On the road, Jiang Li saw Gu Jin running out. She didn’t stop the motorcycle; she only slowed down and shouted at him.
“Gu Jin, hurry, grab my hand and get on!”
Controlling her speed, she extended one hand as she approached so he could grab it. Once he did, she pulled him onto the motorcycle in one smooth motion. After confirming he was safely on, she took out a gun without looking back and handed it to him, then twisted the throttle and sped forward at full speed.
“This is a tranquilizer gun. The dosage has been increased,” Jiang Li said. She knew that ordinary bullets might not be able to take down the tigers quickly and could even further enrage them. A tranquilizer gun, however, would take effect in a short time and stop their movement, the dosage was enough to knock a tiger unconscious.
Gu Jin understood that this was not the time to talk. He took the tranquilizer gun, wrapped one arm around Jiang Li’s waist for stability, and with the other hand aimed behind them. He fired two shots at the pursuing tigers. After confirming both had been hit, the two tigers soon became sluggish before collapsing to the ground.
Only after confirming the tigers had fallen did he finally let out a breath of relief, the tension in his chest easing.
Sitting on the motorcycle, Gu Jin was slightly dazed. He recalled how, just moments earlier, he had chased in the direction Jiang Li had gone. Soon after, he heard the sound of a motorcycle and saw her appear from around a corner in the distance. When she called for him to get on, his body had instinctively followed her command, he reached out and grabbed her hand, getting onto the motorcycle.
He didn’t expect Jiang Li to appear here at all, let alone save him.
The wind rushed against his face as the motorcycle sped forward, and only then did he come back to his senses. With his awareness returning, he suddenly felt the pain in his chest. Earlier, all his attention had been on the tigers, but now that he relaxed, the pain became sharp and clear.
The two of them continued riding for a long distance. Only after confirming they were safe did Jiang Li gradually slow down. She knew Gu Jin was injured, but she didn’t know how serious it was, so she didn’t dare to go too far and stopped near an office building.
Occasional aftershocks were still happening, but they were no longer strong. A building that had survived the major earthquake was likely well-constructed.
Jiang Li got off the motorcycle and looked at Gu Jin, whose face was already turning slightly pale. She paused for a moment. Sigh, why did she keep ending up saving people these past few days?
Still, she supported him and helped him into the office building, letting him sit down on a sofa in the lobby.
The sofa was likely meant for receiving guests, and it was quite comfortable.
“Thank you for saving me today,” Gu Jin said after sitting down.
“You saved me before as well. This can be considered repayment.”
Looking at Gu Jin’s injury, Jiang Li used her backpack as cover while actually taking a small household first-aid kit from her space and handing it to him.
She noticed that he had lost so much blood, yet hadn’t made a sound. His endurance was quite impressive.
“You can just use this.”
“I also have some gauze and medicine in my bag. I’ll use my own. These supplies are hard to find now, you should keep it,” he replied. Fortunately, he had the habit of carrying important items with him. Previously, the car only contained food and clothes, which could be restocked later.
Seeing the first-aid kit she offered, Gu Jin refused. He knew medical supplies were extremely difficult to obtain now, and since Jiang Li had already saved him, he couldn’t take her things as well.
Seeing his insistence, Jiang Li opened the kit and placed it on the sofa beside him.
“Use whatever you need from it. I don’t want this to end up being a wasted rescue,” she said. If he got infected later and there was no hospital to treat him, wouldn’t that mean her effort was wasted? Not to mention she had already lost a piece of meat and two chickens.
Gu Jin looked at her and slowly nodded.
“Alright. I’ll use it if I need to.”
“Can you manage on your own?”
“Yes, I can.”
“I’ll go find you some clothes, and check if there’s any food nearby.” His chest had been scratched by the tiger, and his clothes were already torn.
After confirming he was fine, Jiang Li headed outside. Watching her leave, Gu Jin slowly began to take off his clothes, exposing his upper body, and carefully started treating his wound.
Jiang Li walked to a nearby clothing store. The door was already damaged, but fortunately most of the surrounding buildings were newly constructed, so their quality was still decent and they hadn’t collapsed too badly. Inside, she found a few sets of clothes that Gu Jin could wear.
She then put some of the food she had previously collected into her backpack before heading back.
When she returned, she saw Gu Jin sitting on the sofa with his upper body bare. The wound on his chest had already been bandaged with gauze. His body had no excess fat, and below his chest were clearly defined eight-pack abs. He sat upright with a straight back.
The used gauze and clothes had already been tidied up and placed aside. She also glanced at the first-aid kit she had left there and saw that the disinfectant inside had been used, which satisfied her.
She handed him the clothes, water, and bread she had found, then sat down on another sofa nearby.
Gu Jin took the items and thanked her. After putting on the clothes, he slowly began eating. He did need to replenish his energy. Although he had food in his own bag, he didn’t refuse this time, worried she might say something again.
Jiang Li let him rest on the sofa while she wandered around the office building. She found several useful items, such as blankets and disposable cups. As expected, the most abundant items in an office building were paper and pens, all of which she stored in her space.
One of the floors seemed to have been used for livestreaming food content. There were many professional tools inside, pots, pans, bowls, and utensils, and on the shelves were some scattered, unopened food items. It looked like the place had already been scavenged.
She hadn’t seen signs of looting on the way up. In office buildings, people generally wouldn’t expect to find food, but this floor had clearly been searched. Aside from people familiar with the place, there shouldn’t have been anyone else who knew.
Not much had been taken, probably whoever came couldn’t carry everything and planned to return later, but for some reason never came back.
Jiang Li even found a portable gas stove and several gas canisters. This meant they could finally eat something hot openly.
She washed the pot and a few sets of utensils with hot water from her space, dried them, and packed a large box with some of the food. Anything that didn’t fit she stored directly into her space, then carried the box downstairs.
Back on the ground floor, Gu Jin was leaning against the sofa with his eyes closed, resting. Hearing movement, he opened his eyes with a cold glance, but relaxed when he saw it was Jiang Li.
She handed him a blanket she had found and told him to cover himself.
“Take a rest. I’ll keep watch. I found some food, we’ll eat later, I’ll wake you.”
“Alright,” Gu Jin replied, taking the blanket and lying down obediently on the sofa.
Jiang Li cleared an open space between the sofas, then broke apart a few wooden chairs nearby. They could be used as firewood later. Although it was over twenty degrees during the day, without sunlight at night it still got a bit cold, so they could be used for warmth and lighting.
After finishing everything, she took another blanket from the box and lay down on the opposite sofa, closing her eyes to rest.
Seeing that she had also rested, Gu Jin closed his eyes as well. Perhaps because of his injuries, or for some other reason, he, who was usually a light sleeper, quickly fell into a deep sleep.