Chapter Seventy-Six: Let Me Find a Solution

Even though for most of their time together, she had played the part of a ruthless female bandit, when she spoke and told him to leave with a reward of fifty thousand yuan, even reminding him of certain precautions, Zhang Wenhao found his previous hostility towards her dissipating. When confronted with mortal danger, jumping onto his bicycle was simply her instinctive way of avoiding peril. Yet her quick reaction genuinely astonished him. In Zhang Wenhao’s eyes, aside from being struck by a bullet from afar, every move she made was cautious and professional—clear evidence of thorough, systematic training.

This apartment was new even to her, but she possessed the key to the front door, knew the room’s password, and the location of the secret compartment. Clearly, this was a regular hideout for her or her organization. Still, the items here were insufficient to solve her predicament. If he were to walk away, her fate would likely be one of two outcomes: death inside the apartment, or death outside.

Thus, Zhang Wenhao decided he could not stand idly by. If he truly opened the door and left, her life would be in grave danger.

When Zhang Wenhao posed a question regarding Master Dongguo, the woman paused, surprised, and looked at him. “Thank you for repaying evil with kindness. But you’ve already helped me enough. There’s little more you can do. You should go home.”

Zhang Wenhao replied calmly, “Your wound isn’t a through-and-through. That means the bullet is still inside your body.”

The woman frowned and nodded, but could not fathom how this high schooler seemed to know so much about gunshot wounds. Zhang Wenhao’s next words stunned her even more.

“When they fired, we were roughly one hundred and twenty meters away. The effective range of a handgun is only several dozen meters, but that refers to accuracy and the target’s protection. Beyond a hundred meters, both precision and power drop sharply. One bullet struck the nearby trash can, but only pierced one layer of sheet metal—insufficient force for a through wound. Especially with your injury directly facing the femur, your thigh bone. I suspect the bullet is lodged in your femur now, but it shouldn’t be too serious—at least there’s no fracture.”

She listened, dumbfounded, but quickly regained her composure and asked, “How do you know all this?”

Zhang Wenhao smiled slightly. “The how isn’t important. What matters is if you keep using your belt as a tourniquet, you might lose your leg.”

The woman glanced at her wound. Below where the belt was tied, her skin had turned dark purple. Gritting her teeth, she tried to undo the belt, but Zhang Wenhao hurriedly stepped forward. “Don’t undo it all at once. Loosen it first and see how the bleeding goes.”

She nodded gently, then loosened the belt.

A stream of dark blood oozed from the wound. Zhang Wenhao breathed a sigh of relief. “No arterial damage—otherwise the blood would have spurted out. The main vein is unharmed too. You’re lucky.”

She asked, “What now? Leave the bullet in and bandage the wound, or take it out first?”

“Take the bullet out first,” Zhang Wenhao replied. “It mustn’t stay inside for too long; otherwise, the healing tissue will encapsulate it, and it’ll compress nerves inside your body. You’ll be left with a limp, and if it drags out, it may become irreversible.”

“Now? How?” she frowned.

Zhang Wenhao rummaged through the first aid kit, finding no usable tools. “Without tools, I can’t help you. If I use my hands, I’d have to tear your wound open, and without anesthetics, the pain would be unimaginable—not to mention it wouldn’t be sanitary and infection would be likely.”

There were no tools here, nor any medication to ease her pain. The anti-inflammatory drugs amounted to only two syringes—far from enough for a gunshot wound and bullet extraction.

For a moment, Zhang Wenhao was troubled. He could easily help her remove the bullet, clean, and suture the wound, and all she’d need would be rest to avoid any lasting complications. Yet even a skilled woman cannot cook without rice.

The woman, too, understood the predicament. She was adept at killing, not treating wounds, and had nothing useful at hand. For a moment, she felt helpless and glanced at Zhang Wenhao. “What should we do now?”

“I’ll think of something,” Zhang Wenhao said. “I’ll go out and buy medicine and tools. Wait here for me.”

“No,” she blurted. “It’s dangerous enough for you to leave, let alone come back. They’ve probably gathered more people and sealed off all exits.”

Zhang Wenhao replied, “I’ll be careful. They haven’t seen my face, and I’ve changed clothes. They won’t recognize me. This is a residential area; their target is you. They can’t keep an eye on everyone.”

She pondered for a moment, then asked, “Can you drive?”

Instinctively, Zhang Wenhao answered, “No.” But he remembered seeing a driving skill pack in the Super Learning System. Though expensive, the car driving module required only one hundred points. He quickly corrected himself, “Yes, I can!”

She looked at him, surprised. “Can you really? Driving isn’t a joke. If you’ve only seen others drive or just know the theory, forget it.”

Wenhao said, “Where’s the key to the Passat outside? I’ll drive that car and head to the High-Tech Zone. I know people at the hospital there—maybe I can get more tools and medicine.”

“Hospital?” she frowned, “Are you sure you won’t give yourself away? If they find out someone took supplies for treating gunshot wounds, they could trace it back to you.”

Zhang Wenhao thought to himself: when he was injured before, the doctor at Renai Hospital had witnessed his emergency skills and helped treat his wound. Furthermore, important figures like the district director and Director Han had been present that day. The doctor would surely remember him, and with those big names backing him, it wouldn’t be difficult to procure supplies. For the doctor, a district director is already a big deal, not to mention Director Han. He wouldn’t casually divulge details.

“Don’t worry,” Zhang Wenhao said to her, “I know what I’m doing. It’ll be fine.”

“Thank you,” she replied, casting a grateful look at him. “The car key should be in the secret compartment—look for it.”

Zhang Wenhao walked to the compartment, knelt, and searched until he found a key with the Volkswagen logo. “Give me the door key as well. Wait for me here. The bleeding isn’t severe—don’t tie too tightly. As long as your leg doesn’t swell, you’ll be fine.”

She nodded gently and thanked him, but inwardly wondered: Who exactly is this young man? Why does he know so much?

Zhang Wenhao took the keys and was about to leave when she stopped him. “Wait—take this.”

She handed him her pistol. “The recoil is light, and it has a silencer. Six rounds left. Keep it close. If necessary, use it to protect yourself. Just pull the trigger and it’ll fire.”

Zhang Wenhao hesitated briefly, then nodded and took the gun. Once outside, he paused, entered the system, and quickly exchanged for the car driving skill. The system soon notified him that the exchange was successful. His usable points dropped from 540 to 440, with a total of 1940.

Car driving was a relatively simple skill, and as soon as the exchange was complete, all relevant knowledge flooded his mind. Zhang Wenhao pressed the unlock button on the car key, pushed open the door, started the engine, hid the pistol under the seat, and effortlessly drove the car away.

Locking the door behind him, Zhang Wenhao drove the unremarkable Passat out of the only alley accessible by car onto Jiangquan Road. Immediately, he noticed something unusual: across the street stood two men in black suits, about fifty meters apart, their eyes fixed on the exit.

They paid little attention to him, only glancing at his ordinary Passat before ignoring it. Zhang Wenhao sped along Jiangquan Road, passing several exits guarded by one or two people each. Clearly, their side had mobilized more manpower in a short time.

These men posed no significant threat to Zhang Wenhao. If push came to shove, he could call Uncle Lei for help. Though these men in black looked cold and dangerous, if the military got involved, they’d be finished. For now, his priority was to reach Renai Hospital as quickly as possible, hoping that the doctor was not off duty!