Chapter 46
by LhaoziChapter 46: Lingering Fear of the Unknown
The community hospital was not large.
On the first floor, besides the pharmacy and payment window, the remaining space consisted of an IV transfusion room, a health care room, a general outpatient clinic, a dental clinic, a Western medicine storage room, and a temporary storage room for pollutants.
Stepping out of the pharmacy, Qin Xi walked straight down the right-hand corridor of the first floor.
That area happened to be the general outpatient clinic, connected to the dental clinic and storage room.
She cast a glance at the remaining time on the Underwater Shield—nine minutes and forty seconds left.
Retrieving a waterproof flashlight from her spatial dimension, she shone the beam deep into the corridor and quickened her pace.
Meanwhile, on the platform at the stairwell landing, Qin Song had already changed into the scuba suit.
He stood on the step just one level above the water surface, his eyes staring unblinkingly at the tranquil water, counting the seconds in his heart.
Behind him, Bai Hanyue and the other two—some sitting, some standing—were also staring at the water surface.
They had already dug out all the crystal cores from the heads of the zombies killed moments ago.
A total of 26 crystal cores—eight per person. As for the two extra, since Li Zekai had given Lin Xin one previously, these two were split one each between Li Zekai and Bai Hanyue.
Now, each of the three held 9 crystal cores in their hands!
Bai Hanyue and Li Zekai were feeling somewhat anxious, wondering when they too might awaken a supernatural ability like Lin Xin!
Time trickled by. Eighteen minutes had elapsed since Qin Xi submerged into the water.
The water surface remained calm, and the atmosphere on the stairs grew increasingly tense.
Qin Song’s dark eyes turned deep and heavy, a storm gradually brewing within his gaze.
Behind him, Bai Hanyue and Li Zekai—who had been resting on the floor—also stood up and walked over.
The three behind exchanged glances, not daring to utter a word, watching helplessly as time slipped away: two minutes, one and a half minutes, one minute, half a minute…
The water surface remained calm.
Just as the pointer on the waterproof watch on Qin Song’s wrist reached ten seconds remaining, he could finally endure it no longer, stepping one foot onto the submerged stairs below.
In the very next instant, however, a white figure suddenly walked out from beneath the pitch-black water surface.
His footsteps froze as he watched that white figure draw closer, while Bai Hanyue’s surprised shout echoed in his ears:
“It’s Sister Xi! She’s back!”
Qin Xi burst through the water surface. Almost the second she inhaled the air outside, the familiar mechanical voice sounded by her ear:
[Ding—Underwater Shield usage duration reached 20 minutes; automatically entered cooldown. For next use, please activate after ten days.]
Almost instantly, Qin Xi felt a wave of icy chill across her lower legs!
Looking down, she saw that her pants legs and shoes—which had been dry and comfortable throughout the 20 minutes underwater—were now thoroughly soaked through by the standing floodwater.
This shield really doesn’t extend even a single second.
Complaining internally, she raised her foot preparing to walk upward, only to be blocked after a single step by Qin Song standing above.
“Big Brother?”
Qin Xi froze for a second, assuming something had happened. Just as she was about to ask, the man before her unexpectedly reached out, grabbing her and pulling her straight upstairs.
Taken aback, she hurriedly asked:
“Big Brother, what’s wrong?”
Qin Song gave no answer, dragging her straight into the first room on the second floor.
This was the TCM physical therapy room, where a massage bed was still set up indoors.
Qin Song pulled her inside, shut the door backhand, his expression tight and solemn, and suddenly pulled Qin Xi into an embrace.
The man’s strength was immense, so strong it felt as though he wanted to embed the girl’s body right into his own!
Qin Xi stood frozen on the spot, her chin resting right on the man’s shoulder.
Qin Song was still wearing the scuba suit; embracing her like this, even through the layers of fabric, an icy chill still seeped through.
Only the man’s anxious breath sprayed softly by her ear, warm and heavy!
Qin Xi’s heart suddenly thudded violently.
She abruptly realized that the person standing before her, holding her close, was a man!
An adult man!
Suddenly, she felt a wave of helpless fluster.
Unaware of Qin Xi’s thoughts at this moment, Qin Song had nothing in his mind except a lingering fear of the unknown.
It was a terrifying dread of what lay beneath the water—not knowing what Qin Xi might encounter down there, whether she would run into zombies, or whether she would encounter mutated animals.
Was that so-called Underwater Shield actually reliable? Would she drown?
The moment Qin Xi vanished beneath the water surface, he realized with a shock how far from thorough his compromise in letting Qin Xi act alone had been.
Now, holding the girl in his arms gave him a surge of joy like regaining a precious treasure lost!
Finally composing his emotions, he slowly released Qin Xi.
Meeting Qin Xi’s dazed and uneasy gaze, his eyes flickered slightly. Lowering his head abruptly, he pressed a kiss against the girl’s forehead.
Yet feeling it was not enough, he lowered his head further, letting his kiss fall onto the tip of the girl’s nose.
With this gesture—his lips warm, the tip of her nose cool—that touch of ice and fire made both of them shudder uncontrollably.
Qin Xi subconsciously raised her hands, gripping Qin Song’s arms tightly; her mind wanted to escape, yet her feet refused to move.
She raised her head in startled doubt, meeting the man’s dark, heavy gaze:
“B-Big Brother… what’s wrong with you?”
She suddenly felt that within the gaze the man before her cast upon her, many strange things had been added.
Qin Song caught the unease in Qin Xi’s voice.
He looked down at her for a long while, closed his eyes deeply, and shook his head in helplessness:
“Nothing. I was just startled by you. Next time, I won’t let you do such dangerous things alone again!”
As Qin Song’s words fell, Qin Xi finally realized that what Qin Song was wearing right now was a scuba suit.
So earlier… he wanted to go down to look for her?
Opening her mouth, countless thoughts churned in her mind, ultimately settling into a response:
“Alright. I definitely won’t act alone again!”
For the two siblings to be able to be reborn together was already a stroke of absolute fortune.
In their past life, they hadn’t even managed to see each other one last time before dying. In this life, even if they were to die, they had to die together to not squander the luck of rebirth.
Qin Xi lowered her eyes, making a firm resolve in secret.
She failed to notice Qin Song’s low-directed gaze resting upon her—focused, deep, and filled with possessiveness.
Shaking herself out of her emotions, she reached out to pull Qin Song’s hand, bringing him straight into the system space.
Without checking the changes inside the space, she fetched a pair of pants and new shoes for herself, then pulled out a fresh set of clothes for Qin Song.
She had seen Qin Song’s previous clothes earlier, piled up on the floor of that room.
Qin Xi could imagine how anxious Qin Song must have been, frantically stripping off his clothes to put on the scuba suit.
She handed the clothes to Qin Song:
“Big Brother, change your clothes.”
Qin Song looked at them and reached out to take them.
The two walked into the brick house—one into the east room, the other into the west room.
Qin Xi changed very quickly. She folded her wet pants neatly, placing them alongside her shoes and socks off to the side, intending to wash them when she had time.
On the other side, however, Qin Song hadn’t come out yet.
Just as Qin Xi was thinking that taking off the scuba suit might be cumbersome, the door to the west room suddenly opened.
Qin Song stepped out of the room wearing only a pair of black long trousers, his shoulders bare, holding the long-sleeved shirt Qin Xi had just given him:
“Xixi, the shirt is a bit tight!”
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