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Xun Yin suddenly raised his gun and fired at the window with a bang. The glass shattered instantly, but no fresh air flowed in-there was another wall outside.

"I'll take the gamble."

Xun Yin lowered his gun and finally spoke, his voice hoarse. The taste of blood filled his mouth; he had no idea when he had bitten through the tip of his tongue. He turned to glance at the window overhead. Perhaps help would arrive in a little while, but that "little while" could mean a minute or an hour.

Pei Qingyu could not wait.

His body kept convulsing uncontrollably. If they waited any longer, his fragile heart would not withstand such a strain...

"Let me take him out of here, and I'll agree to your terms."

"All right."

Zhuo Wumian burst into crazed laughter. He pressed a button, and Xun Yin swiftly crouched to shield Pei Qingyu. With a deafening blast, a huge hole opened in the wall.

"Aren't you curious why my demand is for you to kill someone?" Zhuo Wumian suddenly spoke as Xun Yin climbed up to ground level. Without waiting for an answer, he shouted again, "I'll be watching you all the time. Hehehehe..."

Zhuo Wumian's shrill laughter kept echoing through the hall. Xun Yin ignored him, leaped back up to ground level with Pei Qingyu in his arms, and hurried away.

"Little Xun?"

After several hours of clearing, the broken bricks blocking the alley entrance had finally been removed. Pei Qingyan eagerly stepped forward, only to look up and nearly collide with Xun Yin, who was approaching with his head down.

Xun Yin raised his head and glanced at Pei Qingyan. His eyes were bloodshot and his expression blank, yet he carefully cradled someone in his arms.

Following Xun Yin's gaze, Pei Qingyan looked down, then immediately turned and shouted, "A doctor! Where's the doctor? Little Mo!"

The medical staff hurried over at his call. Xun Yin gave Pei Qingyan a distracted nod and carefully laid the person in his arms on a stretcher. Pei Qingyu was pale, one hand weakly clutching the front of his clothes. Xun Yin's jacket was still draped over him. A nurse tried to remove it to attach the heart monitor electrodes, but Pei Qingyu refused to let go.

"A-Xun, it hurts..."

Xun Yin bent down just in time to hear Pei Qingyu murmur those words with his brows knitted.

Xun Yin gave a soft hum, then gently wrapped his hand around Pei Qingyu's icy fingertips. "It won't hurt in a little while, Captain," he soothed quietly. "I'm here. They're saving you. I'll stay with you. Give me the jacket. I'll keep it for you."

A breathing mask had already been fitted over Pei Qingyu's face. His shallow breaths formed a faint mist on it, which seemed to soften even the pallor of his face.

Xun Yin gently tugged at his jacket. Pei Qingyu's fingers slowly loosened, letting the jacket he had been clutching slip away little by little, without the slightest unease showing on his face.

Xun Yin breathed a sigh of relief. He scratched Pei Qingyu's palm the way he liked and watched him for a while, then turned and walked toward Pei Qingyan.

"Captain Yan, go with the captain to the hospital," Xun Ying said quietly as he approached Pei Qingyan.

Pei Qingyan frowned and stopped him. "What are you going to do?"

"That underground bar, and the adjoining room-Zhuo Wumian was there directing everything all along. I'll go back and investigate, see if there are any more clues."

Xun Yin lowered his eyes. After a pause, he continued, "Besides, you're the captain's brother. I'm just a teammate with no family ties to him. It's more appropriate for you to stay with him."

"What nonsense." Pei Qingyan laughed as he scolded him. He truly had no idea what went through young people's heads these days. He simply gripped Xun Yin's shoulders and turned him around, motioning for him to look toward the ambulance.

Xun Yin looked up. Ever since he had left, Pei Qingyu had begun to look uneasy again. His heart had already been troubling him. Although the sedative injection had eased his convulsions somewhat, his anxiety now made his breathing quicken again. Wisps of mist appeared and faded on his oxygen mask, and weak wheezes came from his chest. There were faint signs that he was struggling to breathe again.

Xun Yin hurried over and crouched beside the stretcher, taking Pei Qingyu's hand and scratching his palm again. Pei Qingyu seemed to sense something. He let out a long, sighing breath, and the rise and fall of his chest gradually steadied.

"He relies on you a lot." Song Xuanmo looked up from the heart monitor beside him and said to Xun Yin, "Stay here for a while. Without specialized equipment, we can barely maintain the blood supply to his heart. If this keeps happening and he goes into acute shock, we'll be in trouble."

"Did you hear that? Stay here. Tell me exactly what's going on down there, and I'll go take a look." Pei Qingyan came over too and patted his shoulder.

"Yes, Captain Yan." Xun Yin nodded, only to receive an unexpected rap on the head from Pei Qingyan.

"I've wanted to say this several times since you came out, but you looked so distracted that I held back. Why have you gone back to calling me Captain Yan? Didn't I tell you what to call me?"

Pei Qingyan fell silent for a moment after speaking, then patted Xun Yin's shoulder again. "You can worry about Xiao Yu. I'm worried too. But you can't let it show in front of him. It won't do him any good, understand?"

"Wait, Brother..." Pei Qingyu, who had been unconscious all this time, suddenly choked out a cough and struggled to catch the hem of Pei Qingyan's clothes. "Brother Song... with you... cough..."

All three beside him froze. Song Xuanmo stroked Pei Qingyu's loose hair, soaked with cold sweat, and asked gently, "Xiao Yu, what do you need me to do?"

"Brother Song, go with my brother..." Pei Qingyu forced his eyes open and said breathily, "There are dead people... no... forensic doctor..."

"No. What will you do if Little Mo leaves?" Pei Qingyan refused outright. "Get yourself to the hospital and stop worrying about so much."

But Pei Qingyu shook his head and stubbornly refused to let go. Exasperated, Pei Qingyan turned to Xun Yin, wanting him to take Pei Qingyu away, only for Xun Yin to remain silent for a long moment before saying, "I understand the captain. Quite a few people did die down there. Having someone with medical knowledge at the scene would make the investigation much easier."

"I'll go with you. It'll be fine." Seeing Pei Qingyu turn and tug at his clothes again, Song Xuanmo finally relented. "There are other doctors in the ambulance with more experience than me. They can manage without me."