Peace, Arriving Late

The gunfire, cannon fire, and explosions made Maggie's little face turn pale. She instinctively moved closer to Colin, and in the end, she clung tightly to Colin's arm, seeking comfort.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine!"

Colin comforted Maggie.

Although Colin still had reservations about whether Maggie was truly innocent and pure-hearted,

that did not stop Colin from comforting her.

Or rather... she was comforting herself.

Because apart from the first two weeks after the rebels occupied the city, Colin had not heard such dense gunfire and artillery barrages for a full three and a half months.

And now, it had appeared again...

Something major must have happened!

Colin's heart tightened instinctively.

She thought of Qin Ran!

In an environment like this, the chances of Qin Ran being in danger had undoubtedly skyrocketed.

"That worrying fool!"

Colin muttered to herself.

Knock, knock, knock!

The sudden knocking instantly put the worried Colin on edge. She gripped her pistol tightly and asked warily, "Who is it?!"

"It's me, Colin!"

The somewhat familiar voice filled Colin with delight.

"Qin Ran!"

Colin cried softly as she opened the door to the underground warehouse.

The instant Colin opened the door, Qin Ran, carrying an enormous pack, toppled inside.

Colin instinctively tried to catch Qin Ran, but he pulled her down with him.

"What happened, Qin Ran?"

With Maggie's help, Colin moved Qin Ran aside. Only then did she see the deep gash at his waist. Even after rudimentary bandaging, it was still a bloody mess of mangled flesh.

"You're hurt!"

Colin cried out, then shouted, "Maggie! Maggie! Qin Ran needs your help!"

Colin had a vivid memory of Maggie's profession as a nurse.

Even if she was only an intern.

"I'm fine, Colin! Bring me some canned food and water, okay?"

Seeing Colin's anxious expression, Qin Ran immediately smiled to reassure her.

But no matter how one looked at it, that smile was weak.

In fact, it was.

At that moment, Qin Ran's original 150 HP had fallen to less than 30.

And the blood continuing to flow from his wound was slowly lowering that number even further.

"I'll get it right away!"

Though frantic with worry and somewhat flustered, Colin immediately turned and ran toward the supplies at Qin Ran's request.

Qin Ran glanced at Colin once more before saying to the helpless Maggie beside him, "Now I need your bandaging skills. Of course, it would be even better if you could teach me while you bandage me!"

"O-Okay!"

If Colin was merely flustered, then Maggie was completely panicked.

Her repeated mistakes while bandaging Qin Ran and her muddled explanations when teaching him about bandaging were enough to prove it.

Still, the result was good.

Qin Ran's endlessly bleeding wound was stopped, and after eating the food Colin brought, his HP began to steadily recover.

Naturally, Maggie's bandaging lesson was also acknowledged by the system, bringing an unexpected gain.

[Name: Medicine: Bandaging (Basic)]

[Attribute Related: None]

[Skill Type: Support]

[Effect: Make better use of bandages, increasing healing effects by 10%]

[Consumption: Stamina]

[Learning Requirement: None]

[Remarks: Bandages, the best companion when bleeding!]

...

[Name: Medicine: Drug Knowledge (Basic)]

[Attribute Related: None]

[Skill Type: Support]

[Effect: You can reasonably allocate and make use of the medicines in your possession,

increasing drug effects by 10%]

[Consumption: None]

[Learning Requirement: None]

[Remarks: Whether it's medicine that heals or poison that kills!]

...

Qin Ran had not expected Maggie to possess two learnable skills. When faced with the system's prompt, he naturally chose yes without hesitation.

Although neither skill was attribute-related and could not provide further attribute benefits by increasing their levels,

the skills' effects themselves were quite good.

Especially the latter!

"Whether it's medicine that heals or poison that kills?"

If Qin Ran still could not understand such an obvious hint, then he really would be an idiot.

In fact, some ideas had already surfaced in Qin Ran's mind.

But seeing the obvious anger on Colin's face, Qin Ran temporarily suppressed those thoughts.

"I can explain!"

Facing Colin, who genuinely cared about him, Qin Ran raised both hands with a bitter smile.

"I'm listening!"

Colin sat quietly in front of Qin Ran with her arms crossed.

Seeing Colin like this, Qin Ran chose to come clean.

He began with his deal with Saruka, then the sniping of rebel general Janning, his return to Saruka's camp, and finally how he had been ambushed and injured by a rebel soldier who had been blown half to death as he was leaving. At the mention of this unexpected injury, Qin Ran frowned deeply. It had been avoidable.

If he had not grown carried away after obtaining Saruka's arsenal,

Qin Ran would not have thought anyone could survive such a bombardment.

So, he received the lesson he deserved.

If his Constitution had not reached F+, giving him 150 HP, and if he had not used the pistol at his waist to block part of the attack, he would have died long ago.

Qin Ran spoke slowly.

Though the unexpected injury at the end made Qin Ran feel somewhat embarrassed,

he did not hide it.

"You..."

After Qin Ran finished, Colin stared at him with wide eyes. She could not imagine that tonight's war had actually been caused by the man before her.

Maggie, meanwhile, was completely stunned. She had lost the ability to speak or think and could only stare blankly at Qin Ran.

"At daybreak, the government troops will enter this city—peace has arrived! Even if it's late!"

As Qin Ran spoke, he struggled to get up and began packing his belongings.

Including, but not limited to, the weapons and equipment he had obtained from Saruka's arsenal.

Qin Ran had no choice but to pack his things.

Because he had less than five minutes left in the instance.

[The player will leave the Beginner Instance in five minutes...]

[Please carry any items you are personally able to carry as items to be taken out!]

(Note: Items exceeding the player's carrying limit will automatically be deemed items that cannot be taken out of the instance!)

...

"Only items I can personally carry? Anything beyond my carrying limit will automatically be deemed impossible to take out of the instance?!"

Seeing that prompt, even Qin Ran could not help wanting to curse.

But reason told him to hurry!

And that forced Qin Ran to prepare despite his unhealed body.

Being able to carry only what he could personally carry meant Qin Ran had no choice but to abandon some items.

Once again, Qin Ran felt as though he were cutting off his own flesh.

The painful kind!

After all, not a single one of these items had come easily. Every piece had been obtained at the risk of his life!

"Damn it!"

After deciding that the essential equipment—the [Viper-M1] sniper rifle and two [Iron Fist-II] rocket launchers—had to be taken as the most valuable items, Qin Ran looked at the majority of the equipment he had to abandon, including the [H-20] light machine gun. Thinking of how he had been injured after carrying all that loot, he finally cursed—silently, in his heart.

Qin Ran's movements caught the attention of Colin, who had been watching him the entire time.

"Are you leaving?"

Colin stepped forward and grabbed Qin Ran's sleeve, staring straight into his eyes.

Qin Ran, whose sleeve Colin had grabbed, had no choice but to stop.

Under her gaze, Qin Ran instinctively wanted to say something, but when the words reached his lips, he did not know what to say.

He was grateful for Colin's help.

Without her help, Qin Ran knew that things would have been extremely difficult for him, let alone that he could have gained what he had now.

But beyond that, Qin Ran could not say more.

Especially when Colin showed emotions that went beyond friendship.

Even someone as dull as Qin Ran understood Colin's feelings for him the moment she grabbed his sleeve.

But Qin Ran could not return them.

Their identities had long since determined how this would end.

Qin Ran could not tell Colin that this was merely an unusually realistic game, and that she was only an NPC, perhaps even serving as something like a "beginner guide."

He could not say it.

You could choose not to be merciful, but you must remain kind and avoid hurting another person's happiness!

Qin Ran knew what Colin's happiness was, and when faced with that happiness, he was not only willing to remain kind—he was willing to show her even greater mercy.

But... Qin Ran did not know what to do.

So he fell silent.

Qin Ran could only look into Colin's eyes and return her gaze.

In the end, Colin released Qin Ran's sleeve.

"What do you need? I'll help you pack!"

The girl said this.

"Thank you!"

Qin Ran replied.