43: Okay! Let's do it!

While Gu Xiheng was staring at Ai Yue and mentally complaining about her, she took advantage of his distraction and swiftly gouged out the bullet from his leg.

This time was different from before. When the previous bullet was removed, he had been unconscious and hadn't felt the sting of the blade cutting through flesh; this time, he felt it vividly, and he couldn't help but let out a miserable scream.

His scream was so wretched that Da Wang was startled into jumping three feet high. The tiger instantly moved to protect Li Shilan, baring its teeth and growling lowly at Gu Xiheng.

Seeing such a large white tiger growling at him out of the blue gave Gu Xiheng quite a shock. Combined with his significant blood loss, he promptly blacked out.

Ai Yue checked him over carefully and found nothing seriously wrong. After disinfecting and bandaging his wounds, she gave him an injection of anti-inflammatories and fever reducers, then ignored him.

Ai Yue continued driving; she couldn't let this man delay their journey to the Safety Tower.

Whether it was because of the medicine Ai Yue gave him or his own strong constitution, Gu Xiheng woke up after only half an hour.

The moment he regained consciousness, he tried to scramble up from the recliner to be on Guard; he hadn't forgotten the tiger that had appeared before he fainted.

Seeing him try to get up, Ai Guosheng immediately supported him. "Careful now, don't hit your wounds. Don't be nervous, it's safe here."

Gu Xiheng forced a weak smile. He felt like he had no strength left in his body, feeling incredibly frail.

"Uncle, was there a tiger just now?"

"Oh, you mean my Da Wang? Da Wang! Say hello to the guest." Ai Guosheng waved toward the space behind Gu Xiheng.

Seeing Ai Guosheng's gesture, Gu Xiheng shuddered, his skin breaking out in goosebumps.

Da Wang lazily stood up from the back seat, rested its front paws on Gu Xiheng's shoulders, and let out a low growl.

Gu Xiheng felt his world turning upside down. His body went stiff, cold sweat poured down, and he didn't dare move an inch.

Ai Yue saw Gu Xiheng's face turn a shade paler in the rearview mirror and burst out laughing. This drew everyone's attention, and seeing this, she stopped holding back and laughed even louder.

Li Shilan seemed to realize something and called for Da Wang to come over. Only then did Da Wang lower its paws and gracefully walk to Li Shilan's feet to lie down.

Gu Xiheng's tense body relaxed slightly, but his eyes remained fixed on Da Wang.

"Don't worry, my Da Wang doesn't hurt people. It grew up with us; it's very well-behaved!" Ai Guosheng explained.

He then handed him a bottle of water. "Here, have some water."

Gu Xiheng didn't let down his Guard against Da Wang just because of Ai Guosheng's explanation. His sharp eyes scanned the tiger from time to time.

Just then, a loud growl erupted from Gu Xiheng's stomach, echoing through the small space.

Gu Xiheng was taken aback, a flash of embarrassment crossing his face, but he quickly regained his composure. "Sorry, I haven't eaten for a day."

After speaking, he leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. His uninjured hand pressed firmly against his stomach; he didn't ask Ai Yue and the others for food.

He knew well how scarce food was in the Apocalypse. Ai Yue's family had already risked their lives to save him; how could he have the heart to ask for their life-saving rations?

Ai Yue's expression remained neutral, showing no reaction. She felt that saving his life was already an act of extreme mercy; not giving him food was perfectly reasonable.

Ai Guosheng felt a certain kinship seeing the military uniform. Seeing Gu Xiheng's body swaying from hunger, he couldn't bear it and pulled out two compressed biscuitss intended for Da Wang, handing them to Gu Xiheng.

"Young man, eat up." Gu Xiheng opened his eyes and looked at Ai Guosheng, feeling a touch of emotion in his heart. He hadn't expected to find someone so kind in the Apocalypse, willing to share their rations with others.

Gu Xiheng thanked him solemnly.

He truly needed to replenish his energy, otherwise his body wouldn't hold out. He didn't know what lay ahead, so he had to preserve his strength for any sudden emergencies.

Thinking of the attack, his expression darkened, and murderous intent swirled in the depths of his eyes.

After eating the two compressed biscuitss, Gu Xiheng felt like he had come back to life, feeling much better.

Upon learning that Ai Yue and the two others were heading to Changyuan City, Gu Xiheng thanked the three of them for saving his life. He stated that there would definitely be a great reward once they reached Changyuan City, and they could make any requests they had; he would do his best to fulfill them.

This was exactly what Ai Yue had been waiting for, and she immediately indicated that it was no problem.

Two more hours passed, and Ai Yue's group finally saw Changyuan City ahead. They had arrived.

As they drew closer, they discovered that the only entrance to Changyuan City was blocked by people who didn't look like military! However, they appeared to be part of some establishment, dressed in black and armed with live ammunition.

Many people heading for the Safety Tower had already arrived and were standing there undergoing inspections by the men in black. However, the inspection seemed overly meticulous; some people were comparing faces against photos, and those passing through even had their teeth checked.

Something was wrong!

This wasn't normal!

It looked like they were searching for someone!

The eyes of the three members of Ai Yue's family all fixed on Gu Xiheng.

Gu Xiheng rubbed his nose and spoke up. "They should be Guards from the Changyuan Safety Tower. It seems they are looking for me, though it looks like they're trying to put me on a wanted list. It's fine; they won't dare kill me."

They won't dare kill you? Are those two holes in your body just for show? Are you kidding me?

This was serious. If those men in black found them, wouldn't they treat them as his accomplices? They still needed to get into the Safety Tower.

What if because of him, they were not only disqualified from entering but also became wanted fugitives, hunted forever? Why had she bothered being reborn? It certainly wasn't to take a bullet for him.

So Ai Yue spoke up, "In that case, you should get out of the car. We've done more than enough by bringing you this far."

She had been thinking about using his connections so her family could have a good life in the Safety Tower. Hmph, now it would be lucky if they weren't dragged down by him.

"Don't you want to go to a Safety Tower? It doesn't necessarily have to be Changyuan City, does it? How about this: take me to the Safety Tower in Yingjin City. Once we're there, I'll find a way to exempt your family of three from labor duties and give you a two-bedroom apartment. What do you think?" Gu Xiheng said calmly.

"Really? Just taking you to Yingjin City gets us all that?" Ai Yue's interest was piqued, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Gu Xiheng.

During this time, Gu Xiheng hadn't seen Ai Yue show much emotion, but now she was looking at him with wide, moist, fawn-like eyes. Gu Xiheng couldn't help but chuckle.

"Of course! My life is very valuable."

"Fine! Let's do it!" Ai Yue slapped her thigh and said with determination.

Ai Yue knew that everyone entering a Safety Tower had to participate in the tower's labor. For people like them with no power or influence, the work assigned was basically dirty, smelly, and exhausting.