Chapter 634 - Opportunity (3)

I abruptly found myself back in my body, slowly opening my eyes to discover I was inside the same scene projected on the screen. Thankful not much time had passed, Ethan slowly began to carry Alex out of his hover car. Before Luke could make any ȧssumptions, I flawlessly lied, "Alex is dying. We need to save him."

"How did you come back to life?" Ethan was stunned, hearing my voice.

"What are you saying? I was taking a brief nap," I hinted.

The clock was ticking down as I was wasting more time here. I needed to quickly collect more herbs to make Alex's medicine. If Luke figured out about the incident, he would confine me to the infirmary instead. I tried to separate from Luke, beginning to get angry when his grip tightened. This was not good. Ethan's expression was revealing all his thoughts, making Luke come up with his own conclusions.

"Can you let me go?" I raised my head to face Luke.

"We're going to the infirmary," he studied me.

Unfortunately, Luke began to guide Ethan to walk to the infirmary with him. No matter how much I twisted and turned, my attempts were hopeless, soon finding myself attached to the machines. After shackling me to the bed, Luke repeated his actions to do the same to Alex, who was unconscious. Maybe I could secretly heal Alex later since we were inside the same room. I didn't think there would be an infirmary with more than one bed.

"I can let you go depending on the results," Luke started a checkup.

"I'm feeling fine. I can give you an explanation of what happened. Do you actually believe him?" I glared at Ethan.

"You actually died on us," Ethan stared at me in disbelief.

"I was taking a nap!" I wondered why he wasn't getting my intentions.

I stiffened when Luke's marble began vibrating, getting a large inflow of messages. Sneaking a peek at his screen, many condolences were sent to him, trying to comfort him for his supposed loss. Why did these people have to make rash ȧssumptions? I was doomed, slowly backing away towards the other side of the bed as Luke's eyes changed. He was never going to let me out now. Charles' long message, going through the details, would be more reliable than mine.

"Are you serious Rika?" Luke closed his screen.

"At least do the checkup. I'm really fine," I waited for him to continue.

I slightly smiled when both Ethan and Luke seemed to be surprised by the results. Thanking the mediator for healing my injuries before the next round, I hoped Luke would let me go. I didn't want to get hunted for two more days. I learned that it was better to be inside an open space rather than a small room. Even if I tried to tell them about the trial, their memories would get erased. Taking advantage of the results, I tried to persuade him, "you said you would let me go depending on the results."

"This can't be real," Ethan tapped on the machines.

"It is real. Let me go now," I kept an eye on the time.

"Where do you plan to go?" Luke removed the shackles.

"The garden. You promised you would reverse the bans," I reminded him.

"Wait for me to finish doing a checkup on Alex. I'll go with you," he tried to keep his word.

Since I knew the door and windows were locked, I impatiently rolled around my bed, waiting for him to finish taking care of Alex. I didn't want to talk to Ethan, who I considered to be a traitor. Although it was my fault for depending on him, I had higher expectations. Once Luke opened the door, I pulled Ethan with me, "you're coming with us. You still have to pay me back."

"The herbs?" Ethan recalled.

"Yea, those," I sighed.

Once we arrived at the garden, Luke was stunned, seeing the legendary herbs growing in front of us. However, I bȧrėly had any time to waste on him, gesturing to Ethan to start working. Thankfully, Ethan was used to collecting the herbs, gradually increasing his pile. I turned to Luke, "I need them for Alex's medicine. If you don't know the collection method. I'll teach you."

"I know the collection method," Luke stared at the herbs.

"Then get working. We still have to get to the other nine sections," I pointed.

Since I needed to conserve my energy to synthesize the ingredients together, I supervised Luke and Ethan in gathering the herbs. Both of them couldn't say anything, knowing my delicate health. However, I was disappointed in Luke, who was slower than Alex. Maybe it was from the lack of practice. Once we were in the sixth section, I commanded Ethan, "I'm going to start synthesizing everything together. Message me when you're finished, and I'll transfer the rest into my inventory."

"You have to help. It'll take me half of the day if I do it alone," Ethan stopped Luke from following me.

"If you want to join me, collect the herbs faster," I left them.

Once I entered the usual time-space room, Micah was already waiting for me. Studying the way he explained and showed me the new process, my face twisted into despair. The ratios were more stringent while the process required more precise control.. Micah wasn't surprised when none of my attempts were successful, eventually leaving me alone after I managed to nearly succeed.