Chapter 360 - 322: Stall Until They Send You to the Hospital
Chapter 360: Chapter 322: Stall Until They Send You to the Hospital
"What do you think you’re doing?!" Philinos hissed, his face cold and his eyes blazing with fury. He gripped the hilt of his blade, mustering his last shred of reason to keep from drawing it in front of Gu Ning.
Wanai said nothing. He took the last two bottles of water from his backpack, poured them both into the pot, and placed it on the stove to heat.
"The faucet by the shelter outside still works." Wanai glanced at the young female, who was shivering uncontrollably but still glaring at him. He broke open a nearby wooden crate with his bare hands, added the wood to the stove to make the fire burn brighter. "The valve’s a little rusty, so let the water run for a bit."
"And a word of warning: don’t get water from anywhere else, and don’t even think about finding reinforcements. Otherwise, you’ll just be asking to die."
"Rinse the bucket out while you’re at it," he added.
Philinos released the hilt of his blade and bent down to pick up the empty bucket. He caught a whiff of soap and the scent of a Leopard, and his brow furrowed slightly. "What did you use this bucket for?"
SNAP! Wanai snapped the wooden plank in his hands, his eyes fixed on the young female as one corner of his mouth curled into a smirk.
Gu Ning shrank deeper into her overcoat. Suddenly, an image flashed through her hazy mind. When she looked at Wanai again, she sensed an unspeakable malice in his smirk.
"..."
In a dry, hoarse voice, Gu Ning shouted to Philinos, "Bird Team, rinse it out really well!"
"I’ll be right back." Philinos had no time to worry about it. The priority was taking care of Gu Ning.
He grabbed the bucket, pulled open one half of the shipping container door, and squeezed out.
A sliver of light pierced the gloom for a moment before vanishing.
Inside the shipping container, only Gu Ning and the Leopard breaking wooden planks remained.
Gu Ning pressed herself against the wall, closed her eyes, and silently waited for Philinos to return with the water.
The constant CRACK-SNAP of wood breaking filled her ears, and she gradually began to feel warmer.
But her body ached terribly, even worse than the time she had a fever in Zone 19.
*Cough, cough...* Gu Ning’s throat tickled, and she couldn’t help but let out a few coughs.
Just then, a shadow fell over her, and she felt a cool, rough touch on her neck.
Gu Ning opened her eyes to find Wanai squatting beside her, his hand feeling around on her body.
"What are you... doing?" she asked. She tried to push his hand away, but her body was weak and sore. She had no strength and couldn’t budge him an inch.
Wanai’s free hand caught her flailing ones. His other hand traveled from her neck down to her chest, where he pressed two fingers against her heart, feeling its rhythm through her Silver Armor.
Gu Ning had no idea what this Leopard was up to. Her body tensed, and she watched him, her eyes full of suspicion.
After about twenty seconds, his fingers moved to the center of her chest. Gu Ning struggled to sit up, but he simply used the momentum to support her back, pull down her overcoat and the shirt of his she wore underneath, and press his ear to her chest.
Gu Ning was horrified. She shoved at his head. "Get off!"
But whether she shoved his head or pulled his hair, the Leopard remained completely still, his ear pressed motionlessly against her chest.
Her breathing grew ragged. She began to cough, still pushing at him.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH! Get off me!"
Wanai listened to the wheezing in her chest and the rhythm of her breathing. Then he pulled her clothes back into place and gently laid her back down.
SLAP! A soft, warm palm struck his face.
Wanai froze, his head tilted slightly as he stared at the young female.
Gu Ning shot him a glare, pulled her clothes tightly around herself, and turned her back to him.
Wanai rubbed the cheek she had slapped, then gently poked her in the face. When Gu Ning turned her head to look back at him, he said, "Returning the favor."
Gu Ning: "..."
Wanai got up and went to his backpack. He pulled out a small, personal medical kit and a few other useful items.
Gu Ning watched him rummage through his bag for a moment before he placed the items beside her and took the pot off the stove.
"The water’s warm," Wanai said. He moved to help Gu Ning sit up, but she shied away, managing to prop herself up with some effort.
Wanai handed her the spoon he had used for the soup earlier.
Gu Ning took the spoon, scooped up some warm water, and took a tentative sip.
It wasn’t too hot, but it had a distinct taste of fish soup.
She was in no position to be picky. She began to drink it, one spoonful at a time.
But the fishy flavor that had smelled so fragrant just a short while ago now tasted rank and greasy. She gagged, fighting back the urge to vomit as she forced herself to keep drinking.
Wanai just watched as she gagged, took a few sips, gagged again, and took a few more.
’...’ ’What an interesting female. She can even drink it like this.’
"Stop drinking if you don’t want to," Wanai said.
Gu Ning ignored him. After forcing down five or six more spoonfuls, she heaved.
She clapped a hand over her mouth, trying desperately to hold it in, but it was no use. With a loud GAG, she threw everything up.
Wanai’s expression hardened. He moved forward and patted her on the back to help her catch her breath.
Gu Ning threw up until tears streamed from her eyes. She cursed between heaves, "You son of a bitch, couldn’t you have washed the damn pot?"
Wanai didn’t understand. "What?"
Gu Ning felt like she was dying. She grabbed Wanai’s collar and shouted, "I said, you son of a bitch! You hear me?! You son-of-a-bitch kitten!"
Wanai just stared at her in confusion. He didn’t understand the words, but he knew she was angry.
He swept the young female up into his arms, ignoring her kicks and struggles, and moved her to a clean spot. Then he brought over the medical kit. He took out a Degeneration Inhibitor and a Healing Potion, twisted off the caps, poured out most of the liquid from each—leaving only about a tenth of the volume—and mixed the two remaining medicines together.
Gu Ning watched his movements, a bad feeling creeping over her. Switching to the Beastman language, she asked, "What do you think you’re doing?"
Wanai swirled the small amount of blue liquid in the glass vial. "This can temporarily suppress the progression of your illness and buy time until they can get you to a hospital."
He had seen other females in the hospital with similar symptoms. Healing Agents and Inhibitors couldn’t cure any female-specific illnesses, but they could at least slow their progression.
Gu Ning didn’t fully understand what he said, but when she saw him approaching her with the mixed vial, ready to inject it, she turned pale with horror. "Stay away!"
Wanai said, "It won’t hurt. I’ll be done in a second."
Gu Ning scrambled backward until her back hit the corner, with nowhere left to retreat. "I can’t use that!"
Wanai squatted in front of her, blocking her escape. "Even if it doesn’t work, there are no side effects. If you don’t want to get sicker, you’ll take the medicine."
In essence, the same thing affected the genes of both male and female Beastmen, it just manifested differently. Females would get sick and grow weak—in severe cases, it could even be fatal. Males, on the other hand, would degenerate and regress.
When the Beastmen first developed the Degeneration Inhibitor, they intended for it to be used by both males and females. But when they later discovered it wasn’t very effective on females, they had no choice but to research other medicines.
As for the commonly used Healing Agents on the market, their ingredients contained a large amount of healing factors, making them usable by both males and females.
Gu Ning held up a hand to block him, saying firmly, "I can’t use it!"
’It won’t kill me, but it will make me feel even worse.’
The last time she was sick, Cook had given her a small dose. Not only was the injection painful, but she had also broken out in a rash afterward. Cook had frantically given her some oral medication, and while the rash subsided, she was left with vomiting and diarrhea that tormented her for days. In the end, she had to rely on bringing her temperature down manually and her own relatively strong constitution to pull through.
’I don’t want to go through that again.’