Ch 36: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

The supplies were in place, and Qu Weiwei’s surgery was quickly scheduled. Once they received the payment, the healing-type ability users became very proactive, and the young man immediately called over two more companions.

Shen Qing was granted an excellent viewing spot, just as he had hoped.

The three ability users surrounded Qu Weiwei’s severed limb and simultaneously activated their powers. Instantly, a brilliant white light, characteristic of healing abilities, flared up. Yet even through the intense glow, Shen Qing could clearly see new flesh slowly regenerating from the severed stump.

It was incredible. Shen Qing held his breath, staring unblinkingly. Even Song Kaiji, who was witnessing this for the first time, felt a mix of tension and fascination.

However, not long after, the unconscious Qu Weiwei let out a pained moan, her body writhing in discomfort. Even a small wound healing can cause itching and irritation—let alone the regrowth of an entire limb.

As flesh and bone rapidly took shape, the overwhelming pain and itching made Qu Weiwei instinctively struggle even in her unconscious state.

One of the healing ability users wiped sweat from his forehead and instructed Shen Qing and Song Kaiji, “Hold her down! Don’t let her move!”

Hurriedly, Shen Qing and Song Kaiji stepped forward, pressing Qu Weiwei down to keep her still. After about half an hour, the final traces of white light dissipated. The three exhausted healers collapsed onto the floor, their clothes soaked with sweat, completely drained of their abilities—but the arm was fully regenerated.

“It’s perfect. Honestly, the skin looks even smoother than her other arm,” the young man joked before checking Qu Weiwei’s condition. “She’ll wake up soon. She can be discharged now, but if you prefer, she can stay for a day under observation.”

“We’re going home. We’ll leave as soon as possible!” Song Kaiji quickly replied. A single night of hospitalization here was expensive, and he was already drowning in debt. He had no intention of spending any more. “I’ll go handle the discharge paperwork right away.”

He asked Shen Qing to watch over Qu Weiwei and then hurried out of the room.

The three ability users rested for a moment before preparing to leave. Before departing, the young man gave Shen Qing some post-care instructions—nothing too complicated. The key points were to ensure Qu Weiwei had a high-protein, nutritious diet for the next few days, avoid using her ability for a while, and refrain from straining her newly regrown arm.

Shen Qing carefully memorized everything. After a moment’s hesitation, he couldn’t help but ask, “Doctor, what if it’s not an injury, but an old illness? Could you still treat it?”

“What kind of illness?” The young man found it odd to be addressed as “doctor,” but he still answered Shen Qing’s question earnestly.

He remembered that Song Kaiji hadn’t had enough supplies earlier—everything had come from the person in front of him. This was the real wealthy benefactor. Forget just making more business deals; just forming a good relationship with Shen Qing was already a worthwhile investment. “If it’s something like high blood pressure or diabetes, we can treat it, but the effects are limited. On the other hand, diseases like pneumonia or gastric ulcers, which involve organ damage, are actually easier to heal.”

Shen Qing didn’t know what high blood pressure, diabetes, or gastric ulcers were. Frustrated by his lack of understanding of this world, he could only describe the symptoms as best as he could. “It’s an illness caused by childbirth complications. Ever since then, she’s been weak, always cold, has back pain, and frequently experiences persistent bleeding…”

Not only did Miao Shi find her condition embarrassing to talk about, but Shen Qing also struggled to say it aloud, his voice growing quieter toward the end.

The young man wasn’t a trained doctor—he had simply awakened a healing ability and had been working at the hospital for six months, frantically learning medical basics on the job. He wasn’t entirely sure what Shen Qing was describing, but since it was a childbirth-related injury, it likely involved physical damage. If it was damage, it should be treatable—at the very least, he could alleviate some of the symptoms.

“That’s hard to say without seeing her in person,” the young man said. “You should bring her here so we can check. Based on what you described, I think we could at least improve her condition.”

Shen Qing nodded eagerly, determined to bring Miao Shi over for treatment as soon as possible. Even if a full cure wasn’t possible, any improvement would be worthwhile.

“When you bring her, make sure to find me specifically,” the young man added, grinning. “Gotta take care of my business, you know.”

Healing ability users were paid per session, with only a small percentage going to the hospital. Today’s case with Qu Weiwei had been a big one, and even split three ways, the pay was substantial—no wonder the young man was in such high spirits.

As he finished speaking and was about to leave the hospital room, an elderly couple suddenly rushed forward and blocked his way.

“Doctor, doctor, please, save our son too!”

On the bed next to them lay a man in his twenties, his injuries even more severe than Qu Weiwei’s. Besides a deep, long whip-like wound across his chest—left by the mutated plant’s vines—half of his left lower leg was completely gone.

The couple was actually only in their fifties, but after a year in the apocalypse, they had aged rapidly, now looking more like they were in their sixties or seventies. The husband could still work repairing the base’s walls, but the wife could barely find any odd jobs. Their family’s survival had depended mostly on their son’s income from the farm.

They had originally accepted their fate, but after seeing Qu Weiwei grow a brand-new arm in just half an hour, how could they resign themselves to their son becoming disabled?

The young healing ability user sighed helplessly. He had already told this family the price earlier.

“His injuries are more severe—he’s missing an entire section of his leg. It will require more ability power, at least 1,500 crystal cores or 500 pounds of grain. If you can pay, I’ll call in the other healers to perform the treatment.”

He had already exhausted his energy healing Qu Weiwei. Even if they paid, he couldn’t perform another treatment immediately—he needed to go home, absorb crystal cores, and recover first.

But if the family could afford such a large sum, they wouldn’t have waited until now. They didn’t mention payment at all, just desperately clung to the young healer, pleading. But deep down, they knew—this was the apocalypse, not a hospital from before. They couldn’t run up a debt for medical expenses. The person in front of them wasn’t some compassionate doctor; he was a healer who expected compensation.

If they couldn’t come up with the resources, their son really might be left to die!

“How can you be so heartless?!” The couple sobbed in despair. The wife suddenly turned to Shen Qing, rushing forward. She knelt down before him as she spoke.

“Please! Please, lend us some supplies! My son’s leg must be saved! I beg you, we will never forget your great kindness!”

Shen Qing had been preoccupied, thinking about how to bring Miao Shi here without revealing the existence of zombies in this world. Suddenly, someone knelt before him, nearly making him jump in shock.

The old woman clung to his clothing, refusing to let go—this was their last hope for their son.

They had watched the entire scene earlier as Song Kaiji borrowed resources from Shen Qing. Shen Qing had given Song Kaiji a whole basket of supplies, which wasn’t enough, so he had gone back and brought another full load to make up the 400-pound shortfall.

If he was willing to lend to save a girl, why wouldn’t he lend to save their son?

As the elderly couple cried and pleaded, the other patients’ families in the hospital room also turned to look at Shen Qing.

When Song Kaiji returned from completing the discharge paperwork, he immediately saw the scene of Shen Qing being clung to and begged. He also noticed the way the others in the room were eyeing Shen Qing—like they were ready to approach him as well.

His heart sank.

This was his fault. He had been too careless, causing Shen Qing to expose his wealth and attract trouble.

He quickly squeezed through the crowd.

“Make way, make way! We’re leaving now!”

He helped Qu Weiwei onto his back, grabbed Shen Qing’s hand, and pulled him away.

The old couple refused to let go, but Song Kaiji forcibly pried their hands away.

“I borrowed from him with the intention of repaying it. If you want to borrow, tell him when and how you plan to pay it back!”

Saying they would “forever remember the kindness” basically meant they had no ability to repay and were offering empty words instead.

As expected, the old couple had no response to that. Taking advantage of the moment, Song Kaiji quickly dragged Shen Qing and carried Qu Weiwei out of the room at a fast pace.

“It’s my fault. I exposed your wealth and caused you trouble.” Song Kaiji sounded apologetic.

There’s a saying—‘poverty breeds deceitful people.’ The same applies to the apocalypse. When people are trapped in extreme conditions and resources are scarce, morality often deteriorates, sometimes to the point of complete abandonment—just for the sake of survival.

When people are well-fed and secure, they have the luxury of honor and virtue. Perhaps these people were once polite, civilized individuals before the apocalypse. But now, when they had no other way to save their son, they would still give it a try—even if it meant shamelessly begging or taking advantage of others.

Song Kaiji turned to glance at Shen Qing, only to find his expression unreadable, as if deep in thought.

A sudden realization hit Song Kaiji.

“You… You’re not thinking about helping them, are you?”

It dawned on him—he had dragged Shen Qing away before he could even give an answer. Maybe Shen Qing, who had been willing to save Qu Weiwei, also wanted to help others?

A heavy feeling settled in Song Kaiji’s heart.

Would Shen Qing see him as cruel and selfish? Only willing to save his own friends but stopping Shen Qing from helping strangers?

Fortunately, Shen Qing shook his head.

“Not really. It’s just… the first time I’ve encountered something like this.”

Maybe it was because he had been too poor before—no one had ever asked him for money, so he had never been in this situation. He had been a little caught off guard.

That said, he didn’t think Song Kaiji had done anything wrong.

He had helped Qu Weiwei purely for Song Kaiji’s sake. He didn’t even know that other family. Of course, he could sympathize with them—watching their son suffer was pitiful. But Shen Qing’s sympathy only extended to giving them a few steamed buns at most, not covering their entire medical bill.

As Song Kaiji had said, did that family look like they could ever pay him back?

If he had an infinite amount of money and absolute safety, he wouldn’t mind doing good deeds and helping others.

But exposing his wealth here had clearly already made him a target. If he agreed to help that one family, the rest of the room would have immediately swarmed him.

In a situation where revealing his resources would put himself in danger, Shen Qing only wanted to protect himself and the people who were important to him.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Qing came to terms with the kind of person he was—someone who had a little kindness, but not much. Someone who ultimately prioritized himself.

And he was completely okay with that.

◦°˚(*❛‿❛)/˚°◦