Chapter 304
But this was only the beginning. With the gauze removed, Suzy’s injury was fully exposed. Aaron finally got a clear look at it. A bullet had grazed her shoulder, tearing away a chunk of flesh. The wound wasn’t deep, but it was long, and blood was still seeping out. The dark red blood trickled down her shoulder; the wound had started bleeding again.
Aaron’s fingers hesitated for a moment, his throat tightening. He swallowed back the wave of nausea rising in his chest, took a deep breath, and picked up the iodophor.
"It’s pretty bad," he murmured.
Suzy glanced sideways at her shoulder. The area was a gory mess of blood and torn flesh, looking exceptionally gruesome against her pale skin. She didn’t dare look too closely and quickly averted her eyes.
Almost through gritted teeth, she said, "Yeah. Don’t worry, I can take it."
Aaron glanced at her, took out a clean cotton swab, and dipped it in the iodophor. Before starting the disinfection, he said, "I’m going to continue now."
"Okay," Suzy replied.
Aaron took a deep breath and gently pressed the iodophor-soaked swab against the edge of Suzy’s wound. His hand was visibly trembling. He wasn’t the one in pain, yet he was no less nervous than Suzy.
The moment the iodophor touched the raw flesh, Suzy’s body instantly tensed. Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead, her lips compressed into a tight line, and her jaw clenched hard. She held it in and didn’t cry out, but Aaron could feel her shaking—her frail frame trembling uncontrollably.
"You can scream if it hurts," Aaron’s voice strained, his movements becoming even lighter. As if suddenly remembering something, he extended his free hand toward her. "You can hold my hand if you can’t take it."
Suzy looked down, her gaze falling on his outstretched arm. His skin was pale, and he clearly exercised regularly, as his forearm muscle was lean and firm. However, due to the recent fight, his arm was smudged with dirt and marred by a few faint, red scratches.
"No need," Suzy forced a weak smile. "That would make me look so pathetic."
Despite her words, her voice was incredibly airy, carrying no conviction at all.
Seeing her reluctance, Aaron didn’t push it. He thoroughly coated the skin around the wound with iodophor, then gently sprinkled the hemostatic powder over it. When the powder hit the open wound, Suzy’s body rigidified once more, but she still didn’t make a sound.
Immediately after, Aaron unfolded the gauze and began wrapping it layer by layer around Suzy’s shoulder. He wound every loop meticulously—not too tight, fearing it would hurt her, but not too loose, fearing it wouldn’t stop the bleeding.
As the first layer of gauze went on, blood quickly seeped through. The dark red liquid rapidly stained the clean, white fabric, blooming like a gruesome flower. Aaron’s pupils contracted slightly, and his fingers paused for a split second before he forced himself to keep wrapping.
By the second layer, the blood bled through even faster. It soaked through almost the instant the gauze touched the skin, the red stain expanding rapidly.
Aaron’s hands began to shake violently. He pressed down on the wound, attempting to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, but the blood welled up through his fingers instead, completely uncontrollable.
"...Why won’t it stop?"
His voice cracked slightly, tinged with a panic he hadn’t even realized himself. The blood was gushing heavily, as if something inside Suzy’s body had ruptured and couldn’t be plugged.
Suzy was also a bit dazed. She looked down at Aaron’s frantic movements, then looked up at his panic-stricken face. She opened her mouth, wanting to tell him she was fine.
But before the words could leave her lips, a sudden wave of dizziness hit her like a truck.
The light before her eyes began to sway, and Aaron’s face blurred. She seemed to hear something in her ears, but it sounded muffled, as if separated by a thick pane of glass. She felt her hand slide off her knee, and her body began to pitch forward. She wanted to grab onto something, but her limbs had no strength left.
In her final moments of consciousness, she saw Aaron look up, staring at her blankly with eyes full of confusion and desperation.
Then, everything plunged into darkness.
An eerie silence returned to the room.
Aaron froze in place, reaching out just in time to catch Suzy. She had completely passed out, her head resting limply against his shoulder, her body heavy and unresponsive.
Aaron called her name several times in quick succession, but Suzy didn’t respond. He placed his hand under her nose—thankfully, she was still breathing, though it was incredibly weak and shallow.
However, Suzy’s body was noticeably growing cold.
She isn’t... going to die, is she?
Aaron’s mind went entirely blank.
She had saved him, but now she was dying?
Though she had been shot from the very beginning, Suzy’s condition hadn’t been this dire. Her health had never been great to begin with, and now, the excessive blood loss had made things significantly worse.
If Suzy died because of this, a massive part of the responsibility would fall on him. Panic and unease swelled within Aaron. Her heavy, limp body pressed against him, weighing down on his chest so heavily that he could barely breathe.
A flicker of internal struggle flashed across his eyes.
After a brief moment, he carefully laid Suzy down on the soft sofa and tried to staunch the bleeding once more. His palms were already soaked in blood—all of it Suzy’s.
***
Meanwhile, Leonard and the others were still immersed in the joy of their bountiful harvest, completely unaware of what was happening back home.
They had just completely cleaned out Ray’s old stronghold, hauling in an countless amount of loot. Lucas had somehow managed to scrounge up a flatbed trolley, neatly stacking crates of food, medicine, cigarettes, and alcohol until they piled up like a mini-mountain.
The original members of the organization had also been ordered to help carry the supplies. With their boss, Ray, dead and Leonard’s group holding the guns, no one dared to resist. They could only obediently follow orders.
Leonard was personally hauling two large backpacks stuffed to the brim with gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, and calligraphy paintings. The backpacks were heavy, making his shoulders ache, but the grin on his face refused to fade.
"Thomas, do you think Suzy will jump for joy when she sees all this?" Leonard turned his head and asked with a laugh.
Thomas was also carrying a backpack that clinked and rattled as he walked. The corner of his mouth curved up into a very subtle arc—the smile was faint, but it was definitely there.
"She will," he said.
Derek followed closely behind them, a backpack in his own hands. His refined features were relaxed, and his pace was quick. He was already burning with anticipation, wanting nothing more than to show Suzy everything they had gathered today.
Everyone was in high spirits. They hadn’t expected to resolve the organization’s threat so smoothly, let alone score a mountain of free supplies. They had hit the absolute jackpot. After this, they were confident no one would dare trouble them again. The man back at the base had also promised that their people would never harass Building 8 again. From now on, their paths would diverge, and they would mind their own business.
The group walked toward Building 8, their steps light and brisk. Lucas pushed the supply-laden trolley, a massive grin on his face.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and looked up at the sky.
"The weather... looks like it’s going to snow again," Lucas muttered. "We’d better hurry up."
Hearing his words, the others glanced up at the sky as well. The clear, sunny sky from earlier had already been swallowed by dark clouds. The sky hung low and heavy, casting an oppressive gloom.
Thomas narrowed his eyes and agreed, "Yeah, it’s going to snow."
The group quickened their pace once more.
It was a fair distance from Building 1 to Building 8. As they walked, Lucas couldn’t help but marvel, "We really struck it rich this time. With all this food, if we ration it carefully, it’ll last us at least six months to a year."
The items Lucas brought back were just a small fraction of what was in Ray’s warehouse. He had specifically picked out the most valuable goods to bring back themselves. It wasn’t that they were abandoning the rest of the supplies; in a little while, Ray’s brother-in-law would have his subordinates deliver the remaining goods over.
After Ray’s death, the brother-in-law had naturally become the new speaker for the organization. He had made it clear that as long as Leonard and the others spared his life, he didn’t care about the supplies at all. It had to be said, the man knew how to read the room.
The distance gradually shortened.
With Building 8 just within arm’s reach, everyone felt a surge of excitement. Leonard and Thomas, in particular, unconsciously sped up, as if delaying by even a single step would cause them to miss something important.
Leonard had already planned it all out: the moment they got back, he would dump all these treasures right onto the coffee table and show them to Suzy one by one.
She was going to be so happy.
"Hurry up, let’s move!"