Special Forces Medic-Chapter 605 - 571: I Am Indeed a Doctor

"That I’m not afraid of; there’s a receipt. As long as the second boss doesn’t ask, I won’t show it." From the girl’s words, Xiao Lin seemed to sense a problem between the big boss and the second boss, perhaps this is a breakthrough point.

"I’m now wondering if the girl’s death is related to your big boss!" After exhaling smoke, Xiao Lin’s entire face was buried in seriousness, making it hard for the girl to see through.

"Are you playing Sherlock Holmes now?" The girl called the waiter. "Please pack all of these dishes for me, one box for each dish, make sure they don’t mix!"

"Sort of! Quite interesting."

"You don’t mind if I take all these with me, do you?" The girl quietly asked.

"I don’t mind."

Xiao Lin looked helplessly at the bag in his hand, which contained the leftover food, while the girl walked ahead proudly alone. "I promised to go with you to the hotel, but you have to go somewhere with me first."

It seemed there was no choice, and the girl didn’t give Xiao Lin a chance to object. In fact, the place the girl took Xiao Lin was very close; after passing through an alley, they truly witnessed the slums of the North District. Similar to some parts of the Middle East, but it’s worth mentioning that here was slightly better, at least bricks could be seen.

"Not scared, right?" The girl turned her head and smiled at Xiao Lin. It was then that Xiao Lin realized this girl was someone who liked to smile.

"That’s the North District. From the outside, it seems passable, everything that should be there is there, just at a lower grade. However, the further inside you go, the more apparent the poverty becomes. Where we live is just like this, very shabby and dirty. Once the rainy season arrives, it’s never dry here; water accumulates on the ground, garbage floats on the surface, emitting a foul smell, and in the scorching heat, flies abound."

No matter how bad the North District is, the government allocates funds for it. At least there are plans to renovate the underground water system. How could there still be water stagnation during rainy days, and isn’t garbage disposal part of the environmental planning? Has no one executed these plans?"

Hearing this, Xiao Lin couldn’t help but frown. Even without the girl mentioning it, he had already smelled the stench before entering this place, no different from decomposing corpses. Now, the true heat of summer hadn’t arrived, yet mosquitoes were already present. When July and August come, can people still live here?

Looking around, rows and rows of houses were connected together, the tallest building no more than three or four stories. One after another, isolated vacant houses were illegal constructions, and the materials used for building shouldn’t be approved by the municipal authorities. Whether or not there’s a fireproof certificate is unknown. If a fire broke out here, one can imagine the serious consequences; the whole area would be affected, and people inside couldn’t escape.

"Hey, what are you thinking? Are you scared?" The girl saw Xiao Lin standing at the intersection without moving, she ran back to him, taking his hand.

"No!"

"We’ll leave once we drop our stuff off; we won’t stay long."

"Do you live here?"

"Yes, it’s just a place to sleep."

A road led straight through, broad enough for two people to stand side by side but feeling cramped. The side streets were even smaller, only enough for one person to walk through. The girl led Xiao Lin halfway down the main road before turning left into a dark alley.

"This place may look dirty and rundown, but no violent incidents like fights, robberies, or rapes have ever happened here." When mentioning this, the girl felt proud.

"Compared to outside, people here are much more simple-minded. We’ve arrived." With that said, the girl pushed open a door at the end of the alley and went inside.

Xiao Lin stood outside, noting that it wasn’t far from the central garden, just a bit further was a sealed-off wall, and beyond that was where he went into the water the other day, about seven or eight meters away. Looking this way, the North District seemed built around this central garden in a fan-like shape.

"From here, you can see the place where the body was buried." Xiao Lin quietly said, just as the girl came out from inside.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing much. Do you live here?" Compared to the neighboring houses, this place had a bit of light; at least one window faced the outside, though it’s colder compared to the middle houses because the wall faces the lake and is quite damp."

"Yes, this room is considered large, so the rent is higher, four hundred and fifty a month, not including utilities." The girl tidied a spot in the room for Xiao Lin to sit.

Scanning the surroundings, it was relatively clean despite the clutter and cramped space without any unpleasant smells. A cough startled Xiao Lin, he looked in and silently asked the girl with his eyes.

The girl put some dishes in the microwave to heat them, and put the others in the fridge. "It’s nothing, it’s my grandfather. Because of the seasonal change, his bronchial condition worsened again."

"Oh, can I go in and take a look?" The transition from winter to spring is a common season for bronchial illnesses to flare up. Many people get upper respiratory infections, especially children and the elderly, who easily develop asthma.

"If you want to go in, just go on in. But it’s a bit messy inside, the outside is where I sleep." The girl hesitated for a moment but still reminded Xiao Lin, so as not to get his clothes dirty.

While the girl was busy with the food, Xiao Lin had already made his way inside. On the bed lay an old man with graying hair, coughing non-stop. There were several bottles and jars at the bedside, all asthma medication.

The old man widened his eyes upon seeing a stranger. Though he was ill, he seemed in decent health, although his complexion looked somewhat pale. "Who are you?"

"Grandpa, this is my friend, who came specially to see you." The girl came in carrying food to relieve Xiao Lin’s awkwardness. "This is something I brought for you. Try it, it’s delicious."

Is this why the girl divides each dish into halves? You wouldn’t guess she’s such a devoted child. "Why are you wasting money again?" The old man scolded the girl, regardless of the guest.

"I’m not wasting money; he treated me to a meal. I thought you’d definitely like it too. Didn’t you always say you used to eat a lot of meat back in the day?" The girl winked at Xiao Lin, coaxing the old man with her own tricks. She set a small table on the old man’s bed, placed the dishes on it, watching him eat with a face covered in powder but smiling with genuine happiness.

"Once your grandfather finishes eating, maybe I can take a look at the asthma." Xiao Lin said to the girl, picking up the medications on the table, noting they were just for phlegm and mucous relief and didn’t offer real help.

"You?" The girl seemed to have a lot of distrust towards Xiao Lin. Even Xiao Lin was a bit helpless, wondering how incompetent he appeared in her eyes, beyond being wealthy, if that could be considered a compliment.

"Does your grandfather have a history of heavy smoking, now coughing more than three times a day, with symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough?"

"Hmm, how did you know? Aren’t you a doctor?" The girl covered her mouth immediately after speaking, glancing at the old man eating.

"I forgot to tell you, I am indeed a doctor."

"Really? Then please take a look at my grandpa. We’ve been to several hospitals here, got a lot of medicine, but it’s still the same."

"No problem, once your grandpa finishes eating."

The old man stayed silent, chewing slowly, seemingly oblivious to the two people beside him, as if he was an outsider, aloof and indifferent. When Xiao Lin had entered, he only asked a question, which wasn’t surprising for someone so silent. The girl talking so much, as she must have been bottling it up.

"I don’t need anyone’s treatment." The old man spoke with a voice full of experience, apparently quite healthy. Xiao Lin was quite assured of this. Ill-tempered old men tend to have good health; he had concluded this from observing many others.

"Grandpa!" The girl protested playfully. Finally, someone willing to offer free medical help, and he was refusing.

"You better leave, take this person out with you." The old man said impatiently, making it hard for Xiao Lin to stay there.

"It seems your grandfather doesn’t like me very much!" Xiao Lin rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit put out by being abruptly shown the door.

"Don’t mind him; my grandpa isn’t usually like this. Maybe it’s because of the asthma acting up recently, putting him in a bad mood!" The girl felt awkward, rarely bringing people home, only to face such a situation. "I know a pretty good hotel; it’s quite interesting."

"How long has your grandpa had asthma?" Not quite catching what the girl said, he followed her into a shop, realizing too late.

This was more than just interesting; it was downright suggestive, almost shamelessly close. Seeing Xiao Lin’s open-mouthed surprise, the girl giggled. "Isn’t there anyone regulating such shops in the city center? This place is popular; many people from across the street come here. The rooms are stylish and avant-garde, though a bit pricey."

It seemed like she was saying, I’m using you as a sucker because I hadn’t been here before, and just wanted to check it out. "Is it important if we don’t have ID cards?"

"Well... I don’t have one either." The girl was surprised. Who goes out without an ID nowadays? What if they ran into the police?

"Miss, can we rent a room without having ID?"

The person at the counter looked up, and Xiao Lin realized he’d asked the wrong person. This one looked even more like a woman than the last one he met at the bar. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)