Stay Here

The door to the Zone B temporary medical point dropped its lock once more, cutting off most of the footsteps and alarm sounds outside.

Yet that tension pressing over their heads did not scatter because of it.

Moreover, within this square inch of space, the air felt exceptionally sticky and oppressive because of the high heat radiating from Pei Jin’s body.

His breathing was very heavy.

The rising and falling of his chest was more obvious than usual, and his knuckles rested against the edge of the bed, occasionally tightening slightly due to the high heat.

Even though he was burning to this extent, he still refused to lie down completely.

Xia Mianyue felt uncomfortable in her heart as she watched him.

She lightly picked up the thermometer gun and was just about to approach when the phone by the pillow suddenly vibrated.

The screen lit up; it was a voice message sent by Pei Xubai.

Xia Mianyue cast a glance at Pei Jin.

He did not open his eyes, only saying hoarsely, “Play it.”

She pressed play.

Pei Xubai’s voice traveled out from the phone, carrying a bit less gentleness and a bit more gravity.

“Ah Jin, the bridge has been sealed. Rawlinson hasn’t left the vicinity of Zone B for the time being; security is narrowing the perimeter.”

After a short pause, he continued:

“Qin Shuyao’s people have already confessed—they were the ones who helped Rawlinson register temporary permissions. Qin Shuyao herself is temporarily missing; they are still looking for her.”

Xia Mianyue’s spine went cold.

Qin Shuyao was missing, and Rawlinson was also near Zone B.

Which meant this place was not as safe as she had thought.

At the end of the voice message, Pei Xubai added another sentence:

“Miss Xia, Ah Jin is running a high heat right now and might experience brief volatility. Wear your protection properly, follow the arrangements of the medical staff, and do not leave alone.”

As the voice ended, the medical point fell silent for a few seconds.

Pei Jin slowly opened his eyes, the depths of his eyes terribly red, yet they quickly recovered a hint of coldness.

“He certainly knows how to assign people.”

Xia Mianyue did not pick up this sentence.

She knew the relationship between these two brothers of the Pei family was delicate and not something she could chime in on.

She merely placed the phone back by the bedside and said softly, “Mr. Pei, let me measure your temperature.”

Pei Jin did not speak.

Xia Mianyue bypassed to the side of the bed and picked up the forehead thermometer gun.

Beep—

39.4°C

The instant the numbers jumped out, her brow locked tight.

It had risen again.

The medical personnel were still in the outer room handling another feverish guest, unable to attend to this side for the moment. Xia Mianyue did not dare to delay and immediately fetched a wet towel again.

She first immersed the towel into the warm water, added a bit of alcohol, wrung it until it was half-dry, and only then carefully approached.

“Mr. Pei, I will wipe the side of your neck, don’t move.”

Pei Jin frowned, “Stay far away.”

“You are burning too high.”

Her voice was still soft, yet her tone was rare in its persistence.

“Only wiping the side of your neck and arms, it will be quick.”

Pei Jin raised his eyes to look at her; separated by the goggles, that pair of eyes of hers remained round and clean, reflecting fear within them, but also worry.

Clearly, that set of protective clothing on her body was clumsy to the point of being a bit laughable, yet she stood very steadily, not dodging away like other people did.

Pei Jin pulled at his lips, his voice hoarse to the extreme.

“Your courage is certainly big.”

Xia Mianyue answered in a low voice, “I am also afraid.”

She lightly pressed the towel against the side of his neck.

“But you need to cool down right now.”

As the slightly cool touch descended, a repressed, muffled groan escaped from Pei Jin’s throat.

He violently raised his hand, looking as though he wanted to wave her away.

Xia Mianyue was prepared early on, yet her wrist was still clasped by him. Separated by two layers of gloves, that wave of heat remained obvious to a frightening degree.

“Mr. Pei.” She did not struggle, only striving to slow her voice down as much as possible.

“It’s me, Xia Mianyue.”

Pei Jin stared at her, those eyes of his losing focus for an instant, looking as though he were burned by the high heat to the point of being unable to distinguish who the person before his eyes was.

A few seconds later, he seemed to finally recognize her, the strength on his hand loosening a bit, though he did not let go completely.

“Don’t think that because of this, I will believe you.”

He spoke very slowly, every single word carrying a hoarse trace.

Xia Mianyue clearly had not expected him to say something like this, which indicated his brain was starting to grow chaotic.

Subsequently, she lightly pursed her lips.

“You don’t need to believe me.”

Holding the towel with her other hand, she continued to wipe away the sweat on the side of his neck on his behalf.

“You just need to bring your fever down first.”

Pei Jin still looked at her.

She kept her head low, her movements careful, the cuffs of the protective suit looking a bit clumsy during the wiping because they were too long.

She was very earnest with every single wipe, neither deliberately getting close nor taking the opportunity to shrink back.

The guardedness in the depths of Pei Jin’s eyes sank down a little bit.

Xia Mianyue slowly retreated half a step to change to a fresh towel.

Right at this moment, the alarm in the outer room suddenly let out a short beep.

The medical staff walked in quickly, their expression very bad.

“The Zone B access control was just swiped once; security has already gone over to verify. Stay inside, do not open the door.”

Xia Mianyue immediately nodded.

The medical staff cast another glance at Pei Jin’s state.

“The body temperature is too high, continue physical cooling. Before the efficacy of the medicine kicks in, there might be volatility and brief mental confusion.”

She hurriedly left after finishing her words.

The door closed once more.

Listening to the footsteps outside, another layer of sweat broke out on Xia Mianyue’s palms.

Yet Pei Jin suddenly sat straight at this moment, his movement too urgent as it knocked over the water cup by the bedside.

With a splash, the water spilled all over the ground.

Xia Mianyue immediately supported the bed frame: “You cannot get up.”

Pei Jin raised his head, his gaze already a bit more sober.

“The access control wasn’t an accidental touch.”

Xia Mianyue was stunned.

Pei Jin supported himself against the edge of the bed, his voice hoarse to the extreme, yet his speaking speed was very fast.

“Rawlinson has a card in his hand, and Qin Shuyao is missing again. They won’t just want to create infections.”

“Then what do they want to do?”

“Cut off the main power supply, or look for something with higher clearance.”

Just as his words fell, the lights overhead violently flickered twice.

Xia Mianyue felt a bit afraid at this moment.

In the next second, the security’s hurried shouting traveled from outside the medical point.

– Zone B backup power abnormal!

– All access control, manual lockdown!

The lights flickered once more.

This time, they directly extinguished, and the medical point plunged into darkness.

After a brief power outage, the monitor switched to backup power, emitting a piercing buzz.

A small red light flashed click by click, illuminating Pei Jin’s profile in alternating light and dark.

Xia Mianyue subconsciously reached out a hand to support him, but Pei Jin clasped her wrist one step ahead, bringing her a bit closer to his side.

“Don’t stand by the doorway,” his voice was low and cold.

Being pulled by him close to the bedside, Xia Mianyue’s breathing fell into a mess.

In the darkness, she could clearly feel his burning hot body temperature, and could also hear his breathing, which was heavier than usual.

Outside was a complete mess.

While inside the room, only the breathing sounds of the two of them were excessively close.

Suddenly, an extremely light sound traveled from overhead, like a metal piece being lightly pried by something.

Xia Mianyue’s entire body went rigid.

She slowly raised her head—the ventilation duct.

That sound rang out once more, very light, yet clear enough to make one’s scalp go numb.

Pei Jin also heard it.

The burning heat in the depths of his eyes was suppressed by a cold ferocity at this instant, his hand already reaching under the pillow.

Placed there was the dagger brought out from Room 8806 just now.

Xia Mianyue held her breath, not even daring to move.

In the darkness, within the gaps of the ventilation vent’s grille, some shadow seemed to flash past.

Pei Jin lowered his voice.

“Step back.”

In the next second, a flurry of hurried scraping sounds suddenly traveled from within the ventilation duct.

Something was crawling toward the top of their heads.