Chapter 213 232. The Missing Scavenger

Xu Zhi didn't care about "absenteeism" at first, as it sounded like it had nothing to do with her. Until the next day, when Qi Yanxin came home from get off work with a sad look on her face, and even for several days in a row, her expression became more and more wrong, and there was even a hint of panic in her.

"What's wrong?" Xu Zhi asked her, holding the water glass in his right hand.

Although he was an unlicensed black doctor, the medicine he prescribed was indeed effective. After taking the medicine as if it were food for a few days, although she still could not get out of bed, at least her hands no longer shook as if they would break when she held a towel or a glass of water.

I estimate that after another ten days or half a month of nursing, she should be able to get out of bed and walk around without any problem.

However, her physical injuries were slowly recovering, but there was still no progress in her supernatural abilities. Whenever she tried to absorb the free supernatural elements in the air, the meridians in her body would feel a pain as if being cut by a knife, and the little supernatural power she absorbed would disappear in an instant, as if there was an invisible black hole in her body that was devouring all the supernatural energy that entered her body.

The seeds of the little alien species have not shown any abnormal movement at the moment. Xu Zhi wants to feed it some of her own blood to see if it helps, but after what happened in the clinic, she doesn't dare to cut a hole in her hand to feed it blood.

I just don’t know where her knife went. Qi Yanxin probably didn’t pick it up. She has a special connection with that knife, so she should be able to tell if it’s nearby.

Did he drift to another place?

Or was it picked up by other scavengers?

If the knife was there, her own [Bloodthirstiness] plus the abilities attached to the knife would allow her to unleash a burst of power even if she was weak.

Oh, that's only if she can get out of bed and walk around, instead of being a wheelchair warrior like she is now.

Qi Yanxin seemed a little uneasy, and it took her a while to realize that Xu Zhi was asking her a question: "Oh, nothing, it's just that a lot of my coworkers have been absent from work in the past few days, and everyone is a little worried."

Xu Zhi looked at her expression and thought, it's probably more than just worry, maybe everyone in the factory is already in a panic.

But suddenly a lot of people were absent from work, it sounded like something had happened.

"Did the factory say anything?" Xu Zhi rarely gossiped.

Qi Yanxin shook his head: "Many people want to work in the factory. If they are absent from work, they can just make up for it later. The factory doesn't care about this."

It really is.

It’s no wonder that Qi Yanxin had a worried look on his face. The workers around him suddenly “absent from work” one after another and then there was no news. Anyone would be worried, right?

"You'd better not go out at night recently." Xu Zhi knew that Qi Yanxin would go out with his pocket to "pick up trash" whenever he had free time at night recently, but it seemed that the times were turbulent recently, so he should prioritize his own safety over money.

"But if I don't leave, the factory salary alone is too low."

The salary that was enough to support herself on a normal day was not enough to treat Xu Zhi, and was even a drop in the bucket.

"What should I do if something happens to you outside?" Xu Zhi said these words expressionlessly, which made her feel a little awkward. She really didn't expect that she would say such words one day.

In fact, at this point, if something really happened to Qi Yanxin, Xu Zhi could go to the underground clinic himself and discuss with Dr. Zhuang to let him continue to treat him. The worst that could happen was that he would let the other party do some experiments on him. In short, he was no longer in the predicament of being in a great danger of dying without Qi Yanxin's help a few days ago.

However, thinking that the woman in front of him had saved his life and her efforts over the past few days were not in vain, Xu Zhi finally did not stand idly by, but reminded the other party.

Moreover, there are too many unstable factors on Dr. Zhuang's side, and Qi Yanxin is still there, so at least he has a relatively stable residence.

"I understand." The woman compromised without surprise.

“But the money”

"I'll find a way when I feel better." Xu Zhi interrupted her.

She didn't mean anything else, she just didn't intend to keep living off an ordinary person. The other person saved her, so it was only natural for her to give something in return after she recovered, right?

"What can a little kid like you do?" Qi Yanxin smiled and shook her head. Although Xu Zhi's words sounded like empty promises, she felt that Xu Zhi's words somewhat treated her as a family member. Compared with his previous seemingly easy-going but actually indifferent attitude, at least today, she felt that the distance between her and the girl had shortened.

In the next few days, Qi Yanxin no longer went out at night, and tried to walk with his neighbors on the way to work during the day. However, even though Xu Zhi went out every day, he could tell from Ye Ran's words and Qi Yanxin's expression that the situation outside was probably not very good.

A tense atmosphere condensed in the slums. When the scavengers met each other on the streets, all they thought in their heads was: Will he be the next person to disappear?

Yes, it was not just “absenteeism” anymore. More and more scavengers suddenly disappeared one after another, as if they had disappeared overnight, and even their bodies could not be found.

There are not many TV programs here. The usual entertainment activities for scavengers and workers are bars, gambling, boxing, video games or other industries. At most, there is a radio, but most of the time it plays factory advertisements and which factory is recruiting.

It’s just that recently I’ve heard more and more factory recruitment reports on the radio, as if a lot of positions have suddenly appeared.

But anyone who knows a little bit knows that it’s not that there are more positions, but that the people who were originally on the job have “disappeared.”

A week passed quickly and it was time for Xu Zhi's follow-up examination.

Qi Yanxin took a special leave today. In the black factory, full attendance accounts for a large part of the salary, and there are no holidays. Once you take a leave, you will lose your full attendance. Qi Yanxin no longer cares about the issue of full attendance.

When she brought Xu Zhi to the clinic, there was another guest inside.

He seemed to be an old acquaintance of Doctor Zhuang. The two were talking when Qi Yanxin came in with Xu Zhi. The customer took a look and then turned to Doctor Zhuang and said, "Things are not going well in this small clinic lately. Please be careful about it."

Doctor Zhuang shrugged nonchalantly. "What about the missing worker? I don't run around. I stay in my clinic every day. What can they do to me?"

"no."

The guest shook his head. "It's a bigger unrest. You know, I have some connections. I heard that the army will be arriving in the plains soon. It seems they are searching for something. And I heard that this is an order from the higher-ups."

"Wow!" Doctor Zhuang exclaimed in disbelief, "An order from above?"

"It's been years since the higher-ups have issued any directives to us. What are they searching for?"

Xu Zhi lowered his head under his baseball cap, his expression revealing just the right amount of curiosity.

The guest shook his head again: "I don't know, but it must be a big deal."

(End of this chapter)