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1. Short-lived trust

In the darkness, the footsteps stopped.

He didn't stop at the entrance, but outside the barrier - the man tripped over the barbed wire fence, the gravel slid down, and the empty can made a soft sound on the steel bars above his head.

Lin Shuang didn’t move.

The stone ax in the right hand is placed in front of the knee, and the dagger in the left hand is held backward, with the tip of the knife against the inside of the forearm.She closed her eyes and breathed very long and lightly, like a stone embedded in the corner of the wall.

The bezel was pushed slightly.

The wire was taut, and the claw hammer made an imperceptible friction sound in the cracks of the bricks.The man seemed to be aware of the arrangement inside and paused.

Then, a hoarse female voice spoke in an extremely low voice, as if she was afraid of disturbing something outside:

“…Is there anyone inside?”

No answer.

"I'm not a predator." The voice was trembling, but he managed to stay steady, "I...I escaped from the medical tent, and someone was chasing me. Please, let me hide for one night, and I'll leave at dawn."

Lin Shuang opened his eyes.

The system panel refreshed silently at the edge of the field of view: [Heat source: 1, body shape matches an adult female, low body temperature, tachycardia, no reaction to metal weapons.】

She was silent for three seconds.

Within three seconds, there was the sound of an engine stalling in the distance outside, a man cursing, and the flashlight beam sweeping across the ruins.Pursuers were nearby but had not discovered the entrance.

Lin Shuang tapped the ground with a steel pipe - two short and one long.

The people outside the barrier froze, not understanding.

"Open the baffle and climb in." Lin Shuang's voice was lower than hers, "Move slowly and don't touch the wire. If you dare to use a weapon, I will cut off your hand."

There was a rustling.

The baffle was slowly raised from the outside, and a grayish-white light leaked in, revealing a face: young and pale, with short hair covered in blood and mud, and the left eye was so swollen that there was only a slit left.She dragged her left leg, put her right elbow on the ground, and rubbed it in like a dehydrated fish.

Lin Shuang stared at the unnatural angle of her left leg—a broken bone, or worse.

When everyone came in completely, Lin Shuang kicked back the baffle, reset the iron wire, and hung the can back to its original place.The whole set of movements did not make any unnecessary noise.

The man slumped in the corner, his chest heaving violently, but he bit his lips to swallow back his gasp.

It’s a bit interesting.Know the pain but don't scream, know the fear but don't cry.

Lin Shuang did not let down his guard. The stone ax was always at hand. He only turned on the lighter for a moment and shined a light on the opponent's face and hands - they were empty and without weapons.

“Name.”

"...Su Lin."

"Why are you being chased?"

Su Lin's Adam's apple moved, as if those three words were hot on her tongue: "Predators. Hammer Gang. They arrest women..." She didn't finish her sentence, but Lin Shuang understood.

The system prompt pops up at the right time: [Traces of an indwelling needle in the vein of the target's left arm were detected, and he was recently forced to infuse/inject.Combined statement, credibility: medium to high.】

Lin Shuang took out the army green water bottle from the side pocket of his backpack, shook it, and handed it over.

"Two mouthfuls. Not a drop more."

Su Lin’s hand holding the kettle was still shaking, but she forced herself to swallow slowly.Every time he swallowed, his eyes quickly scanned around the basement, and finally stopped on Lin Shuang's right hand holding the stone ax - that hand was very stable, with calluses on the knuckles, not an ordinary survivor.

Lin Shuang was also examining her.

While Su Lin was leaning against the wall and panting, she went through the observation results in her mind: young woman, in her early twenties, with traces of intravenous needles on the back of her left hand, her left leg dragging unnaturally on the floor, and possibly a bone fracture.Shortness of breath, normal pupillary light reflex, and clear consciousness.No weapons, no intent to attack.

"System, basic scan."

"Scan completed. Heat source: 1, body shape matches an adult female, body temperature 35.8°C (low), heartbeat 112 beats/min (fast), no metal weapon reaction, no severe hostile hormone fluctuations. Threat assessment: None. "

Lin Shuang does not need system reminder...

"System, what does medium to high reliability mean?"

"The threat is less than 5%. But people will change when they are very hungry, so it is recommended to keep an eye out. "

Lin Shuang does not need system reminder.She has seen too many things - the companions who fell in love with the half-filled bottle of water in the ruins, and the rescued people who snatched her backpack during the rescue.Trust is a luxury, and now she is reluctant to waste even a bottle of clean water.

"You said you were a medical student." Lin Shuang said in a straight tone without any emotion, "Which school? How many years have you studied? Do you have any clinical experience?"

Su Lin put down the kettle, raised her hand to wipe the water stains from the corners of her mouth with her sleeves, her distracted eyes slowly gathered together, as if she was salvaging a distant old time.

"Tongji Medical University, enrolling in 2030, five-year system. When the war breaks out in 2035, it will be the second semester of senior year, three months before graduation. "

Her voice was low, with a hint of vicissitudes of life, "After the school was bombed, I fled into the ruins with my classmates and wandered for three years. I have done daily debridement, wound sutures, and fracture fixation. Common infections, diarrhea, and mild radiation sickness have been common. I have also dealt with many survivor cases."

"Do you have a practicing certificate?"

Su Lin was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "In this troubled world, is a certificate still meaningful?"

“The certificate is an endorsement of the old world, what I want is the ability of the new world.”

Lin Shuang held the stone ax in her right hand flat in front of her knees, and pulled out the broken-tip dagger from her waist with her left hand, pointing the blade inward, and handed the handle to Su Lin.

"Help me look at the wound on your left arm. If you dare to turn the blade, I'll chop your wrist." The diagnosis is accurate and the treatment plan is reasonable. You can stay.If it is just a waste of time, it will leave on its own at dawn."

Su Lin stared at the blade, her pupils narrowed, but she did not retreat.

“You didn’t even think about killing me.Her tone suddenly became determined, "If you wanted to take action, you would have already taken action when I was drinking water without any precautions.""

“Help me look at the wound on my left arm.Lin Shuang said calmly, "The diagnosis is accurate and the treatment plan is reasonable. You can stay."If it is just a waste of time, it will leave on its own at dawn."

Su Lin took the dagger and subconsciously rubbed her fingertips on the hem of her sweater - it was stained with rust and gravel from the entrance.

This subtle move made Lin Shuang nod secretly in his heart.It's not how clean it is, but the very act of wiping - it shows that she knows that her hands must be clean before touching the wound, even if the conditions are limited, she can only make do.With this string, it is not a wild path.

“Let me look at the wound."

Lin Shuang slowly untied the cloth wrapped around his left arm.

The basement was dark and dark, with only a grayish-white light leaking through the crack at the entrance.Su Lin leaned closer, gently pressed the red and swollen flesh around the wound with her fingertips, lowered her head and sniffed the smell, her brows suddenly tightened.

Su Lin leaned closer, gently pressed the red and swollen flesh around the wound with her fingertips, lowered her head and sniffed the smell, her brows suddenly tightened.

"Have you dealt with it?Cleaned with soapy water and scraped off dead tissue?"

Lin Shuang nodded.

“It was done right, but not enough.Su Lin pointed to the dark red circle around the edge of the wound, "The necrotic tissue has not been scraped off, the abscess cavity has not been opened, and bacteria are multiplying in the deep layers.If it is delayed for another twenty-four hours, the infection will enter the bloodstream and it will be impossible for gods to save him.I have to debridement again now, can you bear it?"

“You have antibiotics?"

Su Lin shook her head gently: "I ran away all night and didn't have time to bring anything out.But on the way to being escorted, I pretended to be unconscious and glanced at two guards at the door of the medical tent. I heard them tell the time during the shift change.There is a medicine box in the tent with a green cross mark, piled on the left side of the entrance."

“You want me to force my way into the raider camp?"

“Not now."Su Lin shook her head, "When your wounds stabilize, we can stock up on weapons, understand the terrain, and then wait for our move."

The two looked at each other, testing each other silently.

Su Lin tested Lin Shuang to see if she was worthy of being entrusted to her, and Lin Shuang tested whether she really had the ability or was just talking.

“Three rules, established now."Lin Shuang took the dagger back, but didn't turn it back to his waist. "First, listen to my arrangements; second, manage the supplies; third, expel the traitors.If you agree, stay, if you disagree, leave now."

"I promise."

“Materials are under unified management, and no one is allowed to hide public property privately.Before allocation, all the funds will be shared by the public.Personal items - photos, keepsakes - should be kept by yourself and do not occupy public shares."

"Can."

“If new people join in the future, the same rules will apply.Once someone betrays me, I will handle it personally."

Su Lin was silent for a moment and asked softly: "What method of handling...are you talking about?"

Lin Shuang didn’t reply. She held the thumb of the stone ax and patted the ax handle twice slowly.

The silent movements reveal cold determination.

Su Lin understood instantly and didn’t dare to ask any more questions.

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