CHAPTER 48 — "THE COST OF SURVIVAL"
The room smelled faintly of medicinal herbs and sterilizing incense.
Soft white lights glowed overhead, carved with advanced healing arrays that pulsed rhythmically like a second heartbeat. This wasn't a battlefield anymore—it was a recovery ward, reserved for those who had returned alive from places most never would.
Three beds were occupied.
At the center lay Ling Yifan, chest wrapped tightly in layered medical bindings, fractured ribs stabilized by glowing runes. His face was pale, but his breathing was steady.
To his left lay Chen Wulian, bandaged from shoulder to waist, one leg suspended and both arms restrained—not because he was helpless, but because the healers had explicitly warned him not to move.
On the right lay Long Hao.
His eyes were half-open, body marked with faint, dark cracks where excessive power had once torn through him. His aura fluctuated subtly, like something dangerous still settling beneath the surface.
