Chapter 58: Acute Illness
September 13, Friday.
The W District Children’s Welfare Institute, which had basically turned into a white zone, was finally unsealed on the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Apart from the warning sign outside the gate, there were no longer any police isolation measures. The street in front also returned to normal traffic after a few days of lockdown. Any passerby couldn’t help but glance back at the welfare institute ravaged by fire.
Jiang Yan stood dazed in front of the institute, wearing a denim skirt, staring at the ruins before her with a cold expression.
A tall young man in a sharp suit walked steadily down the sidewalk from a distance and spotted the dazed girl not far away, his steps immediately slowed.
“Comrade Jiang…” Meng Huai slowly approached the girl from behind and called out softly.
“Just call me Jiang Yan, ‘comrade’ feels a bit unfamiliar. I’ll call you Meng Huai, how about that?” Jiang Yan turned around, managed a forced smile, and then redirected her gaze deep into the welfare institute, where the old tree she used to climb as a child had become a bare, twisted black statue.
“Yeah… fortunately, no children from the welfare institute were hurt this time. I heard that the city has decided to allocate funding to redefine the land use in the western suburbs of W District and build a new children’s welfare institute. Various sectors of society are actively donating as well.”
Meng Huai’s face showed a slight hint of guilt as he slowly squatted beside the gate post of the welfare institute, gripping a burned copper plate in his hand. News reports had already broadcasted the relevant information, with the city government generously granting land for free for the first time. The financial support from both city and district governments, along with social donations, awaited the start of a brand-new W District Children’s Welfare Institute, with a project budget reaching hundreds of millions; various hardware and software facilities were now more complete, making it truly a rebirth.
Only Meng Huai knew that the vast majority of this funding was actually compensation given to the local government of City C by the Dark Arrow Headquarters.
“Yeah, it’s quite good. Your news is also quite well-informed.” Jiang Yan replied expressionlessly, leaning against the street tree by the gate, brushing her wind-tousled hair back and speaking with a chilly tone, “Isn’t today Sunday? Do you plan to continue telling me stories?”
Meng Huai was slightly taken aback, and shook his head after a few seconds, a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth: “I can’t finish telling you, there’s too much, and it keeps increasing every day…”
Jiang Yan shuddered slightly, uncertain whether it was because the home she had lived in since childhood was gone, or because of her unwillingness that led to Zhao Peng being seriously injured, or having witnessed the brutal massacre of that night, her eyes had now tinged with red.
Indeed, just a few days ago, dozens or even hundreds of soldiers from the Dark Arrow team had died in dark and bloody corners. No matter how the upper-ups concocted reasons for sacrifice and exerted efforts to provide solace, it couldn’t reverse the loss of those young lives that had endured humiliation on the secret battlefront.
And this tragedy, she was the instigator of it, without the slightest joy of escaping. During the two minutes of the massacre, she seemingly felt a sense of relief as she imagined burying everything with Xia Yan.
Now reflecting on her initial stubbornness, Jiang Yan suddenly felt everything was so logically clear.
There was simply no need for a full moon to clarify these thoughts. Perhaps this was originally a farewell journey she had to face, along with Xia Yan.
Now, the two figures running through the gunfire were firmly bound to an inescapable fact. Perhaps the entire Dark Arrow team would soon begin to pay attention to some mysterious blood clan force; it was only a matter of time before Hyacinth would stand at the forefront opposing the Dark Arrow team.
Everyone in Hyacinth trusted Sister Wan so much that they wouldn’t hesitate to attempt even the most dangerous tasks… What kind of person is Sister Wan? What motivation or obligation does she have to help me uncover the truth?
If it’s merely to uphold the idea of a big family, to protect me, or to have me wholeheartedly work for Hyacinth, then exposing Hyacinth under the eyes of Dark Arrow carries too high a risk. A leader of Hyacinth should not act in such a way under any circumstances.
Unless, the value of me and Jiang Yao is far more significant than we could ever imagine.
And those two terrifying nobles from the Engel family, they clearly had knowledge of all the movements of Dark Arrow, closely monitoring every move of me and Xiao Yao.
Jiang Yan felt her head spinning, the more she thought, the more headache she got, even her breathing became chaotic.
Just as a new physiological cycle was approaching, her body began to show signs of abnormality. Coupled with the internal turmoil she had experienced over the past few days, Jiang Yan felt increasingly sentimental.
“Little Jiang?”
Seeing Jiang Yan lost in thought, or perhaps weary from the sorrowful stories she had been narrating, Meng Huai’s mood became somewhat complex, his tone considerably more subdued: “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you these things.”
“Oh, I’m fine… Meng Huai, this is the second time I’ve seen you in civilian clothes. To be honest, it actually suits you better than a military uniform.”
Jiang Yan shook her head, shaking off the disorganized thoughts, and made a self-deprecating smile, joking about his attire, a way to divert her emotions and attention.
“Yeah, I’m about to retire soon, maybe in half a year, maybe in a month, it’s uncertain.” Meng Huai stood up, slightly tidying his clothes, revealing a hint of a smile. “So, taking advantage of this holiday, I’ll adapt to this new identity in advance.”
What!? Meng is about to retire!
Jiang Yan was suddenly taken aback, feeling that her reaction was a bit excessive, and quickly turned her head away.
“Jiang…”
Meng Huai was about to say something when suddenly he felt a piercing pain at his right rib, radiating like cramps to his back, forcing his whole body to curl up involuntarily. Large beads of cold sweat began to break out from his forehead, and even his mouth started to tremble from the pain.
“Meng Huai!”
Jiang Yan noticed something was wrong with him and hurriedly supported him, looking around anxiously.
“I… I’m fine…”
Meng Huai gritted his teeth and uttered a few words, then his body came crashing down heavily to the ground, fainting from the pain.
…
C City First People’s Hospital, Internal Medicine Ward.
“Hey! Two comrades, you must register to enter the ward, you can’t just walk in.”
A woman and two soldiers hurried toward a certain hospital room, but a nurse couldn’t stop them.
Tao Qiaoer directly pulled out her officer ID to show it, then coldly pushed the nurse aside and pushed open the ward door, entering with the lieutenant by her side.
In front of the hospital bed, several machines beeped weak signals. Meng Huai was already in a patient gown, his lower body covered with a blanket, fast asleep.
Beside the bed, a black-haired girl sat in a chair, staring blankly at the young man in bed, occasionally looking down at her phone.
“Hehe, we meet again, this time I owe you for being by Meng Ge’s side!”
Han Jie Li first thanked Jiang Yan without waiting for a response, then took a few steps to the bedside, leaning down to closely observe Meng Huai’s complexion.
“You… what is your relationship with Team Meng?”
Tao Qiaoer stared at Jiang Yan’s face, showing a hint of confusion.
“He fainted at that time, and I found a phone on him, so I just randomly dialed a number.” Jiang Yan stood up and calmly replied, “That… should it be you who answered the phone?”
“Yeah, it was me who answered… wait, it feels like we’ve met before? You look somewhat familiar.”
Tao Qiaoer assessed the black-haired girl in front of her, comparing her with several memories. “Oh, I remember now. Two months ago, near Yushui Street at a shop, you and another…”
“Yeah, back then you also conducted a test for my sister and me… I’ve been volunteering at the W District Children’s Welfare Institute and happened to run into Mr. Meng a few times.”
Jiang Yan slightly lowered her head, trying her best to portray the image of an innocent girl.
“No wonder, thank you so much. We’ll take care of things here now.”
Tao Qiaoer smiled, then turned to the doctors who hurriedly came in and said, “I am Major Meng Huai’s colleague, according to the directive from the superiors, Team Meng will be transferred to the Army General Hospital for treatment; please cooperate with the relevant transfer procedures.”
“Okay… understood!”
The doctors exchanged glances, then quickly nodded, their attitudes extremely respectful.
“Wait, that’s not necessary…”
Suddenly, Meng Huai opened his eyes, slowly stretching out his hand to pull off the blanket covering him.
“Meng Ge.”
“Team Meng!”
Han Jie Li and Tao Qiaoer quickly surrounded him, the latter grabbing Meng Huai’s arm directly.
“Let’s first hear what the doctor has to say.”
Meng Huai made a motion to get up, and the nurse hurried over to shake the head of the bed.
“Oh, it’s like this, according to our preliminary diagnosis, Comrade Meng Huai has experienced acute liver failure. The examination report reflects that it should be caused by the accumulation of medication toxicity. As for which drug’s side effects, further examination is needed…”
A middle-aged doctor seemed to be Meng Huai’s current attending physician, quickly flipping through the medical records in hand.
“Is there a way to treat this?” Meng Huai asked, unchanged in color.
“Hmm… it seems we caught it in time, it’s still early. Currently, you are out of danger; we can consider conservative treatment, lots of rest, and strengthen nutrition for now. After further examinations, we will determine whether a liver transplant is necessary.”
The attending doctor answered truthfully.
So it can be treated, no need for a transfer! Meng Huai glanced at his two colleagues beside him, speaking almost word by word, his expression serious to the extreme.
“Team Meng!”
“You all can go back. I’m on vacation now, please don’t disturb me. It doesn’t matter where I get treated; it doesn’t violate the organization’s confidentiality principles.”
Meng Huai waved his hand, dismissing them, then suddenly seemed to recall something and focused on Han Jie Li: “You should keep an eye on Han Xiao, don’t let her do anything foolish.”
After a moment of astonishment, Han Jie Li and Tao Qiaoer could only leave with helpless expressions.
“Thank you.”
Turning to the black-haired girl not far from the bed, Meng Huai’s indifference slowly faded, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
“Do you need me to notify your family?”
Looking at Tao Qiaoer’s retreating figure, Jiang Yan lowered her voice.
Meng Huai didn’t answer, merely turned his head and blankly stared at the ceiling, after a long while he uttered, “No.”
Meng Huai had never mentioned his family before; did he also share the same situation as her…
He must have suffered from stage two or even three complications due to the long-term injection of anti-blood invasion immunity drugs. Is it possible that those who joined the Dark Arrow truly share the same grim fate?
Looking at the once imposing, cold-faced commander of the Xuanjia team, now weakened to this extent due to an acute illness, Jiang Yan suddenly felt that the absurdity of this world went far beyond her own experience.
This feeling had nothing to do with identity, it was purely sorrowful.
“Well… during these few days of the Mid-Autumn Festival, I’m free, I’ll keep you company…”
Jiang Yan’s heart was turbulent, but her face showed a light smile, a bit sweet. Before dinner, Meng Huai’s condition fluctuated several times, and even his skin showed mild signs of jaundice.
But as the attending doctor said, it was still early, and medicinal conservative treatment could be used. The priority was to ensure good rest and nutrition.
Recalling the readiness state of the Xuanjia team, let alone ensuring good rest, even meals were monotonous base mess food; in extreme cases, it was even the kind of high-energy rations that both humans and dogs despised.
Although the logistics support for the Dark Arrow team was definitely top-notch in the military, it still couldn’t withstand the tremendous harm to the body caused by one injection after another of anti-blood invasion immunity drugs.
The dinner was carefully selected by Jiang Yan, directly ordered from an external restaurant, which included Meng Huai’s favorite roasted duck.
“My sister has a strong taste, and she especially loves the roasted duck from this chain restaurant; it tastes very authentic.”
Jiang Yan still used the same excuse to deflect Meng Huai’s puzzled expression back.
Even at home, Meng Huai did not consider eating as a focus of life; the bare minimum was just not starving to death. Only occasionally, when dining out with comrades, did Meng Huai have a slight appetite.
Now it was a holiday period, or rather, as superiors began to investigate the internal information leakage in the western monitoring area, Meng Huai had been placed outside due to the dual preferential treatment of trust and protection from the superiors.
When he could return to the team was unknown, but Meng Huai knew that this time would definitely not be short. Even when he returned, he might no longer hold the position of commander of the Xuanjia team.
The roasted duck before him emitted a rich greasy fragrance. Meng Huai remembered the first time he had roasted duck was on his fourth birthday, when his mother took him out to eat, and even ate so much that it caused a stomach upset.
His mother’s image once again became clear in his mind, and while eating, a tear unexpectedly fell, splashing into the bowl.
“Meng Huai…”
Jiang Yan was startled; it was indeed the first time she saw Meng Huai with such a vulnerable expression.
However, since interacting with Meng Huai in this new identity, countless “firsts” had already happened. Meng Huai’s impression seemed to have changed slowly yet distinctly from the past.
“Do you think a soldier shouldn’t cry?”
Meng Huai did not wipe his tears but smiled and looked up, letting a few tears roll down from the corners of his eyes to his chin.
“A soldier is also human… as long as what makes you sad is worth crying over.”
Jiang Yan avoided Meng Huai’s gaze, feeling a bit hesitant to face this suddenly much stranger old comrade.
“You are stronger than me, Comrade Jiang… I can only muster courage when facing the fiercest enemies.”
Meng Huai put down his chopsticks and suddenly said something nonsensical.
“How do you know I’m stronger than you?”
Jiang Yan was puzzled, thinking this man with incredibly low emotional intelligence must have some bizarre reasoning again.
“You’re very much like a comrade of mine, the martyr I told you about, Xia Yan.”
Meng Huai directly grabbed a piece of roasted duck, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed slowly, “He was my best comrade. I know he had his obsessions, but he did not have inner demons; his strength didn’t need to be disguised. I feel you are the same.”
Perhaps Meng Huai’s words touched a certain point in her heart, Jiang Yan quickly stood up, walked to the window, and turned her back to Meng Huai, not wanting him to see her expression at this moment.
The ward fell into a peculiar silence, both of them ceased speaking.
The ringtone of a phone rang, coming from Jiang Yan’s pocket.
“Hello… ah? Xiao Yao, she…”
Jiang Yan’s expression changed several times, ultimately transforming into delight.
Jiang Yao woke up; this time around, her deep sleep lasted for twenty-three days, far shorter than the normal knight’s cycle. Moreover, according to the hints from Xia Ai over the phone, Jiang Yao’s current realm had already reached mid-tier knight, an unprecedented terrifying achievement.
