Luca pushed open the door and went downstairs. It was still early, and the people for the clinical trials hadn’t arrived yet.Luca found Gerald in the kitchen, making breakfast.Gerald was not as skilled as the others from the Island of Despair, so he was the one who usually cooked breakfast here. After all, the weak had no say in a place like the Island of Despair.When Gerald heard footsteps, he turned around and saw Luca. He could not help but shiver. The man who had tried to make a pass at her yesterday had been carried away later on.They originally wanted Shanks to help treat him, but after Shanks examined him, he said that he needed to go to the hospital for treatment since the equipment here was not sufficient for the necessary surgery.That man had to be sent to the hospital for surgery that very night.According to the group who brought the man to the hospital, the doctor was shocked when he saw the man’s injuries. The doctor even said on the spot that it looked like
The injuries of the volunteer willing to participate in the clinical trial were strikingly similar to Kassy's injuries. If this volunteer recovered, then Kassy should be able to as well.Luca felt it was almost like science fiction—completely unrealistic.Still, when it came to Shanks, she could not help but feel a flicker of hope.Without realizing it, Luca had started to adopt Shanks’ passion for pharmaceuticals and medicine.Shanks glanced at Luca briefly before shifting his gaze back to the volunteer.“Get him onto the vehicle,” Shanks instructed the staff.“Yes, Mr. Shanks."“Why are we putting him in the vehicle?” Luca was puzzled.Gerald glanced at her and explained, “It’s because this room doesn’t meet the necessary hygiene standards. Mr. Shanks arranged for a medical van to be brought in.”He heard that Shanks initially planned to transport the volunteer to the Island of Despair for the procedure since the equipment there was fully equipped. However, the volunteer’s f
The volunteer’s family looked at her in disbelief. An older woman stepped forward to take Luca's hand. “Is it true? Doctor, thank you.”It was Luca's first time facing such warmth from a patient's family, and she felt a bit uncomfortable. She pulled her hand away and looked at Shanks, but he had already left.Luca suddenly understood why Shanks did not like to talk much after surgeries. She had heard that before he came to the Island of Despair, he was already a genius-level doctor, so he had probably seen many situations like this. Not everyone enjoyed being thanked by patients' families. Luca definitely did not.“The patient will need to stay here for recovery. If you'd like to see him, please send someone in a sterile suit, and they can visit him for five minutes. After that, leave it to us and time,” explained Luca.The elderly woman who held her hand quickly said, “I’ll go. I need to see my son.”Another middle-aged person asked, “Doc, is he awake?”“He’s under partial ane
Johann stopped in his tracks, his gaze lazy and unbothered as he looked at Luke, “Anything else, Mr. Crawford?”“Since you have some free time today, go over to Crawford Manor and check on the old man’s health, as well as Luca's parents and grandfather,” said Luke. Johann’s surgery schedule was usually packed, so it was rare for him to have free time. Luke figured he might as well get him to help with a few things.“You!” Johann did not expect that a simple complaint would get him assigned more work!“I’m telling you, don’t push it!”“How much are you charging? Just inform Mr. Doyle to issue you a check,” said Luke, continuing to flip through the documents.“You!” Johann shot him a glare, but it had no effect. With no other choice, he decided to take advantage of the situation. “Since you’re being so generous, I won’t hold back!”Then, he turned and left.Luke did not respond to Johann’s protest and kept his head down, focused on his work.…Two days later, Luca changed the ba
Luca got out of bed and opened the door.The moment she saw the man standing there, she smiled. “Didn’t Gerald tell you not to casually open my door?”The man smiled back. After glancing around, he replied, “Do you really think I’m the same as them?”The man's appearance did not resemble Luke, but his voice was unmistakably his.Luke had disguised himself using the skills of a top-tier makeup artist, assuming the identity of a man who was supposed to arrive for a shift rotation of the organization. The original owner of the face was now securely detained by Gale.Worried he might be seen lingering outside, Luca quickly stepped aside, opening the door wider to let him in.As soon as he entered, she shut the door, locked it, and drew the curtains before rushing to embrace him tightly. “What are you doing here?”“I finished my work and came straight over.” Luke held her just as tightly. It was as though he wanted to merge her into his very being.Luca playfully teased, “This was w
Over the next few days, Luca continued helping Shanks take care of the volunteer. With Luke by her side, she felt much more at ease and was no longer as anxious.A week later, Shanks performed a basic neurological test on the volunteer.The man who had previously shown no response in his calves and feet began to feel sensations of itching and pain.When Luca saw the volunteer's toes twitch slightly, she could not help but feel excited.“I can feel it! It’s ticklish, so ticklish!” the volunteer exclaimed loudly.At that moment, Shanks was tickling the volunteer's foot. When he heard the volunteer’s words, his furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and he pinched the volunteer’s calf. Since the volunteer’s nerves were still healing, he had little sensation of pain, so Shanks pinched hard.“Do you feel it?” asked Shanks.“It hurts... a little!” replied the volunteer, his tone full of excitement. This was a positive sign for him.The volunteer, unable to walk yet, felt the urge t
“Huh?” Luca's voice was thick with sleepiness.“You can't see me in the dark,” hinted Luke.Luca slapped his restless hand away. “I'm tired.”Luke let out a sigh.Luca knew what he was sighing about, but with the intense experiments earlier that day and having waited so long just now, she just said, “Stop thinking about it. Go to sleep. I'm really tired.”Besides, this was the base of the Island of Despair. She was truly scared...“Good night.” Luke had no choice but to endure it. He held her in his arms and closed his eyes.When Luca woke up the following day, Luke had already left.She was used to it by now.Luke had a regular workout routine. Since he did not have to handle work here, he would get up early to train. He even sparred with others at the base. These people had all been trained on the Island of Despair, but none of them could beat Luke. Every one of them had gotten a few injuries from him.On the other hand, Luke came out unscathed each time.Only then did
Given Abel’s temperament, he would definitely inject the volunteer with double the dosage. However, they still did not know if the medication was safe now, and directly administering it could cause irreparable damage.Luca thought about how innocent the volunteer was, and how he had suffered such severe injuries for the sake of his family. His eye surgery still had not been done, and if Abel harmed the volunteer now, the subsequent clinical work would be impossible.Shanks did not have the authority to save lives here. It was already difficult enough to have a volunteer cooperating with the clinical trials.Luca knew Abel well. He would not listen to these concerns, and he would only focus on speeding up the research to rescue Kassy. Luca stopped speaking when she noticed Shanks remained silent. While Shanks was not doing this research for Kassy, it still cost him considerable effort.Luca assumed that he would not allow Abel to destroy his hard work. After all, finding ano
“I know you’re not interested in her, but still, we should be cautious,” Luca joked, trying to lighten the mood.She was actually worried that Hera’s feelings for Luke might interfere with their plans.Luca looked at him with concern. “You weren’t in your room last night. If she really went to your room, she must've noticed your absence. How will you explain that?”“There are plenty of reasons I could give.” Luke already had an explanation in mind.However, if Hera really had feelings for him and stayed here, it would definitely cause him some trouble.“Just be careful.” Luca felt helpless. Abel’s sudden appearance had already messed up a lot of their plans.There was no way for her to leave this little villa now.With Abel bringing Hera here and her developing feelings for Luke, it was bound to cause more trouble for him later.Luca felt frustrated. She had enough trouble on her own. She did not want Luke to get caught up in trouble too. She had never intended for him to be
The man remained cautious. When he heard Hera was looking for Luke’s room, he immediately asked, “What do you need with Lucius?”Hera felt like her intentions had been seen through, and a sense of unease washed over her. However, when she thought about her status and position, she confidently replied, “Your boss said that Lucius is to serve me from now on. I'm hungry now, so I need him to go get me some late-night snacks. What's the matter? Is that not allowed?”The man remained silent, thinking that Hera could just order delivery.Why go to another man's room in the middle of the night?He thought about a possible reason and could not help feeling a little jealous, thinking that he was definitely more handsome than Luke. His feelings of imbalance grew. Why go to Lucius and not him?Hera, noticing his hesitation, snapped, “What are you zoning out for? Are you going to go for him?”If it had been any other task, the man would have been happy to step in. Still, something like g
“Alright, I'm really tired. How about we rest for a bit?” After kissing him, Luca snuggled against his waist and playfully whined. “The medication I took has some strong side effects. I've been feeling drowsy for hours. Can we sleep now?”A flash of concern appeared in Luke's deep eyes. His voice was hoarse as he replied, “Okay.”After lying down, Luca suddenly remembered Hera. She asked, “Have you met Hera?”“Hera? That woman?” Luke pulled her closer into his embrace.“Yeah.” Luca could tell from his tone that he did not remember who Hera was, so she explained, “Hera was a classmate of ours in high school, the popular girl. She was interested in you back then. We even ran into her once when we were abroad.”Her memory was sharp, and she remembered clearly all the details about people and events that did not seem important.Luke only caught one detail—she was a former classmate.“I don’t remember,” replied Luke.Luca continued, “Back then, Hera had a crush on you, but... I didn
“It's nothing. I just think you and our boss make a perfect match.” Luca decided not to say anything more. She was unwilling to risk causing trouble for herself.Hera felt that there was something mocking in her tone. It was meant to be a compliment, yet it felt like mockery, leaving her with the sense that something was off.Hera let out a cold snort. “Of course, we’re a perfect match. No need for you to say it.”Even though she knew there was an undertone of sarcasm, she still acknowledged it. She sized Luca up with a look of disdain. “You’re a doctor, right?”Luca shook her head. “Not exactly.”Gerald explained, “Ms. Sanchez, she’s skilled in medicine, but she wouldn’t call herself a doctor.”Hera shot him an annoyed glance and then turned back to Luca. “It’s fine as long as you know medicine. I’m not feeling well. Come help me with some treatment.”Gerald had no choice but to awkwardly suggest, “Ms. Sanchez, if you're not feeling unwell, perhaps I could ask Mr. Shanks to che
The volunteer was attended to in shifts, and he asked the person in the current shift, “Did that person leave?”“Yes.” The man attending him let out a sigh of relief. He had been so nervous when Abel was here that he could barely breathe.“Who was that person?” the volunteer asked curiously. He could not see, but he could still sense the heavy, oppressive aura. It was as though the person might take his life at any moment.“Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t know. Just focus on your recovery,” replied the man.The volunteer heaved a sigh and gently turned around. Lying here, he had no idea when it would end. However, ever since the nerves had started reacting, he felt that his legs were getting better day by day.After a while, Luca entered, carrying a tray of dry needling tools. She glanced at the attendant, noticing that it was another man today.Luca asked, “Did the boss come by earlier?”“Yes.” The man nodded.Luca’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at the volunteer, wh
Shanks furrowed his brows. He knew Abel would snap, but he did not expect him to go this far.He grabbed Luca and pulled her behind him. “Abel, what the hell is wrong with you?”Luca touched her quickly swelling face. A flash of hatred crossed her mind, but she was also worried about Luke. If Luke found out that Abel hurt her, he would definitely lose it. She had to keep everything under control for the sake of her child.With that thought, Luca took a step back, exposing half of her swollen face to look at Abel.Abel was furious at the sight. “She’s useless, and that’s why the experiment is going so slowly. What’s wrong with me giving her a slap?”Shanks’ face turned livid at his crazy words. “This experiment is mine. If you have an issue with it, take it up with me. There’s no reason to take it out on her. I’ll do what you want and increase the dosage. But if this volunteer dies, you’ll have a hell of a time finding another one for the clinical trials. Abel, is this really how y
Hera suddenly felt a chill and turned to look at Abel.His expression was calm, not as eerie as when he was angry, but she still felt an unsettling vibe from him. Was he jealous?Hera quickly tried to flatter him, saying, “No way, I think the most good-looking man here is you, my dear.”Abel did not show any sign of happiness at her flattery. He did not actually have feelings for Hera. Her sweet words could not fool him.“Since you like him so much, let him stay with you and work for you in the next few days.” Abel was indifferent.As long as Hera did not embarrass him by cheating on him here, it was fine.Hera was a bit surprised, but at the same time, she realized that Abel did not really like her. If he truly cared about her, he would have been jealous when she kept staring at another man.Once she accepted that this was all just a business arrangement, she happily agreed, “Alright. Thank you, my dear.”Luke’s gaze darkened for a moment, but no one was paying attention.Abe
Given Abel’s temperament, he would definitely inject the volunteer with double the dosage. However, they still did not know if the medication was safe now, and directly administering it could cause irreparable damage.Luca thought about how innocent the volunteer was, and how he had suffered such severe injuries for the sake of his family. His eye surgery still had not been done, and if Abel harmed the volunteer now, the subsequent clinical work would be impossible.Shanks did not have the authority to save lives here. It was already difficult enough to have a volunteer cooperating with the clinical trials.Luca knew Abel well. He would not listen to these concerns, and he would only focus on speeding up the research to rescue Kassy. Luca stopped speaking when she noticed Shanks remained silent. While Shanks was not doing this research for Kassy, it still cost him considerable effort.Luca assumed that he would not allow Abel to destroy his hard work. After all, finding ano
“Huh?” Luca's voice was thick with sleepiness.“You can't see me in the dark,” hinted Luke.Luca slapped his restless hand away. “I'm tired.”Luke let out a sigh.Luca knew what he was sighing about, but with the intense experiments earlier that day and having waited so long just now, she just said, “Stop thinking about it. Go to sleep. I'm really tired.”Besides, this was the base of the Island of Despair. She was truly scared...“Good night.” Luke had no choice but to endure it. He held her in his arms and closed his eyes.When Luca woke up the following day, Luke had already left.She was used to it by now.Luke had a regular workout routine. Since he did not have to handle work here, he would get up early to train. He even sparred with others at the base. These people had all been trained on the Island of Despair, but none of them could beat Luke. Every one of them had gotten a few injuries from him.On the other hand, Luke came out unscathed each time.Only then did