"Two ribs are broken, and it seems they're just slightly displaced, not affecting any internal organs. The best treatment plan is surgery to reposition and fix them."
Li Zheng eventually accepted Xiao Siyuan's kindness and allowed him to check the injury.
Xiao Siyuan merely lifted Li Zheng's shirt and glanced twice, his fingers tracing along the areas of several ribs, accurately diagnosing his injuries.
"But there aren't the conditions for surgery here, so we can opt for another solution."
Saying this, Xiao Siyuan took out an item resembling a taser from the capsule dwelling.
Worried Li Zheng might misunderstand, he held the item in his hand, displayed the item information, and explained, "Microgravity Skeletal Traction Gun, the most valuable tool acquired during yesterday's exploration. It has a 3D intelligent scan, allowing us to forego surgery steps and reposition the bones through the skin, accelerating bone healing in a short time. Initially, there were ten uses available; I've used it eight times in the last two days.
Additionally, it's unclear if this tool has special properties, but bones healed with it tend to have increased density, becoming more resilient."
"A Silver Level medical tool, are you willing to use it on a stranger?"
Li Zheng held the Desert Eagle, always keeping part of his attention on the detector's prompt; should the other person show any dangerous behavior, he would not be polite.
"Why not?" Xiao Siyuan smiled and said, "As I've mentioned, I'm a soldier; it's my duty to protect the safety of our country's land and people."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "If you're feeling uneasy about it, maybe you could take out something for a trade, to ease your mind."
"You claimed you're a retired border patrol warrior, yet you needed my reminder to retaliate with a gun earlier."
Li Zheng calmly looked at him and said, "Honestly, I've never seen a soldier like you."
Seeing Li Zheng still not believe him, Xiao Siyuan was not bothered and jokingly said, "Maybe because I'm a medic, my hands are more suited for holding a stethoscope or blood pressure gauge rather than a killing weapon?"
Xiao Siyuan's smile gradually vanished, and he appeared much more serious, explaining, "You may not understand how dangerous the situation is for the warriors on border duty.
Some of them are far deep in the mountains, isolated from the world for a long time.
Some are on high mountains, where even a sip of hot water is a luxury.
Some are patrolling the vast Gobi Desert, able to wave a greeting to the comrades watching from the posts only from afar during patrol.
Some patrol by cliffs, where a moment's carelessness can result in falling off them.
They..."
Xiao Siyuan spoke endlessly, even revealing his responsibilities in the military to completely dispel Li Zheng's doubts.
"To be precise, my duties are much lighter than theirs, primarily visiting various posts to check the health status of those warriors isolated from the world and occasionally providing psychological assessments.
Occasionally, some warriors fall off cliffs or roll down slopes, and I rush to cooperate with local medical institutions for their healing.
Without exaggeration, routinely interacting with those warriors to check their physical health.
I probably understand their bodies better than they do themselves, and my presence often avoids many troubles."
Li Zheng steadily watched Xiao Siyuan, discerning sincerity from his gaze as he spoke those words.
If everything the other said was true, then his work is not nearly as easy as he claims.
Many of our country's border lines are in remote areas where border patrol warriors might take years before being able to take vacation and reunite with families.
Most of their lives are almost completely dedicated to the nation.
As a medical personnel, Xiao Siyuan switches between being stationed at a post or on the way to the next one.
In many places, vehicles cannot pass, so he must walk; the "ease" he refers to is not much lighter.
The hardships within are known only by Xiao Siyuan himself.
Despite being young, under thirty this year, Xiao Siyuan has served the border warriors for nearly five years.
The roads he traveled and the hardships he endured over these five years are comparable to any border warrior.
Yet he never complains and embraces it joyfully.
"By your account, you should be a field doctor rather than a border... "
"I am a border warrior!"
Before Li Zheng could finish speaking, Xiao Siyuan interrupted firmly, "Although my role is that of a doctor, I have undergone professional military training, and if a conflict arises with neighboring countries, and I'm present.
I can equally pick up weapons to safeguard our country's borders.
Not an inch shall be lost!"
"... "
Li Zheng fell silent.
Whenever Xiao Siyuan claimed to be a border warrior, Li Zheng could see pride and confidence on his face.
These aren't derogatory adjectives.
Li Zheng believes, if anyone in the world is most worthy of "pride", most deserving of "confidence", it must be these soldiers.
"But this isn't domestic, it might not even be Earth... Why adhere to such a sense of honor, can't you live like an ordinary citizen?" Li Zheng remarked, "After all, you yourself said you've retired."
"After retiring, am I no longer a soldier?"
Suddenly, Xiao Siyuan laughed, jokingly said, "I recall reading an article once, which called border warriors 'living boundary markers'; where the boundary marker stands, there lies our land.
Here, I am, this is our country's land; you're a national citizen, you've encountered difficulty, helping you is a duty."
"Moreover, besides being a soldier, I'm also a doctor. Even from a doctor's perspective, if not in a hospital, when encountering the injured, should I still not lend assistance?"
As he spoke, Xiao Siyuan pressed the "Microgravity Skeletal Traction Gun" to Li Zheng's chest.
This time, Li Zheng did not refuse, letting the other go ahead.
"It might hurt a bit... Oh, I guess you're probably numb from the pain already," Xiao Siyuan reminded.
The next moment, before Li Zheng could speak, Xiao Siyuan had already pressed the activation button.
Buzz...
The Microgravity Skeletal Traction Gun operated, emitting a slight vibration.
Initially, Li Zheng didn't perceive any anomaly, even thinking maybe it was ineffective, when the vibration sound suddenly ceased for a moment.
Then, Li Zheng felt his fractured ribs as if grabbed and forcefully twisted outward by someone's hands.
"Damn!"
Unprecedented intense pain instantly spread throughout his body, causing Li Zheng to shudder and curse loudly.
"Crack."
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Li Zheng seemed to hear a faint snapping sound, like someone breaking a twig nearby.
However, at that moment, he lacked the energy to ponder much, the severe pain nearly making him pass out, unable to endure it further, he cried out agonizingly.
"Damn it, it really hurts, aaarghhh!!!"
"This is a hundred, no, a thousand times more painful than when my bones broke!"
"Xiao, didn't you say it'd hurt a bit?"
"How do you call this 'a bit'?"
The pain made Li Zheng's mind unclear, babbling incoherently, cursing loudly.
"Rest assured, only hurts at the start, it gets comfortable later." Xiao Siyuan remained unfazed, his hand grasping the traction gun unmoved.
"Damn!"
Li Zheng's mind suddenly cleared for a moment, stunned by Xiao Siyuan's comment, "I think you're being cheeky, and with ample evidence."
In the next moment, his consciousness was submerged again in pain, resuming his agonizing cries.
"Whimpering!"
At that moment, Little Sakura flew back from somewhere, mistaking Xiao Siyuan's actions as harm to Li Zheng upon hearing his cries, darting over with small sharp fangs flashing a faint green.