Chapter 213: Tools of the Trade

After organizing things at home, Huai Yu visited Flower City Hospital once again.

Unlike before, her woven bamboo backpack was filled with several lunchboxes. Because she didn’t have enough boxes, the top two containers were simply stacked stainless steel basins. Fortunately, the backpack was stable enough that nothing had spilled by the time she arrived at the hospital.

By now, it was almost noon.

She first went to the ward where Chen Xing and the others were staying. After a careful knock on the door, Uncle Zaozi opened it, exuding more resentment than the Evil Sword Immortal.

“We both saved her life, but if you hadn’t shown up, I’d be Chen Xing’s sole great benefactor! She’d have to jump right out of bed and kowtow to me twice!”

Huai Yu offered an awkward smile. They had returned yesterday at noon, and it was now noon the following day. That meant Uncle Zaozi had been keeping watch all by himself for an entire day.

“Um… Uncle Zaozi, have you eaten yet?”

Uncle Zaozi wasn’t actually angry. Since Huai Yu lived in the Rose Corridor, every round trip she made was akin to braving a dragon’s lair in his eyes. He had just been keeping watch at the hospital and was terribly bored, so he was only grumbling a bit.

Huai Yu took the food out of her backpack. It was a hearty stew of green beans and eggplants. The portions for Chen Xing and her team intentionally had a slightly higher Mutant Value that hadn’t been completely cleared out, but it was still far better than what Uncle Zaozi usually ate.

Consequently, he quickly held his bowl and beamed with joy. “Great, great, great. They’re still getting their IV drips, so it’s the perfect time for me to eat first. What about you? Want to join me?”

Huai Yu shook her head. “I’m going to deliver food to Brother Zhou Qian first. I’ll come back in a bit.”

The portion for Zhou Qian was entirely different. Since he didn’t have any dietary restrictions, she had prepared a deluxe version—a spicy stew of green beans, eggplants, chili peppers, and bullfrog. Paired with a large box of rice, it was a wildly satisfying meal. Zhou Qian hadn’t tasted such a punchy flavor in a long time. His chopsticks flew as he chewed the bones, the bullfrog’s thick and thin legs letting out a series of CRACK sounds in his mouth.

“Did you buy this at the highway entrance last night? Must have cost a lot, huh?”

Just eating her vegetables before had been shocking enough, but now, paired with the spicy, tender bullfrog… for a brief moment, Zhou Qian felt as though the catastrophic global mutation had never even happened.

Yesterday, when Huai Yu came by, she had been entirely focused on recounting her heroic rescue, completely forgetting about the bullfrog and wild pheasant. Thinking about it now, she cleared her throat.

She humbly admitted, “Yeah, it cost quite a bit. The shipping fee alone was fifty-five points.”

Zhou Qian sighed in admiration. “It was worth it. The Mutant Value on this is incredibly low.”

However, he looked up and studied Huai Yu’s complexion. “Did you not rest well after going back? Why do you look so lethargic?”

Huai Yu let out an “Ah,” and her shoulders slumped. “I’m just too tired.”

She gestured as she recounted how she had haggled to buy a water vat yesterday. Then, recalling her frantic scramble to save Chen Xing, a quiet sense of pride swelled within her.

This was different from when she saved Zhou Qian. At that time, he was practically one foot in the grave, and Huai Yu had acted out of a desperate Hail Mary, forcing fluids down his throat, soaking him, and applying wet compresses. Aside from the sheer chaos of it all, she couldn’t remember much else.

Zhou Qian, on the other hand, was momentarily stunned before looking at her with a smile. “That certainly sounds like something you’d do. If you can’t move the water vat, just leave it there. I’ll move it for you later.

“But do you still have any money?”

Having stayed in the hospital for a long time, he understood the process of treating and saving people much better than Huai Yu did.

“You told me yesterday that you gave the driver a thousand points, and then you covered a sum for Chen Xing. You spent even more after going back… and then there’s this bullfrog. How many points could you possibly have left?”

He brought out his wristband. “Open your transaction code.

“I can’t just freeload off you every day and rely on you to support me.”

Huai Yu originally wanted to say she still had over ten thousand points, but Zhou Qian looked so resolute and serious. She obediently held out her wristband. After a BEEP, three thousand points were transferred to her account.

“Wow!” Her eyes sparkled.

It wasn’t just because of the three thousand points, but because her total savings now exceeded fifteen thousand! Even if she took the bus back, she wouldn’t have to worry about running out of points!

She was overjoyed!

Her delight was visible to the naked eye. Seeing this, Zhou Qian couldn’t help but chuckle. “Such a kid.”

However, after finishing his meal, he also had some good news to announce. “I can be discharged tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!” Huai Yu asked in astonishment.

“Yeah.” Zhou Qian nodded. “Did you forget? The adaptation period for the biomaterials was originally three to seven days. Since my condition has been exceptionally good, I could actually be discharged today.

“But since I didn’t tell you in advance, let’s just make it tomorrow.

“Huai Yu, don’t worry about me. I’ve completely recovered.”

His expression was incredibly solemn, without a trace of perfunctoriness in his eyes. Huai Yu couldn’t help but smile. “Then I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning!”

Zhou Qian smiled without a word, simply urging her along. “Go check on your friends. There’s nothing to worry about on my end.”

Huai Yu nodded happily. When she arrived at Chen Xing’s ward, she found Uncle Zaozi strolling back and forth while patting his stomach, looking thoroughly content.

Meanwhile, Chen Xing was leaning against her hospital bed. Upon calling Huai Yu in, Chen Xing’s vacant expression instantly seemed to fill with emotion. She said earnestly, “I heard about everything. Thank you, Huai Yu.”

Huai Yu happily stepped closer and glanced at the lunchboxes. “Have you eaten?”

“Yes,” Chen Xing nodded. “I made you spend so much. Even the food…”

“Alright, alright!” Huai Yu didn’t want to hear it. “I was going to deliver food anyway, so this was just on the way.”

Because she had bought the bullfrog with Uncle Zaozi, she hadn’t dared to serve them meat today; everyone here was still eating vegetarian. Treating them differently made her feel a little guilty.

But Chen Xing shook her head. “I’m not talking about whether it was on the way or not. I’ll remember this favor. If you hadn’t made such a prompt decision, I’m afraid not many of us would have survived…”

Uncle Zaozi let out a bored yawn. “Stop with this tedious talk, repeating it over and over again… I’m not the type to do good deeds without leaving a name or asking for nothing in return. Don’t worry, I’ll remember it for her.

“You need to focus on nursing your body back to health first. That’s more important than anything else.

“Otherwise, let me ask you—do you even have any money left in your pockets?”

Most of these Explorers lived day-to-day, and nine times out of ten, they had zero habit of saving up. On top of that, heading into the Wilderness always required extensive preparation. From fuel to weapons, everything cost money. More often than not, once their gear was fully purchased, their pockets were emptier than a vacuum.

Seeing Chen Xing hem and haw, Uncle Zaozi immediately guessed she was out of points.

He wasn’t wrong.

However, their lack of points wasn’t entirely due to buying equipment; it was because of Chen He.

At that thought, Chen Xing’s face paled. “Huai Yu, I’ll have to pay you back for these points a little later.”

In fact, if the hospital hadn’t waived their medical fees, she wouldn’t even have been able to afford this much. Right now, she only had a little over a thousand points left to her name. Furthermore, even with the medical fees waived, she still needed to set aside money for food.

That was why Chen Xing felt so apologetic.

Huai Yu, however, didn’t mind. She wasn’t strapped for points anymore. Still, she felt the need to offer a reminder:

“Sister Xing, your car is still with that Hundred Zhao Subsidy company. Once you have enough points, you should prioritize fixing up your car. After all, it’s your livelihood.”