The first sensation upon regaining consciousness was pain — a body-shaking, all-encompassing pain.
“Hiss… ow, ow, ow…” Lin Lu slowly opened her eyes.
She was greeted by a white ceiling and the smell of disinfectant in the air.
‘Am I in… a hospital?’
She wanted to turn her head to survey her surroundings, but the moment her neck moved, she heard a rustling sound — the sound of gauze rubbing against fabric.
Lin Lu looked down and saw that her entire body was wrapped tightly.
White bandages spiraled from her chest down to her waist, and several rounds were wound around her arms.
Her left leg was hoisted up, hanging from a bracket at the end of the bed.
She was lying on the hospital bed, completely unable to move.
‘Ugh… why am I wrapped up like a mummy?’
“Sister! Sister, you’re awake!”
Lin Qingqing’s voice exploded from beside her.
Lin Lu was startled, thinking for a moment that someone was attacking her, and turned her head to look.
Lin Qingqing jumped up from the chair by the bed, her eyes red and tear stains still fresh on her face.
She lunged toward the bedside, reaching out to grab Lin Lu’s hand, but then hesitated, afraid of touching the wounds.
Her hand hung in mid-air, unsure of where to rest.
“You’re finally awake! You’ve been asleep for 1 day and 1 night! You scared me to death!” Lin Qingqing’s voice was a mix of crying and laughing.
“Hoshino Hikari! Minazuki! Sister is awake!”
The door was kicked open.
Hoshino Hikari rushed in, her hair a mess.
She ran to the bedside and leaned over Lin Lu.
“Sister…” Hoshino Hikari sniffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
“You scared me to death, you know that…?”
Minazuki followed behind her, carrying a glass of water.
She walked to the bed and placed the glass on the nightstand.
“How do you feel?” Minazuki asked.
Her voice was steady, but it was much softer than usual.
Lin Lu carefully assessed her condition.
“Ugh… I feel like I was hit by a car,” Lin Lu said.
She wasn’t used to being surrounded and cared for by a group of girls, so she felt a bit awkward.
“And then ran over twice for good measure.”
Hearing this, Hoshino Hikari looked like she was about to cry again.
“Hey? Don’t cry, don’t cry.” Lin Lu quickly tried to comfort Hoshino Hikari.
It was fine as long as she didn’t move, but the slight gesture pulled at her wounds, making her grimace in pain.
“I’m just joking, it doesn’t actually hurt that much… hiss…”
“Don’t move!” Lin Qingqing pressed down on her shoulders and said, “You have two broken ribs and internal bleeding. The doctor said you have to lie down for at least 2 weeks!”
“2 weeks?” Lin Lu was stunned for a moment.
“Does this count as paid leave?”
“Uh… pretty much. Anyway, just focus on recovering, Sister,” Lin Qingqing said.
“Oh! Right!”
Lin Qingqing suddenly remembered something and looked at Hoshino Hikari, “Hoshino Hikari, didn’t you say you made a special tonic for Sister? Now that she’s awake, you can give it to her.”
“Oh right, right! I almost forgot.” Hoshino Hikari jumped up and ran toward the door with excitement.
“I’ll go get it now! Wait for me, Sister!”
“What? There’s a tonic?” Lin Lu was bewildered.
“Uh… Hoshino Hikari knows how to make tonics?”
It wasn’t that Lin Lu didn’t trust her, but the impression Hoshino Hikari gave her… was not that of someone who spent time in a kitchen, let alone someone who knew how to brew medicinal tonics.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
“It’s the first I’ve heard of it, too.” Lin Qingqing tapped her cheek thoughtfully.
“We’ve never seen Hoshino Hikari cook before, but since she said she made it, she probably knows how.”
“I think… it’s best not to get our hopes up…”
Minazuki maintained a skeptical attitude.
A moment later, Hoshino Hikari came skipping back into the ward carrying a thermos.
“I’m back, I’m back!” Hoshino Hikari sat by the bed and opened the thermos.
“I worked really hard on this. It’s definitely going to be delicious!”
Everyone gathered around, wanting to see Hoshino Hikari’s craftsmanship.
The moment Hoshino Hikari opened the thermos, a strange odor immediately surged from the opening.
“This is…” Lin Qingqing leaned in for a closer look, then froze.
Inside the thermos was a mass of dark purple, viscous, unidentified liquid that was slowly bubbling.
The surface had a bizarre sheen, looking like mud from a swamp.
Occasionally, a large bubble would float to the surface and pop with a wet “splat”…
Hoshino Hikari carefully scooped out a bowl with a ladle.
The liquid stretched out into black threads, sluggishly flowing into the bowl.
“How is it?” Hoshino Hikari held the bowl with an expectant look and asked, “Doesn’t it look extremely nutritious?”
Lin Qingqing’s lip twitched, and she took half a step back.
“Hoshino Hikari… you… this is the ‘tonic’ you made?”
“Yeah!” Hoshino Hikari looked at Lin Qingqing with confusion.
“I followed a TV show and learned it very carefully.”
“Uh… what exactly did you add to this?”
Minazuki was curious about what raw materials Hoshino Hikari could have used to create such a Cthulhu-esque “tonic.”
“Hmph, hmph — it contains many ‘precious’ medicinal ingredients!” Hoshino Hikari puffed out her chest and hummed with pride.
“This tonic is a selection of various rare medicines. There is thousand-year-old mountain ginseng, wild royal jelly, human-shaped fleece-flower root, premium bird’s nest, Nine Heavens Tribute Glue, Imperial Saffron, Tianshan Snow Lotus, Seven-colored Lingzhi, Ancient Tomb Ox Bezoar, and Deep Sea Ambergris… all melted into one pot.”
“No… what does all that even mean?”
Lin Qingqing and Minazuki were left dazed by the list.
“Not only that, I also added 1-meter-long Cordyceps.”
“Are those earthworms?”
“A 5-meter-long geoduck.”
“Was that caught before the turn of the century?”
“Saber-toothed tiger bone.”
“Wow, that’s ancient.”
“Aisin Gioro Placenta Hominis.”
“Wait, royal placenta?”
“Mars morning dew.”
“How did you even get that?”
“Black Jade Intermittent Ointment.”
“Did Jin Yong give you that?”
“Nüwa’s saliva.”
“Where on earth did you find that?!”
“Adam’s rib.”
“Enough!” Lin Lu quickly interrupted Hoshino Hikari’s recitation of the menu and cleared her throat.
“Uh… cough, cough. Well, Little Hikari, I don’t think I have any major problems. I probably don’t need this tonic.”
The more Lin Lu listened, the more terrified she became.
‘Was this girl self-taught from some fraudulent advertisements?’
Glancing at the bowl of “tonic” on the table, Lin Lu’s mouth twitched.
She was truly afraid that eating it would send her straight to the afterlife.
“No way! You’re just trying to be brave, Sister.” Hoshino Hikari sternly refused.
She picked up the bowl of tonic, scooped up a spoonful, and slowly moved it toward Lin Lu’s mouth.
“You’re in this state! How can you recover quickly if you don’t eat something good?”
‘No, no, no…’
Lin Lu quickly cast a pleading gaze toward Lin Qingqing and Minazuki.
‘Save me!’
If she actually ate that, Lin Lu had no doubt that instead of dying at the hands of a Shadow Beast, she would die from her teammate’s “nutritious” concoction.
“Cough… Hoshino Hikari.” Minazuki quickly grabbed Hoshino Hikari’s arm and snatched the bowl of unidentified liquid away.
“Why don’t you go buy some fruit for Sister? I’ll… I’ll take care of feeding her this tonic.”
“Huh? Why do I have to go…?” Hoshino Hikari pouted and grumbled.
“Isn’t it because you’re the most reliable one, our dear Captain?” Lin Qingqing also hurried forward to help smooth things over.
“Hmph, hmph!” Upon hearing Lin Qingqing’s praise, Hoshino Hikari immediately became smug.
“Fine, fine, I’ll go buy some. Sigh… I guess that’s the burden of being the Captain. Taking care of teammates is a Captain’s duty, after all.”
“Exactly! You’re the best, Hoshino Hikari!” Lin Lu chimed in quickly.
“Then Minazuki, you must make sure Sister finishes every last drop!” Hoshino Hikari specifically instructed Minazuki before heading out.
“Don’t worry!” Minazuki nodded.
“Click.”
As soon as Hoshino Hikari left the room, Lin Qingqing and Minazuki rushed to the bathroom and dumped everything in the thermos and the bowl into the toilet, flushing it all away.
“Phew… I’m saved.” Lin Lu let out a long sigh of relief, “From now on, absolutely! We must never let Hoshino Hikari touch the kitchen! She shouldn’t even be allowed to step inside!”