Wuning did not slap him.
Because hearing those words made it clear that it was a reward.
Very well, diagnosed as a pervert.
Eli could tell the girl was teasing him. He turned his face away, wiped his tears himself, and said in a muffled, hoarse voice, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Wuning forgave him easily.
Eli looked at her with a complicated gaze, “…It shouldn’t be like this.”
Wuning stroked Eli’s long hair a few times.
It felt slightly cool to the touch, incredibly smooth and soft. Wuning could imagine that when Eli fought under the sunlight, his long hair would shimmer like satin or the gentle ripples on a clear sky’s water surface.
“You think I should be afraid of you all, fearful, disgusted. Even if I reluctantly performed mental power guidance, I should feel even more terrified and repulsed by you, because you’re not normal people—you’re monsters tainted by the Dark Sky Zone?”
Wuning mimicked their tone from their first meeting.
Eli nodded heavily, “Exactly.”
They were not worthy.
“Hmm… What if I said I actually like people like you? Would you think I’m lying?” Wuning couldn’t get enough of Eli’s long hair.
She simply had him turn his back so she could braid his hair for fun.
Eli leaned against the bedside, his long hair cascading over the girl’s lap and into her arms.
Hearing this, he turned to look at her, greatly shaken, his eyes widening slightly as he glanced at Wuning’s head with deep concern and worry.
Was her mind really okay?! How could she have such thoughts?!
Or had his mental power counter-invasion twisted her brain, turning her into a little lunatic?
The worry in Eli’s eyes was very pointed, so Wuning had to clarify, lest he truly think her mind had gone bad.
“Just joking. But you see, everyone’s perspective is based on their own standpoint. I really am not afraid of you all.”
“At least not the kind of fear you imagine.”
Eli shook his head but decided not to say more on the topic.
He would tell the Major General.
Let the Major General persuade this naive Medic.
Eli’s emotions gradually settled, his red eyes turning gentle. “I don’t know how the others feel, but I am willing to swear loyalty to you, until death.”
Wuning’s palm went numb, followed by a tremor in her heart. She instinctively thought the System had come online.
But it wasn’t.
Eli looked puzzledly at the girl who had frozen for two seconds, then obediently gathered all his hair and placed it in her hands.
If one day this long hair were to become a weapon that strangled his throat, he would still be willing.
Wuning muttered, her heart racing a little, “This is exactly why I’m not afraid of you all.”
“What?” The man didn’t quite understand.
Wuning closed her mouth and refused to say more.
She felt flustered, her body a bit strange, and seriously requested to be examined in the Medical Pod.
Eli immediately picked her up and rushed out.
The door nearly flew off its hinges, slamming into everyone trying to eavesdrop.
“Ouch!” Garnet, being the largest, couldn’t dodge in time and got hit.
Sanchez curled his lips in schadenfreude, but upon seeing Eli heading toward the warship’s medical room, he followed, hissing angrily, “Did you hurt her again?!”
After a thorough and dramatic examination, Wuning was perfectly healthy, and her Mental Power was normal as well.
Bo Yin arrived upon hearing the news, walking over to the girl and half-kneeling beside her. “Where do you feel unwell?”
“My heart,” Wuning answered honestly.
“It’s fine now. It was just a strange feeling earlier.”
“Earlier?” Bo Yin looked at Eli.
Eli’s face drained of color as he stammered out everything that had happened during their earlier private moment.
Previously, everyone had been too worried about Wuning to notice, but now they all saw what was wrapped around Eli’s face.
Cook narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing it for a few seconds before exclaiming angrily, “Damn it! That’s her clothes! I can smell her scent!”
Wuning protested loudly, “There’s no scent!!”
She used the same laundry detergent as them!
What kind of creepy talk was that?
Garnet was so jealous his eyes were practically turning red. He reached out, tugged on a corner of the bow, and leaned in to take a deep sniff. “I want one too! Why does he get a reward?”
Even the usually aloof Sanchez couldn’t help but murmur enviously, “Ah~ So the real master of playing pitiful is right here. I really underestimated you.”
“Little lamb, how many more clothes do you have? If you don’t have any spare T-shirts to change into, I’ll take the one you’re wearing right now.”
Wuning: “…”
Don’t say such harassing things!
Bo Yin frowned. “Get out.”
They were arguing over trivial matters while the girl’s safety issue hadn’t even been resolved yet.
Eli didn’t want to leave for now.
For the first time in his life, he felt troubled by his companions’ predatory gazes.
Because he was still in a state of guilt, anything he did or said should have placed him at the very bottom of the food chain, completely in the wrong.
Yet instead, he had received an extraordinary reward~~
Eli was even jealous of himself.
Bo Yin allowed him to stay, while the others reluctantly left for the time being.
“Now, are you willing to tell me in detail?” Bo Yin’s voice was calm and steady.
Wuning felt embarrassed about making a fuss over nothing. “Actually, it’s really nothing.”
“Perhaps I need to be clearer. Anything related to you, no matter how small—even a single fallen hair—is a big deal.” Bo Yin emphasized firmly.
Eli nodded in agreement.
Wuning opened her mouth but found it even harder to speak.
Ahhh! She wasn’t like this before!
Even when she crawled out from under the bed of a porn novel’s main characters during their most intense moment to greet them, she hadn’t felt this awkward or embarrassed!
Wuning was on the verge of crying from distress.
Even though this was a very, very small matter, she felt immense pressure in this situation.
Bo Yin watched as the girl kept inhaling sharply, trying to hold back her tears, but her eyes were already glistening with moisture. His heart instantly filled with panic.
But his emotions never showed easily on his face.
So even though Eli on the side was so nervous he could barely stand steady, Bo Yin remained composed.
He told Eli, who kept pacing, sighing, and making strange noises, to leave.
Then he found a seat and sat down, meeting the girl at eye level. “It’s okay. Let me speak, alright?”
Wuning let out a long sigh, feeling a bit humiliated.
“According to what Eli said, you and he have a disagreement on whether you’re afraid of us.” Bo Yin asked slowly.
Wuning nodded. “I really don’t think you’re monsters. I don’t agree with how others view you. I only believe what I see.”
A fond smile appeared in Bo Yin’s gray eyes.
He lowered his eyelashes slightly, first expressing gratitude on behalf of Squad 191. “…Your affirmation and praise are like giving us a second life.”
“It’s beautiful, something we couldn’t even dream of before becoming the Polluted.”
“But…”
The man’s tone carried a hint of melancholy and hesitation. “But you haven’t seen enough of the world—I don’t mean that as a criticism. You met us right after leaving school, and it was during a life-or-death moment.”
“Whether it’s imprinting or the suspension bridge effect, you might develop misplaced affection for us, romanticizing our actions without feeling fear.”
“If you met more people, you’d realize how abnormal we are.”
Bo Yin spoke these words carefully and softly, leaving Wuning genuinely flustered. “Don’t say that! Such hypotheticals are meaningless!”
The major general didn’t seem comforted, still lost in his somber mood.
Wuning anxiously jumped off the bed and stood before Bo Yin. “I won’t compare you to others. From the very beginning, my eyes have only been on you, and I’ve never thought of leaving. Would you ever drive me away?”
Bo Yin immediately grasped her waist, looking up with earnest eyes, pleading for the girl to repeat herself. “I need to be sure your words aren’t just my imagination.”
“Definitely not my imagination, because our barren, parched souls could never conjure such a blissful vow.”