Chapter 276 - 231: Better to Intercept People Than Search Houses

Chapter 276: Chapter 231: Better to Intercept People Than Search Houses

"Open the door."

Lin Fan leaped onto the vehicle. Just as he reached the largest hatch on the roof of the rear cabin, it opened with a mechanical CLICK and swung upward.

Rainwater pooled around the hatch poured down the ladderway into the vehicle, nearly drenching Cheng Qi.

"Brother Lin, are you coming in?"

Cheng Qi asked, poking his head out from the cabin into the rain.

"I... It’s fine. Get back inside."

Lin Fan thought for a moment. ’I might as well get in first,’ he decided. ’We should be far away from that tree’s range by now, so there’s no need to be so cautious.’

"How’s Cyan Bird? Is she okay?"

The effects of the strength potion hadn’t worn off yet. His deltoids and lats were swollen to an exaggerated degree, making his entire frame more than a size "thicker" than usual.

The hatch, which fully-armed soldiers could normally pass through with ease, now seemed cramped as it caught on his broad shoulders.

THUD!

Lin Fan slid down the slippery handrail and shut the hatch behind him. In an instant, the furious roar of the rain outside—a sound that threatened to drown the world—was completely cut off. It faded into a distant, muffled rumble, transforming into a reassuring background noise like the roll of far-off thunder.

His work boots hit the steel floor, which was covered in puddles, splashing up muddy water with a dull thud.

The inside of the vehicle was incredibly dim, with only a few slivers of faint light filtering in through observation slits and firing ports.

"I’m over here..."

The moment Lin Fan’s feet hit the floor, he heard Ye Qingniao’s voice. It was weak, but not dispirited. Following the sound, his eyes were drawn to a particularly conspicuous health bar: [107/700].

As a flashlight beam cut through the darkness, he finally got a clear look at the interior of the armored car, which he was entering for the first time.

It was even more cramped than he’d imagined.

From the outside, the anti-riot armored car looked majestic and imposing, like a mobile fortress, but it was a classic case of being all armor and no room.

In the pursuit of defensive strength, the vehicle’s armor plating was incredibly thick. Combined with various hydraulic systems and inner linings, the passenger cabin space was severely compressed. There were three folding seats on one side and four on the other, with an aisle between them so narrow that only one person could pass through at a time.

To make room for the incoming "big guy," Cheng Qi had already retreated into the driver’s seat, with only the top half of his head visible.

Ye Qingniao was leaning against the innermost seat on the right side of the passenger cabin. The beam of light was coming from her hand.

She was back in her muscular form, curled up sideways on the seat. Two ragged bullet holes were stretched open on her chest, the surrounding fabric a dark stain, pushed taut by her bulging pectoral muscles. It was clear, however, that the bleeding had stopped.

The man and woman, both in their muscular forms, looked at each other, making the narrow armored car cabin feel even more constricting.

"You’re like this too? Haha... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." Her voice rang out, a laugh that turned into a bubbly cough. "What’re you doing here? Miss me?"

"Yeah, I missed you..."

Seeing she was still in the mood to joke, Lin Fan knew the girl’s spirits were holding up. He had to crouch his massive frame, moving like a large brown bear in a cave as he crossed the puddled floor in a few strides. He reached out and gently poked her forehead.

It was warm to the touch, but she didn’t have a fever.

Then, he turned his head to ask Cheng Qi, who was peeking out from the driver’s seat:

"What happened here? You used both potions on her?"

"Yeah. She injected one herself earlier... the one you said increases recovery. But after ten minutes, when it wore off, the wound was still bleeding a bit, and she was coughing up blood... Styptic powder can’t stop internal bleeding.

So I gave her the other one... You said it was the potion that lets you transform into that ’combat-ready’ mode. I figured if it makes you good at fighting, it must make you good at taking hits, too..."

Cheng Qi recounted his thought process. Hearing it for the first time, Lin Fan had to admit it almost made a strange kind of sense.

So, Lin Fan had to spread his legs wide and squat down to sit awkwardly across from Ye Qingniao. He reached out, his fingertips gently pressing the area around the dark red gunshot wound on her chest.

It felt as hard as stone.

’This isn’t about being good at taking hits,’ Lin Fan thought. ’The wild potion had already mostly stopped the internal bleeding. Then she got another dose of the strength potion, and now her powerful pectoral muscles are just physically squeezing the wound shut...’

’It probably doesn’t help restore her Life Value, but at least it stopped the wound from bleeding further.’

"Where do you think you’re touching... mmmph..."

Ye Qingniao weakly lifted her muscular arm, trying to bat Lin Fan’s hand away and still trying to sound tough. But as she spoke, Lin Fan took the opportunity to thrust his hand forward, shoving a round crystal he was palming directly into her mouth.

This was one of the round crystals he’d collected while "grinding mobs" when they were trapped in the "tree cage." He still had four more in his pack.

But Lin Fan didn’t intend to give them all to her just yet. He wanted to see how much health a single crystal could restore.

"What’s wrong with touching? It’s harder than my muscles."

He watched Ye Qingniao gulp down the "Immortal Pill." On his retina, the health bar that had been stuck at [107/700] finally began to crawl slowly but steadily upward, like the battery icon on a charging phone.

He looked up and asked Cheng Qi:

"Are there any bandages or anything in this vehicle? I want to treat her wound..."

’Even though an Awakened One probably wouldn’t get an infection,’ he thought, ’a severe puncture wound like this should still be bandaged. Can’t have water pouring into her lungs.’

"Nope."

Cheng Qi shook his head like a rattle.

"The first-aid kit Cyan Bird brought back only has painkillers and hemostatic medicine. The bandages and everything were completely filthy."