Doctor will never die in a hellish situation.

"Then learn to read first. If you can't learn all thirty letters by tonight, you won't have your medicine tomorrow!" The man seemed relieved, then said seriously, "I'll only teach you three times. If you can't remember them, well, we're almost out of toilet paper. Will you have to make do with leaves?"

Take back what I said earlier, this guy is a wicked nobleman with a terrible temper, a scoundrel who likes to torment people! The girl gritted her teeth and glared at the man, but still focused intently on memorizing what he was teaching her by the light of the campfire.

By the time he had fully memorized it, the man had already gone back to his tent and was sleeping, with even snores emanating from inside.

Should we take this opportunity to steal the antidote?

The girl frowned, somewhat intrigued by the idea.

Forget it, he might have been prepared all along. I'd better observe him for a while and wait until he lowers his guard before making any moves! She smoothed her silver hair, curled up in front of the campfire, looked at the only light in the darkness, and fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 84, Section 369: Only after seeing the light can I endure the darkness (Part 2)

When the girl woke up the next day, she found herself lying in a tent, covered with a small blanket, while the nasty man was nowhere to be seen.

Although all the things were in the tent and the other party would definitely come back, the girl still rushed out of the tent, looking around nervously.

"I love taking a bath, my skin feels so good, oh my goo oh my goo..." Her expression only eased slightly when she heard an unpleasant song coming from the river not far away, which startled countless birds into flight.

I'm just worried that if something happens to him, I won't have a solution for my antidote. It's definitely not for any other reason! The girl realized the change in her mindset and blushed a little, then silently comforted herself.

Speaking of antidotes, who would carry those things with them when taking a shower? She looked thoughtfully at the small box the man had used to store the medicine yesterday.

When the man returned after showering, the girl sat down in front of the campfire, slightly disappointed. After receiving his orders, she quickly began packing up the tent.

A moment later, looking at the large backpack that was almost as tall as herself, she gritted her teeth and prepared to carry it.

"Alright, how much strength can a mere matchstick girl have? You're probably not even as heavy as this backpack." The man tossed her a much lighter package and took the backpack himself. "Keep up with me, I'm not going to stop and wait for you halfway."

Even so, the girl could clearly sense that the man's leisurely stroll was because he had deliberately slowed down.

For the next ten days or so, the two of them made their way slowly toward the capital of Kazdel by taking walks.

Gradually, she discovered that aside from his terrible methods at their first meeting, this man was actually quite mild-mannered, didn't put on any aristocratic airs, and treated her quite well, providing her with plenty of food and meat at every meal.

The task of reading and learning characters every night in exchange for the antidote gradually became more difficult, changing from a few simple fairy tales at the beginning to slightly more complex historical stories. The girl was not very interested in this at first, because she thought that learning these things was useless. She couldn't make money by telling stories to people, could she?

It wasn't until the man had her read a passage from the ancient Yan Kingdom story "Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors" that she suddenly realized that the man had used a similar trick to incite the mercenaries to kill each other that day, and she immediately became interested.

She no longer needed to threaten with the antidote; after eating every night, she would obediently wait for class, appearing as a studious girl who found joy in learning.

Normally, having figured out the man's habits, she doesn't need any extra instructions to take care of her daily routine perfectly, demonstrating a strong ability to manage herself, and appearing to be content being a maid.

"Um, could you please stop calling me 'Firewood Girl' from now on? It sounds awful." One evening, after finishing her studies for the day, the girl eagerly brought over a cup of coffee and asked tentatively.

"Alright, I'll call you something else, how about Cockroach Girl?" The man looked at the girl's head, at the pair of red, horny appendages drooping down, then pointed to the large cockroach crawling on the ground and said with a grin, "Don't you think you look alike in terms of racial characteristics?"

"That's even worse! What kind of girl has such a name? Besides, you'll be embarrassed if word gets out!" The girl first stomped on the innocent little insect and kicked the corpse far away before speaking in a considerate tone.

"How about Little Red Riding Hood? It's so cute, and it perfectly matches your racial characteristics." The man glanced at her slender figure and gave a meaningful reply.

"Fine, just keep calling me Little Red Riding Hood." Although she didn't understand the man's logic, she vaguely felt that Little Red Riding Hood was a more sarcastic title, so she reluctantly gave up the idea of ​​changing her address.

Anyway, the girl's purpose wasn't that; she just wanted to distract the guy. According to the story, this is called a feint!

Sure enough, after teasing her, the man smugly picked up his cup and prepared to drink his coffee, while Match Girl quickly picked up her own cup and took a big, satisfying sip.

"Heh-tui!" Her expression changed drastically, and she spat out the coffee in her mouth.

"So, this time I'm in the atmosphere, and you're eighteen layers underground." The man shook his index finger. "You think I don't know you rummaged through the first-aid kit the next day? But you're quite patient, taking your time until now to make your move."

"Then what did you just do..." Chaihuo Niu's eyes widened.

That morning, when she opened the first-aid kit, she found no liquid that looked like an antidote. So she casually took some croton powder and hid it in a bottle. Anyway, according to this guy, just a little bit of this stuff could cause diarrhea to the point of dehydration and death, so stealing some shouldn't be discovered.

“Yes, while you were slaughtering your own kind, I switched the cups.” The man took a sip of coffee and said with a grin, “I was wondering why you suddenly reacted so strongly to the way you address me; I almost fell for it.”

"I see, that's where the flaw was revealed." Chaihuo Niu suddenly realized and nodded helplessly.

She had never shown any dissatisfaction when she was called that before, not even in her eyes or subconscious little movements. The sudden mention of this matter could only be explained as her trying to distract herself by making conversation.

"Remember to find a downwind spot. As punishment, I'll give you the antidote later..."

"No need, I just replaced the sugar with pepper." Chaihuo Niu shook her head, her face showing disappointment and dejection, but she didn't seem to need to pee at all.

"Huh? You actually gave up such a good opportunity?" This time, it was the man's turn to be surprised, but he quickly understood. "We're about to reach the next settlement. Are you afraid that I'll abandon you once I buy new camel-like beasts, so you're using this opportunity to demonstrate your abilities?"

"There's nothing I can do. Even if you're really poisoned, it's just a matter of drinking some antidote. I'm not confident I can defeat you. I have to find a way to survive, right?" Chaihuo Niu mimicked him, spreading her hands helplessly. "But it seems I've failed."

"It's alright, it's my fault for being too good," the man said shamelessly, then he praised her, which was rare for him. "But you learn pretty quickly and can apply what you learn immediately. You're second only to someone I taught before."

"So, I'm actually exceptionally talented?" Upon hearing this, Chaihuo Niu's eyes lit up, and a glimmer of hope rose in her heart.

"You're dreaming. I've only taught two people so far, which is why you're ranked second. Who knows what your true skill level is?" the man said irritably, instantly extinguishing her hopes.

"I understand. I'll leave at the next settlement." Chaihuo Niu lowered her head and said somewhat dejectedly.

Perhaps it was Stockholm syndrome at play, but she actually found being forced to study quite nice, and apart from his occasional quirky sense of humor, the man had indeed treated her well, so she was somewhat reluctant to leave him.

"Silly girl, although you are indeed a bit silly, why don't you ask me if I would like to be your teacher?"

"Would you be willing to be my teacher?"

"No!"

Even knowing that the other party had the antidote, Match Girl had the urge to fight him on the spot. If she stayed with such a nasty person, she would either become a hateful person like him or be driven completely insane. There was absolutely no third way.

"However, since the journey has been quite boring anyway, I might as well teach you some survival skills along the way. It won't take long," the man said, stretching as if he had had enough fun.

Having been tormented several times, Matchstick Girl was now incredibly calm. She gave a low reply and then fell silent until the other person threw a book in front of her. Only then did she turn her gaze to it, where she saw the words "Ursus Engineer Manual" written in large characters.

"This is the textbook I translated. You don't need to look at anything else. Just finish reading the chapter on demolition operations first. Write down anything you don't understand and ask me tomorrow!" After saying that, he went back to his tent to sleep.

Match Girl curiously flipped it open and couldn't take her eyes off it.

She seems to have a natural affinity for items like Originium explosives. Even though she only knew a few vague details from occasional conversations among the miners before finding the bombs left behind by the mercenaries, she easily completed the delayed detonation operation.

Reading the professional content now, she realized how dangerous her actions were, and that she was lucky not to have been blown to pieces on the spot.

As if opening the door to a new world, Match Girl read on with complete absorption until the clear chirping of birds brought her back to her trance.

The morning sun shone on the earth, dispelling the chill of the night.

It's already dawn.

Rare footage of the doctor taming a wild W in his early days #funny

Chapter 85, Section 370: Only after seeing the light can I endure the darkness (Part 2)

The journey to Kazdel is not far; even if you travel on foot, it would only take about half a month at most. However, the frequent wars and detours, coupled with occasional attacks by bandit gangs, greatly slow down the progress.

Although the masked man was eager to reach the royal city immediately, he understood that haste makes waste and tried to choose the safest route possible.

As for Match Girl, since the two had agreed to stop teaching her once they reached the vicinity of the royal city, she couldn't wait for the journey to be as long as possible, and those bandits who were greedy for money became her tools for practice.

"Boom!" she shouted an incomprehensible slogan, pressed the detonator in her hand, and blew the last bandit to smithereens.

Completely different from when she was first met, her complexion was now much rosier, thanks to the fact that she could eat her fill and had meat at every meal. She radiated confidence and pride, but her bright red eyes still revealed a lively light, showing a hint of the little beggar she once was.

"Hey, Matchstick Girl, are you sure you didn't have a ancestor named Deidara?" The man looked at the blood and flesh on the ground with pity and asked with some curiosity.

Who would have thought that just minutes before, they were facing a mercenary group of more than ten people? Before the leader could even utter a harsh word, he stepped on Match Girl's dirt mine, taking several mercenaries with him to their deaths.

Next, Match Girl used just a few stones to drive the terrified mercenaries to a place where explosives had been planted beforehand, and then sent them to accompany her commander. The whole process took no more than three minutes.

He had a vague feeling that he had released something terrible.

"Doctor, what are you thinking? I don't even have a name, how could I possibly know those things?" Match Girl shrugged and said nonchalantly.

Many of her subconscious actions are strikingly similar to those of the man in front of her who calls himself "Doctor." Perhaps it was a conscious imitation at first, but now that they've been together for several months, it's become a habit that can't be changed.

"Alright, pack up your spoils, you'll definitely need them later." The man stopped dwelling on these issues and casually changed the subject.

Upon hearing this, Match Girl's face darkened.

"Could you please not leave yet...? I still have so many things I haven't learned, and I want to stay with you for a while longer..." Instead of happily picking up trash as usual, she asked cautiously.

“Although you’re the dumbest of the two people I’ve taught, your learning is different from hers—you’ve only specialized in a few areas. Putting everything else aside, at least in terms of survival skills, unless you encounter someone as skilled as me, you’ll have a chance to escape.” The man patted her shoulder and said with a smile.

In other words, you've already completed your apprenticeship!

Match Girl wasn't happy at all after hearing this. She bit her lip and pondered for a long time: "Is that person really that important to you?"

“That’s right. If it weren’t for her, I would have died in Ursus long ago. So even though she arranged a new identity for me in Columbia, I still came to Kazdel to help.” The man changed his nonchalant tone and said quite seriously, “By the way, she has silver hair just like you.”

The deep affection conveyed in her words, and the last sentence, completely made Match Girl swallow those four words.

Yes, a person who can become a postdoctoral fellow must be a well-educated and graceful woman, while she is just a wild girl who has only recently learned to read and write, and is still a skinny little girl. Thinking of this, she looked at her barren chest and thin figure and sighed helplessly.

After they parted ways, Matchstick Girl did not leave Kazdel as the man had recommended, nor did she try to get a job at a big company like Blacksteel International based on her skills. Instead, she returned to the vicinity of her former settlement and became a lone mercenary.

Whether she felt that she would be discriminated against as a Sarkaz after leaving her homeland, or she hoped to meet again like before, she settled down in the settlement by relying on the skills she had learned.

Not long after, the civil war in Kazdel broke out, and life became increasingly difficult for the Lone Ranger. By chance, she found the corpse of a veteran mercenary and, through some tricks, gained the trust of the mercenary leader, Hedley, and inherited that mercenary's code name to join the group.

Soon, this mercenary group was hired by the princess's faction and became active on battlefields in various places. The commander behind them was none other than that very familiar code name - Doctor!

Unfortunately, as a mercenary, she had no right to contact her own superiors. The Doctor, as the strategist in charge of overall planning, was under strict protection, so even if she wanted to get close to confirm, she couldn't.

It wasn't until a certain escort mission, when the team was attacked by the Regent's forces and suffered heavy losses, that the kind-hearted princess opened up their escort target: a huge landship serving as a field hospital, which gave her the opportunity to disguise herself as a wounded soldier and infiltrate the ship.

At this moment, Matchstick Girl was no longer living up to her name; she had developed an enviable figure and was ready to surprise that guy.

Whether it was fate or something else, before she even began her infiltration mission, she happened to run into a doctor who was visiting the wounded. After giving him some perks and showing him all the changes that had taken place over the years, she even met the legendary princess.

Although the war was extremely difficult, she always thought it was the best time of her life. She could tease the Doctor's little sidekick, see her idol, the princess, up close, and occasionally raid the Doctor at night. The only downside was that a big lynx was always causing trouble.

after that……

How long did I sleep?

W got up from the hard floor, leaned against the wall and looked up at the sky for a moment, his thoughts gradually clearing.

The plan to assassinate Talulah, seize the key, and stop the core city completely failed. She was being choked by the silver-haired dragon girl and was on the verge of suffocating to death. It could be said that she was completely suppressed by the other party in terms of both martial arts and strategy.

She also learned from the other person's words that another person the Doctor had taught was Talulah. Because they had spent enough time together and Talulah had a good foundation, she had learned almost everything the Doctor had to say.

However, even though Talulah is far superior to W in military strategy, politics, and political maneuvering, W is the expert when it comes to escaping.

Qin Duanyu once told her a story about a man who used a spear to kill people without using the spearhead, and he eventually used this skill to kill his father's enemies. Inspired by this, she had long since mastered the skill of detonating bombs without using a detonator.