I Was Worried You'd Get So Fat You'd Turn into a Ball (Please Vote)
In the end, Xu Tui still caught An Xiaoxue and held her in his arms.
He couldn't just stand there and watch the unconscious An Xiaoxue fall.
If he didn't catch her and she landed face-first, she could hit any of the many sharp stones on the ground.
She was a little soft and smelled nice.
She was the third woman Xu Tui had ever held in his arms.
The first had been his mother.
The second, according to Xu Tui's dad, had been a girl in first grade who'd stolen his eraser. Xu Tui had tackled her and left her face-down in the dirt.
An Xiaoxue was the third.
But at that moment, Xu Tui didn't have the slightest improper thought.
Nearby, military security personnel had begun setting up a temporary shelter and a new defensive line, in case the traitors came back for another attack.
Though that seemed unlikely.
"Come on, carry Cheng Mo on your back. We're heading over there." Xu Tui pointed to another ordinary male classmate who'd been traveling with them.
They'd been introduced during the meal on the bus, but so many people had said their names that Xu Tui hadn't remembered his.
Ordinary meant not handsome.
Unlike Xu Tui, who stood out for one thing—his good looks!
Xu Tui carried An Xiaoxue, while the not-handsome classmate carried Cheng Mo. Gong Ling supported Xu Tui's arm, and the group staggered toward the shelter, which was already taking shape.
Xu Tui took off his jacket, spread it on the ground, and carefully laid An Xiaoxue down on it.
"Gong Ling, keep an eye on Teacher An."
"Heizi, wait here. I'll go find a doctor."
Cheng Mo insisted he was fine, but whenever he coughed, blood welled up in his mouth. Xu Tui was worried.
Not far away, Colonel Liu Tianhu stood leaning on his rifle, staring at the still-living mole, Cha Yifeng. He looked furious, with a trace of self-reproach.
"This was my mistake. I should've insisted on investigating Cha Yifeng." The intelligence officer looked ashamed.
Liu Tianhu slowly shook his head. "You did nothing wrong. You fulfilled your duties. Cha Yifeng really did check out. He'd even served on an extraterrestrial battlefield. He was one of us. I'm the one who made the mistake."
"Excuse me, is there a military doctor?"
Xu Tui's voice rang out. At a time like this, if he needed a doctor, the highest-ranking officer was the best person to ask.
Xu Tui didn't know Liu Tianhu.
Liu Tianhu didn't know Xu Tui either, though he knew his name.
"Yes. They should be treating the others right now. If your situation is urgent, I can have them prioritize your patient," Liu Tianhu replied slowly.
"He's the student who discovered something was wrong with Cha Yifeng." The intelligence officer had watched the surveillance footage, so he recognized Xu Tui.
Liu Tianhu's body tensed slightly. He looked Xu Tui over again. "You were the one who discovered it? What's your name?"
"Xu Tui."
Liu Tianhu froze. That student?
Xu Tui glanced at Liu Tianhu. This was probably the highest-ranking commander. From what he'd heard, Liu Tianhu had received his warning but hadn't acted on it.
If the commander had taken Xu Tui's information seriously at the time, things might have turned out completely differently.
From Xu Tui's perspective, the casualties before him had, to some extent, been caused by the very man he'd just looked up to.
So he didn't curse him to his face.
"My teacher, An Xiaoxue, passed out after her outburst just now. I don't know what happened to her. Is she in danger?" Xu Tui asked.
Liu Tianhu could sense the anger in Xu Tui's voice and understood where it came from.
But there were no "what ifs" in this world.
And no one could anticipate everything.
No one had expected the mole Cha Yifeng to be so deeply hidden. He'd passed Jincheng Prefecture's numerous screenings and had even been assigned to the crucial third bus.
But, on the other hand, wasn't that exactly what a mole was supposed to do—hide in plain sight?
"Professor An?"
"She probably passed out because she overused her mental strength. Give her a shot of D-grade amine stimulant."
The guard immediately pulled a syringe from a remarkably sturdy bag and handed it to Xu Tui.
"Inject it into the muscle. It'll take effect in five minutes, and she should wake up about fifteen minutes after that.
"If you inject it into a vein, it'll take effect in thirty seconds, but she might feel uncomfortable—she could get a headache, for example.
"I recommend an intramuscular injection." The guard was thorough.
Xu Tui took the medicine and thanked him. He turned to leave, then suddenly turned back. "Does it have any side effects?
"Will it harm Professor An?
"Could it leave any lasting effects?"
The guard's face darkened instantly. Why ask it like that? It made him sound like he was trying to hurt someone.
"There'll be no lasting effects. It won't harm her. Any mild side effects will pass within half a day," Liu Tianhu said.
"Oh."
Xu Tui turned and left.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't take your warning seriously." Liu Tianhu's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Xu Tui stopped but didn't answer. He raised a hand and pointed nearby.
At the students moaning in pain from their injuries.
At the soldiers who were wounded or even maimed.
At the bodies that had already gone cold.
Finally, Xu Tui's hand and gaze settled on the headless body of the security guard from their third bus. His hand trembled.
In an instant, Liu Tianhu's face turned deathly pale, and his lips began to quiver uncontrollably.
He understood what Xu Tui meant.
"How old was that security guard?" Xu Tui suddenly asked, his voice trembling.
Liu Tianhu's expression turned stricken.
The intelligence officer was speechless.
Only the guard answered, as if suddenly realizing. "He was only twenty-one."
Xu Tui's heart gave a violent wrench, and he ran toward the temporary shelter.
The tears that had been circling in his eyes for so long spilled out in great drops.
They were scorching hot.
Soon, Xu Tui gave An Xiaoxue the D-grade amine stimulant as an intramuscular injection.
He chose the deltoid in her upper arm, a moderately difficult injection site.
As for the other two options—the gluteal muscle or the outer thigh muscle—Xu Tui dismissed them outright.
They were easier places to inject, but the side effects Xu Tui might suffer afterward could be nightmarish!
Xu Tui had a strong instinct for self-preservation.
Seeing the power An Xiaoxue had displayed while unconscious made Xu Tui realize that around her, he had to keep his head down and play it safe. Very safe.
The military doctor also checked Cheng Mo's injuries. He was fairly lucky.
Three ribs were broken, but not at a dangerous angle, so they hadn't punctured any organs. The radius in his left arm was fractured, and he had bruising in his chest and abdomen.
At the current level of medical care, Cheng Mo would probably need a month to recover completely.
That was another problem for him.
The three months after receiving a Gene Liberation Potion were a period of rapid improvement for everyone. If Cheng Mo had to rest for a month, he'd fall behind by quite a bit.
"It's fine. I mainly activated the gene points in my stomach, didn't I? Resting for a month won't stop me from eating." Cheng Mo spoke with carefree nonchalance.
Xu Tui got angry and flicked him hard on the forehead.
"I'm worried you'll be stuck in bed for a month and get so fat you turn into a ball!"
Cheng Mo's mouth twitched.
The soldiers and some of the accompanying teachers had slowed their frantic work. The rescue operation was basically over. A large fire burned at the temporary shelter, and a portable infrasound generator had started up to drive away the mosquitoes in the woods.
Two students had died.
Eleven were seriously injured.
Most of the rest had minor injuries.
Two of the accompanying teachers were seriously injured, and everyone else was hurt.
Seven security soldiers had died, and fifteen were seriously injured.
The reported results were impressive, too.
Forty-six members of the traitor organization had been killed, and five captured. All were Gene Liberators, mostly E- and D-grade, including seven C-grade Gene Liberators!
One B-grade Gene Liberator had been killed: the Cyborg Ahu.
Three E-grade Gene Evolvers had been killed.
One veteran spy had been captured.
The results of the emergency fighter squadron's pursuit weren't in yet.
But even without them, the tally was already impressive.
Still, no matter how impressive the results were, they didn't matter much in the face of all those deaths and injuries.
If Xu Tui had his way, he'd rather have no victories at all than lose anyone.
The atmosphere at the temporary shelter was heavy and oppressive.
But half an hour later, a support convoy arrived in a rush, finally giving the frightened, tense students a sense of safety.
When they saw the long line of headlights appear in the distance, many students burst into tears.
An Xiaoxue woke up at that moment, too.
The first thing she saw was her sleeve rolled up to her shoulder. Her brows drew together slightly, and she looked at Xu Tui.
She'd still been somewhat conscious before passing out.
The last thing she remembered was Xu Tui reaching out to catch her.
Then why was her sleeve rolled up?
Xu Tui, whose instinct for self-preservation was exceptionally strong, hurriedly handed her the syringe. "D-grade amine stimulant. I injected it."
An Xiaoxue nodded.
Xu Tui was in the clear.
Suddenly, An Xiaoxue, who had just sat up, spoke in a cold voice and looked at Xu Tui. "There's blood on my face and neck, too. Did you clean it off?"
Her gaze made Xu Tui shudder. An Xiaoxue's astonishing appearance as a divine, slaughtering goddess flashed through his mind.
"Teacher An, I cleaned it for you." Gong Ling's sweet voice rang out, making Xu Tui breathe a sigh of relief.
It was a good thing he'd been wise earlier.
"What's the situation now?" An Xiaoxue asked.
Xu Tui gave her a rough account of what he knew.
The casualty figures weighed heavily on An Xiaoxue, but she had clearly been through far more than Xu Tui.
"What happened to the mole, Cha Yifeng? Is he still alive?" An Xiaoxue suddenly asked.
"He's still alive," Xu Tui said.
"Come on. Help me go see him," An Xiaoxue said.
"Why do you want to see a mole?" Xu Tui asked, bewildered.
"To see how they're handling him over there and whether they've found out anything new."
Xu Tui nodded and hurried to help An Xiaoxue, but she shoved him away with a look of disdain.
"Did I ask you to help me?"
Xu Tui froze, unable to make sense of it. Hadn't An Xiaoxue just asked him to help her?
"Xu Tui, you misunderstood. Teacher An meant for me to help her." Gong Ling smiled sweetly and walked over to An Xiaoxue.
Xu Tui looked thoroughly dejected.
She'd let him hold her earlier, and now she was treating him like he was a nuisance.
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