The captain who previously looked like a corpse drained of all blood now looked completely alive again.

Color had returned to Erik’s face. His breathing was steady, his complexion healthy, and aside from slight weakness, there was almost no sign he had nearly died earlier.

It had not even been up to five minutes.

Darren stared at him in complete disbelief.

Then suddenly—

Thud!

Darren dropped heavily onto both knees in front of Ivy with his head lowered deeply in respect.

"Thank you so much for saving the captain," he said sincerely, his voice filled with overwhelming gratitude.

There was no longer hesitation or resistance in his tone. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"I officially accept you as my new boss," Darren continued firmly. "And I swear to remain loyal to you until death."

Ivy blinked slightly at his sudden seriousness before quickly waving her hand dismissively.

"Stand up already," she said. "It’s fine. You’re welcome."

She even stepped forward slightly in an attempt to help Darren back to his feet.

However, instead of standing, Darren lowered his head even further before suddenly beginning to perform kowtow repeatedly in gratitude.

Meanwhile, Erik remained seated quietly on the couch while observing the entire scene with amusement dancing in his eyes.

A warm smile slowly appeared on his face before he gave Ivy a respectful bow from where he sat.

"Please accept my greetings," Erik said politely.

Ivy merely nodded calmly in acknowledgment.

Then suddenly—

Ding!

The familiar system notification echoed inside her head.

{Congratulations, Host.}

"Huh?" Ivy blinked in confusion. "What now?"

Ding!

{You have successfully acquired a Base Guard.}

{One thousand survival points have been credited into your account.}

{Combat Uniform Reward unlocked.}

{Base Defense increased by ten percent.}

{Special Ability unlocked.}

Ivy’s eyes widened instantly.

"So many rewards?!" she screamed inwardly excitedly.

Then her curiosity quickly took over.

"And what special ability did I unlock this time?" she asked hurriedly in her mind.

Ding!

{You have acquired Darren’s Water Ability Type.}

"Huh?!"

Ivy’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in disbelief.

"Are you serious right now?!"

Excitement instantly exploded inside her chest.

Almost immediately, her attention shifted toward the kitchen area nearby.

Then suddenly—

Drip.

The kitchen tap turned on by itself.

Water immediately began flowing out.

Ivy’s eyes widened even further in excitement before she instinctively lifted her hand slightly.

The flowing water instantly stopped again.

And she had not even gone near the kitchen.

"Woah..." Ivy whispered beneath her breath excitedly. "This is incredible."

Meanwhile, Darren and Erik simply stared at her strangely, completely unaware of what had just happened inside her head.

Soon, Ivy turned her attention back toward Darren again.

That was when she finally noticed the blood staining his right trouser leg.

His arm was bleeding too.

Earlier, because all attention had been focused on Erik, Darren’s injuries had been ignored completely.

"You should treat your injuries too," Ivy said seriously. "You’re hurt."

Only then did Darren glance down at himself.

Truthfully, he had almost forgotten about his own pain entirely.

Ivy stretched her hand toward him calmly, helping him back to his feet this time without resistance.

Then she handed him another remaining healing pill.

"Swallow this," she instructed.

Darren obeyed immediately.

The moment the pill slid down his throat, a cool soothing sensation spread throughout his body instantly.

The sharp pain in his injuries disappeared almost immediately.

His wounds healed rapidly before his eyes, astonishing him completely.

Darren flexed his fingers in disbelief before touching his healed arm.

"My injuries..." he muttered in shock. "They disappeared."

Then his face immediately lit up with excitement.

"Thank you so much!" Darren exclaimed gratefully. "I feel completely fine now!"

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something important.

"Can I give some of the medicine to my teammates too?" he asked carefully. "Several of them are badly injured."

"Sure," Ivy replied immediately without hesitation.

She casually handed over the emergency healing pill bottle to Darren.

That simple action alone earned even more respect from him.

Without wasting another second, Darren rushed out of the bunker excitedly.

Outside, the soldiers had been sitting anxiously while waiting for news about their captain.

The moment they saw Darren running toward them, all of them immediately rose to their feet nervously.

"How’s the captain?!" Albert was the first to ask anxiously. "Did that woman manage to save him?"

Darren’s face immediately broke into an excited smile.

"The captain is completely fine!" he announced proudly. "And my injuries have been healed too!"

The soldiers froze.

"What?!"

"That woman is incredibly skilled," Darren continued excitedly before raising the pill bottle in his hand. "You all should take this too."

Without hesitation, Darren began pouring pills into the hands of the injured soldiers one after another.

Since they trusted him completely, none of them hesitated before swallowing the medicine immediately.

Soon, Darren stopped in front of another heavily injured teammate.

It was Nathan.

The same Nathan who earlier had encouraged Albert to attack Ivy verbally because he himself had been too injured to interfere directly.

Nathan had fiery red hair and sharp amber eyes. One of his arms remained badly injured while dried blood stained his clothes heavily.

"Take it, Nathan," Darren said with a warm smile.

Nathan nodded before swallowing the pill immediately.

The moment the medicine entered their systems, every single soldier instantly felt a cool sensation spreading throughout their bodies.

Then, one after another—

Their pain disappeared.

The cuts on their hands and legs healed rapidly.

The bruises faded.

The bleeding stopped completely.

Within moments, the injured soldiers looked perfectly healthy again as though they had never even been wounded.

The entire team stood frozen in absolute disbelief.

None of them could believe their eyes.