Lily remained motionless in the room and slowly opened her eyes after some time. Then she placed one hand on the other and examined her pulse. She sighed in relief when she found her pulse remained unchanged.Although the secret code matched, the doctor's words and the information he had conveyed did not arouse suspicion. Still, Lily needed to double-check for caution’s sake. After all, she could not let her guard down since she was in a special place.Even Mike, such a familiar friend, could deceive and hide things for his son’s sake, not to mention these unfamiliar strangers Lily faced now.She got up and entered the bathroom, slowly twisting a thin piece of paper from the ring. She unfolded it and found the familiar handwriting: "I’ve found the stronghold. Wait for me!"Although just a few simple words, Lily understood what they meant. It seemed Alexander had already found the organization’s stronghold and was preparing to rescue her. However, saving her was not a simple matter.
The spacious house was empty, with no lights on. The doctor threw his briefcase aside and sat heavily on the sofa, covering his face in despair. Suddenly, he felt something and quickly moved aside, looking around in fear. "Who's there?!""Doctor, don't be nervous." A man's voice came from the darkness, and then the lights in the room turned on. "Why didn't you turn on the lights when you came home?""I... " The doctor stood up excitedly when he saw the figure. "I’ve done as you requested. When will you release my family?""We didn't capture your family. You must understand that. We helped you rescue them." The person corrected the doctor’s statement, indicating he was not the kidnapper.The doctor nodded repeatedly. "I know, I know! So when can they come back? When can I see them?""Do you think now is a good time to let them come home?" Edward walked out of the darkness without minding that he had exposed his face. "Do you think they can live peacefully once they return home? Wil
The doctor wiped his tears and nodded repeatedly before hastily pulling out a note. He said, "This..."The situation was urgent at the time since the nurses were present, making it challenging to exchange messages. Fortunately, Lily was clever enough to understand with just a glance. It saved the doctor from having to explain further."Hmm." Edward took the note but did not open it. Instead, he kept it in his pocket, asking, "How’s the young lady doing?""She's doing fine! Ms. Christian has incredible mental resilience. She was able to endure in that kind of environment. She's truly remarkable. I've never seen such a strong woman," the doctor replied."Cut the crap!" Edward furrowed his brow and interrupted.The doctor quickly corrected himself, "She and her unborn baby are safe and healthy; please rest assured. A-About my family...""They’re safe and healthy," Edward quickly assured him, "What did they ask you to do to her?""T-They gave me a vial of medicine and instructed me
“Don’t worry about that. All you need to do is take good care of her and ensure she’s safe,” Edward interrupted.‘The organization is dangerous since they have firearms and probably even heavy weaponry. Still, being in Hyderland, its members won’t dare use them unless they intend to engage in a full-scale war. It seems improbable so far.’The doctor sighed in relief. “Okay, I can do that.”After all, it would not be too tricky if Edward wanted him to rescue Lily.“Do you know where they are?” Edward asked.The doctor shook his head. “Whenever they come to pick me up, they would blindfold me and put me to sleep using ether, so each time I wake up, I’m already there. They’re extremely cautious.“They even blindfolded me when they took me to see their boss. That’s why I don’t know the internal structure of that building.” The doctor was even clueless about how he got in and out of the building.“Their boss?” Edward hesitated. “You met their boss?”“I think so.” The doctor was unsu
Edward soon returned to the car, where Alexander sat leaning against the backseat instead of sitting straight as usual.The car was spacious enough for the man to relax and stretch his legs. However, he could not conceal the dark circles under his eyes—he was too exhausted.He had worked nonstop for the past few days and finally made a breakthrough. He could convey some messages through the doctor to Lily to ask her to wait patiently. Still, it took a toll on him.“Alex, that man is…” Edward could not help but ask.The person in the photo looked familiar at first glance, and Edward later remembered Alexander had once dealt with him before.‘If he’s behind this, the situation will be tricky.’“It’s him.” Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose and sounded husky as he lowered his gaze. He guessed it was him, and the doctor’s answer only confirmed his speculation.“How could it be him? If so, wouldn’t it mean the organization's mastermind is…” Edward shuddered.‘If he’s involved,
As the car engine started, Alexander remembered something and held up his phone to make a call. Since he did not get an answer after the phone several times, he looked at the phone with a frown and lay back down on the seat.…Mike could not help but retch as he squatted. He had been vomiting for a while now. Although his stomach was empty, he still felt the urge to gag. It was not just because of the disgusting sight. The pungent smell was also unbearable.“He…” He suppressed his nausea, but as soon as he uttered a word, he scrambled off and gagged, throwing up stomach acid.“You’re such a loser!” Rhea glanced disdainfully at him, then looked toward the corpse on the floor.She had not expected this. She squatted and gently touched the corpse with her gloved hand while cocking her head to examine it.“You even…” Mike finally managed to stop vomiting. He looked over his shoulder, saw Rhea calmly touching the corpse, and resumed retching. This time, he could not even throw up stom
‘This woman’s a real nutjob!’Mike was astonished when he saw Rhea kicking the body fearlessly. The body moved slightly and became still again after the kick.“It was a reflexive action,” Rhea said as she impassively looked up at Mike, “To be precise, it was a natural reflex. It’s perfectly normal.”Mike stayed silent, thinking, ‘Well, you aren’t, are you?’“Why don’t you bury him since you’re not afraid?” Mike pulled himself together and said, “I’ll go and find out how to contact the organization.”“Can you even do that after this much time has passed? Do you think…” Rhea paused and suddenly approached Mike.The latter instinctively took two steps back and saw Rhea coming closer, staring at him thoughtfully. “Do you think it’s possible Alexander has discovered it but refrained from telling you? Is it possible he doesn’t trust you?”Mike retorted, “It’s understandable if he doesn’t trust me. You haven’t given me time to stay in touch with him. Instead, you told me to stay in the
‘If we don’t eliminate the organization, it’ll keep churning out all sorts of man-made viruses!’“Where are you now?” Alexander asked gravely.Mike sent him his location, saying, “Hurry up. If anyone discovers the body, there’s going to be trouble.”“I’ll come right away!” After hanging up his phone, Alexander quickly called another number. “Can you help me with something? You’re the only one I can count on now.”…Dominic finally regained consciousness at dawn. He opened his eyes and saw no one in the immaculately clean bedroom, devoid of the stains from the previous night. He coughed twice but received no response.After removing his blanket, he sat up and coughed loudly. Still, there was no reply, not even a single sound. It was as if he was the only person in the house.‘Where the hell is that idiot?’Wondering so, Dominic sat up and discovered he was feeling much better. Even his strength was restored. He raised his hand, studied his arm, and looked down at his chest. He w