Li Ke remembered exactly what Kiri looked like. To be perfectly honest, no Dungeon & Fighter player worth their salt could ever forget her appearance.
Between the two large hairpins thrust into the back of her tied-up hair, the high-slit, cheongsam-style outfit, and the distinct lace sleeve covering only a single arm, everything pointed to one absolute fact.
This woman was Kiri the Gunsmith.
The other newcomer, however, was a different story. Li Ke couldn't get a clear look at her face; he could only tell that she was wearing a traditional kimono-style dress. The moment her feet touched the ground, she began trembling violently, looking entirely paralyzed by absolute terror.
Is her mental fortitude really that pathetic?
Despite the judgment, Li Ke wasn't about to take any unnecessary risks. Staying firmly perched on his elevated stone platform, he brandished his firearm and silently focused on recovering his stamina, waiting for the duo to spot his position.
However, Li Ke heavily underestimated the sharp intuition and keen situational awareness of the woman who looked like Kiri. It took her mere seconds to scan the area and lock her eyes right onto him. The moment she registered the gun in his hands, her aura shifted into something lethally sharp—only to instantly melt back into a relaxed, easygoing demeanor as a bright smile broke across her face.
She casually waved her arm toward Li Ke, the motion causing her ample, pale chest to sway enticingly under her low-cut collar, threatening to reveal a great deal more skin with the slightest wrong movement.
The exact second she spoke, that incredibly familiar, smooth-talking accent echoed through the ruins.
"Hey there, handsome! Looks like you've seen better days. Did you get separated from your squad? Also, if you don't mind sharing, any chance you could tell me exactly where on earth we are?"
Confident, slightly slick, and utterly unapologetic—that was unmistakably Kiri's voice. As Li Ke focused his gaze, he could now clearly see two uniquely customized revolver pistols tucked tightly into her waistband.
If this was the real deal—the legendary Kiri from the continent of Arad—Li Ke knew with absolute certainty that even if he pulled his trigger first, she could easily put a bullet through his skull before his firing pin could even strike the primer. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he kept his system's aiming crosshairs locked onto her forehead as he called out his reply.
"I don't know what this place is called either, but I can tell you it's incredibly dangerous... And yeah, I definitely need a hand. But in a place like this, how do I know I can trust you?"
The moment Li Ke opened his mouth, he realized his voice had become completely raspy and hollow. Worse still, the mere act of speaking triggered a violent wave of dizziness, accompanied by a sudden, intense urge to vomit.
It was the severe internal bleeding taking its toll. There wasn't a damn thing he could do about it manually.
Kiri let out a helpless sigh, shaking her head as she looked up at him. Given that he was practically drenched from head to toe in dry blood, she was admittedly in a tight spot; she only knew the absolute basics of battlefield first aid, nothing advanced enough to patch up a dying man.
More importantly, she was completely cleaned out of medical supplies. If she actually had any gear left on her, she wouldn't have been forced to leap into the ocean in a desperate gamble to find a lifeline in the first place.
"Ah, well... even if you put it that way, buddy, it's not like I have any medicine on me to patch you up," Kiri said, gesturing with her thumbs toward herself before offering another helpless shrug. "By the way, is this place Arad? It looks a hell of a lot like the Empyrean—nothing but rotting corpses and acrid smoke everywhere. But don't sweat it. As long as you don't take a shot at me, I won't have a reason to shoot back. A woman of my sterling reputation wouldn't stoop to ambushing a wounded man."
But right as Kiri finished speaking, the other person who had materialized alongside her finally broke her silence. Clamping a hand tightly over her own abdomen, she took several deep, ragged breaths, forcefully squeezing the words past her lips.
"I'm a medic... Clean up his external wounds first. I can heal him."
The blonde woman managed to gasp out the words as she tossed over a roll of gauze and some bandages. She then collapsed onto her knees, clutching her chest as she desperately forced herself to take deep, ragged breaths.
It was only now that Li Ke caught a proper glimpse of her face.
She was a striking woman, though her current state was concerning. Her attire was rugged, similar in style to Kiri's, suggesting someone used to a life of movement and conflict.
Yet, as Li Ke looked at her golden hair and pale face, he couldn't place her. He racked his brain but couldn't recall any character who was a doctor suffering from such a severe, visible ailment. From the way she was shaking and struggling for air, she seemed to be in nearly as bad a state as he was.
"Alright then. Hey, friend, don't go pointing that gun at us," Kiri said, waving dismissively at Li Ke. "Once we get you patched up, you can tell us exactly where we are. Hang on a second, I'll find something to use as a ladder."
Li Ke shook his head weakly. "No need. I'll make my own way down..."
He broke into a fit of coughing, forcing himself to stand. He stepped toward the edge of his platform where he had previously placed wood frames. Most of them had been destroyed in the chaos, forcing him to rely on a more painstaking method.
He began to construct a spiral staircase around the pillar.
Wooden blocks manifested in Li Ke's hands one after another, snapping into place against the pillar as if by magic. Below him, Kiri watched in absolute silence, her jaw nearly dropping.
From her perspective, he was simply reaching out, and massive timber blocks were appearing out of thin air, forming a stable path downward.
"Good grief... are you some kind of sorcerer?" Kiri asked, her curiosity piqued. She moved closer, keeping her eyes on him to ensure she could catch him if he collapsed during the descent.
Li Ke only waved a hand, too exhausted to offer an explanation.
Every step down the makeshift stairs felt like a battle against gravity and his own fading consciousness. He felt as though he were walking on the very edge of life. As he reached the final few blocks, his strength gave out entirely, and he pitched forward.
The ground rushed up to meet him, but instead of hitting the hard asphalt, he felt himself caught by Kiri. She lunged forward, breaking his fall and supporting his weight. In his dazed state, he caught the scent of gunpowder and faint tobacco clinging to her clothes.
Knowing he was finally safe from the fall, Li Ke allowed his mind to relax for the first time. Kiri helped him over to a flat, relatively clear section of the road so he could lie down.
Strangely, the blonde woman who claimed to be a medic remained where she was, still trembling and making no move to help.
Li Ke looked at Kiri, then tried to move his arm, but it felt like lead. A wave of vertigo hit him the moment he tried to lift his head. He knew he didn't have much time before he lost consciousness again.
With a final surge of will, he accessed his inventory and manifested his pipe machine gun and several boxes of ammunition onto the ground. He pointed a trembling finger toward the back of the station.
"Guns... ammo... there's a pond back there," he rasped. "Tools for boiling water, too. But be careful. This world is full of the walking dead. You have to destroy the brain... it's the only way to stop them."
As the last word left his lips, the world turned black, and he slumped into unconsciousness once more.
Kiri looked down at the unconscious Li Ke, then glanced over at the magically summoned machine gun and ammunition crates on the ground. She scratched her head in confusion before turning her attention back to the trembling female doctor.
She had originally intended to ask the woman why she wasn't starting the treatment, but as she watched her desperately try to maintain a straight face—fighting tooth and nail to keep her expression from completely collapsing into raw panic—the realization instantly clicked.
"Hemophobia? A fear of blood?"
Without pressing the issue, Kiri picked up the pipe machine gun Li Ke had left behind, gathered a handful of the scattered ammunition boxes, and made her way toward the back of the gas station.
Fortunately, the pond behind the station had escaped the brunt of the massive fuel tank explosion. Even though the water's surface was covered in a thick layer of soot and ash from the incinerated forest, Kiri wasn't in a position to be picky. Using a piece of her own clothing as a makeshift filter, she managed to haul a bucket of water back to Li Ke's side. She gently wiped the grime from his face before tearing away his ruined shirt to inspect his injuries.
"Kid's got the luck of the devil..." Kiri muttered, clicking her tongue in disbelief.
Li Ke's body was a horrific map of deep, jagged lacerations, massive purple contusions, and severely displaced bones. If the impact had been even a fraction of an inch to the side, a splintered rib would have punctured his lung, making survival an absolute impossibility.
Truthfully, given the sheer severity of his trauma, this out-of-shape ex-office worker shouldn't have lasted long enough to see them get summoned into this world.
Once she had thoroughly wiped away the worst of the dried blood, Kiri turned back to the blonde doctor, who was still frozen in place, trembling like a leaf.
"I've done the best I can, but there are still a few stubborn stains left. So, tell me straight—can you actually heal him or not?" Kiri asked directly.
She could guess that the woman was suffering from a severe case of trauma-induced psychological paralysis, but Li Ke's health pool was at a critical bottleneck. Kiri didn't have any better options.
"I... I'll try. Take my hand... and place it directly over his chest. That's all you need to do... I can heal him."
The blonde woman tightly closed her eyes and turned her body around, though Kiri could still see her frame shaking violently. Kiri internally wanted to complain about how on earth a blindfolded doctor was supposed to execute complex medical procedures, but remembering the reality-defying wood blocks Li Ke had just conjured out of thin air, she decided to humor her.
For all she knew, this newcomer possessed an equally logic-defying cheat ability.
Guided by Kiri's firm grip, the blonde woman slowly shuffled over to Li Ke's side. Her fingers brushed against his exposed chest, and every single time her skin made contact with a trace of residual blood, Kiri could feel a distinct, violent tremor run through her hands.
But a split second later, a miraculous sight unfolded.
A brilliant, vibrant green aura suddenly erupted from the woman's palms. The moment the emerald light seeped into Li Ke's chest, his jagged wounds began fusing back together at a speed visible to the naked eye. Not only that, but his dangerously shallow, rattling breaths instantly began to stabilize into a smooth, rhythmic pattern.
However, the cost of the miracle was immediate. Thick beads of cold sweat began pouring down the woman's forehead, and her entire body shook and swayed precously, looking as if she might collapse at any second.
"My... my Chakra... how can it be this depleted?!" the blonde woman gasped out in a faint, thoroughly exhausted whisper. As her medical ninjutsu mended his broken body, she could feel her vital energy and stamina being aggressively drained away.
In her home world, a minor healing process like this wouldn't have even made her blink.
Then, at the exact instant Li Ke's eyes fluttered open, the woman's strength gave out entirely. Her body tilted forward, collapsing right on top of him. The newly conscious Li Ke barely had enough time to catch a brief glimpse of the morning sun before his face was violently buried under a massive mountain of soft, pale cleavage.
His breathing was instantly cut off by the sudden weight, causing his concussed brain to run out of oxygen all over again. The world turned black, and he plummeted straight back into unconsciousness.