Chapter 89
"I heard he's a year older than us..."
When Canary was mentioned, Yukina pursed her lips and lowered her gaze.
When she saw Yukina being carried off the helicopter stretcher covered in blood, her heart almost stopped.
Yukina had witnessed firsthand the work done by the agent today, and at the same time, she deeply understood the dangers involved.
Therefore, Efnir was never willing to Yukina become the agent.
Just as Efnir didn't want to see Yukina fight to the death, Yukina was also terrified that one day, Efnir's cold corpse would lie in front of her.
Footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.
"Shiomi?"
Hearing someone call her name, Yukina looked up.
Before her stood Fushihara Ayaka, who was holding up the walkie-talkie with a heavy expression, about to say something, when she saw Yukina and paused slightly.
"I was just about to come find you... come with me."
"Bushiyuan... you... oh!?"
Without a word, Fushihara Ayaka grabbed Yukina's hand and pulled her away. Faced with the woman in front of her, Kanade was also somewhat afraid to speak. Watching Yukina being taken away, she stood there blankly for a moment, at a loss, and then followed.
Yukina was taken to the makeshift helipad where the helicopter had just landed.
The propellers emitted a noisy roar, and the cool night wind whipped up Yukina's hair. She pressed down on her skirt with one hand and squinted.
Fushihara Ayaka walked forward, and Yukina followed.
At that moment, the helicopter door was pushed open, and Oguri Aya (Ayse)'s slender figure appeared in Yukina's field of vision. Her arms were covered in dark blood, and she was carefully helping Tachibana Sara (Elincia) to lift her off the stretcher.
On the stretcher was a small figure.
His silver-white hair was now stained red with blood, and almost every part of his body was unharmed; all that could be seen was bright red blood.
Kanade Kotone's face turned deathly pale, and she covered her mouth.
"Yanagi... Ms. Yanase!?"
Or rather, at this point, she should be called Efnir...
The night wind carried the smell of blood, and the color of blood became the only color in Kanade Kotone's eyes. She struggled to suppress the urge to vomit and unconsciously took a step back.
Snap--
A heavy thud came from behind her. Kanade Kotone glanced over and saw that Yukina was frozen in place.
At her feet, the first-aid kit and its contents were scattered all over the ground.
"Naoko..."
Yukina moved her lips, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Elder sister..."
Xijing City United Hospital, Special Monitoring Ward, Outside Operating Room No. 1 --
Yukina, Kanade Kotone, and Shinomiyami Nami sat silently on the waiting chairs.
The Special Monitoring Ward of the United Hospital is now under the jurisdiction of the Orderkeepers Organization and is a special inpatient and treatment center managed by the Orderkeepers Medical Department. It is a specialized medical institution that serves agents and related personnel, responsible for the agents' daily examinations and the treatment of their post-war injuries. The doctors here are directly responsible to the Orderkeepers Organization.
But tonight, the United Hospital is especially busy.
"Make way! Please make way!"
The sound of light, crisp, and hurried footsteps came from the opposite side of the corridor, growing closer and closer, accompanied by the noise of rollers scraping against the ground. Yukina raised her eyes, and vaguely saw another soldier covered in blood being wheeled over by nurses and doctors.
The soldier had a broken leg, and the blood was crushed into a long Trace by the omnidirectional wheel, leaving a shocking red wound on the snow-white ground.
He was pushed into another operating room. In a flash, Yukina saw other soldiers lying on operating tables. Under the green surgical drapes was a patch of blood. Under the operating lights, the surgeon, head bowed and covered in sweat, was carefully removing something.
The nurse turned around and slammed the door shut, blocking Yukina's view. Someone came over and wiped away the bloodstains left on the floor.
Only the cold, pungent smell of blood remained in the air.
The "Operation in Progress" sign was always lit in red, and wounded patients kept arriving.
Starting last night, Xijing City United Hospital suddenly entered a state of emergency, continuously receiving wounded soldiers sent from the West Line. The Special Monitoring Ward, now a medical department managed by the Orderkeepers Organization, has also temporarily opened a relief point for the soldiers. Similarly, all hospitals in the city have temporarily entered a state of emergency, dividing tasks according to their respective medical conditions and geographical distance, and accepting unified allocation from both the Orderkeepers Organization and the Special Disaster Division.
In every battle, people will be injured and killed; this is unavoidable.
But the number of injured this time is somewhat exaggerated.
It was only after a long time that Yukina realized that the battle she had participated in was merely an appetizer in the grand scheme of things.
Following Naoko into battle, although she faltered a bit, Yukina still managed to stand by Efnir's side and offer some assistance. Seeing her sister's heroic figure, Yukina felt genuinely happy.
But she later learned that she neither participated in nor witnessed the real bloody battle.
At that time, both she and Naoko saw Canary, who was injured and retreated back to the temporary assembly point. Naoko then insisted on sending Yukina back to the temporary command post.
Until Yukina saw her sister seriously injured.
123. Hospitalization
"Naoko..."
Yukina stared nervously at the tightly closed operating room door, fidgeting with anxiety. Despite the temperature not being low at all, her fingers felt as cold as ice.
She wiped away her tears again and again.
The image of Efnir being carried off the helicopter on a stretcher flashed before Yukina's eyes countless times; her beautiful, youthful face stained with blood pierced Yukina's heart like a knife.
When she was sent back to the temporary command post, Efnir was given painkillers and fell asleep. After receiving further basic treatment for her wounds at the temporary command post, she was immediately taken to the United Hospital. As soon as she got off the plane, she was taken straight to the operating room. Canary was sent to her ward early, but Efnir has not yet appeared in front of Yukina.
Every second of waiting was agonizing for Yukina.
Even though Yukina had mentally prepared herself countless times, when she saw that scene with her own eyes, she still felt a sense of powerlessness and wavering deep inside her.
"Don't worry, Efnir is not in any danger, and we will definitely make sure nothing happens to her."
Shinomiyami Nami gently patted Yukina's shoulder, offering words of comfort.
Because Commander Zhenqi Chufei was in a meeting, Shinomiyami Nami was sent to handle matters here while also keeping an eye on Efnir's situation.
Efnir's condition is not optimistic. Although it is not life-threatening, it is not an injury that can be easily recovered from in a week. In the current situation, Efnir is very important and absolutely cannot be allowed to suffer any mishaps. This is not only because of the important information Efnir has about "Angel" Qinglan, but also because of Efnir's position among the agents.
"But... Naoko... why hasn't she come out yet...?"
Yukina asked, her eyes brimming with tears.
Shinomiyami Nami pursed her lips, unsure how to answer.
"She injured her eye, so the surgery will probably be more complicated..."
That's how she explained it.
Because she had received a brief explanation from Efnir beforehand, as well as reports from the rescuers Ayse and Elincia, Shinomiyami Nami knew a little about Efnir's situation— Efnir was injured because she was surprised by the Angel's identity and was caught off guard by Qinglan's sneak attack. Then she was thrown off balance by the suddenly evolved Erosion Entity and was finally surrounded and attacked by more than a dozen Erosion Entity at the same time, resulting in serious injuries all over her body.
What's truly astonishing is that despite all the wounds Efnir sustained, none touched an artery. Moreover, Efnir managed to avoid other vital organs and other areas as much as possible, maximizing her mobility. This is why Efnir was able to endure the desperate siege for so long and even nearly break through.
As is well known, the Erosion Entity in the Beyond the Boundary region are generally much stronger and more threatening than those that appear in cities. It must be said that considering the situation Efnir faced at the time, the fact that Efnir only suffered such injuries can even be called a "miracle".
If any other agent had been in Efnir's position at that time, they would undoubtedly have faced certain death.
Therefore, rather than feeling sad, Shinomiyami Nami felt more "fortunate" in her heart.
Thankfully, Efnir didn't die there.
But she couldn't explain or clarify this to Yukina; to Yukina in her current state, saying these words would only provoke her.
At this moment, Kanade Kotone also came to Yukina's side, and gestured to Shinomiyami Nami with her eyes. She gently took Yukina's hand and made Yukina look at her.
"Don't worry, Shiomi- san!"
She recalled Yanase Naoko's beautiful smile as she gently comforted Yukina. She raised her injured hand and gently cupped Yukina's cold hand in her own.
"Ms. Siyejian also assured us, and so many skilled doctors are working hard for Ms. Yanase. Ms. Yanase will definitely be alright. No matter what, as long as you're still here cheering her on, she'll be fine. Yukina must be the most important person to Ms. Yanase, and she'll definitely stay here."
Yukina choked up, wanting to say something, but opened her mouth and no sound came out. She nodded instead.
At that moment, the red "Operating" light in front of the operating room at the end of the corridor went out.
That was the operating room where Efnir was.
The operating room door was pushed open, and a nurse pushed a hospital bed. Four doctors appeared in Yukina's sight, sitting together and talking to each other with serious expressions.
Yukina looked towards the hospital bed.
At this moment, Efnir had changed into loose clothes, with gauze wrapped around her legs, arms, and shoulders. Her right eye was covered with a thick white cloth. Apart from her waist, the only parts of her body that she could move freely were her neck, one hand, and one leg.
She lay quietly on the hospital bed, her eyes closed, like a sleeping beauty waiting to awaken.
"Naoko!"
Yukina almost forgot to breathe as she rushed forward. She looked at Efnir's bloodless lips, wanting to touch Efnir but then withdrew her hand, afraid of accidentally crushing the little girl.
"How is she?"
She chased after the doctors and nurses, her voice hoarse, almost pleading:
How is my sister?
The doctor stopped in his tracks, about to speak, when a soft little hand tugged at Yukina's sleeve.
"Yukina, I'm alright..."
The voice was very weak and somewhat hoarse.
"Naoko... Naoko..."
Yukina quickly bent down, choking back tears as she called out Efnir's name, tears streaming down her face that she couldn't wipe away.
She couldn't see clearly anymore.
Efnir squinted her left eye, avoiding the light from above, her eyelashes fluttering slightly as she gazed at Yukina, who was crying her eyes out.
The little hand moved again, gently stroking Yukina's face and wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes.
"I'm really fine..."
Efnir looked away, staring at the IV drip bottle above her head; everything in her vision seemed to be swaying.
"I'm just... a little dizzy..."
She said sullenly.
Efnir was placed in a private room and treated as a special case.
Her entire body was patched up and stitched with hundreds of stitches; the bandages covering her made her look like a wrapped-up rice dumpling.
In fact, Efnir had already begun to regain consciousness by the end of the surgery—even though she wasn't in Synchronization, as an agent, her physical condition was much better than that of anesthesia, which would have been much less effective on her.
So the anesthesiologist gave her another round of local anesthesia.
Efnir was in a daze until she was taken out of the operating room.
When she opened her eyes again, she was already here. She was very familiar with the facilities here. It was one of the private care rooms provided specifically for agents, and it was located right next to Fengling Shiyin's room. Canary's room was opposite hers.
At this point, the nurse and doctor left after giving a few instructions, as Efnir needed to rest and they did not stay long.
The special wards here are very soundproof, the air is very quiet, and there is a faint smell of disinfectant. The sound of the electronic monitoring equipment comes in waves, like ripples on water.
124. Ward
Besides Efnir, only Shinomiyami Nami, Kanade Kotone, and Yukina were in the room.