Chapter 242 He's Still Alive
At Agency 719's secret base, a black Hummer SUV roared in, kicking up a cloud of dust as Robert hopped out and made a beeline for the base hospital.
As soon as he walked in, he bumped into the chief surgeon, Odis Mather.
"How's he doing today? Still breathing?" Robert asked.
Odis answered, "How can you talk like that? Are you really his friend? He just woke up this morning. Two gunshot wounds, one in the left shoulder and one in the thigh. If he wasn't lucky, he'd either be dead or crippled."
"I'm going in to see him."
Robert headed straight into the ward.
He grinned. "If you didn't wake up soon, I was about to plan your funeral."
Magnus leaned against the hospital bed, looking haggard and pale from blood loss.
He shot a cold glance at Robert. "What's the situation?"
"Some shareholders are looking to sell their shares. The Shadow Syndicate is in contact with them, and it's likely some will switch sides. Online opinion is currently unfavorable to SY, and the Shadow Syndicate is still looking for you. They're probably afraid you're not dead and want to finish the job. So, I suggest you stay at the base until you're fully recovered."
After all, the Agency 719 base was the safest place right now.
After Robert finished speaking, he noticed Magnus's brow was still furrowed.
He teased. "When you ask about the situation outside, are you asking about the company or about Juniper?"
"Don't play dumb."
Magnus leaned back, closing his eyes, his tone cold and hard.
Robert clicked his tongue. "You look so weak right now. If Juniper saw you like this, she'd feel so guilty. What a pity she can't see you."
But he still hadn't directly told Magnus any news about Juniper.
Magnus's brow furrowed, his face cold and impatient. "If you're not going to talk about Juniper, then get out."
Robert finally spoke softly, "Juniper is currently preparing to take over SY according to your will. It seems she doesn't have any suicidal tendencies for now. But seriously, even if you were afraid you'd die and Juniper would follow you, you can't just hand SY over to her. She has no experience. How is she supposed to manage it? If I say you have a big heart, you considered Juniper's feelings. If I say you don't, you dared to hand over such a big company to someone with no experience."
Magnus shot him a cold glance. "Isn't that why you're there to guide her?"
"Am I supposed to take care of your wife and kids too? If you really die, I won't care how Juniper handles SY. I'll sell my shares and go home to inherit the family business. So don't you dare die."
The last sentence, initially spoken in a flippant tone, suddenly became more serious.
Robert clenched his fist and punched Magnus on the shoulder.
Magnus winced in pain. "You hit my wound, you bastard."
Robert sneered. "I didn't even use any force. Look at you, so delicate now. Are you really that weak?"
Magnus closed his eyes, gritting his teeth to endure the pain in his shoulder, cursing, "Damn it."
"Still got enough energy to curse? Guess you're not doing so bad after all. If there's nothing else, I'll go. Or should I peel an apple for you before I leave?"
Magnus grabbed an apple and threw it at Robert. "Get out."
What did Robert come here for? Not a single useful word, just to piss him off!
Robert raised his arm, caught the apple, and took a bite. "I'll keep your survival a secret for now. If Juniper finds out and insists on seeing you, it'll be trouble. There are so many eyes watching us from the shadows, we can't let any information slip. I even changed cars and took a long detour to get here today. Since you're awake, I won't come tomorrow. Focus on recovering first."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Wait."
"What else?"
Magnus couldn't help but ask, "How's Juniper doing?"
Robert shrugged. "Not crying or making a fuss, pretty calm."
But those words didn't make him feel any better; instead, they made his heart ache.
After Robert left, the attending physician Odis came back into the ward.
He looked at Magnus with a worried expression. "Didn't tell Robert about the poisoning?"
"Why tell him? He can't fix it," Magnus said calmly.
If Robert blabbed to Juniper, it would only make her worry, and it might alert the Shadow Syndicate, letting them know he was poisoned.
The fewer people who knew about this, the safer he would be.
Back on the high seas, the masked man's bullets were specially coated with poison and hit him twice.
The yacht exploded, killing everyone on board, including the masked man. The only person who knew about his poisoning was Odis, who was working on an antidote. Even Elbert thought it was just a regular gunshot wound.
Odis worriedly said, "The poison from the bullets has already seeped into your wounds. It won't be long before it takes effect. I'm afraid my research on the antidote won't be fast enough."
And he wasn't even sure if he could develop an antidote for "Venomshade."
The Shadow Syndicate was known not just for their unique methods but also for their expertise in making poisons. They treated human lives like ants, so they rarely developed antidotes for their poisons.
Making poison was hard but making an antidote was even harder.
For example, the Venomshade might not even have an antidote.
Magnus's eyes darkened, but he calmly asked, "How long until the poison takes effect?"
"Although Venomshade is highly toxic, the amount on the two bullets that hit you isn't much. I estimate the poison will take effect in about half a month," Odis replied.
He asked again, "If there's no antidote, can I survive?"
Odis was silent for a few seconds, his expression grave. "This poison, Venomshade, specifically attacks the heart. Once it spreads to the heart, you'll experience excruciating heart pain. Even if you manage to survive, you might not endure the pain. It can kill you with pain. Magnus, I suggest negotiating directly with the Shadow Syndicate for the antidote."
"What if their condition is for me to join the Shadow Syndicate? If peaceful coexistence were possible, I wouldn't be poisoned now."
Besides, it was uncertain if the Shadow Syndicate even had an antidote.
Their goal was to kill, to drastically reduce the global population and concentrate all resources in the hands of a few. They would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go.
Odis asked, "If there's no antidote, what will you do? Will you go back to Juniper?"
He always knew Magnus had someone he couldn't forget.
If there was really no antidote and no way to develop one, would he go back to Juniper?
Magnus leaned there, a hopeless smile tugging at his lips. "Sometimes I don't want to admit it, but I have to. Juniper and I seem to be fated but not destined."
Juniper thought he was dead, and maybe that was for the best. If he didn't survive, giving her hope only to let her down would have been true despair.
However, once his external wounds healed, he would go to see her; he couldn't stop thinking about her.
Odis handed him a new phone. "Here's the new phone you wanted. The replacement SIM card is already inserted."
"Thanks."
After Odis left the ward, Magnus turned on the phone.
As soon as he logged into WhatsApp, a bunch of messages popped up in the pinned chat. He clicked in, his eyes trembling at the dozens of voice messages, ranging from five to fifty seconds long.
He was stunned for a few seconds, then slid his fingers to the topmost unread voice message and started listening to them one by one.
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