Chapter 30

Finally Reunited

Like a nimble little deer, the boy ran through the narrow alleys, moving so quickly that the hem of the hospital-issued patient gown flared up behind him.

He ran faster and faster, a speed that he didn’t even consciously recognize as a longing to return home.

He dashed through the narrow paths between vegetable plots, passed under a clothesline where clothes had already been taken down, and finally arrived at the east end of a building. On the second floor, by an open window, another boy was leaning on the windowsill, gazing outside. In the bright moonlight, the two lines of tears on his cheeks shimmered slightly.

Then he saw the person standing below.

In the chilly air, that person stood barefoot, dressed only in a thin white garment.

With black hair and dark eyes, he looked completely different from the other boy, yet the braid habitually draped over his right shoulder and that eternally straight posture—

“Thump, thump”—the boy heard the sound of his own heartbeat.

Then he watched the person below take a running leap up towards the building—

It was impossible to jump directly to the second floor. The person landed on the safety net of the first-floor window, grasped the net with his hands, and swiftly grabbed a slightly higher water pipe, climbing up in just a few moments.

Standing on the windowsill of the second floor, with the moon behind him, his face was shrouded in shadow, and the cold wind blew into the room from behind him as he looked down at the boy.

“Bury the body,” he said, opening his mouth to utter his first words with this body.

“Okay.” Without any resistance, Ped agreed.

Though tears still lingered on his cheeks, a smile had already formed at the corners of his mouth.

When the boy at the window jumped down, he tightly embraced him.

Even though their heights and appearances were different, everything was different, he knew that this person was Juan.

In a different form, Juan had returned!

Watching Ped embrace him tightly, Juan stood for a long while before finally reaching out, gently patting his shoulder, and leaving his hand there, completing an embrace.

When Ped had hugged enough, and they separated, Juan finally noticed the others huddled in the corner.

These few people hadn’t returned since he left in the afternoon; it was Juan’s first time seeing them.

At this moment, the group was curled up together, covered with several blankets, huddled on a bed in the furthest corner of the room, and they stared at Juan and Ped with wide eyes.

After thinking for a long while, Juan finally said, “Good evening, is it really this cold?”

No matter the time, weather was always a safe topic—this was something he learned from his travels in human society before.

Unfortunately—

Hearing his question, the others’ mouths fell open even wider.

Sure enough, the friends of abnormal people were also abnormal!

If one looked closely, they would see that these individuals were all bruised, and their bodies under the blankets bore the same marks.

They had been beaten by Ped.

Upon returning, they found that the newcomer had taken over their bed. The original owner of that bed wasn’t pleased, gathered his lackeys, and attempted to fight the newcomer, resulting in a scuffle.

The newcomer wasn’t to be underestimated; it wasn’t that he was particularly strong, but he fought recklessly! Those who fought carelessly frightened those who fought carefully. It didn’t take long before the half-grown minors who had been stuck there were defeated. During mealtime, they fought again over food—not because the original residents were looking for trouble, but entirely due to the newcomer! Having eaten their fill, he still tried to snatch their food!

So, they fought again and lost once more.

Eventually, when they waited for the newcomer to finish eating, they saw him begin to unwrap something wrapped in plastic on the bed. When they saw it was a corpse, they were shocked! Then, witnessing the newcomer gently wiping the corpse’s face with a towel…

They were utterly defeated.

They wouldn’t fight anymore; this person was truly insane.

They didn’t dare to go near the bed of the newcomer, shivering together under the blankets. At one point, one person couldn’t hold back and provided the newcomer with the location to bury the body, only to be beaten again.

The newcomer even insisted on punishing them collectively! Instead of just beating one, he made sure to beat a group!

Thus, they remained silent, huddled together.

If they had been shivering together in fear during the first half of the night, the second half was a genuine shiver of cold.

That crazy person opened the window in the middle of the night!

This was in the dead of winter! On a night when it had just snowed!

It was bad enough that this guy didn’t fear the cold; he made them endure the wind as well.

So, while Ped wept by the window, this group of boys silently cried behind him.

Until Juan arrived.

“Why are you hurt again? You didn’t have any injuries when I left in the afternoon.” Since both of their heights were now similar, Juan easily saw the wounds on Ped’s face.

Though the injuries on his face hadn’t completely healed, they appeared to be old wounds. However, the bruises and cuts visible now were clearly new.

“I got into a fight with them,” Ped replied nonchalantly.

He didn’t use his supernatural powers; the other party used their fists, and he used his fists too. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with that kind of fighting.

Upon hearing this, the boys in the corner looked expectantly at Ped, hoping that this seemingly amiable companion would reason with him. Surely he would reason with him, right?

The boys were filled with hope—

However-

“Oh, just wait. I know a place where we can get medicine.” Juan said this casually, not feeling that Pedro’s behavior was wrong in any way, and brushed off the topic without a second thought.

The boys: “…”

Watching the new guy nod obediently, they felt utterly hopeless.

After saying that, Juan left the same way he came—climbing out through the second-floor window—and headed straight toward the clinic.

Pedro leaned back by the window, watching Juan’s departing figure. He even waved at him. 

He caught an important phrase: “when I left this afternoon.”

So… Juan had been there all along? 

Had he stayed by his side the entire time?

As this thought settled, Pedro’s lips slowly curled into a smile.

Meanwhile, Juan made his way back to the clinic. 

He entered through the front door, catching the receptionist off guard. She flipped through her records, puzzled. After a pause, she asked, “Aren’t you the patient who was brought in earlier? When did you leave? Wait—how are you walking already?!”

Hurriedly, she called over the doctor.

Seeing Juan recover so quickly, the doctor was both surprised and pleased. After checking the wound, he commented, “It’s good you’re moving around, but your injury is serious. You need more rest.” 

“I’ll make sure you eat well these days—lots of good food. You need to put on some weight; you’re too skinny!” 

With a wink, the doctor added, “Don’t worry about the bills. Your uncle’s covering everything, including the food. I’ve arranged it with him, and the patrol squad will oversee things.”

Juan, indifferent about food, asked, “Can I get some more wound medicine?” 

“Of course!” the doctor said without hesitation. With someone footing the bill, giving more medicine seemed natural.

“Could I have extra?” Juan asked, noticing that the boys in Pedro’s room were also injured.

The doctor thought Juan was simply being cautious by requesting more supplies. With a nod, he agreed, especially since the patient’s uncle was paying. And given how much the doctor disliked that uncle after a heated argument the previous night, he was now firmly on Juan’s side. 

So, the doctor generously provided a lot of bandages and medicine—valuable resources in this post-apocalyptic world. Normally, even with payment, the doctor would ration supplies carefully. But Juan’s severe injuries and pitiful circumstances had softened the doctor’s heart.

Juan took the medicine and left. 

He did return to his hospital room—but only to jump out the window again.

With the medicine in hand, he went back to Pedro’s room. 

Not only did he apply the medicine for Pedro, but he also invited the boys huddled in the corner to use it. 

“I got a lot of medicine. If any of you need it, come over and use it,” Juan said, as if it were the most natural thing.

Pedro didn’t find anything unusual about this behavior either. 

After all, Pedro had grown up in Eden. Though he’d been sold and occasionally punished, his basic needs were always met. Food, clothing, even medical care had been abundant—he could use the repair pod every few days. So, to him, these wound medicines didn’t seem like a big deal.

But the other boys didn’t think the same way!

This was the apocalypse—a world of scarcity. Food and clothing were rationed, and medicine was even harder to come by. The supplies Juan had brought were clearly top-quality, with some medicines the boys didn’t even recognize.

Swallowing nervously, they hesitantly stepped out of the corner.

“Can we really use it? Are you sure?” the leading boy asked in a trembling voice, pointing at the medicine laid out on the bed.

Pedro nodded.

After a long moment of hesitation, the boy finally made up his mind. “I don’t need these wound medicines… Could I have just one fever-reducing pill? Just one is enough.”

He pointed at a box labeled with fever medication.

Since Juan’s injuries had been serious, the doctor had prescribed fever reducers, just in case. In fact, he’d given more than one box.

“Sure,” Juan replied nonchalantly.

The boy carefully opened the box and took one pill.

Another boy nearby whispered, “Boss, I heard you need to take two pills for it to work.”

“Really?” The boy froze, unsure.

Juan glanced at the box, read the instructions printed on it, and said aloud, “Take once daily for two days. Do not exceed the recommended dosage.”

“You need two pills,” Juan said to the boy.

“Thank you! Thank you!” The boy was overwhelmed with gratitude. Not only had Juan told him the correct way to take the medicine, but he also let him have an extra pill. The boy carefully took a second pill and added, “This medicine is really valuable. You could trade it for points at the base, so be careful not to give it away too easily.”

Juan gave him a glance. “Thank you.”

He then turned to the other boys. “You can take some too. If you don’t need wound medicine, you can choose something else.”

The boys exchanged glances, first at Juan, then at Pedro, and finally at their leader. In the end, each of them took one item from the collection of medicines.

“Our injuries aren’t that bad. We’re taking these to help someone else…” One boy explained softly, unable to hold back. 

“For example, our boss’s brother. He got hurt on a mission and is running a fever now. He really needs fever medicine and bandages. We’re not trying to take advantage of you…”

Juan nodded in understanding. He gestured toward the remaining supplies on the bed. “You can take everything if you want.”

The boys waved their hands quickly. “No, no, this is more than enough. Actually, we might’ve taken a bit extra—just in case the boss’s brother gets hurt again…” 

Satisfied, Juan packed up the remaining medicine and handed it to Pedro. “Keep this. I’ll come back tomorrow morning.”

With that, he climbed out the window once more.

Watching Juan’s figure disappear below, Pedro closed the window. Humming a tune, he carefully stored the medicine Juan had entrusted to him, pulled up the blanket, and went to sleep.

When Pedro finally fell asleep, the room seemed to warm up a bit. The boys, clutching their newly acquired medicine, glanced at each other with knowing smiles. Without saying a word, they quietly slipped out of the room, carefully closing the door behind them.