Jane was not yet asleep when Hazel came back.
She was at the reception, exactly where she had been sitting and watching through her brain terminal the day Hazel arrived.
Hazel had just turned to go upstairs when Jane raised her head from what she was watching.
“Guide Hazel, you are awake.
Thank goodness.”
Hazel’s foot, which was about to step onto the first stair, hung in the air, and she turned around.
By now, Jane had already left her seat and was coming toward her.
“I was so worried about you.
I have been going to the Marshal’s place to check on you.
It’s good that you are okay.”
After saying this, she hugged Hazel.
Hazel stiffened at the sudden hug.
“So why did you decide to go to the Contamination Zone?
You are a Guide, and I was only away from you for a few minutes.
Before I knew it, I heard you had boarded a hover bus with the Marshal’s team heading to the Contamination Zone.
I was so scared and worried.”
By now, Jane’s eyes had become slightly red.
“Then, after they returned, the Contamination Zone dissipated, but you were asleep for two days.
I…
I thought something had happened to you.”
Hazel sighed softly.
She reached out and held Jane’s hands.
“I’m fine.”
Seeing Jane’s expression, Hazel finally pulled her into another hug and gently patted her back.
“It’s okay.
At least I’m fine now.”
After a while, Jane sniffed and pulled away.
“Don’t mind the tears.
I tend to get emotional unnecessarily.”
She quickly wiped her eyes before looking at Hazel.
“Look at me.
You are the one who just woke up, and now you are the one soothing me.”
Hazel smiled faintly.
“No problem at all.”
It took several more minutes before Hazel could finally return to her room, after making sure that Jane was completely okay.
She sat on the edge of her bed.
Ever since she had woken up, she had noticed something different about her spirit body and spirit domain.
Hazel closed her eyes and entered her spirit domain.
Just as she had suspected, the mist had shifted slightly, and her spirit domain had also expanded.
But that was not the only change.
Hazel’s gaze fell on the tendrils, and her eyes widened slightly.
Her tendrils had also grown significantly since she first saw them.
When she had first summoned them, they had been so small that they could barely wrap around her wrist.
After performing guidance on Simon, they had become slightly thicker and had increased in length by about two inches.
But now, they were slightly taller than her.
One of the tendrils moved toward her, gently brushing against her arm.
As it rubbed against her, Hazel said, “You have gotten taller.”
“Yes, I have gotten taller.”
A childish voice suddenly sounded within the domain.
Hearing this, Hazel froze in shock.
“You can talk?”
“Yes, I can talk.”
The childish voice sounded again, completely unconcerned by Hazel’s shock.
“It seems the pollution source you devoured was a good thing.”
“Yes, it is.”
The tendril swayed happily.
“Want to eat more delicious things?”
Hazel raised a brow.
“It’s delicious?”
The tendril swayed enthusiastically.
After playing around with the tendril for a while, Hazel went toward the area where the sand map and misty wall were located.
The mist was still a solid wall, while the area that had previously been black on the map had been erased.
Hazel stayed in her domain for a while before returning to her room.
She rushed to take a bath before returning to lie on her bed.
The symbol from Alan’s memory was still bothering her because of its familiarity.
‘Where exactly had she seen that symbol?’
She tried to remember.
Since sleep was currently the last thing on her mind, she decided to check the Star Net.
Hazel opened her brain terminal and went to the Star Net.
After clicking on the search bar, she saw a list of trending searches.
“Contamination Zone 009 dissipated.”
“Did you know Contamination Zones can dissipate?”
“The first Contamination Zone to dissipate.”
“Humanity is saved.”
But the last one had a very familiar symbol.
“Hope Biotechnology has made a breakthrough in the production of medical pods…”
Hazel clicked on the news.
She then searched for information about the company.
It turned out that all the major technologies and drugs in the health sector, ranging from domain purification potions to healing potions and medical pods, were made by Hope Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals.
They had no rivals and could be considered one of the wealthiest and most influential companies because of the things they had created.
Seeing all this information, Hazel felt a headache coming on.
‘Why exactly would such a reputable company conduct such experiments?’
‘How many people are involved?’
‘What would the people who trust Hope Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals do after learning about their unethical experiments?’
Meanwhile, just as Simon had said, all the major forces in the capital were shocked by the news.
The disappearance of Contamination Zone 009 had caused an uproar.
But while ordinary people celebrated what they believed to be a miracle, some people were not celebrating.
A man wearing glasses and a white lab coat hurried down a long corridor, a tablet tightly clutched in his hand.
His footsteps echoed against the polished floor.
When he reached a large door, he stopped.
Knock!
Knock!
The second knock had barely sounded when the door opened, and the man entered.
He immediately went down on his knees.
He dared not look at the man.
Even though the man had his back to him, an invisible pressure seemed to fill the entire room.
“What is it?”
The cold voice sent a shiver down the laboratory worker’s spine, causing him to tremble slightly.
“M…
M…
My Lord, one of the Contamination Zone indicators has disappeared,” he replied while still kneeling.
“Zone number?”
The cold voice asked, filled with authority.