Chapter 85

Chapter 85: The Employment Relationship with Gao Yue

The first thing Gu Ning did upon returning to the gathering place was to hide in the bathroom and enter her space.

Sure enough, the water level had receded a bit further.

After exiting her space, Gu Ning and the others tallied up their spoils from the past few days. They had seven Mutation Crystal Cores, five colored crystal cores, and a lot of transparent crystal cores—about forty in total. More than twenty of these were harvested just today, which also proved that evolved zombies were becoming more common.

Their team now had ten Special Ability users. Third Brother suggested that the crystal cores be evenly distributed among the ten of them. The colored and Mutation Crystal Cores would be managed by Gu Ning, and no one objected to this.

It was still early; they had left at 10:30 in the morning, and it was only 2:00 in the afternoon now.

After lunch, some took naps, while those who couldn’t sleep laughingly asked Gu Ning to take out a deck of cards from her space. They gathered around to play, betting with crystal cores.

They also brought out a mahjong set for Gu Mama and Hong Jie to play with.

The soldiers who weren’t on duty at the gate gathered around to watch, munching on peanuts and melon seeds. The room was lively.

Gu Ning’s father wasn’t interested in card games, so Gu Ning brought out the books she had collected from the supermarket for him to choose from.

Looking at the bustling scene in the room, Gu Ning felt a momentary illusion that she was in another world.

She smiled and walked out of the room, sitting down on the front yard steps next to her father. In the yard, a few kids were practicing holding rifles.

The rifles weighed about six or seven pounds. Most of the kids couldn’t hold them for more than two minutes before needing a break, even though they were trying to show off in front of Gu Ning. However, Wu Sen, the chubby kid, Zuo You, and the little girl He He were exceptionally serious. They were the oldest among the kids, and He He, being a girl, showed remarkable resilience that even Gu Ning’s father couldn’t help but praise.

The weather had turned cooler, but the three kids were drenched in sweat. The chubby kid in the middle even had sweat dripping down his pants.

Sweat dripped into their eyes, making them blink constantly, but they refused to put the rifles down. Gu Ning couldn’t stand it and went over with a towel to wipe their faces.

Zuo You was the first to put the rifle down, followed by He He a few seconds later. Wu Sen, however, stubbornly held on for two more minutes before finally putting it down, his hands trembling.

Gu Ning waved them over and said, “You three, come here.”

“I’ve been practicing for a long time. I used to be able to hold it for over ten minutes!” Wu Sen said, a mix of urgency and frustration, afraid that Gu Ning would think he could only last that long.

“You’re doing great,” Gu Ning said encouragingly, looking at him and the other two, who were eagerly watching her. “You’re all doing great.”

Zuo You grinned, his chubby cheeks making his eyes look even smaller. He scratched his head shyly and said, “They’re much better than me. If it weren’t for their encouragement, I wouldn’t have lasted this long, hehe.” Then he cautiously asked, “When can we really learn to shoot?”

Gu Ning thought for a moment and said, “When you can hold the rifle for twenty minutes.”

Zuo You immediately deflated. “I can only hold it for eight minutes at most right now.”

Wu Sen, however, looked delighted. “Then I can learn to shoot tomorrow!”

Gu Ning smiled and nodded. “As long as you can hold the rifle for twenty minutes, I’ll have someone teach you how to shoot.”

Wu Sen nodded, then cautiously glanced at Gu Ning. Seeing that she wasn’t as unapproachable as usual, he gathered his courage and said, “I heard that your marksmanship is the best. Can you teach us yourself?”

He He and Zuo You also looked at Gu Ning nervously, afraid she would refuse.

Seeing the hope and anxiety on their faces, Gu Ning thought for a moment and said, “If I have time.”

Some of the older kids who were resting nearby overheard this and looked at Wu Sen and the others with a different expression.

“Don’t practice anymore today. Go inside and have Jia Daozhang get you some ice to reduce the swelling,” Gu Ning said, looking at their swollen arms.

“I’m not tired yet!” Wu Sen said, his eyes shining. “I can rest for a bit and then keep practicing.”

Gu Ning said, “You need to balance work and rest. You’ve done enough training for today. If you get injured from overtraining, it won’t be worth it.”

Though still reluctant, Wu Sen obediently nodded and said, “Alright.”

Then Gu Ning’s father took them inside to find Jia Daozhang.

Gu Ning glanced at the kids who had picked up their rifles and started practicing again, then headed toward the infirmary.

Before she even reached the infirmary, she saw a crowd gathered at the door from a distance.

She saw Gao Yue standing at the door, being scolded by someone. Instead of intervening immediately, she stood on the stairs next to the infirmary and watched.

A middle-aged man pointed at Gao Yue and shouted, “Aren’t you a doctor?! His foot is injured, why won’t you treat him?!”

Gao Yue remained expressionless, appearing cold. “I am a doctor, but I don’t have any medicine. If you have medicine, of course I can treat him.”

The man cursed, “Then why were you able to treat those other people before?! A doctor’s heart should be like a parent’s! How can you be so profit-driven?! What did they give you?! Just a few pieces of bread! Are you really willing to throw away your conscience for that?!”

Gao Yue showed no trace of anger. She stood on the steps, looking down at the man, and said, “I treated them because they provided the medicine. The supplies were their payment to me. I’m not married, nor do I have any children, so I don’t know what a parent’s heart is. I’m human, not a god. I need to eat to survive. Even before the apocalypse, you had to pay to get treated at a hospital. If you have medicine, I’ll naturally treat you. If not, please don’t block the door and ruin my business.” She was wearing a dirty white coat, her hands in its pockets, openly referring to treating others as a business. Even Gu Ning was surprised.

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth but couldn’t come up with a retort. He just muttered a few curses before limping away with his injured foot.

The onlookers, seeing that the show was over, dispersed with some disappointment.

Gao Yue glanced at Gu Ning standing on the stairs and asked, “Are you here for me or to watch the show?”

Gu Ning smiled. “For you.”

Gao Yue raised an eyebrow and said, “Come in, then.” She turned and walked inside.

Gu Ning descended the stairs and entered the infirmary.

“Water is a scarce resource now, so I won’t offer you any,” Gao Yue said, sitting down and crossing her legs naturally. Gu Ning couldn’t help but notice that, like Zhuang Chen, Gao Yue had long, beautiful legs. After sitting down, Gao Yue said to Gu Ning, “Sit.”

Once Gu Ning was seated, Gao Yue continued, “What’s the matter? Speak.”

Gu Ning didn’t beat around the bush. “I just want to ask you one question. If there’s a team that can provide you with enough medicine and ensure you never have to worry about supplies, would you be willing to join?”

Gao Yue stared at Gu Ning, her expression meaningful. “It seems you’ve had quite a successful trip this time. But saying you’ll never have to worry about supplies is quite a bold claim.”

Gu Ning smiled but didn’t confirm or deny it.

Gao Yue fell silent, studying Gu Ning carefully. Finally, she said, “I only have two conditions.”

Gu Ning gestured for her to continue.

Gao Yue said, “First, if you can’t fulfill the two promises you just made, I can leave the team at any time.”

“Second, I hope we can maintain a purely professional relationship.”

Gu Ning was surprised by Gao Yue’s second condition, but after a moment’s thought, she understood why Gao Yue had said it. She thought for a moment and then said, “No problem.”

Gao Yue frowned, a bit taken aback by Gu Ning’s quick agreement. But there was no doubt that the conditions Gu Ning offered were incredibly tempting for her. She stood up, looked around, and said, “I don’t have any luggage to pack. Let’s go now, Boss Gu.”

Gu Ning chuckled and stood up.

“By the way, there’s something I want to ask you,” Gao Yue said as they walked. “How did you heal Method’s injury?” She had examined Method’s wound that day and knew it would be hard to heal without stitches. Yet today, she had seen Method walking around with ease.

Gu Ning smiled and said, “I think if we’re just in a professional relationship, I don’t need to explain that to you.”

Gao Yue raised an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting Gu Ning to throw her words back at her so quickly.

No one was surprised when Gu Ning brought Gao Yue back. After all, with the kind of benefits they offered, it wasn’t strange that others would want to join.

However, Gao Yue was momentarily stunned by the sight of a room full of people laughing and playing cards while snacking on peanuts and melon seeds. But she quickly regained her composure and said to Gu Ning, “You should show me your capabilities now, Boss Gu.”

Gu Ning called over Huang Mengyao. “Huang Mengyao, take her to see our storage.”

Huang Mengyao smiled. “Dr. Gao, follow me.” She then led Gao Yue to the second floor.

“Ningning, why is Dr. Gao calling you Boss Gu? It sounds a bit odd,” Gu Mama asked while playing mahjong, not missing the conversation.

Gu Ning smiled and said, “If she likes it, let her.”

She didn’t even bother explaining Gao Yue’s conditions to the others. She felt it wasn’t necessary. Even in a professional relationship, Gu Ning believed Gao Yue wouldn’t find a better boss than her.

When Gao Yue came down from the second floor, her look at Gu Ning had changed. One room on the second floor was filled with medical equipment and various medicines that Gu Ning had specifically stored there, while the adjacent room was packed with supplies.

Third Brother, while looking at his mahjong tiles, raised his voice and said, “Hey, hey! Let’s all introduce ourselves! Let Dr. Gao get to know everyone! Hey! Don’t move! I need that three of bamboos!”

Luo Long was the first to respond. “I’m Luo Long, a Metal-type Special Ability user!”

Zhong Xu said, “Tsk, Luo Long, you’re always showing off your Special Ability. She just asked for an introduction, not your Special Ability—Dr. Gao, we’ve met before. Let me introduce myself again. I’m Zhong Xu, a Water-type Special Ability user!”

Luo Long cursed, “Hey! Zhong Xu, you’re so shameless!”

Amid the noisy room, Gao Yue got to know everyone.

Third Brother summed it up, “From now on, our health is in your hands, Dr. Gao!”

Gao Yue actually smiled, which was rare.

Gu Ning secretly laughed, thinking that Gao Yue must have been impressed by the room full of Special Ability users.

“By the way, where are Jia Daozhang and Method?” Gu Ning suddenly asked.

Third Brother said, “They probably went out for a walk.”