Two small glowing orbs floated out from the zombie's corpse—Evolution Seeds! They drilled into my body, and soon, the long-lost raspy voice echoed in my mind once more:

  I felt my weakened body regain some strength. Turning to look at Sophie, I saw her staring at me blankly, tears still on her cheeks. I silently commanded, The Mutant Thunderlight Sword dissolved into light, vanishing from my grasp, and the weapon slowly disappeared from my hand.

  Walking over to Sophie, I crouched down, lifted her arms over my shoulders, and carried her on my back. My hands supported her thighs, and an odd feeling arose in my heart, reminding me of the illusion I had just experienced. But another thought quickly replaced it—the raspy voice had saved me twice now.

  Was it really just a system notification like in a game? Ares had mentioned that his system’s prompts were delivered in a neutral machine tone, and when he leveled up, it simply said "Level Up," nothing else.

  This discrepancy puzzled me. I tried asking in my mind, raspy voice? No response.

  "Robot Bro?" Still nothing.

  "Damn it, so it really is just a system."

  "I'm not just a system!"

  "Whoa! Robot Bro, you finally spoke!"

  "Robot Bro?"

  "Robot?

  But after that, no matter how much I called out, the raspy voice refused to respond. I decided to ignore it for now.

  I gently laid Sophie down on a relatively clean hospital bed inside the operating room.

  "Help me check my back," she said weakly.

  I turned her over carefully and reassured her, "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

  She was wearing a green dress with a half-sleeved top. As I lifted her shirt slightly, I found that it wouldn't budge any further—the dried blood had fused it to her wound.

  "What should we do?" I frowned and asked.

  "Find... saline solution," Sophie said weakly.

  Glancing around, I noticed a glass cabinet filled with various bottles. After searching for a while, I called out, "No saline solution!"

  Sophie shot me a weak glare and corrected me, "It's called... sodium chloride solution."

  Looking again, I found a row of bottles labeled as such. I grabbed a few, along with a large pack of medical cotton, and rushed back to Sophie.

  "Pour it... on my back," she instructed weakly.

  Using a pair of surgical forceps, I snapped off the seal of one bottle and gently poured it over her wound.

  Sophie let out a muffled groan, her face contorted in pain as she gripped the bedsheet tightly. My heart ached at the sight—this girl was unbelievably strong, enduring the excruciating pain without a single scream.

  Gritting my teeth, I continued pouring. Two bottles later, her entire back was drenched, as was the bedsheet beneath her. Sweat streamed down her pale face, soaking her hair, which now stuck to her forehead.

  I waited for the saline to loosen the dried blood. In the meantime, I opened another bottle and poured it over my own wounded arm.

  "Hiss—" I sucked in a sharp breath. Damn, this really stings!

  Sophie barely opened her eyes, saw my grimacing face, and smiled faintly.

  For some reason, I smiled back like a fool. "Don't worry, you'll be fine," I reassured her.

  Sophie gave a slight nod and closed her eyes again, while I continued "enjoying" the stinging sensation of the saline.

  After a while, I carefully lifted Sophie's shirt. Sure enough, the wound had finally separated from the fabric. But as I lifted it fully, I was left stunned.

  The long, scabbed wound on her back from a few days ago had completely reopened, the edges peeling outward. The wound was horrific to look at, and after soaking in saline, it had turned deathly pale, exposing clear muscle fibers beneath.

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  "Has it gotten worse?" Sophie asked weakly, eyes still shut.

  I swallowed hard and nodded. "It's not bleeding anymore, but it's seriously infected. What should we do?"

  Sophie said weakly, "Sew it up..."

  I froze. "Sew? I don't know how!" I turned my head away, unable to bear looking at the wound any longer.

  "But if you don't stitch it up... I'll die..." she murmured weakly.

  At that moment, I felt an overwhelming urge to howl at the sky in frustration! I sat helplessly beside Sophie's bed, staring blankly at the ceiling light, unmoving. What should I do? I kept asking myself over and over.

  Even an idiot could see that Sophie's massive wound should have been bleeding profusely, yet there was none. That meant... her chances of survival were slim.

  Suddenly, I thought of Ares' purification skill—it had healing properties! But then reality hit me: Ares was too far away. Sophie couldn't drive, and if I carried her on foot, it would take days... She wouldn't last that long.

  What should I do...? What should I do...? What should I do!!!

  Just as I was on the verge of breaking down, a voice echoed in my mind.

  "Out of options, huh?"

  "Robot Voice!!" I shouted in my head. "You have a way, don’t you?! Tell me, quick!!"

  "Robot Bro! Bro! Please, I was wrong before! Just tell me how to save her!!" I pleaded desperately.

  Robot Voice spoke lazily, "Oh, I do have a way... but first, you have to shout 'I am a fool, I'm a freaking fool’ ten times at the top of your lungs. Then I'll tell you."

  "Here? Right now??" I glanced at Sophie and asked in my mind.

  "That's right!!" Robot Voice replied sternly, sounding as if he was determined to mess with me.

  "If I shout, and you don't help me, then what?" I asked, trying to stay rational.

  "Well, if you shout, there's a chance. If you don't... then there's no chance at all," Robot Voice said, sounding more sinister than ever.

  "Fine!!!" I steeled my resolve. Screw it!

  I leaped to my feet and roared, "I'm a freaking fool!!!"

  "I'm a freaking fool!!!"

  "Fine,I'm a freaking fool!!!"

  "I'm a freaking foo...l!!!"

  I felt Sophie’s stunned gaze boring into my back…

  I didn't dare turn around—too embarrassing. In my mind, I growled, That's ten times! I did it!!

  Robot Voice, clearly pleased, said, "Nice! That was powerful! Oh, by the way, my real name is... FG. From now on, call me G."

  "Fine," I gritted my teeth. "G... Now, can you finally tell me how to save her?"

  Robot Voice—no, G—chuckled. "Just check your new skill after leveling up, and you'll know..."

  Hearing this, I almost coughed up blood in frustration... Damn it!!!

  So I could've solved this myself all along?! That bastard tricked me! Made me call myself "I'm freaking foo" ten times for nothing…

  But now wasn’t the time to curse him. I quickly focused and silently thought, Skills!

  A new yellow skull had appeared...

  Healing: Active, Active skill with divine energy.

  Effect: Uses the power of the Seed of Evolution to heal a designated wound, restoring 10% of the wound's area while slightly rejuvenating the target, restoring some stamina...

  After reading it, my face darkened. I sighed internally… Useless...

  But then Robot Voice's voice echoed again, “Who said it's useless? If I merge my will into your skill, I estimate it can be upgraded to level 10—the highest level.”

  What?!!!!

  "... Who the hell are you? Why is your voice different from the mechanical system voices in other people's minds?" I asked, deeply suspicious.

  Robot Voice replied leisurely, “I could tell you, sure. But the story's quite long. It might take three to five days. Meanwhile, that little girl over there… she probably won't make it.”

  “Alright!!” I forcefully suppressed my questions. “What's the price?”

  I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. If I wanted something, I had to pay for it.

  “The price…” Robot Voice—no, G Bro—said slowly, “Once my will merges with the skill, I'll fall into a one-month slumber. During that time, no matter how many Seeds of Evolution you obtain, you won't level up. You'll have to wait until I wake up to upgrade again. That's the downside.”

  I was overjoyed. That's no downside at all!

  “G Bro!! Please help me!!” I begged without hesitation.

  G Bro chuckled, “Since you're so sincere, I'll help you with this once. But first, you need to allocate a skill point to activate the skill. Only then can I merge my will into it.”

  Without a second thought, I assigned a skill point to Healing. It was immediately upgraded to level 1. But the next instant, a bright golden glow exploded from the skill icon.

  I looked again—Level 10!!!

  The new skill description appeared:

  Healing: Active, Blessing-type skill. Level 10.

  Effect: As long as the target is not dead, it heals any wound and fully restores stamina. Consumes Seed of Evolution energy.

  Such a simple description, yet such an overpowering effect!

  In my mind, I called out softly, G Bro? … No response.

  I turned my head and saw Sophie still staring at me with a baffled expression.

  I laughed heartily and said, “Girl, you're saved!!”

  Without waiting for her to react, I reached out. A massive ball of golden light shot from my palm, flying toward her—

  Then everything went black.

  I finally understood why this skill had no cooldown…

  … Darkness… Cold…

  Where is this…?

  That voice… Someone is calling me…

  I followed the voice, stepping forward…

  A strange, weak sensation swept over me. Slowly, I opened my eyes.

  I was lying in a hospital bed.

  Then, a cheerful voice rang out, “You're awake!!”

  It was Sophie.

  Hearing those three words, I couldn't help but recall that night by the river—when Sophie had stood with her back to me and coldly said, “You're awake…”

  A moment later, she entered my sight.

  An unnatural hunger gnawed at me. My gaze locked onto Sophie's exposed skin, and a primal urge surged through my veins. No… No, this can't happen.

  What's happening?!

  My pupils shrank violently.

  Could it be…?!

  I lifted my arm—

  My skin… had slight wrinkles?!