The Medium-Radiation Zone

The snow was falling harder.

“Achoo… let’s go back… it’s so cold… Achoo!”

I was being dragged through the snow, stumbling and sneezing with every step.

We had been walking for a long time.

The sun was high in the sky, but it offered no warmth, its light mostly blocked by thick clouds.

The scattered rays that broke through only made the snow-covered world blindingly bright.

With each step, my lower leg sank into the snow.

Icy slush seeped into my leather shoes, soaking my stockings.

I couldn’t feel my feet anymore.

“…”

Without a word, Su Yanlan stopped.

She turned and, with a firm push, sent me tumbling backward into a snowdrift.

I threw a hand over my eyes, momentarily stunned.

What was this for?

I really couldn’t understand her thought process.

The cold seeped through my thin dress from the snow beneath me.

I tried to get up, but, as expected, I failed.

“Achoo! Or, let’s go back, let me change into something warmer, and then I’ll come out with you again. Aren’t you cold? You could go back and put on some boots. As they say, a workman must first sharpen his tools. With better preparation, it’ll be much easier for you to catch your specimens… Achoo!”

My stiff lips could no longer manage a smile.

I was just trying to reason with her.

A slight delay wouldn’t matter, would it?

“I’m not cold.”

She said it so simply, then studied me, her fingers gently tracing my lips.

What was she doing?

Before I could figure it out, she pulled me up, took off her long coat, and silently draped it over my shoulders.

Looking at her, now only in a long-sleeved shirt and short skirt, I was even more confused.

“…What are you…?”

The coat was still warm.

I felt a little better, but only a little.

I rubbed my red, frozen palms together, then grabbed her hand and started walking back the way we came.

It wasn’t gentleness or a sudden pang of conscience.

I just thought she would freeze to death, and if she did, I probably wouldn’t survive either.

Another ten miles or so, and we’d be at the edge of the medium-radiation zone.

Who knew what kind of mutated creatures might suddenly appear from the meadows or forests on either side of the road?

Those monsters were known for their erratic behavior.

“Miss Qin Yue, aren’t you cold? I’ve given you the coat. If you keep insisting on going back, I’ll get angry.”

She stood her ground, and I couldn’t move her.

Instead, with a single pull, she pulled me into her embrace.

“What about you?”

The familiar scent of lavender filled the air, somehow colder in the snow, creating a different kind of atmosphere.

“What about me?”

She asked, holding me tighter.

I could feel the softness of her chest against my back and her surprisingly warm body.

How could her hands be so cold, but her body so warm?

It was a question I would never be able to answer.

Ordinary people like me could never understand the world of modified humans.

Whether through gene serums or mechanical enhancements, it was something I could only dream of.

“If you give me the coat, won’t you freeze?”

In her arms, I felt even warmer, and I unconsciously snuggled closer.

It was just an instinctive reaction to the cold.

Anyone would have done the same.

“I told you, I’m not cold, Miss Qin Yue.”

She quickly pushed me away.

Her face was calm, showing no signs of discomfort from the cold.

She grabbed the choker around my neck and continued to pull me along the snow-covered road.

The light snowflakes still drifted down, landing on her thin clothes, creating a dreamlike image.

“Cough, cough… are we really going into the medium-radiation zone?”

I looked at the small path leading into the forest and the warning sign next to it, and coughed.

Su Yanlan had been dragging me for a long time without a break.

My face was flushed, and my body was exhausted.

Normally, exercise would make you feel warm, but I didn’t.

My hands and feet were numb with cold.

“Yes, humanoid mutants are at least C-class. We won’t find any in the light-radiation zone.”

She turned and gave me a deep look, as if to say, if you don’t follow me in, I’ll turn you into a specimen.

“Achoo… Miss Yanlan, don’t look at me like that…”

I swallowed hard.

Even though she had just given me her coat, I still couldn’t figure her out.

Who knew if she would suddenly decide to kill me right here?

I looked up.

The forest was dark.

The hundred-meter-tall tree trunks supported a dense canopy of branches and leaves, weaving a layered net that blocked out almost all sunlight.

There was no snow on the forest floor.

It had all been caught by the canopy, making the already dark forest even blacker.

Something unknown lurked in the darkness.

I could hear faint rustling sounds from time to time.

There was no undergrowth, the nutrients having been stripped away, leaving no chance for weaker plants to survive.

“Let’s go.”

She took out a flashlight and switched it on.

A bright beam cut a small path through the darkness.

“…Gulp.”

I swallowed again and hesitantly followed her.

The world was divided into heavy, medium, light, and no-radiation zones.

The medium-radiation zone was a place that ordinary humans couldn’t enter without protective gear.

I would probably develop some incurable disease in the future.

I didn’t know, but I knew I wouldn’t live long anyway.

When the leader lost interest in me, I would probably die.

“You know, ordinary people can’t enter a place like this.”

Surrounded by darkness, I walked behind Su Yanlan, listening to the rustling sounds around me, my heart pounding.

“Achoo… yes, I know.”

I closed my eyes and sneezed again.

The forest was slightly warmer than outside, but it was still cold for me.

I think I understood why Su Yanlan was so insistent on bringing me here.

Revenge.

Yes, that must be it.

She wanted to see me suffer from radiation sickness for the rest of my life.

Too bad I wouldn’t live that long.

How long would the leader’s interest in me last?

I wasn’t sure.

I didn’t really care.

I was the one who had wronged these people first.

I might complain and feel miserable sometimes, but I didn’t think they were wrong.

I got caught, so I had to accept the consequences.

“…”

Su Yanlan, who was walking in front of me, suddenly stopped.

I didn’t react in time and bumped into her back.

She grabbed my hand.

A little warmth spread from her body to mine.

Strange.

Her hands were so cold outside the forest.