Under the Veil of Night

(Special mention for web novel [without space between the two words] reader 

kawaiishieli9)

…

"Just a bit more for today," the clear voice resounded in the rehab camp.

Shiro sighed as he tried to exert more strength on his legs. It had been some time since he had been rehabilitating in this camp, but he still couldn't bring enough strength to move his legs. Even though he was holding onto the railings on both sides, his legs' muscles were still not strong enough for him to walk by himself.

In the end, he was trembling all over as he was gripping the railing and tried to move his legs again.

A young woman in her early twenties was watching over Shiro with her clear brown eyes. Her long black hair was tied up into a nice bun as she held a stack of report from Shiro's progress over the past few months.

"Alright. That's enough for today."

She walked towards Shiro and held him from the back. Despite her petite figure, she was strong enough to lift Shiro, who was already feeling weak after the training, back to his wheelchair.

Shiro smiled weakly. "Thanks for today, Shieli."

Shieli, the young woman, smiled back brightly. "It's my job. Also, we need to make sure you're not overexerting yourself, Mr. Shiro. It's only been a few months, so it's only natural that you can't stay too long to practice."

"I just want to heal faster."

"And to heal faster, you need to listen to the doctor."

Shiro sighed as he sat still while Shieli wheeled him back to his room. Shieli was one of the nurses in the hospital owned by Kalin Family. There were only some nurses who were part of Ryukalin Clan and Shieli was one of them, so she was assigned to him.

As for the reason why the nurse had to be part of Ryukalin Clan….

Klek!

The door opened and Shiro noticed that Neo was already inside. The young man smiled and waved his hand excitedly. "There's another work, Shiro. Are you up for another thrilling night?"

"What thrilling night?" Shiro rolled his eyes. "Just make sure you won't go down with another flu because of the rain."

Neo's face turned red in embarrassment. It was important for a sniper to have a tough body and also sharp eyes. However, he often neglected his physical training and often played too long in front of his laptop. As a result, he was not that good when it came to sniping with over one thousand meters' distance.

He was only a good shooter when it came to only a few hundred meters' distance with a small gun (handgun). He always carried some with him since they were convenient to use.

Compared to Shiro, who had higher physical condition, he was truly laughable as a sniper. Because of that, Kevin had been giving the important mission for sniping to Shiro and had Neo participate in the frontline to act as a gunner.

"I have been training with Mike recently, so I think that I'm already much better."

"Sure, I believe you."

Neo: "…" you don't sound like you mean it.

Shieli smiled when she heard their conversation. "If you want, I can lend you my blanket next time."

At this moment, Neo felt like burying his head underground. Shieli also participated to accompany Shiro when they were doing their mission. She was tasked to make sure that Shiro would not overstrain himself because he was still injured. Besides, he still needed help to make sure that his positioning was correct because he couldn't move his legs on his own.

On their last mission, it rained heavily. The three of them had to stay under the heavy downpour overnight until the work was done before they could rest. Both Shieli and Shiro were fine after a hot bath, but Neo caught a flu and ended up bedridden for two days.

He became the laughingstock of his teammates.

"As a sniper, you're very lacking, Elder Neo," Shieli added. "Clan Head Kevin had told me to make sure that you're in proper health before you depart for a mission."

Neo groaned. "I'm completely healthy! There's nothing wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with a checkup."

In the end, Neo had to submit to having a checkup while Shiro took out his gun and wiped it. During his free time, he had to make sure that his gun was still working properly. It wouldn't be funny if he was on a mission and then the gun didn't work properly at the crucial time.

Shieli did her work and checked Neo thoroughly. The result was as expected, Neo was perfectly healthy.

Seeing the result, Neo smiled widely. "See! I told you that I'm fine but you don't want to listen!"

Shiro passed a look and nodded. "Good work taking care of your health for this period of time."

"Don't speak as if you're a doctor!"

"I'm a doctor."

Neo's mouth opened wide then closed again like a fish. He had completely forgotten that Shiro was also a doctor aside from being a sniper. Similar to him who had a second identity as a hacker, Shiro was working as a doctor in his free time.

"…Can't you have a more normal job?"

"Being a doctor is more normal than a hacker."

"But doctor and sniper are totally unrelated," Neo rebutted.

Shiro shrugged. He set the gun aside and stretched his hand. "Give me the information of the target."

"Ugh, you…."

"Now."

"Fine."

Unwillingly, Neo pulled out the documents that Kanae had prepared. It contained the information that they needed regarding their target this time. To be exact, it was the information of their opponents that they needed to guard themselves against.

Shiro took the paper and scanned the content. He arched his eyebrows. "There's a negotiation?"

Neo nodded. "Kevin wants to have an agreement with someone overseas, so we're tasked to protect them from afar."

"I see. Kanae is there too?"

"Yep."

"How about Patrick?"

"He's too eye-catching, so Boss ordered him to stay back this time. He'll be on standby if we need help."

"I see."

Shiro read through the content then passed it to Shieli beside him. She also needed to know the content of their mission because she would be staying with them. In case something unexpected happened, she would be able to call for backup.

"It's tonight," Shieli said after reading the document. "In that case, you should sleep now."

"Now?" Shiro's face scrunched in displeasure. He still wanted to investigate the negotiation place.

"Yes. Go and have some rest."

"I need to know the location of the…."

"I'll gather it all for you."

"But…"

"You're also a doctor, so you should understand that your body needs to rest. Am I clear enough?"

Shiro sighed and lied down on his bed. He turned his body around and ignored the laughing Neo. If only they didn't have a mission tonight, he would take out his toy gun and shoot Neo several times.

That would make him feel much better.