The news spread throughout the entire division overnight, as though it had grown wings.
“Have you heard? The Construction Company suffered a mass poisoning incident last night, and Commander Gu’s new wife saved hundreds of people all by herself!”
“Seriously? Isn’t she supposed to be a country girl? She knows medicine, too?”
“It’s absolutely true! Someone I know serves in the Construction Company. He said that sister-in-law is practically a miracle worker. She boiled several pots of soapy water and somehow brought even dying men back to life! Even the third platoon leader, whose heart had stopped, was revived with a single needle!”
Early the next morning, the incident was being discussed everywhere—from the water taps in the military residential compound to the dining tables in the mess hall, and even inside passing military vehicles.
The name Jiang Ning had completely transformed from a “joke” into a “legend.”
Meanwhile, Jiang Ning herself was sitting in Gu Ci’s office, staring miserably at the bowl of soy milk and two fried dough sticks in front of her.
“Commander Gu, is this what a specially hired expert gets?”
Jiang Ning lifted the slightly cold fried dough stick with her chopsticks.
“I thought a victory banquet would at least include four dishes and a soup.”
Gu Ci sat behind his desk, reviewing documents.
Hearing her complaint, he didn’t even raise his head.
“You should be grateful there’s anything to eat at all. The entire regiment is investigating the source of the poisoning, and the mess hall cook has been placed under confinement. Xiao Zhang brought this back for you from the division headquarters’ mess hall.”
“Oh.”
Jiang Ning took a bite of the fried dough stick and reluctantly accepted his explanation.
“Reporting in!”
A shout came from the doorway.
“Come in.”
Captain Liu pushed open the door, holding a small red booklet in his hands. His face was beaming like a flower in full bloom.
“Commander! Sister-in-law! The paperwork has been approved!”
He hurried over and handed the red booklet to Jiang Ning with both hands.
“The senior officers at division headquarters personally approved it. You’ve been appointed as an ‘External Technical Consultant to the Medical Unit.’ This is your access pass. From now on, you’ll have the same access privileges as our military doctors when entering and leaving the pharmacy and laboratory.”
Jiang Ning accepted the credentials and opened them for inspection.
Her one-inch black-and-white photograph, taken just moments earlier, was attached to the page, complete with a bright red official seal.
“Pretty efficient.”
Jiang Ning tucked the credentials into her pocket.
“Captain Liu, now that I’m officially a consultant, I have the authority to offer some suggestions about the medical unit’s operations, don’t I?”
“Of course! Absolutely!” Captain Liu nodded so vigorously that his head nearly bobbed off his neck. “Please give us your instructions, sister-in-law!”
“First, the pharmacy is a complete mess.”
Jiang Ning raised one finger.
“Highly toxic substances are stored alongside ordinary medications. That’s practically asking for a disaster. They must be separated into different areas and secured with individual locks, with designated personnel responsible for each section.”
“Yes! We’ll make the changes immediately!”
“Second, your emergency equipment is hopelessly outdated.”
She raised a second finger.
“You don’t even have a gastric lavage machine. Everything is done by manually pouring liquids down people’s throats? I’ll draw up a design later. Have the logistics department build several simple negative-pressure gastric lavage devices.”
“No problem! Just draw the plans, and I’ll personally supervise their construction!”
Captain Liu had become an unquestioning admirer of Jiang Ning. Her direct injection into the heart the previous night had completely convinced him of her abilities.
“Third…”
Jiang Ning’s expression suddenly turned cold.
“Is Shen Xue still assigned to the medical unit?”
The moment Captain Liu heard Shen Xue’s name, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
“Well… Dr. Shen is a formally appointed medical officer, after all. Although she’s been suspended, she’s still with the unit, writing her self-criticism…”
“Get rid of her.”
Gu Ci suddenly spoke.
He put down his pen and raised his head, his eyes icy.
“The medical unit doesn’t need people with rotten morals. Return her personnel file to her place of origin. State the reasons as inadequate professional competence and deteriorating ideological awareness.”
Captain Liu was startled.
“Commander, isn’t that… a little too harsh? Dr. Shen’s family has some connections…”
“Connections?”
Gu Ci sneered.
“In this regiment, I’m the biggest connection there is. Carry out the order.”
“Yes, sir!”
Captain Liu didn’t dare say another word. He saluted and practically fled the office.
Jiang Ning watched Gu Ci, the corners of her mouth curling into an amused smile.
“Commander Gu, are you always this protective of your own?”
She sipped her soy milk through a straw.
“Dr. Shen is deeply devoted to you, you know. And you’re just going to drive her away like that?”
“I’m protecting my soldiers.”
Gu Ci lowered his head and returned to his documents.
“Leave a menace in the pharmacy, and next time, who knows who’ll end up dead?”
What he didn’t say was that he was even more determined to protect the woman sitting right in front of him.
Shen Xue’s hostility toward Jiang Ning was far too obvious. Gu Ci wouldn’t allow such a potential time bomb to remain on his territory.
“Fine.”
Jiang Ning finished the last of her soy milk and stood up.
“Since I’ve got my credentials, I’ll get to work. I’ll be in the laboratory all day preparing medication. Don’t wait for me for lunch.”
“Wait.”
Gu Ci stopped her.
He opened a drawer, took out a key, and tossed it onto the desk.
“What is this?” Jiang Ning asked.
“The key to the cabinet in the inner room at home.”
Gu Ci’s tone was casual.
“Inside are some of the medicinal ingredients you need. Musk, gastrodia rhizome, and… a gun.”
Jiang Ning froze for a moment.
A gun.
It was an extremely dangerous signal, but also a weighty expression of trust.
In an era with such strict weapons regulations, giving a firearm to someone whose background had not been fully investigated was more than just a violation of the rules. It was practically gambling with his own career.
“Why are you giving me a gun?” Jiang Ning asked, making no move to pick up the key.
“For self-defense.”
Gu Ci looked at her.
“Your reputation has become too prominent. Plenty of people are watching you now. Shen Xue has connections behind her, and she won’t let this defeat go unanswered. And…”
He paused, his gaze growing deeper.
“The person who poisoned the food in the mess hall hasn’t been caught yet. If he dared to poison people, he’d dare to silence witnesses, too. By saving those soldiers, you’ve ruined his plans.”
Jiang Ning fell silent for two seconds.
Then she walked over and picked up the key, weighing it in her hand.
“Commander Gu,” she said with a smile, “aren’t you afraid I’ll take that gun and shoot you first?”
“Go ahead and try.”
Gu Ci leaned back in his chair, radiating absolute confidence.
“As long as your gun is faster than mine.”
Jiang Ning slipped the key into her pocket.
“I’m leaving.”
She turned and pushed open the door.
When she reached the doorway, she waved at Gu Ci without turning around.
“When we get home tonight, I’ll give you acupuncture. Free of charge this time.”
Gu Ci watched the door close, and the faint smile at the corners of his mouth finally spread.
…
Medical Unit Laboratory
Jiang Ning changed into a white lab coat and put on a mask and gloves.
The laboratory was primitive, equipped with only a few microscopes and some basic glassware. But for her purposes, it was enough.
She selected several ingredients from the medicinal herbs Gu Ci had given her.
Wild gastrodia rhizome, still carrying an earthy smell, was an excellent remedy for headaches. Musk helped revive consciousness and clear the mind. Then there were several extremely toxic herbs, intended for the principle of fighting poison with poison.
“Si… Consultant Jiang.”
A timid voice came from the doorway.
A young nurse stood there, holding a stack of medical records.
“Um… Captain Liu asked me to assist you. My name is Xiao Hong.”
“Come in.”
Without turning around, Jiang Ning carefully weighed medicinal powders on a balance.
“Close the door. No one is allowed inside without my permission.”
“Yes.”
Xiao Hong closed the door and gazed at Jiang Ning’s back with admiration.
“Consultant Jiang, are you really going to prepare medicine for the commander’s illness? I heard that even the experts in Beijing couldn’t cure him.”
“The experts couldn’t cure him because they didn’t dare use sufficiently aggressive medication.”
Jiang Ning mixed several medicinal powders together and poured them into a distillation flask.
“Gu Ci’s brain and nervous system are like a tangled ball of thread. If we want to untangle it, we’ll have to cut through the knots with a knife. Ordinary, gentle tonics won’t do anything more than scratch the surface.”
She lit the alcohol lamp.
Blue flames licked the bottom of the flask. The medicinal liquid began to boil and change color.
A strange, bitter fragrance gradually filled the room.
“This smell…” Xiao Hong sniffed, feeling slightly dizzy. “It smells wonderful, but… why am I getting lightheaded?”
“That’s exactly what should happen.”
Jiang Ning adjusted her mask.
“This is an extract of Datura. It has mild hallucinogenic and anesthetic effects. This is the ‘knife’ I need.”
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the laboratory.
“Why won’t you let me in? This is the medical unit! I’m a doctor!”
It was Shen Xue’s voice.
Immediately afterward, the door was shoved open with tremendous force.
Shen Xue stormed inside with red-rimmed eyes, followed by two guards who had been unable to stop her.
“Jiang Ning!”
When Shen Xue saw Jiang Ning in a white lab coat standing at the laboratory bench, jealousy practically spilled from her eyes.
“What gives you the right to use my laboratory? This is my personal workstation!”
Jiang Ning didn’t stop what she was doing.
Keeping her eyes on the bubbling liquid in the flask, she spoke calmly.
“Xiao Hong, escort the unauthorized personnel out. If the apparatus explodes, you’ll never be able to take responsibility for the consequences.”
“You’re the unauthorized personnel!”
Shen Xue rushed forward and reached for the flask in Jiang Ning’s hand.
“Get out! This is my territory!”
“Don’t touch it!”
Jiang Ning whipped her head around, her eyes sharp as blades.
But Shen Xue had already lost control of herself. Her hand closed around the neck of the flask.
Crash!
Jiang Ning had no choice but to release the flask to protect the remaining medicinal solution.
It landed on the table without breaking, but the boiling liquid splashed out.
Several drops of dark brown liquid landed on the back of Shen Xue’s hand.
“Ahhh!”
Shen Xue let out a piercing scream.
The liquid was highly corrosive and toxic. White fumes immediately rose from the back of her hand as her skin turned black and began to ulcerate at a terrifying speed.
“My hand! My hand!”
Overcome with pain, Shen Xue rolled around on the floor.
Xiao Hong was completely dumbfounded.
Jiang Ning watched the scene with a cold expression.
“You brought this on yourself.”
She grabbed a nearby container of soda solution and poured it over Shen Xue’s hand to neutralize the substance.
“This medicine is for treating Gu Ci’s brain disorder. It’s highly toxic. You insisted on grabbing it from me. Consider this the punishment you deserve.”
“Take her away.”
Jiang Ning waved toward the guards at the doorway.
“Send her to emergency treatment. And tell Commander Gu that someone has deliberately damaged military supplies. Let him decide how to handle it.”
The guards swallowed nervously at Jiang Ning’s icy demeanor. They dragged the screaming Shen Xue away.
The laboratory fell silent once more.
Jiang Ning looked at the half-full flask of medicinal solution that had survived the incident and sighed.
“What a waste. Half of it is gone.”
She picked up a dropper and carefully collected the remaining liquid.
This much would be enough for Gu Ci to take for three days.
As for Shen Xue?
Jiang Ning glanced at the pool of blood-tinged liquid on the floor.
This was only the beginning.
Anyone who dared lay a hand on what belonged to her would learn exactly what happened next.