Xia Chuan hadn't slept so soundly and peacefully without any dream disturbances for a long time.

The moment he woke up, he felt himself sinking into the soft pillow, his bones feeling like jelly. For a moment, he even forgot where he was, what had happened, and who else was around...

He stared blankly and lazily at the simple and elegant ceiling light for a while before his mind slowly regained clarity.

Half of the room's curtains were drawn, and a soft golden light shone through the other half of the clear glass, spilling onto the floor and bed, making it look extremely cozy.

This was a private clinic run by a friend of Gerald's. It was small but exquisite, receiving only a few appointment patients each day, but the environment was very good.

That day, Gerald, mustering his last bit of consciousness, had Shen Lan and Xia Liang bring everyone here. His own clinic was temporarily inaccessible, and staying in other hospitals would easily raise suspicions about Shen Lan and Xia Liang's physiques.

Only by coming to this friend's place could they feel at ease.

Gerald was an extremely meticulous person, which made him appear steady and reliable. The people he said he could trust absolutely would never be someone who was loose-lipped and didn't know the importance of discretion.

So everyone felt at ease treating this place as a temporary resting spot, as each person's injuries varied and required different recovery periods.

In fact, judging solely by the number, depth, and types of wounds, Shen Lan and Xia Liang actually had the most severe injuries.

Most of the wounds on Shen Lan's body came from the fierce entanglement with Xia Liang. What was deadly was that Xia Liang's variant was venomous. The rest came from the final explosion, as he and Xia Liang had blocked most of the impact, so their skin was covered in blast-induced cracks.

Xia Liang was not much better off.

As a result, when the two of them recovered their human forms afterwards, the wounds all over their bodies looked extremely horrific. Xia Chuan still remembered the grimacing expression on Gerald's friend, Dr. Carl, when he saw them, empathizing to the point that his face turned green.

In contrast to these two, the injuries of the others seemed much more ordinary. Dennis and Gerald each had two gunshot wounds, Xia Chuan had a deep gash on his arm that reached the bone, while Professor Linton, Anyao, and Gardner had no obvious injuries at all.

When Dr. Carl was settling them in, he roughly scanned everyone's injuries and concluded that while the others were easier to deal with, Shen Lan and Xia Liang would need at least a month or more to recuperate.

The actual result was obviously quite different from his expectation.

"Did you eat fertilizer? The wounds are healing so fast." Dr. Carl's voice came through from outside the door. The soundproofing here was quite good, so for it to be heard so clearly, it was obviously the result of Dr. Carl's extreme shock.

Xia Chuan rubbed his brow, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly: it seemed that Shen Lan and Xia Liang were both awake and recovering well.

He lifted the covers, stepped into soft slippers, and walked out of the room.

The wards here were all single rooms, with Shen Lan and Xia Liang's rooms arranged next to his. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Dr. Carl standing at the door, jumping up and down. To be honest, he had not a shred of... a doctor's temperament.

In a sense, Gerald's preference for choosing friends was surprisingly consistent, such as Dr. Carl here, and Dennis...

"Why are you out too?" Dr. Carl noticed Xia Chuan coming out of his room from the corner of his eye, leaning against the wall as if nothing had happened, even crossing his arms.

If he were wearing a shirt and trousers instead of a hospital gown, he would definitely attract the attention of young ladies. At least two young nurses coming upstairs had already stared at him without blinking.

Xia Chuan said indifferently, "I woke up, so I came out to take a look. This little injury doesn't bother me anyway."

"This little injury?" Carl repeated in disbelief, "This little injury? If that gash was a little longer, I could have directly reached in and scooped out your entire forearm bone, and you're telling me it's just a little injury? Not to mention you were soaking in the sea for so long. Can't you have some self-awareness as a patient, you people..."

Xia Chuan still had his arms crossed, calmly reassuring, "I've had quite a few similar injuries before, and they all healed quickly. Don't worr-"

Before he could finish saying "worry," Xia Chuan was pounced on by a figure darting out from next door.

The figure was extremely tall, moving quickly and nimbly. When grabbing Xia Chuan, he even took care to avoid his bandaged hand.

It could be no one but Shen Lan.

"Did you sleep well?" Shen Lan rubbed against his neck like a big dog, looking like he wouldn't let go now that he had his arms around him.

To be honest, after Xia Chuan had taken the initiative to kiss him that day in the sea, he had been in this drug-induced state.

Although Xia Chuan looked cold and indifferent, treating everyone more or less the same and rarely showing particularly obvious emotions, always appearing unapproachable and aloof, in reality, he was extremely indulgent towards the people he accepted, not caring at all about the gazes of others.

So he let Shen Lan cling to him and frolic, showing no intention of stopping him.

Dr. Carl: "..."

The two young nurses staring at Xia Chuan: "..."

"I can't take it anymore," Dr. Carl stamped his foot. "Can't you not be so unrestrained in front of a thirty-seven-year-old single man?" With that, he turned his head and stomped downstairs.

"Is Little Chuan awake?" Xia Liang's voice came from another room, along with his footsteps.

However, as soon as he stepped out of the ward door, he saw his son and Shen Lan embracing each other. The corner of his mouth twitched, his steps faltered, and he turned his head to float back into the room, muttering, "Out of sight, out of mind..."

As for his thoughts, it was probably: Damn it, the dog has been screwed.

Since they could be so oblivious to others while showing affection in broad daylight, their injuries must not have much impact.

The son was beyond the father's control. He wouldn't go to the corridor to blind himself. At most, he would find a time when everyone was free and have another fight with Shen Lan to vent...

They learned from the news that the police had finally intervened and started investigating all aspects of the Wes Company when they destroyed the company's underwater mainframe. However, it was expected that the investigation would not go smoothly, as many of the matters involved were beyond imagination and quite unbelievable.

Moreover, many of the relevant locations had already been reduced to rubble, such as the small underground room where Xia Liang and the other two bodies had been kept, and the mainframe that had been blown to pieces...

But what could be investigated was enough to completely ruin the Wes Company.

Three days later, Dennis and Gerald successively recovered their spirits;

A week later, Professor Linton was also able to get out of bed and move around freely, although he still seemed a bit listless. After all, he was already quite old physiologically, so his recovery was bound to be somewhat worse than that of young people.

The three of them, including Xia Chuan, as people openly connected to the Wes Company, cooperated with the police in several investigations and statements. As the case slowly progressed, they might occasionally need to cooperate in the future.

As for Shen Lan and Xia Liang, they were directly removed from the entire incident. After all, their identities were too special. Once exposed, endless investigations and research would follow.

On the surface, one had already been buried at sea more than twenty years ago, while the other had accidentally gone missing eight years ago, with whereabouts unknown. There was no need for them to reappear.

Although this outcome was not perfect, it was the best possible for these people who had been mixed up in conspiracy and the shadow of death for many years.

The only regret was that Gardner and Anyao had not yet woken up.

They already had breath and heartbeat, but they still lay quietly in their hospital beds, not opening their eyes or speaking, seemingly unaware of the changes in the outside world.

By ordinary people's standards, this was no different from being in a vegetative state, and they might never wake up again.

But Xia Chuan and the others did not think so.

They sincerely believed that one day these two people would sleep enough, then open their drowsy eyes and take a fresh look at this world they had missed for more than twenty years.