Chapter 150
Lucinda pulled off her gloves, her gaze sweeping over the patients in the hospital beds. Once she confirmed their conditions had stabilized, she spoke slowly. "Take care of them first. Everything else can wait."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The doctors nearby were equally excited, their faces flushed red. But Lucinda showed no sign of relief.
She looked down at the few remaining vials in her palm, her eyes darkening.
Elijah noticed something was off. "Boss?"
Lucinda slowly pocketed the vials, her tone low. "The situation isn't as optimistic as you think."
The room fell silent. Everyone turned to look at her.
Lucinda's voice remained calm. "This serum can suppress the L toxin, but supplies are limited. The materials required for production are extremely rare. Several of the ingredients—there might not be a second batch in all of Sylvanor."
The smiles slowly faded from everyone's faces.
One of the base doctors couldn't help asking, "Can we mass-produce it?"
Lucinda shook her head. "No. The traditional refinement process is too complex and time-consuming. Even if I make it myself, I can't supply it on a large scale in a short time."
The room fell silent again. Everyone realized the severity of the situation.
The number of infected was growing every day. The serum she had on hand could handle emergencies.
But solving Sylvanor's crisis? Nowhere near enough.
Elijah's brow furrowed. "Then what do we do now?"
Lucinda looked up, her gaze drifting into the distance. "If we can find the Crimson Star Crystal, we can upgrade the pharmaceutical equipment. Then we can mass-produce the antidote."
At those words, everyone's spirits lifted.
Because they all knew the Crimson Star Crystal was in the Black Wolf Crew's hands.
The coldness in Lucinda's eyes deepened.
Whether for Niamh or for all of Sylvanor, she had to make this trip to the Black Wolf Crew.
Just then, Lucinda pulled a silver metal case from her medical kit.
Inside, dozens of pale blue vials were neatly arranged.
Everyone froze.
"Boss, what's this?"
"Preventative serum." Lucinda handed the case to Elijah. "It won't make you completely immune, but it'll significantly reduce infection risk. Get every member of the base injected immediately."
Elijah's eyes lit up. "Yes, ma'am!"
When word got out, the entire base erupted.
Everyone knew how terrifying the L toxin was. And now their boss had produced a preventative serum—it was like being given a second life.
Some people's eyes reddened. Others were so overwhelmed they dropped to their knees.
"Thank you, Boss!"
"Boss, we'll never forget what you've done for us!"
More and more people knelt. The hall was soon filled with a sea of kneeling figures. The sight was staggering.
Lucinda's brow furrowed slightly. She looked at the crowd before her and was silent for a few seconds. "Get up."
Her voice was neither loud nor soft. "Why are you kneeling? I'm not dead."
No one moved.
The young guard at the front lifted his head, his voice trembling. "Boss, you saved our lives. From now on, this life belongs to you."
"You saved mine too. Three years ago, if it weren't for Boss, I'd have been buried alive by those drug dealers."
"Me too."
"Same here."
Voices rose from the crowd, one after another.
Lucinda looked at them. The corner of her mouth curved slightly.
She turned and walked toward the end of the corridor, her voice drifting back. "Get up. Get back to work. Elijah, come with me."
The two of them passed through the corridor, through the base gates, and into the parking lot.
Elijah opened the door of a black SUV. Lucinda bent down and slid inside. He circled to the driver's seat and started the engine.
"Boss, where to?"
"Another Black Wolf Crew base." Lucinda pulled out her phone and opened a satellite map. Her finger tapped a location. "According to intel, Niamh was transferred here."
Elijah glanced at the map, his brow furrowing. "I've been there before. The terrain's complicated—easy to defend, hard to attack. Black Wolf Crew has at least fifty men stationed there, plus heavy firepower. Boss, it's just the two of us?"
"Two is enough." Lucinda pocketed her phone, her gaze falling on the desert speeding past the window. "More people would just get in the way. When we arrive, you stay outside and provide backup. I'll go in alone."
Elijah opened his mouth to say something, but when he met those cold eyes in the rearview mirror, he swallowed his words.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter and pressed the gas pedal down harder.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Sylvanor, at Dusk Reign Crew headquarters, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.
Inside the conference room, over a dozen experts were sweating profusely. No one dared breathe too loudly.
Reginald sat at the head of the table, his long fingers tapping lightly against the surface. Those deep eyes were cold, devoid of warmth.
"Infection count."
"Four." The person beside him reported in a low voice, barely daring to breathe. "And the number's still rising."
Reginald's expression darkened further.
Over the past few days, infection cases had begun appearing inside the Dusk Reign Crew research facility as well.
Worse, their investigation revealed that the original L toxin sample had been leaked from inside the lab.
In other words, Dusk Reign Crew had a traitor.
At that thought, the coldness in Reginald's eyes deepened.
"Have you caught them?"
"Already detained."
"Under interrogation now."
Reginald asked nothing more.
Dead men had no value. Right now, the antidote was what mattered most.
He looked at the experts before him and asked quietly, "Progress?"
They exchanged glances. Finally, an elderly professor with graying hair stepped forward. "Mr. Lancaster, the theory is complete, but we're missing a core material."
Reginald looked up, his voice low. "The Crimson Star Crystal?"
"Yes." The old professor smiled bitterly. "If we had the Crimson Star Crystal, equipment completion would jump to at least ninety percent. Antidote research would speed up dramatically. But right now…"
The conference room fell silent.
Reginald slowly closed his eyes. Images of his sister from childhood to now flashed through his mind.
That little girl who always followed behind him. That little girl who'd sneak her awards into his study to show off. That little girl who always said she'd become the world's greatest explorer someday.
Now she was imprisoned by the Black Wolf Crew. Her fate unknown.
At that thought, his eyes snapped open, cold as ice. "Prepare the car."
Everyone in the conference room froze.
"Mr. Lancaster?"
"We're going to the Black Wolf Crew."
The air went still. Every face paled. "You're going yourself?"
Reginald stood. His tall frame radiated suffocating pressure. "My sister is there."
Half an hour later, dozens of modified combat vehicles roared out of Dusk Reign Crew headquarters, their engines thundering through the night.
Inside the lead vehicle, Reginald leaned back in his seat. Lights flashed past the window.
He slowly pulled out his phone.
The screen lit up. In the photo, a young woman was looking down at a document, her profile delicate, her eyes cool and distant.
It was Lucinda.
Looking at that photo, the coldness in his eyes finally softened slightly.
He reached out. His fingertip gently traced across the screen.
He couldn't help thinking of her promise to take care of herself before he left. The way she smiled when she looked down. Her figure standing in the Lancaster Estate garden.
A strange ache stirred in his chest.
They'd only been apart less than a day. But it felt like forever.