The person in his arms weighed almost nothing—yet felt heavy enough to make his heart sink.
Through the thin layer of fabric, he could feel Su Yun’s body temperature dropping rapidly, turning as cold as the blackboard she had just wiped.
“Damn it.”
Xiao Zhan cursed under his breath. For the first time, panic flickered across his usually composed face.
“What are you all staring at?! Why are you just standing there?!”
He roared at the stunned experts and technicians. “Call the infirmary! No—forget it, I’ll take her myself!”
Before he finished speaking, he bent down and scooped Su Yun up.
A perfect bridal carry—though in the arms of a 1.92-meter-tall, broad-shouldered man, she looked even smaller and more fragile.
Liu Jianguo was the first to react. Trembling, he pointed at Xiao Zhan, his lips shaking.
“Y-you little… be careful! That’s a national treasure! If she gets hurt, I’ll hold you responsible!”
Xiao Zhan didn’t bother responding. Holding her, he sprinted out.
At full speed, he dashed from the research building straight toward the infirmary a hundred meters away.
…
The infirmary doors were kicked open with a loud bang.
The crash startled a young nurse so badly she dropped the tray in her hands.
“Doctor! Where the hell are you?!”
Xiao Zhan carefully laid Su Yun on the clean white bed.
He turned around, eyes bloodshot, glaring fiercely at the approaching medical staff.
Lin Wanwan had just calmed down after the earlier scene and was touching up her makeup with a small mirror.
Hearing the commotion, her heart skipped. She stepped out just in time to see Xiao Zhan looking like he might devour someone.
Then her gaze shifted—to Su Yun lying on the bed.
That woman again.
What stunt was she pulling now?
Though she was extremely unwilling, as the doctor on duty, Lin Wanwan forced herself into a professional expression and hurried over.
“Captain Xiao, don’t worry. Let me take a look.”
As she spoke, she reached to unbutton Su Yun’s collar for examination.
Her fingers were slender, her nails neatly shaped. Though nail polish wasn’t allowed, she had left them slightly long, delicate and well-kept.
Just as her hand was about to touch Su Yun’s skin—
A large hand suddenly appeared, grabbing her wrist without mercy.
“Ah—! That hurts!”
Lin Wanwan cried out, feeling as if her bones were about to be crushed.
Xiao Zhan flung her hand aside with force, sending her stumbling backward into a cabinet with a loud crash.
“Don’t touch her.”
Clutching her reddened wrist, Lin Wanwan’s eyes filled with tears—hurt and disbelief.
“Xiao Zhan! I’m a doctor! If I don’t examine her, who will? You’re delaying treatment!”
Xiao Zhan didn’t even glance at her tearful face. His gaze swept over her hands.
“With nails that long, are you here to examine her—or scratch her?”
Lin Wanwan froze, looking down at her nails.
Long? They were barely a little grown out…
“With how fragile she is—bruises at the slightest touch—you think she can handle your claws?”
Xiao Zhan snorted, then shouted toward the door, “Old Zhang! Zhang Debiao! Get in here!”
An elderly military doctor with graying hair and reading glasses walked in unhurriedly.
He was the most senior doctor at the base, usually treating only high-ranking officials.
“What’s all this shouting? I could hear your braying from miles away.”
Though he scolded Xiao Zhan, his steps were quick.
He approached the bed, glanced at Su Yun’s pale face, then at Lin Wanwan’s shifting expression—understanding immediately.
“Out of the way. You smell like smoke—don’t fumigate the patient.”
He waved Xiao Zhan aside and placed his thin fingers on Su Yun’s wrist to check her pulse.
Two minutes later—
Xiao Zhan couldn’t hold back. “Old Zhang, what’s wrong with her? Did she fry her brain? She just filled an entire board with nonsense and then collapsed.”
Zhang Debiao rolled his eyes. “Fry her brain? She’s hungry!”
“Hungry?”
Xiao Zhan stared. “She ate five meat buns, a whole basin of vermicelli, and five eggs this morning! Where did it all go in a few hours?”
“Doesn’t mental work consume energy?”
Zhang said irritably. “This girl already has a weak constitution—severe malnutrition and hypoglycemia.
If she really did intense mental work like you said, then her brain acted like a pump and drained every bit of sugar from her body. She’s lucky she didn’t die!”
Xiao Zhan opened his mouth but had no response.
So she was some kind of high-consumption machine?
Eats a lot—and burns it even faster?
“Then what do we do? Put her on glucose?” he asked.
“Glucose drip? That’s strategic material—reserved for the severely wounded.”
Zhang pulled out a prescription slip. “Get her something high in sugar. Preferably liquid, easy to absorb.”
With that, he left. Before exiting, he cast a meaningful glance at Lin Wanwan.
“Some people should tidy up their thoughts—and trim their nails. That’s basic hygiene regulation.”
Lin Wanwan’s face flushed red. Biting her lip, she stormed into the duty room and slammed the door.
The ward fell quiet.
Xiao Zhan looked at Su Yun, her breathing steadier but still unconscious, and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
High sugar? Liquid?
Out here in the desert, aside from brown sugar water or plain sugar water, where was he supposed to—
Suddenly, he remembered something. He checked his pockets.
Empty.
“Damn it.”
He cursed and strode out.
…
Ten minutes later.
Su Yun woke to an incredibly tempting sweet aroma.
[Warning lifted: Blood sugar slowly rising. Energy reserve: 3%.]
She struggled to open her eyes, vision still blurry.
A tall figure sat by the bed, holding a glass jar, awkwardly prying open the metal lid with a military knife.
Pop.
The lid came off, and the sweet fragrance of canned yellow peaches filled the room.
In these times of scarcity, that was an absolute luxury.
Only seriously ill patients or those who had rendered great service could get one.
Su Yun’s throat moved involuntarily.
“You’re awake?”
Xiao Zhan wiped the knife on his pant leg and tucked it back into his boot.
Holding the jar in one hand and a spoon in the other, he glared at her fiercely.
“If you’re awake, open your mouth. Damn my luck—I’m your bodyguard and now I’ve got to feed you like a pig.”
He grumbled, but his actions were careful.
He scooped up a large piece of golden peach.
But clearly, he wasn’t used to taking care of others—the spoon went straight toward her mouth.
“Mm…” Su Yun turned her head away, frowning slightly. “Too big.”
The chunk was bigger than her mouth.
Xiao Zhan paused, glanced at the oversized piece, then at her small face, and clicked his tongue.
“Fussy.”
He stuffed it into his own mouth, bit off half, then held out the remaining half.
“Eat.”
Su Yun: “…”
Was this… special forces-style feeding?
But she had no strength to argue. She opened her mouth and accepted it.
The cool, sweet syrup slid down her throat, instantly reviving her drained body.
[Energy 2%… 2%…]
Her eyes narrowed in satisfaction, like a contented cat.
Watching her cheeks puff as she chewed, Xiao Zhan felt the inexplicable irritation in his chest ease.
“More,” Su Yun said after swallowing, opening her mouth again.
“What am I, your dad?” Xiao Zhan glared.
“If you can get me braised pork, I wouldn’t mind calling you that.”
She said shamelessly.
Xiao Zhan laughed in exasperation.
As he mashed the peaches into smaller pieces, he muttered, “Dream on. This jar costs half a month of my allowance. Eat yourself to death, you spendthrift.”
This time, the spoonful was just right, with some syrup.
Su Yun ate obediently, color finally returning to her lips.
Outside the ward, behind the glass window—
Lin Wanwan stared at the scene.
That was premium canned yellow peaches!
Even she couldn’t bear to eat it when she was sick—yet Xiao Zhan was feeding it to that woman like pig feed?
And… the arrogant “King of Hell” was actually mashing the fruit for her?
Her nails dug into her flesh as the sight made her want to scream.
“I’m done.”
Su Yun licked her lips. The entire jar—fruit and syrup—was gone.
Xiao Zhan set the empty jar aside and pulled the blanket over her.
“Now sleep. Old Liu nearly went crazy—he’s outside right now gathering people to study your ‘scrap drawing.’”
“That’s not scrap.”
Su Yun corrected, her eyes suddenly sharp. “That’s the future.”
“Yeah, yeah, the future.”
Xiao Zhan waved it off. “Whether that future can be realized depends on our manufacturing capability. With our pile of junk metal…”
“It can’t be made.”
She interrupted calmly.
Xiao Zhan froze. “What do you mean? You’re messing with us?”
“Ordinary steel doesn’t have enough yield strength to handle that rotational speed.”
Leaning against the pillow, still weak but authoritative, she continued, “I need a special high-temperature-resistant memory alloy for the core bearing.”
“What alloy?” Xiao Zhan frowned.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
She sighed. “Material science in this era is too backward.
This kind of ore only forms under specific geological conditions. If I remember correctly, about 300 kilometers from here, near the border, there’s a place called Heishankou. There’s an associated ore there—columbite-tantalite.”
Xiao Zhan’s expression changed instantly.
That was a war zone.
Not just desolate—but a gray area full of enemy activity.
“No.”
He refused firmly. “Whatever you need, I’ll file a report and get a geological team.”
“They won’t recognize it.”
Su Yun met his gaze. “After weathering, it looks identical to ordinary iron ore. You need specific spectral analysis—or I pick it myself.”
“Not happening.”
Xiao Zhan stood, casting a large shadow over her. “That’s the border. You could get shot at any time. With your body? You’d be blown away by the wind.”
“If we don’t go, that blueprint is useless. The missile range won’t double. We’ll keep being choked by others.”
She met his eyes without backing down.
“And besides…”
She smiled faintly. “Aren’t you here? The Northwest Wolf King—can’t even protect one woman?”
Xiao Zhan stared at her for a long moment, teeth grinding.
She knew exactly how to push his buttons.
A crude tactic—but effective.
“Fine.”
He forced the word out, leaning down with both hands braced on the bed, looming over her.
“I’ll take you. But if you complain even once, I’ll throw you into a mine pit myself!”
Su Yun smiled sweetly.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got a leg accessory.”
“What accessory?”
“You.”