An Xiaomei looked at Xu Qiang — even when he was clearly at death's door, he was still muttering about protecting his country. Her heart trembled slightly.
Yes. No matter what world it was, the most admirable people were always those soldiers who fought for their nation and their people.
An Xiaomei took some hemostatic powder and a thermos of warm water out of her backpack. She first used the hot water to gently wash his wounds, then sprinkled the medicine to stop the bleeding. Her goal was to stabilize his condition and prevent further blood loss.
As for his clothes, she didn't bother changing them — she just gave him a winter outfit to wrap himself in.
Once she was done, she noticed that his breathing had steadied a lot. He no longer seemed as weak and close to death as before. It seemed the worst had passed.
But a new problem presented itself: taking Xu Qiang along was clearly unrealistic; leaving him here alone would be no different from letting him die slowly.
After thinking for a bit, An Xiaomei decided to see this through to the end. After all, everyone here was fighting for the Dragon Nation's survival, and Xu Qiang was even more of a hero for that.
Viewers in the Dragon Nation's livestream were all deeply moved, rejoicing that Xu Qiang had survived. When they thought back on everything he had gone through, the chat filled with sighs and lament.
[Xu Qiang really has the worst luck. He'd just found his first treasure chest when that pack of wolves surrounded him.]
[Those heartless bastards! They're hunting down our Dragon Nation adventurers like madmen!]
[Exactly. Can't win fair and square, so they resort to dirty tricks!]
[Good thing Xu Qiang had a life-saving item, or he never would've lasted until Ms. An arrived.]
[This is bad — we only have five Dragon Nation adventurers left now. Just earlier, two more were killed by those bandits! At this rate, things are looking really grim — the enemy's got the numbers advantage.]
An Xiaomei wasn't idling around, either. She took a few bites of food to restore her strength — she'd need it for the fight ahead. Then she coated every one of her weapons with the toxic bramble sap she'd collected earlier.
Half an hour later, Xu Qiang slowly regained consciousness. Seeing an unfamiliar environment, his body instinctively tried to stand up and stay alert — but the pain from his deep wounds sent him crashing back onto the blanket-covered ground.
"What are you showing off for? Lie down and stay put. Now tell me — what the hell happened to you?"
An Xiaomei's warm yet firm tone made Xu Qiang suddenly think of his late mother — she used to scold him the same way, all bark and no bite. Unfortunately…
He stopped himself from drifting into that memory, turned his head, and looked at his savior.
Ah, it was her again. This familiar scene made Xu Qiang's heart stir — maybe Ms. An really was a Bodhisattva sent by his mother to save him from disaster.
"Ms. An, I've really troubled you again this time!" Xu Qiang said sheepishly with a weak smile.
What? An Xiaomei blinked — did this kid get hit so hard he couldn't hear properly? That wasn't even what she asked!
Helpless, she repeated the question — this time raising her voice deliberately.
The high decibel volume made Xu Qiang's head spin a little, but this time he answered right away:
"Benefactor, you must be careful! There's a group of foreign adventurers who've formed an alliance specifically to target us Dragon Nation people! They tried to kill me and take my treasure chests!"
Xu Qiang hurriedly recounted his encounter, mainly to warn her — if she ever ran into that group, she should run as fast as possible.
After listening, An Xiaomei understood everything.
Those bastards — they couldn't stand to see the Dragon Nation rising in strength and refused to admit that they were now being completely outclassed. So they banded together to bully the few.
"All right, I understand. Do you have any life-saving items on you?"
If anyone else had asked that question, Xu Qiang might have suspected greed. But since it was his savior, he didn't hesitate to tell her.
"Yes. I've got an item called a 'Body Protection Shield.' It can only be activated on the spot — lasts for two hours and can only be used once."
If not for its limits on time and usage, Xu Qiang wouldn't have had to flee in such a sorry state.
That's good, An Xiaomei thought — already forming a new plan in her mind. Still, she decided to explain it to him so he wouldn't misunderstand her intentions.
"Xu Qiang, I'm going to pay those people a visit. You stay here and activate your protection shield. I'll come back for you in two hours."
When Xu Qiang heard she planned to confront that band of thugs, worry immediately filled his face. Seeing that, An Xiaomei added:
"Don't worry. I've got powerful items of my own. I'll make sure I come back in one piece."
Hearing the confidence in her voice — and remembering her strength — Xu Qiang finally let go of his anxiety.
Meanwhile, Darman Raha was busy basking in the flattery of his followers, completely unaware that danger was already closing in.