Flashing medical lights illuminated the dim night sky.
The silent high walls and city gates stood like barriers dividing the world beneath that fierce sky.
A slightly chilly wind swept through He Ao's hair in the snowy night.
"It's over."
A soft sigh came from beside him.
He Ao withdrew his gaze and looked at Vico beside him. Then, past Vico's body, he saw the slight figure being carried into an ambulance in the distance.
The figure had quieted down and lay on the stretcher, his chest rising and falling faintly as he gazed silently at the sky.
At that moment, he seemed to sense something. He turned his head and looked in He Ao's direction.
But before he could fully turn his gaze, he was carried into the ambulance.
The world fell silent at that moment. He Ao raised his hand, and snowflakes drifting through the sky landed on his fingertips.
He turned back to Vico, whose body was covered in bloodstains. "Didn't any doctors come looking for you?"
Vico's original clothes and coat were now riddled with holes, exposing the damaged bulletproof vest beneath and the blood seeping out from it.
Hearing He Ao's question, Vico froze slightly, then instinctively drew a breath.
He had not been so fortunate. Dense volleys of bullets had struck him long ago, some even entering his body. It was only the intense tension and surging adrenaline that had temporarily made him forget and ignore the pain.
"A doctor gave me some basic treatment, but I wanted to stay here a little longer and take a look."
He endured the pain spreading densely through his body and smiled with a somewhat pale face.
He pulled open his bullet-riddled clothing, revealing the loosened bulletproof vest underneath. "It looks like I got pretty lucky. None