Chapter 89 - 84: Rescued

Chapter 89: Chapter 84: Rescued

"...Report, sir. The blocked river channel has been cleared, the quarantine zone is set up, and all monitors have been inspected and are running normally."

Leo stood by the riverbank. Behind him was an older model patrol Mecha. Having just finished its mission, it was completely covered in mud, its original color no longer visible.

He threw the documents in his hand to a nearby private and turned to walk toward the Mecha.

"Rest here. I’m taking Varo No.2 into the water for a bath."

Leo skillfully climbed to the top of the Mecha and entered the cockpit.

The next second, the tank-form patrol Mecha stood up, reverting to its combat Mecha form, and stepped into the river with heavy, mechanical footsteps.

The standing Mecha was fully ten meters tall, and the river water only reached its knees. A circular probe extended from the top of the Mecha, and water soon sprayed out of it like a high-pressure water gun, washing away all the mud and dirt wherever it passed.

Several privates sat down to rest. The youngest private looked up at Varo No.2, a hint of longing in his eyes.

"If only I could pilot a Mecha someday."

An older private next to him reached over, rubbed his head vigorously, and grinned.

"In your dreams. We older guys haven’t even gotten our turn yet, so how would it be yours?"

"Exactly. Worry about passing the selection exam first. With a one percent pass rate, I guarantee the exam will humble you real quick."

The young private scratched his head, a hint of shyness appearing on his still-childish face.

"I know, they taught us that at the academy. Then... did Lieutenant Colonel Leo also become a Mecha Pilot by passing the exam back then?"

"Hey, you don’t even know about that? It was broadcast repeatedly on TV back then and talked about for years. Even a lot of people in other cities heard about it."

The young private shook his head embarrassedly.

"I heard a lot about Lieutenant Colonel Leo at school, but I really don’t know exactly how he became a Mecha Pilot."

"He’s young, it’s normal that he doesn’t remember," another private said. "Simply put, when Commander Leo was still studying at the academy, the base was attacked by a pack of Giant Dive-Wolves during a field training exercise. The leading training officer was severely injured. It was Commander Leo who piloted a Mecha at the critical moment to repel the wolf pack, and he even captured a Giant Dive-Wolf alive—"

"Wait a minute. Look, is there something floating over from upstream?" someone suddenly spoke up.

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

Half a mile away, at a bend in the river, a floating piece of dead wood appeared. It was about two or three meters long.

"Why does it look like there’s a person lying on the log?"

As the private spoke, he picked up the binoculars hanging around his neck and took a look. His expression instantly changed.

"Quick, there really is someone!"

"Don’t panic, Commander Leo is already on it," another private reminded him.

The crowd looked toward Varo No.2. Sure enough, it had already put away its high-pressure water gun and was moving toward the dead wood.

In the cockpit, Leo could clearly see through the large screen in front of him that a figure was lying flat on the driftwood, seemingly unconscious.

Varo No.2 was carrying out river cleanup duties today, so it brought quite a few tools. Leo quickly deployed a giant elastic net across the river channel.

The current in this section of the river wasn’t too fast. When the log hit the net, the impact wasn’t too strong. With Leo’s timely maneuvering to stabilize the log, the person on top wasn’t thrown off.

Varo No.2 launched an inflatable boat. The person and the log were placed onto it and slowly pushed to the shore. The privates quickly moved the person off the log and checked their vital signs.

Leo emerged from Varo No.2 and returned to the ground, only to see the figure of a young girl lying on the inflatable boat.

"Report, sir! She’s still breathing, but in a deep coma. There are also signs of mild poisoning."

Leo walked over. As the girl’s face came into view, his expression paused.

"Rush her to the nearest base for treatment immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

*********

When Ning He woke up, she felt like all her joints were falling apart. The piercing pain in several places all over her body made her let out an involuntary groan.

But she quickly realized that she still couldn’t speak.

Not only could she not speak, but she couldn’t even see.

Even though her eyes were open, all she saw was pitch black.

Ning He broke out in a cold sweat and shot up into a sitting position. A sudden, sharp pain flared in her butt, causing her to fall backward. Fortunately, an arm suddenly stretched out behind her and caught her.

"You just woke up, stop thrashing around. Lie down."

The speaker laid her back down on the bed. Ning He thought the voice sounded a bit familiar. After three seconds of thinking, she realized who it was.

But she couldn’t speak, so she could only grab the person’s hand, pry open his palm, and rapidly trace a few words.

Leo understood and found it a bit amusing.

"Now you’re scared? You were acting pretty tough when I warned you earlier, weren’t you?"

Ning He didn’t know what it looked like when a blind person rolled their eyes, but she rolled them a good few times anyway.

Leo coughed lightly. "Don’t worry, you were poisoned. I’ve already injected you with an antidote. You’ll recover in ten to twelve hours. However, the scrapes and bruises on your body will take some time to heal. I’ve already contacted Macken. I’ll take you back to the city a little later."

Ning He let out a sigh of relief, raised her hand, and traced the word "Thanks" in his palm.

This person had saved her multiple times; her thanks was completely sincere.

"Yeah. Just rest here for now. I still have some things to arrange. If you need anything, press the buzzer by the bed."

Ning He nodded. Hearing Leo’s footsteps fading away, she gritted her teeth and sat up. She reached out for the chair beside the bed and, sure enough, felt a bag.

Ning He blindly fumbled to unzip it and reached inside. Her fingers brushed against her phone and keys, instantly putting her mind at ease.

This phone was a high-end model she had spent a fortune on at a second-hand shop. It could run all sorts of gaming apps on the market buttery smooth. Playing a few rounds when she was in a bad mood could make even a miserable wage slave feel like a god.

Zipping the backpack up and putting it back, Ning He obediently lay on the bed. She spent quite a while experiencing what it truly felt like to be blind and mute, occasionally pinching her left buttock to see if it had regained feeling.

Unfortunately, that cheek remained rock-hard and ice-cold. The bone underneath couldn’t bear any weight, or else the pain was excruciating.

It was boring in the small room; there wasn’t even a TV. Fortunately, Leo hadn’t completely forgotten about her. Halfway through, he sent a nurse to check on her condition.

Ning He hurriedly made gestures, pointing at her butt to indicate there was a problem with it.

After examining it, the nurse smiled and comforted her. "It’s nothing. Lieutenant Colonel Leo probably just was a little heavy-handed with the injection. It’s fine, you’ll recover by tomorrow."

Ning He ground her molars and clenched her fists.

’This guy totally made me suffer on purpose!’

’Who gives an injection so hard it paralyzes half your butt?!’

Ning He’s face remained dark right up until Leo came to notify her it was time to leave. She grabbed her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and reached out to grope her way out the door.

"Wrong way."

Just as she stepped out of the room, Leo grabbed her by the shoulder and pressed her down into a wheelchair.

"Stop fussing and let’s go."

Although Ning He couldn’t see or speak, her nose still worked. Ten minutes later, she noticed the faint, fresh scent of soil at the tip of her nose.

They were back on the surface.

Then, she and the wheelchair were lifted together and loaded into an unknown vehicle, embarking on the return journey.

After she left, the previous nurse came to clean the room.

"What is this?"

She picked up a clear plastic tube from the floor. There were dozens of small gray pellets inside the tube.

"They look a bit like plant seeds, but I’m not sure. Give it to Dr. Zhang, he’ll definitely know," her colleague beside her said.

The nurse nodded. After finishing cleaning the ward, the two went to the biological research area and handed over the plastic tube.

An hour later, Zhang Rui emerged from the laboratory looking exhausted. A staff member handed the plastic tube to him.

Zhang Rui had been up to his neck in work lately due to a mission assigned by the Security Bureau. He was in no mood to examine these mysterious little seeds, so he just waved his hand dismissively.

"Put them in cold storage. I’ll look at them when I have time."

"Okay."

Returning to his office, Zhang Rui dialed a number.

"How is it going?" a calm female voice came from the other end of the line.

"I’m sorry, Director Caroline. I still haven’t found any uncontaminated seeds."

The other end of the line fell silent for a moment.

"I understand. Send the batch with the highest purity to the lab. Take a few days off to rest and adjust, then continue your mission."

"Understood."

Meanwhile, Ning He finally arrived back at her doorstep just as night fell.