On the other side of the hospital complex, the woman who had just left the garden walked calmly through a long white corridor before entering her personal cabin. The room was simple but tidy, a small private office connected to the surgical department. A wide desk stood near the window, and a neat stack of medical documents waited there patiently.

She closed the door behind her and walked toward her chair with the same steady pace she always carried. Anyone who saw her now would think she had already forgotten the small scene in the garden. Her posture was calm, her movements controlled, exactly like the composed doctor everyone in the hospital knew. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She sat down slowly on the chair and pulled one of the documents toward herself.

There were still several files she needed to verify and sign before the afternoon rounds began. Normally she would read them carefully and finish them quickly. But today was slightly different.

Her eyes rested on the page, yet they weren’t really reading the contents.

Instead, she seemed to be staring through the paper.

A faint, almost invisible smile rested at the corner of her lips beneath the mask.

"Interesting... very interesting," she thought quietly.

Her mind was no longer on hospital paperwork.

It was on the tall woman who had appeared in the garden just minutes ago.

That sudden appearance had replayed several times in her mind already.

The speed.

The precision.

The grip.

None of it looked normal.

Her slender white fingers slowly tapped the document she was holding while her thoughts continued drifting.

"Is she also like me?" she wondered silently.

The possibility lingered in her mind for a moment.

"Or did she simply awaken her abilities earlier than everyone else?"

That was another possibility.

After all, in the previous timelines she remembered, some people awakened abilities earlier than others. The timing varied. Sometimes it happened days before the apocalypse. Sometimes it happened during the chaos.

But even then, the strength she had just witnessed did not look ordinary.

Another thought appeared.

"Or... is there something else about her?"

Her fingers absentmindedly folded and unfolded the corner of the document as she considered one possibility after another.

The image of that calm figure stepping between them kept returning.

And the voice.

The quiet confidence when she said she would "handle him."

For a moment, she fell into silence.

Then suddenly a strange thought surfaced in her mind.

No.

Not just a thought.

A conviction.

"Could she be the key to changing my fate this time?"

Her gaze slowly sharpened.

That idea felt strangely reasonable the more she thought about it.

This timeline had already shown differences.

That woman had appeared in places she should not have appeared before.

The duplex on the twentieth floor.

The elevator encounter.

The garden today.

One time could be coincidence.

Two times was already suspicious.

Three times... that was something worth paying attention to.

She remained silent for a long moment before letting out a soft breath.

Then she finally lowered her gaze back to the document in her hand and quickly signed her name at the bottom.

Her handwriting was neat and elegant.

After placing the signed file aside, she leaned back slightly in her chair.

A small smile still lingered behind her mask.

Her voice was barely audible when she spoke, so quiet that only she herself could hear it.

"Then let’s get to know each other."

Meanwhile, in another building of the hospital complex, Bai Li was busy completing one test after another.

Thanks to the arrangements the doctor had made earlier, the process went much faster than normal patients experienced. Even so, a full body examination still required time.

Blood tests.

Scans.

Physical checks.

Several nurses and staff members guided her from room to room.

Even with the priority access, it still took her more than two hours to finish everything.

During that time, Bai Li’s mind wandered more than once.

A small part of her secretly hoped that she might run into that woman again somewhere in the hospital corridors.

But she did not know that the hospital complex consisted of multiple separate buildings connected through internal departments. The area where she was currently doing her tests belonged to a different medical wing entirely.

Unless there was a specific reason, there was no need for that woman to appear here.

Because of that, the encounter Bai Li expected never happened.

Still, she finished all the examinations patiently.

After the last test was done, she thanked the staff member who had helped guide her through the process.

"Thank you for helping me finish everything so quickly," she said politely.

The staff member smiled and waved her hand lightly.

"It’s no problem. Please wait in the lobby. The results will be ready soon."

Bai Li nodded and walked toward the waiting area.

Half an hour later, the test results were ready.

She was called into a consultation room where a middle aged doctor sat with a stack of reports in front of him.

The man adjusted his glasses as he read through the results again and again.

His expression looked increasingly surprised.

Finally he looked up at her with a slightly amazed expression.

"Miss Bai... I have to say this is quite remarkable."

Bai Li tilted her head slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no," the doctor quickly shook his head. "It’s the opposite."

He tapped the medical report on the desk.

"In my entire career, I have never seen a body this healthy."

He spoke honestly, clearly still impressed.

"There is no anomaly. No hidden illness. Not even the smallest irregular indicator. Your blood pressure, heart condition, muscle density, immune indicators... everything is perfect."

He paused briefly before adding with a small laugh.

"To be honest, I almost suspected the equipment was malfunctioning."

Bai Li blinked once but did not show much surprise.

She had already expected this result.

Still, she politely thanked the doctor.

After finishing the consultation and receiving her test reports, she walked out of the hospital building.

As she walked along the path outside, her eyes unconsciously scanned the surroundings.

Maybe she would see her again.

The garden.

The entrance.

The walkways.

Her gaze drifted around again and again.

But unfortunately, the person she wanted to see did not appear.

After a while, Bai Li let out a soft sigh she did not even realize herself.

She took out her phone and booked a cab.

While waiting near the entrance, she looked back toward the hospital building a few more times, almost like a slightly dejected puppy hoping to catch one last glimpse of someone.

Finally the cab arrived.

She stepped inside and the vehicle slowly drove away.

What Bai Li did not know was that high above, behind a long floor to ceiling one way glass window, someone had been watching the entire scene quietly.

From that distance, it would have been impossible for an ordinary person to clearly see someone standing outside the hospital entrance.

But she was far from an ordinary person.

Her gaze remained fixed on the departing cab for a moment longer.

She could not help but feel a faint sense of amusement.

That tall woman who had just left... the way she kept looking back every few steps looked strangely cute.

Cute.

The word appeared in her mind without warning.

For a moment she wondered why she had chosen that word.

Then she simply dismissed the thought.

Why she thought of her that way did not really matter.

Behind her, a voice suddenly called out.

"Doctor, we need you for the next case."

Her assistant stood near the door with a folder in hand.

She gave the outside world one last glance before turning away from the window.

The faint smile behind her mask remained for just a moment longer before she walked calmly toward the door and returned to work.

.

.

.

Bai Li soon reached the riverside apartment complex. The cab slowed down as it turned into the familiar road that led toward the main entrance of the community. Just as the vehicle approached the gate, her phone suddenly rang. She glanced at the screen and saw that it was the manager from the large wholesale market she had visited earlier.

She answered the call calmly.

"Hello."

On the other side, the manager’s professional voice quickly came through.

"Miss Bai, the trucks carrying your goods have arrived near the apartment complex. We are currently waiting outside the main gate. It seems the security guards are asking for entry authorization."

Bai Li understood immediately. She replied briefly, "Alright, I’m almost there. I will handle it."

After hanging up the call, the cab slowly stopped near the entrance. Bai Li stepped out and paid the driver before turning toward the gate. Sure enough, a row of large trucks was parked outside the complex. There were several of them lined up neatly one after another, their cargo containers sealed and marked with the wholesale company’s logo.

At the gate, the security guards were standing near the trucks while speaking with the delivery manager. From the looks of it, the guards seemed hesitant to allow such a large group of trucks inside without proper authorization.

Bai Li walked closer and listened quietly for a moment.

One of the guards was explaining, "We can’t allow this many trucks inside without confirmation from the resident. It’s the apartment policy."

The delivery manager nodded patiently, clearly used to this kind of situation.

"Of course, of course. The goods belong to Miss Bai. She should be arriving any moment now."

At that moment, Bai Li suddenly realized something. She had completely forgotten to grant vehicle access through the apartment’s management app. Normally, large delivery vehicles needed digital approval before the security system would allow them inside.

She quickly took out her phone and opened the apartment application. After navigating through the permission section, she granted temporary entry for all the trucks waiting outside.

Within seconds, the system confirmed the authorization.

By the time she walked up to the gate, the delivery manager had already noticed her.

"Miss Bai!" the woman greeted her politely the moment she saw her approaching. "Good afternoon."

Bai Li nodded in return. "Sorry for the delay. I forgot to approve the entry earlier."

"No problem at all," the manager replied with a smile.

The security guards also received the confirmation through their system at that moment. One of them checked the screen on his handheld device before nodding.

"Permission granted," he said to his colleague.

The gate slowly opened.

The trucks began entering the apartment complex one after another.

The engines rumbled softly as they rolled toward Building Nine. The scene naturally attracted attention from nearby residents. A few people who were passing by stopped to watch. Others came closer out of curiosity.

It was not every day that several delivery trucks arrived at once like this.

Soon, more than a dozen workers jumped down from the vehicles and began unloading the goods. Large stacks of bottled water, cartons of canned food, instant noodles, and other packaged items were carefully lifted out and placed onto transport trolleys.

Because of the renovation work happening upstairs, the service elevator had already been designated for heavy transportation. The workers quickly coordinated with the renovation crew who were also using that lift to move construction materials.

Despite the large number of people moving around, the process was surprisingly organized. Some workers focused on moving the goods while others continued carrying metal frames and tools for the renovation. One group moved supplies upstairs while another group returned to bring the next load.

Within a short time, the normally quiet building lobby looked almost like a busy warehouse.

Bai Li stood near the entrance, quietly watching the workers carry boxes back and forth. Occasionally she stepped aside to let them pass through the hallway more easily.

Naturally, the unusual scene attracted even more attention from the residents living nearby.

Some people stood a short distance away whispering among themselves while observing the steady flow of goods being transported upstairs.

"Who bought all this stuff?"

"That’s a lot of supplies..."

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.

.

To be continued.