Chapter 221

"Is collaborating with these medical institutions more important than meeting with members of parliament?"

Justin understood why she asked that question, something that would puzzle most people:

"You must remember that business is just business. Rhine Lab is essentially a Pharmaceutical Companies."

"Director, of course I know that. It's just that I feel it's not worth turning down a meeting with an important person to come here and cooperate with a medical institution from another region."

Justin's smile remained unchanged, but a fleeting, strange glint flashed in his eyes:

Have you heard of Stadth's Disease?

"I've heard of it."

The female assistant was able to join Rhine Lab because she already possessed a certain medical background. Otherwise, she would have been easily tricked by cunning and shrewd individuals during business negotiations.

"It is a rare genetic blood disease."

"Yes, it's very rare and deadly. Once you get this disease, you usually don't live past forty or fifty. And there's a very high chance it's passed on to the next generation. So at the time, it was considered a curse that would wipe out a family."

You should know what happened next. The advent of a cure for Stadth's Disease swept the disease into the dustbin of history, and many patients benefited from it.

Unfortunately, it came too late. Justin Sr. died three days before the effective treatment was available, from organ failure caused by Stadth's Disease.

The female assistant looked surprised upon hearing this. But she quickly recovered.

He answered:

"Justin, could it be..."

"That's right, Justin is my father. I struggled with fear and the fear of death for more than ten years, only to be told that I no longer had to live in fear."

This incurable disease that had plagued our family for hundreds of years has been completely cured. It all happened so suddenly, as if the disease had never existed.

Whether you think it's a gift or a cruel joke from fate, I certainly won't let it happen again.

I've heard of Rhodes Island; it's a medical institution with extensive experience treating infected individuals. I'm sure you wouldn't find a partner like that even after playing golf ten times with a senator. Contacting them sooner might help someone sooner.

The female assistant understood everything. She leaned forward and bowed, expressing her apology for her earlier words.

Justin didn't care and went back to his office to pick up the brown coat draped over his chair.

The Rhodes Island representative said they would arrive within ten minutes, and the witness was near the company building. He tidied his appearance in front of the mirror and left the Business Department directly.

Justin arrived outside the building and saw the security guard stopping six strangers. After confirming their identities, he extended his hand in invitation:

"Welcome, everyone, to Rhine Lab!"

As Justin told his female assistant, business is business. He approaches everyone he's partnered with, or will partner with, with the same enthusiasm.

At the same time.

Rhine Lab Headquarters, Structure Department.

Hemo sat alone on a chair in the corridor, looking slightly tired. In the observation room next door, the blonde little girl who had been rescued the night before lay quietly.

Her name is Ifrit; that's what it was printed on the nameplate on the left breast of her clothes.

As for why Ifrit was injured, Hemo had already heard Saria's explanation.

Last night, an explosion occurred at a laboratory outside Trimon. Rhine Lab's Defense Department received a special rescue request from the city government. When they arrived at the scene, they found only one survivor in the rubble.

Given that Ifrit suffers from Originium-related illness, and that her condition is quite severe, Parvis, the head of the Structure Department, proposed 'Chimeric Therapy' for her.

Several countries are currently researching therapies based on similar principles. Simply put, it involves surgically implanting processed Originium fragments into the patient's infected area. Special medications then activate the Originium fragment, allowing it to absorb Originium from the surrounding tissue.

Because this Chimeric Therapy has not undergone clinical trials, it has not yet come into the public eye.

Given the severity of Eve's condition, she might not survive a week without immediate surgery.

Ultimately, with the consent of the two department heads, Parvis and Saria, a several-hour Chimera surgery was performed on her last night.

Hemo serves as Parvis's assistant and becomes the lead executor of this experimental therapy. Their friend Miss Joyce, also assists.

The surgery went smoothly and relieved Ifrit's life was in danger, but we still cannot let our guard down.

Hemo stayed here hoping that in case of an emergency, the attending Doctor would be on-site. Parvis had gone home after her surgery, leaving Himer here alone.

Having not slept all night, Hemo was exhausted to the extreme. She leaned back in her chair and slowly closed her eyes.

At 3 p. m., it was time to change Ifrit's IV drip. The colleague on duty saw that Hemo was asleep and didn't wake her. A man and a woman tiptoed into the observation room and began changing the IV drip.

The moment she touched the little girl's arm, Ifrit suddenly opened her eyes.

Seeing the two men in white coats in front of her triggered terrifying memories she didn't want to recall:

"No... don't touch me!"

Ifrit jumped out of bed quickly, not even having time to put on her shoes, and ran barefoot towards the hallway.

The male colleague on duty was startled and quickly half-squatted down, while Zhang Ka threw himself at the other man with both arms.

Ifrit desperately tried to break free, but her body was too weak to exert much strength. She could only muster the strength to let out a sharp, childlike scream:

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

The Special Operations Team followed behind Miss Zilan as they passed through the central garden of Rhine Lab.

Shi Lei frowned as he heard a little girl screaming desperately from the building to his right.

Before leaving Lungmen, his attitude towards human experimentation was merely one of aversion. Because he had never actually witnessed it, he felt indifferent to it.

But beneath the military camp in Yarbing, Shi Lei witnessed a disturbing scene. Countless cyborgs, stitched together and pieced together, lay in rows of jars.

The thought of those inhuman scientists ignited a fire within him.

"Please wait a moment!"

Shi Lei spoke directly, calling out to Miss Zilan and Mr. Justin, who were walking at the front. Only after everyone turned to look at them did he point to the building beside them:

"I just heard a little girl screaming inside. You're not conducting human experiments, are you?"

"No, how could that be?"

Justin noticed that the other person looked serious and didn't seem to be joking, so he offered words of comfort:

"Sir, please don't be nervous. That's the Structure Department, which studies fundamental biological particles and the effects of structural changes on them. If you're still worried, how about I take you inside to have a look?"

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Shi Lei doesn't joke around in situations like this. He gestured for the other person to go first.

Justin had only said it casually, but he didn't expect the other party to take it so seriously. So he changed his plans on the spot and reluctantly led the six people into the Structure Department.

He had never heard of any human experimentation projects at Rhine Lab before, so he went to check it out.

"This won't happen..."

Justin swiped his card to open the door and was about to explain when he heard a girl's shrill scream coming from the depths of the corridor. This made him extremely embarrassed.

Shi Lei didn't waste any words with Justin and led the Special Operations Team to run inside quickly.

As the group reached the middle of the corridor, they saw a man carrying a blonde little girl into a room.

Because of her physical weakness and lack of oxygen caused by shouting, Ifrit suddenly fainted.

The researchers breathed a sigh of relief, carried her back to the bed in the observation room, and secured the restraints tightly.

Doctor. Hemo was awakened by the shouts and went into the observation room to examine Ifrit. Only after confirming that Ifrit was alright did she come out with her colleague on duty.

The three of them went into the corridor and found the head of the Business Department and a group of unfamiliar strangers standing outside.

"Director Justin, what's wrong...?"

Justin didn't answer directly. Looking through the window into the observation room, he asked:

"What's wrong with this little girl? I've never heard of the Structure Department having any human experimentation programs."

"Ah, that's not how it is. Director Justin, you've misunderstood."

The colleague on duty looked at the serious-looking group and explained the whole story.

The report included details of an explosion at a suburban laboratory, Dr. Saria's on-site rescue efforts, and Director Parvis to perform Chimera surgery after consultation.

To avoid confusion for laypeople, the principles of the surgery were specifically explained.

Shi Lei gazed at the blonde little girl in the room, his expression slightly relaxed. Hearing the explanation from the Rhine Lab staff, he suddenly asked:

"If I'm not mistaken, this is an infected person. May I go in and take a look?"

Hemo was taken aback, because she couldn't make the decision on this matter. Director Parvis was still sleeping at home, and Director Saria was also absent due to matters at the Defense Department.

Upon hearing this, Justin gave a polite smile:

"Sir, are you Doctor?"

"That's right, I'm Medical Operator from Rhodes Island, specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, and relief of Originium-related illness."

"I see. Well then, Doctor, please."

There is no cooperation agreement between Rhine Lab and Rhodes Island yet. This is a good opportunity to see how skilled their Doctor are.

"Um."

Shi Lei nodded and pushed open the door to enter the observation room.

He knew there was a surveillance camera in the corner of the ceiling that would record everything there, so he was extra cautious.

Doing things like cutting open a patient's wound to extract Originium crystal is absolutely forbidden. The Doctor here aren't stupid; a thorough examination would definitely reveal it. The best approach is to treat the condition subtly and imperceptibly.

Shi Lei placed two fingers on Ifrit's pulse, making a gesture as if he were taking her pulse.

Secretly, he cast Jade Shield on her and used a small-scale Rock Element resonance to blast away the Originium in her limbs.

Even if this cannot completely cure the condition, it can greatly improve the little girl's condition.

Hemo distrusted the unfamiliar Doctor, standing outside the glass with wide eyes, ready to rush in if he did anything inappropriate.

Two minutes later, Shi Lei walked out of the observation room.

Justin had also been looking through the glass and hadn't noticed anything unusual about the man, so he asked:

"Doctor, how is she?"

"She's doing well, and she should be able to recover to the level of a normal infected person in another two or three days."

Upon hearing this, Hemo's face immediately showed doubt.

She underwent surgery last night for several hours and knows just how bad Ifrit's condition really is.

It was precisely because her condition was so severe that Chimeric Therapy had to be adopted!

That's great, how could that be?

This Doctor, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, immediately claimed that recovery would take only two or three days. This made Hemo think he was a fraud, and he asked with a serious expression:

"Sir, are you sure?"

Justin's eyes flickered as he noticed Doctor. Hemo's unusual expression and immediately understood.

He had such high expectations for Rhodes Island, but it seems they're not living up to them. We'll have to think twice before partnering with this medical institution.

Shi Lei didn't want to explain, nor would he say things like, "I've saved more infected people than you've eaten X."

"I'm sure, La Signora. If all goes well, I'll come see her again tomorrow. If she has family, we can ask them to pick her up. If not, we might consider sending her to Rhodes Island for treatment."

It's strange enough that an underage girl would be at the scene of an explosion in a laboratory. If she stayed there, she would likely suffer even more harm.

He knew that Rhine Lab was a company, not a welfare institution, which is why he made this suggestion.

Doctor. Hemo opened her mouth, wanting to retort to the man. But considering he was a guest of Director Justin, she refrained from saying anything too harsh.

"Alright, sir. We'll reassess her condition later. Perhaps we won't even have to wait until tomorrow; we'll know by this afternoon."

"Okay, then I don't have any."

That's all for now, Mr. Justin. Let's go back the way we came.

"Okay, this way please."