After settling Bai Su, Yelias stepped out of the operating room and looked at the group of people waiting by the door.

"The surgery was a success."

Bai Xiaolang and Bai Xiaoshe cheered, hugging each other in a tight clump.

Lu Tingyan also breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Li Chenlin was deeply annoyed, he had to admit that Lu Tingyan possessed outstanding tactical command abilities.

He had been observing Bai Su in secret for days and hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

But Lu Tingyan had not only anticipated it, he’d even guessed there would be a major move.

That was why he had come to him in advance to make backup preparations.

If Lu Tingyan hadn’t deployed a counter-strategy for today’s massive bombardment, they would’ve all been buried alive here if they had just tried to face it head-on.

In a crimson helicopter high in the sky.

Leia snorted arrogantly. "So they do have some skill, to think even that couldn’t blow them to kingdom come. I suppose my little sister’s taste is barely passable."

A subordinate dragged a small figure over. "Boss, we caught a traitor to the Alliance. His chip is flashing red."

It was none other than Little White Spider, who had run back.

A red light meant the person had completely betrayed the Alliance. The chip in their brain would begin a one-hour countdown to detonation.

By choosing to sneak back onto the helicopter at this moment, Little White Spider was clearly trying to take them all down with him.

Leia’s eyes narrowed. She squatted in front of him and used the barrel of her cannon to lift his chin.

Little White Spider froze the moment he saw her face.

This child had a face nearly identical to Bai Su’s, just a miniature version.

No, not quite. This child’s gaze was far sharper, her eyes narrower and longer, giving her a more aggressive look.

Leia’s lips curled into a smirk. The steel cannon in her hand shifted, transforming into a massive barrel, nearly wide enough to stuff a child into.

She gestured with her chin toward a subordinate, her voice full of excitement. "Go on, stuff him in the muzzle. I’m going to fire him and blow up those little ants down there."

A flicker of hesitation crossed the subordinate’s face. "Boss, he’s one of the Doctor’s people. Should we really be disposing of him?"

Leia and the Doctor were the heads of two different branches of the Medical Alliance.

One was in charge of external violent aggression, the other of internal medical research.

Above them both was a single boss, the highest authority in the Medical Alliance.

Leia tutted, her eyes narrowing. Her childish face was full of untamable defiance. "Afraid of him?"

The subordinate didn’t dare say another word. He had no choice but to truss up Little White Spider and stuff him into the cannon’s barrel.

BOOM! A laser blast shot toward the dense crowd on the ground.

Just as Lu Tingyan was about to summon his wolf claws and use Tearing Space to swallow the projectile, Yelias’s face suddenly changed. "Don’t!"

Countless strands of spider silk shot from his hands. Like a gush of water, the silk extinguished the heat around the projectile, swiftly enveloping and redirecting it.

The projectile flew off course and landed in a nearby valley, setting off a massive explosion.

Lu Tingyan raised an eyebrow. "Was all that trouble necessary?"

But Yelias said grimly, "A few of you, come with me!"

His tone was so serious that Lu Tingyan also sensed something was wrong.

He had Yan Jiu take a team to follow Yelias into the valley.

The explosion had gouged a giant crater into the valley floor.

Yelias ran over with his men. Curled at the bottom of the crater was Little White Spider, barely breathing and unable to maintain his human form.

The spider, no bigger than the palm of a hand, was a translucent, milky white. Several of its legs had been blown off, lying twisted and shattered to the side.

Yelias’s heart constricted.

’He’s my own blood, after all.’ He couldn’t be completely indifferent.

Especially after what he’d noticed with Bai Xue, which made him suspect Little White Spider might also have some kind of control device implanted by the Medical Alliance...

He had brought instruments with him. A quick scan of the body confirmed his fears: he found a chip inside its skull.

Yan Jiu and the others looked on, bewildered. "Doctor Yelias, what is this?"

Yelias answered, "Susu’s child."

He quickly composed himself and began examining the body. He couldn’t help but freeze when he discovered a faint wisp of Healing Power swirling protectively around the spider’s heart.

Back in the operating room, Bai Su had hugged him and instinctively infused him with her Healing Power.

It was thanks to that power that he had survived the explosion.

With the experience from Bai Su’s operation fresh in his mind, Yelias was now more adept, approaching surgery with a newfound calm and confidence.

It seemed fate itself had ordained the bond between Bai Su and Little White Spider.

Bai Su had anxiously pushed him to overcome his trauma and perform the surgery so she could act as bait to lure out the Medical Alliance.

They had anticipated that the Medical Alliance would show up for today’s setup.

But no one had expected the time bomb buried in Little White Spider’s head.

If Yelias hadn’t operated on Bai Su today, his own psychological trauma might have prevented him from performing cranial surgery on Little White Spider.

Bai Su had unburdened him, and in turn, he had taken up his scalpel once more to save Little White Spider, just in the nick of time...

Yelias glanced at the little creature, who was barely breathing, his expression complex. He said softly, "She loves you very much. If you can just find the strength to live, you can go back to her."

It was impossible to know if Little White Spider heard him. The instant the chip was removed, the tiny heart stopped beating.

Yelias’s lips pressed into a thin line as he continuously poured his spiritual power into the small body, performing cardiac resuscitation.

The Healing Power around its heart swirled, then gently and slowly seeped inside.

Yelias practically held his breath.

A minute later, the heartbeat returned.

The little spider’s mandibles twitched weakly, shaping the word "Mama," but its vocal cords had been scorched by the intense heat, rendering it unable to make a sound.

Yelias quickly resumed the flow of spiritual power and breathed a sigh of relief.

’He’s alive. That’s what matters. He’ll pull through.’

*

When Bai Su woke up again, she was in a hospital room.

The light in the secure, private room was soft. As she stirred, the wall panels brightened slowly, adjusting to her waking eyes.

Yelias and Lu Tingyan came in, followed by her two little cubs.

"Susu, you’re awake?"

"How do you feel? Does anywhere hurt?"

"Mama, you’re finally awake!"

Bai Su blinked slowly, letting her eyes adjust as the dizziness in her head subsided.

She weakly lifted a hand to rub her brow, only to find it was exceptionally thin and delicate. The skin was fair, tinged with a faint, healthy pink, and cast a dewy, translucent glow under the light, like a segment of an orange. But she remembered not being this thin; her palms used to be soft and fleshy.

Yelias noticed her confusion and explained with a smile, "Susu, congratulations. You’ve advanced to Level 8. You’re now the highest-Level female in the Federation."

"However, because your spiritual power is so immense and the advancement happened without a transition period, your body couldn’t quite handle the strain. That’s why you’ve lost so much weight."

"It’s normal. You can slowly gain it back after you’re discharged."

Only then did Bai Su nod.

The memories from before she passed out came flooding back. She nervously clutched the corner of Yelias’s shirt. "What about him?"

Yelias knew she was referring to Little White Spider and gave her a gentle smile. "He was saved, too. But he was severely injured by the blast. He’s hanging on by a thread in one of the hospital’s incubation pods."

"How could that happen...?" Bai Su’s eyes instantly welled with tears.

Unwilling to let Yelias monopolize her attention, Lu Tingyan quickly squeezed his way over. "Susu, don’t worry," he soothed. "Your Healing Ability is very strong now. With you here, he’ll be fine."

"Besides, it’s not like we can count on the Federation’s medical technology. With you looking after him personally, the cub will definitely recover." Lu Tingyan shot a pointed, passive-aggressive glare at Yelias.

Yelias: "..."

’Leader Lu certainly knows how to burn his bridges.’

’When they needed me, I was the pinnacle of the Federation’s medical expertise, the only one who could save Susu and help her recover her strength.’

’Now that they’re done with me, suddenly the Federation’s medical technology isn’t good enough for his lordship.’

’Fine.’

’I’ll make sure our dear Leader learns the consequences of offending a doctor.’

Bai Xiaolang chimed in, "That’s right, Mama! Don’t worry, Doctor Yelias has been taking good care of little brother."

Bai Xiaoshe also nodded. "He’ll get better. Don’t be scared, Mama."

Hearing this, Bai Su made a move to get up. "I want to go see him. I can go right now..."

She was brimming with spiritual power and was itching to use it.

Yelias nodded. "Alright, I’ll take you."

And then Lu Tingyan swept Bai Su up into his arms.

Yelias, who had just reached out a moment too late: "..."

Lu Tingyan raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you gawking at? Lead the way."