A few moments after the call ended, or more precisely, right after finishing that conversation with the person on the other line, Lindsey and Ryuu rushed straight to Roya Hospital in Surabaya, where Grandpa Yolan currently was. The two of them ran through the crowded streets, ignoring the traffic light that had just turned red, desperate to get there as fast as possible. The morning wind hit their faces as they kept pushing forward without stopping.
Once they reached the hospital, Lindsey immediately took off running down the long corridor toward the room Dr. Diaz had told them about earlier. Her breathing was ragged, but her pace never slowed for a second. Reaching the door, she shoved the handle open and stepped inside, finding Dr. Diaz standing stiffly, watching over Yolan, who lay weak and still on the hospital bed. Dr. Diaz was a doctor and also an old friend of Yolan's, his face worn with exhaustion and worry.
Lindsey stumbled over to Yolan's bedside. "G-grandpa," she murmured softly, her hands gripping tight onto the hospital blanket covering her grandfather's thin frame, eyes welling up as she fought back tears.
"W-wait, you're..." Dr. Diaz murmured, staring at Lindsey with a startled look, his body flinching back slightly in surprise.
"You're... Yolan's grandchild?" Dr. Diaz asked, pointing at Lindsey uncertainly.
Lindsey only gave a small nod, without saying a word. She turned back to look at her grandfather with a sorrowful gaze, taking in every line on his aged face, now looking paler than ever.
Dr. Diaz looked at her with pity, then slowly bent down to gently stroke Lindsey's head. "Your grandfather was found unconscious in the hallway," he said, his voice heavy.
"How is he doing now?" Lindsey asked, wiping away the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Your grandfather is in critical condition. I'm still trying to figure out the cause," Dr. Diaz answered, bowing his head low, his shoulders sagging under the weight of it all.
Hearing that, Lindsey's head shot up. "Wait, this isn't from his old illness?" she asked, her voice urgent.
"That's right, I've identified another substance besides the cancer," Dr. Diaz answered, straightening back up as he smoothed out his white coat.
"And that substance has come back as 'unidentified,'" Dr. Diaz continued, his voice trembling slightly.
Lindsey lowered her head again. "I see," she murmured quietly, her head hanging low.
Suddenly, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the hallway, a rhythmic pounding growing closer. Another doctor, dressed similarly to Dr. Diaz, appeared from the end of the corridor. His name was Dr. Rian, a tall man with glasses who seemed to be around the same age as Dr. Diaz and Yolan. His face was flushed red from running.
Dr. Rian rushed up to Dr. Diaz, out of breath. "The pill I made yesterday, it's gone!" he shouted, gasping for air, both hands braced on his knees.
Hearing that, Dr. Diaz was stunned. "What!?" he shouted, eyes going wide.
"Wait, what pill?" Dr. Diaz continued, his tone dropping, brow furrowed in confusion.
Dr. Rian smacked his own forehead with his palm. "Right, I haven't told you yet," he muttered, frustrated with himself.
"The pill I finished making a while back, it can eliminate cancer cells without needing amputation," Dr. Rian continued, his eyes serious behind his glasses.
"I was planning to make Yolan the first one to try it," Dr. Rian added, glancing over at Yolan lying weakly on the bed.
Lindsey lifted her head and walked steadily toward Dr. Rian. "Do you know my grandfather?" she asked plainly.
Dr. Rian bowed respectfully. "That's right, we used to be close friends. Me, Yolan, and Diaz," he explained, gently stroking Lindsey's head.
"But then the war tore us apart. We were separated for almost forty years," Dr. Diaz added, staring blankly toward the window.
"Yeah, the only thing I really remember about Yolan is those oversized glasses of his," Dr. Rian went on, pointing at the thick pair perched on Yolan's nose.
"I can't believe he's still wearing them after all this time," Dr. Diaz said, looking at Yolan with a faint smile.
"I think Grandpa wears them on purpose. He told me once..." Lindsey said.
"...that he used to have two close friends," Lindsey continued, her voice rising slightly, growing clearer.
"Even though he admitted he'd already forgotten what their faces looked like," Lindsey added, resting her hand on her chin in thought.
"Yeah, he was always forgetful like that," Dr. Rian replied, letting out a small laugh despite the tense situation.
"Still, I really hope he's going to be okay," Dr. Rian continued, glancing back at Yolan with a hopeful look.
"By the way, where did you put that pill?" Dr. Diaz asked, tilting his head at Dr. Rian with suspicion.
"Where else, the usual spot," Dr. Rian answered simply.
"And where exactly is the usual spot?" Dr. Diaz asked, growing more confused.
Dr. Rian suddenly remembered he hadn't actually told Diaz anything yet. "Right, let me just show you," Dr. Rian said, then turned and left the room in quick strides.
Without a second thought, Dr. Diaz followed after him, not realizing that Lindsey had also slipped in behind them, trailing along in silence. Lindsey glanced around the empty hospital corridor, watching Dr. Rian run his hand along the wall with curious eyes.
Dr. Diaz looked around for a moment. "Y-you..." he stammered, startled to notice Lindsey there with them in the narrow hallway.
Dr. Rian's finger stopped at a certain spot on the wall's surface. He pressed his finger firmly against it, and a section of the floor leading to a hidden room slid open before them with a soft mechanical hiss.
"Wh-what is this room?" Dr. Diaz murmured, staring at Dr. Rian in amazement, mouth hanging open.
Dr. Rian then turned to look at Lindsey. "Kid, why don't you head back to the front desk," he said, crouching down to reach for her head.
Lindsey shook her head quickly. "I got lost! So I'm just gonna stick with you, doctor!" she replied, bouncing lightly on her feet, feigning confusion.
Dr. Rian let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, but promise me you won't touch anything!" he said, holding up a finger right in front of Lindsey's face.
Lindsey nodded firmly. Dr. Rian then flipped the light switch on the hallway wall and stepped into the hidden room with even, measured steps. Without hesitation, Dr. Diaz hurried in after him into the darkness.
Right before Lindsey took her own step through the hidden doorway, something caught her eye, a faint glint on the tiled floor. She narrowed her eyes, then crouched down and carefully picked it up. "A piece of plastic?" she murmured, examining the small, thumb-sized piece of clear plastic left behind.
Lindsey slipped the plastic into her pocket, then hurried inside with quiet, quick steps so as not to be heard.
"H-how is this possible!?" Dr. Rian shouted, discovering that the capsule he'd been talking about earlier had vanished from its spot on the metal table.
Dr. Diaz grew anxious too. "Did you put it in that jar?" he asked, panicked.
"I did! But... maybe I just forgot where I put it?" Dr. Rian replied, thinking hard with a hand on his chin, eyes scanning every corner of the room.
Lindsey cut in, her voice sharp. "It was stolen," she said, walking slowly toward Dr. Rian with a serious expression.
Dr. Rian and Dr. Diaz both jumped, startled. "Wh-what do you mean?" Dr. Rian asked, not quite believing it, his body going rigid.
Lindsey pulled out the piece of plastic she'd just found. "Someone used the doctor's fingerprint to get into this room," she answered, holding the plastic piece out in her open palm.
"Wh-what!?" Dr. Rian and Dr. Diaz exclaimed together, their voices echoing through the cramped room.
"If that's really true, this is bad," Dr. Rian said, his tone growing uneasy, cold sweat starting to form on his forehead.
"That capsule is still in the development stage... If someone's misusing it, it could turn into a dangerous virus," Dr. Rian continued, his eyes sharp with anxiety.
Lindsey tilted her head, her expression still as flat as ever. "What even is it, exactly?" she asked innocently.
"It's a prototype we've been developing to eliminate cancer cells without needing amputation," Dr. Diaz explained.
"That's right... in short, think of it like a swarm of cancer-hunting viruses," Dr. Rian added, striking his open palm with his other clenched fist against his chest.
Lindsey thought it over for a moment. "I see," she murmured briefly, her face unchanged.
"Oh! There's a security camera at the end of the hallway, we can check the footage," Dr. Diaz said, his expression easing a little now that he'd found a solution.
Dr. Rian nodded, and the three of them headed to the hospital's security room to see what had really happened the night before. They walked quickly down the long corridor.
Once they arrived at the security room, "I need to check camera six's footage from around midnight," Dr. Rian said urgently, pushing his way toward the security chief's desk.
The head of security, a man named Wein, could only nod obediently. "R-right away!" he said, fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard in front of him, the monitor screen lighting up bright.
A few moments later, the video began to play. It showed a quiet, empty hallway with no movement at all, no sign of any door opening or anyone passing through on the monitor screen.
All at once, Wein, Dr. Rian, and even Lindsey were caught off guard by what they saw on the screen. Lindsey stepped closer, her nose almost pressed against the monitor. "Try the footage from an hour later!" she asked firmly.
Wein flinched. "R-right," he murmured obediently, then did as Lindsey asked, fingers dancing quickly across the keyboard.
The video played again, showing the exact same thing as before. Another recording of the same quiet hallway, nothing happening on the softly flickering monitor screen. Lindsey's eyes went wide with shock. "H-how is that even possible...?" she murmured, her voice barely audible in the silent room.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOrTKQL7ue
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