Rewarding

Riona glared at Soren suddenly, feeling a strange heat in her cheeks, but Soren, unfazed, maintained his casually flirtatious demeanor and said, "What? I was just trying to stitch up your leg wound!"

Riona was choked by words. She was wearing the base's standard storm jacket and black, tapered storm pants. The wound was on the outer side of her thigh, not easy to expose from below, meaning she'd have to take them off from the top to treat it.

But, alone with a man, taking off her pants in front of him...

Riona found it hard to do.

After all, they had been enemies for so many years.

Seeing her hesitate, Soren fell silent for a moment, then picked up a pair of scissors and said, "Don't move."

He pressed down on Riona's ankle and simply cut open her pant leg, going upwards until her pale, delicate skin and the sticky blood and flesh were exposed. Only then did he put down the scissors and pick up a syringe of anesthetic.

Even though there wasn't a hint of disrespect in his actions, the warm touch of his fingertips on her skin still made Riona's lips tingle. She felt the air in the room rather odd.

To distract herself and stay calm, she reached out with her right hand, grabbing the machete.

Soren noticed her movement from the corner of his eye. he injected the needle into her skin and said with a smirk, "Miss Elex, I'm treating your wound, and you're holding a knife behind my back. Really? Is that really appropriate? No… It's quite sad, treating your savior so cruelly."

"…"

Riona then put down the knife and said, "Sorry, I'm just used to holding a knife. I didn't mean to attack you…"

Drax, standing guard in the hallway, saw this and urgently tugged at Ayla, saying, "Soren is in danger!"

Ayla turned to look, then slapped Drax on the head, saying, "What do you know? Dork! This is called 'flirting'!"

Outside the window, the rain fell heavily, but inside the room, it was all silent. Soren bent over Riona's thigh, his movements professional, gentle, and meticulous.

For a moment, Riona really thought he was a doctor and asked, "…Were you a doctor before the apocalypse?"

As Soren cleaned the wound and began to stitch it up, he responded casually with a smirk, "The apocalypse has been going on for seven years, I'm not that old."

"Then you are…"

Soren picked up the scissors again and said, "A medical student."

Riona nodded. He did look quite young; it made sense he was a student seven years ago.

But she felt that even if he were a doctor, he didn't seem like a proper one, more like… a psychopathic killer disguised as a doctor.

Soren finished treating her right leg and began to cut the pant leg of her left. He thought the anesthetic would be enough, but in the end, he found two more wounds untreated.

And in one of them, there was half of a zombie's broken tooth embedded.

Soren clattered down his tools and called Ayla in, asking, "Any more anesthetic?"

Ayla shook her head, saying, "This is an abandoned hospital of a base; probably all medical supplies were taken. Only found half a bottle that's usable..."

Soren's brow furrowed in irritation.

Ayla didn't dare say more. Riona, seeing this, calmly spoke up, "Just do it, I can put up with it."

In these chaotic times, she had seen all sorts of rough conditions. Once, she had broken a bone, and Corin had crudely set it without painkillers or proper medical tools. She hadn't even been prepared for the pain and had passed out on the spot.

Ayla carefully suggested, "The wound needs to be treated quickly, and this place is dangerous. We shouldn't stay long..."

"Get out."

"...Yes."

When Soren sat back down, his face was devoid of any smile, his demeanor unusually gloomy.

Riona's face wasn't looking good either, more from pain than anything else.

Without anesthetic, the sharp pain of the wound being treated shot through her, numbing her entire body...

By the time the treatment was finished, Riona had her brows tightly knitted and her eyes closed.

Her sweat-dampened hair clung to her cheeks, a drop of blood from her bitten lip adding a tragic beauty to her already stunning face, like a blood-red rose ravaged by a storm.

Soren, seeing Riona in such a sad state, had a dark look in his eyes.

He couldn't resist bending down to touch her, his fingertip brushing the drop of blood on her lips and then, he smeared it across her cheek, leaving a bright trail of blood.

Riona, trembling, opened her eyes, her gaze misty. It took a long while for her to emerge from the pain.

Meeting her gaze, Soren flirtatiously said with a breathy laugh, "So, I saved you. How are you gonna repay me?"

Riona, recalling various dreams, suddenly had an idea.

If the side character in a story wanted to overturn the plot, they had to do things against their character. Since Corin and Elaira were the pair, since her destined end was a tragic death, since they were all characters in the story, and their existence served that melodramatic plot...

'If the dream's going to be true… Why not... just break it all?'

Close enough to feel each other's breath, Riona, with a sudden boldness, leaned in and kissed Soren's lips.

Her lips were warm and soft. The moment she initiated the kiss, Soren's throat moved. A current seemed to surge up, tingling his heart.

Never expecting this turn of events, he was completely frozen...

Riona gave him a fleeting kiss and, seeing his smile fade, became a bit flustered.

Now she wondered, 'Did I misunderstand his intention? Or did he only have his eyes on my bracelet?'

Riona, blushing, touched her silver bracelet and asked, "Then... how do you want me to repay you?"

Soren kept staring at her, his lips still tingling, seemingly in disbelief. He didn't speak.

Riona lowered her lashes, seriously explaining, "This bracelet was given to me by my grandmother. My sister has one too. I want to find my sister, so I can't give it to you…"

"At the base I used to live in, resources are shared, and members hardly have any personal belongings. Now, apart from this bracelet, all I have is this machete…"

"The weapon has saved my life many times, so I can't give it to you either."

Soren's eyelashes drooped, his gaze resting on her moist, full lips. Suddenly, he let out a low laugh, as if something had amusingly hit him. He laughed for a long time, unable to stop.

Already embarrassed, Riona felt even more ashamed being laughed at so openly. "…Stop laughing."

"Okay, I'll stop…" Soren said he wouldn't laugh, but his lips still curved. "Since the famous Vice-captain Elex of the Northern State's base is so poor… Just forget it. Let's say you owe me for saving your life."

Riona fell silent. She felt offended, but not in a very deep way.

She wanted to say something to salvage her dignity, but suddenly, the door was slammed open. Drax, panicked, leaned in at the door, saying, "Boss, something's wrong. There's something spooky in this hospital building…"

Soren's smile dropped instantly, his expression turning displeased, "What would that be?"