Alexander was visibly upset after seeing Elise coming to her friend’s defense, but he knew Elise was only
friends with this Max character. His real enemy was the one in the coffin, the one who was a hair’s
breadth away from death.
After Elise got control of the situation, she looked at Alexander and told Claude, “He’s in the room. We
have to be quick.”
“I understand.” Claude nodded and went into the room where the coffin was kept.
Elise followed him.
Alexander hated seeing Elise looking so worried for another man, but he still went inside after thinking
about it for a second. Jackson had always been interested in Alexander’s shenanigans. It was the first
time Alexander was being so open, so he went inside as well.
Claude performed a simple checkup on Joseph, then his brows knitted into a frown.
“How is it?” Elise asked.
“Not good,” he answered. “The resources here are limited. I have to perform a detailed checkup on him
and arrange a surgery at once.”
“Can he wake up after that?” she asked again.
“No guarantees.” Claude wasn’t too sure about it himself either. “But I will try my best. If you want him to
wake up immediately, I do have a way to do it, though it won’t last long.”
“Do it,” she said solemnly. Since it wasn’t certain that Joseph would wake after the surgery, she would try
and extract some useful information from Joseph before that.
Claude looked at her, then at the people in the room. He didn’t do it immediately, since Jackson would
grow very suspicious if Claude used his meds. But if she has already made that decision, she must have
an exit strategy already planned. I don’t have anything to worry about, for she is here. Claude took his
bag out and rummaged through it until he found a small tube in the hidden compartment. He uncorked it
and opened Joseph’s mouth before pouring the tube’s content into him.
The room was silent for around a minute. Eventually, Joseph started stirring, and he slowly opened his
eyes. For a moment, he looked energetic, as if he had never been sick before.
“Joseph.” Elise went over so Joseph could see her clearly. “We saved you. You can trust us. Tell me, who
did this to you? And who usurped your place?”
She thought she could get some useful answers, but the results weċe disappointing.
“I don’t know,” Joseph said calmly. “The last thing I remember is the case of the disappearance of
Timothy-a physicist-and his wife, Sasha. They have been missing for twelve years.” After he said that,
the light in his eyes went out. He blinked a few times and closed his eyes, as if he was a robot that ran
out of juice.
“Joseph!” Elise held his hand, which felt cold, in hopes to wake him up, but he had lost consciousness.
She looked up at Claude solemnly. “What happened?” she asked, her voice tinged with frustration.
Alexander noticed that, of course, and his eyes glinted coldly.
“Things,” Claude answered apologetically. “It’s the med’s effect. It causes a rally, and it works like
steroids for athletes. It can stimulate the human brain for a short while, but I can’t control the length of
time. It’s a miracle he could last until he finished telling you a clue, not to mention how clear and succinct
he was.”
Despite how ‘useless’ the medicine seemed, Jackson went on full alert. Not more than five doctors have
that kind of skill in this world. “Mr. Mumm, may I know who’s your mentor?” he probed.
“Self taught,” Claude replied. “Just some tricks I picked up along the way. I can teach you if you want, Mr.
Gleeman.”
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