After lying on the road for a few minutes to rest, Su Xiao managed to stand up. His blood level was around 16%, and he felt extremely tired. The XT-12 Life Vitality Potion had healed most of his injuries, but due to the significant blood loss and exhaustion, the potion couldn't fully restore his strength.
Above the queen's body, a blood-red card floated in the air. The card flickered with a red light in the dark, making it very noticeable. Even from a distance, Su Xiao could sense a bloody smell coming from that red light.
He picked up the blood-red card, and a notification from the Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
"You have obtained the 'Scarlet Card'. Do you want to use it? Yes/No."
"Note: The 'Scarlet Card' is obtained after killing a contractor. Using it will trigger a random draw."
"Note: Each 'Scarlet Card' has three chances to draw items or equipment from the deceased contractor's storage space or worn gear."
"Note: In the Ghoul World, which is a semi-peaceful scene, there is a 50% chance of dropping a 'Scarlet Card' after a contractor dies."
Su Xiao didn't immediately use the 'Scarlet Card' but stored it in his storage space. It wasn't safe right now, and he couldn't confirm if there were other contractors nearby.
He walked over to a sleeping CCG member, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He found a phone on the CCG member and, after a few seconds of thought, dialed a number.
"Mr. Shinohara, my team has been attacked and needs backup."
Shinohara Yukiki, who was in his office handling important documents, immediately stood up. "Are there any casualties? Where are you? I'll rush over right away."
Shinohara Yukiki was a reliable boss, quickly leaving the office to gather personnel. "I’m not sure about the exact location; just track this phone. As for casualties, Shizuo might have died, but I didn’t see his body."
Hearing that Shizuo might be dead made Shinohara Yukiki's chest feel heavy. But this was the fate of a ghoul investigator, so he didn't say much.
"How are you doing, Bai Ye? You sound heavily injured."
"I'm fine, I won't die in a few hours. I'm trying to find Shizuo."
Shizuo was someone Shinohara had assigned to him, and he had helped Su Xiao a lot during the fight. After hanging up, Su Xiao began searching for Shizuo nearby.
Before long, he found Shizuo in a shop by the street, lying face down in a large pool of blood. Su Xiao turned Shizuo over to check his vital signs.
He had to admit, Shizuo was lucky. He had several gunshot wounds, but none were fatal.
"Cough, cough."
Shizuo coughed up some blood and opened his eyes slightly. Su Xiao thought for a moment and took out a Salt Rice Ball, stuffing it into Shizuo's mouth.
Shizuo was unconscious and couldn't chew. This wasn't a problem for Su Xiao; he pressed his fingers together and pushed them into Shizuo's mouth.
"Ugh."
Shizuo let out a weak moan as the Salt Rice Ball got stuck in his throat. Su Xiao saw Shizuo's body jerk, his eyes wide open, looking at him with a gaze that seemed unable to close.
"Gulp."
Shizuo swallowed the Salt Rice Ball and fell unconscious again, perhaps he hadn't really woken up at all.
Su Xiao wasn't sure if the restorative food would work on a plot character, but since Shizuo had helped him before, he would do his best to save him. It was as simple as that.
If it weren't for Shizuo's help, Su Xiao might have died from the combined attack of the queen, the black-and-white, and the leaf.
Initially, Shizuo's role in the fight was crucial. After Su Xiao forcefully fed him the Salt Rice Ball, Shizuo woke up within five minutes; the restorative food had worked.
"Mr. Bai Ye, am I dead?"
"You're not dead; you're still alive."
Su Xiao leaned back against the side, lighting a cigarette, trying to move as little as possible. He had many wounds, and blood was slowly dripping away.
"That woman was really strong; I almost got my head blown off. I'm so happy!"
Shizuo seemed to lack the joy of surviving and was as usual.
"But Mr. Bai Ye, my throat really hurts, and my mouth feels uncomfortable."
Su Xiao, resting with his eyes closed, twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth.
"That's just your imagination."
"Really? But I can taste food in my mouth. It felt like someone forced something into my mouth just now."
"Just your imagination."
Su Xiao looked like a monk in meditation.
"Is that so? Strange."
Shizuo scratched his head, and it seemed like the gunshot wounds on him didn't exist. This might be related to Shizuo's passive ability (Masochist), which turned pain into pleasure.
Before long, there was a commotion outside; Shinohara Yukiki had arrived with people.
"Bai Ye, Bai Ye!"
Shinohara's voice called out. Before Su Xiao could respond, Shizuo shouted.
"Mr. Shinohara! We're over here!"
After Shizuo's shout, Shinohara rushed in with his team.
"Shizuo, so you're okay."
Seeing that Shizuo was alive, Shinohara couldn't help but smile.
"Bai Ye, how are you?"
Shinohara walked over and was shocked when he saw Su Xiao's injuries.
"Quick, get medical personnel right away!"
Seeing Su Xiao's serious injuries made Shinohara alarmed, and he ordered the investigators behind him to find medical staff.
The medical personnel arrived quickly. At this point, Su Xiao felt a bit dizzy; he had lost too much blood. The XT-12 Life Vitality Potion had healed his lower abdomen injury, but its effect had weakened significantly, and other injuries had only partially healed.
"Bai Ye, hang in there."
After arriving at the scene, Shinohara had already guessed the situation. Su Xiao had cleaned up the auction house, and the body bags scattered on the street were the best evidence.
From the explosion at the scene and the bullet marks, it seemed that enemies had ambushed Su Xiao's small team.
In CCG, such things weren't uncommon. While hunting ghouls, they also had to guard against ghoul retaliation.
Su Xiao was lifted onto a stretcher and rushed to the CCG hospital for emergency treatment. In the same medical vehicle, Shizuo was also lying down.
Su Xiao relaxed a bit; the massive blood loss made him want to sleep, but he couldn't.
He didn't trust the CCG much. If the higher-ups suddenly ordered him to receive ghoul organs, he would be in serious trouble.
It sounded absurd, but it wasn't impossible. There were precedents for such things, just not exposed to the public.
So throughout the medical process, Su Xiao stayed awake, refusing blood transfusions and rejecting the doctors' offers of anesthesia.
After urgent treatment, his bleeding stopped, and his injuries stabilized.
Lying on a warm, dry hospital bed, Su Xiao gradually fell asleep. At least in the CCG hospital, he didn't have to worry about threats from the ghouls.
Due to excessive blood loss, he slept for over ten hours before waking up. His health had recovered to 65%. Although his wounds still ached, he was ready to fight again.
Su Xiao sat up, leaning against the hospital bed. After sleeping for so long, he felt energized.
The room was pitch black; it was still night.
The danger had completely passed. Su Xiao smiled wryly, realizing that even in a Level 3 derived world, there was still plenty of danger.
With nothing to do, he took out the 'Green Treasure Chest' he had obtained earlier and the 'Scarlet Card.'
After hesitating for a moment, Su Xiao decided to open the 'Green Treasure Chest' first.
"Do you want to open the treasure chest (green)? Yes/No."
He chose to open it.
This time, opening the treasure chest was different from before. The chest slowly opened, and a dazzling green light emerged from inside, illuminating the entire hospital room...
(End of Chapter)