bioinnovel Chapter 455 I'll take over your Zhang family!
Chapter 455 I'll take over your Zhang family!
Guan Xing moved back a few steps, disappearing into the shadow cast by the door.
Zhang Yan didn't look up. He squatted down and held Nie Qingcheng's left hand, placing his right thumb on her wrist bone to check her pulse.
The pulse is weak, but regular.
Forty-one, forty-three, forty-six.
He let out a long breath, and the two broken ribs in his chest rubbed together, sending a sharp pain shooting from the bottom of his lungs to the top of his head.
"I'm leaving," he said.
Nie Qingcheng's eyelids twitched, but she didn't open them.
"My legs have no strength."
Zhang Yan released her hand, his right arm went under her shoulder blade, and his left hand scooped up her knees, lifting her up completely.
The moment he stood up straight, both broken ribs cried out simultaneously, but his face showed nothing. He took steady, slow steps.
Nie Qingcheng nestled in the crook of his neck, at which distance she could clearly see the dried bloodstain on his jaw, which stretched from below his earlobe all the way to the tip of his chin.
She raised her hand and rubbed the longest line with her fingertip.
"His face was covered in blood."
"It's done, it's fine."
"The corners of the mouth too."
Her voice was very soft, each word coming out one by one.
"The tears are still flowing from my ears."
Zhang Yan didn't say much about it and carried her into the Black Scorpion's elevator.
The hatch closed, and only the hum of the machinery remained in the shaft, occasionally punctuated by the soft creaking of the rock walls.
1200 meters, uphill.
Nie Qingcheng closed her eyes, her right hand gripping the zipper buckle on his protective suit chest, her knuckles turning white.
"Was the stargazer following behind?"
"exist."
Where is Qin Xiao?
"Wait up there."
There was silence for a few seconds.
"Am I very heavy?" she suddenly asked.
"Ninety-two catties."
How did you know?
"Your medical examination report is on my phone."
Nie Qingcheng's lips curved slightly.
"You're spying on my privacy."
"You authorized it."
She didn't say anything more, but unzipped the zipper and placed her hand on the side of his collarbone, her palm pressed against his carotid artery.
Feel that pulse.
As the elevator reached the top and the hatch opened, a burst of white light flooded in.
Qin Xiao stood directly in front of the cave entrance, with two military helicopters and a four-person medical team behind him.
He paused for a moment when he saw the person in Zhang Yan's arms.
"sister in law--"
"Low blood pressure, mild hypothermia." Zhang Yan walked past him without stopping. "Arrange for someone to follow him."
Qin Xiao stared at his back. His protective suit had a gash from the right shoulder to the waist, revealing charred burn marks. His center of gravity was noticeably off when he took a step with his left leg.
He swallowed all his questions.
"receive."
After the helicopter took off, the accompanying military doctor came over, and Zhang Yan touched the blood-soaked gauze on Nie Qingcheng's right wrist with his chin.
The military doctor opened it up; there was a shallow incision, and the radial artery was intact.
I drew it myself.
The military doctor's gaze darted back and forth between the wound and Nie Qingcheng's face, but he didn't ask any questions and instead focused on treating the wound.
"I recommend intravenous infusion."
"Go back to Jinghai." Nie Qingcheng's voice was muffled in Zhang Yan's chest. "Don't get the injection outside."
The military doctor sees Zhang Yan.
Zhang Yan nodded.
The helicopter changed course.
Qin Xiao's voice came through the communication channel.
"Brother Yan."
"explain."
"Global anomaly data has been completely cleared."
His voice trembled, he tried desperately to suppress it, but couldn't.
"All six gates and sub-cores have entered a self-sustaining state, all node signals are deep green, the delay field is operating normally, and the energy response in the community direction has dropped below the detection limit of the equipment."
It paused for a moment.
Not even a speck of dust remained.
Zhang Yan leaned against the cabin wall, remaining silent.
"Brother Yan?"
"I heard you."
"We conducted a full-band retest of the stargazing system, and for the first time in three hundred years of monitoring history, all indicators are safe. The locksmith also confirmed that the locking protocol has been switched to passive maintenance and does not require any human intervention."
Qin Xiao's voice trailed off.
"it's over."
Nie Qingcheng stirred slightly in his arms.
Tell him to keep his voice down.
Qin Xiao immediately lowered the volume by three notches.
"Sister-in-law, I—"
Zhang Yan hung up the phone.
It was already broad daylight when the helicopter landed on the helipad in the backyard of the villa.
He carried Nie Qingcheng down the gangway, through the garden, and into the gate, where the accompanying military doctor was stopped at the door.
A blanket was folded on the living room sofa. She had laid it out before she left and placed it in her usual spot, folded neatly.
Zhang Yan put her down and unfolded the blanket to cover her legs.
"Don't move."
She went to the kitchen to boil water, adjusted the temperature, and then took out the dark chocolate she usually ate from the cupboard and brought it over.
"drink."
Nie Qingcheng held the cup with both hands, taking small sips. The steam added a touch of warmth to her pale face, and the rim of the cup reflected the newly changed gauze on her wrist, the white bandage tinged with pale red.
"What time is the flight?" she asked.
Zhang Yan glanced at her.
This person's heart rate was less than fifty, and the first thing they asked was about flights.
"The schedule you sent earlier said 9 a.m. tomorrow."
"I'm rebooking for the afternoon." She looked up. "I need to go to the beauty salon this morning."
"You now—"
"I can't go out with this face."
Zhang Yan didn't continue arguing. He sat down at the other end of the sofa. The moment he sat down, the weight on his left knee finally dissipated, and his two broken ribs immediately started to hurt.
Nie Qingcheng put down her cup and moved closer, placing her fingers on his seventh rib on the left side and pressing it through his clothes.
Zhang Yan paused for a moment.
"Two," he volunteered.
"Plus the burns on your shoulder." She moved her hand up to her shoulder.
"And the hearing in your right ear." The voice then circled around to behind the ear.
The movements were very light, as if taking inventory of the wear and tear of a valuable item.
Zhang Yan grabbed her hand.
"It will recover in three days."
Nie Qingcheng stared at him for two seconds, then withdrew her hand, leaned back on the sofa, and pulled the blanket over her legs.
"Zhang Yan".
"Um."
You owe me four meals.
Five meals.
"Start paying it back tomorrow." She closed her eyes, her voice softening. "Don't even think about getting away with it for every single meal."
Zhang Yan watched as her breathing became deeper and longer within half a minute.
He reached out and tucked a stray hair that had fallen across her forehead behind her ear, the back of his fingers touching her forehead, where the temperature was rising.
The phone on the coffee table lit up; it was a message from Qin Xiao.
"Brother Yan, the final report from the Heavenly Observation Pavilion is out. For the first time in three hundred years of monitoring history, the entire region has been confirmed safe. In Guan Xing's own words, this is the cleanest data she has ever seen."
Below that is a line of smaller text.
"Thank you."
After Zhang Yan finished reading, he turned his phone upside down and placed it face down on the table.
He didn't leave. He leaned against the other end of the sofa, turned his head, and looked at her quiet profile.
Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the two of them.
The living room was quiet, with only the clock ticking.