Chapter 74 - 68: Must Go Home
Chapter 74: Chapter 68: Must Go Home
"I’m late."
Qin Ling squatted down, his gaze level with Tang Mo’s.
He was truly blaming himself. If he had arrived just a little sooner, Tang Mo wouldn’t have been hurt.
"Why didn’t you protect yourself?"
At the same time, Qin Ling was genuinely angry—angry that Tang Mo had thrown her body into the fight.
Anyone could see that Tang Mo’s fighting style was completely reckless. If she had been even a little more cautious, she wouldn’t have been so seriously injured.
The wound on her shoulder wasn’t her only injury. Once she was lost in the heat of battle, she’d long forgotten the pain, allowing the Black Wolf to leave plenty of marks on her body.
This was the first time Tang Mo had ever seen Qin Ling so grim. In her memory, he was always laughing and joking around. It was rare for him to speak to her with such stern seriousness.
"I can’t stand up..."
Knowing she was in the wrong, Tang Mo pulled out a trump card she had learned from Qin Ling himself, staring up at him with wide, watery eyes.
But she seemed to have forgotten that her face was still smeared with black camouflage and her body was covered in grime and blood. It was a look that was anything but cute.
But it was as if Qin Ling didn’t see any of that. The moment he heard her words, his heart melted, and he couldn’t bring himself to blame her anymore.
He stretched out his arms, scooped Tang Mo into his embrace, and strode toward the village.
Shen Xiaodong had been watching the battle from the gate, helpless and frantic as he saw Tiegen and Tang Mo being swarmed.
At some point, the village chief had arrived as well. He and Shen Xiaodong stood guard at the gate, ready to be Taoyuan Village’s last line of defense should any mutant beasts break through.
When they saw a group of men in black, led by a young man, intervene to rescue Tiegen, they knew Tang Mo’s reinforcements had arrived.
Their hearts leaped with joy. It seemed Taoyuan Village... was truly saved.
"Dad, look at that man. Doesn’t he look like Qin Ling? One of the youngest leaders in the Alliance, the one who’s always in the Alliance Daily?"
Shen Xiaodong stammered, having watched the entire battle through a peephole in the gate.
Two months ago, that man had appeared out of nowhere, right in the center of the Alliance’s power structure.
His distinguished family, powerful connections, ruthless and decisive leadership, cold personality, and ruggedly handsome face had etched the name Qin Ling deep into the memory of every survivor.
"So he’s the ’rich second-generation’ Miss Tang mentioned. That term really is..." Shen Qing muttered to himself.
Naturally, Qin Ling’s men, along with the Shen father and son, took care of cleaning up the battlefield.
Following Tang Mo’s directions, Qin Ling carried her to the small house where she was staying and gently laid her on the bed.
"Medicine, bandages, water."
Qin Ling scanned the room. It was so bare it looked uninhabited. He had no choice but to ask for the items from Tang Mo, the one with the Space.
He’d been in too much of a hurry to carry his girl away to grab supplies from his men.
"Why don’t you step outside? I can handle it myself."
Tang Mo, understanding his intent, felt her face flush. Her wounds were on her shoulder and various other parts of her body; she would definitely have to undress to treat them.
"You don’t seriously think I’d try anything when you’re in this state, do you?"
Unable to stay serious for long, Qin Ling teased her.
"You can barely lift your arm right now. Stop pretending to be tough, will you, my little troublemaker?"
Tang Mo struggled to lift her arm. Sure enough, a piercing pain shot through it.
After a moment’s thought, she gave up being difficult. She took the items out of her Space and handed them to Qin Ling.
Qin Ling’s movements were practiced and professional. In silence, both with blushing ears, they finished treating the wounds.
After a quick wipe-down and a change into clean clothes, Tang Mo felt much more energetic.
"It was worth it, though. This is my reward from the fight."
Tang Mo took out the Spiritual Flower she’d received from the village chief and began explaining its special properties to Qin Ling.
"It’s precious, yes, but still not worth you getting hurt over."
Qin Ling glanced at the flower, his praise exceptionally mild.
"That’s it?"
Tang Mo had nearly cried out in shock when she’d first seen the flower. Qin Ling’s reaction was giving her absolutely no sense of satisfaction.
"Don’t forget, my family runs the Alliance Exchange," Qin Ling said, rolling his eyes.
The Alliance had two major, highly profitable, large-scale commercial chains: the Alliance Exchange and the Alliance Mission Center.
The Alliance Exchange was entirely in the hands of the Qin Family, while the Alliance Mission Center was jointly managed by the Wen and Lin Families.
This was the main reason the younger generation of the Qin Family had the best resources and never lacked for rare treasures. This also explained Qin Ling’s reaction to the rare Spiritual Flower.
’It’s precious, sure, but we have them at home.’
Silently, she put the flower away. Feeling thoroughly crushed, Tang Mo went back to bed and lay down.
’Fine. I’m never showing off to Qin Ling again. It’s just too demoralizing!’
"Rest a while longer. This afternoon, you’re coming back with me." Qin Ling patted the top of Tang Mo’s head as if she were a pet.
"Back where?" Tang Mo asked, not quite processing his words.
"S Base. You’re coming back with me to recover from your injuries. I can’t possibly leave you here alone in your condition."
"What? I’m not going back!" Tang Mo shot upright. ’If I go back to S Base, I’ll never be able to get out so easily again.’
Although being out here alone meant facing countless unknown dangers, the rewards for Tang Mo were also enormous. It had forced her to grow at an incredible rate.
She had no desire to return to S Base and become a flower in a greenhouse.
"No. It’s not up for discussion." Qin Ling adopted the authoritative air he used as a leader at the base, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"No, that’s not it. You don’t understand. My spiritual power is pretty strong. I heal fast."
Qin Ling knew that spiritual power had healing properties, but that only worked if one’s spiritual power was extremely high. Otherwise, the effect was negligible.
"Could it be high enough to have you fully healed by tomorrow? It doesn’t matter what you say. Today, you’re coming with me."
Tang Mo’s shoulders slumped in defeat. She really wanted to say that with the strength of her spiritual power, her wounds probably would be about seventy or eighty percent healed by tomorrow.
After all, they were just flesh wounds. She hadn’t broken any bones.
But she didn’t want to tell Qin Ling what her Spirit Attribute Value actually was.
Tang Mo had many treasures: her Space, a spiritual power t-shirt, Wind Breaker, the Poisoned Dagger, her armor...
But her greatest trump card was, in fact, her incredibly high Spirit Attribute Value.
A high Spirit Attribute Value had many uses: enhancement, detection, healing, and more.
But each of these abilities was most effective when used as a surprise. Therefore, Tang Mo would never reveal this trump card prematurely unless it was absolutely necessary.
Qin Ling was one of the very few people she trusted, but even so, she couldn’t tell him.
Tang Mo wouldn’t even tell her own mother, Lin Yi, about this trump card.
It wasn’t that she feared betrayal. It was simply that in this apocalyptic world, this secret was the greatest source of security she could give herself.
"Fine. I’ll go back with you."