Chapter 583: Omnipotent?

Looking at the man before her, who seemed exhausted and somewhat injured, Tiantian believed this time she had some leverage to negotiate with him.

"Sorry," Tiantian said, "although you and this child are both injured, I don't know you... so I have to quickly find a way to take him for bandaging."

"Wait... just a moment..." The man staggered to his feet, his expression showing he had no intention of giving up.

Tiantian had anticipated this situation and kept her short sword held out in front of her.

"You saved our lives," Tiantian said with a furrowed brow and a vigilant expression, "and if possible, I don't want to clash with you..."

"No... it's not that..." The man waved his hands hastily, splattering blood from them like water droplets that hadn't been dried after washing, "I don't want to take your bicycle... I just have a proposal..."

Tiantian didn't back down, as this was the only way out for her and Zheng Yingxiong to leave the area.

The buildings in the nearby area had almost all collapsed, so if they wanted to spend the night, their only option was the house beside them. But precisely because there were no other places to stay nearby, anyone from the area could enter this house, adding invisible dangers for the two of them.

The best plan now was to get back to the place Zheng Yingxiong called "Mao" before dark, not only to treat their injuries but also to find shelter.

It all depended on whether this man would let them go.

"What kind of proposal?" Tiantian asked, snapping back to attention.

"I... I was thinking..." The man pressed down on the blooming wound on his hand, "Sis, I'm injured, and that child is too... You don't want him to die, and I have my own reasons for not wanting to die... so could we maybe..."

"Hmm...?" Watching the man hesitate, Tiantian felt the situation was beyond what she had expected, "What do you want to do?"

"Could I take this child to get treated, and you wait here for us...?"

"Ah...?" Tiantian was stunned, "You take him for treatment?"

The other party's suggestion was something Tiantian had never anticipated, making it seem utterly absurd to her.

"Yes... though it sounds ridiculous, I really have reasons I must stay alive..." The young man kept pressing his injured palm, trying to stop the bleeding, but the knife had pierced right through it, and the blood wouldn't stop.

"But that's impossible..." Tiantian shielded Zheng Yingxiong behind her, "We're meeting for the first time; how can I be sure you'll save this child? Your motives are too confusing..."

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already!!" The young man was getting anxious, "To be honest... I'm from the same room as those two big guys. I've wanted to fight back against them for a long time... but they were in cahoots, basically ruling the entire interview room. Now they've 'Hui Xiang' already, but I haven't! If I can't carry my memories to the next cycle, those two will definitely get me killed!!"

"You..." Tiantian felt the young man didn't seem to be lying, but handing an injured child to a stranger was still too risky.

"So I have to stay alive; I need to stop this bleeding right now!" the young man said, "And in the next few days, I have to find a way to make myself 'Hui Xiang'... My wound isn't serious now, but if I don't treat it, I won't be able to do anything in the coming days..."

After hearing his words, Tiantian had a rough idea in her mind. He could have just seized the bicycle, but instead, he was humbly negotiating terms, which suggested he still had some principles.

This sense of principle forced him not to do anything against his morals.

"Even if..." The young man lowered his head silently, "even if you don't agree, that's fine. It's just my request. After all, it was our appearance that caused you so much trouble..."

"Sis, you can agree to him," Zheng Yingxiong said softly from his seat on the bicycle.

"What...?" Tiantian was startled and turned to look at Zheng Yingxiong, "Little brother, don't get involved in this... Relationships between people aren't as simple as you think..."

"Sis, I'm 'Ling Xiu'," Zheng Yingxiong replied with a serious face.

"'Ling Xiu'...?" Tiantian blinked, "Is that your ability...? What does 'Ling Xiu' mean?"

"I can smell the scent on him," Zheng Yingxiong said with a smile, "His scent is very clean, completely different from those two uncles just now."

"Clean...?" Tiantian pondered the two words Zheng Yingxiong had used, finding them a bit hard to grasp, "So you trust him?"

"Mm-hmm." Zheng Yingxiong nodded vigorously, "His scent is like yours, sis—very clean and reassuring."

Hearing Zheng Yingxiong say that, Tiantian felt a bit more at ease. Thinking about it, he had been fixated on "scent" from the beginning, so maybe his ability was to distinguish a person's goodness?

"But where... are you going for treatment?" Tiantian asked.

"Not far!" The young man quickly replied, seeing that things might turn in his favor, "When those black lines were chasing us, we knew it was best not to leave the base area, so we were running in circles. If we ride back, it should take about forty minutes..."

"But even if you can find some supplies, how will you..."

"I'm a student at a traditional Chinese medicine university myself!" the young man hurriedly explained, "Surgery isn't my strongest area, but I know a bit about it! I can definitely treat both myself and this little brother properly—you can rest assured about that!"

Seeing that Tiantian didn't respond for a while, the young man added, "Please, I really need this. Without transportation, walking back would take nearly two hours... and my bleeding won't stop..."

"I agree," Tiantian said, "Since little hero here says so, you two can go together, but just..."

Tiantian sighed helplessly, "This bicycle is already pretty old and has held up this long by sheer luck. If we could find a place to repair it, that would be great; otherwise, I'm worried it might..."

She lowered her head and looked at the bicycle's chain. Then, her eyes widened in surprise.

The previously loose chain and pedals now had gears and wires fully installed, and these gears were even attached to a circuit board, looking a bit odd.

"Huh?" Tiantian was startled and stepped forward to examine the bicycle, "This is really strange... How on earth did this happen?"

"Sis, the scent on you is fluctuating," Zheng Yingxiong said with a smile, "It's 'Qiao Wu' taking effect."