With the potion made by Professor Martin and his terrifying self-healing ability, Aiden's body almost recovered in just a day. It was just that he couldn't focus because of the loss of his mental strength, but overall, he was fine.
The wound on Sophia's chest was also gradually recovering under the effect of the potion, but her most serious injury was also in mental strength. To prevent her mental fluctuations from affecting Aiden, Professor Martin had injected the potion into him early on.
"When will she wake up?"
Aiden sat by Sophia's bed and looked at her still-pale cheeks. His heart ached and the guilt in him deepened.
This silly girl. She always said she would abandon him at a critical moment and escape alone, but each time he got into the most dangerous situation, she would jump in and even choose to sacrifice herself to protect him.
How could Aiden not be moved by this?
"That's hard to say. If it's fast, it'll take three to five days. If it's slow, it'll take ten days to half a month." Professor Martin shook his head helplessly. "Although her innate ability is powerful, it's too much of a drain on her body. Especially since she was injured so severely before she could completely recover from the previous fight. I'm afraid…"
Professor Martin did not continue, which made Aiden anxious.
"I'm afraid you'll have to say what you're afraid of." At a time like this, what else was there not to say?
"I'm afraid she won't be able to use her abilities for a while."
Aiden heaved a sigh of relief when Professor Martin finished speaking.
"Professor, can you say it all at once next time? It's scary."
He had thought that it would be a serious consequence. It was just that she could not use her abilities. It was not a big problem.
"Why? Do you think it's a good thing for an Awakened to lose her ability for a short period?" Professor Martin glanced at him with a serious expression. "The fact that she can't use her ability means that if you encounter danger again during that time, you might survive. However, that might not be the case for her."
Aiden fell silent. He knew that Professor Martin was telling the truth.
Sophia's ability was a large part of why she could survive in a world filled with ferocious beasts for so long. But now that she could not use her ability, it was equivalent to her not having an important reason to survive.
If they encountered a ferocious beast…
Aiden didn't dare to think about it anymore.
"Then, what should we do?"
"Simple." Professor Martin smiled faintly. "Before her ability recovers, don't let her stay by your side. When her ability recovers, everything will naturally be the same as before."
"This… alright." Aiden nodded. At this point, there was no better way.
Leaving Sophia with Professor Martin, Aiden returned to the school alone. Just as he reached the school gate, he was stopped by Eddie, who had appeared out of nowhere.
"Brother!"
As soon as he saw this guy, Aiden had another headache. Why couldn't this idiot stop?
"Didn't I tell you to stay at home?"
When Eddie heard this, his face immediately fell. He said helplessly, "It's too boring to stay at home. I really can't stay."
"Besides, aren't we Homo Evolutis? Can we save the world by staying home all the time?"
Of course not! But if you want to die, forget about saving the world. You can't even save yourself!
Aiden sighed. He could only think these in his heart but could not say them out loud. Looking at Eddie's hopeful face, he could only make up an excuse. "Your situation is rather special. We don't need your help now. We can deal with those small characters ourselves. It's not time for you to appear yet, so for now, what you need to do is to survive…"
"I understand the logic," Eddie interrupted him. "But it's really boring. I've played all the games in my house."
"You…" Aiden didn't know what to say. Their eyes met. Suddenly, a crisp ringtone sounded. Eddie pulled his phone out of his pocket.
"Hello?"
"…"
"Jack? What's wrong?"
"…"
"Cat bite? I thought it was a big deal. Go away. I'm busy saving the world."
"…"
"Uncomfortable? Sure, I'm on my way."
Eddie Valentine hung up the phone and said to Aiden in amusement, "Do you know what bit Jack?"
"Cat."
"Eh? How did you know?" Eddie Valentine looked shocked.
'I'd be surprised if I didn't. I'm not deaf.'
Aiden rolled his eyes and didn't dwell on this issue. His brother's intelligence had exceeded the limits of humanity…
Getting into Eddie's car, the two rushed to Jack's house.
The latter's home was also in the fifth district, but it was in a remote area in the suburbs. Compared to Eddie's extravagance, Jack's family was much more ordinary. They were a little tight on money. He had lived here with his mother and sister since his father passed away when he was young. The family of three seemed a little crowded.
After his mother and sister died in a car accident, he lived here alone.
At dusk, they arrived at the street where Jack's house was located. This street was very old, and there were only a few residents on both sides. Most of them had moved elsewhere, leaving only empty houses. The street lamps on both sides flickered from time to time, giving off a sinister atmosphere.
"Do we really have to go in?" Eddie asked, swallowing hard. He had never liked coming here. He had a feeling that some terrible beast would spring out of those empty houses.
"Coward."
Aiden glared at him, then led the way to the house at the end of the street.
"Hey, hey, hey, wait for me." Eddie looked around, found a rusty steel pipe in the grass, and gripped it in his hand as he followed Aiden.
They arrived at Jack's front door. It was a particularly old-fashioned hut. The steps to the door had weathered over the years, and there were many broken sections. There were also many green creepers climbing on the walls outside the house. Eddie wanted to pay to help him find someone to repair the house, but Jack's pride was so strong that he had no choice but to give up.
Aiden was about to step forward and knock on the door when Jack staggered out of the shadows at the back of the house.
"Jack? Are you all right?"
Jack was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt. His face was a little pale, and there were bloodstains on his right arm. He staggered as if he was very weak.
Hearing Aiden's words, he raised his head and looked at the two in front of him in confusion. He muttered, "Eddie, Aiden, why are you here?"
"Hey, kid, what's wrong? Didn't you call me to come?"
Eddie gave him a sour look.
"Me?" Jack rubbed his head, looking almost pained.
"What's wrong, Jack?"
Aiden asked as he cautiously approached, sensing something was wrong.
Suddenly…
"Ah!!"
Jack suddenly roared and fell to the ground. He covered his right arm with his left hand and curled up into a ball in pain. He shouted, "Ah!!"
The sudden turn of events gave Eddie a fright. Even Aiden was startled. He quickly came back to his senses and asked, "What's wrong, Jack? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Arm, my arm…" Jack clutched his right arm in pain.
"I, I was bitten…"