As they went upstairs, Renji sorted through the information they had gathered so far.
Firstly, Brian, the owner of Sea Sand Bar, had mentioned that he sent someone to visit Eileen’s mother just yesterday. Therefore, Renji found the nurse’s account—that Eileen’s mother had been moved out at noon today—to be quite credible.
Based on this, a new question arose: why was she moved at noon? Was there anything special about this timing?
The answer seemed clear. With a little calculation, Renji figured out that this was likely the time when Eileen and the people from Callewa had left the gathering area to go to the Relic Cave—where he was supposedly “buried.”
The last remaining question was: why did Dr. Frederic immediately send Eileen’s mother out of the clinic right after Eileen and Callewa’s people had left?
A terrible answer formed in Renji’s mind.
He hoped he was wrong.
The third floor of the clinic was very quiet; the corridor was empty, and even the lights seemed dim, perhaps to save electricity.
Following the directions given by the front desk nurse, Renji and Eileen arrived at the designated room. Eileen was about to knock, but Renji had already pushed the door open.
“Who are you!?” A shocked voice came from inside the room.
Dr. Frederic, seated at his desk, was undoubtedly startled by the sudden intrusion.
Renji, looking at the man in the white coat with black-rimmed glasses—giving off a scholarly vibe—cut straight to the point.
“Dr. Frederic, where is Ms. Nolan now?”
“No… Nolan?”
The doctor looked confused, then remembered the name. Seeing Renji and Eileen dressed nicely, he said:
“Judging by your appearance, you don’t seem like relatives of a patient. As a doctor, I have an obligation to protect the personal information of each patient!”
“Furthermore, this is the internal area of the clinic, and outsiders are not welcome. So, I’ll have to ask both of you to leave immediately, or else… I will have to call security!”
Saying this, Frederic moved his hand toward a button on his desk that looked like a call bell.
What he absolutely did not expect was that the young man across from him, who looked like a wealthy heir, suddenly pulled out a gun and aimed it at him!
“Dr. Frederic, do you think your security can arrive faster than my bullet?”
“Don’t be rash! We can talk this over, let’s talk!”
Sweat poured down Dr. Frederic’s forehead as he silently cursed himself for being so careless. These weren’t rich young men; they were like gangsters. He quickly moved his hand away from the call button and raised both hands above his head.
“Truthfully, Dr. Frederic, I was hesitant at first. But after hearing what you said, I’m certain that my guess is probably right,” Renji spoke, his gun still pointed on the doctor.
“Last chance: where’s Ms. Nolan?”
Even with the gun pointed at him, Frederic stubbornly replied,
“There must be some misunderstanding. I don’t know what your relationship with Ms. Nolan is, but all I can say is that she was taken out of the clinic by her daughter around noon today. I even tried to dissuade them, but her daughter seemed very anxious, as if she had to go on a long journey.”
Dr. Frederic deliberately threw in the phrase “long journey,” a premeditated excuse he had prepared in case of emergencies.
“As for what happened after that, I have no idea! If you really need to find Ms. Nolan, you should look for her daughter, a scavenger named Eileen. I can provide you with her information. She’s quite famous among the scavengers and is often seen at the Sea Sand Bar.”
“You’re lying!” Renji felt Eileen, who had been silent behind him, finally explode. 𝘪𝘦.𝘤𝑜
Eileen strode past Renji to stand in front of Frederic. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close, glaring into his panicked eyes. “Look at me! Do you know who I am?”
“You are…”
From a distance, Frederic hadn’t recognized her, especially since Eileen had changed her hairstyle and clothes, and her skin had even lightened considerably.
However, when pulled closer, upon studying her features, the doctor’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You… you are… How could you be alive? How could Callewa’s gang let you go…?”
Realizing he had let something slip due to his shock, even though he immediately tried to shut his mouth, it was too late. Eileen slammed him to the ground.
“Callewa? What Callewa? Explain yourself!”
Pinned under Eileen’s foot, the agonizing pain in his chest made it hard for Frederic to breathe. He didn’t know how Eileen could exert such force, but he knew that if this continued, it wouldn’t just be a matter of suffocation; his entire chest might get crushed.
“I… I’ll talk, I’ll say everything!”
Overwhelmed by the fear of death, Frederic was terrified. Breathing laboriously, he spoke in a shaky voice:
“When I saw you leave with Callewa’s people, I… I thought you’d never come back. So, I… sold your mother to… the Cleaners.”
The atmosphere grew tenser as Frederic’s admission hung in the air, confirming Eileen and Renji’s worst fears.
“Your mom used to be a nun, so she’s worth a lot of money. Let me go, and I’ll give you all the hundred thousand I got for selling her!”
“No, one hundred and fifty thousand. Is that enough? I’ll add another fifty thousand; you should be satisfied then!”
Frederic tried to appease Eileen in what he believed was the best way he could. Unfortunately for him, it only intensified her murderous rage. The mere thought that her mother had been sold for money—especially to the Cleaners—set her seething. Her internal Tainted Miasma surged, clouding her mind with a singular thought: [kill this scum!]
“Die!!”
Just as Eileen was about to stomp the life out of the doctor, Renji intervened.
He stopped Eileen and shook his head at her, then turned his icy gaze toward Frederic.
“What do you mean by ‘Cleaners’?”
“Cleaners are those who… who collect living people and sell them to human traffickers in gangs.”
“For their organs?”
“I don’t know, but it seems not just organs. I’ve heard there’s the shadow of the church behind this too.”
Frederic knew he’d die if left to Eileen, so he answered Renji’s questions as best as he could, hoping to save his life.
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you? You have a regular contact among these Cleaners? Call him now. Tell him to come and pick up the goods.”
“Pick up the goods?”
‘Goods? What goods? ‘
Frederic was lost, but when Renji pressed the gun to his forehead, he frantically grabbed his communication device. Without even making a call, he sent an email.
“Okay, okay, I’ve done what you said. The Cleaners are fast; they’ll be here in about fifteen minutes. Now will you let me go? Please!”
“Where are you supposed to meet for the exchange?”
“Go out the back door of the clinic, take a turn, and there’s an alley. He’ll park there and wait for me. That’s all I know. I just did this to make some extra money, please, let me go.”
Facing Frederic’s desperate pleas, Renji simply nodded.
“Just do one last thing for us.”
“You… you say it, whatever it is, I can do it!” Frederic nodded eagerly, his face lighting up.
But that light quickly froze.
Because…
“Really? Well, thanks for becoming our ‘goods’ then.”
“Wha… what do you mea—”
Bang!*
.