Gunner thought for a moment and instructed his assistant, "Give me the gold needles."
"Yes, sir."
The assistant quickly retrieved a rolled-up silk cloth from the medical kit they had brought along. As he unrolled the cloth, several gold needles of varying lengths gleamed coldly under the light.
"Mr. Martinez, here are the gold needles you requested."
The assistant presented the silk cloth with both hands. Gunner nodded, selected a gold needle about four or five centimeters long, and then inserted it into the center of Deanna's forehead.
Lance watched with confusion but did not interrupt. A few minutes later, seeing no change in the needle, Gunner removed it, his eyes filled with puzzlement.
"Lance Boy, if you have any questions, just ask."
While handing the needle back to his assistant, Gunner looked at Lance. Lance took the opportunity to ask directly, "What is Deanna's condition now? What was the purpose of using the needle?"
"Deanna's condition, from what I can see, is that she is merely asleep. The gold needle was to check for any toxins that might not show up through a pulse check. Since there was no change in the needle, it indicates that Deanna is not poisoned," Gunner explained.
Lance felt even more perplexed after hearing this. "If she's not poisoned and just sleeping, why can't I wake her up no matter how hard I try?"
Gunner was silent for a few seconds before speaking slowly, "This situation resembles being in a state where all five senses are sealed off. I've seen this before, but that person was poisoned. Deanna's case is different and unclear. We can only wait for her to wake up on her own and then ask her about her sensations during sleep and her condition upon waking."
After finishing his explanation, Gunner turned to Lance and pointed to a nearby sofa. "I don't think Deanna will wake up anytime soon. Let's go over there, and you can tell me what happened."
Lance nodded and followed Gunner, recounting the events of the previous night in detail. He also shared the findings from his investigation.
"I found a clue. Last night, Deanna's half-sister and her husband attended a business conference. Given their status, they shouldn't have even been nominated for the conference but somehow received an invitation. I suspect their presence was orchestrated by someone, likely the same people who were previously targeting Deanna's experiments."
As he spoke, Lance glanced at Gunner. Gunner understood his implication and furrowed his brows in thought.
After a moment, he spoke with a hint of confusion in his voice, "If it was those people, why did they knock Deanna out instead of taking her away and using her to threaten us? Why wait for you to rescue her?"
This question also puzzled Lance. Just as they were racking their brains, they heard a soft moan from nearby. Deanna sat up in bed, rubbing her head and frowning.
"Deanna, you're awake," Lance said as he quickly walked over, placing his hands on her shoulders. "How do you feel? Is there any discomfort?"
"A bit dizzy and hungry," Deanna replied while rubbing her stomach. Her eyes suddenly caught sight of something outside the window, and she froze.
Before she could speak, Gunner approached and asked sternly, "Besides those two symptoms, do you feel anything else unusual?"
"Master?" Deanna looked at the middle-aged man standing before her with shock and surprise.
Seeing her astonished expression, Gunner's eyes softened with affection. He stepped forward and gently ruffled her hair. "Now is not the time for reminiscing. Tell me how you feel."
Deanna nodded and closed her eyes to sense her body's condition. "I don't feel much; just that my head is foggy like I've slept for a long time. How long have I been asleep? It looks dark outside."
She glanced towards the window. Lance smiled wryly. "You've been asleep since noon until just now. No matter how much I called you, you wouldn't wake up."
"Couldn't wake up?" Deanna was astonished.
Gunner nodded beside her. "Indeed, you couldn't wake up. I even checked you with a gold needle earlier, but you didn't react at all. Tell me, did you feel anything while you were asleep?"
"Feel anything?" Deanna looked puzzled.
Seeing her expression, Gunner's brows furrowed tightly again. "So you felt nothing at all? Just pure sleep?"
Deanna nodded again.
"This shouldn't be the case. Let me check again," Gunner said as he motioned for Deanna to give him her hand.
Deanna complied. As Gunner examined her, Lance remembered that Deanna had mentioned being hungry earlier and quietly left the room to get some food.