Chapter 79: Casual Statement

Midmorning.

At the Ashvale Medical Centre.

In one of the recovery rooms of the centre, Adam lay on a patient bed, his eyes closed. There were no visible injuries anywhere on his body.

With him in the room was Riley.

The group had received a call from the hospital claiming they had one of their own. They had thought he was captured and taken away. Who knew the assassins would let him go?

Riley silently watched over the sleeping Adam, lost in thought. She had been thinking over what had happened at the riverside, and none of it made sense.

Why would assassins come after Adam and then let him go? The strange situation eluded her. She knew someone from a powerful or elite family was behind it.

Thoughts of Ryner and Derek never crossed her mind. Those two were bitter and arrogant, yes. But they wouldn’t send assassins after Adam and then let him go.

Riley had a feeling the group responsible for capturing Adam before were also behind this. As these thoughts crossed her mind, she noticed Adam stir in his sleep.

The monstrous boy suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, startling her.

"God! Adam. You scared me."

Adam ignored the girl and looked around, recognition flashing through his eyes. He exhaled and then looked at the silver-haired girl. "How long was I out?"

"A little over a day?" Riley replied, lifting a brow. She pulled out her phone and quickly messaged Miss Xin. "How are you feeling? The doctors and healers said you were badly injured with several broken bones."

"I’m fine," he answered, getting out of bed.

His Titan Genesis had already returned his body to peak physical state while he rested. Whatever strain stacking his skills and injuries brought was gone. It was as though the entire thing had been a lie.

Grabbing the set of clothes from one of the sofas in the room, he entered the adjoining bathroom to change. Riley patiently waited while he did his thing.

"When will Miss Xin and the others be here?" Adam asked as he stepped out in his new set of clothes.

"Any time now."

"Mm."

Adam nodded and pulled out his phone, quickly checking his messages. There were a couple from his parents, his friends and his master.

Riley narrowed her eyes when she saw the phone. There had been no phone on him when he was brought to the hospital. Her eyes roamed his figure but found nothing that would suggest a storage artefact.

"Where did your phone come from?"

Adam froze, forgetting he was supposed to keep his storage space a secret. "Ah, it must have been hidden under the clothes I picked up."

His excuse was flimsy at best, but there was no other alternative. He furtively glanced at Riley to measure her reaction. The girl indeed looked at him suspiciously. But it only lasted for a moment before she tore her gaze away.

’Real smooth, Adam. Real smooth.’ He chided himself.

Riley knew Adam was lying. Then again, she had a storage artefact herself. So she had no right to ask questions.

A knock at the door saved them from the awkward atmosphere that settled between them.

"Adam!"

Miss Xin walked in with a guilty smile, the relief in her eyes apparent. Behind her was Captain Jackson, who closed the door behind him. He exchanged a nod with Adam while Miss Xin approached and grabbed his shoulders.

"How are you feeling? I was so worried! This is all my fault! If only... If—" Her eyes beaded with tears, her hands trembling.

"I’m fine, Miss Xin. Truly." Adam replied reassuringly, grabbing her hands and squeezing gently. "And this was not your fault. It would have happened regardless."

His response made the captain furrow his brows. Someone was truly after the boy. His concerns were similar to Riley’s, and it made no sense. Moreover, his fight with that assassin had ended in a bitter draw that led to the assassin’s escape.

That bastard’s affinity was especially challenging. It countered his abilities like he was a rookie who was just starting. The feeling was not pleasant.

Adam led the woman to the sofa and sat down with her. She looked at the woman for a while and then looked at the captain and Riley.

"Why don’t you tell us what happened?" asked the captain.

Adam glanced at the captain and then at the others. The question was inevitable, but he was not willing to share everything with them. A moment of silence passed as Adam carefully considered his words.

"Y-You don’t have to say anything if it’s too painful to recall." Miss Xin misunderstood his silence for reluctance and trauma.

"No. That’s not it." Adam shook his head. "I’m tougher than I look."

"Hehe. Clearly." The woman chuckled.

Adam warmly smiled and continued, his gaze naturally drifting away. "It’s just that I’m not sure myself."

"What do you mean?" Captain Jackson narrowed his eyes.

"The assassins did indeed get physical with me," Adam explained, touching his chin thoughtfully. "But their goal wasn’t to capture me as they claimed. Whoever sent them must have wanted them to teach me a lesson."

"I doubt that," the captain shot down Adam’s reasoning. "Nobody sends assassins just to teach someone a lesson. Goons would have been enough for that." ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Then how do you explain the assassins letting me go?" Adam replied, looking the man in the eyes.

The captain held Adam’s gaze for several long moments before looking away. The kid was hiding something; that much was certain. Then again, he was right. The assassins did not take him away as they claimed.

"Whatever the case, I’m glad you’re back with us." Miss Xin chipped in after the silence grew uncomfortable. "Will you be okay riding out today? The academy wants us back as soon as possible."

"Don’t worry about it, Miss Xin. I’m fine." Adam said after a moment. He then looked at the woman, at Riley, and then at the captain.

"Why aren’t you guys taking the precautionary measures we set in place?" he asked.

"Well..." Miss Xin looked away in embarrassment. "We’re basically all infected. But as we’ve discovered, Sparkblight is basically harmless."

"That won’t do, Miss Xin." Adam shook his head and stood up, making his way to the door.

The woman and Riley also stood up, following behind him.

"What do you mean?" Riley asked as the captain opened the door for the group.

"Those bacteria are parasites," Adam answered without looking back, leading the group to the exit. "Left alone, they could become a serious problem."

The colour drained from Miss Xin’s face. "Yo- you’ve already learnt that much from that little observation you made?"

"Yeah. But don’t worry, I already know how to make the cure for the infection. I’ll get started as soon as we get to the academy."

"!!"

His response shocked the head researcher and Riley. While they were still learning about the new bacteria, he was casually stating he could make the cure! And the craziest part? They believed him!