216: Chapter 216 Foolish Proof

"Ah, you're back..."

"Yeah. I'm back, everything has been taken care of."

Elsa shook her damp hair and said, "There's nothing else going on, you should go back to sleep, right?"

Maria had already woken up when the gunfire rang out and hadn't gone back to sleep since.

"Did you use heavy firepower? That gunfire earlier didn't sound like a joke."

"Actually, we didn't use heavy machine guns directly. We suspect that the 'ally' we brought back helped us, but he didn't seem to appear directly, and he... well, he's a bit strange."

"What's wrong?" Maria's lips were still somewhat pale as she sat up, wrapped in a blanket. "He looks quite capable, but is there a problem with him?"

Elsa recounted what she had discovered on that Humvee, leaving Maria deep in thought.

"Alright, don't think too much about it now, just focus on recovering." Elsa cut off her train of thought and the topic. "Kate was worried sick looking for us, and then... sigh."

"Was Kate attacked? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, that girl is very clever." Elsa shook her head, then fell silent again.

Maria didn't speak either.

After a while, she finally spoke: "Elsa, I..."

"It's fine, I know what you want to say. It wasn't your fault; it was my foolish old man who couldn't think straight and insisted on running off to Ukonia... It's not your problem..."

"Elsa..."

"I told you not to talk about this anymore!"

"Mm..."

The cheerful girl was startled by this shout and shrank her huddled body even smaller.

"Alright, since you seem to be fine, I'm leaving." Elsa's expression was cold as she turned and pushed aside the rain tarp to leave.

Maria reached out as if to ask her to stay, but in the end, she didn't say anything.

After a while, she lay back down.

Her throat felt burning hot, but she didn't really want to move. A sudden chill made her curl up entirely inside the blanket.

She started breaking out in a cold sweat, making her feel completely uncomfortable.

The rain tarp was lifted again, and someone else walked in.

She didn't pay any attention to it, feeling herself drifting into a stupor again.

It feels so awful...

The sound of water being poured.

Someone pulled her head out from the blanket and shoved a water cup to her lips.

She opened her eyes, and before her was the fully armored body of the man she had initiated contact with.

"Cough... I've embarrassed myself in front of you..."

"It's fine, everyone has times when they aren't feeling well." Li Ming replied. "Drink some water, drinking more water helps with recovery."

She didn't refuse, just waited a while longer to let the water in the cup cool down so it wouldn't be so hot.

She didn't look at his face, and it felt as if she didn't have the strength to do so.

Her consciousness was drifting away, as if she were about to meet Vladimir Ilyich at any moment.

He sighed, adjusted her position to help her sit up, and found a cushion he'd brought from downstairs to prop her up, before starting to feed her water little by little.

It was clear he wasn't very good at taking care of people; she choked a little before managing to drink it.

After finishing this, he stood up. Confirming that she had fallen asleep again, he pushed aside the rain tarp to go out and said to Elsa, who was waiting outside: "She's asleep. Do you want to go check on her again?"

"I don't think that's necessary. But you..." She turned her head. "What's going on with you?"

Li Ming touched the gauze wrapped around half his head, covering his left eye. "It's nothing, just a minor accident."

"I don't think it's an accident if it can knock your brains out."

"Brains? What brains?" Li Ming tilted his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Where were you during the firefight just now?"

"I was observing."

"Did you see the person using the machine gun?"

"I don't know. I didn't spot them from my perspective."

"How did you get your injury?"

"Accidentally fell."

"You're lying."

"You don't have any evidence."

"..."

Her face was frosty as she looked at him with her arms crossed. Finally, she sighed heavily. "If you wanted us to owe you a favor, you've certainly succeeded."

"What use is a favor from you to me?" Li Ming no longer denied his actions. "I do what I want. I am a free man."

"... Thank you."

"Huh?"

She bowed deeply. "If it weren't for you, Kate might have been in danger today. That was a fully equipped special forces unit, but you helped her, and you helped us... Thank you. I don't dare to imagine what Maria and I would do if we lost her."

"Just a small favor." Shaking his head, Li Ming looked out the window.

"So, can you let me check your injury?"

"I don't think that's appropriate. There's a saying in China that men and women should keep a respectful distance."

"You weren't following that saying when you were fussing over Maria earlier."

"... No, sister, why are you so curious?" Li Ming was at a loss.

She stepped closer, took off his helmet and threw it aside, then removed his gauze.

"..."

She opened her mouth slightly, her eyes narrowing in shock and horror, her hands frozen in place.

What a terrifying wound this was...

To be precise, it wasn't a wound, but...

A gap. A small half of his head had caved in, and his left eye... looking through the gap where the left eye should be, one could even see the corridor on the other side.

The skull at the bullet hole hadn't grown back yet; new tissue membrane covered the defect, but the color and texture were wrong, like an unrendered model.

There were suture marks on the scalp, not precise surgical sutures, but a rough, "make-do" style repair.

"You... what is this..."

"Got headshot by a large-caliber sniper rifle." Li Ming replied. "The sniper has been taken care of by me, and the gun is in my hands."

Trying her best to keep her composure, she spoke again, "Why... are you still alive?"

"Me..." Li Ming shrugged. Although he wanted to smile, and knew that if he did, she would definitely have nightmares for the rest of the night, he said, "People always have their own secrets, don't they?"

"..." Elsa took a deep breath. "Can it still recover?"

"Yes." Li Ming replied. "I'll apply some medicine in a bit, just give me some time."

"There's no mirror here, let me apply it for you." Elsa's expression seemed to soften a bit.

"Uh... that wouldn't be great, would it?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, just consider it..." She hesitated for a moment. "My way of repaying you."

"Huh?"

She found a stool for him to sit on, then knelt in front of him to apply the medicine—she hadn't seen this medicine before, but it needed to be applied.

"Hiss!..." Li Ming gritted his teeth, gripping the stool with both hands, refusing to make a sound.

"Know the pain now?" Elsa said. "If you know it hurts, find a better solution next time."

"What do you know? Scars are a man's medals..."

"Nonsense!" She cursed. "This is proof of stupidity, you idiot!"

Li Ming shrank his neck, not daring to make a sound.