Chapter 60: The Only Different White Coat

"Don't move, let me treat your wound first," I whispered, panting.

Huo Bing, who had been sobbing, suddenly broke into laughter, then slipped off her clothes. I paid no heed to the purity of her bare body; my gaze was fixed firmly on the festering wound. Her injury was worsening by the minute.

I took out the sterilized scissors and reached toward the rotting flesh. "If it hurts, let me know," I said. Then, steeling myself, I snipped off the protruding necrosis.

To my surprise, Huo Bing seemed to feel nothing. She lowered her head to watch my movements, showing no sign of pain. A chill swept through me.

Had the infection progressed so far? She couldn't even perceive pain anymore.

Huo Bing looked at my dazed face, then suddenly reached out, cradled my head, and gently pressed her lips to mine. At first, it was merely a fleeting touch, but somehow, she grew bolder, her fragrant tongue teasing apart my teeth. Several minutes passed before we parted.

She stopped me from tending to her wound, instead resting contentedly against my shoulder.

No!

I glanced at the time—it was about half past ten. I must have fainted around nine fifty.

"Don't give up so soon, little one. How long has it been since you were scratched?" I forced my tone to sound lighter.

Reading her lips, I guessed Huo Bing said twenty minutes.

We had to try, no matter what.

Picking up the scissors again, I jabbed her uninjured skin. This time, she finally reacted, her brows knotting sharply. It seemed the worst had not yet come. She had only lost sensation near the wound; she needed to hold on as long as she could.

"Hang in there. If you feel your thoughts growing muddled, cling to your consciousness. Don't let yourself faint or let your mind slip away. Otherwise, when you wake again, I’ll have no choice but to kill you myself." I held Huo Bing’s delicate shoulder, gazing earnestly at her to show I wasn’t joking.

Yet, as I spoke, my heart seized painfully.

"Alright," she replied.

Seeing Huo Bing’s determined expression, I finally relaxed a little, disinfecting and cleaning her wound. Whether she could be saved or not, I had to prevent the injury from worsening. Perhaps the virus had already reached her blood, her marrow, even her brain.

"Until the very last moment, I won’t give up on you, little one. Ha, perhaps after this I can’t call you ‘little one’ anymore," I said, leaning against the wall, one arm around her shoulder.

Huo Bing nestled quietly against my chest.

Neither of us spoke. Even Fourth Master was lying nearby, unnoticed.

"Gene Ecological Chain, can you tell me what I should do now?"

For so long, I had never felt so lost. Whenever I did something, I always had a goal, a purpose. But now...

I truly didn’t know what to do.

Both my hearing loss and Huo Bing’s infection had shaken me. My heart felt battered.

Perhaps coming to this chemical plant was a mistake.

"Reminding the host: I believe your priority should be to adjust your mindset. That’s the most important thing. With the right attitude, you’ll still have strength to wield the hammer."

"Spare me your nonsense! You sound better than an opera singer, and now is not the time for motivational speeches—get lost!"

Infuriated by its unreliable advice, I was beside myself. This useless thing kept feeding me platitudes. Where was it when I was stuck in political classes?

"Initiating autonomous detection of host’s physical state..."

"Host’s current condition: weakness detected, moderate concussion and bilateral ear perforation with hearing loss..."

"Advanced hearing temporarily disabled..."

I knew my own state well enough. Could its detection extend to others, like the woman in my arms?

"As long as the host holds her hand, I can assess her physical condition."

I took a deep breath and gripped Huo Bing’s pale, soft hand tightly.

She glanced up at me, then smiled gently and leaned back onto my shoulder.

"Detecting physical state of [Human: Huo Bing]..."

"Surface wounds are minor, signs of fever and infection present. Based on immune response, estimated time to mutation is less than four hours."

I sighed heavily. It was expected, but the Ecological Chain’s calculation was more precise—even the time was revealed.

Only four hours left?

"Is there any way to stop her mutation, or at least delay it? After all, I was infected and you managed to save me."

"Reminding the host: that was different. Upon first activation, the Ecological Chain performed automatic ecological cleansing—not only removing the virus from your body, but also some impurities. That’s why your physique became stronger."

I screamed inwardly, "I asked if you could prevent Huo Bing’s mutation!"

For reasons I couldn’t explain, I was especially concerned about Huo Bing turning into a corpse creature. The thought tore at my heart; I couldn’t accept it!

We are not plants or stones—who can remain unmoved?

After all we’d been through, I admitted to myself that my feelings for Huo Bing had changed. At the very least, I couldn’t bear to watch her transform before my eyes.

It would be unbearably cruel.

The Gene Ecological Chain was silent for a long time.

"Useless," I muttered.

If Huo Bing’s life only had four hours left, I’d rather stay with her until the very end. When she finally changed, I... would kill her myself.

"Reminding the host: if you can find a drug to suppress the virus in her body, you might be able to save her, or at least prevent her from turning into a soulless monster."

At last, the voice in my mind returned.

But its answer was as good as useless.

I’d heard of such drugs before—perhaps only places like Tianzhu, where scientists worked, could produce them. And even then, they only delayed mutation, never cured the virus. Otherwise, humanity wouldn’t fear infection so much, wouldn’t be so wary of corpse creatures, terrified of being scratched.

"Is there really no other way? Where am I supposed to find that medicine now? The nearest Tianzhu is in ZZ City, surrounded by corpse creatures—how could I possibly get in?"

The thought filled me with despair. Perhaps Huo Bing’s fate was sealed. And it was all because of me.

"Huo Bing, if I hadn’t told you to hide before I lost consciousness, you wouldn’t be in this condition now." I spoke softly, gazing at Huo Bing’s ever-paler face.

She suddenly sat up, her expression grim, tinged with anger. Then, like a storm, her fists rained down on me—gentle blows, neither painful nor itchy.

I wrapped my arms around her, wishing I could merge her into myself.

Soon, my shoulder was wet. I knew it was Huo Bing's tears.