As the last of the shrapnel was dumped into the basin, Frank breathed out a sigh of relief… and a mouthful of black blood."Guh…"Frank was clenching his knuckles and sweating all over his face, as he was reaching his limit in body and spirit."Take your time. There's no rush."Nurse Faith came up to him, carefully wiping the sweat off his face.Caught by surprise, he nodded slightly in gratitude.Nurse Faith smiled in turn and looked down to find that she had also wiped off dirt and blood."Gosh…" She clasped a hand over her mouth, staring at Frank in disbelief.How did he last until now?"Affixing acupoints, facilitating the flow of vigor…"As Frank continued to stitch up Kat with one hand, he inserted a needle into the acupoint between her brows, stimulating it so that she absorbed the Celestial Dew he had just fed her.Spoon, the Celestial Dew kicked in—it really was more valuable than the Bloodcrane Spiritbloom.As soon as Frank sewed up the gashes on Kat's skin, blood
However, Nurse Faith flinched in shock at the next instant as Frank abruptly collapsed."W-We have to move him!" She shrieked for other nurses and the security guards to help. "And clear the ER!"Just as chaos ensued, a young doctor in a white coat entered, and Nurse Faith exclaimed in delight when she saw who it was. "Chief!""Chief."Dr. Zinder, the other medical staff, and security guards all greeted her too.However, Winter Lawrence's eyes were fixed on the man lying unconscious on the floor, his body a blood mess."Frank!" she cried, her voice cracking. "What happened here?! How did this happen to Frank?!"What? He's… Frank Lawrence?!"Dr. Zinder and Nurse Faith were both left stunned.But seeing that the usually gentle hospital chief was suddenly snappy and furious, Nurse Faith quickly told her everything that had happened since Frank got out of the ambulance."There were two more? Both are dead?"Winter asked, her voice cracking. "What are their names? Have you found
There were just so many gaping holes on Frank's body that needed stitching, and all his internal organs were shot.Along with his other injuries, Winter basically had to sew up a gunny sack filled with holes if she wanted to save Frank, and without filling those holes.In his state, she would not be surprised if he stopped breathing the next instant.In fact, she could only watch as Frank's breathing turned weak, clawing her own hair and almost suffering a breakdown. "What should I do, Frank?! What should I do?!""Gurk…"That was when Frank suddenly coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of black blood."Frank!"Winter's eyes lit up in delight as she watched Frank open his eyes, rasping, "Winter…"-Seeing Winter was like a dream for Frank. She felt so close, yet so far.At the same time, his body was cumbersome, and he could not even lift a single finger."Frank… What should I do? Tell me how to save you! Please, tell me…"Winter's tears were falling on her fall head, l
It went without saying that Frank's heart had stopped, and Winter almost passed out instantly when she saw the flatlined cardiogram."No, that's impossible… Impossible! Frank, Frank… open your eyes! Look at me…"Winter panicked—she expected the risk, but when she realized that she had killed Frank with her needles, she still could not forgive herself.She was left staring as her hands trembled, and she fell to the floor with a thud. "How… How could this be…?"Seeing her anguish, Nurse Faith quickly tried to comfort her. "Chief, it's alright. You have to let him go…""Yes, I have to let him go…"Winter's eyes turned blank as she laughed miserably. "Could you do the same if you killed the one you love the most? Can you?"Nurse Faith felt pained as she looked into those empty eyes too—she had never seen such despair, misery, and endless helplessness in Winter's eyes.Nurse Faith tried to say something but eventually breathed a long sigh as she had no words that could comfort Winte
And just like how dew appears quietly in the mornings, the Celestial Dew's effect was subtle.Unlike the Bloodcrane Spiritbloom, absorbing it was a mild and withdrawn process, but the effect was just as impressive, if not better.Naturally, Frank only felt that when he woke up.It did not take that long either, as it was just two days later.The instant he opened his eyes in his ward, he felt the difference in his physique.Not only was his physique more malleable, but his senses were also sharper, and he could actually hear someone complaining downstairs when he closed his eyes, talking about how unpleasant work was."The Celestial Dew…"As Frank slowly sat up, he instantly sensed the presence of countless foreign objects in his body—the shrapnel from the RPGs and grenades.Winter did not remove those since it was risky, but it was no big deal for Frank as he was now.He could feel that he had advanced well into the Ascendant rank and could control his physical body at will.
With the three days for gathering evidence having passed, that also meant that the Martial Tournament finals would take place tomorrow…Turning to Nurse Faith, Frank asked, "Is Winter here? I'd like to see her.""The chief…?"Nurse Faith appeared hesitant. "She's attending the commissioner's funeral. All the rich and important figures in Zamri are attending.""The commissioner's funeral?"Frank was taken aback but soon laughed.Funeral? It was just an excuse to tell the world that Frank had failed and that his crime of murdering the commissioner was the truth now.Soon, Lanecorp and Zamri Hospital would suffer because of Frank as well.Still, Frank did some thinking and decided that crashing the funeral right now would be pointless. Since he did not have any evidence, he could not prove his innocence even if he went…That was when he suddenly remembered Blackie.That kid had always been shadowing Tidus after Frank took Tidus under his wings, and he did not expect Blackie's
Trevor Zurich was clearly aware that Frank had been incapacitated for days.As soon as Frank called, he said quietly, "Stanley Durban has arranged that bullshit funeral for Geon Kramer. Mr. Lawrence, we should—""I know. It's fine."Frank stopped him, his eyes flashing sharply as he continued, "My business isn't a priority. My brother's is.""Brother… You mean Tidus Simmons?""Yes." Frank nodded and said bluntly, "Find out where Blackie is. He will pay for his treachery!""Yes, sir!"Trevor went to work right away when he heard Frank's cold voice.Soon, after he hung up, he sent Blackie's location to Frank and called again. "I've sent a car to take you there, along with a new suit and phone.""Good." Frank nodded, satisfied by Trevor's arrangement.Soon, he was leaving Zamri Hospital while still in a hospital gown, climbing into the backseat of a Rolls-Royce parked at the square outside.After he got in, the Rolls-Royce sped off and eventually stopped at a slum south of Zamr
The old woman then arrived outside Blackie's room, with Frank standing closely behind."Blackie, quit hiding in your room! Your friend's here!"She called out while knocking on the door forcefully, "Honestly, how old are you?! Holed up in there for days just because of a tantrum, refusing to go to work. How shameful…"Frank looked around and asked, "Ma'am, didn't Lanecorp arrange for a new place to live for Blackie? Why would you stay here?"He was indoors, but the smell from the garbage around still stung the nose.The old woman shook her head and smiled. "It's not like the kids are mistreating me, but I just don't want to leave. You really get sentimental when you're old, see? I've been staying here for so long that I won't get used to living in a new place. But Tidus did get his boys to repair the house, hahaha… You hear me, Blackie?! Get up!"Even as the old woman hammered on Blackie's door, Frank sensed that something was wrong since he was not responding even after so long.