Chapter 355: The Inverted World (3k)
“What is this…”
Leaning in her wheelchair, Su Jiu gently tapped the armrest, not stepping forward immediately, but watching quietly. Her gaze shifted from the dirty girl’s face to the woman who looked like an alchemist. A term from a novel popped into her mind: a body broker.
The male protagonist, Bai Ming, had also experienced the monster wars in the northern territories. Where there are wars, there are groups operating in the black market. They have professional medical teams, mainly consisting of alchemists, who buy organs from the dead or dying at extremely low prices, transmute them, and then resell them to those in need.
Due to their secrecy and their presence only in war-torn areas, many national organizations were helpless against them. Of course, the main reason was that they did not completely violate the bottom lines of those countries, tacitly adhering to the “spirit of contract.”
Their name is…
“Can you Ravens get lost?! We don’t need your food.”
An elderly White woman wearing a yellow chrysanthemum apron suddenly stepped in front of the middle-aged woman, reprimanding her in a low voice. With a wave of her large arm, she shielded the girl behind her.
“If you don’t want it, you don’t want it. We’ve been here for a long time, and you’ll need us sooner or later. When you do, remember to mention my name—Aers, and I’ll give you more grain then.”
The middle-aged woman withdrew her medicine bottle, smiling indifferently. As she put away the bottle, she smilingly pointed to a church-like building not far away and said softly.
After speaking, Aers turned to leave directly. In the moment she turned, her gaze met Su Jiu’s, and she saw the white doctor’s coat on the latter.
“A priest in a white doctor’s coat? And with a red ribbon, are you from the Red Cross?”
She couldn’t help but frown, but quickly smiled, seeming to notice Su Jiu’s young age and doctor’s attire, she spoke with a hint of disdain.
Before they came, Su Jiu had also tied a red ribbon on Bairnis, so it was normal for both of them to be recognized with red ribbons.
Not perceiving any strangeness in the other party’s tone, Su Jiu met her gaze and asked in a neutral tone, “What’s wrong? How can an organization like yours come to the ‘Urs battlefield,’ but we can’t?”
After speaking, she let Bairnis continue pushing her forward. Su Jiu roughly understood the situation: the girl, about 14 years old, likely had an injured relative who had been targeted by the Ravens.
Su Jiu was not fond of the Raven organization. Internationally, it was defined as a gray organization, but in her opinion, they were just a pack of jackals who profited from war.
Slightly stunned by Su Jiu’s retort, Aers’s lips curled into an inexplicable smile. She said lightly, “Hehe, I advise you not to meddle. Instead of indiscriminately showing your kindness, be careful not to attract the attention of the Yela Army.”
“Heh, then I won’t trouble you, Ms. Raven. I’ll save whoever I want to save.”
Su Jiu’s eyes narrowed slightly. She could feel a slight threat in the other party’s words, but what amused her was the mention of attracting the Yela Army’s attention—what did that mean?
Hadn’t their Red Cross already signed agreements with both armies? Moreover, according to international regulations, international organizations could not be attacked.
“Suit yourself. Anyway, we’ll be waiting here. It’s just that one less resource will be available.”
Aers put her hands in the pockets of her beige trench coat and walked towards the church without looking back. Just as she was about to disappear into the crowd, she suddenly stopped and said with a light laugh, “The war has just begun… You can’t save everyone.”
“It won’t last much longer. The peace treaty is already being revised. You should worry about being held accountable by the United Nations yourself.”
Just as Su Jiu was about to reply, a rough voice sounded. She immediately turned her head and saw Liu Gang, who had appeared out of nowhere. He was holding a roll of bandages, seemingly having just finished a rescue.
“United Nations? Heh…” Aers chuckled and merged into the crowd, leaving the three of them watching in silence. “See, the war won’t end so soon. You are just a grain of sand in this Moon Sunken Sea, unable to create a ripple.”
Su Jiu looked back at the unconcerned figure and suddenly felt that this war might not end so quickly.
Although the Yela, as the aggressor nation on the internet, didn’t have much negative news, she had a strange feeling as soon as she arrived at this harbor.
Would there really be so many civilian casualties in a modern war?
What had they experienced in this war zone… Wouldn’t it be better to seek refuge in international hospitals along the way if they weren’t going out to sea?
“Didn’t they promise to designate a survival zone for us? Isn’t this West Harbor Area safe?”
“Heh, you actually still believe the lies of those Yela people. My second aunt was killed in an airstrike while sleeping. Let’s run away quickly!”
“Run? Run where? No nearby country is willing to take us in. This is the safe zone.”
Aers’s words seemed to startle the crowd. The already crowded thoroughfare became even more boisterous. These refugees, already fleeing, became even more panicked by this outburst.
“Who did he go to save just now?”
Ignoring the crowd, Su Jiu glanced at Liu Gang. She found that he, without paying attention to the crowd’s panic, smiled at her and walked towards the girl. Bending slightly, he tried to soften his voice and said, “Little girl, I am a member of the International Red Cross. May I see the casualty behind you?”
“Weiss, this is a doctor. He can save your sister. Hurry and let him take a look.”
The elderly woman knew this organization and quickly made way, tugging at the girl’s arm and saying softly.
The girl remained silent. Seeing Liu Gang’s fierce appearance, her eyes held a hint of vigilance, and she still tightly blocked a yellow object that resembled a body bag.
Scratching his shiny bald head, Liu Gang was a bit unsure of what to do, his expression somewhat troubled. He pointed to the person wrapped in the yellow plastic bag and said helplessly, “Your sister, she can’t hold on much longer. Her pulse is very weak. Did she suffer extensive injuries?”
“That woman just now also said she was a doctor, but after looking at my sister, she wanted to buy her corpse with money.”
Hearing Liu Gang and the elderly woman’s words, the girl’s expression also changed slightly. She turned to look at her sister, but still blocked him stubbornly, replying in a low voice.
The next moment, the girl’s body trembled uncontrollably, her voice tinged with an inexplicable sob, “Mom and Dad were captured while fleeing. Auntie said they might…”
The girl slightly raised her head, tears smudged on her face. Her tightly clenched teeth seemed to stammer, “are already dead. I… *gulp*, I can’t let my sister have another accident.”
She waved her arms, trying to make those in front of her understand her predicament, even though it seemed to have no effect at all.
Seeing the girl’s appearance, Liu Gang fell silent. He didn’t offer any words of comfort, but instead took out a guitar from his waist storage bag and gently strummed its silver strings.
Soon, a cheerful melody began to play. It wasn’t “What Shall I Use to Keep You,” but a folk song in the style of the Chuan Yu region. The girl slightly raised her head, her tear-streaked face looking at Liu Gang in a daze…
“I’ll ask Liu Gang later what this war is about. Why are civilians treated like this? It’s too…”
“Unbelievable!”
Seeing Liu Gang’s actions and the girl’s sad appearance, Su Jiu’s eyes slightly deepened. She sighed softly and exchanged a look with Bairnis, signaling her to go comfort the girl—
“You look about the same age as that girl. You go chat with her.”
Bairnis understood and showed a faint smile, walking over with a bag of snacks from the plane. Having a gentle disposition as a Blood Clan member, her smile was as beautiful as an iris. She approached…
Soon, Bairnis, with her fair skin, infected the dirty girl. The girl found that the other party was about her age, but her otherworldly beauty made her instinctively let down her guard.
Bairnis took the opportunity to take the girl’s hands and began to treat her wounds.
The moment their hands touched made Su Jiu’s body tremble. After a moment of silence, she silently picked up her phone and took a picture of what was in front of her…
But she wasn’t photographing Bairnis’s beauty, but rather… Su Jiu took a deep breath and looked at the two people in the camera, who seemed to be from different worlds.
She was a princess from a fairy tale, while the other struggled to even secure basic necessities; one wore a dazzling black skirt, the other wore a tattered yellow and white long-sleeved shirt; one had a delicate face like an elf, the other was dusty and even had tear stains.
Were they…
Truly living in the same era?!
Did war really create such a vast gap between people? Perhaps the girl before also had her own home, her own parents, and even a beautiful dress like Bairnis’s…
But all of it was destroyed by war.
While Su Jiu was lost in thought, Liu Gang put his guitar on his back, leaped forward, and opened the yellow plastic bag. In just a moment, a bloody smell gushed out, and the scene inside made even this tough man’s throat constrict.
“What’s wrong?… This is…”
Somewhat surprised by Liu Gang’s reaction, Su Jiu gently slid her wheelchair forward. Upon seeing the scene inside, her pupils also contracted slightly.
The plastic bag contained the bloody arm of a girl, her arm almost severed. Was this from a skill attack?
“Wheeze… wheeze…”
Su Jiu suddenly felt a suffocating sensation fill her throat. She breathed in the bloody air greedily. How could this be?!
Even if she killed mercilessly, she only killed those who deserved it. To attack children of seven or eight years old…
*Huff…*
A surge of anger, like a raging fire, burned through Su Jiu’s hardened heart. She suddenly felt that as a member of the Red Cross, she should do something.
Perhaps it should be said that as a transmigrator, she should do something.
Biting her lip, Su Jiu raised her phone again and took a picture of the girl Liu Gang was treating, with a “click.”
Perhaps these photos could help the outside world understand Urs faster. It was a country that needed help, and its people might need help.
“If only I could send these out…”
Hearing the sound of the camera, Liu Gang also noticed Su Jiu’s actions. He shook his head with a wry smile, a smile that seemed to mock his own powerlessness.
