After drawing cards, the evil god became my source of吐槽 (tu cao, a form of humorous commentary/criti

Chapter 33 Bloodstained Hospital (12)

003 said, glancing around.

The corridor remained narrow and dimly lit, and the old wall lamps on the walls flickered as if they might explode at any moment due to the influence of a mysterious magnetic field.

All around was silent. There was no wind, no echo, and even the distant hum of electricity seemed to be suppressed by something, making it muffled and oppressive.

He pressed the earpiece: "002, this floor feels like it's locked in a cage structure. Can you see the location from your end?"

He Lin's voice came quickly, sounding tired but steady: "Yes. If we can see the location, it means there's not much of a problem. You just had a brief location jump, and now you're stationary, probably... about two passages away from our main force. The magnetic field interference is still spreading, possibly due to spatial distortion. I've had space stabilization devices brought from the rear, and they should be able to pick you up within ten minutes."

She paused, then added as if afraid they would be impatient: "Don't rush in. 003, you don't have all the items you need. Wait until we get there before you move. Although your current location has strong interference, it's not in the core area. Just wait here for now."

"Received." 003 replied crisply.

He briefly repeated He Lin's original words, and finally glanced at An Jing: "So now we'd better not move and wait for the lamplighter to come."

An Jing nodded without saying anything.

But Ruan Ruan in her arms suddenly trembled slightly.

An Jing looked down at her.

The girl's eyes were still closed, her breathing so shallow it was almost inaudible, but her hand quietly tightened, gripping the hem of An Jing's shirt.

The cautious force made An Jing feel a little strange.

An Jing paused, leaned down, and asked in a very soft voice, "What's wrong?"

After a long pause, Ruan Ruan seemed to have made a great decision before speaking softly, "...Are many people coming?"

An Jing was stunned for a moment.

003, standing beside them, glanced at them discreetly.

Dr. Du seemed to have heard it too, and sighed softly, somewhat helplessly: "She's shy."

“Ruan Ruan spent her childhood in the hospital, never went to school, and had no friends. This has had a psychological impact on her, so she is very afraid of crowded situations, which would make her feel very pressured.”

Then, Dr. Du handed the equipment in his hand to 003: "Could you please help me move this?"

003 hesitated for a moment, then nodded and took the instrument.

"Let me do it," Dr. Du said to An Jing, reaching out to take Ruan Ruan's hand. "Thank you for your help. You must be tired after walking for so long."

"Fortunately, she is very thin, so it didn't take much effort on me."

An Jing gently handed the girl to him. Ruan Ruan instinctively buried her face in Dr. Du's arms during the handover, her little face pressed against his chest, and she didn't look up again.

“Her condition has worsened recently, and she can’t even eat anymore,” Dr. Du said softly. “Ruan Ruan has been sick since birth and has hardly ever left the hospital. Apart from a few medical staff, she hasn’t had any contact with anyone else. But she’s quite different with you; she’s actually willing to let you have contact with her. Thank you.”

As he spoke, he glanced down at the girl in his arms and said, "She heard me say that someone would be coming, and she's probably worried."

"Haven't she seen the lamplighter?" 003 asked.

After all, this hospital cooperates with the 404 Special Service, and the Light Bearers often come to treat injuries.

Dr. Du shook his head: "I've never seen her before, so don't blame her."

003 didn't say anything, but silently put the instrument back on stable and adjusted the angle.

An Jing was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked at Ruan Ruan and said in a very soft voice, "You don't need to be afraid. The Lamp Bearers may not care about you, but they won't harm you either."

Ruan Ruan didn't speak, remaining nestled in Dr. Du's arms without responding to a single word.

003 stood aside, and after hearing those words, he seemed to choke on his words.

"...What do you mean by 'I won't take care of you'?"

“I didn’t say it was bad.” An Jing looked up at him sincerely. “It’s just your reputation…you know it.”

003 couldn't help but mutter, "We Lamplighters aren't cold-blooded; it's just that when there's a more important mission, the mission takes precedence over everything else. If we encounter survivors after completing our mission, we'll still go and rescue them." Dr. Du heard this, smiled, and remained silent.

An Jing nodded: "I know that, but it doesn't conflict with what I said about not caring about others, does it?"

003:"……"

“We deal with the mysterious,” he tried to salvage the organization’s reputation, “not here to make friends.”

An Jing recalled the "don't mess with me" look he gave her when they first met, and couldn't help but say something.

"So what I said was quite fair."

003 was completely speechless.

He turned and went to check the equipment.

The surroundings quieted down again.

Deep in the corridor, sound seemed to be enveloped by some invisible membrane; even the soft sound of Dr. Du's fingers touching Ruan Ruan's IV tube sounded hollow.

"Let me check on her condition," he said, gently pushing aside Ruan Ruan's hair and placing his hand on the side of her neck to check her temperature.

The temperature is a bit low, but still relatively stable.

“If this drags on any longer, she might faint.” Dr. Du frowned. “She started vomiting a couple of days ago and can’t get anything in her mouth right now.”

"Can't she be treated with your equipment?" An Jing asked.

Dr. Du shook his head: "It's a stabilization device, it can only prevent the lesions from spreading, it's not a treatment device... I originally wanted to wait until she was stable before treating her, but now I can't leave."

Upon hearing this, 003 stood up and said, "We can mark the location and send her out as soon as the reinforcements arrive. 002 said they brought an emergency medical module."

This seems to be an attempt to prove to An Jing that the lamplighters still have humanity!
"Thank you." Dr. Du nodded, "But she's too weak right now... I'm afraid she can't be subjected to too much stress for the time being."

Then, Dr. Du lowered his head dejectedly.

Neither of them spoke again.

It was as if they had tacitly accepted this sense of powerlessness.

For a full three minutes, the only sounds in the corridor were the beeping of power cords, the energy buffering of instruments, and the girl's flat but too light breathing.

Suddenly, a soft sound came from afar.

It was the sound of a door being pushed open.

The next second, He Lin's voice came through the earpiece: "We've arrived. We're in the secondary passage on your southwest side, just around the corner. 003, confirm the coordinates."

003 replied while turning around to look through the passageway.

In the dim light, he saw that the sealed door in the distance had been opened.

A figure wearing a helmet and a lantern-bearing uniform walked towards them. The movement was not fast, but each step was steady.

"They've arrived," he said softly.

Dr. Du immediately hugged Ruan Ruan tightly and stood her at the edge of the light.

An Jing narrowed his eyes slightly.

She instinctively put her hands to her sides; there was no weapon, it was just instinct.

But when the man approached, he said nothing, only nodded slightly, glanced around to confirm the surroundings, and made a gesture to them: "You can leave now."

"Finally here," 003 muttered to himself, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.

But An Jing suddenly felt that Ruan Ruan seemed to be trembling even more violently.

(End of this chapter)