"Your hematopoietic function is only 62 percent of normal, and there are obvious signs of DNA breakage in your lung cells." Osiris turned the screen to Elias, pointing to several key parameters, "The persistent inflammatory response is draining your energy."
Elias looked at the cold, hard data, his face growing even paler.
These specific figures are more impactful than any vague description.
Osiris put away the scanner and took out a small, sealed syringe from a compartment in the tool bag. The syringe contained a clear, pale blue liquid.
"This is not a cure," he stated clearly. "It is a combination soothing agent containing targeted anti-inflammatory ingredients and short-acting gene stabilizers."
It can temporarily suppress abnormal immune responses in your body, relieve cough and chest pain, and slightly increase your blood cell count over the next 48 hours.
You'll feel better, but the effect is temporary.
Elias stared at the syringe, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Temporary... what do you mean?"
"It means that it proves that my diagnosis and approach are correct," Osiris replied calmly. "It also gives you a relatively comfortable buffer period before you decide whether to proceed with more in-depth and riskier treatments."
Elias was silent for a moment, then stretched out his arm, rolled up the sleeve of his protective suit, revealing his thin, slightly pale arm: "Come on."
Osiris' movements were precise and swift.
Disinfect, inject, apply pressure.
The whole process took less than ten seconds, and Elias only felt a slight sting.
It takes time for the medicine to take effect.
Osiris didn't urge him, but just sat there quietly, as if he was routinely organizing his toolbox.
Elias was initially wary, but as time went on, he did feel the familiar burning and tightness in his chest gradually lessen, his breathing became smoother, and the dizziness that had been lingering in his head dissipated considerably.
This tangible, immediate relief was something he had never experienced at his family clinic.
About twenty minutes later, Elias let out a long sigh of relief, and his tense shoulders relaxed.
The way he looked at Osiris completely changed; his previous suspicion and wariness were replaced by an emotion mixed with shock, hope, and urgent dependence.
"Feeling better?" Osiris' voice pulled him back from his brief daze.
The brief relief brought on by the medication noticeably eased Elias' tense state of mind.
He leaned against the edge of the bed, his gaze no longer fully focused on Osiris, but rather staring absently at the mottled marks on the metal wall opposite.
"…Much better. Thank you." Elias nodded slowly, took a deep breath, and this time did not trigger a cough. "I've never…never felt so relaxed."
His voice was still hoarse, but much steadyer.
Osiris nodded.
"The effects will last for one to two days. After that, the symptoms will gradually subside," Osiris reminded, her tone completely flat. "To solve the root problem, we need to know the exact nature of the radiation source and your specific exposure details."
This sentence was like flipping a switch.
Elias was silent for a few seconds, and when he spoke again, his voice carried a long-suppressed bitterness.
"It's the 'Ancestral Core'," he whispered. "The foundation of everything in our family, and also… the source of the curse."
Osiris didn't interrupt, but listened quietly, the optical lens steadily pointed at him.
"My name is Elias Van Sauer. I'm just an insignificant member of a collateral branch of the family." He tugged at the slightly worn family crest on his protective suit. "Because I had some talent for mechanics and circuits when I was young, I was assigned to participate in the daily maintenance of the 'core' after I grew up."
At first... I was quite proud, thinking I had access to the family's most core secrets.
His lips twitched slightly, revealing a hint of self-mockery.
"'The Core'... It's ancient, incredibly powerful, but also extremely unstable. It continuously emits a peculiar radiation that our protective suits can only weaken, not completely block. Day after day, year after year..." He subconsciously touched his chest, "At first it was just easy fatigue, then I started coughing, and then... it became like this."
"The family's upper echelons, those direct bloodlines, are well aware of the dangers of the 'Core.' But they can't live without it. All the technology, all the weapons, everything that allows us to stand on this wasteland, comes from the 'Core.'" Elias's tone gradually took on a hint of barely perceptible resentment. "In their eyes, maintenance personnel like us are just necessary expendable resources."
Young, skilled, and useful while they are still able; however, once they develop obvious symptoms and their work efficiency declines, they will be reassigned from key positions and receive less and less medical support.
He looked at Osiris with a complicated expression: "My father used to be in the maintenance team too. When he died, his lungs were rotten like a rag. I'm walking the same path he did back then."
The family clinic only provides basic anti-radiation medication and painkillers, which only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. They won't waste their precious biological repair resources on us 'consumables'.
"I want to leave here." Elias's voice was soft but clear, with a do-or-die determination. "I don't want to end up like my father, coughing up blood and dying silently in some corner, only to be recorded as having made a 'deserved contribution to the family.'"
But I have nowhere to go. It's a wasteland outside, and without the 'core' technology, I can't survive. Besides… the family won't allow someone who knows the 'core' secret to leave so easily."
After saying this, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He lowered his head and looked at his slightly trembling hands: "You said you could cure me... This is my only hope now."
Osiris' processor quickly analyzed the information revealed in Elias' words: the continuous radiation leakage of the STC system, the hierarchical system within the family based on blood ties and value, the high casualty rate of maintenance personnel, and the strict secrecy and control.
This young man has decent technical skills, harbors strong resentment towards his family, has a strong will to survive, and possesses firsthand information about STC's location and internal situation.
He is a highly valuable potential collaborator.
"Your condition requires specific biological repair technologies and resources for a complete cure," Osiris said, his voice still steady. "I can provide those. But as you said, they are not free."
I need detailed information about the 'core'—its exact location, internal structure, guard configuration, and operational rules. The more detailed, the better.
He looked at Elias, his optical lens flickering slightly: "Your future depends on the value of the information you provide and the degree of cooperation you show afterwards. It's a choice."
Or you can choose to refuse, defend your family's secrets, and then be killed by me here.