The video showed the laboratory. Playing at double speed, the footage soon showed someone stealthily opening the door and going in, wearing a hazmat suit and a large hat. The person paused momentarily, as if glancing around, then probably relaxed and went to one of the observation cages.They took something from their pockets and held it over their heads.Lily showed the video to others, and they widened their eyes when they saw someone enter the laboratory. Dashiell stared at it as well with a tense look.He heaved a sigh of relief, however, when he saw the person wearing a hazmat suit and a mask, not revealing their face.When the video stopped as the person left the laboratory, Dashiell straightened up and snorted. “That’s all you’ve got?“We can’t even see the person’s face! Even if the video is real, how could you say it’s me?” Dashiell snorted. “Trying to frame me with such a ridiculous video? Dr. Russell, you suck as a doctor but are good at playing tricks, right?“Dr. Bla
Unified footsteps were heard, and a team of men in military uniforms showed up at the laboratory doorway.“What the…” Flustered, Dashiell looked toward Dr. Blanc. “Dr. Blanc, what the hell is this?”The presence of these men showed that things had gotten serious.Dr. Blanc turned around to face him. “Dr. Stone, Dr. Russell, you both signed the non-disclosure agreements when you first joined, and you know the rules here. Besides, bickering can’t solve any problems in our department. It’s a serious matter, and no matter who the culprit is, we cannot tolerate such an act in this department!”The X Department was a special division, and the military would intervene during emergencies. Even Dr. Blanc worked for the military. It was apparent that he was the one who mobilized these men.“Dr. Blanc, it had nothing to do with me. She’s trying to take revenge on me because I doubted her, and she resents me for it. You must get to the bottom of this, as I’m truly innocent! The person in that
However, his phone had been taken away when he was held. As he had no way to communicate with the outside world, Austin planned to go downstairs to seek help from Dominic.When he tried to open the door, he realized it was locked from the outside.He was surprised when he was unable to open the door. He yanked it, then twisted the handle, but the door did not budge. Austin pulled the handle with all his might, but to no avail. Then he realized Dominic had locked him inside the room.‘But why? Didn’t he say there was no virus in me? Why did he lock me up if there’s no virus?’“Uncle Dom, open the door! Uncle Dom?!” He banged on the door and shouted, trying to get Dominic to come.However, no one responded even after he shouted till his throat hurt. Either there was no one upstairs or Dominic was intentionally ignoring him.At his wit's end, Austin turned and looked around, then finally came to the window and opened it to look downstairs.He could not stick his head out due to a
Someone had called Austin a human trafficker for the first time in his life. He was nonplussed and caught himself after two seconds before reaching an arm through the grille to point at Galen.“Hey, you little brat! Who are you calling a human trafficker? Have you seen such a good-looking one? How could you accuse me of such things?!”“Who are you calling little brat, Little Brat?” Having given no response, Dominic suddenly leaped out of nowhere and shouted at Austin.Austin lost his nerve when he saw his granduncle. “U-Uncle Dom, it wasn’t me…”“Who else but you? I heard it! I’m doing you a favor by letting you stay here, you know? How dare you scold my grandson?” Dominic stood akimbo and argued loudly with him.Austin was at a loss for a moment.He tried vainly to stop himself from retorting, “Uncle Dom, I’m your grandnephew. That little brat—" He noticed Dominic’s glare and quickly amended, “That little thing did it on purpose. Besides, he is not related to you…”His voice gr
“Argh!” He screamed in pain. Unlike the soundproofed place where he was held, the open space outside allowed his howl to echo loudly. “Gahhh! Argh!”Besides a headache, his eyes were also hurting, as if they were bulging. Austin wanted to hold his head with both arms, but one remained stuck in the grille. He could only hammer his head with one hand while trying to swing his other arm.Either his strength grew due to the pain, or the grille had finally loosened after he kept swinging for a long time. The metal framework suddenly detached from the wall with a loud clang.The window grille remained on his arm. Having lost much of his sanity, Austin instinctively wanted to free himself and kept banging it about. The clangs of the grille banging against the wall were too loud.Dominic hurried out of the house and looked upstairs. “You brat, what the hell are you doing? You…”Before he could finish, his eyes widened as Austin banged the grille against the wall a few times, then suddenly
Austin had no energy left when he woke up again. He opened his eyes and stared upward in a daze. Still not fully awake, Austin tried to move his arm but could only lift his fingers. His throat was itchy, so he wanted to cough but could only breathe when he opened his mouth.It was a weird feeling. It was as if Austin was on the brink of death but had hung on by a single breath. He could not die, yet could hardly live.“You’re awake?” A gentle voice sounded.Austin wanted to turn his head but could only move his eyeballs.“Don’t try to move. You’ve drained your energy. Even if you want to move, it’ll be hard.” Dominic guessed what his grandnephew wanted to do and sighed before sitting beside Austin. Dominic was holding a bowl of steaming herbal medicine but looked gentler.“I…” Austin struggled to speak. He had too many questions, but his throat was unbearably dry, and it would take a lot of energy to utter even a single word.Dominic leaned over and pulled Austin’s blanket up a b
“Does...”“The medicine only helps balance your bodily functions and replenish your energy and vitality. It doesn’t counteract the virus, so don’t expect too much!” Feeding him the medicine, Dominic said, “I’m no god, and I can’t yet figure out what’s going on within you. I won’t be able to come up with a cure so soon, okay?”Austin remained quiet and drank the medicine. He knew Dominic could not have come up with a cure so quickly, if he could at all. He did not want to put too much faith in him for fear of being disappointed.However, he was glad Dominic was being friendly to him.After feeding Austin, Dominic looked at him while holding the empty bowl, and sighed. "We don't know what's inside you yet, but you know how bad the pandemic has gotten. For your safety, stay here for the time being. Of course, you can’t move even if you want to. Let me... think of something.”He sounded angry when he said the last sentence.“Thank…” Before Austin could say “you,” he saw Dominic stalk
When asked so, Lily only said blandly, “We’ll know in a while.”“Even if he’s truly the one, will he still do anything now despite the risk?”The man removed his goggles and revealed half of his face—he was none other than Dr. Blanc, who ordered her containment.Lily nodded affirmatively. “He will!”She then asked a seemingly unrelated question. “I heard the vaccine development center has started its research recently?”“That’s right.” Dr. Blanc answered. Although he was not in charge of the vaccine's development and it was outside of his purview, he was aware of it because it was significant and related to what they were doing.“What does it have to do with whether he will act, though? Even if the development of the cure is stalled, would it impede vaccine research? Or are there conspirators over there as well?” Pausing, Dr. Blanc seemed to think about something and said, “Oh, yes, I remember your husband’s company initially securing that project before it… reopened for tender,