The Young Urban Doctor

Chapter 417: Chapter 417 A Mere Actor
 

(Chapter 12)

The Phoenix’s reaction speed had obviously improved since their last spar, and Luo Ziling was surprised at how quickly she had changed, forcing him to use all his strength to spar with her.

Eventually, after they were both drenched in sweat, Luo Ziling took advantage of a slight delay in Phoenix’s reaction to land a spinning kick on her shoulder, sending her reeling back a few steps and concluding today’s spar.

“Your reaction speed is much faster than last time,” Luo Ziling sincerely complimented after the spar. “Given some more time, you’ll definitely surpass me.”

“Impossible,” Phoenix said without any intention to attack Luo Ziling again; she was nearly drained of her energy and didn’t want to continue fighting. She approached Luo Ziling and shook her head, saying, “Women are inherently at a disadvantage compared to men. The physiological gap can be narrowed with acquired effort, but if you put in the effort as well, I can never react faster than you when you are fully focused.”

Luo Ziling felt a little better when he noticed the woman’s gaze was no longer as cold as before but had softened slightly.

“Then I hope you can surpass me in reaction speed. If that day really comes, I’ll be the one defeated by your hand.”

“That’s not important,” Phoenix shook her head at Luo Ziling’s words. “My sparring with you isn’t about pride but about making myself stronger. We don’t need to make pointless sacrifices. If we can reduce errors and avoid casualties during missions, that would be fortunate for our country. Remember, Dragon Rise is the nation’s sharp tool, and we are always fighting for our country at any time.”

Luo Ziling was somewhat chastened by Phoenix’s words but eventually muttered, “But I’m not a member of Dragon Rise, so I can’t feel the same atmosphere as you guys.”

“You will in the future,” Phoenix said, then lowered her voice further. “You healed Kong Que’s scars. If we have another comrade who gets injured next time, please help treat them too. I hope you won’t refuse.”

After looking at Phoenix seriously for a moment, Luo Ziling finally didn’t refuse but nodded lightly. “Alright, as long as you make a request, I’ll do my best to fulfill it.”

“Including our spars.”

“That’s different,” Luo Ziling didn’t want to fall into Phoenix’s trap, and upon hearing her words, he immediately shook his head. “I don’t want to fight people without a good reason, especially since my injury hasn’t fully healed yet.”

“Alright, then I hope every time you come here, you are in a good mood.” Phoenix said this and pointed at the car. “Let’s go back to the base. You should practice shooting for a while when you return; you have a talent for shooting. With proper training, your gun skills could be quite impressive. Also, I hope you can help improve Kong Que as well; she’s a core member of our team.”

“Alright,” since the other party wasn’t coldly ordering him, Luo Ziling eventually didn’t refuse.

“Thank you,” Phoenix extended her hand to Luo Ziling, the eyes behind her mask showing a hint of a smile.

Luo Ziling stretched out his hand and shook hands with Phoenix, who was wearing half-finger gloves, and politely responded, “No need to thank me!”

On the drive back, Phoenix made a meaningful comment, “Your influence on Kong Que is quite significant; we hope it’s a positive one rather than a negative. If it’s positive, it can foster her strength, making her less prone to accidents during missions. You should know, for people like us, an accident could mean we might never come back.”

Hearing Phoenix say this lightly, Luo Ziling’s heart skipped a beat, but in the end, he just nodded. “Alright, I’ll remember what you said.”

Phoenix didn’t say anything more and took Luo Ziling back to the base.

As soon as they arrived at the base, Lin Lan came to greet them.

But she didn’t approach Luo Ziling; instead, she walked over to Phoenix. The two tall women, both dressed in leather jackets and pants, looking very cool, whispered to each other for a moment, and then Phoenix left.

Only then did Lin Lan walk over to Luo Ziling, her pretty face tight as she asked, “Do you want me to take you back, or will you walk back on your own?”

“Are there other options?” Luo Ziling looked at Lin Lan with a troubled expression, “Like you continuing to teach me shooting, or we can spar some more?”

Lin Lan gave Luo Ziling a glaring look and walked away without a word.

Luo Ziling hurried to follow.

Lin Lan led him to the shooting range and threw him a few magazines filled with bullets. She then walked to another target, drew her service pistol, and began to practice shooting.

Seeing that he had been given three magazines, Luo Ziling was overjoyed. He quickly took out his own pistol from the bag, loaded a magazine, and began his shooting practice.

Thirty bullets in three magazines were all fired in less than ten minutes.

Luo Ziling carefully examined the bullet holes on the three targets, feeling dejected that his marksmanship hadn’t improved and had actually regressed. He had even missed the target completely once, and only hit the ten-ring with two bullets.

He wanted to continue practicing but Lin Lan refused, saying there were no more bullets, so he had to stop.

Afterward, Luo Ziling and Lin Lan sparred in martial arts. Lin Lan was taken aback that Luo Ziling took the initiative to compete with her in martial arts, softening her expression slightly.

After causing a stir for half the day, and with it being past twelve o’clock, Lin Lan returned to her residence without uttering a word, taking Luo Ziling with her and then fetching lunch for him. Luo Ziling accepted her services without any qualms.

While dining together, Lin Lan finally brought up the matter she had been meaning to talk about, “If you’re willing to accept the job as an extra-medical team member, then we’ll provide you with an identity. With Dragon Rise credentials, ordinary police won’t dare mess with you, and neither will regular soldiers. This is something you need. Think it over, and tell me your answer the next time I come to pick you up.”

Luo Ziling nodded, “Okay, I’ll tell you next time.”

Lin Lan glanced at Luo Ziling and asked again, “What about the matter we discussed before, about providing medicines and formulas to us? How are you considering it?”

“I can’t get in touch with my grandfather, so I still can’t give you an answer.”

Lin Lan gave Luo Ziling another look, a huff of dissatisfaction escaping her, “Can’t you come up with a different excuse?”

Luo Ziling shook his head seriously, “I’m not making excuses. It’s really like this. Otherwise, my grandfather would beat me up.”

Seeing the earnest expression on Luo Ziling’s face when he spoke, Lin Lan nearly choked on the food she’d just swallowed.

“This bastard, he’s really not just annoying,” thought Lin Lan at that moment. She really wanted to dump the steaming bowl of soup over Luo Ziling’s head, to let him experience the full-on sensation of a “baptism by boiling broth.”

On the way back, Lin Lan brought up the investigation of the attempted assassination of Luo Ziling.

“I have some preliminary investigation results.”

“Okay, I hope you can clear the matter up.” Since Lin Lan was reluctant to inform him of the situation when he had asked about it last time, Luo Ziling didn’t plan to inquire further.

Little did he know, Lin Lan gave him a strange look, dissatisfaction in her voice, “Don’t you want to know?”

“Well, only if you’re willing to tell me!” Luo Ziling had a look of grievance on his face.

As a result, Lin Lan muttered under her breath, “What a drama queen!”

“…”