Chapter 371 Sealed Off +8 Pearls
The person filming ducked into the tent, and when the camera tilted up again, Yunice jolted backward, the legs of her chair scraping lightly against the floor. The shock hit her too hard.
Inside the tent were a few makeshift hospital beds, each with a simple IV stand. Some patients lay on the beds, while others, with no beds available, slumped weakly on the ground. They all shared the same traits—barely moving, their stomachs shriveled and sunken, each inhale shallow, each exhale long. Their eyes were vacant and lifeless. They looked like they were already half-dead.
Wyatt took his phone back from Yunice’s hand and turned off the video. “These are the current test subjects from the lab. Mortality rate, one hundred percent. If you still insist on going to the lab, I’ll shut the whole operation down and send everyone home.”
“No!” Yunice almost shouted.
Based on what she had just seen, Wellinges Pharma was undoubtedly the first company to secure these resources and prepare for the threat. They had to come up with a solution as quickly as possible. When the virus inevitably reached the country, not only could they minimize the national damage, but they could also maximize Wellinges Pharma’s credibility.
The lab couldn’t shut down. This research had to go on.
Wyatt used the entire research project as leverage, and Yunice had no choice but to back down. Still, she was clearly unhappy. Her sour mood showed all over her face as she slumped into a chair, refusing to even look at Wyatt.
But sulking was pointless. Wyatt had no intention of letting her anywhere near the lab. “From this moment on, the top-floor passage is sealed. Laurie and the other lab members will stay inside full-time. Supplies will be airlifted onto the rooftop by helicopter until the project ends.” He glanced sideways at Yunice, his tone final. “Even if you wanted to go up now, you couldn’t.”
Yunice was speechless. No wonder he had called her to his office—it was all to get her out of the way so he could seal the lab. The frustration burning inside her grew even worse.
Wyatt shifted his posture, resting his elbows on the desk, holding a pen in his hand like he was ready to have a serious talk. Anyone familiar with him would know he rarely had this much patience. Normally, if someone gave him attitude, he would either ignore them or throw them out of the room, chair and all. But when it came to Yunice, he always forced himself to stay calm, no matter how irritable he was.
He said, “I’m short a personal assistant. Interested?”
Yunice answered, “No.” She wasn’t cut out to be someone’s servant.
She had already completed her enrollment at the medical university—she only needed to attend required classes and take exams. She didn’t have to be on campus all the time. Since she couldn’t work at the lab anymore, she said, “Biting off more than I can chew doesn’t help anyone. I’d rather focus on running my small clinic.”
Wyatt drew in a long, slow breath, clearly displeased with her decision. But remembering the disaster of their last fight, he forced himself not to argue. He leaned back in his chair. “Suit yourself.”
Yunice saw the emotion written all over his face. She leaned forward, placing her hands lightly on his desk, and said, “I have one more condition.”
Wyatt was speechless. Most people would be trying to calm him down at a time like this. But not her—she completely ignored his mood and even dared to make demands. Treating his irritation like it didn’t exist, Yunice said, “I’ll stay out of the lab, but Laurie has to send me daily research reports.” Even if she wasn’t inside the lab, maybe she could still contribute ideas.
When Wyatt didn’t respond, Yunice stared straight at him. “Are you agreeing or not?” As if she was certain he wouldn’t lose his temper.
After three seconds of silent staring, Wyatt gave up. What could he do? Yunice might look well-behaved on the surface, but when she got stubborn, she was worse than he was. After all, she had once shot him, fully confident he would still pamper her afterward.
“Fine,” Wyatt muttered gruffly. But when he caught a glimpse of Yunice smiling at him from across the desk, he thought maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.
The next day, Yunice reopened her clinic. The deli next door, run by Gill, was doing booming business. Gill was outgoing and warm, and she made sure to introduce every customer to Yunice’s clinic, even making up all kinds of wild and exaggerated stories to draw people in.
Whenever there were patients, Yunice treated them and prescribed medicine. When there weren’t, she sat outside the clinic, working on reports.
Every now and then, she also checked in on Melina. But she always sent things through someone else and never went herself. In Melina’s mind, Lauren was supposed to be working overseas now, so it wouldn’t make sense for her to visit too often.
Lies always had a way of unraveling sooner or later. Yunice just hoped that time would slowly dull Melina’s attachment so that when the truth finally came out, it would hurt a little less.