"What do you mean?" Wendy knew what anesthesia was used for, but she was surprised that the doctor did not have any with him.

"Well, I have some anesthesia, but the dosage is not enough for an operation. So, while the bullet is removed, this lady may wake up during the operation due to the pain," the doctor said as he was concerned. "And the extreme pain may cause her to blackout once more."

The doctor had been brought over in a haste. He only brought his usual medical supplies and did not have time to prepare anything else.

"Will there be any danger to her life?" Wendy pursed her lips as she asked the question.

"If there isn’t any infection after the operation, she should be fine," said the doctor.

"The gunshot was on the thigh, and it did not hit any major nerves. But as we are not doing the operation in a proper sterilized operating theater, there would be a higher chance of getting an infection. Also, she would have to bear the pain when she wakes up."

Hearing the doctor’s comment, she frowned worriedly. Hopefully, Zen would be able to endure and get through the ordeal.

"Remove the bullet. If you need my assistance, just tell me," Wendy said promptly.

The doctor nodded.

Wendy stood beside Zen as she held on tightly to Zen’s hand. She wanted to be there to comfort Zen when she woke up. Having to bear with the pain of removing the bullet without anesthesia - just the thought of it gave Wendy goosebumps.

Wendy watched as the doctor raised his scalpel and slit across the wound. The sight of the flesh splitting and the blood oozing out made Wendy turn her head away.

Shortly after, Zen was awakened by the pain.

"Ahh!" Zen’s shrieks were piercing, and Wendy clenched her hand tighter.

Subconsciously, Zen wanted to curl her body up due to the pain. The doctor shouted instantly, "Quick! Hold her down!" If Zen kept moving, there was no way the doctor could continue with the operation. But with Wendy alone, she could not hold Zen down at all.

"Zen, can you hear me? Do you know who I am?" Wendy wanted to distract her attention as she tried to pin her down. But the pain was too intense that Zen could not hear a thing, let alone converse. She was struggling too much. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I can’t proceed any further. She is moving a lot," the doctor said anxiously.

Wend turned around and stared at the two bodyguards. She shouted, "Come over and help!"

The bodyguards were Christian’s men. They would not take instructions from Wendy. Hence, they looked towards Christian to await his approval.

Wendy knew Christian was waiting for her to beg him. She turned and looked at Christian. But instead of pleading with Christian, she said, "Christian, I will not beg you again. If you have some consciousness in you, let your men help pin Zen down.

If not, you can just watch as she dies in front of you!"

Hearing Wendy’s words, Christian smirked. Wendy could not comprehend what he meant by the smile. But the next moment, he nodded towards the bodyguards.

Wendy felt relieved to get the help of the bodyguards. Wendy heaved a sigh of relief.

With them around to pin Zen down, Zen was fully subdued. The immense pain wore Zen out, and soon she did not have much energy to struggle. Her screams also became softer. Wendy carefully dabbed the beads of sweat off Zen’s forehead. Soon, Zen slipped into unconsciousness.

...

The entire operation took two hours. Zen had awoken and passed out three times during this duration. Wendy’s heart wrenched every time she saw Zen waking and becoming unconscious again and again. But there was nothing she could do to help.

"Okay, we are done." The doctor wiped off the sweat on his forehead and kept his tools away. He said, "I have removed the bullet. But the supplies I brought along are limited. I can only perform some simple disinfection for now. Once the helicopter lands, it is best to send her straight to the hospital to have proper after-care for her wound."

Wendy nodded as she felt relieved, "Thank you, Doctor."

The doctor also felt more at ease. He asked casually, "Oh right, can I ask where you guys are flying to? Also, I didn’t bring my passport along with me. Can you send me back to Lake City?"

Christian burst out laughing when he heard the doctor. The doctor turned instantly towards Christian. Though he was not sure what Christian was laughing about, he had a bad feeling about the situation he was in.

"You are a skilled doctor. Work under me then," Christian said between his laughter.

"What... what do you mean by that?" the doctor’s eyes widened as he was taken aback by Christian’s reply.

Wendy turned to the doctor and bowed sincerely as she said, "Apologies."

"No, wait... does this mean I cannot go back anymore?" The doctor was bewildered as he let out a cry. What had he got himself into? How could he not be able to return back home after he boarded the helicopter?

Wendy looked down slightly. Other than her apologies, she did not know what else to say to comfort the doctor.

After eleven hours of flight, the helicopter finally landed. The first thing Wendy said to Christian when they got off was, "Find a hospital to get proper treatment for Zen."

Wendy had a commanding tone. Not only did Christian not get upset, but it also made him look with intention at Wendy. To Wendy’s surprise, he nodded and said promptly, "Okay." After that, he gave orders accordingly to send Zen to the hospital.

Wendy frowned as she watched Christian making arrangements. Since when did Christian become so accommodating? Wendy was mentally prepared to go through another round of arguments with him. But as long as Zen was taken care of, it did not matter what Christian had in mind.

After the arrangements were made, Zen was sent to the hospital by Christian’s men, with Wendy accompanying her.

Christian, on the other hand, went to meet Clement.

Clement knew that Christian got into trouble, and he had been waiting for Christian to come back.

"I have been waiting for you," Clement looked sternly at Christian. Christian did not acknowledge him and strode into the living room. With a solemn look, he walked to the sofa and sat down, still not saying anything at all.

Clement was already feeling angsty about the situation. His rage heightened when he saw Christian’s attitude. He banged his hand on the table and said, "Christian, don’t you think you owe me an explanation?"

"What is there to explain?" Christian raised his head and looked up at Clement. He continued, "From the beginning, I had already mentioned that my situation in Lake City was not ideal, and I could run into some problems. It was you who insisted on expanding our market into Lake City.

"I have been in Lake City for six years. That was also how long it took me to gain standing. I finally got a huge project and had the chance to work with the government. I thought I could finally whitewash myself. Then at this crucial moment,all the drugs had been detained. Everything I had in Lake City was all gone.

Everything! And here you are asking me for an explanation? I should be the one settling scores with you. I have said, wait for me to finish this project first, and we can plan for our next steps. And now, your hastiness has got me into deep sh*t!"

...

"Are you pushing the blame to me now?" Clement was enraged. He paced up and down as he said, "You, yourself, said that you have been in Lake City for six years.

How can you not have expanded the drug business there in six years? Christian, your capabilities speak for themselves, and now you are blaming me for allowing you to earn big bucks? Besides, isn’t there a saying in your country that goes, ’Brothers keep their finances clean?’ I have loaned you three billion dollars. It is not a small sum of money. Don’t you think you should explain yourself on this?"

"Do you know why I wanted to leave the organization?" Christian said as he looked coldly at Clement. "It was because I had never wanted to deal drugs in the first place. If it was not because I was forced to do so, I would never have wanted to open up the drug dealer market in Lake City."

"Haha," Clement burst into laughter when he heard Christian’s reply. "You have been in the organization for so many years. Your hands are already tainted. And now you are telling me you never wanted to deal drugs? Christian, don’t tell me - you want to turn a new leaf? Who was the one who swore to be the most influential drug lord in the world?"

Clement’s words got to Christian. He looked down solemnly. It was indeed his goal once before to be the most influential drug lord in the world. He knew that when he obtained power, he would no longer be bullied. And he could break free from the shadow of being an illegitimate child. But that was no longer the approach he had wanted to take. He had wanted to earn an honest living and beat Michael while doing so.

However, Clement had a point. Christian had already gotten too deep into drug dealing. There was no way he could whitewash himself that easily.

Christian’s eyes shifted as he clenched his fists tightly. "For the three billion dollars, I will return the money to you."

"How are you going to return me the money?" Clement asked. "What assets do you still have?"

"Didn’t I make it back here? The connections I have in the drug world are no less than what you have," Christian retorted. "Though I have not been active in the drug scene these years, I believe if I restart the business, I can pick up from where I left off."

"Didn’t you say earlier that you didn’t want anything to do with drugs anymore? And now you are going to continue dealing drugs?" Clement said in a mocking tone.

"Cut your crap!" Christian looked at Clement. "If you want me to pay back the money, you will have to help me get back up and strengthen my standing in the drug scene."

"Christian, are you going to talk to me in this tone?" Clement scoffed. "What do you have now? You already have nothing! And now you want me to protect you! Have you not acknowledged the reality? Do you still think that you are the formidable Christian Lucas that you were before?"

"As I said, if I want to make a comeback, my resources won’t be much worse than yours!" Christian was not backing down. "Or you have one more option. Let’s fight it out!"

As he spoke, he reached for the gun behind his back and raised it at Clement.

Clement was on the losing end with his conditions. Clement’s tendons in his arms had been torn by Michael previously, so his hands were not as nimble as before.

Even though he could hold a gun steadily now after rehabilitation. He could tell that Christian was a ruthless man with drive. If he put his mind to it, he would be able to restore his standing soon enough. Although Clement was fuming inside, losing a good business partner did not seem worth it. Clement chuckled as he walked up to Christian. He raised his hand and gave a pat on Christian’s shoulder. "We are comrades. Why raise your gun at your comrade?"