"This...?" Everyone was stunned.
Just a second ago, John was still struggling, but now he was quietly asleep.
The doctor relative stepped forward cautiously, lifting John's eyelids, and saw that the redness had receded, revealing normal black and white eyes.
"Linda, it looks like John is going to be okay," the doctor relative said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Hearing this, everyone was overjoyed. Eric and Susan exchanged glances, with Susan dramatically leaping up and hugging Aunt Mary, "crying tears of joy." This time, Aunt Mary's tears were genuine as she looked at James gratefully, repeatedly saying, "This is wonderful, just wonderful."
The doctor relative looked at James with deep curiosity and said, "This is truly a miracle. A patient already showing symptoms of rabies has been cured. James, who is this friend of yours? A medicine like this, once made public, would be historic."
James had no real medicine, only the well water. He made up an excuse, saying, "An old Chinese medicine doctor gave it to me. I don't really understand it myself."
"Chinese medicine? Can you contact this doctor?" the doctor relative asked. James shook his head and said, "I've only met him once."
Hearing this, the doctor relative's expression darkened, and he said nothing more.
Uncle John woke up after a short sleep, relieved and grateful to have survived. He gave James a thankful look. Seeing that John had regained his senses, everyone finally relaxed. They all looked at James with newfound respect, thinking, "With animals going crazy and the hospitals out of medicine, he still has a cure. We can't afford to offend him."
Everyone's gaze towards James now carried a hint of flattery.
At this moment, Eric looked at James with a growing gleam in his eye, remembering that one of his superiors had also been bitten by a pet today.
Eric suddenly stepped forward with a worried expression and said urgently, "James, it's great that you have medicine for wild animal bites. A good friend of mine was also bitten by a dog. Come with me and help him."
As he spoke, Eric grabbed James and tried to pull him outside, but James only smiled coldly and didn't budge.
Eric was confused, but when he saw James's mocking smile, he understood and glanced at Susan.
Eric and Susan had been married for many years and had a deep understanding of each other's cues. With one look from Eric, Susan knew it was her turn to act. She quickly said, "James, your uncle is a man of deep feelings. You have to help him. Besides, to help you buy a house, he even took out a high-interest loan. And this person who got bitten by the dog is the head of that finance company. He can't be allowed to die."
Susan's words, especially "your uncle borrowed money to help you buy a house," made everyone in the room look at James. Those who knew the situation were fine, but those who didn't really thought Eric was a man of deep feelings, and they couldn't understand James's hesitation.
James was nearly speechless and tired of Susan's hypocrisy. He decided to be blunt, "Aunt Susan, that's not true. Uncle Eric didn't lend us money. He bought our shop for $25,000 when it was worth $40,000."
Susan was stunned. She hadn't expected James to reveal the truth in front of everyone. However, she quickly recovered and said, "James, you can't say that. That shop is only six square meters. It's not worth $40,000."
At this point, Eric realized that it was pointless to argue over this. He quickly said, "James, please, I'm begging you. Can you help my friend?"
Unable to reason with James, Eric tried to use their family relationship to pressure him, playing the "uncle" card repeatedly.
Unfortunately for Eric, James no longer had any warm feelings toward him. He said, "Uncle Eric, if you were bitten by a dog, I would help you without hesitation. But... this is your friend."
Eric understood James's implication. He had planned to use James's medicine to extort a large sum of money from his so-called "friend." Realizing this, he cursed James silently but smiled and said, "James, don't worry. My friend will pay market price for the medicine."
Hearing "market price," James got angry. A rabies vaccine costs only a few hundred dollars, and Eric wanted to pay that price for the well water. James looked at Eric like he was an idiot and said, "This wild animal bite is not just simple rabies."
This statement made the doctor relative's face change. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he looked terrified. If it wasn't rabies, it meant that those bitten were as good as dead.
James continued, "Uncle Eric, don't misunderstand me. This medicine costs $5,000 per dose. Contact your friend and see if he wants it. If he does, I'll give it to him. If not, forget it."
Eric frowned, and Susan immediately objected, "James, we're all family. How can you ask for so much money?"
James glared at Susan coldly and said, "Since we're all family, how about I buy back the shop you bought for $25,000? I'll even cover the interest for these past few days."
Susan fell silent, and Eric quickly said, "James, fine, $5,000 it is. Let's go. I'm worried my friend won't last."
James shook his head and said, "I have another condition. You still owe my dad $5,000 for the shop. You said you'd pay the next day, but it's been three days. Is the money ready?"
Hearing this, everyone in the room, whether from Aunt Mary's side or Uncle John's side, felt that James was clearly trying to sever ties with Eric's family. They also thought Eric was despicable for taking advantage of his own brother.
"James, this..." Carol and Noah tried to mediate, but James's look silenced them.
Eric was taken aback, a flash of anger in his eyes, though he quickly hid it. He said, "It's ready, it's ready."
James smiled and said, "Then transfer it right now. Also, contact your friend. If he wants my medicine, send me $10,000."
James sat down casually in the living room while Eric, with a serious expression, went outside with his phone.
James, having developed his powers, had keen hearing and overheard Eric's conversation mentioning "rabies vaccine ineffective," "special medicine," and "$15,000." James thought, "This Eric is ruthless, asking for $15,000 when I'm only charging $5,000."
After about five minutes, Eric rushed back in with a pleased look and said, "James, my friend agreed. Let's go to his house."
James didn't move and looked at Eric with a smirk, saying, "Uncle Eric, I'm not going. I still have half a bottle of the medicine. Transfer the money to me, and you can take the medicine yourself."
James didn't trust Eric, knowing he might use delaying tactics once the medicine was administered. He insisted, "You need to pay first!"