Chapter 17: The Clue-Triggering Character, Merck
Prison laboratory.
"Are you sure you don't want anesthesia?"
Li Nai saw the tools Merck needed for disinfection. After finishing, she began applying iodine to Missy's injured area.
"Really, no anesthesia needed?"
The curved needle, used for threading, paused.
Merck hesitated for a moment, then looked up. Li Nai's burning gaze followed, meeting his eyes.
"You can't ask me that. Ask Missy; she's the one who didn't want anesthesia. Also, please don't disturb my work, thank you."
Li Nai turned to look at Misiko, who was half-lying down, reading a book. The book's cover was covered in English text of various sizes.
The book on Merck's desk must be related to medicine.
"Master, are you sure you don't want anesthesia? It will hurt so much."
Missy glanced at Merck briefly, "Continue."
Li Nai couldn't help but watch Merck's movements, the curved hooks piercing the skin again and again. Staring at the needle tips for too long made her eyes sting and bring tears to her eyes.
He quickly turned his eyes away, his gaze falling once again on the book in Missy's hand.
The book has an author introduction on the bottom, and a portrait of a foreign woman is affixed to the upper left corner. She is an elegant and refined female PhD. Her birth and death dates are listed below her name.
Sadly, he died young at the age of 43.
As he was sizing up the woman's appearance, he suddenly put down his book.
Just then, the electronic system started beeping at the laboratory door.
A man walked in, holding a three-year-old girl in his arms.
Liang strode closer to them, his starry eyes beneath his long bangs fixed on the thigh being stitched up, a red, finger-length gash pierced by thread.
He gave her a polite smile, but glanced at her with hostility.
When Mimi saw Li Nai, she eagerly reached out for a hug. He readily nestled into her arms.
Li Nai hugged him, grabbed Mi Xike's book, opened it, and used it to shield himself from Liang Ge's cold, piercing gaze.
That's strange. It wasn't my fault, so what am I afraid of?
After thinking it over, she straightened her neck and began to read the English book seriously. Every now and then, she would point to the contents of the book and teach Mimi how to read it.
"How did you get here?" Missy asked.
Liang Ge smiled sincerely. "Oh, I was taking this little guy to the infirmary to get some medicine applied when I overheard you re-bandaging him."
She pointed at her forearm with her finger. A glance from her seemed to pierce her.
Mimi, who had been called out, cleverly crossed her little arms and showed them to Li Nai, pouting pitifully for comfort, and even shed two golden tears because she felt wronged.
Two golden beans hung suspended for a second, then fell and hit the back of her hand.
Her eyes, full of heartache, suddenly froze.
[Host, please note: The clue character Merck can unlock the past points of the second villain, Missy.]
The voice in my mind disappeared, and my blank stare returned to normal after a second.
The babyish, pitiful whimpering stopped under her chin. It turned out that Mimi had withdrawn her outstretched hand, her fingers tapping her little head, trying to figure out where the sound had come from.
Li Nai immediately pulled Mimi's hand away, grabbed it and kissed it on her face, exaggeratingly saying "ouch, ouch, I feel so bad for her."
"No, no, let me see quickly, quick, quick, quick!"
Arms as white as lotus roots, elbows smeared with red medicine—a shocking sight. Several scratches oozed droplets of liquid.
It's obvious he fell while running.
"Little girl, she's small, but she runs pretty fast, though she never looks where she's going," Liang Ge described with great interest as he chased after the child.
"Why are you chasing her? How old is she? Can she outrun an adult like you? Honestly."
Li Nai reprimanded him with a straight face. She lifted Mimi's arm to show Misi Ke. "Master, look at him. Liang Ge really doesn't act like a grown-up."
Misi gently pinched and played with the starfish-shaped paws that resembled glutinous rice cakes, her face soft.
"Oh ho, finally got a reason!" Li Nai's eyes gleamed with cunning as she glared fiercely at the man.
Liang Ge suppressed his smile, raised an eyelid to look at her, and his disdainful gaze held a dangerous undertone. "Then how did you take care of your master? Why did the wound reopen?"
Li Nai felt inexplicably guilty. Could it be that she got hurt during her scuffle with Qi Shuihan? Her assertive demeanor began to crumble.
"Boss, I'll find someone else to take care of you. As for this guy, he should be locked up in jail and punished properly." Liang Ge gritted out the last part of the sentence.
Li Nai pretended not to hear, coaxed the child, and turned to leave.
"Don't cry, Mimi. Uncle Merck has hidden lots of snacks, let's go find them."
I walked over to the messy desk.
Three pairs of eyes were fixed on her back. Feeling uncomfortable, she walked away and went to the bookshelf.
"The second drawer below."
She turned around. Merck lowered his head and added, "Take whatever you want, there's plenty." He was very generous.
His back was completely out of sight. His tense shoulders relaxed. He crouched down and, following Merck's instructions, found the second drawer.
I opened it. Wow! Wow!
She and Mimi were seeing stars.
Doraemon's Pocket Convenience Store! It's not very big, but it has a wide variety of products.
She held Mimi in her arms, and Mimi hugged her belly full of snacks. They got up and saw a triangular area of books that had been knocked over, with a wooden frame leaning against it.
Pull out the wooden frame. It's a photo frame.
Turn it right side up, and you'll see three people posing for a photo in the garden.
Looking closely at their faces, she realized she recognized them all.
The young man on the left is Merck, hands in his pockets, a silver-banded white watch on his right wrist, his fair face, more youthful than it is now, exuding arrogance. On the right is Dr. Ji from the rescue army; she looks different in the photo, with shoulder-length black hair, a blue headband, and arms wrapped around books, radiating a scholarly air with a touch of aloofness. If it weren't for the prominent, alluring red mole at the corner of her mouth, one might easily mistake her for someone else.
A foreign woman in her thirties stood between them. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, a high nose, and a long, thin face. Her stern expression was dispelled by a cheerful smile.
I bent down and picked up the English book that had fallen to the ground. I turned it over and saw the author's introduction on the back cover.
They look exactly alike.
Are the three of them in a teacher-student relationship?
Looking back, the surgery was over. Missy was chatting with Liang Ge, and Merck was packing up his things and walking in her direction.
Just in time.
"Is it over?" She handed over a torn-open potato chip.
Merck nodded and reached in to grab a handful.
"What are they talking about?" she asked, winking curiously.
"It was business. They didn't let me listen until I finished sewing before we started talking." He crumpled up some potato chips and popped them into his mouth.
Li Nai's eyes darted around, and she picked up the photo frame and handed it to Merck.
"This fell on the ground."
She deliberately turned the photo over to reveal the person in it. When Merck took it, he feigned surprise and exclaimed, "Hey, this foreign woman, I feel like I've seen her somewhere before. She looks so familiar, where have I seen her before?"
Merck looked at her with surprise in his eyes.
She then took out an English book, flipped through the pages, closed the back cover, and revealed the author's biography.
“Oh, right, this one.” She pointed to the portrait. “Exactly the same. Merck, is this your teacher? Or a relative? They even published a book on it, they must be really impressive!”
She stared at Merck with longing. He raised an eyebrow and smiled knowingly.
"She is my mentor. Of course she is very accomplished, someone that medical students look up to."
When talking about his mentor, Merck was beaming with pride.
Li Nai thoughtfully observed Merck's expression. Then she lowered her gaze to look at the other woman in the photo, a black-haired Asian girl named Dr. Ji.
"And what about her?"
Merck looked at the person he was pointing to, his eyes shifting instantly, revealing a complex and unreadable mix of emotions. "She's my junior, one of the smartest among us. Our mentor values her highly; ever since his daughter went missing, he's practically raised her like a second daughter. You could say he's placed all his hopes on her."
That tone was tinged with envy, jealousy, and resentment.
She lightly nudged Merck's arm and asked cheekily, "Oh, why do I hear a 'why did fate create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang' in your voice? You're really envious and jealous of her, aren't you?"
Merck's face flushed instantly, and he stammered, "Envy is impossible, jealousy is even more impossible."
"Oh dear, you can't see your own expression. But I can see it clearly. When it comes to educating your second daughter and placing high hopes on her, your eyes are practically popping out of their sockets."
"You, you're talking nonsense!" Merck glared at her deflatedly. Well, that didn't intimidate him at all. He snatched the potato chips, stuffed a handful into his mouth, and chewed them vigorously.
Li Nai chuckled inwardly and waved her hand magnanimously. "Alright, alright, we may not be as good as her alone, but we're not as good as everyone else."
The bag of potato chips snapped loudly as Merck suddenly didn't want to see Lina anymore. He tossed his head, caught a glimpse of Missy out of the corner of his eye, and straightened his back as if he had found a sturdy support.
"Her? She wants to be my mentor's daughter. His own daughter is still alive! Right behind me. There's no need for her to fulfill my mentor's wish."
Seeing Li Nai's surprised look, he was very smug.
Wait a minute? Missyco's mother is a world-renowned medical doctor?!
She pointed uncertainly at Misico, then at the author's portrait in the book.
"She's Missyco's mother? Her biological mother?"
Merck nodded vigorously. "Don't they look alike?"
“But how come Missy is here? Shouldn’t she be following in her mother’s footsteps or living a comfortable life abroad? How could she be…”
"What can you do?"
"To become my current identity."
Merck sighed. "It's a long story."
Li Nai suppressed her surprise, her eyes darting around. She obsequiously unwrapped the snacks and offered them to Merck, not forgetting to share some with Mimi in her arms.
"Take your time, there's food and drink to keep you company."
She pulled out a small bottle of cola and popped the cap open.
Merck was very pleased.
“You’re right about one thing. If it weren’t for what happened that year, Missy would indeed be living the life of a pampered young lady in her old European estate.”
He took a sip of his Coke and continued, "Misikko's maternal family, the Norrimage family, is a large family with a history of over a hundred years. They were once granted a hereditary earldom by the royal family. Although it was taken back by her mother's generation, the wealth accumulated by their ancestors was enough for several generations to squander."
"Wow. So Misiko has such a prestigious background. But how did she end up here? It seems she was going through a really, really bad, oh no, really bad. You could say she was in despair."
Merck gave her a strange look. "Why would you say that?"
"Um, wasn't there the attack on the base by our enemies a few days ago? I heard from the leader that Missyk is... well, he's probably dead from a bunch of rotten diseases..."
"Shh! Don't say it." Merck frowned, his expression very serious. He quickly glanced behind him and gave her a stern warning.
"Never talk about Missy's past experiences. Absolutely not! And don't ask anyone else, or you'll suffer a terrible fate."
"Why, why?" Some unspeakable secret piqued her curiosity.
"Anyway, don't be curious." Merck kept quiet and finished the puffed snack in a few big bites.
She opened another package for him, but Merck refused, saying he had eaten enough.
Taking back the Doritos, she thought for a moment and cautiously asked, "Who is Missy's father? He must be a very important person."
Surprisingly, Merck revealed undisguised disgust and hatred. "He's a scumbag, a shameless villain. He killed my mentor, stole my research and the company, and to eliminate any future threats and secure a marriage with a high-ranking official, he even sacrificed his own daughter..."
He widened his eyes, then stopped speaking, probably out of consideration for Missy's sensitive topics. His gaze then fell on the photograph.
"I really can't understand why Xiao Lan would work for Lin Zhijun. Doesn't she have a heart? That's the enemy who killed our mentor."
He tilted his head back and downed the entire bottle of cola like he was chugging wine, completely oblivious to Li Nai's surprised expression. She then pulled out another bottle and handed it to him.
My goodness, she really is a key character; every sentence she utters is a clue, and she keeps revealing "Sprite" to us.
Lin Zhijun is Misike's father. The man who killed her mother—no wonder Misike gets agitated whenever he's mentioned. It turns out this is hatred, the hatred of a blood feud.
“Li Nai,” the controversial figure Mi Xike called out to her.
Merck choked and coughed rapidly.
She looked up.
"Take me back."
"immediately."
She glanced at Merck, picked up the increasingly heavy Mimi, and ran to Misike and Liang Ge. Liang Ge wouldn't let her touch Misike. Li Nai followed them casually, turning to wave goodbye to Merck as they left before exiting the door.
Once everyone had left, Merck jumped up, scattering snack crumbs all over the floor. Ignoring everything, he ran to the operating table and retrieved the hidden glass jar.
Inside the glass jar, a lively, silvery-white liquid was wriggling around.
This is the little thing he found when he first examined Missy.
He kept it a secret, thinking he would inform them after he had researched the results.
He rubbed his hands together excitedly. This strange little thing meant that the days that followed would no longer be boring.
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