Tang Qisheng held that position for another dozen seconds, until Zhu Jie crawled over and patted his arm. "All... all right. She's dead."
Only then did Tang Qisheng's tense body slowly relax. He shoved Zhang Ting's body away and gasped for breath.
"Are... are you all right?" Tang Qisheng looked at Zhu Jie, his gaze lingering on the wound on her forehead and the injuries on her legs. Most of all, her left wrist was bent at an unnatural angle. It was obviously broken.
Zhu Jie swallowed the blood in her throat and gave Tang Qisheng a reassuring look. "I'm fine. But you..."
Tang Qisheng's abdomen was completely soaked with blood. Zhang Ting had stabbed him several times. He looked down at his stomach and shook his head slightly. "It's nothing. None of the wounds are fatal. I can tell my organs weren't hit. A few of them... cough, cough... a few were stopped by my ribs."
Struggling to his feet, Tang Qisheng tore off Zhang Ting's jacket, ripped it open, and tied it tightly over his wounds. Then he picked up her scalpel. "You go first. I'll go down and take a look."
Zhu Jie shook her head vigorously. "What nonsense are you talking about? How could I let you go down there alone? If you're going, I'm going too."
"But your leg is injured. In your condition, you'll only hold me back." Tang Qisheng's expression turned serious. "How about this: stay outside the elevator and wait for me. Once I find a clue, I'll call you. You can keep the elevator here for me."
"But..."
"All right, no more 'but this' or 'but that.' This is the best plan. We don't know if the elevator works properly down there. If the buttons break, we'll both be trapped below,