187 Ill carry you (1/2)

Yang Xiaojin just looked at Ren Xiaosu. They had attacked her because she wasn't a resident of the stronghold? What kind of nonsense was that!

Suddenly, Ren Xiaosu said, ”This particular group known as the Experimentals have been growing stronger and stronger. When I was on my way to rescue you, I saw an Experimental inject a normal human being. When the gray liquid was injected into that person's body, he somehow turned into an Experimental as well.”

Yang Xiaojin was hearing this for the first time. She said in shock, ”So if they inject all of the stronghold's residents with that drug, wouldn't there be hundreds of thousands more Experimentals? No, wait, they're probably selective about who they inject it into.”

”That's right.” Ren Xiaosu said, ”They probably selected specific individuals to inject the drug with, but we don't know what kind of conditions they must meet. I think as long as we can figure out the origins of the Experimentals, we should be able to understand how they select their candidates. There had to have been thousands and thousands of survivors in the aftermath of the disaster at Stronghold 113, but the number of Experimentals only increased by around a 1,000 or so in the end.”

Yang Xiaojin suddenly said, ”We received intel about the Pyro Company, and it seems like that lab in the Jing Mountains is related to them. They were using it before The Cataclysm, and it became lost after that. They had no choice but to give up on that portion of their research, so the related studies were also lost as a result.”

”Then do y'all know what kind of experiments they used to carry out in there?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

”We don't know. All we know is that they experimented on cancer patients. The cancer patients knew they wouldn't live for much longer, so they decided to sell themselves to the Pyro Company in order to leave behind a lump sum of money for their families,” Yang Xiaojin replied.

Suddenly, Ren Xiaosu's wounds seared with pain again. He retrieved the black medicine from the palace and applied some on himself. ”You should apply some medicine on your wounds as well. Where are you hurt?”

Yang Xiaojin said, ”Give me the medicine. I'll apply it myself.”

Ren Xiaosu handed a bottle of the black medicine to Yang Xiaojin. He had wanted to inform her of the price but managed to hold back from doing so.

Then he watched Yang Xiaojin blow out the candle before she started applying the black medicine on her wounds in the dark. ”I've long heard about how miraculous this black medicine of yours is, but I really didn't expect it to be this effective.”

”Mhm.” Ren Xiaosu said curiously in the darkness, ”Do you have any wounds that you can't reach? Let me…”

With a striking sound, Yang Xiaojin used a match to relight the candle. Ren Xiaosu lowered his head and continued applying the medicine on his wounds.

Yang Xiaojin watched Ren Xiaosu lift up his shirt to reveal four very deep and bloody wounds around his abdomen. They were probably inflicted by the claws of an Experimental. It was fortunate that his organs were not wounded. She said in surprise, ”Didn't you find it painful just now?”

Ren Xiaosu had been speaking with her like everything was fine for a long while. It didn't look like there was any indication of pain on his face.

As he applied the medicine on his wound, Ren Xiaosu said calmly, ”I'm used to it.”

”Used to it.” These three words seemed to have a kind of quiet strength. Over a decade of bitterness and suffering were harbored within these three words.

Used to the pain.

Used to getting injured.

Used to enduring it.

In the candlelight, Yang Xiaojin noticed that Ren Xiaosu's forehead was dripping with sweat. Moreover, his lips had turned pale. He was clearly suffering from very serious injuries.

She took the black medicine from Ren Xiaosu and lifted his shirt up. She was greeted by the sight of more than a dozen wounds everywhere. Yang Xiaojin said, ”I'll apply it for you.”

Ren Xiaosu did not say a thing and just let Yang Xiaojin's finger go over his wounds.

This skin of the girl's hand was not delicate at all. In fact, her hand was covered with callouses, clearly demonstrating she had been through some very tough training.

In fact, Ren Xiaosu already knew while in the Jing Mountains that Yang Xiaojin wasn't delicate and fragile like most other girls.

”Is it painful? Tell me if I'm too heavy with the application.” Yang Xiaojin said softly, ”Turn the other way. You have injuries on your back as well.” Yang Xiaojin sounded very firm.