It was not the heavy, bitter scent of medicine, but a clean, elegant fragrance that instantly refreshed the mind.

Riato stood closest to it and caught the scent most clearly. The moment it reached him, an indescribable sensation rushed straight to his head.

He inhaled again, more carefully this time. There was no medicinal smell at all, yet his instincts screamed that this was unquestionably something extraordinary.

"What is this?" Riato asked.

Suzy answered casually, "A family medicinal wine."

Medicinal wine? Even making things up should have limits. He could not smell a trace of alcohol.

Riato wanted to examine it further, but Jason had already snatched the porcelain vial back from his hands.

"Doctor Riato, there’s nothing wrong with this, right?"

For once, Riato had no answer. Truthfully, even he had no idea what the liquid was. But based on years of experience, he knew one thing for certain––this was definitely something precious.

That refreshing fragrance alone was enough to prove it.

Jason hurriedly fed the "medicinal wine" to Isaac. At first, there was no reaction. But of course, no one had truly expected Isaac to wake up instantly. It was medicine, not divine nectar.

Once again, everyone’s gaze shifted toward Suzy.

Unhurried, Suzy unscrewed the ointment container. That familiar, pleasant fragrance immediately filled the room once more.

She glanced toward Riato and asked politely, "Doctor Riato, would you like to inspect this one too?"

Without changing expression, Riato extended a hand.

Suzy passed him the ointment while calmly explaining, "A herbal healing balm."

Riato ignored her explanation entirely. He brought the ointment close and inhaled lightly.

He still found nothing. No medicinal scent. No trace of anything harmful either. It appeared to be nothing more than an utterly ordinary ointment.

Without a word, he handed it back to Suzy.

"If something happens, you bear the consequences yourself."

Suzy let the remark go in one ear and out the other. She scooped out a small amount with her fingertip and gently spread it over Isaac’s arm. Her movements were slow and careful.

The room fell completely silent as everyone watched her.

Suzy herself remained calm. She had absolute confidence in the spirit spring water.

The transparent ointment touched Isaac’s damaged skin. The blackened tissue seemed to twitch faintly, though there was no stronger reaction.

She applied another layer, this time directly over the deepest part of the wound.

Riato’s eyes moved from Suzy’s hands to Isaac’s arm. His brows furrowed tighter and tighter. His lips parted slightly as though he wanted to speak, but in the end, he swallowed the words back down.

The ointment was finished. Suzy straightened up, sealed the container, and stepped quietly back beside the bed.

"That’s it?" Robert’s voice carried restrained tension.

"That’s it." Suzy nodded. "You’ll see the effects soon."

At the side, Riato’s mouth twitched faintly. He glanced at the wall clock, then at Isaac’s still-ghastly arm, disbelief obvious in his tone.

"Soon? I’ve treated Commander Hunter’s arm for half a month and used countless rare medicines just to barely suppress the infection. And you’re telling me this will work in a short while?"

Suzy ignored him entirely, her gaze fixed on Isaac’s arm.

Seeing that she refused to respond, Riato turned toward Robert instead.

"Robert, I’m not trying to discourage you, but you need to understand this. Acid rain infection is not an ordinary wound. It damages the nervous system itself. Even if the surface appears healed, the toxins inside the body cannot possibly clear so quickly..."

"Doctor Riato." Jason finally could not hold back anymore and interrupted him. "Can you stop talking for a minute? Can’t you just let Suzy focus on treating him?"

Riato frowned in dissatisfaction. "She’s just applying ointment. How does that count as treatment?"

Riato still refused to believe Suzy’s ointment could truly be that miraculous.

What was it supposed to be? A divine medicine? Ridiculous.

He sneered inwardly.

Suzy did not argue. She simply stood there quietly, her eyes fixed on Isaac’s arm.

An eerie silence settled over the room. Only the ticking of the clock and Isaac’s faint breathing intertwined in the stillness.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Finally, Suzy lifted her head and began walking toward Leonard, but Robert suddenly reached out and caught her wrist.

"That’s all?" he asked quietly.

Suzy nodded. "It’ll heal gradually from here."

Robert slowly released her hand, his gaze falling back onto Isaac’s arm.

Honestly, it still looked almost identical to before. The only difference was the thin layer of ointment coating the wound.

A trace of uncertainty crept into his chest, but Suzy’s expression remained unbelievably calm. So calm that if he continued questioning her, he would only look unstable and impatient.

He was simply too anxious. She had only just applied the medicine. Of course it could not recover that quickly.

Robert silently tried to reassure himself.

Jason also hurried closer to Suzy and lowered his voice nervously.

"Suzy...are you sure it’s really okay?" He spoke quietly, afraid Riato might hear and mock him again.

Suzy patted his arm lightly. "Don’t worry."

The minutes ticked away slowly...

No one left the room.

Then suddenly... Isaac moved.

Everyone immediately looked toward the bed, joy flashing across their faces.

"Dad!" Robert rushed to the bedside instantly. But the scene they had hoped for never came.

Isaac still had not opened his eyes.

In fact, his lips looked even paler than before. It had only been an unconscious twitch.

"Bro...y-you...look at Uncle’s wound..." Jason’s voice suddenly cracked, strained as though someone had seized his throat.

Robert immediately lowered his head, following Jason’s line of sight.

The areas of Isaac’s arm covered in ointment had begun to swell visibly. The blisters that had previously begun to dry and close suddenly swelled again.

Cloudy fluid filled them, larger and denser than before, packed tightly together in a sight gruesome enough to make anyone’s scalp crawl.

The most horrifying part was the deepest section of the wound. It was now coated in a thick layer of yellow-white pus.

The infected fluid seeped steadily out from the center of the injury, trailing down Isaac’s arm before dripping onto the bedsheets and staining them with ugly, shocking blotches.

"What the hell is happening?!" Robert’s voice rose sharply as he whipped around to stare at Suzy.

Riato lunged to the bedside in a single stride and bent down to inspect the leaking pus carefully.

He pressed lightly against the edge of the wound with his fingers.

The surrounding flesh had already become swollen and inflamed, far redder than before. At first glance, the infection looked dramatically worse than it had only moments ago.