Medical Center.
"Stop yelling already."
Adam cut off Phoebe, who had instantly turned into a wild beast. "I'll stitch you up, and it won't leave a scar."
"Really?"
Phoebe's eyes lit up with surprise.
"Yep."
Adam nodded.
"Fine then."
Just like that, Phoebe returned to her normal self.
Hmmm.
Such a classic American mindset.
When all their material needs are met, they're still willing to 'gentlemanly' focus on spiritual stuff.
Like last year's Christmas tree—it withered this year and had to be sent to the shredder.
Phoebe was all hung up on that 'poor' old Christmas tree.
She thought it was just too cruel compared to the lush green new Christmas tree beside it.
As if the new one, already chopped down and sold, was somehow still alive or something.
Or take this turkey, for example.
Eating turkey on Thanksgiving night is an American tradition.
Millions of turkeys get gobbled up every year on this one evening.
But Phoebe? She's only worried about this particular one.
Talk about spiritual pursuits—so deep and mysterious.
But the second their own interests are at stake, they flip like a switch, no surprise there.
"After I stitch you up, don't go running off. Head to my place and help Monica prep for the Thanksgiving feast, okay?"
Adam tried to reason with her.
"Isn't that turkey supposed to be an extra meal for the hospital staff?"
Phoebe didn't agree right away. "Can I stay and have some?"
Adam was speechless. "Seriously? You're that hung up on it?"
"Absolutely!"
Phoebe insisted. "You said it yourself—this is revenge!"
"Alright, fine."
Adam sighed, giving in. "But you don't need to stick around here. Go on ahead, and I'll bring you some turkey meat when I head back tonight."
"Bring a lot!"
Phoebe reminded him. "Tonight, I'm only eating its meat!"
"…"
Adam's lips twitched.
This girl used to be a perfectly good vegetarian. But ever since she got a taste of the deer meat Adam hunted years ago, look at her now.
Always itching to eat meat to vent her frustrations!
Tsk!
After sending the not-so-normal Phoebe on her way, Adam told the nurses to pack up some extra turkey meat for him to take home later—gotta let Phoebe have her revenge, right?
Then, amid the nurses' cheers, he called to order a full Thanksgiving meal set to be delivered to the hospital later, as a treat for the staff staying overnight.
Sure, Adam could've just taken a bit more of that free turkey meat without anyone caring.
But with his status, he wasn't about to take advantage like that.
It also kept the gossip at bay.
Because human nature's complicated.
No matter how high your reputation is or how well you handle relationships, in a hospital this big, there's always a few people who don't like you—or even downright hate you.
For Adam, it was just a quick phone call to shut down any potential drama from the little nurses' fanbase or nosy critics. Why not, right?
Tonight, the Friends' Bar was also rolling out some deals for hospital colleagues who didn't have time to go home and could only drink alone after work—50% off all drinks, plus other promos.
And trust me, the drinks at Friends' Bar are already way cheaper than most other places.
With this setup, it'd definitely warm the hearts of those lonely colleagues on this chilly night. They'd come to love the bar and feel Adam's kindness in one go.
Because these discounts? They were only for medical staff.
No comparison, no hurt feelings.
But without comparison, you can't feel superior either!
"Dr. Duncan!"
After a bit of waiting, the ER finally got a new patient.
"What's the situation?"
Adam dashed over, quick as a flash.
"Mark Vogel, 32 years old. Abdominal pain, fever, headache, nausea, sweating, spasms—suspected acute appendicitis."
The paramedic rattled off.
"It's not appendicitis."
Adam pushed the stretcher toward the exam room while checking the patient's condition. He quickly ruled out appendicitis and looked at the sweating man lying there. "Did something bite you?"
"Poisoning?"
One of the nurses caught on right away. "Should we run a toxicology test?"
"Yeah."
Adam nodded.
What frustrated him was that the patient, upon hearing Adam's question, only gave a mysterious little smile and didn't answer.
The nurse swiftly drew blood and dashed off to the toxicology lab for testing.
"Blood pressure 180/120."
Another nurse alerted him.
"IV push of sodium nitroprusside, 50 milligrams."
Adam ordered.
"Argh!"
The patient let out a scream, his body convulsing.
"Sedative injection."
Adam instructed.
From there, a slew of symptoms popped up one after another, forcing Adam to treat each one as it came.
When the toxicology results finally came back, it was no surprise—the patient had indeed been poisoned.
"Administer antivenom immediately."
Adam directed.
After a flurry of activity, when Adam heard the faint ding of "System +0.01," he let out a sigh of relief, a wave of joy washing over him.
Coming in today wasn't a waste of time after all.
"Careful!"
Just as the nurse was turning the patient over, Adam's eyes narrowed. Bullet time kicked in instinctively—he grabbed a syringe nearby and, lightning-fast, stabbed a spider that had crawled out of the patient's clothes and onto the nurse's hand.
"Ahh!"
The nurse jumped back, freaked out.
"No!!!"
Mark, the patient who had just woken up, saw the scene unfold. When he spotted Adam holding the syringe with the spider dangling in the air, he let out a pained cry: "Elvira!"
"Damn it!"
Adam took one look at the situation and knew right away—this guy was probably one of those weirdos who kept strange pets.
"You killed her! You killed her!"
Mark struggled to get up, his face twisted with rage as he lunged at Adam.
"Calm down, Mr. Vogel—this is a black widow!"
Adam held the patient down with one hand, signaling the nurse to grab restraints to secure his hands and feet. Trying to soothe him, he said, "It's highly venomous. I'm guessing it bit you, right? It was about to bite the nurse—I had no choice."
"You killed my Elvira! I'll kill you!"
Mark struggled even harder.
"Sedative injection."
Adam frowned.
"Yes, Doctor."
The nurse moved quickly, and under the drug's effect, Mark calmed down instantly.
"Thanks, Dr. Duncan."
The nurse who'd nearly been bitten thanked him, still shaken.
"No problem."
Adam placed the dead black widow into a small box, then personally checked Mark's body to make sure no other venomous critters were hiding on him.
And that's when he saw it—Mark's body was covered in bite marks, most of them looking like snakebites.
"Hiss!"
The nurses nearby gasped in unison.
When Mark woke up again and saw the nurses cautiously keeping their distance, ready to jab him with another sedative at any moment, he finally cooled off.
"Give me my Elvira."
The nurse handed him the box with the black widow inside.
Mark took it and stared at the motionless spider inside, crying his heart out.
While he was sobbing, the nurses pieced together the whole story from his choked-up words and ran to fill Adam in.
"…"
Adam listened and didn't know what to say.
Mark Vogel was a rare pet dealer who kept exotic snakes, lizards, and insects at home, selling them on the black market for a living.
These dangerous creatures were his beloved lifelong companions.
His favorite was the smallest of them all—a black widow spider he'd named Elvira.
Today was Thanksgiving.
Being all alone, he naturally wanted to celebrate the holiday with his 'family.'
So, he decided to get even closer to his little mistress on this special day.
People who play with snakes often get bitten and build up some immunity to snake venom over time.
Mark figured the same logic applied to the black widow.
If he could survive a bite from her, he'd grow even closer to his little lady afterward.
Hmmm.
Adam didn't even know where to begin with that logic.
How much closer did this guy want to get after risking his life like that?
Adam couldn't imagine it—and didn't dare to.
So, Mark stuck his hand right into the black widow's nest and let her bite him hard.
At first, he planned to tough it out.
But as time went on and the excruciating pain in his body grew worse, he started to suspect he might not make it. So he stumbled out the door and headed to the hospital.
Even then, his plan was just to have Adam give him some pain relief so he could endure it, let his body build immunity to the black widow's venom, and then go on to have a nice, cozy future with his Elvira.
Hmmm.
What a wild country with wild people.
Adam was done.
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