"It doesn’t hurt?" Riato frowned.

Isaac thought for a moment before replying, "No pain. It just feels...cool."

Not only was it painless, it was strangely comfortable, a refreshing coolness spreading through the wound. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He flexed his fingers again, the movement smoother than before.

"Look, I can move them now. Two days ago, even twitching a finger felt like someone slicing into me with a knife. Now I can barely feel anything."

How strange. Before this, no matter how carefully he moved his fingers, it would tug at the wound and trigger pain.

Most of the time, Isaac deliberately avoided using the injured arm altogether. But now, that burden was completely gone.

He flexed his fingers several more times, each movement becoming more fluid than the last. He even tried clenching a fist. Though still lacking strength, the lightness radiating from deep inside his bones made him feel far more energized.

He lifted his head, his gaze passing over Riato before landing on Robert, then sweeping across Jason, finally pausing briefly on Suzy.

Isaac had never met her before and found it odd that she was here.

Still, he did not question it further. Right now, the most important thing was thanking the doctor. If not for him, he never would have recovered this quickly.

"Doc, I really owe you this time." Isaac’s voice carried sincere gratitude.

Looking at Riato’s pale face, his tone softened noticeably.

"If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t even have woken up. You’ve worked hard these past days. I know how difficult my injury was. Pulling me back from the King of Hell’s hands...I’ll remember this favor."

Isaac did not know what had happened after he lost consciousness, but he still remembered everything before it. He clearly recalled losing control from the overwhelming pain.

Even now, he could not forget that agony. Then, he blacked out. Afterward, he had even experienced something like a life review. At that moment, Isaac truly believed he was going to die.

Yet somehow, he had awakened again. And in his mind, it was all thanks to Riato.

Unexpectedly, Riato’s expression changed dramatically after hearing those words.

It was neither shock nor anger, but something indescribably complicated.

His face twisted with emotion. His lips trembled several times, as though something were lodged in his throat. After a long pause, he finally forced out a strained sentence.

"Commander Hunter...you...you’ve misunderstood."

"Huh?" Isaac froze.

"Uncle, you’ve got it wrong. The one who saved you wasn’t Mr. Riato. It was my friend Suzy!" Jason blurted out.

His friend Suzy?

There was only one woman in the room. Isaac looked toward her, then slowly turned back to Riato.

The doctor nodded, his voice rough.

"The one who saved you truly wasn’t me. Your condition was critical at the time. I only used a few acupuncture needles to stabilize your life temporarily. The one who truly woke you up...was her medicine."

Riato spoke honestly. Though bitterness lingered in his heart, he knew his own limits. He was not the one capable of waking Isaac and erasing the pain from his wounds.

If he truly possessed that level of skill, Isaac would have been healed long ago. So that medicine really was that miraculous... Even now, Riato still found it difficult to believe.

Silence settled over the room.

Robert shot Jason a confused look. Jason immediately understood and hurriedly began introducing Suzy.

"Uncle, this is the senior I told you about earlier! She’s the one who saved you just now! Senior Suzy took out her family’s treasured medicinal balm and medicine, and that’s what dragged you back from death’s door!"

Isaac paused. He lowered his head to look at the transparent ointment coating his arm, then glanced at Riato’s face, filled with unwillingness yet forced acceptance.

Finally, his gaze returned to Suzy.

He stared at her for several long seconds. Confusion shifted into scrutiny, and scrutiny slowly transformed into something much more complicated.

"You?" His voice carried unmistakable disbelief. "You healed me?"

Suzy nodded calmly.

"Uncle, do you not believe me?" Jason sounded deeply dissatisfied by the suspicion in Isaac’s tone.

"It really was Suzy who saved you! Doctor Riato already said your arm couldn’t be saved anymore! But after Suzy applied the ointment, the wound started improving almost immediately! You said it yourself just now. It doesn’t hurt anymore, and it feels cool. That’s the ointment working!"

As one of the ointment’s users himself, Jason understood the effects better than anyone. That cool, soothing sensation had been what drove away the pain.

Isaac’s brows slowly furrowed. He focused on the wound again. It truly did not hurt anymore. In fact, it felt comfortable––cool and soothing.

This sensation was nothing like the medicine Riato usually used.

Riato’s treatments always felt bitter and harsh. Sometimes they even caused stinging pain. Never once had they produced this kind of refreshing relief.

Isaac lowered his gaze to his arm again, studying the patches of skin where the purplish black discoloration had already faded and the shriveled blisters that had flattened.

Gradually, realization dawned on him.

Riato stood beside the bed, lips pressed into a tight line. After a long moment, he finally spoke. "Commander Hunter, Jason is telling the truth."

A trace of defeat lingered in his voice. He had spent half a month trying and failing to control the infection, yet Suzy had managed to suppress it with nothing more than a bottle of medicinal balm and medicine.

It was a devastating blow to his pride.

But undeniable truth remained truth. There was always someone greater beyond the great. The world truly held hidden masters.

Riato sighed inwardly.

Isaac fell silent for a long while, still digesting everything.

So there really was medicine capable of curing acid rain infection this quickly. It seemed he had simply been ignorant.

The silence dragged on so long that even Robert thought his father still did not believe it.

Unable to help himself, he began speaking up on Suzy’s behalf.

"Dad, this really is—"

Isaac shot his son a look and cut him off mercilessly. "Alright, alright, I get it already."

Then he looked back at Suzy, his gaze warm and gentle.

"So you’re Jason’s senior? He told me about you. Sounds like you’ve taken very good care of him."

Suzy replied politely, "Jason has helped me a lot too."

Isaac laughed softly, the smile on his face carrying the easy warmth unique to elders.

Leaning against the headboard, he looked at Suzy’s calm expression and asked, "What’s your full name, young lady?"

"Susanna Kale."

Isaac silently repeated the name to himself before nodding.

"Susanna. Suzy. Good name. Beautiful as a lily. That’s a wonderful meaning."

He paused, lowering his voice slightly.

"Young lady, you saved this old man’s life. I owe you one. If you ever need help in the future, just say the word. As long as this old man can still move, I won’t refuse."

Suzy’s heart skipped. This was Isaac’s favor. The future ruler of White Tiger Base. A true powerhouse.

Having someone like him owe her a debt of gratitude was far more valuable than striking gold.

She never imagined such an enormous opportunity would fall right into her hands.