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,
“He’s doing something!” He turned and walked out of the door with Lily in tow. The workers were surprised to see Lily walking behind Dr. Blanc along the way. “Isn’t Dr. Russell…”However, as they were walking fast without stopping and Dr. Blanc looked grim, no one dared to ask any questions and simply looked on as they headed toward the wards.‘Is there… an emergency again? But we’re not getting any alerts from the wards!’While the doctors and nurses wondered, Dr. Blanc and Lily had arrived at the VIP ward area. They hurried past the door to Debbie’s room and headed straight to… Alexander’s room.Dr. Blanc slammed the door open with such force and speed that even Lily was taken aback.‘He usually looks gentle and cautious, yet the way he kicked the door was bold and fearless.’Alexander, who should be lying in it, was holding someone face-down on the bed with his arms locked behind him.He was wearing the hospital gown, but he was invigorated, and his gaze was cold and piercing
“Dr. Blanc, I don’t get it.” Edmund still tried to defend himself, but Lily interrupted him before he could finish. “Is this necessary?”Edmund was quiet.“Do you think you can lie your way out of this? Or do you think we would show up and expose you without proof?” Lily felt a mix of emotions as she looked at Edmund.She had known Dr. Blanc and Edmund the longest and was most familiar with them. Although she and Edmund were far from good friends, they at least worked well together. At first, she could feel he did not trust her, but she later discovered him to be a relatively objective person.She could accept Edmund holding a prejudice against her just like Austin did, but it was difficult for her to believe he was a traitor.Edmund suddenly laughed when hearing Lily’s words and seeing Dr. Blanc’s expression. He tilted his head back and let out a long sigh. As if he was relieved of a heavy burden, he looked relaxed, and the smile on his face grew… creepy.“I never expected this.
However, black blood flowed from Edmund’s mouth as he released an eerie smile of mixed emotions. His body went limp and would have slumped onto the floor if Alexander had not held onto his arms.“Edmund!” Lily was shocked. She did not expect him to attempt to kill himself without hesitation. ‘Why?!’He raised a finger and looked up at Lily. He said haltingly, “I would have succeeded if I took one more step!” Lily looked back at him and asked grimly, “Your goal is not just to destroy all possible cures but to make people lose hope and think the disease is incurable, right?”Edmund threw her an odd look and moved his lips as if to say something, but the poison took effect quickly. Before he could say anything, his body stiffened, and his head drooped aside.“He’s dead.” Checking his breath, Alexander checked Edmund’s breath before looking up and delivering two words.The other two were stunned. Lily gazed deeply at Edmund, then looked to Dr. Blanc. “He…”“I’ll take care of it. Al
“Even if there is, I’m not afraid.” Alexander’s voice was tender like his lips, which he gently pressed against her neck.At this moment, Lily seemed to have relaxed as well. Having been tense for so many days, she was exhausted and had only held on through sheer willpower. Now that she relaxed, she felt limp all over.Alexander turned his wife around to face him before looking into her eyes. “With a miracle doctor like you around, no matter how many times I get infected, I won’t—”“Knock it off!” Lily interrupted him with a frown. “Don’t jinx it, okay?”“When did you become so superstitious?” Alexander chuckled and pulled her over to sit beside him. Then he started to gently and meticulously massage her thighs. With her legs placed over his lap and his hands held loosely into fists, he gently massaged her discomfort.Lily struggled in vain to put her legs down and could only let him carry on. Since she was pregnant and had been swamped, her legs were sore and swollen. His massagi
"It's very simple. Dashiell is right. Only Dr. Blanc and Edmund can enter my laboratory easily. In the previous surveillance video, Edmund deliberately pretended to be Dashiell."There were surveillance cameras all over the laboratory. This was a known fact. The surveillance cameras allowed all work carried out in the laboratory to be accurately recorded, including the progress and changes of the experiment.Dashiell would not have made such a rookie error, leaving a vague but recognizable silhouette on the surveillance video. This was intentional. Someone was setting him up."What an unprofessional move," Alexander sighed lightly. Although he was not used to such things, he acknowledged that the culprit could have done better."Sometimes, the simpler it is, the more effective it may be. After all, Edmund and I got into a fight two days ago, and everyone knew about it. Therefore, Edmund tried to seek revenge. It's easier for people to believe him anyway. Besides…" Lily turned her h