"How can this happen?!" Austin, sweating profusely, stood by the bed and exclaimed in shock.Alexander was silent. He bent down, took one of the older man's arms out of the blanket, and scrutinized it. Strangely, the red marks and raised lines he had seen on Dominic's arm before had disappeared.Cold to a human's touch, the thin arm had no trace of the previous imprint. It was as if everything was an illusion and had never existed. Austin was puzzled as he looked at Alexander’s actions.‘Alexander did the same thing to me; now he’s doing it to Uncle Dom. What is he looking for? Does he know something I don’t?"What are you looking for?" Austin leaned his head over and asked curiously.Alexander almost forgot there was another person with him and was startled. He glanced at Austin, shook his head, and did not speak.His silence made Austin lose his composure. "Hey, what does that mean? You checked my arm like that before, and now you're doing the same to Uncle Dom. What are you lo
That punch landed right on Austin’s stomach, causing him to let out a loud growl as he staggered backward. He pointed at Alexander and wanted to say so much, but he could only say, “F*ck!”“I don’t know what’s going on now either. I’m unsure if everyone here got infected by a virus, an infectious disease, or…” Alexander stopped briefly before continuing, “You guys are medical practitioners, yet you don’t know what’s happening.“Do you think I’d know anything? I was just checking if there was anything strange with your bodies. I didn’t mean anything else, and you shouldn’t read too much into that either.”Before Dominic regained consciousness, Alexander could not bring up the matter of the symbiote because he did not know what it was either. Seeing how rash Austin was, he might just exacerbate the situation.However, Austin noticed the momentary pause in Alexander’s words.‘What could it be if not a virus or an infectious disease? What is it?’Perhaps the two men were causing too
Dominic shut his eyes and nodded slightly in agreement with Alexander while Austin remained quiet. However, guilt-ridden for having caused all this, he was anxious to find out what it was all about.“It’s not your fault.” Seemingly able to read his mind, Dominic raised his hand slightly and moved his fingers. “Go… fetch my silver needle.”Austin repeatedly nodded upon hearing his granduncle’s instruction. “Right away!”He was eager to do everything for his granduncle as long as the older man could get well.Dominic quietly gazed after Austin as he anxiously ran out of the room like a child, then turned to Alexander.Alexander knew the older man had something to say to him.“I…” Dominic then raised his arm.Alexander knowingly held the arm a bit higher and rolled up the older man’s sleeve. “I checked both your arms, and there’s nothing. The mark you showed me before has disappeared. I also checked Austin’s body; he doesn’t have it either. What the hell… was it?”He knew it was e
Austin stood in shock at the doorway as what he held fell to the floor with a clang. As he always took his time when asked to do things, Dominic was surprised that his grandnephew was back so soon.Worse, he seemed to have overheard their conversation.“Uncle Dom, I’m… the mother?” His voice sounded odd. It was hard for him to accept this. Although Austin always suspected he was the source and the cause of what had happened, he found it hard to accept what he had just heard. Even the word “mother” sounded bizarre to him.Dominic coughed and explained, “Not you, but the thing inside you.”However, the older man’s brief clarification only bewildered Austin further.“Inside me…” Austin looked down at his body but could not see anything with his clothes on. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his skinny body. His previously lean and clear-defined muscle groups were no longer visible.Dominic saw what his grandnephew was doing and coughed before sighing. “You won’t be able to
The secret organization originated overseas and always focused on viruses. After expanding into the country, it started researching herbs and poisonous plants. Therefore, Alexander wondered if people from West Virho were involved in this.“I have no idea,” Dominic shook his head and said, “But you’re right that there are ways to get rid of them.”“Yes.” After throwing up in the bathroom, Austin stuck his head out while palming his chest. “I read about it in the ancient text downstairs, but we first have to know what kind of symbiotes they are.”Probably revolted by the mention of “symbiotes,” he rushed back inside to continue throwing up. The other two were speechless. Dominic curled his lip but looked toward Alexander and nodded. “He’s right.”‘Looks like Austin hasn’t wasted time reading the books and has learned something after all. Perhaps I underestimated him.’“Then how do we determine what kind of symbiotes they are?” Alexander thought about it and asked, “Anything I can do
Dominic slowly shook his head. “I don’t suppose so.”“Suppose?” Taken back, Austin was put ill at ease by his uncertain tone.“I haven’t done much research on venomous symbiotes, and what I know is only based on ancient texts. I’ve never encountered them in real life before, so I can only guess.”He thought it was better to be cautious about the matter as he could not be 100% sure. Austin understood what his granduncle meant and nodded. After thinking about it, he asked, “So… how does the disease transmit?”He subconsciously glanced at Alexander as he was in contact with him too. If the disease got transmitted through direct contact, many others would have gotten infected by now.“My guess is through blood,” Dominic concluded after pondering.“Blood?”Dominic nodded and breathed. “You’ve been in contact with many people since returning. However, until now, the infected people are just my servants and me. Since you’ve stayed here for some time, we can’t be the only ones if the tr
Stunned, Dominic frowned and pondered carefully. Then he slowly shook his head. “He hadn’t, I suppose.”The child was naughty, but Dominic cared for him well and would never let him do anything dangerous. He would even keep the kid away from things that could hurt him. Thinking back, he believed Galen did not expose himself to Austin’s blood, nor was there such a chance.Alexander heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that his son did not come into contact with Austin’s blood. However, he was puzzled by something and asked, “But… Galen has a fever.”“Fever?” Dominic was shocked. “What other symptoms does he have?”Leaning forward, he nearly sat up in alarm.Alexander noticed the older man’s anxiousness and tried to calm him down. “No, he has no other symptoms besides having a fever. He also has a good appetite and fell asleep after having some soup and biscuits. I took his temperature just now, and his fever has subsided.”Dominic was relieved to hear that Galen had no other symp
No matter how hard Alexander tried, he couldn’t stop worrying and felt overwhelmed by anxiety. He dared not think what would happen if Lily was indeed infected. ‘She’s a pregnant woman, for God’s sake! How’s she going to cope?’The call rang several times. If it were before, he would stop calling and wait for her to return his call, but he could not wait for another second and kept calling. Until…Someone finally answered, and a familiar voice sounded. Alexander suddenly felt like a deflated balloon and almost went limp.“Hello?” Lily’s gentle voice had a sense of bewilderment. “What happened?”She saw her phone vibrating non-stop when she returned to her resting place. She grew even more puzzled seeing Alexander’s number because he had never called her repeatedly like this before.“Are you… feeling any discomfort?” Alexander said hesitantly. He was anxious but did not want to act too nervous, affecting her mood.“No,” Lily said, puzzled, “What’s going on?”Alexander pursed his