After Cui Ji fled, the group had no reason to stay. They took Number 11 and rushed back to Sixth Street.
Looking at the pained Number 11, both Anby and Trigger were filled with worry. This situation was a mess. Number 11 needed immediate medical attention, but they couldn't contact the military, and a regular hospital wouldn't be able to treat this kind of poison.
They had no choice but to rely on Mo Wang, the half-baked healer of Abundance.
Fortunately, the technology in Zenless Zone Zero wasn't particularly advanced, and Cui Ji hadn't actually intended to kill Number 11. Soon enough, Mo Wang had successfully stabilized her condition.
"How is she? Is she going to be okay?" Trigger rushed over as soon as he was done.
"Relax, you know me. Would I let anything happen to Number 11?" he said shamelessly, though in reality, he'd been racking his brain to find a solution. "This kind of childish poison is a piece of cake for me."
"Phew~ That's a relief." Trigger finally let out a breath. But then she looked at him with a strange expression. She'd known him for years, but she still couldn't figure him out. Every time they met, he managed to surprise her.
He was strong, a master of machinery, and possessed all sorts of black-ops technology that even the Defense Force didn't have. And now, he was a skilled doctor too.
"Ahem, I know I'm impressive, but you don't have to stare at me like that," he teased. "If you admire me too much, you might fall in love with me one day."
"Well, if it's you, Boss, I don't think that would be so bad," she replied, not at all flustered. "A strong, talented man like you... I don't dislike that at all. And you've helped me so much... hmm... now that you mention it, you'd make a pretty good boyfriend."
"Ahem, are you serious?" he asked, surprised that his teasing had been turned back on him.
"Of course I'm serious. What? Do you mind that I can't see?"
"Of course not," he said with a nervous laugh. "But I'm sorry, I'm not looking for a relationship right now."
"That's a shame. But I understand."
"Ahem, you should go check on Number 11. I'll go find Anby." The cute, blushing Anby was much more fun to tease than the unflappable Trigger.
He found Anby sitting quietly on a chair in the video store, lost in thought. He snuck up behind her and touched her neck with a cold can of soda.
"Eek! What?" She jumped, and then saw him standing there, holding a can of cola, a grin on his face.
"What's wrong? Still thinking about your sister?" he asked, handing her the drink.
"Ah~ um." She took the can, her face turning red as she quickly looked away.
What's wrong with her? he wondered. I haven't even started teasing her yet.
"Um... is Xia Lin... Number 11, okay?" she finally asked after a long silence.
"Of course. I handled it. You'll see your kuudere little sister up and running tomorrow," he said with a thumbs-up.
"Um... thank you."
"What are you thanking me for? We're friends, aren't we?"
At the mention of their "relationship," she blushed even redder, remembering what Cui Ji had said.
Mo Wang: ?Did I say something wrong again? Why is she blushing so much?
"What's wrong with you today? Are you sick?" he asked, and placed a hand on her forehead. "You don't have a fever."
"You're the one with a fever!" she snapped, and slapped his hand away. Why is he so dense at times like this?
"Well, if you're not sick, why are you blushing all the time?"
"It's because... you called them my sisters-in-law in front of Cui Ji," she mumbled.
"Oh, so that's what you were embarrassed about?"
She sighed in exasperation. She knew what he was like, so she didn't say anything more.
"So," she said after a while, "don't you want to ask me about Cui Ji?"
"Uh, to be honest, not really," he said, scratching his head. He could already guess what the story was. "But of course, if you want to talk, I'm all ears."
"That girl, her name is Cui Ji," she began. "She was on the same team as me and Xia Lin. She's one of the survivors of the Silver Squad."
"Oh, so she's as strong as you and Number 11?"
"No. She was the only one on the team who wasn't good at combat. She was always the support unit."
"Ah, the brains of the operation. No wonder she became the villain," he said, nodding. It was a classic story. The strongest member of a team is betrayed, the squad is destroyed, and the weakest member, feeling abandoned, vows revenge.
"It's my fault. If I had been stronger back then, maybe Cui Ji wouldn't have had to go through all that," she said, her head bowed.
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," he said, ruffling her hair. "It's the military's fault, not yours. If you're that upset, I can go take care of them for you."
He knew the whole story. The Silver Squad project was too expensive and unethical, so it was shut down. But instead of just decommissioning the soldiers, the military decided to send them on a suicide mission to cover their tracks, leaving only one survivor.
It was supposed to be Anby, but she switched places with Number 11 to save her.
"If you took out the military, you wouldn't be able to live a normal life anymore, would you?" she said with a faint smile, thinking he was just joking.
"Maybe not. Maybe I'm crazier than you think. To be honest, you're not planning to go off and die, are you?" he asked, his gaze suddenly sharp.
"Wh... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Really? Because I heard someone just quit her job."
"You... you already called Nicole?"
"Of course. Did you think she wouldn't call me after you quit?"
"Well... there are reasons."
"Don't explain to me. Go tell the Cunning Hares. I know what you're worried about. You're afraid of the military, aren't you? But do you really think Nicole and the others are that weak? And besides, you have me. Don't worry. As long as I'm here, I promise that no one, not you, not Number 11, and not your other sisters, will die this time."
She looked at him, and for the first time, she felt a sense of peace.