Chapter 1671

Lily entered the laboratory and found Edmund standing, seemingly dazed.

"Dr. Morris?" she asked.

"Lily, look," he replied, glancing over his shoulder, his face disturbed. He pointed, and Lily saw the mice lying supine in the observation cage. "How did this happen?"

Shocked, Lily approached and examined each mouse. Most were dying; two lay lethargic. She knew none would survive.

"I didn't do anything," Edmund insisted, raising his hands to demonstrate his innocence. "I saw this when I arrived, and then you came." Lily gave him a searching look but remained silent.

Dr. Blanc soon rushed in, shocked by the sight. The mice had been injected with the virus and given Lily's concoctions. "If the herbal medicine is the cause," he murmured, his brow furrowed, "I wonder what will happen to the patients who drink it?" "What happened?" he asked aloud.

"I heard a noise while passing by," Edmund explained, "and then I saw this. I never expected to find all the lab mice like this." He added, "The cause is unknown."

"Do you have anything to say?" Dr. Blanc asked Lily.

Lily nodded. "I do."

Soon, most of the laboratory personnel, including those involved in developing the cure, had gathered. Many, arriving hastily, were unaware of the situation. Gasps rippled through the crowd as they saw the supine, stiff mice.

"Are they… all dead?" someone whispered.

"Aren't these the ones that received the herbal medicine? They're all dead?" another whispered.

"So the herbal medicine is useless?"

Whispers and concerned glances were exchanged between the staff, directed at both Dr. Blanc and Lily. However, no one spoke aloud, uncertain of what had transpired.

Dashiell arrived later, his frown deepening at the assembled crowd. A sneer touched his lips as he saw the mice, but he remained silent, observing from the sidelines.

Dr. Blanc waited until everyone had arrived, then addressed Lily. "Okay, we're all here. What do you want to say?"

"Dr. Blanc, what's going…" someone began, but Dr. Blanc raised a hand to silence them, his gaze fixed on Lily. "You may begin."

Lily nodded, her gaze sweeping across the faces before her, finally settling on Dashiell, with whom she briefly exchanged a look. Dashiell's curiosity was evident. Before he could speak, Lily shifted her gaze and cleared her throat.

"You have all seen the mice in the observation cage. They are all dead. None survived."