41: I've fallen for him

Qin Lin had a severe abrasion on his right ankle, deep enough to expose the flesh.

Lin Wanwan cleaned it with disinfectant, causing Qin Lin to twitch in pain even while unconscious.

"Be gentle..."

Su Yuran said worriedly.

"I know."

Lin Wanwan's movements became lighter.

After treating all his frostbite, they bandaged the severe wounds with clean gauze.

Then they put dry pajamas on Qin Lin.

They were men's pajamas Su Yuran had taken from her closet—they must have belonged to Qin Lin.

After finishing all this, both girls were exhausted and sweating profusely.

Qin Lin was still unconscious, but his complexion had improved slightly, and his breathing was steadier.

"Let him rest," Lin Wanwan said. "We'll take turns watching him."

Su Yuran nodded, "You go rest first, I'll take the first shift."

"No, let's stay together."

Lin Wanwan sat down by the bed.

"I can't sleep."

The two of them sat by the bed, watching over the unconscious Qin Lin.

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened.

The third day was about to end.

The RV was quiet, save for the faint hum of the ventilation System and Qin Lin's slow breathing.

Lin Wanwan looked at Qin Lin's sleeping face.

His brows were tightly furrowed; even unconscious, he seemed to be enduring some kind of pain.

His eyelashes were long, casting faint shadows beneath his eyelids.

His lips were still pale, but much better than before.

She recalled what Su Yuran had said earlier.

"Qin Lin has some special missions... he might need your help..."

She didn't understand then, but now she seemed to.

Qin Lin almost sacrificed his life to get the crystal stone, upgrade the RV, and protect them.

Yet she herself could do nothing.

If... if Qin Lin truly needed her "help" to complete those missions, would she refuse?

Lin Wanwan asked herself honestly.

The answer was no.

Not just out of gratitude, nor just a desire to repay him, but also because... as she looked at Qin Lin's face, a strange, intense feeling surged in her heart.

It was worry, admiration, and... something indescribable.

"Senior Sister."

Su Yuran suddenly spoke, her voice very soft.

"What kind of person do you think Qin Lin is?"

Lin Wanwan snapped back to reality, thought for a moment, and said seriously:

"To me, he is a... hero."

"A hero?"

Su Yuran gave a wry smile.

"There are no heroes. He's just an ordinary person—afraid of the cold, afraid of dying, someone who gets hurt and faints."

"But that's exactly why he's more like a hero," Lin Wanwan said.

"If he were invulnerable and omnipotent, he'd be called a god. But he's not; he gets hurt, gets tired, and gets scared, yet he still chooses to do those dangerous things. That is what makes him a hero."

Su Yuran looked at her, her gaze complex.

"Senior Sister, you..."

"I've fallen for him."

Lin Wanwan said suddenly, freezing herself the moment the words left her mouth, her face instantly turning scarlet.

But she didn't take the words back just because Su Yuran was there.

Instead, she repeated them more firmly.

"I like Qin Lin. It's not gratitude; it's liking him."

Su Yuran fell silent.

After a long time, she finally said, "I know."

"You... aren't angry?"

Lin Wanwan asked cautiously.

"Why should I be angry?"

Su Yuran smiled, a hint of bitterness in her expression.

"In the Apocalypse, feelings are the greatest luxury. To be able to like someone, and to be liked by someone, is a blessing. Moreover..."

She grasped Lin Wanwan's hand: "If we both like the same person, at least it proves we have equally good taste."

Lin Wanwan's eyes welled up.

"Yuran, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

Su Yuran shook her head.

"If you must thank me, wait until Qin Lin wakes up and help him complete those 'missions' properly."

She spoke vaguely, but Lin Wanwan understood.

Her face flushed again, but this time, she didn't evade the topic; instead, she nodded gently:

"Mhm."

Night deepened.

Qin Lin still hadn't woken up.

The two girls rested in shifts, one sleeping for two hours while the other watched.

They fed Qin Lin water, wiped his sweat, and changed the wet towel on his forehead.

At 3 AM, Qin Lin started running a fever.

His temperature quickly rose to 39.5°C; he was burning hot and started talking deliriously.

"Cold... so cold..."

"Dig... two more meters..."

"Yuran... run fast..."

Su Yuran paced anxiously.

There were fever reducers in the medical kit, but Qin Lin was unconscious and couldn't be fed them.

Lin Wanwan remembered the traditional method her mother used when she was little.

She brought warm water, soaked a towel, and applied it to Qin Lin's forehead, neck, and armpits for physical cooling.

Over and over again.

The towel was changed dozens of times, and several basins of water were used.

Finally, around 5 AM, Qin Lin's temperature began to drop.

Both girls were so exhausted they collapsed onto the floor, exchanging wry smiles.

"Senior Sister, thank you," Su Yuran said.

"It's what I should do," Lin Wanwan replied.

When dawn broke, Qin Lin's fever was gone.

His breathing was steady, and his complexion returned to normal.

He just hadn't woken up yet.

Su Yuran and Lin Wanwan had stayed up all night and were now too sleepy to keep their eyes open.

But they dared not sleep, afraid Qin Lin might relapse.

At nine in the morning, Qin Lin's eyelashes fluttered.

Then, he slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the familiar RV ceiling.

Room 001.

The second thing he saw were two haggard yet joyful faces.

"Qin Lin!" Su Yuran rushed over. "You're awake!"

Lin Wanwan also leaned closer, her eyes red.

"How do you feel? Are you still uncomfortable?"

Qin Lin wanted to speak, but his throat was too dry to make a sound.

Lin Wanwan immediately brought warm water, helped him sit up, and carefully fed it to him.

The warm water moistened his throat, and Qin Lin could finally speak, his voice hoarse.

"The crystal stone..."

"It's here!"

Su Yuran handed him the constant temperature ice crystal.

"You were holding it the whole time; we didn't dare move it."

Qin Lin took the crystal, and a pale blue light shimmered in his palm.

He looked at the two girls, and seeing their red eyes and haggard faces, his heart warmed.

"You went through a lot of trouble," he said.

"It was no trouble," Su Yuran shook her head. "You are the one who suffered."

Lin Wanwan also nodded, tears falling again.

"Qin Lin, please... don't take risks like this again. We... we worry about you."

Qin Lin looked at her, then at Su Yuran, and nodded.

"Okay."

He tightened his grip on the crystal stone and brought up the System interface.

[Complete Intermediate crystal stone detected: constant temperature ice crystal]

[Use for RV upgrade?]

"Yes," Qin Lin murmured inwardly.

The crystal transformed into a stream of light and merged into the RV body.

The familiar vibration arrived.

This time, deep in the snowy plains, the RV would complete its third transformation.

And the relationship between the three people inside the RV underwent a subtle yet profound change after this life-or-death test.