Chapter 423: Huh?!!!

「……」

Pipeline? Inspection? Explosion incident? Oh, this…

Looking at the gas company employee before him, her eyes swollen like peaches and her small face filled with guilt, Li Ang had no idea what to say, so he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

If this really had been a gas pipeline explosion that caused Anna to injure her thigh—or nearly get killed—I'd probably tear the culprit apart right now.

But this time, it really wasn't their fault; the explosion was staged by that demonic god, and the hospital incident was an attack orchestrated by the director, not caused by faulty gas pipes.

As for this girl before me, her work was flawless—she simply had terrible luck, caught in the crossfire of that anomaly from the Clearance Bureau…

……

"This… I can see you're sincerely apologizing. How about this—you cover the medical bills, and we'll let this matter drop?"

Li Ang, feeling a slight twinge of conscience, had originally planned to let it go, but he thought it would seem insincere not to seek some accountability after Anna nearly died in a "gas explosion," so he proposed a middle-ground solution.

After all, his family's medical expenses could be reimbursed using Clearance Bureau credentials; Anna's lung illness didn't require private payment, and her injury from the "gas explosion" was only to her leg—worst case, she'd need to pay one or two silver wheels, which wouldn't impose a heavy financial burden on the other side…

Unexpectedly, Li Ang and the others were so easygoing; the girl with the baby face suddenly looked up, her face filled with disbelief:

"Just… this much compensation is enough?"

He glanced back at his sister; seeing her cheeks flushed and her gaze distant, with no objection, he turned back and nodded apologetically at the tearful girl before him.

"Yes, that's enough."

"……"

Just this little compensation? Are there really people like this?

Upon hearing Li Ang's affirmative reply, the woman in her professional suit froze, her swollen eyes wide with disbelief.

……

Among those affected by the incident, most were rendered unconscious by the volatile anesthetic and then inhaled excessive anesthetic gas; some still hadn't woken up, but these cases were relatively easy to compensate—just cover lost wages and herbal medicine costs.

The most severely affected was the hospital director, but he didn't seem like a good person—he'd been reported for numerous misdeeds, and if he wasn't dead, he'd likely hang; no compensation needed.

Then came the few who jumped from the fourth floor: the older nurse suffered no injury, only shock, while the young nurse with severe joint trauma, together with her fiancé, ruthlessly extorted a large sum from their own company.

But her fiancé claimed he needed to buy something and hurried off with the money; she suspected he was planning to flee with it, so she warned her, only to be scolded by her for over an hour… ugh…

Thinking of this, the baby-faced girl forcefully sniffled, her eyes welling up as she gazed at the kind Li Ang, feeling truly how little people resembled one another.

The last girl here, though not as badly injured as the nurse, had her thigh cut by shattered glass; had she not reacted quickly, her fate might have matched the director's on the sixth floor.

Before coming here, I hesitated for a long time, bracing myself for yelling or even being beaten—but instead, this couple was so kind, asking only for medical expenses. They're too good!

"Um… I'll pay you more compensation!"

Looking at Li Ang's worn-out coat and the "plain" ward where a night's stay cost less than two silver wheels, the baby-faced girl felt even more guilty.

This young couple clearly had little money, yet when faced with a chance to extort, they demanded only basic medical reimbursement—I can't let such good people suffer!

Clenching her small fists tightly, the girl raised her head and, with deep emotion, urged Li Ang: "You two are so young—you probably haven't saved much. With your wife injured and you having to take time off to care for her, you'll surely lose income."

"If I give you extra compensation, you can use it to hire a nurse for your wife—she'll get better care, and you won't have to miss work…"

"Wait a minute—are you mistaken?"

As Li Ang listened, something felt increasingly off; his mind still full of the explosion, he carefully parsed her words and said, dumbfounded:

"We're not married—we're siblings!"

"Huh? Really? Sorry! Sorry!"

Hearing Li Ang's correction, the baby-faced girl blushed and bowed repeatedly in apology:

"I only received names on the compensation list—I saw in the hospital's visitor registry that you and she share the same surname, and your hair colors are different, so I assumed you were… Oh! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!!!"

"It's fine…"

Lifting a hand to touch her light golden hair, then glancing at Li Ang's deep black locks, Anna on the bed seemed in good spirits; she smiled gently and soothed her:

"My brother and I have different hair colors and don't look much alike—it's easy to misunderstand. As for compensation, I wasn't seriously hurt—just follow what my brother says…"

"Oh! By the way!"

As she spoke, Anna seemed to remember something; she struggled to sit up and asked earnestly:

"Where's Aunt Han? Though she wasn't hurt, she was terrified yesterday—she hasn't come to the hospital today. Did you give her compensation?"

"You mean the older nurse?"

The baby-faced girl recalled and said, filled with guilt:

"We already compensated her—and generously!

After all, though she wasn't physically injured, she was truly terrified by yesterday's explosion, and might even… might have suffered some mental breakdown…"

"What?"

Hearing that the kind older nurse who had cared for her was in trouble, Anna panicked, gripping Li Ang's arm as she sat upright, her face filled with worry:

"How? She was perfectly fine when we parted last night!"

"This… I'm not entirely sure…"

Thinking of the other poor victim, the young girl lowered her head in shame, lips pressed tight, whispering with watery eyes:

"When we went to see her, her husband said she'd been uneasy last night but stable. But this morning, she suddenly started babbling nonsense."

"She insisted no explosion had happened, then claimed the hospital floor ate people—many patients had been swallowed—until a woman wrapped in bandages came and lowered her out the window… She must have been traumatized by yesterday's events…"

Hearing this, Li Ang's face, filled with sympathy, suddenly stilled.

Wait—no explosion, the hospital floor eats people, a woman wrapped in bandages…

Huh?!!!

(End of Chapter)