55: Battlefield rest, ambiguous healing

Deep inside the ruins, an abandoned control room was temporarily cleared out.

The heavy alloy door closed, isolating them from the roars of the mechanical monsters outside.

The air was filled with the smell of stale machine oil, mixed with the faint scent of blood from everyone.

"Rest where you are."

Gu Pingsheng leaned against the door, playing with the desert eagle in his hand, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the room.

Everyone was exhausted.

An An was huddled in the shadow of the corner, wiping the blood off her dagger.

Su Ruan hugged her bunny doll and leaned against Gu Pingsheng's leg, already starting to doze off.

Gu Nian sat in front of the control panel, looking pale but still insisting on analyzing the data on the chip.

Only Lin Qinghan.

She stood on the other side of the room, her back to the others, trying to clean the stains off her combat uniform.

Her movements were a bit stiff.

Gu Pingsheng narrowed his eyes.

He remembered clearly that a mechanical spider's claw had grazed her back during the breakout just now.

Although she hadn't made a sound, the wound was definitely not shallow.

"Adjutant."

Gu Pingsheng straightened up. His voice was low, but it caused Lin Qinghan's back to stiffen slightly.

"Come here."

Lin Qinghan turned around.

Her face was flushed unnaturally, and fine beads of sweat covered her forehead.

Strands of hair clung to her cheek, making her look slightly disheveled, yet conveying a breathtaking beauty.

"Captain, I'm fine."

She subconsciously tried to hide it, but her slightly trembling fingers gave her away.

Gu Pingsheng didn't speak.

He strode over and grabbed her wrist.

It was burning hot to the touch.

"A fever?"

Gu Pingsheng frowned and reached out to check her forehead.

Sure enough, the temperature was alarmingly high.

The wound was infected.

In this damned place lacking doctors and medicine, an infected wound could be fatal.

"Come with me."

Gu Pingsheng gave her no chance to refuse, pulling her toward a screen in the corner of the room.

It was discovered while cleaning the room; it was likely where previous staff members changed clothes.

The screen was old and painted with unknown star charts, but it was enough to block the view from outside.

"Captain..."

Lin Qinghan was flustered.

The space behind the screen was narrow, containing only a simple camp bed.

Squeezed together, their breaths almost intertwined.

Gu Pingsheng released her hand and took out a bottle of light blue liquid from his personal space.

[Nano Repair Fluid (Purple)]

He had obtained this from a previous loot box and had been reluctant to use it.

"Take it off."

Gu Pingsheng shook the bottle in his hand, his tone as calm as if he were saying, "Eat your meal."

Lin Qinghan froze.

Her face instantly flushed, even her earlobes turning pink.

"Here?"

She subconsciously glanced outside the screen.

Although the screen separated them, everyone was in the same room.

Any slightly loud sound could be heard clearly outside.

"Where else?"

Gu Pingsheng raised an eyebrow, a hint of teasing in his eyes.

"Or do you want me to help you take it off?"

Lin Qinghan bit her lip.

She knew Gu Pingsheng was doing this for her own good.

Moreover, the wound on her back was truly agonizing; the burning sensation was slowly consuming her rationality.

"I'll do it myself..."

She took a deep breath and turned away.

Her trembling fingers reached for the zipper of her combat uniform.

Zzz—

The sound of the zipper sliding was exceptionally clear behind the silent screen.

The black nano combat uniform slowly slipped down, bunching up at her waist.

The tight vest underneath was soaked with blood, clinging to her skin.

Lin Qinghan endured the pain and slowly rolled the vest up.

Hiss—

The fabric tearing at the wound made her gasp sharply.

Gu Pingsheng's pupils constricted slightly.

It was an extremely beautiful back.

Her scapulae were elegantly shaped, her skin snow-white, gleaming with an ivory luster under the dim light.

But at this moment, a hideous wound stretched across this expanse of white.

The flesh was torn open, deep enough to see bone.

The surrounding skin was red and inflamed, looking shocking.

This destructive beauty stirred a certain violent instinct deep within Gu Pingsheng's heart.

But he quickly suppressed the impulse.

"Bear with it."

He twisted open the cap of the repair fluid and poured a little into his palm.

Then, his warm palm pressed against her cool skin.

Lin Qinghan trembled all over.

It wasn't just the stinging pain of the wound, but the strange sensation of his touch.

Gu Pingsheng's fingers were rough, bearing the calluses left from years of holding a gun.

When his fingertips traced her sensitive back, the coarse friction gave her goosebumps.

"Does it hurt?"

Gu Pingsheng's voice was low, right next to her ear.

His hot breath sprayed onto the back of her neck, triggering a subtle electric current.

"No... it doesn't hurt..."

Lin Qinghan bit her lip, her hands gripping the edge of the camp bed beneath her.

Her knuckles turned white from the effort.

She was lying.

Although the Nano Repair Fluid was highly effective, the moment it was applied, the stinging itch, like ten thousand ants gnawing at her heart, was maddening.

But she dared not cry out.

She was afraid the others outside would hear, and even more afraid to show weakness in front of Gu Pingsheng.

Gu Pingsheng's movements were slow.

He rubbed the repair fluid into the wound little by little, his fingertips circling the surrounding inflamed skin.

The feeling was too strange.

Pain and numbness intertwined, shooting up her spine to the top of her head.

Lin Qinghan felt her body gradually softening.

Like a puddle of water, she could only rely on Gu Pingsheng's palm.

"Relax."

Gu Pingsheng felt the tension in her muscles.

His other hand wrapped around her waist and gently pressed her abdomen.

"Don't tense up, or the medicine won't soak in."

This posture was too intimate.

From behind, it looked as if Gu Pingsheng had completely encircled her in his arms.

Lin Qinghan's breathing hitched.

Her chest rose and fell dramatically, every breath carrying a tremor.

"Captain..."

She couldn't help but turn her head.

She met Gu Pingsheng's deep eyes.

They held none of his usual coldness or calculation, only a focused intensity that made her heart race.

And a hint of... deeply hidden desire.

The distance between them was minimal.

Close enough to see their reflections in each other's eyes.

The air seemed to solidify.

Only their heartbeats echoed in the narrow space.

Thump, thump, thump.

Each beat heavier than the last.

Gu Pingsheng's hand was still pressed against her back; the warmth of his palm penetrated her skin and burned straight into her heart.

"Qinghan."

He called her name for the first time.

His voice was hoarse, carrying a magnetic quality that was deeply seductive.

Lin Qinghan's eyes suddenly reddened.

She had been too tired on this journey.

From the high and mighty Campus Belle to the current adjutant.

She had constantly forced herself to be strong, to be cold-blooded.

Only in front of this man did she dare to slightly lower her guard.

"I'm here..."

She murmured a response, her voice as light as a sigh.

Gu Pingsheng looked at the tear about to fall from the corner of her eye.

It was a physiological tear, caused by pain, and also by grievance.

Driven by impulse.

He lowered his head and leaned in.

His warm lips gently touched the corner of her eye.

The salty tear dissolved on his tongue.

Lin Qinghan stiffened, then immediately softened.

She closed her eyes, letting the kiss fall on her eye corner, her cheek, and finally rest on her lips.

It didn't deepen.

It was just a light touch, carrying a careful sense of cherishment.

But this moved her more than any passionate kiss.

In this moment.

She felt she was no longer that cold, killing machine.

She was just a woman that he cared about.

"As long as you are here..."

She silently said in her heart.

As long as you are here, even if it's hell, I will follow you through it.

Just as the atmosphere between the two was about to spiral out of control, and Gu Pingsheng's hand unconsciously slid towards her waist.

"Brother!"

Su Ruan's clear voice suddenly came from outside the screen.

It carried a hint of panic.

"An An says... something is coming!"

That shout was like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguishing the intimacy behind the screen.

Gu Pingsheng paused, quickly withdrawing his hand.

Lin Qinghan also sprang away as if she had been electrocuted, frantically pulling up the zipper of her combat uniform.

Both their faces held an unnatural flush.

"Ahem..."

Gu Pingsheng cleared his throat, adjusting his slightly messy collar.

His eyes instantly regained their clarity.

"Got it."

He responded, his voice betraying no abnormality.

"Get dressed and come out."

He said quietly to Lin Qinghan, then turned and walked out from behind the screen.

Lin Qinghan watched his retreating figure, took several deep breaths, and tried to calm her pounding heart.

She touched the corner of her eye.

The warmth of his lips seemed to still linger there... When Gu Pingsheng stepped out from behind the screen, everyone had already stood up, staring alertly at the doorway.

An An's dagger was unsheathed, and her entire body was taut like a fully drawn bow.

"What's going on?"

Gu Pingsheng walked up to the control panel and glanced at the screen.

The radar did not show any hostile targets.

"It's not the radar."

An An pointed toward the door, her voice tight.

"It's... a feeling."

"The feeling of being watched... it's very strong."

As a Shadow Guard, An An's intuition was sharper than radar.

Gu Pingsheng frowned.

He trusted An An's intuition.

Just then.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

The lights in the room suddenly flickered a few times.

Immediately after, the holographic projector on the control panel activated automatically.

A blue beam of light projected into the air, slowly coalescing into a human figure.

It was an elder dressed in ancient white robes.

His hair and beard were white, and his face was benevolent, but his eyes held no emotion whatsoever.

They were like... two cold glass beads.

He floated in mid-air, looking down at everyone.

His lips didn't move, but an ancient and majestic voice sounded directly in everyone's minds.

"Outsiders."

"Leave this place."

"Otherwise... Divine Punishment will descend!"