When her legs were pressed tightly together, they fit so perfectly that from the top of her thighs to her ankles, there wasn’t an inch of extra space, the skin so smooth it seemed as if it had been oiled.
Under the light, her skin glowed with a healthy, dewy sheen, like a freshly peeled hard-boiled egg, or marble meticulously polished, pale with a faint blush, blue veins visible underneath, making one’s fingertips itch, wanting to trace along that graceful curve.
Miss Li poked the black Ankle Strap on her right leg, shooting her a strange look.
Lu Dongnuan was already nearly stripped bare.
If there were any more demands, she’d have to lose her temper.
Miss Li didn’t hold back in the slightest, reaching out and touching her directly.
“Ha, what a pervy woman,” she muttered.
“Turn around.” Miss Li’s voice was ice cold.
Lu Dongnuan did as she was told, slowly turning to show off the elegant line of her back, her slender waist, and even more private curves under the other’s gaze.
Miss Li’s gaze lingered on her back for a full half minute.
Then, suddenly, she reached out, roughly pushing aside the hair at the back of Lu Dongnuan’s neck with her fingers, carefully checking her hair roots, the skin at the nape, even behind her ears.
No seams of a disguise mask, no signs of makeup, no hidden communicators or anything that shouldn’t be there.
In the room, only Lu Dongnuan’s suppressed breathing remained, and the wind and snow outside howled against the wooden boards.
She suddenly yanked at the hair tie securing Lu Dongnuan’s hair.
Long black hair spilled down like a waterfall, cascading over her bare shoulders and back, bringing a faint trace of warmth.
For a long moment, Miss Li finally stepped away, returning to the table and casually grabbing a small glass vial from the Medicine Bag, holding it up to the light seeping through the cracks.
“Put your clothes back on.” She turned her back to Lu Dongnuan, her voice unreadable.
“Doctor… Even if you really are a Doctor, here you follow my rules. I’m taking your medicine, and your companion can’t come near you until his innocence is proven.”
Lu Dongnuan bent down in silence, picking up her clothes from the floor, putting them back on piece by piece, slowly.
The feel of fabric rubbing against her cold skin brought a belated warmth and a sense of safety and concealment.
She smiled gracefully, without saying a word, showing not the slightest hint of discontent.
Only when Lu Dongnuan was fully dressed and quietly standing in place did Miss Li finally turn around.
Their gazes met once more.
Lu Dongnuan’s eyes were clear and calm, like a deep, still pool—no ripples, but impossible to see what lay beneath the surface.
Miss Li curled her lips, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
She tossed the medicine bottle back into her bag and zipped it shut in one swift motion.
“You’re good at enduring,” she commented, her voice still hoarse, making it impossible to tell if she meant praise or mockery, “Not as delicate as you look.”
Lu Dongnuan just nodded slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
“Let’s go.” Miss Li hefted the heavy Medicine Bag and strode to the door, the polished machete at her waist swaying lightly with her steps.
“I’ll take you to your room. You’re a Doctor, after all—you should have a little special treatment.”
She pulled open the rough wooden door.
Cold air rushed in, mixed with the faint noises from the plaza outside.
Lu Dongnuan gave one last look at the simple, icy, oppressive room before following after Miss Li’s figure.
The corridor was dim, with only a sliver of cold daylight coming in through a distant window crack.
They didn’t head toward the crowded plaza, nor to the main school building where classrooms might be packed with people, but turned instead toward a lower, seemingly laboratory building.
Here, the doors and windows were even more damaged.
The wind passed through unhindered, and more clutter was piled in the corridors, the smell of dust mingling with the staleness of old chemicals.
Miss Li stopped in front of a relatively intact iron door, with “Equipment Room” scrawled on it in red paint.
She fished out another key and unlocked the door.
“Creak—” The door opened.
The inside was even smaller than the previous Interrogation Room.
Along the wall were a few empty, dust-covered iron shelves, and in the corner, broken glassware and strange, abandoned equipment were piled up.
In the middle of the room was a makeshift army cot, with bedding that was neither new nor old, a rickety little wooden table beside it, and a chair.
Most surprising of all, in the corner sat a small, rusty iron stove, with several neatly stacked pieces of charcoal.
In the apocalypse, this practically counted as a “luxury single.”
“This used to be for storing junk,” Miss Li stepped into the room and dropped the Medicine Bag on the table with a thunk.
“It’s quiet, and safe. The stove works—save the charcoal, someone will bring you water and food once a day.”
She turned, her eyes sharp as she looked at Lu Dongnuan and said, “Without my permission, you are not to leave this building. If anyone needs to see a Doctor, someone will come get you. As for your companion…”
She paused, watching Lu Dongnuan’s expression.
Lu Dongnuan’s face remained unchanged, listening attentively, as if just receiving a routine assignment.
“He has to stay in the quarantine shed, work, and be supervised. Until you’ve proven your value, and he’s completely clean, you two can’t meet or pass any messages.” Miss Li’s tone was final.
“Understood?”
Lu Dongnuan was silent for a moment, then nodded lightly.
“I understand.” Her voice was calm and even, “I will follow the rules, and do all I can to treat those in need.”
Miss Li stared at her for several seconds, as if searching for a crack in her flawless composure, but finally looked away.
“Best if you do.” She walked to the door, hand on the knob.
“Remember, here, value is the only thing that keeps you alive. The value of your medicine and the value of you as a Doctor are two different things. Don’t make me feel… keeping you was a mistake.”
With that, she pulled open the door and disappeared outside.
“Click.”
The door was locked from the outside.
Lu Dongnuan stood in place, listening as Miss Li’s footsteps faded away, swallowed at last by the wind.
That graceful, flawless smile on her face finally ebbed away, like the tide receding.
‘As long as I get in, the plan succeeds.’ Lin Mo’s voice seemed to ring in her ears again, he intended to win over everyone here, even that half-Infected.
He told Lu Dongnuan that as long as that Tang Jie was a half-Infected, then for Lu Dongnuan, she was the natural nemesis, a dimensional suppression.
She really didn’t get his logic, but for safety’s sake, Lin Mo had removed the collar and replaced it with a leather Ankle Strap.
‘No distance limit,’ Lin Mo had joked playfully as he adjusted it, ‘but it needs to be triggered remotely. Don’t worry, I’ll keep the remote. If necessary, I’ll give you a little reminder.’
His finger brushed her leg, cool to the touch, ‘Of course, let’s hope it’s not needed.’
Lu Dongnuan hadn’t asked where he got all these bizarre and dangerous gadgets.
Even if she did, he wouldn’t answer honestly.
There was a kind of trust between them born of shared risk, but it was far from true openness.
She walked to the corner, crouched down, and inspected the little iron stove and the charcoal beside it.
The stove was very old, its chimney partly blocked, but it was usable.
There wasn’t much charcoal—maybe enough for two or three hours of heating a day, just enough to stave off the cold.
She got up and walked to the sealed window, peeking outside through the cracks in the wooden planks.
Outside was a patch of deserted, snowy ground behind the laboratory building, and further away, the Forest—bare-branched and covered in white.
She went back to the cot, sat down but didn’t lie back, her fingers brushing over the Ankle Strap, feeling the fine texture of the leather.
“This thing…”
Just as she was wondering about its actual function, a sudden jolt of electricity shot through her.
It came without warning—sharp, violent, all at once.
It wasn’t a prickling pain, but a sudden, searing shock that raced from her leg nerves straight up her spine, numbing and excruciating!
Lu Dongnuan’s body stiffened violently, as if struck by an invisible hammer.
She shot up from the cot and collapsed forward, knees slamming hard against the icy, unyielding concrete floor.
Her teeth bit down on her lower lip, and the taste of blood filled her mouth, suppressing the short, choked cry that nearly escaped.
Her vision darkened, her ears rang.
Her muscles spasmed so fiercely she almost couldn’t breathe, and cold sweat instantly seeped from her forehead and back, soaking her inner shirt.
It only lasted two or three seconds, but for the one suffering it, it felt like a century.
The electricity faded, the agony ebbing swiftly into a lingering ache and burning numbness all through her right leg.
She tried moving her right leg—still numb, but gradually under her control again.
She propped herself up, trying to stand, but her right leg gave way, nearly sending her crashing down once more.
Leaning helplessly against the cot’s edge, waiting for her heartbeat to slow, her eyes turned completely cold.
“Fuck you, you goddamn bastard, I swear to—! You really did remind me, you beast, Lin Mo.” She gnashed her teeth.
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