Using the System’s scan, Ethan discovered that nearly every bone in the woman’s body had been shattered.
Fortunately, her internal organs were unharmed, and there was no serious damage to her brain.
Even so...
Injuries this severe couldn’t be healed by a single Basic Healing Potion.
At best, it would keep her alive.
Whether she ultimately survived was another matter.
Just then, Ethan remembered the healer buried beneath the rubble.
If she was still capable of moving...
Her healing abilities should be enough to save the woman.
The reason Ethan had checked on the injured woman first was simple.
He didn’t want to risk being ambushed.
Judging from her performance in yesterday’s battle...
She was definitely dangerous.
Now that she was barely clinging to life...
It was much safer to investigate the healer.
Using his immense strength, Brutus quickly cleared away the collapsed debris.
Hidden beneath it was the healer.
To Ethan’s surprise...
She looked like a teenage girl.
She wore her black hair in twin tails and was dressed in a fitted one-piece dress.
She looked no older than eighteen.
Her hands were badly burned black.
Apart from that...
She appeared largely unharmed.
Apparently, when the golden lightning had struck, she’d protected herself with the same blue barrier she’d used during yesterday’s battle.
Combined with the fact that she hadn’t taken a direct hit...
It had saved her life.
Ethan uncorked a bottle of Basic Healing Potion and helped the girl drink a mouthful.
A soft green glow immediately spread across her body.
The light lasted only two or three seconds.
But the charred skin on both of her hands rapidly disappeared.
In its place was smooth, fair skin with a healthy rosy complexion.
Her long eyelashes trembled.
Slowly...
She opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw...
Was the imposing figure of Brutus.
"Ahhh!"
"Don’t eat me!"
The girl screamed as she instantly summoned a layer of blue energy around herself.
Ethan immediately recognized it.
It was the same protective barrier that had shielded the other woman during yesterday’s battle.
Without it...
The Dread Lizard’s tail would have killed her instantly.
"Don’t be afraid."
"We’re not your enemies."
Hearing Ethan’s voice, the girl finally noticed the handsome young man standing beside Brutus...
Along with the striking red-haired woman next to him.
"You..."
"You’re Survivors."
Ethan blinked.
"...How could you tell?"
"The energy surrounding you is different from ours."
"No matter how well you disguise yourselves..."
"You can’t hide that aura."
The girl answered honestly.
Though whether everything she said was entirely trustworthy remained to be seen.
After a brief pause, Ethan said quietly,
"Your companion died."
He pointed toward the small grave nearby.
The girl’s eyes reddened slightly.
But no tears fell.
She quickly steadied herself.
"Uncle Niu drank a Dragon Berserk Potion."
"Even if I healed him afterward, the side effects would still have taken half his life."
"Besides..."
"The Dread Lizard was far stronger than we expected."
"And then that terrifying lightning struck..."
She suddenly remembered something.
"Where’s Sister Qin?"
"Did she..."
"Did she die too?"
"She’s still embedded in that wall."
"Every bone in her body’s broken."
"She’s barely hanging on."
"I didn’t dare move her."
"I was afraid I’d kill her."
"Can you take me to her?"
"I can save her."
"Of course."
Ethan deliberately let the girl walk in front.
Then he followed with Natasha and Brutus.
Now that Brutus had evolved into a Tier 3 beast...
His combat strength rivaled the Dread Lizard itself.
The three survivors hadn’t been able to defeat the monster even while fighting together.
Now only the two women remained.
There was no chance they could beat Brutus.
Besides...
Ethan still had plenty of questions.
And a certain experiment he wanted to conduct.
Keeping both women alive would be useful.
The moment the girl saw Sister Qin’s condition...
Her eyes turned red again.
Yet her hands never hesitated.
She raised both palms toward the injured woman.
Soft emerald light bloomed from her hands.
The same green radiance spread across Sister Qin’s body.
Broken bones and damaged flesh rapidly began repairing themselves.
About five minutes later...
The woman slowly opened her eyes.
The girl smiled in relief.
The very next second...
Her legs gave out beneath her.
She collapsed onto the floor.
At the same time...
Her black hair rapidly turned completely white.
Seeing this, Sister Qin violently tore herself free from the cracked wall.
She ignored the fresh cuts the broken concrete left on her body.
Pulling the girl tightly into her arms, she gently stroked her head.
"You silly girl..."
"You only needed to stabilize my injuries."
"There was no reason to burn away your own lifespan."
The girl buried her face against the woman’s shoulder.
"Sister Qin..."
"Uncle Niu is gone."
"I couldn’t bear to lose you too."
Hearing those words...
The woman fell silent.
Several moments later, she lifted her head to look at Ethan.
"...Was it you who saved us?"
Ethan shrugged.
"If digging her out of the rubble counts."
"It does."
The woman nodded.
"Ask whatever you want."
"I’ll answer."
Ethan got straight to the point.
"Who are you?"
"And why were you attacking the Dread Lizard?"
The woman took a slow breath before speaking.
"Our ancestors once lived in this city."
"But a global war reduced countless cities to ruins."
"Millions died."
"As radiation continued to spread..."
"Many animals mutated into monsters."
"At the same time..."
"The monsters created by certain mad scientists also escaped."
"Things only became worse for the survivors."
"Fortunately..."
"Some people evolved extraordinary powers after being exposed to radiation."
"That allowed humanity to fight back."
"And establish survivor settlements."
"We all belonged to the same settlement."
"But not long ago..."
"It was destroyed."
"Everyone died."
"Only the three of us survived."
"After investigating..."
"We learned that this Dread Lizard was responsible."
"So once we found it..."
"We attacked immediately."
"We wanted revenge for our companions."
After hearing her explanation, Ethan asked another question.
"Are there many survivors left in this world?"
She slowly shook her head.
"I don’t know."
"After that great war..."
"Human civilization was nearly wiped out."
"Even communication became incredibly difficult."
"Sometimes people living in the same city couldn’t communicate in real time."
"So after all these years..."
"I honestly don’t know whether humanity’s numbers have grown..."
"Or continued to decline."
"What about this abandoned city?"
"How many survivors live here?"
"Abandoned cities have become monster nests."
"No matter how strong a survivor is..."
"No one builds settlements inside them."
"Besides..."
"After decades of scavenging..."
"There’s very little left."
"They’re mostly useful now for hunting weaker monsters."
"Most settlements are built out in the wilderness instead."
"They rely on natural terrain for protection."
She paused before adding,
"And occasionally..."
"Mysterious ruins appear in the wild."
"They’re even more dangerous and mysterious than abandoned cities."
"But the rewards are equally valuable."
After listening carefully...
Ethan glanced at Natasha.
"Darling?"
Natasha nodded slightly.
"Everything she’s said so far appears truthful."
"But I can’t rule out the possibility that she’s withholding information."
As a professionally trained spy...
Detecting lies was second nature to Natasha.
But the most convincing lies didn’t necessarily require falsehoods.
Sometimes...
The easiest way to deceive someone was to tell nothing but the truth—
While simply leaving certain parts out.
Those were the hardest lies to expose.
Ethan nodded before looking back at the woman.
"If your settlement is gone..."
"Why don’t you join us instead?"
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