News of Chu Chenli’s injury only reached Ye Lanzhou on the second day.
Huang Shuyin couldn’t meet him yesterday and was later sent on an overnight mission.
They had lost contact with the recon team. After hours of radio silence, a distress call was received late at night. Ye Lanzhou had to stay at the base to maintain the military’s morale, so the daunting task fell to Huang Shuyin and a few others.
In the chaos before her departure, Huang Shuyin could only remind him to visit Chu Chenli whenever he could.
However, Ye Lanzhou was too busy.
He spent the night sleepless, supervising the process of rebuilding the laboratory and the base’s protective shield, and simultaneously leading a team to eliminate the escaped mutants from the laboratory, which were now running rampant. Even after turning the base upside down, he wasn’t done. He still had to formulate a defence— one strong enough to stave off the imminent mutant swarm.
A breather came in the form of Xiang Renxi stepping in to offer his help, relieving him temporarily of his duties, just enough for him to catch a few winks of sleep before the sun rose.
Just before he dozed off, he recalled Huang Shuyin mentioning Chu Chenli. He assumed he was still resting in the hospital. His mountain of responsibilities still loomed in the corner of his mind— he didn’t dwell on it further.
Ye Lanzhou had barely slept for two hours when he was rudely awoken by someone from the medical department knocking on his door.
Something was wrong with Chu Chenli’s condition.
It was only then that Ye Lanzhou learned about the severity of Chu Chenli’s injuries. Hesitating for a moment, he cleared some time in his schedule to pay Chu Chenli a visit.
The healer from the team, Guan Chi, paced outside the ward, a stream of confused muttering spilling from his lips, “How could this happen? Wasn’t he fine just yesterday…”
Next to him, Dr Du wore a similarly dark expression.
Ye Lanzhou walked over quickly and asked, “What’s going on?”
Dr Du explained the incident of Chu Chenli being attacked by mutants yesterday, and then furrowed his brow. “Last night, Guan Chi gave him emergency treatment, the bleeding stopped, and he seemed fine, but this morning when the nurse brought his medication, he had developed a high fever and couldn’t be woken.”
Ye Lanzhou looked at the person on the hospital bed.
The young man’s eyes were tightly shut, his lips drained of colour. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and it made him look sickly and pale, helpless and trapped in a cycle of insurmountable pain. His body was wrapped in bandages lightly stained a dark red.
The injuries were severe.
Ye Lanzhou approached the bedside, and reached out to touch Chu Chenli’s forehead. It was frighteningly hot.
Just as he moved to retract his hand, his ears just barely caught the hiss escaping his lips. “Hurts…”
Weak and forlorn, Chu Chenli appeared even more pitiful than usual.
Ye Lanzhou’s heart softened a bit at the sight.
Maybe I have been a bit too harsh on him…
After all, Ah Li was only eighteen or nineteen, untouched by the ten years of change all of them had experienced, involuntarily left on the other side of time. Surely, waking up to a world so unfamiliar must have left him confused.
Ye Lanzhou couldn’t help but sigh. He didn’t want to abandon Ah Li, but he had no time to care for him either.
But…but Ah Li had already fallen far behind him.
It wasn’t Ah Li’s fault, nor was it anyone else’s. Adults had to compromise with reality and responsibility.
Ye Lanzhou gently caressed Chu Chenli’s face, his fingertips brushing his forehead. In the past, he used to comfort his lover with tender kisses.
He hesitated before withdrawing his hand and standing up.
“Dr Du, thank you for taking care of Ah Li.” Ye Lanzhou stood in front of Dr Du and stated earnestly.
For injuries that even Awakened healers couldn’t handle, they needed a professional doctor. Dr Du understood that Ye Lanzhou was urging him to do his best to treat Chu Chenli.
However, the doctor also felt perplexed. Just like when Chu Chenli was in a coma, no medical instrument could detect his current abnormalities. Dr Du had never seen such symptoms before.
Unless…
There was one more possibility he couldn’t rule out—but that hadn’t happened for years. At least not since the last occurrence six or seven years ago—when humans were infected by mutants.
However, since then, there haven’t been any reported cases of humans being infected.
Ye Lanzhou thought Dr Du might be getting impatient, so he softened his tone and reassured him, “This is the last time. Once he recovers, I’ll take him to a safe zone.”
His words were earnest, filled with concern.
Considering Ye Lanzhou’s dedication over the past decade, Dr Du eventually nodded slowly. “I’ll do my best.”
His relief was palpable, his gratitude shining through as he addressed the doctor. “Thank you.”
Dr Du waved his hand, half heartedly replying, “You’re welcome.”
It was almost like Ye Lanzhou sagged in relief after receiving Dr Du’s assurance. He didn’t stay much longer, quickly departing to find Renxi.
“The people from ‘that side’ contacted you again.” Xiang Renxi reminded him cryptically.
Others couldn’t make heads or tails of what that could mean, but Ye Lanzhou immediately caught on. Something in his expression shifted, and after bidding goodbye to Dr Du, he left the ward and descended the stairs with Xiang Renxi.
The medical department was bustling with wounded patients today. As they walked down, they could overhear discreet gossip.
Many people were discussing Chu Chenli’s situation.
“Was he really bitten by a mutant?”
“How could it be fake? So many people saw Sister Huang personally carrying him back yesterday.”
“And here I thought he was staging an injury to gain Commander Ye’s sympathy, especially since Commander Ye hasn’t been around much these days.”
“Tsk, his luck is just too good. He saved Commander Ye ten years ago and has been in a coma ever since. Now, he encounters mutants, coincidentally with Sister Huang by his side. If his luck was any worse, even multiple lives wouldn’t be enough to keep him alive.”
“This is good luck to you? You try being comatose for ten years, then waking up and facing a giant mutant. I think he’s extremely unlucky.”
“Who knows if this so-called luck is real? Everyone else is fine, but he’s the only one in such a pitiful state. Look at him, he was comatose, then he was injured, and now he’s encountering mutants. We don’t know what kind of trouble he’ll attract in the future. “
“Yeah, Commander Ye has been working so hard these past few days. Having to take the time to deal with his affairs is really annoying.”
“Whether it’s true or not, if he’s cursed, I just hope he stays far away from us, so he doesn’t bring bad luck to the entire base.”
Among the gossipers, there were also people who genuinely sympathised with Chu Chenli, wishing for his speedy recovery—but they were drowned out by the piercing complaints of others.
Ye Lanzhou and Xiang Renxi, used to masking their footsteps, and they passed through the corridors undetected, most people too engrossed in their discussions and completely overlooking them.
Those scathing words, unimpeded, entered their ears.
Ye Lanzhou stiffened, his steps involuntarily slowing down.
Xiang Renxi noticed the shift, immediately understanding. He glanced at the crowd gathered on the upper floor walkway and whispered, “I’ll greet them later and tell them not to bother with Xiao Chu. He’s just a child, and such criticism is unwarranted.”
Ye Lanzhou smiled, but it was bitter. He shook his head, “Forget it. They’re already working hard enough on missions. Restraining them from idle chatter might just cause their dissatisfaction to increase.”
Xiang Renxi nodded, trying to offer reassurance, “In the end, it’s all just verbal venting. There’s no actual malice there.”
Ye Lanzhou sighed. “I know.”
Seeing that he still seemed somewhat down, Xiang Renxi took the initiative to change the subject, “When we go back, you should rest a bit more. You haven’t been sleeping much at all these past two days.”
Ye Lanzhou brushed off his concern. “How could I sleep at such a critical juncture?”
The subject was dropped, and they moved on, paying no more mind to the chatter around them as they passed through. .
It was only when they reached a certain floor that Xiang Renxi suddenly looked up, gazing at a seemingly random corner of the floor above them.
Startled by his sudden movement, Ye Lanzhou stopped and asked, “What’s wrong?”
But Xiang Renxi shook his head, smiled, and said it was nothing, reminding him that someone was still waiting, urging him not to delay any further.
Soon, the two figures disappeared from the corridor. However, on a certain floor above, Xiao Bai and Xiao Liang hid in the shadows, not daring to move for a long time.
When the noise from the corridor finally died down, Xiao Liang patted his chest, his face a mask of relief.
“I can’t believe I used to think that Lieutenant Xiang really was a good person.” Xiao Liang couldn’t help but mutter.
The icy-cold glare that Xiang Renxi just shot them had scared Xiao Liang. He felt rattled, his impression of Xiang Renxi turned on its axis.
Xiao Liang had also been on the front lines and had faced mutants firsthand, easily distinguishing between goodwill and ill intentions.
That glare was nothing but hostile, freezing in its intensity, a warning and a threat.
Xiang Renxi had completely ignored him, his ire only reserved for Xiao Bai, who was just about to go downstairs.
Thinking about Xiang Renxi’s blatant disregard for Chu Chenli, Xiao Liang let out a breath. “Lieutenant Xiang really dislikes Chu Chenli, huh.”
Since Chu Chenli woke up, at least half of the scathing remarks tossed at him had been instigated by Xiang Renxi through his actions.
Ye Lanzhou’s dedication over the years was well known to everyone.
On the other hand, Xiang Renxi had always prioritised the interests of the base, and before this, he had never shown hostility or exclusion towards anyone, even those ordinary people without any combat abilities.
If Xiang Renxi disliked Chu Chenli, then Chu Chenli must be a burden to the base, causing trouble for others.
Humans tend to be haunted by their negative traits. Maybe that was why it was so easy for people to blindly follow others.
“Looking at it this way, Commander Ye does have strong feelings for Chu Chenli. He’s working so hard, taking the time to visit him, even asking Dr Du to make sure he gets better…”
Xiao Liang tried to comfort Xiao Bai, “So, you don’t have to worry too much. After all, in the base, Commander Ye’s word is law.”
However, Xiao Bai’s expression did not ease. Instead, he seemed even more indifferent than before.
A trace of mocking and malice twisted that doll-like face.
Xiao Liang’s next words were cut off.
When those pitch-black eyes turned towards him, there was a hint of a smile, but it resembled the gaze of an innocent child who didn’t understand the world.
“Is that so?” He dragged his tone, appearing slightly gentler, as if innocently puzzled, “If Ye Lanzhou has feelings for him, how could he bear to let him endure such defamation?”
The author has something to say:
The synopsis and plot are progressing quickly! According to the storyline, it’s only a matter of one or two days until the climax occurs. However, it’s crucial to set the stage for these emotions before the break-up, or else it would be an abrupt and unsatisfying climax.
The reason why the scum gong is portrayed as a scoundrel is because he truly is one! Perhaps even more so than Xiang Renxi!
However, the malice from Xiang Renxi has been overt, while Ye Lanzhou is more subtle, expressing his malice indirectly. Xiang Renxi is a true schemer who openly conveys malice (of course, this is from the perspective of the main character’s group), while Ye Lanzhou is a pseudo-gentleman, a hypocrite.
Why are the other people so malicious towards A Li? It can be said that 80% of the blame lies with Scum Gong.
As for further analysis, I won’t go into too much. Enjoy the story, everyone. I’ll see if I can hit the word count for the next two chapters soon. If I can hit it, there might be another update tonight!!
(I hate the character limit. 1551 characters before the ‘v.’)
TL Note: There was dialogue where Xiang Renxi mentions Xiao Chu, that refers to Chu Chenli, just in case you’re confused!!
