CH 167

Joe was a man of action and of adventure.

There was no risk too great for him to take; he was always refreshingly quick to get the ball rolling. 

It had to be said that Yan Suizhi’s suggestion had struck a chord with him. He had always harboured doubts about Zhao Zemu’s attempt to harm young master Manson, and had long wanted to get to the bottom of it.

So he immediately contacted his private space shuttle and set right off for De Carma’s port.

The starry blue car body disappeared at the end of the lane, with Lin Yuan watching after it for a good long while. Though it wasn’t his first time meeting this young master, the sight still had him dumbfounded. “He left just like that?”

Gu Yan was inured to this by now. “Is there a problem?” 

“No, but shouldn’t he prepare a little something or whatever?” Lin Yuan said.

“Such as?”

“Err…”

After stalling for a long time without being able to come up with anything that really needed to be prepared, Dr Lin said, seemingly in resignation, “Like an interview mic or something.”

Yan Suizhi smiled.

The ‘endearment’ for the ‘little fool’ almost left his tongue, but twisted into something else on account of Gu Yan. He said jokingly, “The little young master has a commendable personality. Sometimes too much prudence and preparation will make things impossible to start. After all, there’s a mysterious cosmic law wherein small troubles always come knocking at critical moments, keeping one from leaving the door.”

Hearing this, Gu Yan turned his head over to shoot him an indecipherable look.

Professor Yan was, for a time, unable to grasp its underlying meaning. “What are you looking at me for?” 

“Nothing much,” Gu Yan said, “I just suddenly feel a little worried for Joe.”

Yan Suizhi, “Hm?”

Dr Lin didn’t seem to comprehend his words as well. “What’s wrong?”

Gu Yan tepidly explained, “This Teacher Yan of mine has an incredible skill. Its scientific name is doomsayer, and its colloquial name is crow’s mouth. To date, it has yet to fail.” 

Dr Lin, a staunch believer in science, suddenly looked worried.

Yan Suizhi, “…”

Lawyer Gu was similarly a man of action. He’d actually, in all seriousness, projected his smart device screen, sending Joe a message: [Let me know when you’ve safely reached the port.]

Whereas the little Young Master Joe, hurtling down the road, was completely oblivious to this curse on his life. 

After sending out this one, Gu Yan began composing the second one, but was caught by a certain professor just after inputting the word ‘Yan’.

Yan Suizhi took it into his own hands, reaching out and swiping the message interface away, menacing, “Slander is a criminal offence. Slandering one’s teacher raises the punishment to a minimum sentence of a broken leg and a maximum sentence of death by firing squad.”

Gu Yan let him muck around with his smart device screen, calmly retorting, “Which feudal society’s incompetent monarch set this law?”

“Zf.” 

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Mbgaecjafis, atf wfwyfgr bo tlr gfrfjgmt afjw rajgafv ab jgglnf rbbc joafg.

“Scbeut cbk, P’w jirb rbwfbcf klat raevfcar.” Olc Tejc klcxfv ja Tjc Velhtl, rjslcu pbxlcuis, “P fnfc tjnf atf jvnjcajuf bo cewyfgr.”

The young people who had made it into Spring Ivy’s core research team were all extremely talented, yet not a hint of arrogance could be detected. 

They had all been with Lin Yuan since joining the research institute, some as assistants, while others as students, and after the years of association, were people whom Lin Yuan could wholly place his trust in.

Lin Yuan briefly explained to them the current progress of the gene segment analysis.

Naturally, he omitted Yan Suizhi’s identity and the Manson brother’s deeds, avoiding implicating these researchers as well.

“Yessir, understood. We’ll split up the work.” The researchers wore sterile gloves, jokingly saluting Lin Yuan. 

A lady said merrily, “We’ve even brought our toiletries; we’re all prepared to live in the lab.”

“I debated whether or not to bring an indoor tent or a compact mattress when leaving the door.”

“Did you come for a picnic? Everyone knows that it’s most convenient to just lie down flat on the ground.”

“I’ve only brought a bottle of cream to hide my dark eye circles.” 

“Spoken as if you’re still going to be meeting anyone.”

“Aren’t you someone?”

They buzzed with continuous chatter and the jokes never stopped, at once turning the atmosphere of the lab lively and vibrant. It was as though having to pull overtime through the night was nothing painful for them.

Lin Yuan efficiently allocated their work. It was neat and orderly. These young people were extremely cooperative. They understood the division of labour and took their places without asking a single question. Or rather, more than cooperate, it didn’t concern them. 

They didn’t care about sinister plots or backstories. The sole knowledge that what they were doing could save lives was motivation enough for them to dive right into work.

This was mayhaps a quality unique to doctors.

Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan didn’t stay in their hair, excusing themselves and leaving.

Lin Yuan sent them to the corridor. “Are you going over to see your client? It should be visiting hours by now, right?” 

Gu Yan, “I contacted the ward when Joe left. I received a response just now that the client had a sudden pathological reaction this morning, so he would be unable to attend any meetings. I’m going down to confirm this.”

Lin Yuan nodded. “I heard that he was supposed to be transferred to the infection treatment centre today, though he himself wasn’t willing and wanted to remain at Spring Ivy. It’s true that the treatment centre is more effective than being treated here, so it’s normal for him to have some recurring reactions.”

If they weren’t aware of the background behind the treatment centre, it was likely that they would have strongly suggested for Horace Lee to be transferred over.

However, Horace Lee had clearly expressed that if the first batch of patients were able to be smoothly discharged from hospital without any complications whatsoever, then he could, with great reluctance, try to accept the new drug targeted at treating the infection. But similarly, he also expressed that although he tested positive, he didn’t have any obvious symptoms, and as such wouldn’t take that risk unless he was on the verge of death. 

The police were unable to get a handle on him. After all, he was only a suspect and presumed not guilty until sentenced in court. They couldn’t simply ignore all of his wishes and requests.

—

The inpatient wing was chilly. The building had just opened up to visitors, but due to the early hour, there weren’t many people around.

In contrast to the empty corridors on other floors, the floor where Horace Lee’s ward was located was an oddity. 

When Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan exited the elevator, several doctors and nurses donning white coats had just come out of the ward.

The young nurses left to do their rounds in other wards, while the doctor coincidentally came up to them just then.

“Morning,” greeted the doctor.

He had just pulled a night shift and looked exhausted. Even then, he still projected the examination findings for Gu Yan and Yan Suizhi to have a look. 

It showed that Horace Lee started to run a fever and vomit around five in the morning. Rashes had formed on his arms and back, but subsided as quickly as they appeared.

“It’s gone back and forth like this for almost an hour and a half now, I think.” The doctor glanced at the clock on the wall.

“What caused it?” Gu Yan asked.

“The initial diagnosis is that they are symptoms arising from the infection,” the doctor said. “I just did a full-body check-up for him. Aside from the infection, I didn’t find anything else that could have caused this. But…” 

“But?” Seeing the doctor’s hesitance, Gu Yan pressed.

“The complications he is showing are not quite the same as what would appear in a normal infection.” The doctor rubbed his bloodshot eyes and said, “I’ve marked the test results; the doctor who will take over later will run a few more tests on him to avoid any slip-ups.”

“Then how is Horace Lee now?”

“He has just taken medicine. His vomiting has stopped and his fever is going down. While he’s recovering faster than expected, I still wouldn’t recommend meeting him at this time,” the doctor replied. “His emotions are extremely unstable.” 

Two of the officers on duty were dozing off with their backs against the wall, whereas the other two had their eyes opened so wide that they were glazed over.

The door to the ward was wide open. Other than during the lawyer’s meeting, the door would never be closed. This was actually by Horace Lee’s request, as though the moment the door was closed, someone harbouring malicious intent towards him would act out.

Horace Lee wasn’t lying in bed but was nestled on a simple sofa by the window, wrapped in the ward’s thin blanket. The complications had exhausted him mentally. He looked to be in a foul mood, and his complexion was terrible.

Closer inspection would show that he was shivering weakly. 

“I realised that you guys really know how to pick a time.” As he spoke, he grabbed a cup, stuffed a few pills inside his mouth, and swallowed them down with water.

“The doctor said that you’ve just taken medicine.” Gu Yan eyed the bottle of medicine in his hand. “Medicine for vomiting?”

Horace Ji bundled the thin blanket around himself again and yawned. “Yeah, I’ve taken my medicine, but there’s no rule that you can’t take more, right?”

Yan Suizhi, “Are you taking it as a snack?” 

Horace Lee ignored him. He snatched back the bottle from Gu Yan’s hand, saying impatiently, “Do you think that I like eating this? I fucking feel like puking again; do you think it feels great to have your stomach churn like you’re riding on stormy waters?”

He likely wasn’t lying, for cold sweat was covering his forehead. He frowned, wrapping the blanket tighter around his body.

After a while, he uncomfortably grabbed the glass and guzzled the water. The glass of water was finished by him in one shot, but the vile wave of nausea had yet to abate.

Yan Suizhi frowned as he watched his condition worsen, directly pressing the call bell for him. 

Shortly after, medical personnel streamed in again.

The doctor on duty came in whilst fastening the buttons on his white coat. “Another two minutes later and I would already be home. What’s going on here?”

It was not but a few short seconds, yet now Horace Lee couldn’t even bring himself to speak.

“He felt like vomiting again,” Yan Suizhi said to the doctor. “He was shaking when we came in.” 

The doctor instructed a few nurses to attach detection plates and fine needles onto him, and connect him to an IV drip.

Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan retreated to the door, watching the bustle inside.

After a long while, the doctor came out with the findings. “That’s so odd. His numerical data had stabilised earlier, so why did his fever suddenly go up again? If this continues, it’ll still be best to transfer him to a treatment centre.”

The doctor’s absent remark instead caused an idea to flash across Yan Suizhi’s head. 

They walked to a deserted corner of the corridor, and under the cover of the greenery, Yan Suizhi said to Gu Yan, “Horace Lee just said that he had no complications from the infection and was determined not to transfer to try new drugs unless forced to. Isn’t that a bit of a coincidence that he’s getting complications now?”

“It’s easy to conclude that someone has made a move,” Gu Yan said. “But who could it be?”

During their conversation, there was a cacophony of noise from the nurses’ station not far away. Several nurses had just returned to the station after finishing their rounds, taking off their masks to catch some fresh air as they chatted.

One of the women had her back facing him. She waved at her colleagues and took off her coat, seemingly about to clock out and return home. When she entered the lift, she finally turned around. Past the greenery, Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan finally saw her appearance, and both of them immediately gave a start. 

They couldn’t consider the young nurse in the lift as familiar, but they couldn’t write her off as completely unfamiliar to them either.

When they had first visited Horace Lee in the ward, this young nurse was the one who had been doggedly following around the uncooperative Horace Lee with a needle, distressed. In the end, it was Yan Suizhi who had helped her inject the needle into Horace Lee.

But this wasn’t what caused them to startle.

Back in Wine City, when they were scouting out the infection treatment centre with Laura, they had seen a young lady with professional make-up inside. 

Laura said that the same woman happened to be the one overseeing the transport of the unknown pharmaceuticals on the space shuttle. At that time, Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan only felt that she looked familiar, yet couldn’t remember where they had seen her before.

Now, they finally knew… That young lady was exactly the same as this nurse in the lift.