CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 68: THERE WILL BE HOPE

Unlike Safe Zone 9527 in Dawnfall Online, Dolren City has bright sunshine outdoors all year round. The weather is mild, the scenery is lovely, and there are stretches of untouched forest. It’s a great place to travel and live.

Outside the office, warm sunlight fell on the patients. They talked about how they were about to get better, made plans to go out together after they were discharged, and children’s laughter rang out. Everything felt calm and beautiful.

But inside Dr. Axel’s office, Axel stared at the harsh sunlight falling across Ethan’s file, not knowing what to say.

He had thought that after Ethan’s brain surgery, things would get much better. Even if the disease couldn’t be cured, at least his life could be extended, and he wouldn’t be so hopeless.

But it was like God was playing a joke. Ethan’s condition hadn’t improved—in fact, it had gotten worse.

The tumor in his brain was growing faster than before. At this rate, he might have less than three months to live.

Looking at Ethan sitting across from him, unusually quiet, Axel almost spoke several times, wanting to hide the truth from him.

But he couldn’t. He had watched this once hopeless young man find hope in life. Was he really going to be the one to tell him that death was coming?

Just then, Ethan spoke softly. "Do I have six months?"

Axel let out a sigh.

Ethan nodded a little and went on: "Looks like not, huh. That is a bit sad."

Axel thought for a moment, then tried to comfort him. "There will be hope. The Veritas Snow Group is working on a study. I can’t share many details, but it’s at a critical stage now. If it succeeds, it could cure your illness."

When Ethan heard "Veritas Snow Group," he paused for a second. He suddenly remembered the woman who had come to see Dr. Axel in his ward before.

Could she be Lucas’s sister, Emma?

He hadn’t expected that the hope of treating his illness would be tied to Lucas’s sister, Emma.

Ethan took a deep breath. Having hope was better than despair.

Compared to death, he definitely wanted to live, because only by living could he do the things he’d always felt responsible for.

Before Dawnfall Online and the [Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward], Ethan saw no way to finish that mission, even with his calm mind and sharp thinking.

Now, he saw a path: use Dawnfall Online and the [Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward] to keep growing stronger in the game, and feed that strength back into real life.

But fate played a cruel joke. His illness had gotten worse.

Three months was too short. He needed more time.

Ethan stood up slowly, looked seriously at Dr. Axel, and asked: "Doctor, what can I do to make my time last longer?"

Dr. Axel glanced at the chart and said: "Right now, the tumor in your brain is growing very fast. Simply put, it keeps taking energy from your body, breaks down your immune system, and makes you weaker and weaker.

"You should keep a healthy routine and diet, move more, work out, and make your body stronger."

Make his body stronger?

Info about the [Blue Ice Potion Recipe Intel] flashed through Ethan’s mind.

[Blue Ice Potion Recipe Intel]

[Quality]: Purple-quality

[Requirement]: Alchemist Class

[Description]: Somewhere near Safe Zone 9527, a powerful alchemist is buried. The recipe for the Blue Ice Potion is there. Using a Blue Ice Potion gives a random permanent +1 to +3 attribute points.

If the [Blue Ice Potion], which raises a character’s stats in the game, could appear in the real world, then even if it couldn’t cure his illness, it might still strengthen his body and help him live longer, right?

The problem is, right now Ethan only has the [Blue Ice Potion recipe Intel]. He isn’t in the [Pharmacist] class, so he can’t use the [Blue Ice Potion recipe Intel].

Even if he could get the [Blue Ice Potion recipe], how was he supposed to find the equipment and materials to make it in the real world?

Ethan took a deep breath. He didn’t have enough intel yet to see the full picture.

Anyway, he still had some time. He couldn’t pin all his hopes on Veritas Snow Group’s research.

Instead of betting everything on someone else, Ethan wanted to do something himself.

So after a brief chat with Dr. Axel, he left the doctor’s office.

After Ethan left, Dr. Axel stayed quiet for a long time. Then he slowly walked to the restroom, splashed cold water on his face, looked at himself in the mirror, and suddenly murmured to himself:

"There’s hope, right?"

"There is. There is. The test subject’s numbers are all very stable now."

"No, that’s not enough. We need to watch longer. We can’t rush this. I keep feeling this virus that can unlock human potential is very dangerous."

"It’s smart—almost like it has a mind of its own..."

"Is that just my imagination? It’s clearly a simple virus, yet it has such unbelievable abilities."

There was no one else in the restroom. Dr. Axel was talking to the man in the mirror. It was eerie.

...

After leaving Dr. Axel’s office, Ethan didn’t go back to his ward. He left the hospital, grabbed a cab, and headed for the basement room he used to live in.

An hour or so later, he reached a run-down, desolate area.

The dirty streets were lined with tents set up by the homeless. As soon as Ethan got out of the car, he felt several eyes on him.

He slowly looked toward the stares. A few idle young men were sizing him up, their looks unfriendly.

Ethan frowned. He’d been in the hospital for a while, these guys seemed new around here.

Just then, a figure walked over from a distance. When he saw Ethan, he sped up, came to those young men, and smacked them on the head.

"What are you staring at? Get back to work!"

The young men scattered at once, scared. The man who spoke hurried over to Ethan with a grin.

"Ethan, long time no see. Those guys just joined the gang. They don’t know you."

Ethan nodded. He knew this man—he was the one who sold contraband in this area.

Ethan didn’t linger. He headed straight for his place, a dark basement room. The doorway hadn’t been cleaned in ages and was covered in dust.

At the door, he slid the key in gently and slowly opened it. He didn’t go in right away. He checked the little slip of paper he had left before. After making sure everything was normal, he went inside.

Nothing seemed out of place. It looked exactly the same as when he left—no signs anyone had been here.

Only then did Ethan relax. He went to his bed and moved the bookcase aside.

A wall covered with photos of people and files—his analysis board—came into view.

Ethan stood there for a long time, his fists clenching without him noticing.

...

Dawnfall Online, Safe Zone 9527, inside the item shop.

Ethan looked at Elise behind the counter and said: "Thanks a lot for your help this time."

Elise waved it off and smiled. "I didn’t do much. I just put on a disguise and helped you win an Intel. But I’m curious—how do you get so many Intel?"

She could hardly believe there were that many high-quality Intel in her safe zone. Some were hard even for her to obtain.

To her, the player [Windchaser] seemed full of secrets—very interesting.

She knew that after the auction, Evan’s face looked terrible, like he’d just lost a loved one.

Ethan didn’t notice the look on Elise’s face. He was staring at his [Inventory]. Inside were not only the [Blue Ice Potion recipe Intel] that he’d gotten back, but also a few drops from killing some class-change players.

Most of that loot was useless to him and could be sold to Lucas. He could only use two pieces.

[Ice-Silk Gloves]

[Quality]: Blue

[Equip Requirement]: Level 8+

[Effect 1]: +2 Strength

[Effect 2]: Adaptive control—improves your handling of weapons

[Note]: A solid piece of gear.

[Ice-Core Belt]

[Quality]: Blue

[Equip Requirement]: None

[Effect 1]: +2 Defense

[Effect 2]: Belly guard—spend 2 Energy to form hard ice over your belly for protection, lasts 3 seconds, 5-minute cooldown

[Note]: If you could wear it on your neck, it’d actually be pretty decent.

...

After swapping gear, Ethan looked at the Blue Ice Potion recipe Intel in his [Inventory] and wondered where he could find a player who had finished the [Pharmacist] class change.

Just then, Elise took out a few potions and set them on the counter.