In the car parking lot.
Luo Gang and the other ten injured n lined up in front of Dai Yun, waiting for treatnt in exchange for bottled waters. She was the only healer among them—there were no nurses or doctors in the group.
Gritting his teeth, Luo Gang endured the pain as Dai Yun channeled her ability to heal his wounds. With a solemn shake of her head, she muttered, "I can only do so much. My ability is only Tier 1. The water blade's damage runs too deep."
Luo Gang glanced at his arm, which was almost rendered useless. The journey to Longn Base would take at least another day. By then, his wound would worsen—who knew if he'd ever be able to use his arm again?
The sa went for the others. They hadn't been paid, yet they ended up injured. The losses far outweighed the gains!
Dai Yun wiped the sweat from her forehead. The ntal strain of healing so many people had exhausted her. If only the dicinal paste they bought from the jade rchant hadn't been used up on Wang Bo—it would have been a great help now.
Luo Gang sighed and gave a wry smile. "It's fine. It's my fault." He pulled out a small bottle of water and poured it over his wound since he didn't have any alcohol.
Watching from the roof of the car, Nanzhi finally had enough. She hopped down and walked over, arms crossed. "You're doing it all wrong. That's going to get infected."
Because of what had happened at dawn, no one dared dismiss her like before. Even the blue-eyed man—one of the most powerful in the convoy—had retreated willingly because of her. They looked at her in a different light.
Power had a way of making people listen.
"Well, what do you suggest? I don't have any dicine or alcohol," Luo Gang said with a sigh, full of regret. This was the price of not listening to Nanzhi last night.
Without answering, Nanzhi reached into her backpack and pulled out two small bags of green paste. She unsealed the bags.
A soothing herbal scent filled the air. Just a whiff was enough to forget the pain.
The Iron Gale Squad suddenly perked up, their eyes gleaming with recognition.
"Wait a minute—"
"That scent—"
"Isn't that the paste from the mysterious jade rchant?!" Dai Yun and Liu Ming exclaid in unison.
Did Nanzhi's team also et the jade rchant?
Seizing the opportunity, Nanzhi nodded. "It is."
"No wonder!" The familiar scent confird it.
"Hold still," she instructed. With practiced precision, she cleaned the wound with alcohol, scooped out a small amount of each paste, and applied it. A cooling sensation spread instantly, dulling the pain.
She wrapped the wound in bandages.
Luo Gang inhaled sharply, expecting a sting—but instead, the pain faded like a receding tide. Even a healing ability couldn't achieve such an effect. Normally, closing a wound without anesthesia would be unbearable. "Where did you get this stuff?"
"The jade rchant, of course," she answered before extending her palm. "I don't do charity. Your paynt?"
Luo Gang patted his pockets, but he had nothing on him—only crates of water.
"I only accept jade," Nanzhi said firmly.
"Can I pay once we reach the base?"
Before he even finished speaking, Lin Weihao appeared behind Nanzhi, holding a pen and a stack of papers. The headline read—IOU.
"Sign this," Lin Weihao said smoothly.
Feng Ran, Hei Qian, and Bingwen's mories were instantly triggered. Without even looking, they knew what was written.
This black-hearted rchant strikes again!
Nanzhi rely glanced at the paper and nodded in approval.
The three's lips twitched. Another black rchant!
For Luo Gang and the others, the dicine's effectiveness far outweighed the cost. Besides, the treatnt price was affordable. They had no qualms signing before lining up for their turn.
This dicine was incredible! They could hardly feel any pain!
Watching Nanzhi work, Dai Yun suddenly had the urge to learn first aid from her. If she also knew that Nanzhi was the person behind the dicinal paste, she would likely turn into another Baoyin.
Everyone here had heard of the jade rchant, but since they hadn't seen him or her, they had remained skeptical. However, after experiencing the dicine's effects, they began to look forward to the jade rchant's rumored appearance in two days.
If they could find so jade and encounter the rchant again, they might be able to make up for the losses of this mission!
Iron Gale Squad and Zhao'Lin's team were thinking the sa thing.
Seeing Nanzhi's group starting their cars, soone asked where they were going.
"Looking for jade and spars, of course." Nanzhi glanced at her Virtual Map. Within a mile radius of the water pump station were nurous buildings—apartnts, houses, comrcial buildings, warehouses, and factories that required large water supplies.
Hearing this, the others followed suit.
Luo Gang suddenly rembered his son's upcoming birthday. He couldn't return empty-handed!
Longn Base, Slums.
"My wounds hurt. If we don't get treatnt soon, it's going to get worse."
"Is that guy still hovering around the old doctor?"
"Yeah, he is."
At the ntion of a doctor, a man passing by the injured Thorn Team mbers near the entrance suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Pardon , but did you say you knew a doctor?"
Seeing the spars in the man's hand, the Thorn Team mbers' eyes flashed with greed.
Two hundred ters from the Water Crystal Facility.
Lan Fuyou and Lu Jian had finally woken up, their backs and stomachs churning with pain. Their faces twisted with resentnt and anger.
In another car, the Thorn Team's leader brooded over what had happened hours ago. After witnessing Nanzhi's strength, fear had taken root in his heart. What if she suddenly decided to settle old scores with him?
The driver, still shaken by the five n who had transford into half-frog creatures, hesitated. "Maybe we should reconsider this mission... there might be more of those things."
"We're close to the factories, and you want to turn back empty-handed?" Lan Fuyou's voice was ice-cold. "If you don't want to drive, I'll leave you here and find soone else."
The driver shut his mouth.
Lu Jian cursed under his breath. "Emperor, are you just going to let that woman off?!"
Lan Fuyou's expression darkened. "That bitch... she dared to strike in front of everyone! Who does she think she is?!"
He turned his glare toward the blue-eyed man. "And you! How could you let her take hostage?!"
The blue-eyed man, having had enough, turned away in complete indifference.
Lan Fuyou's neck still ached from the previous encounter. He silently cursed Nanzhi and everyone who had sided with her and his useless dog, a thousand tis in his heart.
"Do you think I'll just let them walk around Longn Base like nothing happened? No! I'll make sure they suffer. That obnoxious Lin Weihao too! Or better yet—" His grin widened. "Maybe I'll have them beaten first. Half to death. Crippling them should be enough to remind them who they're dealing with."
Lu Jian's fists clenched, a malicious smile creeping onto his face.
The blue-eyed man shook his head, unwilling to burst this fool's bubble. Perhaps next ti, he'd let Lan Fuyou get beaten first before stepping in.
Suddenly, the driver spotted sothing.
"Emperor! The Crystal Water Facility! That ans the factories are nearby!"
Lan Fuyou's eyes glead.
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