Dragon Clan: Avoid the College Entrance Examination to Slay the Dragon

Chapter 82 Ward Care
Gu Yi turned into the ward area. At five o'clock in the morning, the hospital was quiet except for the sound of his footsteps.

As he pushed open the door to room 304, the pale blue glow of the electrocardiogram monitor swayed gently against the wall. Vivian was fast asleep, nestled among piled-up pillows, the moonlight spilling over the ends of her dark brown hair that cascaded down the edge of the bed. Gu Yi pushed the doorframe back into place, the metal hinges making a barely audible sound.

He tiptoed to the hospital chair, the leather seat groaning softly under his weight. Just as he was about to take off his coat, the sheets suddenly made a rustling sound.

“I…” Vivian’s eyelashes trembled like startled butterflies, and her irises were still misty with the light of waking.

"He didn't die, but he didn't go to heaven either."

Vivian turned her head towards the sound, "Junior brother..."

"There's nothing I can do. Everyone's busy arresting people all over the city, so I'm the only one left to keep them company."

"Why do these words sound so familiar?"

"Really? I woke up at noon, but you made me stay up until the middle of the night."

Vivian gazed at the fading night outside the window and chuckled, "No wonder something felt off. You were in the bright afternoon sun, so you should be in heaven. Me, in this pitch black, shouldn't I be in hell?"

Gu Yi picked up the thermos from the bedside table. "Senior sister, do you believe in heaven?"

Vivian shook her head, nestled in the pillow. "I don't believe it. How can you expect me to believe in something like dragons?"

"I see." Gu Yi handed over the white paper cup.

Vivian propped herself up on her elbow to take the water glass, the warm water quenching her dry, chapped lips.

"How is it?" she asked.

Gu Yi leaned back, the chair back creaking slightly: "You did a great job, we successfully retrieved the target. He's been taken away now."

“I didn’t ask that.” Vivian turned around completely. “I meant how you are.”

"Me? I'm fine." Gu Yi was a little nervous.

"You're not doing well; you seem to be burdened by something."

The boy remained silent for a long time, as if searching for the right words, but finally let out a sigh: "Is it that obvious?"

“No, not really.” Vivian sank back into the pile of pillows. “It’s just that we girls are more sensitive to these things.”

Gu Yi clasped his hands together. "I do have some thoughts. That man with the white fox mask is stronger than I expected."

"Ah," Vivian clicked her tongue, "For my junior brother to say something like that, how strong must he be?"

Gu Yi's clenched fist hovered in mid-air before he finally let it loose and shook it helplessly: "Let's not talk about this anymore. How are you, Senior Sister?"

Vivian glanced down at herself. "I'm fine. My right hand is a little injured, but it'll heal quickly."

Gu Yi looked at Vivian's wound and said, "I'm sorry, Senior Sister."

"Why should I apologize?" Vivian asked, propping herself up on one side in surprise.

"I shouldn't have let you chase that car alone. I didn't even consider your role in the mission before it started. To be precise, I was ignoring you."

"So that's what it was all about." Vivian chuckled. "I thought you did something naughty while your senior sister was asleep."

"Doing bad things?" Gu Yi frowned in confusion.

"Nothing! Nothing! I mean you... like, stealing my painkillers, or drawing turtles on my cast or something." She quickly waved her hand to change the subject. "I just feel like you didn't do anything wrong, did you?"

"Team Leader Walker said I like to take on too much when completing tasks, like a lone wolf."

"anything else?"

He told me I should get to know my companions and trust them.

Vivian gazed into the boy's amber eyes. "Understanding your companions is necessary, but trust?" She suddenly tilted her head and chuckled. "There's no need." "Why?"

Vivian suddenly looked out the window at the gradually brightening horizon. "Principal Angers once gave a public lecture where someone asked him whether he should trust himself or his companions when facing the Dragon King. Guess what his answer was?"

"Trust your companions?"

"wrong."

Vivian turned to look at Gu Yi seriously. "He said 'I don't know.' When you're young, you always think that many hands make light work, but when you really face the Dragon King, you realize that in the end, the only one left on the battlefield is yourself."

The regular ticking of the monitor filled the silence. A bluish light appeared outside the window, and Gu Yi watched the clouds gradually become clearer in the morning mist, saying nothing.

"Team Leader Walker is the tactical commander of the Executive Bureau, so pursuing teamwork is only natural. But your Word of Power is Time Zero, Junior Brother." She suddenly looked up. "Not many people can keep up with you. Just like the principal said, there are some battlefields you are destined to go to alone."

Gu Yi nodded: "Understood."

Vivian raised her voice: "But this is just my personal opinion. Who can say for sure whether it's right or wrong? Trusting your companions isn't necessarily wrong, and trusting yourself isn't always right either. Let's analyze each situation specifically!"

Gu Yi's lips curled up: "That reminds me of my high school politics teacher."

"Do I look old?" Vivian was taken aback.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing at the same time. Gu Yi looked into the other's eyes, which were reflecting the morning light, and asked, "I heard from Su Yuqing that your family strictly forbids you from going to the front lines?"

“I talked with the old men for three days straight.” Vivian raised her intact left hand. “Why should everyone else be fighting desperately on the front lines while I’m stuck in the back as a decorative vase?”

Gu Yi's gaze swept over her bandaged right arm: "Your Word of Power is very powerful; you should have been a top-tier combatant at level 06."

"Don't praise me like that all of a sudden!" Vivian blushed slightly. "Sigh, sometimes being a decorative figure is unavoidable. Although the Holy Judgment is a high-risk position, it has too many limitations in actual combat. Oh, except for Senior Han Gao."

"That 'Quickhand Henkel' from the North American Mixed Race Alliance?"

“Yes, that’s the old man. Ordinary hybrids need to chant the complete incantation to activate their Word of Power because their bloodline isn’t high enough; they have to use dragon script to invoke the five elements. But people like you, the principal, and Han Gao, whose bloodlines are top-tier, don’t need to. You can even instantly activate Word of Power.” She suddenly lowered her voice. “Do you know what’s most terrifying about that old man? He can instantly cast twelve Holy Judgments!”

Gu Yi's pupils contracted slightly: "Rapid fire?"

"Unbelievable, isn't it? He's the guy who gave the principal a 'greeting gift' with a revolver. Just think, how terrifying must he be to be able to ambush Angers!"

"The principal didn't kill him?"

“Who knows what kind of agreement those two old fogies reached?” Vivian lay back down on the pile of pillows. “Anyway, after that shot, his Texas Dawn became famous throughout the mixed-race world.”

"I understand. So, will you be frequently involved in the Enforcement Bureau's missions from now on?"

“Of course! Missions with the Execution Bureau can be lucrative!” She gestured with her intact left hand. “Once we get this reward, I’ll take you to a Michelin three-star restaurant!”

Gu Yi looked at the purplish-blue needle marks on the back of her hand. "Let me treat you. After all, it was the one who caused your injury."

"Then I want to eat Mexican tacos!" she suddenly interrupted Gu Yi. "You've come all this way to Mexico, how can you not eat something good?"

"You're still in the hospital." Gu Yi pointed to the "No Spicy Foods" sign on the bedside table. "What should the nurses do if they smell spicy food during rounds?"

“Gu Yi, you’ll die if you don’t eat spicy food, okay? Besides, do I look like I need to be hospitalized?” Vivian pointed to herself.

"Just this once!" Vivian held up two fingers, then chuckled and withdrew her ring finger amidst the boy's confused gaze. "Just this once, I promise I'll use my left hand to carry the taco, and I absolutely won't strain my right arm muscles."

A morning breeze lifted the light blue curtains, and Gu Yi gazed at the sunrise outside the window, which was gradually turning golden orange: "When are we leaving?"

"Let's wait for the sun to climb higher," Vivian suddenly yawned, fluffing her pillow into a cloud. "Let me sleep a little longer..."

Before he could finish speaking, the girl had already curled up into a languid cat. Gu Yi watched her eyelashes rise and fall with her breath, and gently drew the curtains to form a completely opaque barrier. The last ray of morning light swept across the overturned water glass on the bedside table, fading into darkness with the soft click of the metal hinges.

(End of this chapter)