The smell of antiseptic and iron filled the air.
I didn't "nurse" him. I treated the wound like a technical problem. I used the medical stapler from the kit and the heavy-duty gauze, my hands steady only because I didn't allow myself to look at his face. Every time he groaned in his sleep, I felt a spike of pure resentment.
He was supposed to be the wall between me and the world. Now, the wall had holes in it.
I sat back on the floor, my blazer ruined, watching the red notification on the monitor.
[SIGNAL SOURCE: UNKNOWN. PROXIMITY: 2KM]
The "Living Yama" woke up at 03:00.
He didn't flutter his eyes. He didn't ask where he was. He went from unconscious to lethal in a single second, his hand snapping out to catch my throat before his eyes even fully opened.
I choked, my back hitting the base of the workstation. "It's me... you idiot..."
Lu Sheng's eyes were bloodshot, pupils blown wide with pain. He saw me, and for a heartbeat, his grip tightened until I saw spots. Then, he let go. Not because he was sorry, but because the effort made his own staple-line pull.
He slumped back against the bunk, his face a pale mask of fury.
"Who told you to touch me?" His voice was a jagged rasp.
"You bled on my desk," I said, rubbing my neck. My voice was shaking, but I stayed on my feet. I didn't back down. "And while you were busy dying, someone found the ghost-map."
He didn't look at the bandage on his side. He didn't acknowledge that I'd saved him. He looked at the monitor.
"How long?"
"The signal appeared an hour ago. They're probing the perimeter. If I hadn't shut down the secondary uplink, they'd be inside the airlocks by now."
Lu Sheng tried to stand. He made it halfway before his knees buckled. He grabbed the desk, the wood creaking under his weight. I reached out a hand not out of kindness, but out of fear he'd break the equipment.
He swiped my hand away with a snarl.
"Stay back."
"You can't even stand up," I snapped. "The second team the professionals you called amateurs they're outside. If you can't walk, we're both dead."
Lu Sheng looked at me then. The look wasn't one of gratitude. It was pure, unadulterated humiliation. He hated me for seeing him fail. He hated me for being the reason he was still breathing.
"The woman in the photos," I said, my voice cold. "That's why you went out tonight. You went to move her. And you got caught."
"Silence, Lin Xiao."
"You're compromised, Lu Sheng. Your 'contract' isn't about a better deal. It's a ransom. You're using my hacks to pay off her life."
He reached out, his fingers hooking into my hoodie, pulling me forward until we were inches apart. He smelled like blood and sweat.
"Listen to me carefully, little ghost," he hissed. "You are an asset. Nothing more. If you think this wound gives you leverage, try me. I can still break your neck with one hand before the first team reaches that door."
"Then do it," I challenged, my eyes stinging. "Kill the only person who can keep that signal from pinpointing this bunker. See how far you get on your own."
We stared at each other a prisoner and a dying king. The silence was a jagged blade between us.
Slowly, his grip loosened. He didn't apologize. He didn't soften.
"Get to the terminal," he ordered, his voice flat and dead. "Reroute the signal to the H City power grid. Blow the transformers if you have to. I'm going to the armory."
"You can't fight like that."
"I don't need to fight. I just need to survive long enough to move you."
He turned away, dragging his injured side toward the door. I sat at the desk, my fingers trembling as I reached for the keys.
The debt wasn't settled. It was just getting heavier. And now, for the first time, I knew exactly what he was willing to kill for. It wasn't the money. And it wasn't me.