Chapter 76 Invulnerable to All Poisons

Laiye Mountain Rehabilitation Center is located in southeastern Texas, on the Gulf Coast. Looking out over the vast expanse of sea and sky, it truly lives up to its name as a seaside property.

Actually, there are no mountains here, just hills at most. With the long breakwaters built along the coastline, it looks a bit like a mountain range on satellite maps.

On his way to the rehabilitation center, Arthur saw a section of cliff with steep walls and turbulent sea.

"If you fall from here, you'll die a horrible death."

For some reason, this strange thought popped into his head.

Liam kept his word and sent Arthur to the kitchen the very next day. Since the head chef position was practically nonexistent, Arthur took over the entire kitchen without any assessment, essentially getting in through connections.

"Thank you, Liam. I don't know how to thank you enough!"

"You're too kind. Just a few good meals will do." Liam winked knowingly, and Arthur understood.

"Wow, this place is really big! The environment is wonderful! The patients who stay here are very lucky," Arthur exclaimed.

Liam didn't say anything, but just muttered casually, "That's not necessarily true."

"What did you say?" Arthur asked, pretending not to have heard clearly.

"It's nothing, being sick and hospitalized is never a good thing... You go ahead with your work, I have to go to work too." Liam said as he left the kitchen, thinking to himself: I don't want to stay in this hospital!

During lunchtime, some commotion broke out among the staff at the rehabilitation center.

The reason was that people who went to the staff canteen found that the food had suddenly improved, and not just a little bit, but a significant improvement that was visible to the naked eye.

"I heard that Liam hired a chef from a Michelin five-star restaurant to cook for us!"

The news spread like wildfire, and even people who had been bringing their own lunches lately because the cafeteria food was unpalatable came to join in the fun, all wanting to verify the truth of the rumor.

The head chef was extremely busy in the kitchen.

Managing such a large-scale catering operation was beyond his capacity on his own. Therefore, he needed to quickly teach the kitchen novices who only knew how to cook rare steaks how to cook properly.

He showed the same patience he had when teaching his own childhood friends, patiently starting with the most basic use of kitchen utensils, until everyone was able to master the control of heat and seasoning in a respectable way.

The head chef smiled with satisfaction.

However, the head chef did not expect that two of the people who came to dine today were from D-Lab, and they happened to be there to pick up some patient information.

After lunch, the two men made a request: they wanted to meet the newly appointed head chef.

Arthur had no idea he would meet with the D-Lab people so soon. Things were progressing so quickly that he didn't have time to make any further preparations and had to hastily prepare for the challenge.

Fortunately, the two men were very easygoing. After tasting the desserts that the head chef had prepared with a little trickery, they praised them highly and then made an even more surprising request: "Mr. Ferris, would you be willing to come to our place and help us develop menus? We have several patients who have recently had a poor appetite, which is very troublesome! Your culinary skills are so exquisite that they will surely be able to restore the patients' appetites."

"You want me to cook for the patients?" Arthur asked in surprise.

"Well, you could say that. But you don't actually have to cook; you just need to decide on the menu. Don't worry, the cost won't be low. We'll arrange your food and lodging."

Arthur hesitated slightly. This was certainly a golden opportunity, but…

"Of course I'd love to go, but I'm worried about leaving my son here alone. If I go there, the little guy might go hungry."

"Then take your son with you!"

Arthur thanked him happily and hurried back to bring his son over.

Liam watched helplessly as Ferris and his son were taken away by D-Lab members, and he was filled with sorrow.

Upon arriving at their destination, Ferris and his son were both awestruck by the seemingly ordinary but surprisingly sophisticated experimental base.

The enormous hourglass stood silently in the center, fine sand slowly and evenly pouring down from its opening; for every drop less at the top, a little more would appear at the bottom. There was still plenty of sand, as if it would never run out.

"Does it keep leaking like this all the time?" Joseph asked curiously.

"Yes, time never stops, nor does the hourglass."

"What if there's no sand left?" Joseph pressed, but his question was completely ignored.

“Arthur, let’s go, I’ll take you to get your employee ID. Access here is very strict. Not only the main gate, but every room inside requires your ID to enter. However, there are some rooms you can’t get into due to access restrictions. Remember, keep your ID safe and don’t lend it out.”

Arthur nodded seriously.

After receiving their temporary work badges, Ferris and his son were led to a room. The hallway was filled with people in white coats, making the casually dressed Big Cat and Little Cat stand out from the crowd.

“Arthur Ferris, this is our researcher Nikolai. He will tell you what to do.” A group leader introduced them to each other, then turned to an assistant researcher and said, “Alice, you can put down what you’re doing today and just keep an eye on this child.”

The Asian girl who was called out looked up and, through her large-framed glasses, saw the chubby-faced little guy hiding behind his father giving her a shy smile. Her initial annoyance at being interrupted vanished instantly.

Alice stood up. So slender was she; even the smallest size work clothes didn't fill them out, giving her a strangely graceful gait. She gently took the little boy's soft hand and said, "Come on, let's go play."

"Okay, goodbye Daddy!"

"Good boy, listen to your sister!" Arthur ruffled her son's hair, but this seemingly affectionate gesture was actually a warning: don't cause trouble!

“Yes!” Joseph replied loudly.

The arrival of Ferris and his son was like a pebble thrown into a pond, creating ripples. However, the people busy in the laboratory quickly returned to normal and continued their work.

Arthur followed closely behind Nikolai, who looked not much older than him, listening attentively to the researcher's explanation.

"We are conducting experiments on botulinum toxin. Five patients have rather unusual symptoms. They have no problems with their gastrointestinal digestion, but they have experienced loss of appetite."

"So you need me to cook?"

“Arthur, the patients here don’t eat meals, they eat special nutritional supplements,” Nikolai emphasized, taking out some bottles and jars whose contents were unclear. “What we need is a formula to make this stuff palatable.”

Is this medicine?

"That's one way to put it! So, are you capable of doing this job?"

Arthur thought to himself, "I can give it a try."

Unlike handling ingredients and seasonings in the kitchen, mixing various compounds here feels like conducting an experiment.

Under the condition that the intake of various nutrients is fixed, make a dish that is edible.

"Perhaps Ai could have done better."

Arthur thought to himself helplessly.

While Nikolai was waiting for the experiment results, Arthur seized the opportunity to ask, "Nikolai, did those patients suffer from food poisoning?"

"Why do you ask that?" Nikolai looked at the other person strangely.

“Uh…you just mentioned Botox,” Arthur stammered.

"Good heavens! Didn't the team leader explain to you what we do?"

“They asked me to design the menu,” Arthur answered honestly. “I was originally a chef.”

Nikolai sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Alright, I'll tell you about it then. This is D-Lab, the biological research base. Our group is called Dionysus."

"What does this mean?" Arthur asked, feigning ignorance.

“Dionysus is our code name, originally referring to the Greek god of wine. There are many experimental groups here, and every name starts with a word beginning with D. Don't ask me why, I don't know either, it's just the rule here.” Nikolai leaned closer and lowered his voice seriously, “The competition between groups in D-Lab is extremely fierce. So don't provoke people from other groups, and absolutely do not reveal our research to anyone, understand?”

"Okay, I understand. So, who are those patients?"

“Experimental subject,” Nikolai said casually, but Arthur listened with trepidation.

"Isn't it illegal?" Arthur asked cautiously.

"Our group gets our supplies from Japan. And since the Japanese police don't care, the Americans are even less likely to interfere," Nikolai said with pride, adding enthusiastically, "But other groups don't have such a plentiful and stable supply. I heard some groups are so short of supplies that they've even considered stealing people from prison—I wonder if they succeeded?"

Arthur listened silently, without saying a word.

Here, patients don't eat food, they eat medicine.

The patient cannot be considered a person; he/she is merely an experimental subject or a commodity.

"Could Yuuki have been one of those people here?"

"Could the name of this group be related to the organization?"

At this moment, a patient file was handed to Nikolai.

"Is this what a patient with a loss of appetite looks like?" Arthur asked.

“No, this guy is dying, give up treatment.” Nikolai casually tossed the file aside, and Arthur glanced at the patient’s name: Kusuda Rikumichi.

Just as the cat father was carefully preparing his secret recipe, the kitten continued to diligently solidify its image as a curious little one.

But he seemed to have overestimated the assistant researcher's patience. Even though the little guy was incredibly cute, Alice refused to answer any more of his questions.

"Joseph, do you have this many questions every day?"

"A lot?" Alice was about to go crazy as she said the most infuriating thing in the most innocent tone.

"Joseph, we've been taking turns asking questions and answering them. But that's not fair! How about this? You ask me a question, and I'll ask you one, and we'll take turns asking and answering, okay?"

The little boy nodded, thinking the suggestion was reasonable.

"Let's make this clear first: each person can only ask one question at a time. You must wait until the other person has finished asking their question before you can ask the next one. Asking questions consecutively is against the rules."

"What should be done if the rules are broken?"

"If I break the rules, I will answer all your questions unconditionally. But if you break the rules, you can't ask me anymore!"

The little boy frowned, sensing a trap, but then his face lit up with a smile: "Okay!"

"Then Joseph can ask the first question!"

"How long have you been working here, sister?"

"Three months...why hasn't Joseph's mother come?"

"I don't have a mother."

Alice looked apologetic. "Sorry, it's your turn to ask a question."

When was that hourglass repaired?

"I really don't know that. I heard it's been many years... Hmm, what's Joseph's favorite book?"

The young detective suppressed the urge to blurt out "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and instead gave a fairy tale more suitable for a 7-year-old: "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".

"Oh, what a coincidence! I really like that book too!"

"Who is your sister's favorite character?"

“Of course, it’s Alice! Okay, it’s my turn to ask a question again, Joseph. Why do you think a raven looks like a writing desk?” Alice looked forward to the little boy’s answer with great interest.

The young detective quickly changed his mind and didn't answer directly: "Not necessarily! Crows can also be like swans."

"Huh? Why?" Alice blurted out in surprise.

"Hahaha, I lost! Asking questions twice in a row is a foul!"

Alice then realized her mistake. She frowned in annoyance and sighed, "Alright, alright, I give up. Is there anything else Joseph wants to ask?"

Why is this place called D-Lab?

“Ah, that’s a question…” Alice hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking, “There are many interpretations. But the one that interests me most is that D stands for Daedalus. Does Joseph know who he is?”

The young detective knew this, of course, but he felt it was beyond the scope of a 7-year-old, so he shook his head blankly.

"Daedalus is a figure from mythology, a master craftsman. His most remarkable work was the intricate labyrinth he built for the king to imprison monsters."

"So are there monsters here?" Joseph asked, somewhat frightened.

"Even if there are any, they won't be the legendary minotaurs, but there are indeed many secrets here."

"Sister, what should we do if all the sand leaks out?"

Alice smiled and shook her head: "Joseph's questions are all so pointed! I heard that something terrible will happen."

Will the monster be released?

"Who knows? But since time doesn't stop, the hourglass should never stop, right? Maybe it will continue backwards, just like they say."

"It doesn't sound scary at all. Could it be that time can go backwards?"

"Haha, you really have a vivid imagination, kid. But who knows?" Alice muttered to herself.

"What is my sister saying? I don't understand."

Alice stared blankly at the hourglass by the door and said, "I heard them say that when the hourglass turns over, it means that the positions of heaven and earth are reversed. At that time, heaven and hell will also be turned upside down. Heaven above will fall and be trampled underfoot, while hell in the abyss will rise and support the dome."

"How scary!" The kitten snuggled tightly against its sister.

"Does Joseph have any religious beliefs?" Alice asked abruptly.

"Huh? No, no."

"Then there's nothing to worry about!" Alice shrugged nonchalantly, adopting an atheist's stance. "Anyway, neither heaven nor hell exists!"

Joseph nodded as if he understood, but his expression was serious and he seemed a little worried.

"Hidden meanings are often hidden in veiled language."

The young detective firmly believed that the hourglass held a very special meaning, but he had no clue how to solve it. However, Alice gave him an idea—

The assistant researcher continued, "Actually, I find it quite interesting. What if Heaven and Hell really switched places? Which side would God be on then?"