"Monsalia, it's really you."
Hill's eyes curved upward, her mood exceptionally good.
This was the first time Duan Chen had seen such an overtly expressive emotion from Hill.
He couldn't help but be curious.
"Monsalia? Is she your teammate?"
As he asked, his gaze fell upon the woman who was wrapped up, indistinguishable from a mummy.
Monsalia, this sounded like a foreign name.
But he couldn't see the woman's face.
All he could see was her jet-black hair.
It even cascaded down to her toes, just a fist's distance from the ground. Such long hair, yet it was maintained and conditioned so well that it didn't frizz even when loose, it was exceptionally smooth.
It was the kind of hair that could be used for a shampoo commercial on the spot.
"Hello?" Qin Nanyuan inquired tentatively, feeling a bit curious. But what she received was...
The woman called Monsalia remained silent. Her eyes—or what could be called eyes, though it was hard to tell—were mere slits beneath the bandages.
She walked stubbornly to Hill's side and stood behind her, not uttering a single word from beginning to end.
Seeing this woman, Hill's entire facial expression relaxed.
It was as if a background of blooming flowers appeared behind her.
"Now that Monsalia is here, I have a way to treat you."
This was said to Yuan Yuan.
Yuan Yuan was startled.
He didn't quite understand why Hill said that, but he obediently extended his hand.
Yuan Qingqing then noticed Yuan Yuan's arm.
She immediately walked to Yuan Yuan's side, looking at him with surprise and panic.
"How did your arm get injured? Look at me, I forgot."
"Are you okay?"
Yuan Yuan was silent for a moment, then a smile spread across his face, revealing the familiar, docile expression that everyone knew.
"It hasn't hurt for a long time, sister, don't worry."
Although he claimed it didn't hurt, a deep sadness flickered in Yuan Yuan's eyes.
But Yuan Qingqing didn't notice.
She even let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.
"That's good, if you don't hurt, I can rest easy."
After saying this, Yuan Qingqing seemed to remember something and asked with a frown and concern.
"But it really doesn't hurt anymore?"
"Of course not," Yuan Yuan continued to smile, but his smile never reached the depths of his eyes, remaining only on the surface.
He then turned to Hill and said,
"Please, Sister Hill, treat me."
Jun Ci, having experienced so much, felt that his friendship with Duan Chen had deepened considerably.
He leaned beside Duan Chen and muttered softly,
"I don't know why, but when I see Hill about to treat, I always have a bad premonition."
"Especially what kind of treatment requires an assistant who is wrapped like a mummy and can't even lift their arms?"
Duan Chen was speechless, not knowing what to say.
"..."
But honestly, he felt the same way.
What kind of treatment required a mummy assistant?
Their doubts were soon dispelled.
Hill knelt beside Yuan Yuan, her expression one of saintly compassion.
A syringe appeared out of thin air in her hand.
The liquid inside the syringe seemed to shimmer.
Without a word, she located Yuan Yuan's vein and injected the liquid directly.
The medicine quickly took effect. Yuan Yuan, lying on the ground, felt his consciousness drift away. His entire being was left with an helpless gaze at the sky. This method...
His brain was numbed.
This was anesthetic, and the most potent kind.
It allowed one to clearly feel everything in their body while remaining conscious.
And to clearly hear the sounds from outside.
Thus, Yuan Yuan was almost forced to listen to the external sounds and Hill's calm instructions.
"Arm."
"Flesh."
"Muscle and tendon."
"..."
"And so on." Yuan Yuan's mouth was numb, preventing him from calling out to stop. But at this moment, Jun Ci beside him could no longer bear it.
He even felt on the verge of collapse.
He watched Yuan Yuan's arm being cut open, the skin so thin it revealed the bone beneath.
The pearly white bone was directly taken out by Hill.
Then, Hill did something no one had expected.
She reached out towards her assistant.
Monsalia.
And spoke, "Bone."
After Hill said this, Monsalia, like a puppet obeying unconditional orders, silently untied the bandages on her arm, revealing her bare limb.
Then, she took out a knife.
The tip of the knife pierced the flesh, cutting through bone and blood, and extracted a section of bone from within.
Hill's instructions continued methodically.
Monsalia retrieved the items Hill needed, time and time again.
"Is this how you treat?" Jun Ci couldn't understand, feeling that everything before him defied his imagination and broke convention.
Hill paused her actions, tilting her head, a hint of impatience in her brows.
She hated being interrupted during surgery.
"Is there a problem?"
"...Don't you think there's a problem?" Jun Ci hesitated.
Hill responded with remarkable good nature.
"Of course not. Don't worry, if you're just concerned about the materials on your body, they will regenerate after a certain amount of time."
"Monsalia is not human."
"Not human?"
This statement surprised everyone else.
Monsalia looked human, and possessed her own thoughts and reason. Though her eyes were hard to see, a light of intelligence flickered within them.
How could she not be human?
"...Gulp." A muffled sound came from Monsalia's throat.
Hill carelessly placed the bone in her hand into Yuan Yuan's body.
As she did so, she replied,
"That's right. Perhaps she was human once, but now Monsalia has long since transcended the human category."
"So there's no need to worry. Monsalia feels no pain."
She seemed to assume Jun Ci's question was born of interest, and suggestively offered,
"And if you wish to change your body, I can help you with that now. For instance, are there any parts of yourself you are not satisfied with?"