Watch Out, Doctor Xu (Bonus 2)

Tu Ran paid close attention to the note Xu Bingli had for his contact: Z.

She didn't know who this "Z" specifically was, but she knew it had to be someone from the Wells Family.

The reason was simple: Xu Bingli worked for the Wells Family.

Xu Bingli had graduated from one of the Federation's elite universities—a school that, it was said, you couldn't attend without a fortune of a million. But Xu Bingli himself was an ordinary citizen, his family far from wealthy. He'd only been able to attend that aristocratic school because of the Wells Family's sponsorship.

As for why the Wells Family had sponsored him, from the flash of memory Tu Ran caught, it seemed they'd seen talent in his medical aptitude.

After graduating from the elite university, Xu Bingli joined the Medical Department. With the Wells Family backing him, he'd risen quickly from intern to his current position as Deputy Director and Chief Physician—a model of an ordinary man's rise through the ranks.

For years now, Xu Bingli had been working for the Wells Family.

The Wells Family controlled ninety percent of the pharmaceutical market, but the Medical Department itself was a government body, controlled by the Xie Family.

Xu Bingli was, in effect, the Wells Family's "man on the inside" at the center of the Medical Department.

This kind of situation wasn't uncommon across the Federal Government's structure.

The three major families appeared unified from the outside—together against extreme protesters, together maintaining Federation order—but internally, competition was fierce. Political maneuvering and scheming happened every day, and each family tried its best to place its own people within the Federal Government to maximize its interests.

It was only because the Xie Family was so dominant that the Wells and Pang Families had to bide their time beneath them.

But whether they were truly submissive on the inside—anyone with half a brain could guess that answer.

In the past, the three families' rivalries had played out on the commercial and political chessboards, chasing each other back and forth, nearly at a stalemate.

But the arrival of the Threshold, the sudden emergence of inner cores, and the overwhelming power of abilities had shattered that balance.

Almost as one, the three families abandoned their traditional methods of competition. They began to throw their full strength into vying for inner cores.

The Wells Family had some way of determining whether a person possessed an inner core—Tu Ran didn't know how—but they'd managed to find four Pioneers, including Xi Chunzhi.

They'd precisely extracted an inner core from the nape of each person's neck, without fail.

Where the inner cores ultimately went, Xu Bingli's memories couldn't say. He only provided the location; once extracted, the cores were taken by people sent by the Wells Family.

And the Pioneers who lost their cores—they weren't let go either. Their bodies still held research value.

As for why Xi Chunzhi had escaped that fate, it was because Zero had judged that her only friend was too unpredictable.

That "unpredictability," as Tu Ran understood it, meant she was liable to go crazy at any moment.

If her best friend went missing, she'd try everything to find her, and when she couldn't, she'd blow the whole thing sky-high—which would draw the attention of the Xie and Pang Families.

At this point in time, all three families were watching each other's every move.

Tu Ran, a single Pioneer, couldn't accomplish much on her own—but the Xie and Pang Families could.

If they investigated and found out the Wells Family had been secretly killing Pioneers to get inner cores, that wouldn't be easy to handle.

So, to be absolutely safe, the Wells Family planned to use Xi Chunzhi to placate Tu Ran first, then find an opportunity to dispose of her.

They'd wipe her and Xi Chunzhi out of the Federation altogether.

The wind outside continued to blow. Tu Ran caught a faint smell of burning on the breeze.

She pulled her scattered thoughts back together.

That smell was common enough in this world: a chemical plant leak, a bomb attack from extreme protesters, or a large-scale war nearby—all could produce it.

Tu Ran glanced at a mushroom cloud rising in the distance and silently put on her helmet.

Xu Bingli also stopped his work.

The window sealed itself shut.

"Has Dr. Xu found anything?" Tu Ran asked, already knowing the answer.

"Her condition is very stable. She'll be fine before long," Xu Bingli said calmly.

"Really?"

"Mm." Xu Bingli nodded.

Tu Ran gave a silent snort. Of course he could say that with such confidence—in a few days, she'd be dealt with by the Wells Family.

"Thank you for your trouble, Dr. Xu." Tu Ran stared at him, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly behind her mask.

Dr. Xu, you'd better be careful on your way home these next few days.

The Wells Family wants to deal with me. I'm not about to just sit here waiting.

But I can't reach the Wells Family directly right now, so I'll have to start with you.

"No trouble." Xu Bingli's usual warm, courteous smile seemed a bit stiff now.

He felt a chill creeping up on him, wrapping around him from head to toe.

Tu Ran left together with Xu Bingli.

It was already 6:40. She needed to hurry back to the Pandalim District.

The two of them took the elevator up. Tu Ran's destination was the 48th floor; Xu Bingli was heading to a higher one.

There were only the two of them in the elevator. At the 30th floor, the doors opened to reveal Meng Fanchen and his friends standing outside.

Tu Ran met their gazes and closed her eyes briefly. Why do I keep running into them everywhere? They're doctors, aren't they? Feels like they do nothing all day.

Seeing Xu Bingli and Tu Ran together, the expressions on Meng Fanchen and his friends' faces were nothing short of spectacular. Their gazes flickered between Tu Ran and Xu Bingli, unable to believe the two of them were standing together so harmoniously in the same elevator.

"Getting on or not?"

They kept standing there, not getting on. Tu Ran spoke up impatiently.

She was in a hurry.

"Getting on, getting on!" Meng Fanchen said quickly, grabbing one of his friends and squeezing in.

The others filed in one after another.

The elevator in the Medical Department was plenty spacious—nearly ten people standing inside didn't feel crowded at all.

Tu Ran and Xu Bingli stood in the center, a step apart.

Meng Fanchen and his group pressed themselves against the four walls of the elevator, heads down, silent—as if even breathing might be too much.

The elevator rose smoothly.

Xu Bingli broke the silence. "You're all surgical interns, aren't you?"

"Yes!" Meng Fanchen said, excited. "Dr. Xu, I can't believe you remember us. I'm in mechanical surgery, he's in brain surgery, he's also in mechanical surgery, he's in heart..."

Tu Ran listened quietly. So even the surgical subspecialties in this world were different from those in her old one.

"The surgical departments are on floors 11 to 25," Xu Bingli said. "Is there something taking you all upstairs?"

"Zero notified us to come up," Meng Fanchen explained. "A military factory in the Eden District was attacked by gene monsters, which ignited some semi-finished explosives and injured a lot of people. Since it's near the suspended rail station, the wounded were loaded onto the rail cars and they're heading this way. We're here to receive them."

Xu Bingli nodded.

The elevator reached the 48th floor. The doors opened, and Tu Ran stepped out alone.