I will post the bonuses after 3 days when my midterm ends *^, for now, enjoy the chap,
Ah, I kindda forgot to tell you, I will set the privilege tier next month to 2/5/10/15/20, so for now it is only 2 advanced chapters.
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“Achoo!”
Eileen sneezed all of a sudden and felt a weird cold feeling on her neck.
Quickly, she pulled her clothes tight and looked around.
She and Renji had now arrived in the “Gray Area” of the Blackhole Plains, a neighborhood sandwiched between the wealthy district and the gang territories. It served as a buffer zone and also as a natural underground market.
Rich people bring the money, and gangs offer services. Lots of sketchy deals happen here, turning this place into a hotspot for all sorts of under-the-table business.
You can find unlicensed shops, black markets, arms sellers, people-smugglers, and adult clubs here—basically, anything that people might want but isn’t exactly legal.
The “Dain Clinic” that Renji and Eileen were heading to was also one such place—an unregistered, underground clinic.
After looking around, Eileen didn’t notice anything unusual. It was now 9:30 in the evening. While other areas of Blackhole Plains were deserted at this hour, the “Gray Street” was bustling with people in a hurry—making it one of the few places that remained lively even late into the night.
“Feeling cold? Should we buy a scarf?”
The young man next to her asked, And Eileen shook her head.
“No need. I’m tougher than I look. Let’s get moving fast. I’ve got a bad feeling for some reason.”
“You get this feeling a lot?”
“Nope!”
Eileen gave Renji an annoyed look and walked faster. She always trusted her gut, something a lot of scavengers do.
A few minutes later, they finally saw the “Dain Clinic” sign.
The clinic wasn’t particularly large, but it seemed to have quite a number of patients. Even at this hour, people were going in and out.
Renji saw that most people had small injuries like cuts or maybe broken bones. For quick and cheap care, this underground clinic was a good choice.
When they reached the patient area, the reception desk was manned by a drowsy nurse. Eileen, familiar with the place, didn’t bother her and headed straight inside.
[108]
In the third-last room of the patient corridor, Eileen, filled with excitement, grabbed the doorknob. She didn’t even bother to knock and pushed the door open eagerly.
“Mom! I—”
“Mom? Mom?”
Eileen’s happy voice suddenly stopped. She stood frozen at the door of the hospital room. When Renji got there and looked in, he saw why.
The hospital bed was empty, and the bedding and white sheets had obviously been tidied up by the nurse, ready for the next patient.
“What…what’s happening?”
Eileen snapped back to her senses and quickly stepped out to double-check the room number.
[108]
‘Yes, this should be Mom’s room’
‘But where is Mom? Where had she gone?’
Seeing Eileen freaking out and about to burst into each room, Renji grabbed her arm.
“Don’t worry. Maybe the doctors changed your mother’s treatment plan. Let’s ask at the front desk.”
“Right, right, the front desk!”
Eileen dashed to the front desk, startling the nearly asleep nurse on duty. At this point, she didn’t care about formalities and urgently asked,
“Doctor, can you tell me the room number for Nolan?”
Usually, you have to follow some rules to get patient info. But Renji looked rich, so the nurse didn’t ask questions. She started looking on her tablet.
The nurse glanced at Eileen, who was dressed like she came from a wealthy background, and decided not to make a fuss. She started scrolling on her tablet.
But soon after, “Nolan? I’m sorry, miss, but we don’t have any patients by that name in the clinic right now.”
“What did you say?” Eileen thought her ears were playing tricks on her.
Until the nurse repeated herself.
“Miss, I can’t find the person you’re mentioning in our current room registry. Are you sure you’re in the right place?”
“Impossible! How could that be? Dain Clinic, Room 108! My mom was here! You…you!”
Eileen’s commotion immediately drew the attention of many patients in the clinic. Even the front desk nurse started to frown, suspecting that Eileen might be causing a scene.
At this point, a hand reached out from behind and rested on Eileen’s shoulder.
“I apologize, Doctor. My sister is a bit emotional. Here’s the situation: my mother was previously staying in Room 108. But we just went there and found it empty. You’re also saying she’s not listed, so could you please check the room assignment records for us? We only need the information for the past two days. Thank you.”
Dressed in a high-end suit and carrying himself with poise, Renji impressed the front desk nurse both in appearance and in speech. She hesitated for a moment; normally, room assignment records were confidential and not disclosed to outsiders.
However, the nurse sneaked a few more glances at the handsome young man across from her. Renji gave her an apologetic smile as if to say “sorry for the trouble,” which made her feel rather pleased. After all, most people who came to a shady clinic like this were either intimidating gang members or poverty-stricken people. Renji, with his clean-cut and elegant appearance, was a first for her.
Taking into account that he was a direct relative of the patient and his sister seemed genuinely anxious, the nurse eventually nodded at Renji, granting him a little special treatment as she started scrolling through her tablet.
Not long after, “Sir, I’ve found it! Your mother, Ms. Nolan, was discharged at 11 a.m. today. She was picked up by her daughter, Eileen.”
The front desk nurse looked at Renji with a puzzled expression as she said this, wondering if the young man had another sister.
On the other side, Eileen was completely stunned, her eyes wide open. This was clearly nonsense. But just as she was about to angrily retort, the power of their contract silenced her and immobilized her.
Understanding Eileen’s volatile emotions concerning her mother—the only family she has—Renji knew that impulsiveness wouldn’t solve the problem. So he used the power of their contract to keep Eileen quiet for the moment.
“I see. Could you please check who recorded this particular assignment?”
“Ah? It was Director Frederic?”
Even the front desk nurse was a bit surprised. It was indeed rare for the director to personally record such details.
“I understand. Could you finally tell me if Director Frederic is currently in the clinic? And which room is he in?” .𝒎
The nurse hesitated again. Answering questions about other doctors might be acceptable, but when it came to the director, that was beyond her pay grade.
Fortunately, sensing her dilemma, Renji smiled and reassured her, “Oh, don’t worry. Dr. Frederic and I are actually friends, and we have a pretty good relationship. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have personally handled our registration, right?”
‘Well, that made sense. If they were friends, then there should be no issue, right?’
The nurse, now even more respectful towards Renji, quickly replied, “Sir, walk this way and head to the third floor. After turning left, it’s the fourth room on the innermost side. That’s Director Frederic’s office. He usually leaves around 10 p.m. If you hurry, you should still be able to catch him.”
Glancing at the wall clock that showed it was almost 10 p.m., Renji nodded.
“Thank you very much.”
𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝑚