Jiang Ling had already spent two thousand points on the exoskeleton, even before she'd warmed up to it. But it was just a drop in the bucket. Master Sun estimated the cost of the entire repair to be around fifteen thousand, and he would get the anti-theft module as soon as possible. Jiang Ling wasn't in a rush. Although she really wanted to experience the feeling of wearing an exoskeleton on the surface, she told Master Sun not to rush, saying that impatient people wouldn't get the best results.
After leaving the secret base, Jiang Ling, empty-handed, went to the ration store and bought her entire allotment of synthetic rations and filter canisters for the month. This caused her balance to plummet to single digits. While using the terminal to pay, she remembered the email she wanted to send to Li Wenjia. After a quick edit, she spent a few more points, bringing Jiang Ling's small treasury back to a near-initial state.
On her way back, she searched online for help posts on the site, hoping to find some extra income. Although she already had all the equipment for her target, she still needed some money for the trip, so she hoped the controlled drugs would work.
After removing those that were too far away, those that offered too low a price, and those that looked fake at first glance, the number of help posts became fewer and fewer in Jiang Ling's hands, until only two remained: a person in District 2 had skin cancer and was in urgent need of opioids to survive; a family in District 4 had suffered from severe allergic rhinitis for a long time and needed some kind of hormone drug to relieve the symptoms.
The guy with cancer could go see a doctor tonight. At least let him hold on for a few more days. Once the search team gets the anti-cancer drugs, he might have a chance of recovery. As for the rhinitis patient, although Jiang Ling knew how tough it was, at least he wouldn't die for a while. Even if he developed depression, not everyone would have the courage to commit suicide.
After accepting the task, Jiang Ling quickened her pace and returned home in just over an hour this time. The house was quiet; they must have gone out. She was generally quite reassured about the two people, so she didn't rush to try to figure out where they had gone. She quickly washed her hands and face with soap, then found a shoulder bag on the balcony. She found her sealed bag in the refrigerator. The contents had not been touched by her family and were still the same as when she put it in. She found most of the packaged medicines marked "pain relief" and put them all into the bag. Then, she followed the directions in the post asking for help and left home again.
This poor man's address was a hospital located within the site. There were several such hospitals in each area, some located in residential areas, but this one was a bit larger. When Jiang Ling arrived, the hospital's inpatient wards were already somewhat understaffed. Many of them were suffering from radiation overdose, most of whom were former searchers. Radiation overdose is a condition that is incurable at any time. It's not even a disease; it's a limit. Once that limit is breached, the patient's life is irreversible; they die within a week to three months, and even their ashes cannot be recovered.
The patient that Jiang Ling was going to see had been suffering for more than twenty days. His ward was located in a place with less traffic because all the equipment and instruments he used were contaminated with radiation.
"Are you here to visit him? I thought he had no relatives." When Jiang Ling asked the nurse about the poor man's recent situation, the nurse asked with a normal expression.
"No, I came here because I saw this. Who is he?" Jiang Ling showed the nurse her terminal screen, which still showed the help post from a few days ago.
"Wait a moment, I'll notify the doctor first!" The nurse picked up the internal phone from her workstation and dialed a number: "Doctor Hao, the one with the ulcers all over his body... Yes, it's the post!" She spoke briefly and to the point. After hanging up, she looked at Jiang Ling: "The doctor will be here soon. This person is the only one left of the four survivors the search team found on the surface three weeks ago. They were exposed to two to four sieverts of radiation, and he was the one exposed the longest, but he survived the longest."
"So how is he now?"
"He said two words yesterday: 'It hurts.' He should be in a state of semi-consciousness by now."
Jiang Ling wanted to ask more questions, but she was grateful that the nurse had spared a moment to chat, so she quickly left. A moment later, Dr. Hao, dressed in a white coat, approached. He looked exhausted, and his hair had fallen out from working with so many radiation-exposed patients.
"Hello, I'm Hao Yi. Did you come here because you saw that post? To be honest, we can't pay many points for him. But I can guarantee that some of the painkillers you brought will definitely be used on him." When Dr. Hao saw that the visitor was a stranger, he understood the possible cause of the matter. He had seen many people like this, so he was too lazy to explain and blurted out the truth.
Jiang Ling nodded, trying not to think about the plight of those people. She had read stories about those who had died from exposure to strong radiation, and she knew the fate that was about to befall them. She took off her backpack and placed it on the nurses' station beside her. She asked, "Has the medicine from the pharmacy not been collected yet?"
"Are you talking about the one in the city? I heard someone tipped off the stationmaster, and he's already sent people to retrieve it. But they have to get the most urgently needed items first, and this controlled drug might have to wait a few days. Besides, the troops on the front lines are in great need of it, so they'll probably be given priority, right?"
“Why not synthesize it?”
Doctor Hao shrugged. "We really can't synthesize controlled drugs. The central station can, but they have other tasks that are more important, so you see." He tilted his head and gestured for Jiang Ling to look at the bed. Jiang Ling noticed that his eyes were wet with tears.
Jiang Ling didn't follow the doctor's gaze into the ward. Instead, she reached for her shoulder bag, unzipped it, and pulled out the medication. These pills and powders, packaged in aluminum foil or small bottles, might normally be the playthings of addicts, but now they've become sacred objects that bring peace and respite to those struggling with pain. What a paradox.
When Dr. Hao saw the large amount of medicine the girl pulled out of her bag, his pupils shrank. He then excitedly rushed to the boxes, his legs already weak. This made Jiang Ling beside him both angry and amused, and she gave him a hand to support him.
"Thank you! Thank you! I don't want to hear their cries of pain anymore!" He tried to control his legs and feet, but there was no way he could make them obey. He could only let himself hang on the workbench, kissing the painkiller box with his mouth, tasting the ink mixed with his tears.
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