Treating Xie Huiqing

Back inside the villa, the others took one look at Song Weishi and Xie Yi's disheveled state and their smiles vanished instantly.

The joy of the successful harvest evaporated. "What happened? Xiao Song, is your foot hurt? What's going on?"

"Don't go to the beach. We ran into a giant squid there—the mudflats are hiding a monster."

The two quickly recounted what had happened. Their narrow escape was a stroke of luck in the midst of misfortune.

Without the seaweed left behind by the Devil Fish, they never would have made it out alive; at the very least, Song Weishi would already be fish food.

She couldn't shake the feeling that this was a bad omen. Perhaps spending too much time with the female lead was attracting more danger her way.

She needed to find a way to stay in contact with the others while keeping her distance from Xie Yi. Otherwise, she'd end up dead before long.

Song Weishi retreated to the bathroom to shower. The familiar scent of her body wash filled her nostrils, easing some of the terror that had gripped her.

Even while washing her hair, she couldn't bring herself to close her eyes. The moment she did, she felt plunged into boundless darkness, as if those black-and-white eyes would suddenly peer at her from some corner before striking without mercy.

The feeling was deeply unsettling, and she desperately wanted to flee.

By the time she finished showering, the urge had reached its peak. Her fear kept spreading—at the very least, she had to get away from this coastline. Song Weishi would never go into the water again.

Monsters in the water were far more terrifying than those on land. In the sea, humans were already at a disadvantage, and apart from the seaweed the Devil Fish had given her, she had no way to protect herself.

Even her danger premonition hadn't triggered. Song Weishi analyzed the situation and came up with a theory: perhaps this event fell outside the original plot, so there was no warning at all.

Song Weishi towel-dried her hair. In summer, it dried quickly without a hairdryer, but the seawater had left it rough and tangled. She applied some hair oil and, while tending to her locks, pulled up the System panel.

She noticed the System had for the first time generated an incomplete task. A red dot appeared on her personal interface, and when she tapped it, the unfinished mission displayed: Kill the Deep-Sea Tyrant Squid (0/1).

Was that even something she could accomplish?

Song Weishi felt the System was overestimating her. She had been dragged around without any ability to fight back, and that enormous squid hadn't even been using its full strength—it seemed to be toying with her, like a feline hunting its prey.

First, it would cruelly toy with its food until it was exhausted, then go in for the kill.

Song Weishi felt like she was just a pathetic morsel being played with. Even with her ability, she was utterly powerless against such a colossal creature.

The handgun the System gave her was useless too. In the water, she doubted she could even hit the squid's body. Good thing she hadn't tried anything else—she'd just eaten the seaweed and made herself unnoticeable to the creature, which allowed her to escape.

Song Weishi resolved to be far more careful from now on. No more repeating that mistake. No more curiosity about such things; anything life-threatening was strictly off-limits.

The System voiced its approval of her decision. It too had been watching with bated breath today, and it felt a wave of relief when it offered timely warnings and saw Song Weishi survive the ordeal.

Song Weishi chatted idly with her, lying on the bamboo mat with the electric fan blowing, letting her hair dry naturally. It felt so good to be home. She wondered if there would ever be a life like this again, with a few aunties cooking her meals. But she did have to start thinking about it.

That night, Song Weishi drifted off to sleep lost in thought, never going back downstairs. She desperately craved warmth right now, and even if it was hot, she didn't want to go down and sit in the air conditioning.

Xie Yi had worked through the night to reinforce the signal tower, and it was ready by the next day. The signal was still intermittent, but it was a massive improvement over the complete dead zone they'd had before.

The next morning, the sky was completely clear, and the sun hung high, scorching everyone beneath it. The heat only worsened after the rain. Every plant looked wilted, as if the temperature had sapped their will to grow.

Only the vegetables in the air-conditioned room were still in decent shape. Weren't they essentially hothouse vegetables? The greenhouse was unusual, but the plants were thriving all the same. Clearly, the outdoor vegetation hadn't fully adapted to the heat either.

When Song Weishi came downstairs, they were preparing lunch. Xie Huiqing's wounds didn't look any better today; in fact, they seemed to be festering, likely due to the poor stitching done earlier.

Medical supplies here were virtually nonexistent. None of them knew how to suture properly—they could handle minor cuts, but anything professional was beyond their skills.

Song Weishi glanced at her wound; it was in bad shape. The pain was so severe that Xie Huiqing could barely turn over. It was hard to imagine how she had endured it all without making a sound.

If it were her, she'd have been screaming her lungs out. It was pure torture.

There were only two options now. First, find a doctor to clean and re-stitch the wound. Second, keep using the growth serum—she had brought back a decent amount, and the remainder was chilling in the fridge.

Both options carried equal risk. One could easily get them betrayed; the other risked mutation and death before the hunters even caught up to them.

After all, Xie Huiqing had accumulated quite a bit of toxins in her system. It could tip over the critical threshold at any moment.

Both choices were essentially suicide, but they had run out of options. A decision had to be made today. Dragging things out would only lead to certain death.

Xie Huiying calmly fed her sister, and the two of them ate in silence. Song Weishi caught a glimpse of Xie Huiying's white-knuckled grip on the spoon and looked away.

She appeared composed on the surface, but inside, she was a wreck of nerves and grief.

She just didn't want Xie Huiqing to worry any more than she already did.

The two sisters understood each other perfectly, never exchanging a cross word, handling everything with quiet composure.

Song Weishi ate in silence. Lunch featured a cold dressed vegetable dish, spicy chicken, and a plate of fried eggplant pockets—a truly delicious meal. She polished off three big bowls before feeling satisfied.

After the meal, they discussed the two options, and the serum was laid out on the table, already prepared.

Xie Huiying seemed to recall something: "I remember, wasn't Xiao Mei the head of the county hospital's department? She didn't come out with us. Xiao Nian, didn't you mention before you came back that you'd gotten in touch with her?"

Sister Chen nodded eagerly. "Oh, right! I almost forgot after we got back—I haven't had time to message her. She's in the county, so she probably hasn't heard much of what's happening in the city. Should we go see her?"

Xie Huiying had plenty of friends, and most of the aunties knew them too. They were playmates from their youth, and they'd kept in touch over the years without letting the bonds fray.

Before they came back, they'd notified all their friends in Huihai City. After returning, they'd sent messages to everyone they could reach, though some weren't within the city walls, and with the spotty signal outside, they simply couldn't be contacted.

Mei He was one of the friends they hadn't managed to reach. Fortunately, a few of them remembered where she lived. It was a last resort—they'd just have to drive over and hope for the best.

With the plan settled, they lifted Xie Huiqing, stretcher and all, into the car. A few of the aunties stayed behind with Ke Shaoyi and Jiang Qingrou to watch the house.

Sister Chen rode along in the car. They emptied out the vehicle and hit the road, navigating toward Sister Mei's place.

The journey was bumpy, and Xie Huiqing's body jostled with every dip. She never made a sound, just clenched her fists. Song Weishi did her best to steady her as they finally made it out of the tree-lined road and onto the main highway.

Song Weishi's heart tensed again. She still remembered how they'd been chased out of the base just days ago by enemy vehicles. She hoped the hunters had grown lax and wouldn't bother patrolling these parts.

As they drove, more houses appeared around them. Song Weishi kept a wary eye on the road, terrified that a car might suddenly come barreling toward them and open fire.

Fortunately, they made it without incident. There wasn't a single vehicle on the road, and hardly anyone was out in the daylight. Even when they did spot a car, no one paid them any mind.

The car left the main road and gradually entered the county. The asphalt roads were wide and smooth, and Song Weishi felt like she was back in the city—except the streets weren't as crowded. They were eerily empty, with nobody around, and the shops were all shuttered. No one was working, and no one was shopping.

She finally relaxed. After about an hour on the road, she spotted the county hospital up ahead.

The hospital gates were sealed shut, no longer accepting patients. It was anyone's guess whether any medical staff remained inside, but they didn't dare go in, afraid of revealing their whereabouts.

Xie Huiying took the back roads to avoid drawing attention. Despite the journey, no one seemed to notice them. It was even hotter here than in Huihai City, and during the day, everyone stayed indoors. Combined with the bugs outside, going out was the last thing anyone wanted to do.

Still, there were far fewer insects here than in the city. Occasionally, they spotted someone catching bugs, swinging a net to scoop up the green lacewings.

They were likely catching them for food. The city had already designated lacewings as an edible insect, though the cooking methods were a bit unusual. Some couldn't get past the psychological barrier, but for those with no other options, it became a staple. After eating them enough, they discovered that lacewings were actually quite delicious.

As a result, food made from lacewings had started to catch on in a small way. Song Weishi found the approach rather clever—killing two birds with one stone.

Whoever thought of it, it was certainly effective. At the very least, the lacewing population in the county was the smallest.

Finally, the car turned into a narrow alley. The neighborhood was old and run-down, most of the windows broken and seemingly uninhabited, though she could spot eyes peering out from a few of them.

It was impossible for them to come through unnoticed.

They couldn't exactly carry Xie Huiqing on a stretcher—that would draw even more attention.

Song Weishi averted her gaze as the car came to a stop in front of a red house. It looked slightly better than its neighbors, a typical rural self-built home.

Sister Chen got out and knocked on the door. She couldn't reach Mei He by phone, so she could only hope she was home.

After a few knocks, a cautious voice came from inside: "Who's there?"

Sister Chen replied immediately: "Xiao He! Are you home? It's Xiao Nian."

The person inside went quiet for a moment, then said skeptically, "Really? You're Xiao He?"

Sister Chen: "Yes, come see for yourself."

A moment later, a window on the second floor slid open, and a head popped out. Sister Chen stepped back a few paces so the person above could get a clear look at her.

The girl waved happily at Sister Chen, then called down, "Mom, open the door! It's Auntie Chen!"