Chapter 247: Alicia: Chuck, You Like Me, Don't You?
Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.
Intensive Care Unit, Diagnostic Department.
Chuck stood by the bedside, looking at Professor Alicia Harper, who lay unconscious, listening to the beautiful Dr. Cameron's pained explanation: "See these brainwaves? This means that even in a coma, her pain hasn't lessened at all. Keeping her unconscious is just making things easier for us observers."
"What about Professor John Harper?"
Chuck asked.
"Him?"
The beautiful Dr. Cameron said disdainfully, "Alicia hasn't collapsed yet, but he has. He ran away clutching his head and we haven't been able to contact him. Alicia said she doesn't have any family nearby, so she had to contact you. If you can really create a miracle, now is the time."
"Bring her out of the coma and wake her up,"
Chuck ordered.
"She's in excruciating pain!"
the beautiful Dr. Cameron warned.
"I know,"
Chuck said calmly. "No one understands pain better than me."
"..."
The beautiful Dr. Cameron was stunned. Thinking of the tabloid reports about Chuck's congenital condition, the pain he'd endured since childhood, she realized no one truly understood it better than him. With a unique compassion and empathy for those with disabilities, her gaze softened even more as she looked at Chuck.
"Since it can't be cured here, let's try somewhere else. It's up to her to decide,"
Chuck said.
"Where could be better than here?"
the beautiful Dr. Cameron asked as she began waking Professor Alicia Harper.
"Classified,"
Chuck replied succinctly.
The beautiful Dr. Cameron glanced at Chuck, thoughtfully saying, "Could it be some advanced black-ops research facility..."
Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital wasn't actually the most prestigious hospital; its scale wasn't particularly large. The reason she considered it so impressive was because it housed the super-expert Dr. House.
But now even Dr. House seemed helpless, so they had to find another way.
In America, where mad scientists abound and are practically encouraged, secret research labs that cannot be made public are countless. The experiments within are almost entirely forbidden to be exposed, lest they shock the world and shatter conventional understanding.
However, these labs, due to their radical and ethically questionable methods, possess special capabilities far exceeding those found in mainstream medicine.
Patients who would normally be beyond saving are not necessarily doomed in these labs.
The prerequisite is having the necessary connections; otherwise, one would never even have heard of them, and even if one wanted access, they wouldn't have the opportunity.
Chuck didn't answer, silently observing the fluctuations in her brainwaves, then looked at Professor Alicia Harper, who had opened her eyes with a groan.
"Alicia, Dr. Wolfe has come to see you!"
the beautiful Dr. Cameron told her.
"Chuck, Chuck!"
Professor Alicia Harper groped blindly.
The beautiful Dr. Cameron silently withdrew from the intensive care unit, standing guard outside, leaving the two of them alone.
"It's me,"
Chuck placed his hand in front of her.
"Chuck, I'm in so much pain."
Professor Alicia Harper gripped Chuck's hand tightly, her face contorted with agony.
"I know,"
Chuck nodded.
"I know you like me, don't you?"
Professor Alicia Harper forced a smile. "Women are very perceptive about this. You love looking into my eyes, don't you?"
Chuck nodded honestly. "Yes, I love your eyes."
"Now I'm blind, at least that's what my brain tells me."
Professor Alicia Harper said with all her strength, "Chuck, you're a brilliant detective, capable of solving any case. No matter how cunning or intelligent the criminal, they can't hide from you.
And vice versa. If you want to kill someone, you can do it without a trace and without arousing any suspicion. You can do it!
I know!
So please, for the sake of liking me, kill me! My eyes are no longer clear, my whole body is in extreme pain, I can't take it anymore!"
"You'll be alright,"
Chuck said calmly. "Pain is bearable. As long as you're alive, there's still hope."
"What hope is there?!"
Professor Alicia Harper cried out, "Even the renowned Dr. House couldn't cure me, or even alleviate my pain. What hope do I have? Even if there is, when? If my pain can't be relieved right now, even if I have any hope of living, I'd rather die right now. This is too painful!!!"
Chuck looked at Professor Alicia Harper, who was in so much pain that she was desperate for death, no longer possessing her former stunning beauty, and fell silent.
Was there any way for him to save her?
Of course there was!
After these days of effort, especially with Sheldon's extra contributions, Chuck's mental system had condensed another drop of life essence.
He could use it whenever he wanted.
However, the method was different from using it on himself; it required a special connection.
Fortunately, Professor Alicia Harper was a top-tier research subject. Given her current state, he could offer it without being questioned or opposed.
After all, it was perfectly reasonable for Professor Alicia Harper, who would rather die immediately than endure this state, to complete the connection without resenting Chuck.
Regardless of the methods the oil painting beauty used on Professor Alicia Harper, it all boiled down to poison.
It was either a modern synthetic toxin or a biological pathogen.
And no matter the type of poison, as long as it doesn't kill instantly, the body's immune system has a chance to clear it away through antibody production, achieving self-healing.
And with the life essence effect, any toxin is destined to be completely eliminated the moment it's introduced.
Even the aggressive diagnostic procedures Dr. House conducted would likely result in recovery and even physical enhancement.
After all, this isn't a congenital defect like Chuck's, encoded into his DNA.
This was why Chuck was so certain from the beginning that the oil painting beauty would lose her bet.
The only problem was that Chuck still hadn't made up his mind to give Professor Alicia Harper this drop of life essence.
Because the life essence was so precious, it was primarily for his own use, and secondly, to save some for Anna when he no longer needed it as urgently.
He would only consider giving it to others when neither he nor Anna needed it anymore.
But to put maximum pressure on the oil painting beauty, forcing her to admit defeat and planting the impression in her mind that fate was invincible, and to completely resolve this major problem without killing her, he made this promise: regardless of whether she admitted defeat or not, Professor Alicia Harper would be fine.
Now, with Dr. House unable to help, the oil painting beauty stubbornly refusing to budge, and Professor Alicia Harper unable to hold on any longer, contemplating suicide to escape the endless pain,
Chuck had to consider preparing to give her the life essence.
"Transfer to another hospital,"
Chuck said. "Since you can't be cured here, let's go somewhere else. Don't worry, you'll get what you want, I promise."
"Okay, I'll do as you say,"
Professor Alicia Harper gripped Chuck's hand tightly, her face full of gratitude.
In her understanding, of course, she didn't have the concept of Chuck possessing some kind of supernatural ability like life essence to save her; she simply thought that Chuck had agreed to help her end this endless pain.
And this was illegal, so naturally, she couldn't leave evidence in the hospital.
Chuck's willingness to take this risk for her was already enough to move her, so naturally, she would comply without question.
Just as Professor Alicia Harper was enduring the pain and cooperating with Chuck's transfer, Dr. House was tossing a ball around in his office, his mind racing.
He had finally gotten Chuck to 'ask' him for help once, but he hadn't managed to satisfy his ego. For the proud Dr. House, this was simply unacceptable.
This was also why, even though he knew Chuck was there and was arranging Professor Alicia Harper's transfer, he hadn't gone to see Chuck immediately.
He wanted to mock Chuck, not be mocked by Chuck, especially not in his field.
Therefore, his brain was practically overclocked under this stimulation.
Suddenly, his hand paused as he tossed the ball, caught it in his palm, his eyes lit up, a smirk appeared on his lips, he picked up his cane from the table, and limped out.
"It's an amoeba!"
Chuck pushed the portable hospital bed out, but Dr. House appeared on his cane, blocking his way. "Primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a parasite that enters the brain through the nasal cavity and feeds on brain cells. It matches all her symptoms."
"There are many others that match this condition,"
the beautiful Dr. Cameron reminded him. "How are you sure?"
"We'll drill into her brain again and do a brain biopsy!"
Dr. House shrugged. "Last time we only did a brain protein test, which wasn't thorough enough. You know me, I'm very considerate of women, and everyone who's hired me says so.
So I won't do this unless it's absolutely necessary. I thought we still had time.
Since you all think we don't have time now, let's go on the most exciting adventure together!
Isn't that fun?"
"No!"
Professor Alicia Harper had her brain drilled into last time, and the terrible experience wasn't much better than this. She refused outright.
Besides, she had a basic understanding.
If a brain biopsy isn't done until the very last moment, it means that a brain biopsy has intolerable side effects.
She was already in enough pain; she absolutely didn't want to suffer a fate worse than death.
"I'm refusing treatment! Chuck, take me away from here!"
"No need for a brain biopsy, let's start treatment directly."
Chuck made the decision.
"Dr. Wolfe!"
The beautiful Dr. Cameron was shocked. How could they proceed with treatment without a proper diagnosis? That was too risky.
"See? That's a proper patient advocate!"
Dr. House glanced at Dr. Cameron with a smirk, then looked at Chuck and emphasized, "I believe my diagnosis."
"I believe mine too,"
Chuck said calmly.
Regardless of whether it was the brain-eating amoeba at work, he would treat it as such.
If Dr. House's judgment was wrong and the treatment was ineffective, he planned to use the connection method to apply the life essence to Professor Alicia Harper, helping her 'reasonably' cure her 'brain-eating amoeba disease'.
After all, while the life essence was precious, it could be continuously condensed with time.
And Chuck's word was his bond!
He said she would be alright, and she would be alright!
Hillside villa.
Underground chamber.
"Where did he go?"
The oil painting beauty, having waited until Chuck arrived right on time, guessed something and looked at Anna on the wall screen.
Anna didn't answer, her gaze elsewhere.
The oil painting beauty's eyes flashed, and she said, "I need to video call him. I have something to say."
Seeing Anna still not answer, she added, "It's about Alicia."
Anna's eyes focused slightly, and the wall screen split in two. After darkness on one side, Chuck's expressionless face appeared.
"You're in the hospital."
The oil painting beauty looked at Chuck on the screen. "How is Alicia?"
"It's amoebas!"
Chuck looked at her. "You gave her amoebas!"
"Does that matter?"
The oil painting beauty smiled perfectly. "Do you know what's most important?"
Chuck stared into her eyes.
The oil painting beauty's lips curled up. "The most important thing is that you're in the hospital."
Saying this, she shook her pale left arm, then brought her left wrist to her mouth, opened her red lips, and bit down, drawing blood instantly.
The oil painting beauty, like a vampire, added a touch of red to the corner of her mouth, glanced at her wrist where blood was streaming down, and smiled at Chuck and Anna on the screen, one on each side: "I bit my artery, and I'll go into shock in 20 minutes. Neither of you are here. Chuck is at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and doesn't have time to get here. What should we do now?"
She added mockingly, "Looks like you'll have to let me out so I can save myself. Otherwise, you'll just have to watch me die from blood loss. Sister, you don't want me to die like this, do you?"
"You shouldn't have done something so stupid,"
Chuck said slowly after a moment of silence. "The chamber can't be opened remotely."
The oil painting beauty's smile remained unchanged: "Is that so? That's alright. Just ask your housekeeper to come down and open the door for me. I know she's cleaning upstairs. Don't worry, I'm already like this; I won't do anything to her, and I don't need to. She has her mother and sister... we won't have any conflicts~"
Clearly, she had done thorough research on Chuck.
Seeing Chuck remain silent, the oil painting beauty let the blood from her artery flow out, drawing a large circle on the ground with her blood. She then lay inside the crimson circle, using her body to represent a clock—minutes and seconds—mimicking the ticking of the hands, and teasingly asked, "How's my flexibility? Are you really going to let such a wonderful blind date die here so boringly?"
Anna looked at Chuck.
The oil painting beauty narrowed her eyes, giving a self-deprecating smile: "Sure enough, daughters grow up and leave home. Can't you even decide my life or death yourself, only letting him decide? Sister, this breaks my heart."
Chuck glanced at Anna and dialed his housekeeper's number.
In the hillside villa, the housekeeper, who was doing her daily cleaning, answered the phone. Chuck said, "That's enough for today. You can go home now!"
Hearing this, the oil painting beauty, who was striking a difficult pose, showcasing her curves and flexibility, paused.
(End of Chapter)
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