Help! I Do Not Want to Guide a Disaster

"What do you mean you left him out in the Red Zone for hours?!"

"I... I was just following orders," Gu Luhan’s voice was strained. "Please... just help him."

"I am trying," Doctor Ruixin replied sharply, "but I don’t fully understand what’s happening. It looks like the Red Zone corruption regenerated his body somehow. We have to wait for the test results and hope he wakes up."

Hearing Doctor Ruixin and Gu Luhan arguing was not how Wenzhi expected to wake up. Neither was the splitting headache drilling through his skull.

He was freezing... painfully cold. Someone had buried him beneath several thick blankets, but even that warmth wasn’t enough to drive away the chill lodged deep inside his bones.

Slowly, he forced his eyes open. The lights above were thankfully dim.

A laboratory. Not the familiar one... an unfamiliar lab.

He wasn’t particularly startled. From what little he’d overheard, he could already piece together part of what was happening.

"He’s awake." Gu Luhan’s voice immediately cut through the room.

Doctor Ruixin and Zhiyao both turned toward him and hurried over.

"Wenzhi?" Relief flooded Doctor Ruixin’s face.

Meanwhile, Zhiyao raised two fingers in front of him. "Boss, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"...Two?" Wenzhi’s voice came out hoarse, his throat feeling raw.

"Where..." He swallowed painfully. "Where are we?"

"Back at Sovereign," Doctor Ruixin answered immediately. "The Eclipse scientists are temporarily using our laboratory." She shined a small diagnostic light into each of his eyes, carefully checking his pupils.

"What’s happening to me?" Wenzhi muttered. "...Why am I so cold?"

Even speaking exhausted him. His eyelids felt unbearably heavy, as though he could fall asleep again at any second.

Beside the bed, Zhiyao slowly turned his head toward Gu Luhan. The look he gave him was murderous. There wasn’t any attempt to hide it. Everyone here knew. They knew Gu Luhan had been the one who pulled the trigger.

Gu Luhan immediately looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

"...Well," Doctor Ruixin sighed as she switched off the diagnostic light. "You died."

The room became silent.

"But..." she quickly continued, "you weren’t completely gone. Even after being shot..." She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "...part of your brain was still alive."

Zhiyao gently helped Wenzhi sit upright. The moment he was upright, Wenzhi instinctively grabbed the blankets and wrapped them tightly around himself until only his face remained visible. He was still freezing.

Doctor Ruixin watched him for a moment before speaking. "I think... it was the Red Zone corruption. It brought you back."

Wenzhi slowly looked at her. "...What?"

"You’ve been evolving at an abnormal speed for months." She folded her arms. "You reached SSS Rank in less than a year. That’s practically impossible. Most people spend their entire lives trying to reach S-Rank. You skipped all of that, and your evolution accelerated after you began guiding Xinyuan."

She turned toward one of the monitors displaying his medical scans. "You’ve probably noticed that Xinyuan becomes stronger the longer he’s exposed to Red Zone corruption. Eventually, he turns into a walking nuclear bomb."

She glanced back at Wenzhi. "But somehow, you’ve also been adapting to that same corruption. You’re connected to his abilities in ways we still don’t understand."

Wenzhi stared at her. "So... if Gu Luhan hadn’t taken me into the Red Zone... I would’ve actually died?"

Doctor Ruixin didn’t hesitate. "...Yes."

The word landed heavily. She let out a long breath before running a tired hand through her hair.

"It’s terrifying, but yes. The Red Zone is what regenerated you." She walked back toward the computers, her fingers immediately flying across the keyboards. "And..." Her shoulders sagged with visible relief. "...I’m incredibly grateful. Because Xinyuan almost killed all of us. Again."

Wenzhi slowly turned his head to look at Gu Luhan.

Gu Luhan immediately raised both hands in surrender. "I swear, I didn’t know this would happen," he said quickly. "Zhaohe thought the monsters would kill you. That’s why she told me to dump your body in the Red Zone."

"Then why am I so cold?" Wenzhi asked, tightening the blankets around himself.

Doctor Ruixin sighed. "I don’t know yet... but you’ve been unconscious for five days."

Wenzhi stared at her. "...Five days?"

"Yes, Boss," Zhiyao answered. "Five whole days. A lot has happened. The Old Blood and the CEA are gone. Sovereign is safe. The Red Zone monsters have become more active, but they’re under control, we aren’t the only faction dealing with them."

Wenzhi remained silent for a moment before asking, "Did we lose anyone?"

"No." Zhiyao shook his head. "None of our people died. Oh! There’s only one Disaster-Class Esper left besides Xinyuan and Su Zheng left. And..." He hesitated. "Chenxi still hasn’t been found."

Wenzhi lowered his eyes. "...And Xinyuan?"

"We don’t know." Zhiyao’s expression darkened. "He’s gone completely radio silent."

Wenzhi sighed, pressing a hand against his aching forehead. "...I need a cigarette."

Zhiyao immediately looked at Doctor Ruixin.

She considered it for a second before shrugging. "If it’ll help with the cold..."

Zhiyao reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette case, and offered Wenzhi one.

Wenzhi accepted the cigarette... then calmly took the entire pack.

Zhiyao snorted. "I knew you were going to do that." He handed him a lighter anyway.

Wenzhi lit the cigarette and took a slow drag. Warm smoke filled his lungs. It didn’t stop the cold, but it helped.

His grey eyes slowly lifted toward Gu Luhan.

Gu Luhan swallowed. "...I’m sorry. Again. I’ll be leaving today. I’m going to find Chenxi."

"And if you get yourself killed?" Zhiyao’s voice turned icy. "Will that erase the fact that you shot Wenzhi? Will it erase the fact that you almost got every single one of us killed?"

Gu Luhan lowered his head. "...No."

"You aren’t going anywhere." There was no room for argument. Zhiyao turned and walked out of the laboratory.

Silence settled over the room. Wenzhi continued smoking quietly.

Gu Luhan stood awkwardly before glancing toward Doctor Ruixin, who was completely absorbed in the data scrolling across her monitor.

Taking advantage of the moment, Gu Luhan slowly reached into his pocket. When he pulled his hand back out, a silver ring with blue diamond rested in his palm.

"...I took this off your finger..." His voice caught. "...when you..." He stopped himself, swallowing hard. "...It’s yours."

Wenzhi’s heart skipped. His fingers trembled as he lowered the cigarette from his lips. Without saying a word, he accepted the ring.

Slowly... he slid it back onto his finger himself. It fit perfectly.

Gu Luhan forced a small smile. "...I’m sorry. I truly am."

Wenzhi didn’t answer. He only looked at him.

After several long seconds, Gu Luhan gave a faint nod before quietly leaving the laboratory. The automatic doors slid shut behind him.

Only then did Doctor Ruixin stop typing. She let out a tired sigh and slowly turned her chair toward Wenzhi.

His gaze remained fixed on the ring resting on his finger, the cigarette burning quietly between his fingers.

Doctor Ruixin offered him a small, almost guilty smile.

The moment Wenzhi saw it, a knot formed in his stomach.

"...Doctor." He looked up at her. "You have bad news for me, don’t you?"

"No." Doctor Ruixin shook her head before rising to her feet. She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, facing Wenzhi.

"Not exactly." She sighed heavily. "I’m just... sorry. I told them about you reaching SSS-rank, and now..."

She rubbed at her forehead. "I’m worried. We left here celebrating. I mean, you got married. And then, hours later, I heard you were dead. Xinyuan was abducted by the Old Blood. He killed them. He nearly killed all of us. And then he disappeared."

She let out a weary laugh.

"So... I guess the good news is that you aren’t actually dead. The Old Blood and the CEA are gone." Her eyes swept over him. "...The bad news is... you look terrible."

Wenzhi chuckled softly, exhaling a slow stream of smoke. "What exactly is wrong with me, Doctor?"

Ruixin’s expression dimmed. "...I don’t know. I really don’t. But we’ll find out. Tomorrow, I’ll run every test I can think of."

She stood up. "I’ll have someone bring you food. You should stay here tonight. I’ll make sure nobody comes in to bother you."

She hesitated, then quietly reached inside her lab coat. When her hand came back out, there was a gun resting in her palm.

She held it out. "...Just in case."

Wenzhi looked at the weapon before accepting it. "Thank you." His voice came out rough and hoarse.

Doctor Ruixin managed a small smile. "...Just don’t die again."

Wenzhi gave a quiet snort. "I’ll try."

He slipped the gun beneath the blankets before bringing the cigarette back to his lips.

Ruixin watched him for another second, then nodded to herself. Without another word, she left the laboratory.

The automatic doors slid shut behind her.

Wenzhi slowly released another plume of smoke before lowering his gaze to the silver ring resting on his finger. "Where are you, Shao Xinyuan?"

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