The person treating Gu Lin’s wounds was a young man with silver-framed glasses perched on his nose. His name was Bai Jun, and he was also an evolved human. Before the apocalypse, he was a medical doctor who had returned from studying abroad and had considerable achievements.
Bai Jun seemed gentle and mild-mannered on the surface, but in reality, he was very ruthless. He was a typical wolf in sheep’s clothing—elegant in a white coat, but deeply calculating. He was another leader of this team, and everyone in the team feared him. They all tried to avoid getting seriously injured, especially to the point where they would need Doctor Bai’s treatment.
Doctor Bai’s medical skills were exceptional, but his methods were less than admirable. Coincidentally, his awakened power could assist him in healing others.
At the moment, Doctor Bai was focused on treating Gu Lin’s wounds. His white energy covered the gruesome injuries, and the wounds stopped bleeding. But as soon as his power was removed, the wounds would revert to their original state, and the cycle continued, seemingly without end.
Gu Lin’s injuries were also the reason they had chosen a hospital as their temporary base. The other members of the team needed medical treatment as well, and in a hospital, there were always some undamaged pieces of equipment they could still use.
“Are you alright?” Doctor Bai turned around and met Li Shu’s gaze.
Li Shu: “I’m fine. How’s Gu Lin?”
“Still the same,” Doctor Bai rubbed his temples, showing a hint of fatigue. “I’ve tried everything I could, but there’s still no significant effect. Come in, stay with him for a while.”
Li Shu nodded and walked inside. Xu Yanqiu was about to follow when Doctor Bai shot him a sharp look.
“You don’t need to come in. Go handle your tasks, and when you’re done, make sure to rest properly. Don’t make me waste my energy saving you later.”
The responsibility for treatment was on Doctor Bai, and since Gu Lin hadn’t woken up, the entire team’s arrangements were left to Xu Yanqiu. None of them had it easy during this time—Doctor Bai hadn’t rested, and neither had Xu Yanqiu.
Xu Yanqiu touched his nose, “You’re always complaining about me. Didn’t I just break one of your…”
Under Doctor Bai’s increasingly hostile gaze, he raised his hand to his mouth and made a zipping motion, and then walked out in surrender.
“Come here, let me take a look at you too.” Doctor Bai remained gentle in front of Li Shu. He knew Li Shu was not someone to be messed with. The evolvers were strong and could endure his torment, but Li Shu was an ordinary human and could not handle rough treatment. He also didn’t want to face Gu Lin’s wrath from miles away if anything happened.
The examination was simple—Doctor Bai just let his energy run a quick circuit over Li Shu’s body, and it ended quickly.
“You’ve recovered better than I expected,” Doctor Bai withdrew his energy and stepped back, giving Li Shu and Gu Lin some space for a moment alone.
Although Dr. Bai did not express his welcome to Li Shu’s joining as clearly as Xu Yanqiu did because he was not a person who would easily show his preferences, it was not difficult to see from his behavior that he welcomed Li Shu.
After walking in, Li Shu noticed Gu Lin’s tightly furrowed brows. Well, his wounds hadn’t healed, so of course he must be in great pain.
This couldn’t continue. Gu Lin had to wake up first. Only once he was conscious could he absorb the crystal core’s energy, which would dissipate the force that was preventing his wounds from healing.
Right now, that force was running rampant only because Gu Lin was unconscious.
He placed his hand on Gu Lin’s, and a small thread of pure energy flowed from the point of contact and into Gu Lin’s body. He did it discreetly and shielded the process from any external perception. Apart from himself and Gu Lin, no third person would know what had happened.
The effect was immediate. Before long, Li Shu noticed Gu Lin’s fingers twitch. He quickly called out, “Doctor Bai, Gu Lin seems to have moved.”
Doctor Bai threw all thoughts about giving the two space and rushed over. After a quick check, his expression became complicated. “You’re right. He’s about to wake up, probably any minute now.”
He had mixed feelings. He’d worked tirelessly, without sleep, but the moment Li Shu touched Gu Lin, the boss started waking up. It made all of his prior efforts seem pointless.
Of course, Doctor Bai knew he was being unreasonable. It just so happened that Gu Lin was waking up now, but the timing was too coincidental.
“That’s great!” Li Shu exclaimed, “Once Gu Lin wakes up, will these wounds stop staying like this?”
Doctor Bai was stunned for a moment before understanding. Evolvers had a powerful self-healing ability. Gu Lin was unconscious so he probably couldn’t fight against whatever was preventing his wounds from healing, but once he woke up? Wouldn’t the situation change?
“You’re right,” Doctor Bai agreed. “Once he wakes up, the boss should be able to digest the force stopping his wounds from healing.”
As they were speaking, Gu Lin awoke. The moment he woke up, his body tensed to the extreme. Only after seeing Li Shu who was not far away did he slowly relax.
Being in such a sterile white environment brought back some unpleasant memories for him.
His awakening was soon noticed by those in the room.
“Gu Lin, you’re awake!” Li Shu’s voice was filled with surprise.
“Boss, you’re awake. Do you feel any discomfort?” Doctor Bai’s voice rang out as well.
Their voices overlapped and they both moved toward him in unison.
After waking, Gu Lin immediately sensed the violent and destructive energy surging through his body. He knew where this force came from without exploring, and he put it aside without much concern.
“Shu Shu, are you okay?” He still remembered the image of the young man’s body covered in wounds. Just recalling it made his heart clench.
“I’m fine. Right now, you’re the one we should be worried about.” Li Shu stepped closer and grasped Gu Lin’s hand. “I was so scared, Gu Lin. Promise me you won’t do this again, okay?”
Feeling the warmth of Li Shu’s hand, Gu Lin instantly forgot all his pain and every sensation in his body was concentrated on the hand Li Shu was holding.
This was the first time Li Shu had responded to him so proactively. He was so excited that he looked at the young man with burning eyes and promised: “Never again.”
With the young man by his side, of course he would make sure to live well. Not only that, but he would also become stronger. His enemies were many, and only by growing so powerful that everyone had to look up to him could he truly protect the young man.
This incident made one thing clear to him: only he could protect the young man with full confidence. He trusted only himself, and only he could ensure that the young man lived a carefree life without any grievances.
Including grievances caused by himself.
He would never let anyone hurt the young man, not even himself.
“Ahem.”
Seeing the two getting sentimental, Doctor Bai had no choice but to interrupt. “Boss, let’s take care of your wounds first.”
Seeing the blood-soaked state Gu Lin was still in was really testing his heart as a doctor.
After being reminded by Doctor Bai, Gu Lin noticed the injuries on his body. They were still the same as when he was injured. Not only had they not healed, but they were even more serious than before.
He tried to channel his power but was immediately met with resistance. Before he could ask, Doctor Bai had already explained his condition in detail. Upon learning that Gu Lin couldn’t use his powers, Doctor Bai fell silent.
The cause was clear without needing to investigate. Doctor Bai had considered many possibilities, but this was the one he hadn’t expected. If he couldn’t use his power, their initial plan had to be scrapped.
Gu Lin himself didn’t seem too concerned. Aside from his surface abilities, he had another ability within him capable of devouring everything so he was never going to be pushed into a true desperate situation.
Seeing that neither of them had mentioned the crystal core, Li Shu had no choice but to bring it up himself. “Doctor Bai, if Gu Lin absorbs the power from that giant tree’s crystal core, will his wounds heal?”
“Oh right,” Doctor Bai exclaimed excitedly, “Why didn’t I think of that? I’ll have Xu Yanqiu bring the crystal core over.”
“Wait—”
Before Gu Lin could finish speaking, Doctor Bai had already rushed out in excitement, clearly not ready to listen to what Gu Lin wanted to say.
Li Shu sat by the bed, holding Gu Lin’s hand. Now Gu Lin was awake and the team’s losses weren’t great. He had asked Xu Yanqiu, and aside from a few severely injured members, everyone in the team was still alive. With Doctor Bai around, as long as someone had a breath left, they could be saved.
Li Shu had hidden his identity to help Gu Lin because he was afraid that things would develop like in the original plot. But now, it seemed like the major crises had been avoided. Once Gu Lin absorbed the power of the crystal core and advanced, they could head straight to the capital.
As long as Gu Lin wasn’t injured, the enemies they would face along the way wouldn’t be a threat.
However, Li Shu never expected to encounter an obstacle when it came to absorbing the crystal core’s power.
Gu Lin refused to touch the crystal core.
The core was placed in front of him, and under the gazes of Li Shu, Doctor Bai, and Xu Yanqiu, Gu Lin lowered his eyes and said in a cold voice, “I won’t use this crystal core. You don’t need to say more.”
The situation came to a standstill. Li Shu maintained a calm expression, but inside, he was filled with disbelief. Why?
“Why?”
Someone had already asked the question for him. In their eyes, the crystal core belonged to Gu Lin. It was only natural for him to use it, especially in such a critical moment for healing and advancing. They couldn’t understand why Gu Lin refused to use the core.
“This crystal core doesn’t belong to me.”
After several rounds of questioning, that was the only explanation Gu Lin gave. He refused to say more, no matter how they pressed him.
Though Gu Lin wouldn’t speak, Li Shu understood. He just hadn’t expected that helping Gu Lin would lead to such an unexpected consequence.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Doctor Bai finally lost his temper and scolded Gu Lin for the first time. As a doctor, he couldn’t tolerate such behavior from his patient. Surprisingly, Xu Yanqiu didn’t stop him this time. He even subtly sided with Doctor Bai.
In the midst of the standoff, Li Shu picked up the crystal core. “Since Gu Lin doesn’t want to use it, Doctor Bai, Brother Xu, you two should leave for now.”
Xu Yanqiu pulled Doctor Bai, who was about to explode, away. This was something subordinates couldn’t force. But Li Shu was different. Xu Yanqiu could tell that Li Shu cared about the boss, and since Li Shu had asked them to leave, he must have a way to make the boss use the crystal core obediently.
When they were the only two left in the room, Li Shu softened his expression and said, “Can you tell me why you didn’t use this crystal core?”
Gu Lin knew that absorbing the power from the core would be the best thing for him right now, but…
Before he could answer, Li Shu moved closer, almost pressing his face to Gu Lin’s. “Everyone is worried about you. I’m worried about you. The crystal core is in your hands, which means it’s yours. Gu Lin, don’t make me worry anymore, okay?”
They were so close that they could feel each other’s breath. Gu Lin’s heart started to race uncontrollably.
“Boom—”
Amidst the loud thumping of his heart, something broke free.
The floodgates opened, and his emotions were no longer under his control, pouring out in a torrent. The longer something is suppressed, the more powerful its release when it finally bursts. Emotions were no exception.
When did his feelings for the young man start? Perhaps from their first meeting, a seed had been quietly planted. When the young man had hurriedly opened that door, he had also opened the door to Gu Lin’s heart.
Silently, someone had already taken up residence in his heart. But the young man had just gone through a failed relationship. Gu Lin couldn’t rush him so he had no choice but to hide his feelings.
The young man’s eyes were filled with concern. His eyes were deep black, and within their darkness, Gu Lin saw his own reflection. In this moment, Gu Lin had a nearly absurd illusion.
Perhaps, maybe, the young man had feelings for him too.
“I…”
He barely managed to get one word out before the rest was blocked by the young man’s lips.
Gu Lin’s eyes widened in disbelief, unable to process what was happening.
The young man’s lips were so soft. Gu Lin froze, not daring to move at all.