Chapter 1347

The slaps had not come from the Advanced Medical Institute examiner or any random bystander. Instead, they came from Thomas–Jared’s own mentor.

“You little brat! As a medical practitioner, you don’t even have the courage to face failure or take responsibility for your mistakes? Who accused you? Who wronged you? And now you want another chance? You won’t let it go? Are you trying to drag Blumedale Hospital and my own reputation through the mud?”

No one had noticed when Thomas had moved to stand beside Jared, but there he was–face twisted in rage, veins bulging in his temples, his fury palpable.

For someone like Thomas, who valued his reputation above all else, this was an unforgivable disgrace. After all, his prized student’s current behavior was pathetic. Moreover, various bigwigs were watching from the high platform.

If the student were garbage, then he, as the teacher, would inevitably be accused of poor teaching.

Jared stammered, his mind in a daze. “Dr. Bozzelli, I–I just…!”

Thomas roared, “Shut up! I don’t have a student as foolish as you! Y–You utter fool! Do you even realize how deeply you’ve disappointed me? Are you blind? You can’t even tell the difference between adrenaline and growth factor?

“Andrew was right–you really are an idiot. That poor mouse’s life ended just because of your incompetence. If this had been a real patient, didn’t you just kill someone on the operating table?”

The harsh rebuke struck Jared like a hammer, draining the color from his face. Two hot streams of shameful tears rolled down his cheeks.

It was just as Andrew had said–he had indeed mixed up the injections.

Jared could not understand how Andrew, a mere bystander, could notice it so clearly. He was supposed to be the young star of Blumedale Hospital, yet he could not tell the difference. He began to doubt that he might actually be worse than Andrew.

After failure came resentment and deflection of blame. Pointing at Andrew, Jared shouted, “Fine, I admit I failed. I should get off the stage! But Andrew, you’ll end up just like me! You won’t pass this round either, damn it!”

Thomas’ face darkened even further. He wished he could bury Jared six feet under right there and then. It was one thing for him to fail, but now he was turning on a fellow Blumedale Hospital contestant, a fellow representative of their hospital.

This was a betrayal, a stab in the back–pure, petty spite.

Up on the main platform, Malcolm slammed his fist onto the arm of his chair. He thundered, “Enough of this nonsense!”

Thomas flinched, his body shaking for a moment as he silently cursed, ‘Shit!!

Malcolm, one of the most respected figures in Blumedale Hospital, had lost his temper. There was no doubt that once this summit ended, Thomas would be facing a severe reckoning for Jared’s behavior.

Around him, the Advanced Medical Institute students and even Mosby himself burst into open, mocking laughter, their voices echoing in Thomas‘ ears, and it felt to him like a series of sharp slaps.

Just then, Andrew’s calm, steady voice cut through the noise. “Who says I didn’t pass this round? Who says my test subject isn’t alive and well?”

He casually reached into his pocket, pulling out a small piece of bread. “Come on, little guy. Show them what you can do.”

As he spoke, all eyes turned to his operating table. There, his three-legged test mouse, having adjusted to its prosthetic limb, suddenly darted forward. It zipped around the table, spinning in circles, then rolled over, sprang to its feet, and continued to chase the small piece of bread in Andrew’s hand.

Andrew tossed the bread off the edge of the operating table and the tiny creature leaped after it, landing gracefully on the ground a full meter below. Without missing a beat, it grabbed the bread and began gnawing at it, its little tail flicking with excitement.

The bald examiner next to Andrew, who had been frozen in shock, managed to stammer out the verdict. “I–It’s a perfect surgery. The procedure completion rate is 100%, and the test subject’s health is nearly 100%. It’s a flawless pass!”

The entire arena erupted in applause. Thousands of spectators, including Derek, Chantelle, the Stevens family, and the members of the Rhodes family, stood up, their claps ringing out like thunder.

Andrew’s performance could only be described with one word: stunning.

Francesca’s heart soared. Her eyes sparkled with admiration, unable to hide the pure adoration she felt for Andrew. That was her man–a man who, at this very moment, held the entire crowd’s attention.

Meanwhile, Thomas and Jared looked ashen.

Jared, in particular, felt like his very soul had been hollowed out, his spirit shattered. With a bitter, broken laugh, he collapsed to his knees on the stage.

He was utterly defeated, and he was overwhelmed with humiliation.