Ryan noticed Echo’s face turning pale with pain as the machines worked on her. Her hands were strapped down, but the fingers she could still move were clenched into tight fists, the knuckles white from the force she used to control her trembling.
He watched as needles and tools pricked and cut into her, drawing blood that flowed swiftly through tubes. Her lips had lost all color from how hard she was biting them, and her eyes were tightly shut.
That mix of vulnerability and resilience on her face made Ryan furrow his brow deeply.
He reached out and grabbed her tightly clenched fist, feeling her instantly grip his hand in return, her trembling transferring over to him. The cold, hardened look in Ryan’s eyes grew even darker as he squeezed her hand back, silently reassuring her that he was there.
“Liver function, normal.”
“Lung function, normal.”
“Blood filtration, normal.”
One by one, the results came in quickly, and the researchers, initially shocked, began to show signs of joy.
No issues. There were no issues at all.
Bill stood next to the machine, personally overseeing the tests. Every result was clear and reliable. But how could Echo, at such close range, not be affected by the technetium radiation? It didn’t make sense.
Bill frowned deeply as he muttered, “Run it again.”
Tiger, standing nearby, was just as stunned by the results. He knew full well the levels of radiation emitted by technetium because his team had a chemical unit.
It didn’t make sense that Echo hadn’t been affected at such close proximity. This didn’t indicate a problem with the element-it had to mean there was something different about Echo herself. He furrowed his brow and watched closely as Bill started another round of testing.
Echo, who had just started to relax, tensed up again when she heard Bill say they had to run the tests again. Her body trembled as the thought of going through that pain again felt unbearable. Instinctively, she gripped Ryan even tighter.
Seeing Echo’s body tense up, Ryan glanced at Bill and the others, noticing that they were only reanalyzing the data they’d already collected, not running new tests on her. Without a word, he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around Echo, pulling her into his arms.
Feeling Ryan lift her, Echo opened her eyes and, with a shaky voice, asked, “Aren’t they going to do it again?”
As Ryan held Echo, Cobra, Chieftain Adam, and the others respectfully averted their eyes.
Ryan set her down on his lap and quietly replied, “They just need to analyze the data again.”
Hearing that, Echo let out a long sigh of relief. If she had to go through that kind of pain again, she wasn’t sure she could handle it. No one else could truly understand how terrifying and overwhelming the experience had been.
Resting her head against Ryan’s chest, she panted, trying to catch her breath as she weakly muttered, “Let me do it.”
But Ryan gave her no chance to struggle. With one quick motion, he pinned her down with just one hand, leaving her no choice but to let him handle everything.
“No problem, everything is fine.” In the suffocating silence of the room, Bill couldn’t believe it, but his voice was firm.
When Echo heard that, she couldn’t help but slightly close her eyes, and her tense body relaxed almost instantly.
“But why is everything fine?” Once their own safety was assured, Chieftain Adam’s researchers returned to their usual curious selves, scrutinizing Echo from head to toe.
Tiger turned to Bill and asked, “Why?”
Tiger’s question seemed odd, but Bill understood what he meant. He glanced at Echo and rubbed his temples. “I don’t know. Her body’s resistance is remarkably strong. Or maybe it’s not even just strong-it’s extraordinary, beyond imagination. Perhaps that’s why Echo wasn’t affected by the radiation?”
Bill hesitated, unsure, since this was all so unexpected.
“Could it be related to her blood?” one of the researchers suddenly frowned and said, stepping over to the samples and opening the protective cover.
Ryan furrowed his brow, about to speak, but he saw the researcher quickly take a drop of blood from Echo and place it on the surface of the mineral. The other researchers rushed over to the instruments to observe, and Tiger moved closer to get a better look.
“What… how could it turn out like this?”
“I can’t believe it; it’s incredible!”
Surprised voices came from the researchers, and Ryan frowned slightly as he glanced at Echo. She, hearing their words, looked up at him. In their brief eye contact, Echo seemed confused, while Ryan’s expression grew even darker.
“The blood rapidly split the radioactive rays, forming a complete shield around itself-radiation doesn’t affect it at all.” Tiger looked up, a mix of awe and contemplation on his face as he regarded Echo.
When Echo heard Tiger’s words, she suddenly came alive, her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes lighting up with joy. She looked at Ryan and exclaimed, “I’m not afraid of radiation! I can’t believe I’m not afraid of radiation!”
Seeing Echo smile so brightly, Ryan’s previously grim expression slowly eased, though he still maintained his cold demeanor.
“This needs to be studied thoroughly. I… what are you doing?” As the researchers murmured excitedly, Bill had already moved to take the test tube containing Echo’s blood, looking at the others coldly and saying, “Focus on your own work.”
Echo’s blood was incredibly unique. They already knew her blood type was rare and special. At that moment, it felt off, considering how close she had been-there was no way she hadn’t been exposed to radiation. Now that they had seen this, Bill was even more surprised and immediately thought that this information couldn’t get out. Something so extraordinary was definitely a double-edged sword, and they needed to protect Echo.
The researchers exchanged glances, momentarily taken aback by Ryan’s icy demeanor and the fierce presence of Tiger and Cobra. They quickly looked down, realizing that while her blood was rare and valuable, it wasn’t worth risking their lives over. Research and contributions were one thing, but they still needed to survive to do it.
Ryan shot a cold glance at the others, standing up while holding Echo.
Chieftain Adam’s expression shifted from worry to surprise, and then to elation as he said to Ryan, “Perfect, perfect! It’s a stroke of luck for us to have someone who isn’t afraid of radiation around. Mr. Ryan, your chances of success just shot up. You know, half of my people died at the hands of those natives, and the other half fell victim to radiation. Having someone like her doing the scouting is the best option we could ask for.”
“Chieftain Adam, this is my business,” Ryan replied coldly, meeting Chieftain Adam’s ecstatic gaze while still holding Echo.
Chieftain Adam paused for a moment and then burst into laughter, “Right! I’ll just provide the information, but how you handle it is up to you. It’s settled then. I’ll give you the exact coordinates, and now it’s all in your hands. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
Ryan responded coolly, “I won’t.”
Ryan turned and started walking out with Echo, and Chieftain Adam raised an eyebrow, smiling as he followed Ryan outside.
Without lingering too long, Ryan and Echo, along with the others, left Adam Palace and took a plane as soon as they received Chieftain Adam’s information.
“Boss, are we heading there now?” Tiger asked, not looking back as he piloted the plane.
Ryan replied in a deep voice, “Cobra, you take charge of Southeast Asia for now. Bring Panther over, and tell Hawk to bring people to meet us after the delivery. Tiger, I need you to order your men to gather everything we need and meet us over there. For now, head straight to Africa.”
Tiger immediately acknowledged and changed course toward Africa.
Cobra knew that among them, Panther was the most skilled, so having him protect the Boss would be more advantageous. Without hesitation, he contacted Panther.
Echo, who was feeling less pain now, sat next to Ryan and raised her eyebrows to meet his cold gaze, filled with questions. “Am I going too? I can’t fight, and I’m terrible at hand-to-hand combat. What good would I do there? Am I supposed to deliver food to those natives? Africa, the Cape Mountains-it sounds so desolate and backward.”
Before she could voice her concerns, Ryan coldly stated, “Where I go, you go.”
Echo immediately lowered her head, filled with regret. If she had known he would say that, she wouldn’t have spoken up. Glancing out the window at the blue sky, thoughts of Africa, cannibal tribes, and radioactive minerals flooded her mind-everything looked so dark ahead.