The lounge.
Jiang Fuyue knocked. Immediately, a low “Come in” came from inside.
She pushed the door open and entered.
The man was wearing a shirt with a lab coat over it. The silver mask on his face looked a little less cold under the sunlight.
“Good timing, I…”
“Did you take people to the firefight zone?”
They spoke at the same time, then both froze.
Jiang Fuyue: “I asked. You just came back from the Qikebi border firefight line.”
The man’s dark, heavy eyes fixed on her. Hearing this, he seemed to let out a faint sigh, or perhaps nothing at all.
“Mm, just got back,” he admitted frankly.
The guess in Jiang Fuyue’s heart was further confirmed, yet she still found it unbelievable: “You went to the resettlement camps?!”
The man nodded. “I called you here precisely for this. I’ve already brought the samples back. You don’t need to make another trip.”
Jiang Fuyue stared at him steadily.
Clear, cool brows and eyes revealed scrutiny, assessment, deliberation, layers of emotion.
“Why?”
“Higher-ups were worried about your safety and sent me to collect the samples.” A businesslike tone.
Jiang Fuyue frowned. “Then why hide it? Why tell me only now?”
“You never asked.”
“……”
X: “There are 569 samples in total, all labeled, and they’ve already been sent to the cold storage for preservation. In addition, the first batch of vaccines is almost finished being administered. The second batch has already arrived at the base. Today at noon, you’ll return to the base together with those trucks heading back, bringing all the samples with you.”
He had everything arranged clearly and neatly.
Jiang Fuyue obtained what she wanted easily, without taking any risks.
“Why?” Still these three words, stubborn and persistent.
The man turned his gaze away, refusing to meet her eyes, and said in a deep voice: “This is an order!”
So there was no need for thanks, nor any need to feel indebted to him.
Jiang Fuyue understood, but the more it was like this, the more suspicious she felt.
“Did we… know each other before?”
The man’s pupils contracted slightly. Fortunately, his eyelids were half-lowered, concealing that instant of blunder.
He said coldly, “It’s getting late. Go prepare. Depart on time at eleven.”
Jiang Fuyue: “You’re not going back with us?”
“No. There are other tasks.”
The man turned his face to the side, clearly unwilling to say more. Jiang Fuyue could only suppress the doubts in her heart and turn to leave.
Not long after she left, a middle-aged doctor hurried over with a medical case, even forgetting to knock,
“Doctor, I heard you were injured?”
Xie Dingyuan was leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, resting. His lips showed a hint of pallor. One hand propped against his forehead, while the other hung unnaturally limp on his leg.
If one looked closely, one would notice that hand trembling involuntarily, a physiological quiver he couldn’t control.
Xie Dingyuan opened his eyes, a trace of fatigue faintly surfacing in them. “No need to be nervous. Just a minor issue.”
The doctor let out a breath of relief, but when he cut open the sleeve and saw the spreading crimson stain, he almost cursed out loud.
This d*mn thing is a “minor issue”?
The blood was still bright red, one look and you could tell it was still seeping, not stopped at all!
Xie Dingyuan: “Shrapnel abrasion. I’ve checked, wound’s relatively deep, but fortunately it didn’t damage any nerves. It’ll probably need a few stitches. Prepare the tools.”
“……” Are you the doctor, or am I the doctor?
“Also, don’t tell anyone else about this.”
“But on the medical report, ”
“Just write simple abrasion.”
The doctor sighed. Faced with the patient’s forcefulness, he could only agree helplessly. “Alright then.”
He just didn’t understand why it had to be hidden from above.
Of course it had to be hidden.
There had been no approval process, no orders from higher-ups, everything had been fabricated by Xie Dingyuan, excuses to hold Jiang Fuyue back.
He couldn’t bear to let her take the risk, yet couldn’t stop her either, so he could only make the trip in her place.
So the higher-ups didn’t know.
If news of his injury spread, everything would be exposed.
Xie Dingyuan recalled last night’s attack. Although he ultimately escaped unscathed, even now, thinking back on it still made his heart race with fear.
If Jiang Fuyue had gone…
The consequences would have been unimaginable!
At this moment, the man was incomparably grateful that it was he who went, and he who was injured.
……
The sun climbed higher.
Close to eleven, several empty trucks were already parked on the road, lined up in a row, ready to depart at any time.
Jiang Fuyue sat in the off-road vehicle at the back, with Zhong Ziang and Yici accompanying her.
“Why are we leaving just like that? I thought we’d stay a few more days.” Zhong Ziang had been dumbfounded when he first received the order, and even now hadn’t fully reacted.
Yici cast him a sidelong glance. “What? You sound pretty regretful?”
“Ahem!” He cleared his throat lightly. “I was thinking of going to the firefight zone to see it for myself, but turns out I can’t.”
Yici: “The firefight zone isn’t for you to play around in. Why are you so enthusiastic?”
“You don’t know sh*t! Gunfire and smoke, that’s what you call hot-blooded!”
“……” Little hothead, go wash up and sleep.
Zhong Ziang asked Jiang Fuyue again, “After we go back, will we come again?”
“I don’t know.”
Only if there was a need to come.
At exactly eleven, the convoy set off on time.
Jiang Fuyue couldn’t help turning back to take a look.
She herself couldn’t quite say what she was hoping to see.
Yici stepped on the accelerator. Wind rushed in through the window, mixed with sand and dust, slapping against their faces with a rough, bracing sensation.
He shouted loudly, “Off we go!”
As the vehicles gradually drove farther away, Jiang Fuyue had no choice but to withdraw her gaze.
……
Inside the lounge.
The middle-aged doctor let out a long breath. “The remaining shrapnel has been removed. The wound’s been debrided, and the suturing went smoothly. As long as there’s no fever or infection, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”
As he spoke, he placed the used disposable tools into a tray, then removed the bloodstained gloves and tossed them together into the medical waste bin.
Xie Dingyuan gave a soft “Mm,” closing his eyes wearily.
To speed up recovery and healing, he had voluntarily requested a reduced anesthesia dosage. The result was forcibly enduring the pain, sweat pouring down, face nearly deathly pale.
The doctor packed up and quietly left.
However, this calm didn’t last long. Soon, a “Report” sounded.
Xie Dingyuan opened his eyes, straightened from the back of the chair, sat upright, and moved the bandaged hand beneath the desk.
“Come in.” A steady voice, just like usual, with no hint of anything amiss.
“Doctor, the convoy has already departed.”
“She… Jiang Fuyue has left?”
“Yes, she’s already gone.”
“Good. You may go.”
Xie Dingyuan finally let out a full breath of relief.
It was good she’d left, only by returning to the base could her safety be guaranteed.
……
Previously, traveling from the base to Duhe, including time for meals and rest along the way, took nearly eight hours. Now on the return trip, with no delays at all, it took only six hours.
At sunset, the gates opened wide, and the trucks drove in one after another.
The off-road vehicle carrying Jiang Fuyue and the other two also drove in.
Kaza came personally to receive them. “How was it? Everything went smoothly, right?”
Jiang Fuyue couldn’t help glancing behind him, but didn’t find the person she wanted to see.
Kaza’s gaze flickered slightly. He didn’t bring it up, only said, “You’ve had a long journey. I’ll have someone send you back to your residence to rest first.”
“No need. Let’s send the samples to the lab first.”
“That makes sense. Need my help?”
Jiang Fuyue shook her head, then took the thousands of samples straight back to the laboratory.
Zhong Ziang and Yici also left right after; they still had to report the situation to their superiors.
During the days Jiang Fuyue was gone, a thick layer of dust had accumulated on the desk. She didn’t have time to clean it, and plunged straight into the sealed laboratory with the samples.
That night, it was nearly dawn when Jiang Fuyue finally left and returned to her residence.
Washing away days of sand and fatigue, changing into clean clothes, she lay flat on the bed, eyes staring at the ceiling, not knowing what she was thinking.
Conditions at the base couldn’t be called good, but they were far superior to the prefab housing in Duhe.
Humans are truly remarkable creatures. Even in the harshest environments, they will gradually force themselves to adapt.
Just like the once-proud sons of heaven, Yici and Zhong Ziang, now eating the roughest food, living in the simplest rooms, yet still able to smile with contentment on their faces.
Before falling asleep, Jiang Fuyue turned off the light and closed her eyes. Suddenly, a silver mask flashed through her mind.
In her dream, she seemed to see Xie Dingyuan.
Only he had his back to her, wearing a white lab coat, the collar of his shirt exposed outside.
Finally, he turned around to face her, but that face was actually wearing a silver mask, exactly the same as Dr. X!
Jiang Fuyue jolted awake.
Raising her hand to wipe, her head was drenched in sweat.
Xie Dingyuan and… X?
……
The next day she got up early and went into the lab, not coming out until ten at night. Lunch and dinner were both delivered to her.
The third day was the same.
In the blink of an eye, a week passed. After testing over a thousand samples, Jiang Fuyue discovered two mutated strains that had never been recorded before. She named the others as, P1, P2.
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