Chapter 127 - 118: Professionals Are Just Different

Although the man was only a Three Stars, Qin Ziwen felt there was something more to this silent, stone-like individual.

That ability of his to hide his presence would be extremely dangerous in a forest.

Wang Yun said, "This is Yang Cunshen. He’s a Hunter, and my partner."

Standing behind Qin Ziwen, Du Yu watched Yang Cunshen. A hint of wariness flickered in his eyes. The man gave him a dangerous feeling.

Wang Yun sighed, his voice laced with complex emotions. "It’s all my fault. I didn’t listen to Cunshen back then. He advised me to cut the weeds and pull out the roots—to kill the few remaining members of that squad. But I was too soft."

At the mention of this, Wang Yun was filled with deep regret.

He believed he was the one who got those teammates killed.

He looked at Qin Ziwen and said seriously, "If you have enemies, you must eliminate them, root and stem. Never show mercy. In this place, it’s eat or be eaten!"

Qin Ziwen stood up. "Wang Yun, there’s no time to lose. I’ll head back and get the medicine."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "I also have an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor on my team. I’ll bring him over to take a look at your wife."

Back at his place, Qin Ziwen went to get Qian Muzhen and had him put on a mask.

The disease was contagious, but it was only transmitted through respiratory droplets from coughing and phlegm.

Back at Wang Yun’s home, Qian Muzhen took Lin Yi’s pulse from the doorway. He then observed her facial complexion and asked a few questions before returning to the living room.

Wang Yun swallowed hard and asked nervously, "How is she?"

Qian Muzhen shook his head. "Malignant heat is running rampant, and turbid phlegm is obstructing the lungs. Her condition is quite severe. As the medical principles state, ’Treat the symptoms in a crisis, treat the root cause when time allows.’ As for that ’Cephalosporin’ medicine, I’ve seen its instructions. She can take two doses first, and we’ll observe the effects. If her symptoms worsen after taking it, she must stop immediately. We need to avoid a conflict between medicines, which would only create more complications."

"Thank you, Doctor!" Wang Yun said with a deep bow.

Qian Muzhen said, "While we can’t use other medications, supportive daily care is paramount. That’s the key to stabilizing her condition. You must remember this."

Wang Yun quickly fetched a pen and paper.

Qian Muzhen instructed, "First, pat her on the back often to help her cough up the phlegm. Second, her diet must be light; nothing greasy. Third, keep the room well-ventilated, but make sure she doesn’t catch a chill..."

A short while later, the consultation was over.

Afterward, Wang Yun brought two air-dried field mice from the kitchen.

"What’s this for?"

Wang Yun’s expression was serious. "This isn’t for you. It’s the consultation fee for Dr. Qian."

Qian Muzhen knew the state everyone else in the Gated Community was in, so he waved his hand, politely refusing.

After a great deal of back-and-forth, he couldn’t overcome Wang Yun’s insistence and finally accepted one of the mice.

Then, with a fervent gaze, Wang Yun said, "You’re the captain now. Just give the order if you need anything."

Qin Ziwen smiled. "Speaking of which, it must be fate. Besides Dr. Qian, I have another doctor on my team—a surgeon. With you, that makes three."

Wang Yun was taken aback. "I’m just a vet. I hardly count as a doctor. I can handle dressing a wound in an emergency, but for anything else, we should listen to the other two."

Qin Ziwen said, "Tomorrow, we’re heading up the mountain. I know the location of an altar."

Wang Yun wasn’t surprised. "To have gotten so many Recruiters, you must have found a private altar. But... I just joined, and you’re telling me this directly? You trust me that much?"

Qin Ziwen said, "I invited you to join my team, which means I trust you. Otherwise, what would be the point?"

Wang Yun didn’t say anything, just nodded silently. He said to Qin Ziwen, "Actually, before you arrived, Yang Cunshen and I were planning how to hunt the Giant Toad. My wife’s condition keeps getting worse, and I figured if we could get the Card it drops, we might have a better chance."

"You’re planning to hunt the Giant Toad?" Qin Ziwen raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Wang Yun said, "It’s simple: fire. With a body that size, normal methods are useless. So, I decided we should burn it. There’s gasoline in the cars. We can make Incendiary Bottles to throw at it. I refuse to believe a carbon-based lifeform can withstand heat of over a thousand degrees."

He paused, then continued, "But there are a few problems. First, the Giant Toad is right by the river, so using Incendiary Bottles now won’t be much of a threat. Based on my observations over the past two days, it knows how to swim. It can just dive into the river to escape the flames. We have to attack it when it’s far from the river, giving it no chance to get back to the water.

Cunshen came up with a plan for that. He said we could ambush it with a Bow and Arrow on its way back, injure its eyes, and blind it."

"Second, while the Giant Toad hasn’t displayed any kind of Superpower so far, the very existence of things like us and it is already beyond the understanding of conventional science. So it’s not impossible that it has one."

Wang Yun pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said grimly, "Finally, it’s just too big. A single Incendiary Bottle can only burn a limited area. Its total surface area is over fifty square meters. And to support a body that massive, I suspect its physical structure must have changed in some way.

A normal small toad has a keratinous layer on its skin, which prevents moisture evaporation, provides durability, and houses glands that can secrete toxins.

But at its size, that keratinous layer is bound to be much thicker, with a toughness and durability no less than that of thick cowhide.

And to support such a large frame, a keratinous layer alone might not be enough. Toads naturally have structures for dermal ossification. I suspect this Giant Toad, much like a crocodile, has already formed a layer of bone plates on its back. The Incendiary Bottles might only burn its outer hide without reaching its internal organs."

Hearing these technical terms, Qin Ziwen was a bit lost. "What’s ’dermal ossification’?"

"Simply put, it’s a layer of bone that grows under the skin, separate from the rest of the skeleton," Wang Yun said, tapping his own arm.

Qin Ziwen understood now.

His eyes, as he looked at Wang Yun, were now filled with admiration. ’Now *this* is what you call a professional!’

’A vet, no wonder. A true professional is on a different level.’

’He’s even been preparing to hunt the Giant Toad this whole time.’

Qin Ziwen asked, "In that case, how many Incendiary Bottles would we need to prepare?"

The corners of Wang Yun’s mouth lifted. "At least sixty. I’ve already made thirty."

He stood up, went into another bedroom, and came back with a green beer bottle that had a small strip of cloth sticking out of its mouth.

"To solve the problem of the gasoline just sliding off its body, I added some laundry detergent as a thickening agent. This way, when it hits, it’ll stick to it while it burns."

Qin Ziwen said, "If I’m not mistaken, that Giant Toad won’t stay by the river for long before heading back up the mountain. I know its return route. We can set up traps and prepare an ambush in advance."

Wang Yun’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

"That would be perfect."

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