"I'm serious. You don't argue with me about this."
"I won't."
"And if I determine you need immediate intervention, you see him after we've addressed it. Your life doesn't get risked for this reunion, are we clear?"
"Crystal clear."
Dr. Chen nodded once, satisfied, the ghost of a proud smile flickering across her face before professionalism snapped back into place. "Then let's move."
---
The treatment bay was controlled chaos—bright lights that made Zhou Yuxi squint after hours in darkness, beeping monitors that tracked her heart rate and oxygen saturation in steady electronic pulses, the faint scent of antiseptic and warmed blankets cutting through the lingering brine on her skin. The room smelled like safety and sterility, a sharp contrast to the salt and blood and gunpowder that had filled her lungs for hours.
