Chapter 35 Investigation
Qi An had a very strange, vague dream.
In my dream, she seemed to be floating in the water.
The warm, sweet liquid enveloping her allowed her to float freely and feel completely at ease.
A faint sound came from another world, like a gentle whisper.
This inexplicably made her feel happy, and she couldn't help but want to move closer to the whispers.
But there seemed to be a thick wall between her and that whisper.
She couldn't help but bump into the wall, and then gasps and laughter came from the other world.
Qi An also wanted to laugh, feeling the wall being gently pressed down.
The pressure shifted from gentle to intense! The wall began to contract, shrinking completely inward!
Qi An felt himself being squeezed, and the warm liquid felt scalding hot!
She was in pain, panicked, and instinctively wanted to escape, but she couldn't move and had nowhere to go!
She could only let the scalding, seemingly foul-smelling water soak her through.
The water entered her mouth and nose, and into her body. For a moment, she felt as if she had died, but then she immediately woke up.
She fell from the water and into a dark void.
She opened her eyes, and an eye in the void opened at the same time as hers.
The enormous pupils resembled black holes, and the radiating iris patterns twisted and writhed.
For Qi An, those pupils were a mirror that reached the heavens and the earth! They reflected her image—that of an infant.
That doesn't seem to be the point. The point is that she was reflected, which means she was seen.
The writhing lines paused slightly, and the mirror turned completely towards her.
Qi An suddenly woke up!
She sprang up from the hospital bed, and it took her a while to refocus her eyes. She saw Lin Jiaran, her hair disheveled, staring at her in astonishment.
Qi An paused for a few seconds before remembering that she had led Tan Fu in a battle against the White Priest. Tan Fu had been poisoned and fallen into a coma, and Qi An herself had lost too much blood and was exhausted; they had been taken to the hospital.
"How long did I sleep?" she asked.
Lin Jiaran was quite startled by her sudden, almost zombie-like wakefulness. Hearing her question, he first lifted the blanket to make sure the gauze on her abdomen wasn't bleeding before plopping back into his chair.
"It's alright, just half a night and half a day." Lin Jiaran was well aware of Qi An's recovery ability, and was relieved to see that the wound hadn't been torn open.
Her voice was hoarse from staying up all night, and there was a hint of bitterness in her words.
After participating in the practical test that day, Lin Jiaran stayed on the front line with a group of purifiers to help purify the wounded.
She returned to the base around 7:30 p.m.
At that time, the base was under complete martial law, and the buildings on "Star Fortress" had collapsed due to fighting.
Because of martial law, and also because the soldiers escorting them were from the 1st Division, they were stuck at the gate tower for a long time.
Having finally gotten inside, Lin Jiaran almost wanted to steal a car to go to "Star Fortress".
But Old Wei ordered her driver to head towards the vicinity of "Star Fortress".
Lin Jiaran hitched a ride with her to the battlefield, but by the time they arrived, it was already too late; the battle was over.
However, Lin Jiaran happened to see Qi An lying on a stretcher being carried out.
Qi An was covered in blood, but his gaze was fixed on the other person.
Although she was outside the cordon, Lin Jiaran could still see the person on another stretcher in the distance, who looked like a skinny little girl.
Lin Jiaran immediately soaked herself in the acidic water!
That was also a little girl, even younger than her, and looked even more pitiful!
Later, Qi An entered the hospital and stayed up half the night, waiting for news from the operating room. Only after receiving a "safe and sound" message did he finally pass out. Lin Jia Ran was truly exasperated.
She poured herself a glass of water, looking aggrieved, hesitant to hand it over, wary that Qi An might ask about the little girl's safety next.
Qi An looked at her and asked, "Have you been keeping watch for half a day and all night? What time did you eat?"
Lin Jiaran was slightly taken aback when Qi An said, "I'm fine now, you drink this cup first."
Qi An noticed that Lin Jia Ran's voice was hoarse, so he pushed the water towards her and poured himself another cup.
She raised her glass, gesturing for us to drink together: "After you finish drinking, you can go eat or rest."
Lin Jiaran couldn't help but pout.
But she suppressed the urge to tilt her head back! She gave a soft "humph" and drank the warm, sweet water.
They were drinking water when the doctor came in, examined Qi An, and exclaimed in amazement, "The recovery is so fast!"
After the doctor left, a soldier of medium build with thin eyebrows and long eyes knocked on the door and came in.
After entering, the man first saluted Qi An, "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Qi! Congratulations on your recovery from serious injuries."
"My surname is Wen, and this is my officer's ID. I've been ordered to ask the lieutenant colonel some questions."
Qi An looked at the officer's ID card and noticed the unit it belonged to: Headquarters.
Qi An knew exactly what this person was going to ask.
He wanted to know the details of the underground battlefield at "Star Fortress" that night.
For the base's high command, there were too many suspicious points about what happened that night.
Qi An couldn't help but wonder, how many people from "Ci'anju" had been arrested?
The soldier looked at Lin Jiaran and asked her to leave. This involved matters classified by the base, and Lin Jiaran had no choice but to leave, but she had a gut feeling that the other party was up to no good.
Qi An finished the last sip of water and patted Lin Jiaran's hand: "It's okay."
Lin Jiaran trusted Qi An, and finally dragged her feet as she left.
She left the door slightly ajar...
The soldier went over and closed the door tightly.
Silence fell over the room. In this silence, Qi An could hear the cannon fire outside even more clearly.
It wasn't just one shot; it was a continuous barrage of artillery fire from different directions.
Before the soldier could speak, Qi An asked, "Is there a war going on outside the base?"
The soldier paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, it's probably retaliation for the failed assassination. The Fallen Insects launched a large-scale attack on the base early this morning."
"How large is it?" Qi An asked.
"This is like the prelude to the major summer offensive of previous years; now the base is under attack from all sides," the soldier said.
"But don't worry, our defenses are very strong."
Qi An knew that North 1's defenses were solid enough, so she wasn't worried about that.
She reached for her phone under her pillow and asked, "Has Tan Fu woken up? What were the casualties like that night?"
When answering this question, the soldier's expression showed a mixture of admiration and barely perceptible doubt. He said:
"Thank you for Comrade Qi An's heroic efforts! As for that person, the information I received is that she woke up once this morning and is completely out of danger. Now she just needs to rest and recover."
Of the employees in the underground area of the 'Star Fortress' research institute, 20 have been confirmed dead and 31 injured.
Of the remaining personnel engaged in peripheral operations, seven were killed and many were wounded.
The casualties were fewer than Qi An had anticipated, and the news that Tan Fu was out of danger reassured her. Qi An slowly leaned back against the soft pillows of the hospital bed.
Seeing that she was relaxed, the soldier was about to start asking her questions.
As Qi An leaned back, she dialed a phone. She said to the person on the other end of the line, "Hello, Mr. Wei, this is Qi An."
I'd like to apply for a real-world purification test, which is available today.
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