want to." I nodded. "If this boxing technique can help me better utilize the cost-benefit balance..."

"I want to try it."

Zhao Tiezhu remained silent for a while.

"Okay," he said. "I'll teach you after you're done with this busy period."

"But there's one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"You have to promise me one thing." He looked at me earnestly.

"What is it?"

"No matter what happens in the future..." Zhao Tiezhu's voice lowered.

"Never give up."

"Don't sacrifice yourself to protect others, like previous generations of Balancers."

"Find a different path."

"A way... to protect the world without risking one's life."

Looking at Zhao Tiezhu, I felt a mix of emotions welling up inside me.

"You'd say something like that..." I said softly, "because you already knew?"

"What do you know?"

"I know the fate of the balancers," I said. "I know that none of the balancers throughout history have lived past forty."

Zhao Tiezhu remained silent for a while.

"I know." He nodded.

But I won't accept it.

"What?"

"I don't accept this fate." He looked at me with a firm gaze.

"Your father found a way to 'resolve' the problem, though he didn't finish it, he left behind clues."

"I believe you can find the answer."

If you can't find it...

"Then I'll help you look."

"Even if I search for it my whole life, I won't regret it."

I was stunned.

He was speechless for a long time.

"You..." I finally chuckled, "You're incredibly stupid."

"Fools sometimes have all the luck," Zhao Tiezhu laughed. "That's what my mother said."

That night, I stood alone on the hospital rooftop.

Looking at the night view of Jiangcheng, my feelings were complicated.

Zhao Tiezhu's words kept echoing in my ears.

"Don't give up."

"Find a different path."

"A way to protect the world without risking one's life."

"Is there really such a method?"

I remembered what the sixth Balancer said.

The third layer of the cost-benefit balance is resolution.

Transfer is dispersion.

Dispersion is average.

To resolve means to completely eliminate.

"If I could find a way to 'resolve' this..."

"Perhaps it really can break the fate of the balancers."

But that will take time.

A great deal of research and experimentation is needed.

And my current situation...

"22 years left." I looked at my life expectancy.

If no solution can be found...

"Twenty-two years from now, I will burn out my life, just like the previous generations of Balancers."

"But if I give up..."

"The entire city of Jiangcheng will descend into chaos."

"I can't give up." I clenched my fist.

"No matter the cost..."

"I will find that road."

Current status update:

Remaining life expectancy: 25 years and 11 months (approximately 2 months of treatment time was consumed by Zhao Tiezhu's treatment).

CP balance: 495 (500 from arbitrage, remaining after deducting treatment costs)

Cost conversion efficiency: 32%

Number of gray hairs: Approximately 35

The next morning, I went to Su Mingyue's analysis room.

"There have been new discoveries," she said.

"What discovery?"

"About Guixu." She pulled up a report. "I analyzed recent market data and found something interesting."

"What?"

"Guixu's 'closing' statement is not just about controlling the CP market," she said.

"There is another purpose."

"What's the purpose?"

"Collect data." Su Mingyue's expression turned serious.

"They are using the closing time to gather information on all CP traders."

"Including transaction records, identity information, CP source..."

"They want to build a large database."

"A database?" I frowned. "What's it for?"

"Identify potential competitors," Su Mingyue said.

"I suspect they're looking for a 'balancer'."

"Looking for a balancer?"

"Yes." She nodded. "The difference between CP traders and ordinary people is that their CP consumption leaves a 'trace'."

"Ordinary people use CP randomly and without order."

"But the balancers are different."

"The balancer's CP consumption follows a pattern."

"In particular, the 'transfer' and 'allocation' functions of the cost balance will leave a special 'mark' in the flow of CP."

"If Guixu could recognize this mark..."

"That way, all the balancers can be located."

My heart is racing.

"You mean...they suspended trading not just to control the market, but to track me?"

"Maybe," Su Mingyue said, "I can't be sure."

"But that's a possibility."

"We need to be prepared."