Rebirth of a Mercenary: The Ace Mercenary Forced to Be the Beloved of the Group

The infirmary was filled with the mixed smell of disinfectant and iodine. The cool air from the air conditioner blew down from the vents on the ceiling, causing the curtains to sway slightly.

Wen Yan stood beside the examination bed, holding a pen-shaped flashlight, and was performing a fundus examination on Xie Ran.

Xie Ran sat on the bed, his legs dangling off the edge, muttering, "Dr. Wen, I'm really fine. My legs are just a little sore from running too many laps this morning. That bastard Shen Zhuo ran less than half the number of laps I did and he pretended to be lame—"

"Shut up, open your mouth." Wen Yan held out the tongue depressor in front of him.

Xie Ran obediently opened his mouth, his tongue being pressed down as he tried to say something indistinctly, but Wen Yan stopped him with a look.

Shen Zhuo, standing at the back of the line, leaned against the wall and laughed gleefully: "Serves him right. Dr. Wen, I'm reporting that Xie Ran ate three packs of spicy strips before going to bed yesterday, and even said that no one would stop him from eating snacks if you weren't back."

"Shen Zhuo, you motherfucker—" Xie Ran jumped up from the bed, but Wen Yan pressed him back down on his shoulder with one hand. The force was not great, but the landing point was extremely precise. Xie Ran felt that half of his shoulder was numb and he could not move.

"Both of you shut up." Wen Yan didn't turn her head, her tone still gentle, but the effect was immediate—Shen Zhuo immediately made a zipping motion over her mouth, and Xie Ran also sat obediently without daring to move.

Lu Xiao lay on the treatment bed beside him, his trousers rolled up above his knees, revealing an old abrasion on his calf that had scabbed over but was obviously treated perfunctorily. Wen Yan glanced at it as she passed by, and Lu Xiao immediately pulled his trousers down, his movements as swift as if he were destroying evidence of a crime.

"Stop hiding, you're next." Wen Yan's voice came from Xie Ran's side.

Lu Xiao buried his face in the pillow of the examination bed and let out a muffled wail.

Li Mo sat on another examination bed, the sleeve of his right arm cut off, revealing a new bandage that had been neatly wrapped after the stitches were removed and the wound was stitched up again.

When Wen Yan finished stitching the last stitch, she said, "It's done. I promise there won't be a scar." Li Mo just hummed in response, put down his sleeve, and prepared to leave, but Wen Yan pressed down on his shoulder.

"You too, don't move." Wen Yan picked up an anti-inflammatory injection from the tray, the needle gleaming coldly under the fluorescent light. "This injection is necessary. If you run away after getting stitches like last time, I'll replace the needle with a bone aspiration needle."

Li Mo remained silent for a moment, then finally sat back down and extended his left arm to him. Wen Yan's movements were clean and efficient as he pushed the needle in; the medicine was inserted in less than three seconds before the needle was removed. He pressed a cotton ball against the injection site, then lifted Li Mo's arm so he could press it himself.

Just then, Xuanxiao's voice came from the doorway: "Captain, your water—"

His words were cut short. In the very center of the infirmary, Bai Ye collapsed.

The stainless steel kettle in Xuanxiao's hand slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground, hitting the tiles with a sharp metallic clang, spilling water all over the floor.

He practically lunged forward—kneeling on the ground, one hand reaching under Bai Ye's armpit to support his upper body, the other hand protecting the back of his head, pulling the unconscious Bai Ye into his arms.

"Bai Ye! Bai Ye—Wen Yan! Doctor Wen!" Xuan Xiao knelt on the ground, Bai Ye's head resting weakly on his chest, his face as white as a sheet of paper, the color drained from his lips, and even his usual cold and intimidating aura had completely disappeared, his whole body as soft as a crumpled piece of cotton.

Xuan Xiao's voice changed, filled with a panic no one present had ever heard before, "He was fine just now—he was reading a book—and suddenly he collapsed—Dr. Wen, please check on him!"

Xie Ran and Shen Zhuo rushed over at the same time. Xie Huai'an closed his journal and stood up, the chair leg scraping the floor with a sharp sound. Lu Xiao rolled off the examination bed, his movement so fast he almost knocked over the IV stand next to him. Li Mo had already stood up; he didn't even notice the cotton ball pressing on the injection site had fallen to the ground, and walked over to Bai Ye in a few steps.

Wen Yan lifted Bai Ye's eyelids and shone a pen-style flashlight on his pupils to check the reflection. He then held Bai Ye's wrist and checked his pulse for more than ten seconds. After that, he reached out and pressed on Bai Ye's neck for a few seconds. Finally, he slightly lifted Bai Ye's chin to check the patency of his airway.

The whole process took less than twenty seconds.

Then he released his grip, took out an individually wrapped glucose tablet from his pocket, tore open the packaging, and placed it under Bai Ye's tongue. After doing this, he stood up, adjusted his glasses that had slipped down his nose, and his voice returned to its usual steady tone: "Low blood sugar."

Xuan Xiao knelt on the ground, Bai Ye still leaning against him. He looked up at Wen Yan with an expression as if he had heard something unbelievable: "How is that possible? He ate—"

"What did he eat?" Wen Yan interrupted him.

Xuan Xiao opened his mouth, his mind racing through the memories of the day—during a break at the training ground, he gave Bai Ye a blueberry candy, and Bai Ye spent the whole afternoon reading with the candy in his mouth, without eating anything else.

"He only ate one piece of candy." Xuanxiao's voice lowered, his arms unconsciously tightening as he pulled Bai Ye closer to him. "He didn't eat much for lunch... I thought he wasn't hungry..."

"He's growing," Wen Yan's voice remained gentle, but there was a subtle hint of sternness in it, not directed at Xuan Xiao, but at everyone present. "Sixteen years old, in the growth spurt, with intense military training every day, recovering from a knife wound a few days ago, and training since morning—his body's energy expenditure is more than 1.5 times that of any adult. Didn't any of you notice he barely ate anything today?"

The entire infirmary fell silent.

Xie Ran lowered his head, his toes scraping against the grout lines on the floor tiles. Shen Zhuo turned his face to the window, his back teeth clenched. The vertical line between Xie Huai'an's brows deepened, and the tip of his pen left a smudge on the paper. Lu Xiao leaned against the examination bed, his smile unusually absent.

Li Mo stood in front of Bai Ye, looking down at his pale face, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a mosquito. He said nothing, but his jawline was taut like the back of a knife, and his left hand, placed at his side, was clenched into a fist.

Wen Yan glanced at Li Mo's face, sighed, and softened his tone: "Don't worry too much, it's just a temporary fainting spell caused by low blood sugar. He'll wake up quickly after taking glucose. However—" He scanned everyone present, "starting today, his diet must be regular. The training intensity can be maintained, but the calorie intake must keep up. His physical condition isn't bad, but if he continues to overwork himself like this, he'll have serious problems in less than six months."