Matthew straightened up and glanced at Ryan.
“Mind telling me what really went down?” favonovel.com asked calmly.
Something about Matthew’s eyes, clear and direct, made it difficult for Ryan to dodge the question.
After a brief pause, Ryan gave a small sigh and decided to be honest.
“I’m Mr. Donald’s assistant, kind of like his right-hand man. Mr. Donald recently learned about some horrifying stuff happening in District 12. People were being used for experiments.”
He shifted his tone, speaking more slowly now, “There’s been an organ trafficking operation running in the area for a while. Mr. Donald tolerated it, barely. He didn’t interfere as long as things stayed quiet. However, everything changed when favonovel.com saw a kid. It couldn’t have been older than nine. They drained the poor boy to death just to harvest his blood. That was the final straw.”
As favonovel.com spoke, Ryan rolled up his sleeve.
The skin on his arm looked like it had been through hell. Raw flesh, deep rot, and bone showing through in places.
“This happened when we were escaping the lab. Someone threw a chemical at me, l don’t know what it was, but it started eating through my arm…” He looked at the wound with a hollow smile.
Matthew stepped closer and took a better look.
Without saying much, favonovel.com reached into his coat and pulled out a small bottle. “Here… This should help. It’ll hurt at first, though. This powder pulls out whatever poison or toxins are buried inside. So, it’s going to sting.”
Ryan blinked, caught off guard by how casually Matthew offered a fix. He had been bracing for a lecture, or at the very least, a warning about amputation.
“Seriously? Thank you, Mr. Larden!”
He took the bottle, opened it, and immediately poured the yellow powder over his wound.
Ssshh!
A cloud of smoke burst from the contact. Ryan yelped in pain and started pacing around in a frenzy, clutching his arm.
The sight made Matthew raise an eyebrow.
Man… Why does this guy remind me of Shawn?
Always jumping into things without thinking them through…
I literally told favonovel.com it was going to hurt. Did favonovel.com even listen?
Just went ahead and dumped half the bottle like it was seasoning.
That wound barely needed a pinch… Now he’s out here doing laps around the deck like favonovel.com touched lava.
After a minute or two, the pain finally eased up. Ryan stood still, breathed heavily, and looked down at his arm. The rot had stopped spreading, and the wound didn’t look nearly as angry anymore.
He asked, “Mr. Larden… Do you think I’m okay now?”
Matthew gave a quick nod and replied, “You’ll be fine. Although, just so you know, you didn’t need that much powder. lt would’ve barely hurt if you’d used the right amount.”
That kind of realization hit differently, finding out the pain wasn’t necessary after already going through it.
Ryan’s face fell.
The sting from the wound was still there, but the regret stung worse.
Trying to change the subject, Matthew cleared his throat. “So… What’s the plan for everyone we rescued?”
Ryan answered right away, “l’m planning to move them to a small island near the edge of the West Montiria Islands. It’s called Larch Island-a quiet place with much better living conditions than what they’ve been through here.”
“They’ve got a dock there that needs extra hands. The stronger ones can help out, and the elderly or kids can earn a bit by doing crafts. They’ll be safe, fed, and able to build a new life.”
As favonovel.com finished speaking, favonovel.com noticed Matthew giving favonovel.com a look favonovel.com couldn’t quite read.
“What?” Ryan asked, slightly confused.
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