Yumi said okay and ran toward the back of the team to find Wei Gang.
Wei Gang scratched his buzz cut and cursed.
“Damn it. Dahua, come with me and check on that kid’s situation.”
“Yes!” From the group behind Wei Gang, a woman in her thirties stepped out.
Wei Gang grumbled as he walked quickly.
“I knew this kid would cause trouble sooner or later. See? It’s already happening. We’ve barely been out for long!”
He quickly walked up to Jiang Chen’an and signaled for Dahua to examine Gu Xiaomai.
“Captain,” Dahua said, “my skill is limited, but from her facial color, pulse, skin tone, and the bruised needle marks in the crook of her left arm, I can tell she has suffered massive blood loss.”
“Her current coma is caused by excessive blood loss. At this level, it’s enough to be fatal. Although I don’t know why she hasn’t died yet, she’s not far from it.”
After speaking, Dahua seemed to remember something. She lifted the hem of Gu Xiaomai’s clothing, and sure enough, she found a small unhealed wound on the back of her waist.
“She has also had bone marrow extracted. Judging from the wound, it was done last night. The method was crude and violent, with no consideration for her physical condition at all.”
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
Even Yumi, who had never been to school, knew that severe blood loss could kill a person.
With that level of blood loss and bone marrow extraction, it was obvious the perpetrator did not care whether Gu Xiaomai lived or died.
The fact that she was still alive was not because of mercy—but because of her strong will to survive.
And now, even though she hadn’t died, she had still been sent to the wilderness team. It was clear someone didn’t want her to live.
Jiang Chen’an, Yumi, and the others all looked at Wei Gang.
Wei Gang immediately bristled.
“Why are you all looking at me?! I didn’t send her here! The patrol unit handled everything properly. They said she stole a special energy stone and was punished with six months of wilderness labor reform. I’m just the escort—I don’t have the authority to refuse!”
Jiang Chen’an asked, “So what do we do now?”
Wei Gang scratched his head and looked at Jiang Chen’an and Yumi.
“I’ll get a stretcher. You two carry the kid. Taking her back to the base means certain death. Out in the wasteland, she might still have a chance to survive.”
Jiang Chen’an and Yumi looked at their thin arms and legs, then at Gu Xiaomai’s small but soft body, slightly worried whether they could manage it.
Seeing this, Wei Gang said,
“If you can’t carry her later, I’ll arrange replacements. But everyone in my team has assigned duties, so help won’t last long.”
“Alright.”
Jiang Chen’an agreed, and Yumi nodded as well.
Gu Xiaomai was placed on a simple stretcher made by Wei Gang, and the two of them carried her as they continued following the expedition team.
They sympathized with her, but all they could do was ensure she reached the destination safely. Nothing more.
In this era of catastrophe, teenagers like them—fifteen or sixteen years old, with no strength or adults to rely on—were already struggling just to survive.
They didn’t ask for much. As long as they didn’t starve, that was enough.
Wei Gang led his team at the rear, staying alert for corrupted creatures.
Although this road had been cleared by the Eastern Frontier Exploration Corps, few people used it. Now vegetation was growing rapidly again—no one knew when corrupted plants might reclaim it.
Outside the base, danger existed everywhere. No one dared to be distracted.
The E4 Wilderness Team in the middle also followed closely, carefully watching both sides of the road. Even the newly sprouting plants were treated with caution, fearing one might suddenly mutate and attack.
All corrupted plants—and indeed all corrupted organisms on Planet Blue—originated from a massive solar system explosion twenty years ago.
That explosion released enormous energy that collided with Planet Blue, producing two types of energy gases later named “Clear Energy” and “Turbid Energy.”
Clear energy is beneficial to living beings, while turbid energy brings harmful effects.
Both exist within organisms. If the balance is disrupted, life mutates into either clear-type or corrupted-type beings.
Corrupted beings are extremely aggressive and driven only by destruction—something humans fear most.
Since the appearance of these energies, life on Planet Blue underwent massive mutation. Combined with extreme weather and frequent natural disasters, the planet’s prosperity and peace completely vanished, entering the Cataclysm Era.
After more than a decade of chaos, the five remaining major bases in Zone C formed external exploration teams to expand survival space and resources, and to reconnect territories. In the twentieth year of the catastrophe, they began their first attempt to explore the wasteland.
The E4 Wilderness Team that Gu Xiaomai belonged to was an auxiliary unit under the E4 Camp of the Eastern Frontier Exploration Group from the Guardian Base in central Zone C.
These wilderness teams were made up either of criminals punished with labor reform, or people who could no longer survive inside the base. It was a mixed group, with heavy duties and constant danger.
Wei Gang looked at the half-grown boys in front carrying the stretcher for nearly a full day and sighed deeply.
Twenty years ago, they were still students sitting in bright classrooms, carefree and unaware of hardship.
Now they had to fight for survival in this dangerous wasteland just to stay alive.
When would this damn life ever end?
Wei Gang called a team member over and patted Jiang Chen’an’s shoulder.
“Take a rest. I’ll carry her for a while.”
Jiang Chen’an stepped aside, flexing his increasingly weak and trembling arms.
The recruited team member also replaced Yumi.
Only when the sky fully darkened and travel became impossible did they find a place to rest and stop.
The early spring night was still cold. In wind mixed with animal howls, the team huddled together around a fire and fell asleep.
Most of Wei Gang’s team rested as well, except those on guard duty.
Moonlight fell on Gu Xiaomai’s body. Her breathing gradually became steady and calm.
Between her left and right heart chambers, a bead slowly formed, growing until it filled the place where an energy core should have been.
Its surface was rough and uneven, yet it emitted a warm, gentle glow. Soon the light retracted, and a tiny droplet formed on its surface.
The droplet passed through her heart and lungs, circulating through her nearly dry blood vessels into the central veins. Though originally the size of a grain of rice, it shrank to the size of a needle tip before finally entering and nourishing her bone marrow.
At this moment, no one was aware of the changes happening inside her body.
Yumi and Jiang Chen’an squeezed together to sleep. Yumi glanced at Gu Xiaomai on the stretcher and asked quietly,
“Chen-ge, why did you ask me to wake her this morning? And you even carried her all day. You’re not usually this kind of person.”
Jiang Chen’an glared at him.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“She once gave me a nutrient solution when I was about to starve to death.”
Jiang Chen’an looked at Gu Xiaomai. The orange firelight reflected on the girl’s pale face, and for a moment he thought there might even be a hint of color returning.
But he still didn’t understand why a pampered young girl had ended up like this.
He pressed his lips together, a trace of discomfort in his eyes.
“Ah… a lifesaver? Then I guess that counts as repaying the favor.”
Knowing it wasn’t blind kindness, Yumi didn’t say more.
When survival is already difficult, unnecessary kindness can be dangerous.
Instead, he started talking about the upcoming expedition.
At dawn, Wei Gang woke everyone to continue the journey.
Jiang Chen’an had just woken up and was about to call Yumi to carry Gu Xiaomai when he saw her open her eyes.
“You’re awake?” he said.
Yumi immediately turned around, surprised and happy.
“Xiaomai! You’re finally awake! How do you feel? Can you walk? Chen-ge and I carried you all day yesterday, and so did Captain Wei’s team.”
Gu Xiaomai hadn’t expected to be unconscious for a full day and night.
These two strangers were truly good people. Even that fierce-looking captain hadn’t abandoned her.
She sat up and felt her body much lighter than before.
Gratefully, she smiled.
“Thank you for not leaving me behind and for carrying me for so long. From now on, you’re my big brothers. If you ever need anything, just tell me.”
Yumi muttered under his breath,
“A weak little sister like you… better not. You’d just drag people down.”
Gu Xiaomai looked up. “Yumi-ge, what did you say? I didn’t hear you.”
Jiang Chen’an shot Yumi a warning glance.
Yumi coughed.
“I said your body is really weak. You should take care of it—but there aren’t really conditions for that right now.”
Gu Xiaomai smiled brightly.
“I’ll take care of it slowly when I get the chance. I feel much better today. I can walk on my own. Thank you both.”
As they spoke, the whole team set off again.
Gu Xiaomai returned the stretcher to Wei Gang and thanked him before following the group.
Wei Gang didn’t say anything. He could help for a while—but survival ultimately depended on herself.
After another half-day of forced marching, Gu Xiaomai initially kept up, talking with Yumi as they walked. But gradually she began gasping for breath, becoming extremely weak, unable to move forward on her own. In the end, she had to be supported or pulled along by Jiang Chen’an and Yumi. Fortunately, she did not faint this time.
At last, they arrived outside the E4 Camp.
After communication with the guards, one of them quickly ran inside. Gu Xiaomai and the others waited not far from the gate.
Through the crowd, Gu Xiaomai observed the camp. The guards wore the same uniform as Wei Gang’s team—bright, vivid red clothing that stood out sharply against the silver metal mesh walls behind them.
Behind the guards, a sign hung near the gate:
“Guardian Base Eastern Frontier Exploration Group E4 Camp.”
Through the gate, she could see the camp floor covered in the same silver metal material. Various colored tents were arranged across it—bright yellow, warm orange, pure black, red-and-white striped…
People were constantly coming and going from the tents. In particular, the red-and-white striped tent saw frequent movement of people being carried in and out, many of them apparently injured.
That should be the medical area, she thought. I wonder if I can go in and see a doctor.
But this place really is dangerous. In such a short time, dozens of injured people had already been brought inside.
She continued observing when the guard who had gone in earlier returned—this time bringing out two men, one fat and one thin.