Chapter 30: Healer

Saving Liao Tianhua’s life improved Xia Mi’s mood slightly, but upon returning to Room 701, her heart grew heavy once more.

When the team members saw Lü Hongmei’s corpse, they didn’t show expressions of disgust or distress. Instead, led by Liao Tianhua, they bowed together in a moment of silent tribute to the remains of Lü Hongmei and the others.

Xia Mi joined them in the ritual. The ache in her heart eased a little, replaced by a burgeoning sense of mission and responsibility.

Seeing Xia Mi finally show the kind of expression a newcomer should have, Liao Tianhua felt he could finally be of some use. He offered some earnest comfort. “It’s not your fault. You were one of the people waiting for rescue. It was my fault for not making up my mind sooner. If I had undergone the Rong transformation earlier, then…”

“Then you would have died a long time ago,” Xia Mi said flatly.

Liao Tianhua: “…”

Xia Mi let out a long sigh. “I was too weak. If I’d had my current strength when this first started, none of these people would have died.”

Liao Tianhua wanted to snap back at her, but seeing her sorrowful expression, he didn’t have the heart to argue. He reached out and gave her arm a firm pat. “Don’t blame yourself for responsibilities you weren’t equipped to handle. As the captain, I’m the one most responsible for this. Don’t go trying to steal my burden before you’ve even joined the team.”

Even though Xia Mi had wanted to seize power and shoulder the responsibility herself, having someone share the weight at a time like this made her feel much lighter. She decided to postpone her plan to take over Captain Liao’s authority for now.

She would let Xiao Liao be the captain for a few more days.

After paying their respects to the dead, Xia Mi found some disinfectant in a cabinet. She put on rubber gloves, mixed the disinfectant with water to dampen a rag, and began scrubbing the stains in the bathroom.

This was what she had promised Lü Hongmei.

Xia Mi hadn’t forgotten the mission to find Rescue Team Two, of course. However, for one thing, she had no idea where the pharmaceutical factory was and needed to follow Liao Tianhua’s orders for the rescue. For another, she hadn’t yet processed her emotions, and her promise to Lü Hongmei remained unfulfilled.

Through this day and night of combat, Xia Mi had come to fully realize how crucial emotional factors like desire, mood, and willpower were in the struggle against the Zhuo.

If she went to save the Second Team with an unfulfilled promise weighing on her heart, her will would not be firm enough. Any lingering regret could create a vulnerability in the battles to come.

Fortunately, the game prompt informed her that the time limit for the Rescue Team Two mission was 72 hours. She still had some time.

Xia Mi felt that rather than heading to the factory full of anxiety, it was better to finish her outstanding business as quickly as possible so she could devote herself entirely to the next fight.

Liao Tianhua carried Lü Hongmei’s deformed body out of the room. The team members brought out body bags, and Liao Tianhua personally placed the four bodies inside. His colleagues would take them away to be prepared by a mortician before the families were notified.

After the bodies were solemnly settled, Liao Tianhua saw Xia Mi rapidly wiping the mirror. He couldn’t help but frown. “You’re not cleaning it properly. There are still water streaks on the glass.”

“It’s already very clean!” Xia Mi protested.

She swore this was the most serious and thorough cleaning she had ever done in her life. She wasn’t being lazy, this was simply the limit of her domestic abilities.

Liao Tianhua said, “Logistics personnel will come later to handle the cleanup. You don’t need to do this.”

Xia Mi paused. She gave him a concise summary of the final battle, the reason she survived, and the promise she had made to Lü Hongmei.

After listening, Liao Tianhua said, “How long is it going to take you to do this alone? I’ll help you clean. Just hand me the tools.”

With that, Liao Tianhua rolled up his sleeves. He found rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, and detergent, mixing them into a spray bottle in specific proportions. He sprayed his homemade cleaner onto the mirror, snatched the rag from Xia Mi’s hand, and with a few brisk strokes, wiped the mirror until it was spotless and gleaming.

Xia Mi had never managed to make glass look that bright. She immediately gave him a respectful thumbs up. “Captain Liao, you’re amazing.”

Liao Tianhua shot her a look and commanded, “Wash another rag for me.”

“Yes, sir!” Xia Mi obeyed the order instantly.

With the captain working, the other team members couldn’t stay idle. Under Liao Tianhua’s direction, everyone began a systematic cleaning. They even hand-washed the bedsheets. In less than half an hour, Room 701 was transformed.

Liao Tianhua put the clean sheets and pillowcases into the washing machine to spin dry. Once finished, he turned to Xia Mi. “Do we need to wait for the sheets to dry?”

“No, that would take too long,” Xia Mi said, shaking her head. “Don’t we still have to rescue the Second Team?”

“We?” Liao Tianhua asked. “You’ve been fighting for a day and a night straight. Can your body handle it?”

Xia Mi replied, “I’m not just ‘not tired,’ I feel full of energy. My physical condition has never been better.”

Liao Tianhua nodded. “Actually, I feel the same way. Is this the power of the Rong?”

Xia Mi really wanted to say: If you hadn’t absorbed my energy, Captain Liao, I’d have even more stamina right now. You feel full of energy probably not because of the transformation, but because you’re using my power.

But looking at the tiles clean enough to see her reflection and the blankets folded into perfect squares¹, Xia Mi decided to keep those words to herself.

Liao Tianhua said, “Xia Mi, if your body is up for it, I want you to come with me to the pharmaceutical factory to try and support the Second Team. If we successfully rescue our colleagues, I’ll come back here to 701 with you to put the dry sheets and pillowcases back on the bed.”

Xia Mi had already accepted the game mission to rescue the Second Team, so she would have gone even if Liao Tianhua hadn’t asked. She just thought his post-mission promise was a bit strange.

Seeing the confusion in Xia Mi’s eyes, Liao Tianhua added, “I know you’re worried I’ll focus on the bedsheets and ignore your employment. Don’t worry about that. Before I prepared for the Rong transformation, I already wrote the application report to recruit you. You don’t need to worry about the Bianzhi or your Second-Class Merit.”

So Liao Tianhua had already made good on his promise. Xia Mi’s gaze softened.

She finally let go of her competition with Liao Tianhua and said calmly, “I wasn’t asking you for a job. I just think that saying we’ll come back to put on pillowcases if we survive… it’s a bit of an odd combination.”

Liao Tianhua stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the window at the darkening sky. He turned his head slightly toward Xia Mi and said, “I think it’s a perfect match. We fight with everything we have, carrying heavy burdens so the masses can live peaceful lives, don’t we?”

Xia Mi had a moment of sudden realization. “I was being narrow-minded. I didn’t realize putting on duvet covers was such a meaningful task. Your level of awareness is much higher than mine, Captain Liao. I still have a lot to learn.”

Liao Tianhua smiled. “It’s fine. You’ll catch up with the ideological progress² once you attend more of our training sessions and study groups.”

The two looked at each other with mutual admiration, while the other team members finally reached their breaking point.

Could they please just speak like normal human beings? When was this competitive posturing going to end?

After handing over the follow-up work for Building 6 to the Logistics Group, Liao Tianhua told Xia Mi to hurry up, take a shower, and change her clothes. He would have someone prepare a new Protective Suit and weapons for her.

Liao Tianhua gave Xia Mi only ten minutes, stating that this was the militarized speed of their team. Ten minutes was already considered slow, once Xia Mi became familiar with the routine, the time would be compressed to five minutes, with the goal being one minute.

Xia Mi washed the blood and filth from her body as if she were in a race against time. She threw on a set of clothes suitable for movement and ran to the car to find Liao Tianhua.

In those short ten minutes, Liao Tianhua had already prepared a suitable Protective Suit, a light rifle, a set of modern knives, and several flashbangs and smoke grenades.

Xia Mi weighed the weapons in her hand and said, “Except for the rifle, which is a Zhuo-contaminated weapon, none of the others are.”

Liao Tianhua replied, “We don’t have many Zhuo-contaminated weapons to begin with. These weapons are the products of encountering ‘Zhuo’. The more Zhuo-contaminated weapons there are, the more people have encountered ‘Zhuo’, which isn’t a good thing. In reality, ‘Zhuo’ isn’t that common in daily life. It took us many years to accumulate just a few dozen pieces. You destroyed a machine gun today.”

Xia Mi felt a bit guilty. She felt she had an obligation to compensate the organization for the weapon.

Then she remembered that Liu Yunxia still had a Zhuo-contaminated fish-belly knife and quickly told Liao Tianhua.

Liao Tianhua immediately said, “Come with me to retrieve the weapon. You’ve used one yourself, these weapons are light, sturdy, and far more lethal to Zhuo-contaminated people than ordinary weapons. We can’t let such weapons circulate outside. Once discovered, they must be recovered as quickly as possible.”

He started the car and drove Xia Mi to the place where the residents of Building 6 were undergoing medical examinations.

When they arrived at the temporary housing, Xia Mi found they were staying in a guesthouse. The examinations were complete, the people were exhausted and hungry, and most had gone to sleep after eating.

When Xia Mi found Liu Yunxia, she was fast asleep, clutching the fish-belly knife.

Xia Mi gently pulled the fish-belly knife from her hand. She looked quietly at Liu Yunxia and her husband and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

Liao Tianhua asked, puzzled, “They are safe now. Why are you sighing like that?”

Xia Mi pulled Liao Tianhua out of the room and whispered to him in the corridor about the Zhuo-contaminated units. She explained, “The others are mostly fine. Their degree of Zhuo-contamination isn’t deep. If their lost vitality were quantified into a lifespan, it would be between a few months to a year. This level of damage is lower than the impact of chronic alcoholism, smoking, or overeating. As long as they focus on their health in the future, it basically won’t affect their longevity.”

“But people like Liu Yunxia and her husband, the Spider-man, Lin Xiaoli, Xiao Pi from 704, and his mother… they’ve lost too much. Liu Yunxia’s husband has lost at least ten years of his life. Sister Li and Xiao Pi’s mother might not have much time left at all.”

“Xiao Pi’s mother is only about forty, and Sister Li isn’t even thirty yet. They’re in the prime of their lives, yet they only have a few months left to live. It’s not much different from dying back in Building 6. Thinking about their lifespans makes my heart ache. I can’t help but sigh.”

After Liao Tianhua processed the information about the Zhuo-contaminated energy, he asked, “Is this the energy you used to save me?”

Xia Mi nodded.

Liao Tianhua asked again, “How much energy did it take to save me?”

Xia Mi told him, “About 100 zhuo coins. The energy I absorbed from the auntie was also about 100 zhuo coins.”

Xia Mi’s method of counting was so direct that Liao Tianhua couldn’t help but say, “So it’s as if I should have died during the Rong-transformation, and Xiao Pi’s mother used her life to save me.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Xia Mi tried to comfort him. “You can’t blame all 100 zhuo coins on her. Just think of it as every resident of Building 6 giving you 0.2 zhuo coins, rather than absorbing one person’s life.”

Despite this, Liao Tianhua said, “Can you come with me to visit Xiao Pi’s mother?”

Xia Mi patted Liao Tianhua on the shoulder. After asking the staff, they found the room where Xiao Pi and his mother were staying and stepped inside quietly.

Looking at the haggard face of Xiao Pi’s mother, Liao Tianhua couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of his own.

This time, Xia Mi had no way to comfort him. Thinking of everything they had experienced in Building 6, she sighed as well.

Liao Tianhua half-knelt by the bed and gently patted the mother’s hand. He wanted to say something, but at a time like this, words felt hollow. Nothing he said would matter.

Perhaps his mood was too heavy, but Liao Tianhua’s legs suddenly went weak. He failed to maintain his crouch and sat directly on the floor.

Xia Mi looked at him in surprise.

Liao Tianhua felt like he had lost all his dignity today. He pressed his hands against the floor to stand up, but his arms were limp and powerless. He couldn’t push himself up.

Now, Xia Mi didn’t even feel like mocking him. She hurried forward to help him up and asked in a low, concerned voice, “Does your Rong-transformation have lingering side effects?”

“I don’t know. I just suddenly lost my strength,” Liao Tianhua said, shaking his head.

As Xia Mi held his arm, she suddenly felt Liao Tianhua absorbing the Zhuo energy from within her body. A flash of killing intent instantly rose in her heart.

Xia Mi quickly suppressed the urge and said through gritted teeth, “Why are you using the Silkworm again?”

Liao Tianhua said, “I didn’t… Huh? My strength is back.”

He stood up, looking full of life again, while Xia Mi felt like she had just lost another 100 zhuo coins.

The Zhuo energy was vanishing far too quickly, and Xia Mi was on the verge of losing her temper.

“Are you a bottomless pit? How did you suddenly absorb another 100 zhuo coins?” Xia Mi glared at Liao Tianhua.

Liao Tianhua looked entirely innocent as he said, “I’m not sure either. I just patted Xiao Pi’s mother once, and then my whole body went weak, as if the power inside me had been drained dry.”

The moment the words left his mouth, both of them guessed the root of the problem simultaneously.

Xia Mi and Liao Tianhua turned their heads at the same time to look at Xiao Pi’s mother.

Her face was flushed with health and she looked radiant, showing no signs of someone whose life force had been exhausted to the point of death.

The two exchanged a look, and Xia Mi said, “Try again?”

Liao Tianhua was thinking the same thing. He reached out and grasped Xiao Pi’s mother’s wrist.

This time, there was no feeling of weakness. Liao Tianhua shook his head at Xia Mi.

Xia Mi pointed at Xiao Pi. “Try his.”

Liao Tianhua took hold of Xiao Pi’s wrist. The instant he touched the boy’s pulse, he clearly felt the power within his own body flowing into Xiao Pi.

However, he didn’t lose his strength instantly like before, he only felt a momentary dizzy spell.

Liao Tianhua withdrew his hand, closed his eyes to sense his condition, and said, “The loss was only about 5% of what it was before.”

Xia Mi, not fearing for her own life, grabbed Liao Tianhua’s hand. Silk threads emerged from his palm, drawing about 5 zhuo coins’ worth of energy from her body.

Xia Mi had a sudden realization. “You’re pulling energy from me and transferring it to Xiao Pi and his mother to replenish their lost life force. Captain, you’re just a delivery man.”

“What do you mean delivery man? This is called a healing ability,” Liao Tianhua corrected her.

Xia Mi said with a long face, “Healers in games use their own power to heal. You’re using my power. If that’s not a delivery man, what is?”

She originally had only 600 zhuo coins left. After Liao Tianhua just drained 105 from her, she was down to 495.

Liao Tianhua asked her, “Who else suffered heavy losses?”

Hearing that Liao Tianhua intended to use more zhuo coins to save people, Xia Mi’s heart ached fiercely. She was already starting to worry that she might go mad from losing too much Zhuo energy.

But remembering that these zhuo coins had come from the residents of Building 6, Xia Mi suppressed her instincts and gritted her teeth, nodding in agreement.

The two went to find Spider-man, Liu Yunxia and her husband, and Lin Xiaoli. Among them, Sister Li consumed the most, taking a full 50 zhuo coins, while the other three only required 5 each.

After all the treatments were finished, Xia Mi had lost a total of 170 zhuo coins, leaving her with 430.

Xia Mi followed listlessly behind Liao Tianhua and asked, “Do we need to return the Zhuo energy to everyone?”

Liao Tianhua replied, “When I was treating Ding Gang, the one you call Spider-man, I happened to touch the person sharing his room. That person didn’t absorb any of my energy. I think I can only heal those with severe damage. Those with minor losses can heal themselves and don’t need my treatment. We don’t need to go to anyone else.”

Xia Mi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She hadn’t lost too much power herself. She just wouldn’t be able to jump from the seventh floor to the first anymore, at most, she could manage a jump from the third floor.

Compared to the zhuo coins she lost, the lifespans of Xiao Pi’s mother, Sister Li, and the others were more important.

Xiao Pi’s mother had suffered enough. If she collapsed now, it would be a disaster for their family.

Xia Mi glanced at Liao Tianhua. Recalling the countless times she had felt the urge to kill him and her eternal desire to seize power, she said with a hint of embarrassment, “Thank you.”

Liao Tianhua knew she was thanking him for saving those people’s lives.

He said, “The one who truly snatched their lives back from the ‘Zhuo’ was you. The one who suppressed her killing intent to return the energy to them was also you. I’m just an ordinary delivery man, so why thank me?”

Xia Mi asked guiltily, “You could feel my killing intent?”

Liao Tianhua nodded. “When you were saving me, I felt like there was a wild beast next to me that hadn’t eaten for three months and was drooling. I thought it was an illusion at the time. But when I was absorbing energy from you just now, I felt that same killing intent again. That’s how I knew it was coming from you.”

Xia Mi awkwardly rubbed the corner of her mouth and promised, “Don’t worry, I have a high tolerance for hunger. I definitely won’t eat my teammates. Don’t think of me as a monster.”

“It’s ‘Rong’, not monster. If you’re a monster, then I’m a monster too,” Liao Tianhua corrected.

Xia Mi shook her head quickly. “No! You’re not a monster. You’ve healed so many people, you’re a doctor who saves the dying and heals the wounded!”

Liao Tianhua said, “I underwent a Rong transformation against regulations. I’m not as powerful as you, and I’m not special like Shield or Eye, but at least I can be of some use.”

“You’re of great use,” Xia Mi said earnestly.

With Xia Mi’s comfort, Liao Tianhua’s mood relaxed considerably.

Even though his ability was weak, he could finally provide some help to his comrades.

After treating their comrades from Building 6, Xia Mi didn’t wait for everyone to wake up. Instead, she and Liao Tianhua quietly left the guesthouse.

The residents were just ordinary people who had been accidentally swept into a supernatural event. Once Xia Mi finished her mission at the pharmaceutical factory, they would lose their memories of this period and return to their normal lives.

The staff of the Disposal Bureau would find all sorts of excuses for their memory loss, helping them request leave from work and making up for their lost wages.

In the days to come, they would continue to live their lives with all their might.

However, after experiencing such a trial of life and death, even without the memories, the emotions would remain in their hearts.

They would face life more positively, cherishing their lives and the people around them.

On the way out of the guesthouse, Liao Tianhua told Xia Mi about his previous experiences. “We’ve observed those Zhuo-infected people who successfully escaped, and we found that their mental states improved.”

“Improved in what way?” Xia Mi asked.

Liao Tianhua said, “Some patients with mental illnesses like anxiety and depression recovered. Experts analyzed two possibilities. One is that to maintain their humanity during the Zhuo process, they activated the body’s self-healing abilities, curing their emotional and mental disorders. The other possibility is that the ‘Zhuo’ treated these people’s illnesses so it could better consume their human emotions. You could call it a blessing in disguise.”

“That’s good, then.” Xia Mi finally let go of her worries regarding her neighbors.

She pulled on the helmet of her Protective Suit and spoke softly into the headset. “Shield, Shield, calling Shield.”

Shield had not contacted Xia Mi again ever since she mentioned going to support the Second Team. Xia Mi had been worried about her this entire time.

Liao Tianhua saw Xia Mi’s concern and told her, “In principle, only the captain can contact Shield. Only the headset in my helmet can connect to Shield’s channel.”

Xia Mi caught his drift immediately and “stealthily” swapped her helmet with Liao Tianhua’s. Liao Tianhua kept his eyes fixed forward, concentrating on driving. As long as he didn’t see Xia Mi’s movements, then nothing had happened.

Xia Mi called out for a long time, but she never received a response from Shield.

Only then did Liao Tianhua tell her, “Shield rarely takes the initiative to contact us. She only occasionally responds to my calls. After the Second Team fell, Shield went dark as well.

“I’m taking you to Shield’s safe house to check on her now. In principle, team members aren’t allowed to have contact with Shield, but you aren’t an official member yet. Until the approval from higher leadership comes down, there are no regulations on what you can or cannot do. If you insist on following me to find Shield, there’s nothing I can do to stop you.”

At this moment, Xia Mi felt as if Liao Tianhua was radiating a brilliant light. What a considerate leader, so thoughtful toward his subordinates.

Xia Mi couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “Captain Liao, aside from being tall, handsome, elegant, dashing, and having a thick head of hair, you have almost no flaws.”

Liao Tianhua asked, puzzled, “Of all those traits you just mentioned, which one is supposed to be a flaw?”

“As a leader, all of those traits are flaws,” Xia Mi sighed wistfully. “These characteristics don’t fit my stereotype of a leader at all.”

Liao Tianhua gritted his teeth. “Then I’m truly sorry. I shouldn’t have been born looking so unlike a leader.”

“Exactly,” Xia Mi said. “Not only that, you also really remind me of my boyfriend, the one I’m just about to break up with. Speaking of which, once I get my official Bianzhi, I need to hurry up and break it off with him.”

Liao Tianhua slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden halt by the side of the road.

Xia Mi was quick, grabbing the handle to steady herself.

She asked in confusion, “Why did you brake so suddenly? That’s dangerous!”

Liao Tianhua looked at her with a dead serious expression. “Xia Mi, what did you just say?”

“I said a lot of things just now. Which sentence are you asking about?” Xia Mi was baffled.

Liao Tianhua said, “The part about your boyfriend.”

Xia Mi asked cautiously, “Is it because the nature of the job doesn’t allow for dating? I’m totally fine with that. I’ll break up with him immediately!”

Liao Tianhua’s expression grew even more solemn. “Xia Mi, ever since you received my message, I’ve investigated all your information to determine if you were trustworthy. This involved your privacy, and I ask for your understanding.”

Xia Mi said dismissively, “It’s fine. Just consider it an early political background check.”

Liao Tianhua took a deep breath. “I even know about the time you injured a boy in your class back in elementary school and the teacher called your parents. But I have never found a single trace of information regarding a boyfriend.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Xia Mi said, confused.

Liao Tianhua replied, “I mean, you don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Are you joking? I’ve been in a relationship for two years,” Xia Mi said.

“Fine. Then tell me, what is your boyfriend’s name? When did you meet?” Liao Tianhua asked.

Xia Mi opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Wait. What was her boyfriend’s name again?

It was so strange. Every time she thought of her boyfriend, the only thing that came to mind were the words “my boyfriend.” There was never a name attached to the person.

Translator’s Notes