Chapter 4

Mia, the assistant, spoke with difficulty.

“Professor Albright, all the healing medics in the entire base have been called to Captain Celeste’s room by the Commander. Miss Celeste scratched her finger while testing a weapon, and Commander Caleb is worried something might happen to her, so he’s keeping all the healing medics on standby.”

“Right now, there are no healing medics in the entire base.”

Professor Albright was furious, constantly making calls. “He’s gone mad! His own wife is critically injured and clinging to life, yet he calls away all her healing medics for some mistress, completely disregarding her fate!”

The communicator finally connected after the twentieth attempt.

“Is Astrid stirring up trouble again and making you call me to back her up?”

Professor Albright shouted excitedly, “Astrid is bleeding internally and has fainted! Several of our brothers in the team are about to die! And you’ve taken away her healing medics! Do you want to kill the base’s elite unit?!”

Caleb scoffed, “Did Astrid tell you to call me? Her check-up was perfectly fine, what’s this critically injured and dying act now?”

“Alright, alright, I still have Celeste and her team’s victory banquet to attend. She wants healing medics, does she? I’ll send someone over.”

Professor Albright hung up the call, gripping my hand tightly.

“Don’t be afraid, Astrid, the healing medics will be here soon.”

I felt my life force gradually fading.

I thought of my previous life, how my teammates were similarly stabbed in the back by Caleb’s team, eaten alive by zombies.

I trembled all over, pulling Professor Albright’s hand, and said with difficulty.

“Professor Albright, you promised me you’d treat me like your own child. If Caleb didn’t treat me well, you’d help me get away from him.”

“I just want to save Leo’s life, and then survive.”

Professor Albright was already in tears, saying repeatedly.

“After Caleb was saved by you, he loved you so much. It’s all that vile creature, Celeste’s, doing. If she hadn’t suddenly appeared, you two wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

I gave a tragic smile. How could a life-and-death companion, who once fought alongside me, become like this? The man who, after repelling zombies, would blush and say he’d face life and death with me, swearing that if he ever betrayed me, he’d die a horrible death, with no corpse left behind.

Now, for another woman, he abandoned me without a second thought.

“Please, Professor Albright.”

I gritted out each word.

Listening to my plea, Professor Albright finally nodded.

“Tomorrow, I will announce that you are the sole power-user of Zone C. As for that ungrateful beast, I will no longer assist him!”

Professor Albright immediately left to deal with the matter.

I lay on the medical bed, the sharp pain in my abdomen surging like a tide.

Professor Albright’s young assistant, Mia, anxiously kept hoping the healing medics sent by Caleb would arrive.

Finally, someone came.

But it wasn’t a healing medic; it was a logistics orderly.

Seeing the bloody scene in the medical bay, he handed over a few bandages and a bottle of expired disinfectant.

“Commander Caleb said it’s just a minor injury, nothing life-threatening. He told you to deal with it yourselves and stop bothering him with such disgusting things.”

Mia cried and smashed the box.

“Astrid, I’ll take you and the brothers to another base right now. You have to hold on.”

My vision went black, and I finally passed out.

When I woke up again, it was to a bucket of ice-cold snow water being abruptly poured over me.

Caleb’s face, full of disgust, loomed before me.

“You’re awake, stop faking it.”

He looked down at me. “You know I’m about to announce the oasis and Celeste’s achievements, yet you’re making a scene about going to my enemy base. You just want everyone to think Celeste is bullying you, don’t you?”

Celeste, clutching a report, stood behind him, tears streaming down her face, looking utterly pathetic.

“Astrid, I know you hate me. But it’s okay to get revenge on me, why did you have Professor Albright try to steal my credit?”