Treated?

Ava Ellis and Sean White sat side by side in the back of a taxi, looking rather bedraggled.

It had started raining in New York right after they left, and it was no easy task to hail a cab during rush hour. They had only found this one after walking two blocks.

"Dr. White, I think we need to buy a car."

Sean White wiped the rainwater from his face and nodded stiffly. He very much agreed with Ava's suggestion.

"We'll buy one tomorrow. You drive."

Ava Ellis hesitated. Dr. White had always liked to take charge, so why was he suggesting that she drive? It gave Ava a bad feeling.

"I... can't drive!"

"You can't drive? Can you even call yourself an American?"

Ava looked a little aggrieved. She leaned close to Sean White and whispered:

"I'm a demon. I don't count as an American."

Ava Ellis's retort left Sean White speechless. Demons were not even human, let alone citizens of any country.

Sean White shut his mouth and said nothing. Ava naturally did not think Dr. White was angry; he was not that petty. But his reaction seemed to confirm her suspicion. After hesitating for a while, she finally asked cautiously:

"You... can't drive either?"

Silence. Dead silence. The only sound in the backseat was their breathing. Ava Ellis wanted to slap herself twice. She already understood it in her heart, so why did she have to say it out loud? What was that thing Dr. White always said... See through it but don't say it, and you'll stay friends.

After more than half an hour of agony, the taxi slowly came to a stop.

"We're here, you two."

The taxi driver's words practically saved Ava Ellis. She forced out a seductive smile and nudged Sean White with her shoulder.

"Dr. White, we're here."

Ava's syrupy voice made even the driver in the front shudder. He could not help peeking into the back through the rearview mirror.

"Mm, we're here. Get out."

Ignoring the flirtatious female demon, Sean opened the door and got out on his own.

Ava Ellis quickly pulled cash from her little handbag to pay the fare, but she made sure to watch the driver give her $2.10 in change. Under the driver's contemptuous gaze, Ava tucked the change into her handbag. She did not care what some irrelevant taxi driver thought, as long as Dr. White did not think she was wasting money. She did not want even a tiny bit of interest added to her debt.

"The rain stopped!"

Dr. White patted his soaking wet clothes, so annoyed his liver hurt. If they had left twenty minutes later, none of this would have happened.

With a flattering smile, Ava Ellis helped Sean smooth out the wrinkles from sitting in the taxi. Since his clothes were wet anyway, they were easy to flatten.

"An oncology hospital. What was the caller's name again?" Sean looked at the Oncology Hospital building and felt a little nervous.

"Um... let me check. Gwen Stacy." Ava immediately pulled out the little notebook Linda had kept and flipped through it.

What a familiar name. Wasn't she Little Spider's first or second girlfriend?

Wait, what year was this? Wouldn't this girl only be around ten years old now?

How much could a little kid like that possibly weigh? This job... did not seem very profitable!

"Ava, what do you think about setting a minimum fee? If we charge by actual weight, those kids who only weigh a few pounds... tsk!"

Ava Ellis thought it over and replied:

"Wouldn't that be a little unfair? Wouldn't lighter people get the short end of the stick?"

The moment Ava Ellis finished speaking, she wanted to slap herself again. Dr. White had finally decided to change the pricing standard, so why had she blurted that out? Changing it would be great—she would have less to worry about! She could even earn more commission to pay off her debt.

"Tsk, you have a point." Sean nodded.

It was over. She did not even have a chance to take it back. Ava Ellis felt like even the wind had become unbearably noisy.

The two searched all the way for bed 1704. During the process, Ava Ellis asked for directions at least four times and went to the wrong rooms twice. The layout of this hospital was ridiculously complicated.

"This is the one?" Sean looked at Ava suspiciously.

Ava forced herself to say, "This is the one."

She was guessing too. Hopefully, she had guessed right this time. The hospital's bed numbers had absolutely nothing to do with the room numbers!

Knock, knock, knock.

Ava knocked on the door.

A woman around thirty answered it, with black hair and green eyes.

She froze slightly when she saw Sean and Ava, then asked, "You are...?"

"We're looking for Miss Gwen Stacy," Ava answered.

"Gwen?" The woman looked at Sean and Ava warily. "Who are you?"

They had finally found the right place!

Seeing the woman's reaction, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're doctors from White Clinic. Miss Gwen Stacy requested a house call."

Ava Ellis explained with a smile. Her smile was perfectly professional, with none of her usual seductive manner.

Seeing that the woman still had doubts, Ava continued, "You can ask Miss Gwen Stacy."

"Aunt Nancy, who is it?" A young girl's voice asked from inside the room.

The woman considered for a moment after hearing the voice, then opened the door. "Please come in."

Hmm... Gwen Stacy looked about fourteen or fifteen, a little heavier than he had expected... But why was she not the one lying in the hospital bed?

"Are you Dr. White?" Gwen's gaze moved between Sean and Ava. She did not know which one was White.

"I'm Sean White, and this is my assistant, Ava Ellis." Sean had no choice but to confirm his identity. He had no idea where this girl had gotten his clinic's number. Very few outsiders knew about his clinic; aside from the nearby residents, only those criminals who got seriously injured at the drop of a hat knew.

When Sean confirmed it, the girl's eyes lit up. She said urgently:

"My mom has lung cancer. The doctors say it's already in the late stage. I heard Dr. White can cure any illness. Please, save my mom!"

"Gwen!" The woman who had opened the door called out reproachfully. Her thinking was understandable. If even New York Oncology Hospital could not cure it, how could some unknown little clinic possibly have a solution? Cure any illness? It was probably one of those shady clinics that treated private problems!

Just as she was about to persuade the obsessed Gwen, Sean spoke.

"In theory, it can be treated."

"Really?" Gwen's little face practically glowed.

"Gwen!" The woman who had opened the door pulled the girl aside and said sternly, "Gwen, this is the best oncology department in New York. Doctors from Anderson Center have already consulted on Helen's case. She... just let her go peacefully."

"No, Aunt Nancy! Dr. White really can cure cancer! I don't want to lose Mom!" Gwen's eyes reddened, but she remained firm. She knew about White Clinic because her classmate's grandfather had been cured of late-stage liver cancer there. She clearly remembered the happy smile on her classmate's face.

"Oh, Gwen!" Nancy thought the girl was simply clinging to her last hope. She could understand that desperate feeling. She hugged Gwen tightly, wanting to comfort the poor girl.

Sean watched the affectionate aunt and niece and boredly ran his tongue over his back teeth.

"Cancer is an illness too. There's no illness White Clinic can't cure."

Sean's words landed with absolute conviction.

To him, what illness was not an illness? Late-stage cancer would inevitably metastasize. If it had spread throughout the body, that was a lot of weight. The profit would still be considerable. In the end, he was using the patient's money to buy the patient's illness. Not only did he profit from the difference, but the illness itself had value too.

The woman lying in bed had to weigh over forty kilograms, however he estimated it. With the double house-call fee, that would be at least $160,000 or $170,000.

"Dr. White, can you really save my mom?" Gwen asked, stretching her head out from Nancy's embrace.

"Sure, but it's expensive." Sean felt certain Nancy would try to stop this deal.

And just as he expected, Nancy did try to interfere. She released Gwen and turned around.

"Dr. White, do you know what you're saying?" Nancy was furious, but she restrained herself. She did not want to lose her temper in front of her niece, much less beside the hospital bed of her husband's sister.

Sean hated this sort of thing most. Whenever someone other than the person involved was present, his transactions always faced all kinds of obstruction and questioning. He could not even be bothered to explain anymore.

"Gwen Stacy, are you sure you want to treat the woman lying in that bed?"

"That's my mom. I'm sure I want her treated. Doctor, please help my mom!"

Nancy glared at Sean, wishing she could shout at him immediately.

But she could no longer stop it.

"It's not help. It's paid treatment for cancer. If you're sure, then say so." Sean explained it to Gwen Stacy. This had to be made clear, or the ledger would think he was deliberately taking a loss. That would be a real problem. He had done that before when he did not know better, and the ledger forcibly drained the corresponding source essence from him. It had left him too weak to get out of bed for days.

"Okay!" Gwen agreed without hesitation.

Nancy was already preparing to call a nurse and have Sean and Ava thrown out.

At that moment, Sean pulled out a book, flipped through a few pages, and said, "All right. $166,000. If possible, pay it at the clinic today. There will be interest."

After saying that, he left with Ava without waiting for Nancy or Gwen to react.

Only after leaving the room did Sean look at Ava Ellis unhappily.

"Why didn't you say anything back there?"

"Huh?" Ava did not react at first.

"That woman was obviously trying to stop our transaction. Why didn't you say anything?"

"..." Ava felt miserable. You said everything already. What was she supposed to say?

"Um... do you remember the way out?" Sean suddenly realized the path he had taken had come to a dead end.

Inside the room, Nancy wore a strange expression. She thought they had encountered two lunatics. The man had flipped through a book for a few pages and demanded $166,000 be sent over. If that was not crazy, what was?

Gwen was a little dazed as well. This treatment... was nothing like what she had imagined!

"Mm..."

On the bed, Gwen's mother let out a sleepy murmur.

Gwen and Nancy hurried over.

Nancy nervously checked the equipment beside the bed. The oxygen and everything else were normal; nothing was wrong. Only then did she let out a breath.

The woman in the bed was Helen Stacy. In her sleep, she had felt unbearably uncomfortable, as though something were covering her mouth. She instinctively reached up, wanting to remove whatever was covering it.

But someone grabbed both her hands, and she could not move them at all.

Helen Stacy became so anxious that she woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw her sister-in-law Nancy and her own daughter holding her hands, stopping her from pulling off the oxygen mask.

When Nancy and Gwen saw Helen wake up, they instinctively let go. They had only stopped Helen because of her unconscious movements in her sleep. Now that she was awake, there was no need.

The moment they released her, Helen tore off the oxygen mask and pushed herself upright in bed.

Nancy and Gwen did not have time to worry about the oxygen mask. They quickly stepped forward to support Helen.

"Hoo..."

Helen took a deep breath before finally feeling a little more comfortable.

She touched her chest, feeling strange.

"Why does it feel like it doesn't hurt anymore? Did you give me another painkiller injection?" Helen asked in confusion.

Nancy shook her head. "No, it's not time yet."

"How strange..." Helen moved her arms and muttered.

Gwen's eyes lit up at those words. She asked excitedly, "Mom, do you feel better?"

"Yes. Mom feels better. I've never felt this good before." Helen stroked her daughter's hair. But as soon as she said it, she froze. Before this, there had not been a single comfortable part of her body. The pain had tortured her until she wanted to die, but now...

It really did seem like she was cured.

Excitedly, Gwen grabbed the call button by the bed and pressed it without hesitation.

Wuwuwu, this chapter wasn't very exciting. It's laying the groundwork. Please give it a bookmark to show some support~~ A character I really like will appear in the next chapter~