Yuri Walsh noticed Melody Summers’s uncomfortable expression. He smiled and said, "Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Yuri Walsh."

Melody Summers nodded and said earnestly, "Thank you, Dr. Walsh. Thank you all for helping me."

Yuri Walsh shook his head. "Protecting our patients’ safety is our hospital’s responsibility. Please, don’t mention it, Miss Summers. To be safe, I’ll accompany you to get the medicine."

Melody Summers found it hard to refuse and simply nodded in agreement.

Yuri Walsh accompanied Melody Summers to get the medicine, and the two returned to the treatment room together. By then, the swelling in Sophie Thorne’s hand had gone down.

Melody Summers examined Sophie Thorne’s hand carefully, still a bit worried. "Sophie," she asked, "are you feeling any better?"

Sophie Thorne nodded. "Much better. It’s still a little numb, but it doesn’t hurt anymore."

Yuri Walsh, who was standing nearby, said, "Don’t worry. This is a newly developed antidote specifically for this type of vine. Besides dissolving the thorns and disinfecting the wound, it also has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. After the injection, she’ll be back to normal after a few hours of rest."

This vine now grew all across the country. It was still relatively rare here in Anworth, but it was much more common in several western cities.

Some people had tried to forage and eat the Desert Vine, only to be accidentally pricked. Many died because their injuries were severe and they couldn’t get treatment in time. In response, the government rushed the development of this antidote.

After a moment of thought, Melody Summers asked, "Dr. Walsh, is this antidote available for purchase? I’d like to buy some."

Hearing this, Yuri Walsh smiled and nodded. "It is, but the research and development costs were high, so it’s very expensive. Each dose is as expensive as gold."

’Gold?’

’Lately, Melody had practically become a gold miner, digging day in and day out. Gold was the one thing she didn’t lack.’

"Then I’ll take 5000 grams of gold’s worth to start!" Melody Summers replied.

Yuri Walsh was taken aback. He hadn’t expected her to place such a huge order for such an expensive medicine right off the bat. He could only shake his head with a helpless smile and say, "I’m sorry, Miss Summers, but my authority only allows me to sell you 500 doses for now."

’Only 500 doses?’ Melody Summers was a little disappointed to hear that, but she still nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll take 500 doses! Thank you, Dr. Walsh."

Just as Yuri Walsh had said, the injections were indeed as expensive as gold. The market price for gold had now risen to over 1,000 a gram, and a single 2mL dose of this antidote was selling for over 3,000.

At that price, 500 doses came to nearly two million, and Melody Summers paid without hesitation, simply scanning the payment code.

Yuri Walsh shook his head with a smile. "You’re certainly decisive, Miss Summers. I’ll have someone get your order right away. Remember to store it away from light."

Yuri Walsh had originally thought Melody Summers was a girl from an ordinary family. When Zane Simmons introduced her the other day, he hadn’t mentioned what her family did. He never expected she would spend such a large sum of money on medicine without a second thought. Yuri found himself growing curious about her family background.

*

Seeing that Sophie Thorne was going to be fine, the two said their goodbyes to Yuri Walsh and drove back to The Metropolis Residences.

Melody Summers stored one hundred doses of the antidote in her storage room at home and took the other four hundred with her to Crystal Mart.

Melody first explained the situation with the Desert Vine to the Lynchs, warning them not to get pricked by it. She then left fifty doses of the antidote for the family of three.

Afterward, Melody took the remaining three hundred and fifty doses to the emergency management office next door.

Melody Summers recounted to Officer Tate, Officer Pierce, and Manager Grant what she and Sophie Thorne had encountered that morning. Then, she brought out the three hundred and fifty doses of antidote she had with her.

"Officer Tate, Officer Pierce, I had a friend at a hospital buy this medicine for me. If any residents get pricked by the Desert Vine, they can get an injection and be treated immediately. It’ll save them the time of going to the hospital. The hospitals are all overcrowded now, and the lines are incredibly long."

Officer Tate was surprised. "Our superiors did notify us today about a new toxic vine," he said, "and they told us to warn the residents to be careful. But I heard the antidote for this vine is very expensive and has only been distributed to a few of the city’s major hospitals. Where did you manage to get these?"

Melody Summers gave a vague answer, "I had a friend at a private hospital get them for me."

Hearing this, Officer Pierce said thoughtfully, "It must be one of the Walsh Group’s private hospitals. The drug was developed by a research company under the Walsh Group, so it’s normal that they would have it in stock."

’Dr. Walsh’s last name is also Walsh,’ Melody Summers thought. ’The hospital Sophie and I went to today must be his family’s. No wonder he had the authority to sell me five hundred doses.’

’But none of that has anything to do with a small fry like me. I just want to do my part to help maintain stability at The Metropolis Residences. It would be a huge hassle if more residents got pricked and had to be taken to the hospital.’

Officer Pierce, Officer Tate, and Manager Grant all thanked Melody Summers profusely. This solved a major problem for them. They had been trying to figure out how to arrange vehicles and manpower to transport injured residents to the hospital, especially since the fuel allocated for official vehicles was now limited.

Officer Pierce even said excitedly that he would report Melody Summers’s donation to his superiors so they could award her a commemorative banner and hang another one in the complex to thank her for her contribution.

Melody Summers was taken aback. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, she quickly declined the offer.

A short while later, Officer Tate’s informational post about the Desert Vine appeared in the community residents’ group chat.

"Officer Tristan Tanner: @All Residents. We’ve received a notice from our superiors. A new species of vine has recently been spreading across the globe. Experts have named this new species the Desert Vine. The stem of the Desert Vine is covered in tiny, transparent thorns that are easily missed by the naked eye. If these thorns pierce the skin, they will cause discoloration (purple), swelling, pain, and nerve paralysis. Please do not touch this vine without protective gear."

"Officer Tristan Tanner: If you are accidentally pricked, please seek help immediately at the emergency management office or the property management center’s lobby. Furthermore, this vine is toxic. Do not attempt to pick or consume it, as it is dangerous."

"Officer Tristan Tanner: [Image] This is a picture of the Desert Vine. Please be careful and avoid it."

"2-1908 Coco: You can barely see any green in the planters these days, yet this vine can still sprout. Its will to live is truly strong."

"6-702 The Lover: I saw on the news they called it the Desert Vine. It’s growing in a lot of places, mostly in the western cities."

"6-2702 Holly: I also saw a lot of people online saying they got pricked by this thing. I thought it was only in those western provinces. How come it’s in our province now?"

"4-2009 Nina: It’s here! I saw one in the complex. I was about to pick it to get a better look. Good thing I didn’t! I always say, the more beautiful something is, the more poisonous it is."

"4-1209 SlackingOff: You really can’t eat it? That’s a bummer. I haven’t had any green vegetables in so long."

"6-702 The Lover: What a coincidence. The news said some company is researching how to cultivate it on a large scale to be made into food."

"4-2009 Nina: Didn’t they say it was toxic? How can you eat it if it’s toxic?"

"6-702 The Lover: Apparently, the toxins can be removed with special processing."

"3-805 FruitGummy: No way. Can you really eat that stuff?"

"2-1908 Coco: Of course you can eat it. During the famines back in the day, people ate grass roots and tree bark, even kaolin clay. When the famines got bad enough, people even resorted to swapping children to eat them. What’s a mere vine compared to that?"

...

’Melody Summers watched the lively chatter in the group chat with mixed feelings. Soon, this sand vine cake would be introduced to the market as disaster relief rations, which would alleviate the food shortage to some extent. But this would be followed by a price hike for ordinary rice and flour. Before long, most people would no longer be able to afford regular grains.’

*

Robert Lancaster’s cerebral thrombosis was treated in time. The medical staff had caught the "golden three hours" and administered a thrombolytic injection.

After several days of observation at the hospital, once it was confirmed there were no immediate complications, Robert Lancaster was discharged early and went home.

The fees at private hospitals were now astronomical, with daily charges exceeding one hundred thousand.

The Lancaster Group was currently tight on cash, and Robert Lancaster had sold off most of the Lancaster Family’s assets to repay various bank debts. He had to rack his brain to save every last penny.

The moment they entered the house, Elaine Hughes began to complain about Melody Summers’s behavior at the hospital. "I gave birth to that girl for nothing. She embarrassed me so much... I’m starting to wonder if she’s even my daughter."

Robert Lancaster’s face was grim, and he remained silent, clearly also angered by Melody Summers’s unfilial behavior.

Hearing this, Sylvia Lancaster smiled and said softly to comfort her, "Mom, please calm down. Melody may be unwilling to take care of Dad, but I’ll stay by his side and fulfill my duty as a daughter. You can rest easy."

Elaine Hughes was comforted by her words. "Thank goodness we have our Sylvia with us."

Silas Lancaster, standing to the side, said nothing. He had been restless lately. Hugh Hayes had been missing for some time now. The Hayes Family had even sent people to Southeast Archanea to search for him, but there was still no word. He was nowhere to be found.

After they moved into a surveillance blind spot, it was as if they had vanished into thin air. Both man and car were gone without a trace.

Silas Lancaster thought it over and over. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole thing was just too strange.