18: Chapter 18 "I'll Protect Her from Death"

Over the receiver, Su Muxue's voice had lost its usual coldness, sounding dry and raspy.

Lin Yuan leaned back on the sofa, remaining silent.

Su Muxue paused for a moment before probing:

"His daughter, Lu Xixi, is suffering from multiple organ failure and is currently in the ICU at the City Second Hospital."

She spoke faster:

"Are you looking for her because you've seen a turning point in her condition?"

For the past few days, Su Muxue's mind had been filled with Lin Yuan's diagnosis in the hospital corridor.

That hidden ailment, which even advanced equipment couldn't immediately detect, had been seen through by him at a single glance.

Going to such great lengths to find a stranger with a terminal illness—he was definitely trying to conquer a medical mystery.

"As long as she can hold on for three months,"

Lin Yuan looked at the night view of Jiangcheng outside the window,

"I guarantee she won't die."

Three months later, the apocalypse would arrive, and Superpowers would awaken.

The physical reconstruction brought about by genetic recombination would be enough to repair any disease known to mankind.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

Su Muxue gripped her phone slightly tighter.

This promise, arrogant to the extreme and a blatant provocation to modern medicine, sounded strangely certain to her ears.

[Ding! Target Su Muxue (Beauty 90), Favorability +7%, Current Favorability: 2%!]

From negative to positive.

"Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

Su Muxue's voice regained its professional crispness, even carrying a hint of urgency.

Lin Yuan gave her the address.

Less than twenty minutes later, a white Tesla screeched to a halt by the roadside of the residential complex.

Lin Yuan opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, bringing with him a faint scent of mint and tobacco.

Su Muxue had changed out of her white coat and was wearing a simple, elegant beige trench coat, adding a touch of intellectual gentleness to her demeanor.

"Lu Xixi's condition is very bad."

Su Muxue gripped the steering wheel with both hands, her expression serious,

"Multiple organ failure has triggered severe complications. The equipment at the City Second Hospital is too outdated; the medical conditions there simply cannot sustain her for long."

Lin Yuan leaned against the car window, saying nothing.

In his past life, Lu Xixi had held on until the apocalypse broke out and even awakened a Superpower in the desperate situation.

But in the early days of the apocalypse, there was a severe lack of medicine, and her physical foundation was too poor from the beginning.

That was what led to Lu Yan being backstabbed and killed over medicine.

In this life, as long as there is enough medicine, he will be able to gain the strongest soldier king.

They arrived at the City Second Hospital.

The air was permeated with the stifling stench of cheap disinfectant mixed with excrement.

Using her status as the Director of the Emergency Department at City Center Hospital, Su Muxue directly arranged a meeting with Lu Xixi's attending physician.

Inside the cramped and dilapidated office, the attending physician looked at the medical records and shook his head helplessly.

"Director Su, I'll be honest with you. This child can only hold on for another six months at most."

"And she could die from complications at any time despite resuscitation efforts. The most critical issue is that the family can barely afford the hospitalization fees anymore."

Su Muxue furrowed her brows and turned to look at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan had already stood up and walked out of the office, heading straight for the ICU.

At the end of the corridor, under the dim lights.

A man was squatting in the corner, wearing a faded old jacket. He was burly with a face full of stubble, and he was shouting in a low voice on the phone:

"I don't need the corneas, how about a kidney? I just need cash!"

A-rank Esper from his past life, Lu Yan.

Sensing footsteps, Lu Yan hung up the phone and snapped his head up.

The wariness and violence in his eyes were almost instinctive.

"Who are you?"

Lin Yuan didn't waste any words, stopping in front of Lu Yan.

"I can save your daughter."

Six words, with no preamble.

Lu Yan sneered.

He had already been swindled several times by countless scammers and so-called miracle drug salesmen.

"Get lost."

Lin Yuan didn't move, looking straight into his eyes:

"Besides trusting me, do you have any other options right now?"

Lu Yan's whole body shuddered, his fists clenching until they cracked.

Lin Yuan's words had trampled on his last shred of dignity.

Just at that moment.

Beep—beep—beep—

The monitor inside the ICU suddenly let out a piercing shriek!

A nurse pushed open the door in terror and shouted:

"The patient is in ventricular fibrillation! Prepare for defibrillation! Quick!"

Lu Yan's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he lunged toward the glass.

Su Muxue quickly grabbed Lu Yan:

"Don't go in and interfere with the defibrillation! They are administering adrenaline! You'll only kill her if you go in!"

She observed the waveforms on the monitor through the glass, her brows furrowed tightly.

"Bang!"

"Two hundred joules! Clear!"

The doctor's desperate roar came from inside the room.

The girl's frail body jolted violently on the hospital bed before falling back down heavily.

Lu Yan pressed hard against the door, the veins on the back of his hands looking like they were about to burst.

For a full ten minutes.

The lines on the monitor finally returned to a weak pulse.

The attending physician walked out, drenched in sweat, and took off his mask.

"The equipment at the City Second Hospital has reached its limit. Next time, the probability of successful resuscitation will be less than 1%."

"The family should prepare themselves mentally."

Lu Yan didn't answer.

He just stood there, his back against the cold wall.

Su Muxue looked at Lu Yan, then glanced at Lin Yuan, who remained calm and composed.

Gritting her teeth, she made an unconventional decision:

"I can help transfer her to the ICU at the City Center Hospital. They have the best extracorporeal circulation equipment in Jiangcheng; it can at least save her life."

"But..."

Su Muxue paused, her tone difficult,

"Including imported special medicine, the daily cost will be at least twenty thousand or more. Plus, the transfer requires a deposit of five hundred thousand."

Lu Yan snapped his head up.

He had dreamed of transferring his daughter to a hospital with better medical facilities like the City Center Hospital, but he had neither the money nor the connections.

"I'll find a way to scrape the money together... Please transfer Xixi over first."

Su Muxue didn't respond, glancing at Lin Yuan instead.

Lu Yan followed her gaze.

He wiped his face, his voice raspy, carrying the decisiveness typical of a soldier.

"What do you need me to do? Or who do you want me to kill?"

He knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

"I'm building a doomsday fortress," Lin Yuan answered calmly, "and I need a supervisor who understands defensive works."

Lu Yan was silent for two seconds.

A supervisor?

After he retired, he did lead a group of brothers who had been through life and death with him, specializing in these kinds of hardcore underground security projects.

But for the sake of Xixi's illness, the brothers had almost emptied their own savings. Even if he sold his own organs, he didn't want to drag his brothers into an unknown abyss.

He didn't make any promises immediately, maintaining professional caution:

"I can call my brothers to go to the site tomorrow to take a look."

"We don't take jobs that are unclear."

Lin Yuan nodded and turned to look at Su Muxue:

"Arrange the transfer."

Su Muxue immediately took out her phone to make arrangements.

Lin Yuan looked at Lu Yan and added:

"Regardless of whether you take my job after looking at the site tomorrow, I will cover all the subsequent medical expenses for your daughter."

Su Muxue turned around after finishing the call. Hearing what Lin Yuan said, she couldn't help but step forward and whisper a reminder.

"Lin Yuan, the ICU at City Center Hospital, the daily costs and the special medicine, it could cost over a million a month..."

This is a bottomless pit.

"Where is the payment office?" Lin Yuan interrupted her directly.

Su Muxue didn't react immediately. "What?"

"I'm asking you, where is the payment office of this crappy hospital? We have to settle the outstanding fees before we can transfer her, right?" Lin Yuan frowned slightly.

Five minutes later, at the payment window on the first floor of the City Second Hospital.

The on-duty cashier yawned, looked at the payment reminder slip Lu Yan handed over, and rolled their eyes impatiently:

"Lu Xixi, right? The outstanding fee is thirty-five thousand, plus the rescue fee, that's forty-two thousand in total. How are you paying?"

Lin Yuan stepped forward, pulled out the black card with no markings from his pocket, and slid it through the gap in the window.

"Charge it. First, pre-deposit ten million into her account. You handle the transfer procedures yourselves."

The cashier's yawn got stuck in their throat instantly, and they looked at Lin Yuan as if he were a lunatic:

"How much? You must be drunk! Our POS machine has a single-transaction limit..."

"Swipe." Lin Yuan uttered a single word.

The cashier shuddered, picked up the black card, swiped it on the POS machine, and with trembling hands, entered the amount of ten million.

Beep—

A crisp prompt sound rang out.

The POS machine began to whir frantically, spitting out a long receipt with a long string of zeros.

The cashier stared at the paper, unable to move for a long time.

This... was it actually real?!

Lu Yan raised his head, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at the bill.

He stood there for one second.

Two seconds.

Then, bang—

"From today on, Lu Yan's life... is yours."

Several people queuing up to register nearby all took half a step back.

Lin Yuan looked down at him.

He didn't say "There's no need for this," nor did he say "Get up."

He simply took the bill from the window and put it into his pocket.

"Meet me at Tiangong No. 1 tomorrow."

Lu Yan stood up, his eyes red, his spine still straight.

Half an hour later, the critical care ambulance arrived, and Lu Xixi was successfully transferred.

Before Lu Yan left with the ambulance, he and Lin Yuan exchanged a glance, saying nothing.

Some things had already been said with that kneeling just now.

At the entrance of the City Second Hospital.

The night breeze was a bit chilly.

Su Muxue stood on the steps, leaning against a pillar, not leaving first.

Lin Yuan was preparing to hail a taxi when she suddenly spoke:

"Lin Yuan."

Lin Yuan stopped and turned his head.

Su Muxue looked at him, devoid of her usual coldness, her gaze very direct.

"Are you free the night after tomorrow?"