bChapter /bb816 /b

    b“/bOur teammate, Zoey, has a fever. She’s on her period. The medication she can take is limited. Mike had only been working with medicine for a year and couldn’t solve the problem. Would you please do us a favor?” said Gerald.

    Aria asked, “What have you got?”

    Mike took themunicator and said quickly, “Most of it is for injuries. We only have some cold pills.”

    “Aria, can Zoey take these pills?

    “No, they’re too strong. You can’t use them,” Aria said firmly.

    Aria frowned and shot a cold re at the drone lying at the cave entrance. “Doesn’t the State Security Bureau ever think about the special needs of girls when they’re preparing supplies?”

    There was a brief silence on the other end of themunicator.

    Aria went on, “The rain’s abated. There are plenty of herbal nts around. You guys can go look for some. Can Gerald turn on the video?b” /b

    Gerald took themunicator and said, “Do you have aputer?”

    “Yeah,” said Aria.

    Aria called over Jocelyn, and the two of them ducked into the tent.

    Aria painted a few herbal nts and sent the drawings to Gerald. “Once you find them, call me to confirm,” said Aria.

    Gerald said earnestly, “Thanks. We owe you so much, and we’ll help you win.”

    Gerald thought, ‘Luck is essential, but we’re really unlucky.

    ‘First, Clifford stepped on andmine, and then Zoey was down with a fever.

    ‘Without Aria’s help, we would’ve been eliminated ages ago.‘

    Aria said coolly, “Go look for herbs first.”

    Outside thepetition site, Fillip frowned. “Who prepared the supplies? Did no one think about what girls might need during their period?”

    A staff member muttered, “They’re all men. It’s not surprising they didn’t think of it.”

    “Someone brought this upst time. We’ve mentioned it more than once, but nothing ever changes,” a girl said with a snarky tone.

    The guys standing around looked awkward.

    They’d never thought this to be that serious, but seeing Zoey in so much pain, they changed their minds.

    None of them had ever considered this before.

    “This can’t happen again,” Fillip said in a grave voice.

    “Yes, sir,” the staff member hurriedly said.

    Another leader watching the match said, “Maybe we should change the rules. If one teammate gets eliminated, the whole team bis /bbout/b. bA /bblot /bbof /bbthem /bmight get demotivated,

    “But bif /bba /bteam can still win even when they’re short–handed, that just proves how strong they are.”

    The leader thought, ‘The intent of the rule was to show how important teammates are.

    ‘Under no circumstances would you give up on your teammate.

    ‘But sometimes, the stricter the rules are, the more you actually see who your teammates are.

    b‘/bTake Zoey’s case, for example. If she got eliminated, and it didn’t affect the team’s chances in thepetition, would her teammates choose to bkeep /bher around, or eliminate her themselves?‘

    Fillip chimed in, “When thepetition is over, we can hold a meeting to discuss this.”

    Zoey was trembling in pain, and she could only swallow the bitter herbal liquid on instinct.

    “Thank you,” she said weakly and fainted again.

    It wasn’t until her fever had subsided that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

    When Zoey woke up again, she was surprised to find that her abdominal pain had resolved.

    She froze for a second, then got up and walked out of the tent. She found Clifford and Mike were still at the campsite.

    “Where is everyone else?” Zoey asked.

    Clifford looked up and said, “They went to gather intel. How are you feeling?”

    Zoey suddenly remembered she’d been sick, and her face went pink. “Sorry, before I got into thepetition, I took some medicine. I thought it’d be

    fine.”

    Mike said gently, “It’s fine. HQ just sent us a new supply pack. Go check it out.”

    b2/2 /b