Lin Chu stepped forward as instructed.

This time, the injuries were less severe than Assistant Wu’s.

There were only wounds on both arms and the waist.

There were five injuries in total, with a depth similar to the ones on Assistant Wu.

However, since the wounds were newer, they hadn’t yet developed the redness and pus that appeared in Assistant Wu’s case.

To allow Lin Chu to see the condition of the wounds clearly, Dr. Liu had left the freshly treated wound exposed without bandaging it.

Lin Chu carefully compared the wounds and noticed the presence of fine black substances in the untreated wound. They were thinner than a hair and were slowly drilling into the flesh.

This was something Lin Chu had not seen when treating Assistant Wu’s wound last time.

The wounds treated by Dr. Liu had clearly removed all of these black substances.

“These black substances must be the cause of the fish scale-like growths, right?”

Seeing that she had noticed the difference, Dr. Liu didn’t hesitate any longer. He picked up a scalpel from the side and began to operate.

If these black substances were allowed to stay longer and penetrate deeper into the body, they would cause more pain and danger.

“From what I can tell, that’s the case.”

“I heard that when you treated Assistant Wu’s wound last time, there were no black substances.”

Lin Chu also put down her medical kit and turned to wash her hands.

“Yes, when I saw the wound last time, it had already started to fester, and the surrounding skin had turned a dull blue-gray.

It must have been caused by these black substances penetrating into the skin.”

After washing her hands, Lin Chu put on sterile gloves and took her tools to treat the patient’s waist injury.

Dr. Liu took the opportunity to glance at Lin Chu’s technique and nodded silently.

This young woman was steady and decisive with the scalpel, far more experienced than her age suggested.

Both Dr. Liu and Lin Chu were focused on their work, and the ward became quiet.

No one dared to interrupt them.

Even Nurse Bai only stole a glance at Lin Chu when handing her tools.

Thanks to timely treatment, this patient didn’t lose much healthy tissue, and the wound stitching went much more smoothly.

Once the wounds were treated, Nurse Bai stayed behind to care for the patient, while the other four people went to Mayor Li’s office.

“Dr. Lin, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Seeing Dr. Liu extend his somewhat wrinkled, yet obviously well-maintained hand, Lin Chu did not hesitate and shook it.

“Dr. Liu, it’s a pleasure.”

After shaking hands, they both let go.

“I’ve heard about you from Xiao Wang and Old Li. They speak highly of you. I don’t suppose you would be interested in joining us?”

Dr. Liu extended another invitation to Lin Chu.

He had observed her treatment skills earlier, and just as Wang Rui and Mayor Li had said, if it were before the apocalypse, she would have been a doctor with limitless potential.

Lin Chu smiled slightly and shook her head at Dr. Liu.

“Sorry, Dr. Liu, I prefer freedom.”

Seeing that Lin Chu still refused, Dr. Liu didn’t push further. He simply shook his head and sighed.

“Ah, well, you young people really shouldn’t be confined to our small base.”

“Since you don’t want to, I won’t insist.”

At this point, he looked toward Mayor Li:

“Dr. Lin helped treat the wound earlier. When the supplies are distributed, take 5 kilograms of rice and a can of food from me for her.”

Mayor Li raised an eyebrow. “Rare for Dr. Liu to be generous. Wang Rui, make a note of it and give the things to Dr. Lin later.”

Dr. Liu pretended to clutch his chest in mock pain and waved them off.

“Quick, take it and go. If you’re any later, I won’t be able to part with it.”

After stepping out and getting 5 kilograms of rice and a can of meat, Lin Chu’s smile grew even more genuine.

Though it wasn’t as much as last time, the situation was different, and with Dr. Liu performing the surgery, Lin Chu was mostly just there to observe.

Having something was better than nothing.

However…

“Is the supply distribution happening today?”

Hearing Lin Chu’s question, Wang Rui immediately understood what she was asking.

“Yes, it was postponed because of the rain yesterday, so it’s happening today. Jiang Da and Jiang Er are already arranging it.”

Mentioning those two people, the atmosphere in the room became slightly tense.

“Who knows how Assistant Wu has managed to control those two cousins of his?”

Mayor Li sighed, while Dr. Liu grumbled in irritation.

“How else could he control them? He might even be involved himself.”

Seeing the two of them at odds, Wang Rui quickly intervened.

“Let’s wait until Assistant Wu wakes up before we discuss how things are. Right now, he’s still unconscious.”

Mayor Li and Dr. Liu exchanged a glare before turning their heads away.

Seeing this, Wang Rui turned to Lin Chu:

“Dr. Lin, you haven’t had a good look around our base yet. I’ll show you around. Once they bring over Dr. Liu’s supplies, I’ll take you back.”

Lin Chu naturally had no objection to this.

The two old men were arguing, and she wasn’t about to get involved.

After bidding farewell to Mayor Li and Dr. Liu, Lin Chu followed Wang Rui out of the office and toward the outside of the building.

“Captain Wang, I heard from Aunt Zhao that you have a small plantation and animal farm here. Could you take me to see it?”

Wang Rui had been planning to take Lin Chu out anyway to give the two old men some space to argue, so when she mentioned wanting to see the plantation and animal farm, he readily agreed.

The reason Lin Chu wanted to visit these two places was that the knowledge she had on the subjects was running out.

She had only helped her mother when she was young and later developed a hobby in gardening. Her experience was just enough for small tasks like growing tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, and onions, and maybe even hatching eggs.

But as her garden grew larger, and more vegetables and fruits could be planted, her skills became insufficient.

She needed to learn from others.

Wang Rui eagerly led the way.

“Our plantation is on the hillside. The path isn’t very good, so Dr. Lin, try to step in my footprints as much as possible.”

Lin Chu looked at the muddy path and nodded, carefully stepping where Wang Rui had walked, following him.

“This area used to be a rich residential area. The wealthy people got tired of city life and came here to build sunrooms and start farms.”

“After we came, there were several sunrooms already built, which are much better than greenhouses during heavy rain.”

Hearing Wang Rui’s explanation, Lin Chu nodded.

She had wondered how the crops at the hillside base survived the frequent heavy rains. Now that there were sunrooms left by the previous owners, the farming in the base had become a lot easier.