Chapter Forty-Six: Concern

"Alright, I'll go right now!" The little girl, seeing Liu Chang gasping for breath, dared not waste even a second. She wiped away her tears and immediately turned to run toward the southern outskirts, moving with remarkable speed.

Meanwhile, Liu Chang continued to endure the agony on the ground.

After the girl left, his convulsions lasted for another three or four minutes before his body finally calmed down. His breathing remained rapid, and each exhale carried a faint scent of urine.

Feeling the pain racking his body, Liu Chang glanced at the prey in the distance and mocked himself inwardly. This was the second time in recent days that he had to wait for rescue after a hunt. The first had been in the sewers, gripped by the terror of death; this time, he lay here, his whole body scorched with pain. Out of four successful hunts, his life had been at risk twice—the danger was astounding! Yet despite his current state, burned all over and struggling to breathe, Liu Chang felt much calmer than before. There was plenty of prey this time, and no immediate threat—assuming the bloody scent of the frogs didn’t attract other hunters before help arrived, he would be safe. So, even though he lay there, red, charred, and convulsing, looking utterly pitiful, his heart was far more at ease compared to last time.

He even began to reflect on his hunting experiences over these past days.

Prey was hard to catch, and meat was hard to preserve—these lessons had become deeply etched into his mind. Even now, with his abilities, finding food in this perilous world was an immense challenge. So hunting trips should be reduced as much as possible. Besides, this time he had managed to bring down a giant bullfrog, several hundred, nearly a thousand pounds of it. If only there were a way to store it, the meat could feed several people for a long time.

As Liu Chang planned in his mind, his breathing gradually steadied. Though still short of breath, he had fought his way out of oxygen deprivation, and his thoughts grew clearer.

Once his breathing and some of his strength returned, he did not immediately sit up. The intense weakness in his bones persisted, so he simply continued lying there, waiting for help and resting.

This hunting ground was close to the military camp—Liu Chang believed it wouldn’t be long before someone arrived. Sure enough, after only twenty minutes or so, he saw the little girl returning, accompanied by Li Qingshui, Fatty, and the young woman from their dormitory whose parents had both passed away.

Thanks to the little girl’s keen senses, they easily found Liu Chang lying in the grass, concealed by weeds. Upon seeing them approach, Liu Chang struggled to sit up and looked at the young woman, his expression questioning.

“She’s a doctor. I just found out. I brought her here with three packs of biscuits,” Li Qingshui explained, then turned to the young woman. “Dr. Huang, let’s not talk about the past. Please take a look at my friend today.”

“Alright.” The woman’s face was as numb as ever, just as it was in the dormitory. She nodded, squatted down, and began to examine Liu Chang—first sniffing the air he exhaled from his nose, then checking his charred and bloody wounds. Afterward, she spoke to the group: “He’s suffering from water and electrolyte imbalance, likely acute renal failure caused by extensive burns.”

“Acute renal failure? That serious?” Li Qingshui’s brows furrowed deeply at her words. He wasn’t a doctor, but he knew that acute renal failure was a critical condition, often fatal, and very difficult to treat. He couldn’t help but ask, “Is there no cure?”

“Under normal circumstances, with today’s medical resources, lacking equipment and proper medication, it would indeed be a death sentence,” the woman replied, still crouched by Liu Chang as she examined him. “However, there’s no need to worry too much. Usually, even with acute renal failure, it takes at least a few hours before water and electrolyte imbalances appear. His case is unusual—this is likely due to the changes occurring in the human body now. People’s physical resilience is nothing like before. So, he definitely won’t die. In fact, it seems his body is rapidly repairing itself.”

As she spoke, she carefully peeled away a piece of charred skin from Liu Chang and observed it. “His self-healing ability is very strong. Even his failing organs seem to be recovering. His breathing is stabilizing, and the strange odor in his exhaled air is fading. That shows his metabolism is improving. So there’s no need to worry. If this continues, he’ll recover on his own in no time.”

“Good, that’s good.” When he first heard her diagnosis of “acute renal failure,” Liu Chang’s heart clenched and he dared not interrupt. Only after she finished and reached her conclusion did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“It's not so bad—just burned ugly, but still alive,” Liu Chang remarked, touching the blood-streaked burns on his chin.

“Don’t move. Rest a while longer. Wait until your breathing is fully steady before getting up,” the woman said, pressing him gently back down. She said nothing more.

With the crisis passed, Liu Chang’s thoughts immediately returned to food. Although his body lay still, his mouth was anything but idle.

“Mr. Li, did you see the prey I brought down over there?”

“Yes, it’s huge. Judging by the color, it should be edible. I’ll take a closer look,” Li Qingshui replied, relieved that Liu Chang was out of danger. His attention turned to other matters. As he spoke, he walked over to the giant bullfrog, pulled out some dried plant powder from his bag, and sprinkled it over the ground to mask the bloody scent.

When he was done, he called Fatty over.

“Did you bring everything I asked for?”

“Got it all. When the little girl said there was a lot of meat, I brought everything along,” Fatty replied, tossing his axe and cleaver to the ground. He lifted his T-shirt and pulled out a woven bag strapped to his waist, then stared at the frog’s carcass in dismay. “That’s so much meat. If we don’t finish it in one go, it’ll spoil. What a damn waste.”

“It won’t be wasted. I’ll fetch some formalin,” Li Qingshui said, pointing to the tools on the ground and instructing Fatty, “You and Zhu Lin cut the giant frog into several pieces and pack them up. If the bags can’t hold it all, just take the legs and other good parts. When you cut, watch out for the oral glands—they probably secrete acid. Don’t touch that area. The little girl and I are heading to the People’s Hospital to get some formalin.”

“Got it.”

“Alright,” Fatty and Zhu Lin nodded.

With that settled, Li Qingshui returned to Liu Chang and smiled at the doctor. “Dr. Huang, I’m leaving my friend in your care.”

“Alright,” the woman replied with a nod.

“You’re going for formalin?” Liu Chang sat up.

“Yes. Rest for a while, I’ll be back soon. Of course, to be safe, the little girl has to come with me,” Li Qingshui said, glancing at the girl by Liu Chang’s side. He smiled at her, then squatted down. “Come on, today I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”

The little girl, Ji Jing, looked at Li Qingshui crouched in front of her, then at Liu Chang, whose whole body was burnt red. She swallowed and said, “Brother, wait for me.”

“Alright, be careful on the road.” Liu Chang patted her shoulder. He watched her climb onto Li Qingshui’s back and saw them disappear into the mist together, vanishing from sight.

“You still have people to care about—how fortunate,” the woman said woodenly as she witnessed the scene.

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