After Mistakenly Binding The Matchmaker System

Chapter 171

“You’re giving me the crystal core?” Li Shu’s voice altered by special processing had a mechanical coldness to it. He casually took the crystal core from Gu Lin’s hand and carefully examined it.

This wasn’t the first time he had seen a crystal core. In Gu Lin’s team, he often saw these things, and sometimes Gu Lin would bring him the particularly beautiful ones. But none of those cores compared to this one. This was the highest-grade crystal core he had ever seen.

The crystal core was completely green, a very light green, crystal clear, and there seemed to be white stars flowing inside, reflecting dazzling light under the sunlight.

Given the enormous size of the giant tree, the crystal core it produced was also incredibly large. This crystal core was as big as two of Li Shu’s palms, dozens of times larger than ordinary ones, and the energy contained within was also dozens of times greater.

In the original plot, the male protagonist broke through his bottleneck precisely by absorbing the energy from this crystal core. And now, Gu Lin wanted to give him the core that could help him break through.

Just like in the original plot, Gu Lin was currently stuck at a bottleneck. With the energy from this crystal core, he could directly advance.

“It should belong to you.” Gu Lin wasn’t someone that couldn’t see the situation clearly. The black-robed man that suddenly appeared was neither friend nor foe. Though he had many enemies already, one more wouldn’t make a difference. However, he didn’t want to make an enemy out of this man.

Li Shu played with the crystal core for a while, then tossed it back to Gu Lin. “I don’t need this. Keep it for yourself. Your men are coming for you, so I’ll be leaving now.”

Gu Lin was about to ask him to stay, but Xu Yanqiu had already rushed over, panting heavily. “Boss, did you see Li Shu?”

“Wasn’t he with you?” Gu Lin asked anxiously.

“No,” Xu Yanqiu shook his head, “right after you left, he followed you. I’ve been looking all over but haven’t seen him since…”

As he spoke, his voice grew quieter. In such an environment, Li Shu, an ordinary person with no ability to protect himself, acted alone, and the fate of the person could be imagined.

Gu Lin thought of this as well, and his expression darkened immediately, but he had not forgotten the man in the black cloak. When he was about to say something to him, he found that the figure had already disappeared without a trace.

He pursed his lips together, and decided not to dwell on the stranger’s sudden disappearance. “Which way did he go?”

He was going to look for Li Shu. So much time had passed and Xu Yanqiu had little hope left, but he didn’t say anything more. He simply pointed in a direction.

Ignoring his own injuries, Gu Lin rushed in that direction, not daring to waste a moment. The longer it took, the more dangerous it was for Li Shu. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if something had happened to the young man.

He had finally found new motivation to live. He had only just begun to feel what it was like to be alive again. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing that now. He had thought himself invulnerable, that after everything he had been through, nothing in this world could hurt him anymore.

He was wrong. His weakness was now so clear, so fragile, that with just a little neglect, he might lose everything.

They went back in silence along the same route. They found the other team members, most of whom had suffered minor injuries but nothing life-threatening. After asking around, they were devastated to find that no one had seen Li Shu.

The further they walked, the heavier their hearts became. They all knew how slim the chances were of finding Li Shu alive, but no one dared voice it. Under Xu Yanqiu’s command, those who weren’t too injured returned to the battlefield to search for him.

Regardless of the outcome, they had to at least find his body.

“Boss, this is all my fault. I should’ve kept a better eye on him.” Seeing the blood still flowing from Gu Lin’s wounds, Xu Yanqiu couldn’t hold back anymore. “Boss, you should at least treat your wounds…”

“Don’t bother,” Gu Lin interrupted, cutting off Xu Yanqiu’s unfinished words. “Find him first.”

He was running on sheer willpower now, driven by the determination to find Li Shu. He wouldn’t stop until he did. He believed the young man was still alive, waiting for him somewhere. He had to hurry, he had to move faster.

Gu Lin was not one to change his mind once he made a decision. Xu Yanqiu knew there was no persuading him, so he could only follow along, praying that Li Shu would be alright.

The ground was a mess, littered with broken branches and leaves, and the terrain was uneven. Gu Lin wasn’t watching his footing and stumbled over a tree branch. Xu Yanqiu quickly moved to support him.

And it was in that stumble that Gu Lin noticed something. Leaning on Xu Yanqiu’s arm, he steadied himself and staggered toward a certain direction.

Behind a large, thick branch, he saw a piece of clothing—it was beige, the color of the shirt Li Shu had been wearing that day.

At first, Xu Yanqiu didn’t understand why Gu Lin had suddenly become so agitated, but as they rounded a small mound of earth, he understood.

The person they had been searching for was lying beneath a thick tree branch, eyes closed, their fate unknown.

Gu Lin stopped in his tracks. For a moment, he hesitated. The young man was laying there, his body was covered in scratches and eyes were tightly shut. Was he unconscious, or…?

The second possibility was one Gu Lin didn’t even dare think about. Now that he had found him, he was too afraid to confirm the truth. He had never known that he could be so cowardly. The man who didn’t even blink in the face of life and death now trembled with fear.

This spot wasn’t far from the tree’s main trunk, and it was also some distance from where Gu Lin and Li Shu had separated. It was somewhere in between the two. No one knew how the young man had managed to get here.

A wave of heartache surged through him, especially when he saw the numerous injuries on Li Shu’s body. The pain replaced the fear, and he took a step forward.

Once he took the first step, the next few were easier.

One step, two steps, three steps…

It felt like an eternity had passed in those few short steps. His hand pressed against the thick branch, and he pushed hard.

The branch was moved aside, revealing the young man’s battered appearance. The injuries on his body were far worse than Gu Lin had imagined. His exposed arms were covered in scratches, and his beige shirt was stained red with blood. Dark patches of dried blood had soaked through, and one could only imagine how many more injuries were hidden beneath his clothes.

With trembling hands, he gently lifted the young man from the ground.

The body was soft, and warm.

Gu Lin slowly let out a breath, relieved that Li Shu was alive. He didn’t check the young man’s breath. He was afraid that he’d get the result he least wanted, so he relied on this indirect method to determine if Li Shu was still alive.

Xu Yanqiu tactfully didn’t say anything. Since Gu Lin’s emotions were relatively stable, it seemed the young man was fine.

Gu Lin himself was injured, and after carrying Li Shu to a safe place, he could no longer hold on and collapsed.

“Boss!”

“Don’t panic! Quickly, get Doctor Bai to check on both of them.”

The first to wake up was Li Shu. His injuries were sustained while fighting the giant tree alongside Gu Lin, but at the time, he had been wrapped in a black cloak, so no one could tell he was hurt. According to 1314’s calculations, he found the most suitable place to “faint” and had 1314 adjust his physical data.

When he woke up, he was in a white room. There was someone keeping watch and as soon as the person saw him open his eyes, they hurried over. “You’re awake? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

Li Shu slowly focused his gaze on the person’s face, searched through his memory, and remembered—this was someone from Gu Lin’s team.

“Where’s Gu Lin?” He looked around the room, but it was just the two of them.

“The boss is next door and is still unconscious. Wait here, I’ll go tell Brother Xu and the others.” With that, the young man quickly ran out.

Li Shu slowly sat up: [1314, Gu Lin didn’t notice anything, right?]

[No, after placing the host in a safe spot, the male protagonist passed out and hasn’t woken up yet,] 1314 replied stiffly. [Rest assured, host. Your injuries were indeed caused by the tree roots, and your body is genuinely that of an ordinary person. The male protagonist won’t suspect anything.]

The system was right. After he fainted, Xu Yanqiu had double-checked and had Doctor Bai confirm again while bandaging his wounds. The conclusion was the same each time.

Xu Yanqiu knew this might upset the boss, but he couldn’t let anyone with ulterior motives get close. Li Shu was too special to the boss, and if he approached with ill intentions, he wouldn’t give him the chance to harm Gu Lin.

After settling down, the more Xu Yanqiu thought about it, the more something seemed off. That was a Level 5 evolved species, one even evolvers had difficulty dealing with. How could an ordinary person like Li Shu survive such a violent attack?

He wasn’t trying to be paranoid, but the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. However, every check had shown nothing wrong, and after confirming it repeatedly, the conclusion that Li Shu was just an ordinary person became even more certain.

Once he heard that Li Shu had woken up, Xu Yanqiu put down what he was doing and went to see him.

When he entered the room, Li Shu was already out of bed. Seeing Xu Yanqiu, he immediately asked, “Do you have any clean clothes?”

Xu Yanqiu was caught off guard by the sudden question and said in reflex, “Huh?”

“I was asking where you keep the clean clothes. I’ve been looking around but couldn’t find any.” Li Shu gestured to the empty room. He was still wearing the same clothes as before, which now had a mixture of various unpleasant smells. He could no longer tolerate it.

“They’re filthy.” Li Shu pointed at himself and added.

Xu Yanqiu was silent for a moment before turning around to get him some clean clothes.

After changing, Li Shu immediately felt more alive and asked, “Where’s Gu Lin? Can I go see him?”

Of course, he could. If Li Shu were by his side when Gu Lin woke up, it would certainly make him happy. However: “Are you sure your injuries are fine?”

Xu Yanqiu had been there during the bandaging. Li Shu’s wounds weren’t severe, but for a pampered young master like him, they were definitely serious. He had expected Li Shu to stay in bed for a while after waking up, but the moment he woke, he got out of bed and changed into clean clothes, showing no signs of being injured.

Li Shu: “I’m fine. Is Gu Lin okay?”

“The boss is seriously injured and hasn’t woken up yet. He’s just next door. I’ll take you there.”

Only after leaving the room did Li Shu realize they were indeed in a hospital. The outside had been tidied up, and what it had looked like before the apocalypse were barely visible. Many people were standing guard outside.

Gu Lin was in the room next door. When Li Shu entered, Doctor Bai was examining him.

His shirt had been removed, exposing his body covered in scars. It seemed like some force was preventing his wounds from healing. The injuries were gruesome, with blood and flesh exposed, and blood kept seeping out.

Li Shu paused in his steps. He remembered that in the original plot, the male protagonist’s injuries had been the same. These wounds were caused by the power protecting the crystal core, and they were not easy to heal.

At that moment, Gu Lin’s eyelids twitched as if he were about to wake up.