Hospital 444
Chapter 652 - 20 Coercion and Disobedience_2

Chapter 652: Chapter 20 Coercion and Disobedience_2

"You’re fine," Dai Lin, himself a surgeon, said. With eyes that now rivaled a CT scanner, he could see Alex’s condition clear as day.

"I, I..." Alex recalled how a bullet had nearly grazed his cheek, and the people who had died behind him.

There were dead people!

Someone had died!

The reason he was so persistent in meeting Melody time and again was predominantly because this curse never resulted in harm or death to him, Melody, or any innocent people.

The gang shooting didn’t count; they were all criminals, and in Alex’s eyes, the more of them that died, the better.

But now, innocents had died because they’d been dragged into this due to him!

"How could this happen... In the past, innocents were never dragged into this." Alex began to speak incoherently. "Why did someone die... What exactly does this curse want... Is it simply to prevent me from meeting Melody???"

All along, Alex thought this curse wasn’t particularly frightening, as there always seemed to be a way to deal with it. After all, at 666 Hospital, there were many cases of powerful curses that resulted in dozens of deaths. Curses like his, where even if the dead were criminals, they weren’t directly killed by ghosts, were rare.

"What should I do..."

Alex started to feel afraid, which meant that continuing to Washington could result in his own death next.

Or even if he didn’t die, someone else might!

Under no circumstances could he choose public transportation now. Driving was also out of the question; if the car malfunctioned, it could be fatal!

"Calm down a bit," Dai Lin advised. "After all, you just saw someone..."

"Dr. Dai, let’s forget it," Alex finally decided. "Let’s postpone this meeting in Washington. I... I can’t let innocents be dragged in and die because I want to meet Melody! Wouldn’t that make me too selfish?"

"I’m sorry... If it were before, whether you two met or not, it would’ve been of no consequence to the hospital. But now, things have changed."

"Now?"

"At present, you, implanted with the Cursed Object, are the only one who might meet Melody. No other doctors can get close to Natsume Bandove, who’s always at her side. Laila Faust would spare no expense to bring Natsume Bandove back to the hospital, so if you decide not to go now..."

Dai Lin had only met Laila Faust a few times but had come to understand her modus operandi very well.

This woman wouldn’t care about the lives of anyone outside the Faust Family. She would sacrifice as many innocents as needed without batting an eye, to achieve her goals. Moreover, Natsume Bandove had almost become the top priority for 666 Hospital.

After Dai Lin had explained the situation, Alex was stunned. "This... This has nothing to do with me, right?"

"I’m sorry... You are now the only hope of meeting her. Ordinary people’s attempts to interact with Natsume Bandove are futile. If you refuse to meet, a doctor will immediately be dispatched to forcefully escort you to Washington. Even if you don’t want to see her now, you can’t."

"How could this happen?"

"The hospital, after all, is not truly aimed at saving lives and healing the sick."

Alex grew fearful.

"If I continue closer to Washington, won’t more people die?"

And most importantly... the most likely to die was himself!

That bullet earlier had nearly claimed his life!

Just then, another call came to the hospital.

This time...

It was Laila Faust herself who called.

"Dr. Dai, has Mr. Alex decided not to go to Washington?"

Dai Lin was suddenly alarmed.

How could she possibly know?

Did he have a bugging device on him?

Or was this her Cursed Object power?

Before Dai Lin could answer, she continued, "Convince him to proceed to Washington, Dr. Dai. If he refuses, you may use any means necessary to bring him to Washington. At all costs, please bring Natsume Bandove back to me. Once the Causal Law Curse is broken, I have ways to bring Natsume Bandove back." "An innocent restaurant patron has already died because of the curse..."

"And so what?"

Lelia’s indifferent "And so what" echoed.

"Did I kill him?"

"What I mean is, if you force the two to meet again, more innocents could be involved, and even Alex himself could die..."

"Then please, Dr. Dai, protect him at all costs, so no one can harm Alex."

"I..."

"Bring him to Washington to meet Melody, and bring back Natsume Bandove. If you achieve this, I can promise you anything you want, Dr. Dai. If not, you know my character, Laila Faust. I always mean what I say."

Then she hung up the phone.

From start to finish, her tone was nothing but commanding.

After hanging up, she glanced at Virgil sitting next to her.

"I’m afraid you’ll have to assist Dr. Dai. I don’t want any slip-ups in this matter; the Causality Curse Object must be in my hands, must be with the Faust Family. The Natsume sisters, Bandove and Heisuke, will enter into marriage alliances with our family."

"Marriage... to whom? Silas or George?"

"As long as it’s an alliance with the Faust Family. We have no children, so we must consider other unmarried family members." Lelia suddenly saw Virgil still sitting motionless on the sofa and said, "I believe I just told you... you’re needed, right?"

"I heard, and very clearly."

"In my memory, usually when I say this, you take action immediately, Virgil."

"I also heard Dr. Dai’s voice from the other end of the phone. If this continues, more innocents will be involved, and patient Mr. Alex may even die."

"You’re not about to discuss some moral issue concerning human nature with me, are you?" Lelia said mockingly, her face stern. "Virgil Faust, you’ve been with our family for years; have you suddenly developed a sense of justice now? Do I need to remind you of the meaning of ’Those who seek our aid share our guilt’?"

"But there’s no need..."

"Without Natsume Bandove, of course, there’s no need. I have no interest in whether or not they can meet. But now, the legacy of the Causality Curse Object left by Natsume Heisuke is about to bear fruit. For this, any sacrifice is acceptable."

Virgil looked at Lelia coldly.

This "any sacrifice" clearly included himself, Virgil.

From the beginning until now... to Lelia Faust, his only value was as the host for the Demon Cursed Item.

Although he had always known this, he now felt it more strongly than ever.

"I won’t go. Send someone else," he stated icily.

"I don’t want to lose a cornerstone of our department. I don’t trust anyone else to go."

"So I’m expendable, am I?" Virgil’s voice grew even colder.

"You can survive if you go," Lelia became increasingly displeased. Why was Virgil, who was usually as obedient as a loyal dog, suddenly speaking to her in this tone?

"Is it because I’ve forgotten how your father died? Is this all just a trivial matter to you?"

"This... trivial matter?"

"Our family will rule the hospital forever, and in the future, will assimilate with the Abyss to become an eternal existence. How the dead died, does that matter? What’s important is our future."

It was "your" future.

Virgil answered definitively, "I won’t go. If you’re dissatisfied, feel free to execute me!"