Looking at the man who seemed exhausted and somewhat injured, Tian Tian believed she now had bargaining leverage.
“Sorry,” Tian Tian said, “Though both you and this child are hurt, I don’t know you… So I can only hurry to find a way to bandage him up.”
“W-Wait…” The man swayed as he stood up, his expression clearly unwilling to give up.
Tian Tian had anticipated this—her short sword had remained firmly held in front of her.
“You saved our lives,” Tian Tian said with a frown, her voice guarded. “If possible, I don’t want to clash with you…”
“N-No…” The man quickly waved his hands, sending droplets of blood scattering like water from unshaken hands after washing. “I’m not trying to steal your bike… I just have a proposal…”
Tian Tian didn’t back down. After all, this bike was their only means of escape for her and Zheng Yingxiong.
Nearly all the buildings in the surrounding area had collapsed. If they wanted to stay overnight, they’d have no choice but to take shelter in the nearby house. But precisely because there were no other places to rest, everyone in the vicinity might converge here, adding unseen danger to their situation.
The best way out was to return to what Zheng Yingxiong called “Cat” before nightfall—not only to treat their injuries but also to find shelter.
The only question was whether the man would let them leave.
“What’s your proposal?” Tian Tian snapped back to attention.
“I… I was thinking…” The man pressed against his bleeding wound. “Sis, I’m hurt, and so is the kid… You don’t want him to die, and I have my own reasons not to die… So, could you…?”
“Huh…?” Seeing the man hesitate, Tian Tian felt the situation slipping beyond her expectations. “What do you want?”
“Could I take the kid to get treated while you wait here for us…?”
“Huh…?” Tian Tian froze. “You take him to get treated?”
The man’s suggestion was so unexpected that it struck her as absurd.
“Yeah… I know it sounds crazy, but I really have to survive…” The man kept pressing on his wounded hand, trying to stop the bleeding, but the knife had gone clean through—there was no stopping it.
“But that’s impossible…” Tian Tian shielded Zheng Yingxiong behind her. “We’ve just met. How can I trust you to save him? Your motives are just too confusing…”
“If I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it already!!” The man grew visibly anxious. “To be honest… I came from the same room as those two men. I’ve wanted to rebel against them for a while… But they’re in cahoots, practically ruling the entire interview room. Now they’ve both ‘echoed,’ but I haven’t! If I don’t carry my memories into the next cycle, they’ll definitely finish me off!!”
“You…” Tian Tian sensed no deception in his words, but entrusting an injured child to a stranger was far too risky.
“So I have to survive—I need to stop this bleeding now!” the man insisted. “And I have to figure out how to ‘echo’ in the remaining days… My wound isn’t life-threatening yet, but if I don’t treat it, I won’t be able to do anything in the coming days…”
After hearing him out, Tian Tian began to piece things together. He could’ve just taken the bike by force, yet he kept negotiating humbly—likely because he still had principles.
Those principles prevented him from crossing moral boundaries.
“Even if…” The man lowered his head. “Even if you refuse, it’s fine. It’s just a request. After all, it’s our fault for causing you so much trouble…”
“Sis, we can agree.” Zheng Yingxiong, seated on the bike, spoke softly.
“What…?” Tian Tian turned to him in surprise. “Little bro, stay out of this… Human relationships aren’t as simple as you think…”
“Sis, I’m ‘Ling Xiu,'” Zheng Yingxiong said solemnly.
“‘Ling Xiu’…?” Tian Tian blinked. “Is that your ability? What does it mean?”
“I can smell his scent,” Zheng Yingxiong replied with a smile. “His scent is clean—very different from those two uncles earlier.”
“Clean…?” Tian Tian mulled over the word, struggling to grasp its full meaning. “So you trust him?”
“Yeah.” Zheng Yingxiong nodded firmly. “His scent is like yours—clean and safe.”
Hearing this, Tian Tian relaxed slightly. Come to think of it, he had been fixated on “scents” all along—was his ability to discern good from evil?
“But… where would you go for treatment?” Tian Tian asked.
“Not far!” The man, sensing an opportunity, quickly explained. “When those black threads were chasing us, we knew not to stray too far from our base, so we kept running in circles. By bike, it’d take about forty minutes to get back…”
“But even if you find supplies, how would you—”
“I’m a student at a traditional Chinese medicine university!” the man cut in. “Surgery isn’t my specialty, but I know enough! I’ll definitely treat both myself and the little bro properly—you have my word!”
Seeing Tian Tian hesitate, he added, “Please… Without transportation, walking back would take nearly two hours… I can’t stop the bleeding…”
“Fine.” Tian Tian relented. “Since Little Hero vouches for you, you can go together. But…”
She sighed helplessly. “This bike is already old and barely holding up. It’d be great if we could find a way to repair it, otherwise…”
She glanced down at the bike’s chain—then widened her eyes in shock.
The once-loose chain and pedals were now fitted with an intricate array of gears and wires, all attached to a circuit board. It looked bizarre yet functional.
“Huh?” Tian Tian stepped closer, inspecting the bike. “This is really weird… What’s going on?”
“Sis, your scent is fluctuating,” Zheng Yingxiong said with a grin. “It’s ‘Qiao Wu’ at work.”
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