He turned into a small alley, intending to take a shortcut home.
He had walked this alley countless times; it was lined with old residential buildings on both sides, with a few small shops on the ground floor.
There were only two streetlights, one at the entrance of the alley and the other in the middle of the alley. Their light was dim and could not illuminate the road very far.
He stopped halfway through his journey.
There's a smell in the air.
It smells like blood.
It's very strong and fresh, like it's drifting directly from a Bleeding wound.
Ling Yi's pupils contracted slightly.
His experience of living two lives made him extremely sensitive to the smell of blood.
In the fragments of his memory, in the worlds he had traversed.
He had smelled blood a hundred times stronger than this.
From the battlefield, from the slaughterhouse, and even from one's own body.
But this time is different.
This time, he was just an ordinary high school student with no superpowers, no system, and no special methods.
He stood still, holding his breath, carefully trying to pinpoint the direction of the scent.
To the left, about thirty meters away.
He hesitated for less than a second, then turned and walked toward the direction of the scent.
It wasn't because he wanted to be a hero.
Rather, it's because if someone is truly Bleeding there, and the amount of Bleeding is so great that he can smell it, then it means that the person is on the verge of death.
He couldn't bring himself to stand by and watch someone die.
Having lived two lives, he had witnessed far too many deaths and rebirths.
He knew better than anyone how precious a human life was.
He tiptoed along a narrower path on the left side of the alley.
The streetlights disappeared completely here, and it was pitch black all around. Only the scattered lights coming from the residential buildings in the distance could barely make him see the road under his feet.
The smell of blood grew stronger.
At the end of the alley, in the shadow of a wall, lay a person.
Judging from her build, this should be a girl.
She lay on her side on the ground, her body curled up in a ball.
Her long hair was spread out on the ground, covering half of her face.
A hand is stretched out from outside the body, the fingers slightly bent, as if trying to grasp something.
Ling Yi walked over quickly and squatted down.
By the faint light from afar, he could make out her face.
"It was her?" Ling Yi was somewhat surprised.
Chu Ran, the School Belle of Dafeng City No. 3 Middle School, the top student in Class 2 of Senior Three, the resident host of the school's art performance, and the object of countless boys' secret crushes.
Ling Yi and she were in different classes, but they had both spoken on the same stage, so they knew each other.
In his memory, Chu Ran was always aloof and unapproachable, like a white flower blooming on the edge of a cliff—beautiful, but no one dared to pick it.
But why is Chu Ran here?
The key issue is that her injuries are very serious.
Ling Yi glanced at it quickly.
There was a knife wound about ten centimeters long on his left shoulder. The wound was deep, and blood was still seeping out.
There is a bruise on his right arm, possibly caused by a blunt object.
There were several abrasions on his back, as if he had been dragged along by something for a while.
Most shockingly, her school uniform was soaked in blood all over her abdomen, but the wound was nowhere to be seen.
It could be an internal injury, or the wound might be covered by clothing.
The blood loss was significant.
If she isn't taken to the hospital soon, she won't last more than half an hour.
Ling Yi took out his phone, ready to call his uncle.
Just as his finger was about to touch the screen.
Buzz!
A violent tremor came from the depths of his mind.
It was something deeper, more primal, deep within the soul, like a gate that had been sealed for ten years finally being pushed open a crack.
Ling Yi's body suddenly stiffened.
This feeling... it's strangely familiar.
In his fragmented memories, he experienced similar feelings at the beginning of each world he traveled to.
A tremor from the depths of the soul, a feeling of being "scanned" by some force.
system?
He held his breath and waited.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
The tremor disappeared; it came and went quickly, like a gust of wind blowing across the water, the ripples subsiding before they could spread.
A line of pale blue, semi-transparent text appeared before his eyes.
[The system has detected that the host and the superhuman are less than five meters apart. System activation has begun.]
[Activation Mission Issued: Make one-on-one contact with a superhuman and maintain contact for at least two hours.]
[Task countdown: 01:59:59.]
[Punishment for mission failure: Permanent system shutdown.]
Ling Yi stared at the line of text, his pupils suddenly shrinking.
Superhuman?
He suddenly looked down at Chu Ran on the ground.
The girl lying in the pool of blood had a face as pale as paper, her lips almost devoid of blood, and her breathing so faint it was barely perceptible.
Is she a superhuman?
Ling Yi's brain completed the information processing in a very short time.
First, the system is activated.
After ten years, it has finally been activated.
But the activation condition is not time or place, but the superhuman.
Second, Chu Ran is a superhuman.
This seemingly aloof and delicate girl is actually a superhuman.
Third, the mission required him to have more than two hours of private contact with Chu Ran.
If it fails, the system will be permanently shut down.
Fourth, Chu Ran is Bleeding. If her wound isn't treated soon, she might not survive two hours.
In other words, he must complete the system's mission while saving her.
The two goals perfectly overlap.
Ling Yi didn't hesitate at all.
He crouched down and first checked Chu Ran's injuries.
Although the knife wound on his left shoulder looked frightening, it did not actually damage any arteries, and the bleeding was within a manageable range.
The bruises on the right arm and the abrasions on the back are superficial injuries and not life-threatening.
The real problem is in the abdomen.
He carefully lifted the hem of Chu Ran's school uniform and saw the wound.
A Rend running across the abdomen.
It is about 15 centimeters long and at least 3 centimeters deep, with jagged edges, unlike what would be caused by an ordinary knife.
More like... claws.
The claw of some kind of animal.
Ling Yi's gaze darkened.
He didn't have time to delve into the cause of the wound.
The most urgent task is to stop the bleeding.
He took his school uniform jacket out of his schoolbag.
Tear it into strips.
First, press firmly on the wound in your abdomen, then tightly wrap another strip of cloth Entanglement the knife wound in your left shoulder.
After treating the wound, he carefully helped Chu Ran up and let her lean on his shoulder.
The girl was very light.
It's abnormally light. A sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, about 1.65 meters tall, shouldn't weigh so little.
But Ling Yi could feel that her body was as light as a feather, as if she could be blown away by the wind at any moment.
Are the bodies of superhumans different from those of ordinary people?
Report to my uncle? No way.
The system task requires "individual contact," so if the uncle comes, it won't count as "individual contact."
Moreover, if Chu Ran really is a superhuman, her superhuman identity is likely to be exposed after she is sent to the hospital.
The injuries on her body did not appear to be from a typical fight.
Those claw marks looked more like they were left by some kind of monster.
If my uncle gets involved, things will get complicated.
Call an ambulance?
The same problem.
The ambulance arrived, the Doctor and nurses arrived, but the condition of "one-on-one contact" was still not met.
Ling Yi closed his eyes and made a decision in three seconds.
He carried Chu Ran on his back.
I quickly walked out of the alley.
He encountered two pedestrians on the street, both of whom looked at him strangely.
A high school student in a school uniform is carrying a girl covered in blood on his back, walking briskly through the streets late at night.
Ling Yi's expression remained normal, and his steps were steady, as if he were simply carrying a drunk friend home.
His mental fortitude was honed through two lifetimes of service.
Other people's opinions are no different from air to him.
It's not my home on the old street; my third uncle's family lives there, and it's not safe.
It's a newly purchased apartment.
Unit 1602, Building 7, Phase II.
He unlocked the door with his fingerprint, gently placed Chu Ran on the sofa in the living room, and then quickly went to the bathroom to fetch a basin of warm water, a clean towel, and a first-aid kit.
He keeps a first-aid kit at home, just in case.
Back in the living room, he first soaked a towel in warm water and gently wiped away the blood and dust from Chu Ran's face.
After wiping it clean, he could see her completely.
Even though her face was pale and she was covered in wounds, it couldn't hide the exquisite beauty of her face.
Her long hair was spread out on the sofa, like a piece of black silk.
Ling Yi regained his composure.
He focused his attention on the wound.
The abdominal Rend has been treated with simple pressure bandages, and the bleeding has been significantly reduced, but it is still not enough.
A wound this deep must be sutured; otherwise, if the pressure bandage loosens, there is a risk of massive bleeding.
He had neither the tools nor the skill to sew.
I don't dare to mess around with things recklessly. If I'm not a professional and just mess around, it might not save a life, but rather kill someone.
The system was activated entirely thanks to this woman.
He only needed the other person to live for two hours.
I'm sorry!
Ling Yi knew that what he was doing was selfish.
Compared to trying to treat it yourself, taking the child to the hospital is the safest course of action.
Ling Yi had been waiting for the system for far too long.