Doctor Zhou

Baal gave a derisive snort in Chen Guan’s mind. “That kid’s a pretty good actor.”

A military transport plane was already waiting on the tarmac, its fuselage painted the dark gray of the Public Security Department, the emblem of the Great Wall Defense Line stamped on its tail.

A person in uniform stood beside the boarding stairs. When he saw them approach, he saluted An Changqing. “Support squad?”

The voice was familiar. It was Li Ce.

Chen Guan glanced at him and found Li Ce looking back, though his expression remained strictly businesslike.

An Changqing answered in the affirmative, and all seven of them presented their student IDs in turn.

After scanning the last one, Li Ce put away his terminal.

“Board. You’ll reach the Northern Frontier forward base in four hours.”

As Chen Guan stepped onto the boarding stairs, the burning sensation in his left arm suddenly twitched, as though something beneath his skin had turned over.

He did not break stride, simply walking into the cabin.

Baal’s voice drifted over, low and ghostly. “I won’t tell you that the closer you get to the Northern Frontier, the worse your arm will become.”

“You already did.”

Chen Guan took a window seat. Just as Baal had said, the heat beneath the bandages on his left arm was slowly creeping upward, inch by inch.

As for why, Chen Guan had no idea. If Baal knew, the bored old demon would surely tell him on its own.

The cabin door shut, and the roar of the engines filled the space.

The fuselage began to tremble. The plane lifted off and climbed into the sky.

Outside the window, the city rapidly shrank away. Buildings and streets eventually blended into a single gray outline before vanishing into the clouds.

Hong Yuan had already leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Long Ao sat with his arms folded across his chest, his breathing even.

An Changqing was reading a paper file while Su Yuehe leaned in beside him, quietly discussing something with him.

Yin Chen rested with his eyes closed, though every so often he opened one eye to scan the people around him.

Liu Feiyu sat in the last row, earphones in, his gaze fixed on the rolling sea of clouds outside the window. No one knew what he was thinking.

Chen Guan closed his eyes. Just as expected, Baal’s voice rang out again.

“The reason this is happening is that Astaroth’s power is influencing that place as well. You and It are practically at odds now.”

Baal was delighted by this development.

It would protect those under Its wing, but It would not eliminate every danger for them.

Go and grow. Stand at the pinnacle of the world and replace those rotten old things. Only then could more interesting things be created.

…

The transport plane’s engine noise gradually softened, and a break opened in the clouds beyond the window.

The outline of a Northern Frontier city emerged below: gray-white defensive settlements, a sprawling mountain range in the distance, and even the sky seemed washed in snowy white.

Chen Guan opened his eyes. The burning beneath the bandages on his left arm had already spread close to his shoulder. Something seemed to be crawling and writhing through his flesh.

Hong Yuan was already on her feet, stretching lazily. Long Ao opened his eyes as well and rolled his shoulders. Noticing Chen Guan’s discomfort, he asked, “Your arm... is it hurting again?”

Chen Guan turned toward the window and watched the Northern Frontier landscape grow ever closer. “A little.”

An Changqing rose from his seat and handed the file in his hands to Su Yuehe. “Go straight to the medical unit once we land.”

His tone allowed no argument, but it was not overbearing.

Su Yuehe nodded and turned to Chen Guan. “Come with me.”

Yin Chen rose as well, casually smoothing the creases in his clothes. Liu Feiyu removed one earphone and turned down the volume. He shot Chen Guan a sidelong look, opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, then ultimately said nothing.

Chen Guan did not object. The plane shuddered once more as its wheels touched the runway.

The flight was over. The cabin door opened, and the Northern Frontier’s distinctively dry, frigid air rushed inside. Chen Guan’s breath caught. Just as he had thought, he did not like the climate here.

Li Ce stood at the edge of the tarmac. Seeing them disembark, he gave them a salute.

Behind him stood two members of the Great Wall Defense Line. One was a middle-aged man with a colonel’s insignia pinned to his chest. The other was a young woman with a hard, cold face. Her gaze swept across their group without lingering on anyone.

The colonel stepped forward, his eyes settling on An Changqing.

“An Changqing, correct?”

An Changqing gave a slight nod.

“I’m Deputy Commander Song of the Northern Frontier Defense Line Forward Command.”

“This is the on-site leader for this reconnaissance mission. Codename: White Eagle.”

White Eagle did not offer a handshake. She merely swept them with a chilly glance.

“You were briefed on the mission during the journey, weren’t you?”

“We know some of it,” An Changqing replied.

“Good.”

After saying that, White Eagle turned and got into a vehicle without another word. She was clearly a capable and efficient sort.

The convoy stopped outside the gates of a military camp. Behind them stood rows of barracks and straight stretches of barbed-wire fencing.

After completing the usual procedures—registration, verification, and clearance—they were assigned to student quarters in the temporary encampment.

The facilities here were rudimentary. Each room contained only beds, lockers, and a washbasin, with nothing extra.

The moment they entered, Su Yuehe impatiently turned around and pulled Chen Guan toward the door.

“Now.”

When Chen Guan got to his feet, his entire left arm was trembling. Black fluid had seeped through parts of the bandages.

The medical area was on the south side of the camp, in a separate building with more than ten treatment rooms.

The moment Su Yuehe entered, she gave Chen Guan’s name. The medic at the front desk changed expression and immediately contacted his superior.

Doctor Zhou was a straight-backed middle-aged woman with her hair tied in a neat, efficient bun. Her eyes were sharp, and at a glance she could tell just how severe the problem beneath the bandages was.

“Get in here. Quickly.”

The treatment room was spotless, its instruments and medicines arranged with meticulous order.

Doctor Zhou had Chen Guan lie down on the treatment bed. The instant she cut away the bandages, a pungent, stinging odor filled the room.

The exposed skin had turned completely black. From his elbow upward, black patterns crawled toward his shoulder like living things.

Doctor Zhou’s expression shifted. It had been a long time since she had seen an injury this severe on someone so young.

She took a bottle of emerald-green liquid and several needles gleaming with a cold light from the medicine cabinet.

“With demonic corruption, ointments can slow it down in the early stages. But once it enters the active phase, purification must begin immediately. Otherwise, the toxic corruption will accelerate.”

She located the darkest, deepest line near Chen Guan’s shoulder and injected the green liquid into it.

The instant it entered his body, every muscle in Chen Guan’s body went taut. Excruciating pain surged wildly up from the ends of his nerves. Doctor Zhou pressed a hand against his shoulder to keep him from moving.

“Bear with it.”

Su Yuehe stood beside the treatment bed, took Chen Guan’s right hand, and let him grip her fingers.

“It’ll be over soon.”

Doctor Zhou pushed in the second injection. Chen Guan’s entire left arm shook violently, and a burst of bluish-purple light flared across it.

At the same time, a faint blue glow appeared in Doctor Zhou’s hand—the sign that life-affinity purification had begun. The green liquid coursed through Chen Guan’s blood vessels, trying to flush out the black substance.

When the third injection went in, Chen Guan finally could not hold on any longer. The back of his head sank against the padding of the treatment bed.

“How are you feeling?”

Doctor Zhou paused and checked his pupils.