You Are Very Brave

Both of them were in relatively good shape—one had a slight bump on his forehead, the other had twisted her leg. The commotion next door had startled them both awake.

When they saw Tu Ran enter, their faces tensed.

Tu Ran looked at the man with the bandaged forehead. "Pack up your things and move to another ward."

"Why? Is it because..." He glanced at the woman with the twisted leg on the neighboring bed.

Could she be infected? Was that why he was being moved?

The woman tensed as well, her lips trembling. Was she really infected?

"Don't overthink it. A room opened up next door, and I'm separating you two. No matter which one of you mutates, the other won't be harmed, and we'll have less to worry about," Tu Ran said.

The man agreed immediately. Having a room to himself was indeed safer.

He grabbed his coat at once and followed Tu Ran into the adjacent ward.

The first thing he saw was the blood-soaked bed, with unknown fluids still pooled on the floor.

The man stopped in his tracks.

Was it too late to change his mind?

"The two beds up front will do just fine," Tu Ran said, noticing he had stopped. She turned to glance at him. "What matters more now—your life or the decor?"

"My life." The man didn't hesitate.

He stepped over the puddle of viscous liquid with firm strides.

After settling him in, Tu Ran left the ward and closed the door behind her.

Now she wouldn't have to spare any extra attention on those two rooms.

Tu Ran went back out to continue her rounds.

When she got tired, she sat on the bench by the wall and rested for a while.

Then she resumed patrolling.

Occasionally she would peek through the windows to check on the people inside.

So far, everyone was stable.

The pioneer who had been holed up in Ward 401 finally came out. After escorting the doctor back to the rest room, he looked at Tu Ran.

"I saw you on the news today," he greeted her.

Tu Ran glanced at his name tag: Zhao Yan.

"You are very brave," he said.

"Thank you." Tu Ran smiled politely.

"Do you need some rest?" Tu Ran noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

He glanced at his watch. "Another half hour, and my replacement will be here."

Tu Ran said nothing more and sat back down on the bench.

Zhao Yan continued patrolling the corridor.

The half hour passed without incident.

Half an hour later, the pioneer replacing Zhao Yan came up, bringing lunch for everyone on this floor.

Nutrient solution.

All sorts of flavors.

Tu Ran took a portion from his hands and delivered it to each ward one by one.

She also brought three bottles to the doctors' room where Meng Fanchen and the others were.

The rest went to the break room for Ding Naiqing and the three guards.

Tu Ran, the new pioneer, and the three guards patrolling the hallway all remained silent.

Everyone's mood was somber, each quietly drinking their own nutrient solution.

It didn't take long for everyone to finish. The bottles were tossed into a pile, and they all returned to their duties.

When would this ever end?

Tu Ran looked up at the ceiling in frustration.

She didn't want to stay cooped up here. She wanted to be out with that third of the pioneers, monitoring for potential latent infections.

That way she could move around freely, instead of being stuck in a space reeking of blood, unable to go anywhere.

"Bang! Bang bang!"

Gunfire rang out from the floors above.

She couldn't tell which floor it was.

Ever since she'd arrived, Tu Ran had heard gunshots over a dozen times, all of them from the upper floors.