"Tch, if you want to use the treatment pod, go pay. Whining to us won't help."
"Yeah, look at the way you dress. Bet you can't afford it anyway. We've seen your kind plenty."
The group, who were supposed to be angels in white, now looked worse than monsters.
Fei Yang, young and impulsive, clenched his fists, ready to strike. Leng snapped sharply, "Fei Yang, calm down!"
"We'll pay now. How much?"
Leng raised her wristband toward the square panel by the bed.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Insufficient balance. Please top up and try again."
The cold mechanical voice repeated three times.
Leng's face turned pale. "No way. I had 120,000 credits. How is it not enough?"
"It must be broken. It has to be."
She frantically tapped the payment panel, but the string of zeros confirmed it—nothing left.
"Three hundred thousand?" Her voice trembled as she looked at Fei Yang, tears spilling.
Fei Yang's face stiffened. "Three hundred thousand? That's insane! He's injured inside, sure, but he's not missing limbs! How can it cost that much?"
"Pfft. Country folk."
"Three hundred thousand is cheap. If he lost a leg, it'd be way more. Pay or get lost."
Danielle frowned. "Are you supposed to be healers? Isn't helping the sick your duty?"
"Haha, look at this dumb woman," Zhang Jian sneered, eyeing Danielle with open rudeness.
"You're new to the middle zone, huh? There are no real healers here. You want one to treat him personally? That'll cost at least ten million."
"But that pod should be enough. Tell you what, marry me, and I'll let him use it for five minutes!"
"Get lost."
Leng stepped in front of Danielle protectively.
Fei Yang's fists trembled. "You? Not even close."
Danielle blinked slowly, still not used to this world. A man actually told her to marry him so he could lend medical equipment?
"Not even close? Then get out!"
Zhang Jian shouted and stepped forward with others.
Fei Yang didn't move. Causing trouble in a hospital was a serious crime. If he got arrested, his sister...
The thought made his face twist with helplessness.
Leng held Lu Yi close, tears falling as she tried to use healing energy. It was barely helping. Her skill level was too low. The injury was too serious.
"Stop wasting our time. If you can't pay, go home and die."
Zhang Jian's face twisted in frustration.
Danielle inhaled deeply and tapped her wristband to the payment panel.
"Payment accepted. Treatment pod activating."
With a boom, Leng was pushed back by invisible energy.
A dome-shaped shield fell from the ceiling, enclosing Lu Yi inside.
Leng stared in confusion.
Fei Yang froze.
Danielle gave them a calm smile, then turned to Zhang Jian and the others.
"Get out."
Zhang Jian was stunned, and then his face slowly turned red.
"Danielle, thank you."
Fei Yang couldn't hold it in anymore—tears started falling, but he stubbornly wiped them away with his sleeve, not wanting Danielle to see.
Leng pressed her lips tightly together and silently tapped her wristband to transfer credits.
Beep—100,000 received!
Danielle looked at her. "What are you doing?"
Leng sniffled. "Danielle, I'll repay the remaining 200,000 later."
Danielle shook her head slightly. "But what about your captain's family? Didn't you want to save money for them?"
Leng's face showed firm resolve. "I'll earn it for them."
"And me too! I'll do my best to hunt beasts and make money!"
Fei Yang raised his hand eagerly.
Danielle really liked this atmosphere. In her past life, her withdrawn personality kept her from making friends. Now, being pushed into a team like this gave her unexpected warmth.
And her teammates weren't bad either. So why not take a step forward?
But Danielle also saw Leng's pride. She thought for a moment.
"How about this: you keep the 100,000. After all, even if Lu Yi recovers, he'll still need time to heal. Your captain's family needs help too. Just treat the 300,000 as a loan. When you get paid after missions, I'll deduct part of it until it's all repaid. Sound good?"
Leng didn't want to agree, but Fei Yang's pleading eyes made her swallow her pride again.
"Danielle, thank you."
"No need. Stay with him. I'll head out."
After transferring the money back, Danielle left the hospital room.
That was enough of a visit. They weren't that close yet—staying longer would just be awkward. They could get more familiar over time.
She casually walked down the stairs. As she reached the lobby, she saw Zachary holding Rain and looking around.
A smile touched her lips. "Rain!"
"Mom!"
Rain jumped off Zachary's arms like a rocket and rushed over.
Danielle opened her arms, ready to hug him—when suddenly someone stepped between them.
"Ow!"
Zhang Jian fell to the ground clutching his stomach.
"Whose kid is this? Ow, my stomach!"
Rain froze.
He didn't care that his butt hurt from the fall—his tear-filled eyes looked fearfully at Danielle.
"Mama… Rain didn't do it on purpose!"