Chapter 14

The aftermath of the massive explosion hadn't yet completely subsided, filling the underground dome with smoke and dust, and rubble rained down from overhead. A deathly silence fell in the command room, everyone's breath caught in the devastating white light and the motionless dark figure lying on the screen.

Wen Ling was the first to react.

"Medical team! General Han, immediately organize a rescue team and follow me in!"

His voice was a little hoarse with urgency, but it carried unquestionable authority. Without waiting for anyone to respond, he grabbed a spare protective suit nearby and put it on with astonishing speed.

"Your Highness! There may still be residual energy radiation and risk of structural collapse inside..." Han Zhong hurriedly dissuaded him.

"That's why we can't wait," Wen Ling interrupted him, a determined fire burning in her deep green eyes, "He might still be alive."

The words came out of his mouth with an anxiety that he himself was not aware of.

He glanced at the silent figure on the screen and added, his tone slightly calmer, "Also, the whereabouts of that federal killer must be confirmed."

He did not give Han Zhong another chance to object. He had already put on basic protective gear, grabbed a pulse pistol, and rushed to the airtight door leading to the ninth area.

Han Zhong stamped his feet and immediately ordered a team of the most elite soldiers to follow him.

The tunnel was even more dilapidated than before, the shockwave from the explosion making the structure extremely unstable. Wen Ling, however, didn't care much and, relying on his memory and the temporary path provided by Susie through the communicator, rushed to the core area at the fastest speed.

His heart was beating fast, and the scene of Miao Weizhen rushing towards the federal killer and being swallowed by the white light kept replaying in his mind.

When they finally broke through the thick smoke and dust and reached the shattered dome, the sight before them was breathtaking. The crater had been forcibly leveled, leaving only a vast, lava-like depression radiating heat and residual energy. All around them was a shambles of devastation, piled high with twisted metal and crumbling rock.

"There!" a soldier pointed to the corner.

Wen Ling ran over immediately.

Miao Weizhen fell under the collapsed metal support. His heavy protective helmet was half broken, revealing his pale face, covered in dust and blood.

His eyes were tightly closed, and his breathing was so weak that it was almost imperceptible. In one hand, the man still tightly grasped the pulse pistol that had been depleted of energy, and in the other hand... he tightly grasped the soothing rune tuning fork that Wen Ling had given him.

Wen Ling's heart seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand. He squatted down and, with trembling fingers, probed for the artery on the side of Miao Weizhen's neck.

A faint pulsation was heard.

He is still alive!

"Quick! Carry him out, be careful!" Wen Ling's voice trembled slightly, and he immediately ordered the soldiers to carefully remove the debris that was pressing down on Miao Weizhen and prepare a stretcher.

While moving Miao Weizhen, Wen Ling noticed that the edge of the wound where his protective suit was torn on his ribs was an abnormal dark blue - it was the energy trauma left by the federal sniper rifle.

He scanned the surroundings sharply, but found no trace of the federal killer's body. Only fragments of the explosion and burn marks remained. Either he had been completely vaporized by the blast, or... he had simply evacuated early, realizing the situation was dire.

The rescue team carefully lifted Miao Weizhen onto a stretcher and quickly evacuated. Wen Ling followed closely beside the stretcher, her eyes never leaving Miao Weizhen's bloodless face. This man had nearly paid with his life to destroy the core. His previous coldness and calculations seemed so complex and difficult to discern in the face of his current silence and vulnerability.

Back at the port medical station, doctors, already on standby, immediately began emergency treatment for Miao Weizhen. Wen Ling didn't leave, but stood outside the emergency room, his back against the cold metal wall, waiting. He, too, was covered in dust and Miao Weizhen's blood. His golden hair was a little disheveled, and his deep green eyes were filled with fatigue, worry, and a complex emotion that even he couldn't fully comprehend.

Time passes by little by little.

When the doctor finally came out and announced that "the minister's vital signs are temporarily stable, but the energy trauma is very tricky and requires continued observation", Wen Ling felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders and she slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

He walked into the temporary intensive care unit. Miao Weizhen lay on the bed, hooked up to various monitoring devices, still unconscious. Without the cold mask he usually wore, he looked unusually quiet, even a little vulnerable.

Wen Ling sat down beside the bed and looked at him quietly. He remembered Miao Weizhen's decisiveness in pushing him away in the mine, his determination in deciding to carry out the mission himself, and his previous cold-blooded calculations and possible murderous intentions.

All of these things intertwined together, causing him to have extremely contradictory emotions towards the man in front of him - gratitude, vigilance, confusion, and perhaps... there was also a trace of an inseparable connection that came from experiencing life and death together.

He reached out and gently removed the tuning fork that Miao Weizhen still held tightly in his hand. The tuning fork was cold, and it seemed to still retain the warmth of the other person's body and the strength of his grip.

At this moment, Miao Weizhen's eyelashes trembled slightly, and with great difficulty, they opened a crack. His eyes were distracted and confused, losing their usual coldness and sharpness, like a lost child.

His gaze slowly focused on Wen Ling beside the bed and on the tuning fork in his hand.

His cracked lips moved, and an almost inaudible sound came out:

"you……"

Just one word seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and then he fell into a coma again.

But Wen Ling heard it clearly. He looked at Miao Weizhen, who had fallen asleep again, and at the tuning fork in his hand, with mixed feelings in his heart. The word "you" contained too much unspeakable meaning.

He didn't say anything, but just gently placed the tuning fork on Miao Weizhen's pillow and tucked the corner of the quilt for him.