Chapter 179 Miraculous Survival
Shortly after Jack and Tessa left with the child, a highly coordinated group of mercenaries approached the stone door of the bomb shelter from different directions.
The young man leading the group was Paulo Eastwood. He had a head of stylish silver hair that was cropped short. An ear stud with a ruby that was as red as blood could be seen on his right earlobe.
He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the leather map in his hand. Immediately, a middle–aged man wearing a camouflage hat beside him
suggested, “Mr. Eastwood, black smoke has been emanating from above the bomb sheller. It’s safer to keep a distance. Should we send the mercenaries inside to investigate?”
Paulo waved his right hand that was enveloped in a black leather glove and replied with a chuckle. “No need. I’m pretty sure that black
smoke is due to the ancient wiring inside catching fire.”
He took large strides forward and said to the middle–aged man behind him, “Greg, wait outside with the others. If I don’t come out after
half an hour, then come and find me.”
Greg Jarette was still worried as he persuaded, “Mr. Eastwood, why don’t I go in with you? We should also take two mercenaries along
with us.”
Paulo sighed helplessly. “Do you think I’m a child, Greg? The older you get, the more annoying you become. This is the island my grandfather left for me. I must go in and take a look by myself.”
With a worried expression, Greg reluctantly watched as Paulo walked into the bomb shelter alone.
Paulo looked exceptionally handsome in his black undercover camouflage suit. He stared at a large stone with totem patterns in a daze and recalled the words his grandfather had said to him before his passing. Approaching the stone, he took a flashlight rimmed with stainless steel from his military backpack and tapped on the stone rhythmically.
Before long, the large stone moved, revealing a hidden compartment beneath it with three hand levers. The first lever could shut down all
circuits; the second lever was to activate the backup power box, and the third lever would allow access to the firefighting suits and
oxygen tanks.
Paulo pulled all the levers, and the sparking electrical circuits inside the bomb shelter immediately went dark. Next, the backup power box.
inside the shelter started up. The backup light bulbs, designed to be fireproof, waterproof, and explosion–proof, began to light up, instantly brightening up the bomb shelter.
Seeing that things were going as expected, Paulo smiled knowingly at the sunken large stone nearby. An iron box rose up from within the
stone, and in it, there were several sets of firefighting suits. He crouched down, opened the iron box, and took out a firefighting suit. A faint smile formed at the corner of his mouth. He was surprised to find that the quality of these items that were from a decade ago was quite
good.
Without much thought, he put on the firefighting suit. The oxygen in the oxygen tank had probably been depleted long ago, so inhaling it
might be fatal.
Paulo took out his compact oxygen tank from his backpack. In case he got into a situation where oxygen would be severely deprived, he
could take a breath from it to sustain himself for about ten seconds. The mini oxygen tank would supply him with two hours of oxygen.
With great interest, he began his exploration. This uninhabited island was one of the assets left to him by his grandfather before his death.
Only before his grandfather passed away did he learn that his great–grandfather had once brought his grandfather to this island to escape
from the cruelties of war.
He wanted to see with his own eyes the bomb shelter that had once protected his late grandfather.
As Paulo continued forward, he grew increasingly alarmed. It seemed that someone had been living here recently. Opening the kitchen freezer, he found a lot of unfinished food. Not only that, but there was also a large number of supplies stacked in the storage room. Making
a rough estimation, Paulo thought that supplies there would sustain him for three to four years if he were to live there alone.
He soldiered on, carrying a fire extinguisher he randomly grabbed from the storage room. He put out the fire as he walked by. Since the previous circuits had been completely cut off, there weren’t many smoldering wires left.
Just then, he suddenly caught a whiff of the smell of burnt fabric and melted plastic insulation from not far ahead. Paulo hurriedly made his way forward.
Within half a minute and after turning a corner, he entered the operating room where Erin was. Upon entering the operating room, Paulo got the shock of his life. He saw a person on the operating table!
The burnt surgical gown was the most glaring item in the room. The gown was in a messy and tattered state, and the flames ignited in the operating room had triggered the automatic fire suppression system. This was probably something Tessa hadn’t anticipated.
Erin, who was still under anesthesia, had luckily survived the fire and didn’t suffer the unfortunate fate of being burnt to death.
As an adept plastic surgeon, Paulo furrowed his eyebrows tightly and fell uncomfortable seeing the poor woman in such a tragic state due. to various burns. He couldn’t understand why there was a woman here, nor could he tell by just looking whether she was still alive.
Paulo immediately approached Erin, setting down the fire extinguisher and quickly removing his fire–resistant gloves. He hastily checked if
Erin still had any signs of life.
Upon detecting her heartbeat and breathing, he felt a faint sense of relief. Although he didn’t have a particular fondness for saving people, seeing a burned woman lying within his territory compelled him to take action. He picked up a surgical tray from a cart next to the operating table and found surgical scissors inside. He slowly cut open the burnt and torn clothes on Erin.
Paulo began treating Erin’s burn wounds with the limited medical supplies that he could get his hands on.
The surgical cotton that had been covering Erin’s face was also half burnt, and half of her face was now a bloody mess. Looking at the
extent of her burns, Paulo immediately concluded that her face was completely ruined.
Time ticked away quickly. After waiting for thirty minutes outside, Greg led thirty mercenaries into the shelter without delay.
Three hours later, Paulo and the mercenaries evacuated the uninhabited island. He left on a helicopter with the injured and unconscious
Erin.
Before leaving, he’d already ordered the immediate dismantling of the bomb shelter.
For some reason, whenever Paulo thought about Erin lying on the operating table, discarded like garbage and left to fend for herself, it made him feel a subtle sense of disgust. This disgust was accompanied by a sense of rage. He couldn’t help but feel curious as to who
would be so heartless to have left Erin on the island alone.
At the same time, Paulo started to become mildly interested in Erin’s identity.
Who exactly was she? What had she gone through?
The wound she had on her belly clearly indicated that her child had been taken away from her by someone. Her still swollen belly, which hadn’t had a chance to go back to its original shape, was the most telling evidence.
If she hadn’t encountered him, she would likely have died alone on the operating table.
Paulo couldn’t deny that saving a life actually felt quite good. It gave him a feeling of being a savior. But every time he thought about Erin’s disfigured face, he couldn’t help but feel pessimistic about her condition after she woke up.
Paulo returned to his private island with Erin. The place was named the Garden of Eden, and it was his technological empire.
The name seemed a bit ironic because even though it was called the Garden of Eden, the entire facility was adorned with anatomical
diagrams of the human body. Some of the diagrams were so graphic that one wouldn’t feel like eating meat for three consecutive days
after seeing them.
Paulo administered a sedative to alleviate the burning sensation and pain that would be caused by Erin’s burns, believing it to be the best
course of action for her. This kind of pain tormented the mind, causing constant agony every living second. It could easily destroy a
person’s will to survive.
He used the best available methods in the world to treat Erin’s burns and made every effort to minimize the damage to Erin’s skin. Therefore, he used medication to prolong Erin’s state of unconsciousness once more to reduce her sense of pain.
It wasn’t until two days later that Erin woke up from a dream, startled and disoriented. She’d dreamt that her child had been devoured alive by Tessa!
Instinctively, Erin reached for her belly, which was still slightly swollen. When she sat up, the wound from the incision stung.
“My child-”
Her hoarse voice was filled with despair. She couldn’t feel the heartbeat of her child anymore.
That could only mean–her child was gone!
In a state of panicked confusion and her mind filled with extreme lear, Erin glanced around frantically. The completely white surroundings momentarily made her believe that she’d died and gone to heaven.
But soon, she noticed that her body was covered in special bandages. The skin beneath the bindings emitted a burning sensation, as if countless tiny needles were pricking at those affected areas.
Erin slowly raised her arm, which appeared swollen as if thousands of ants had been feasting on it. Faintly, she could see that there were still many things wrapped inside.
Soon, her consciousness sharpened, and the pain coursing through her body made her realize something immediately
She wasn’t dead! She was still alive, but pretty badly injured..
“Is anyone there? Please help me!” Erin started screaming off her head in lear.
The nurses and doctors in the monitoring room noticed Erin waking up and immediately informed Paulo.
Within five minutes, the automatic glass door of Erin’s ward opened, revealing Paulo sitting in a smart mobile chair. He was wearing
goggles and protective gloves, evidently busy concocting a medicinal solution.
Erin was flabbergasted by the sudden appearance of the man with silver hair, and it rendered her speechless. Her silence prompted Paulo
to look up at her.
In a relaxed tone, he asked, “You were just screaming loudly a second ago, why are you suddenly mute? I’m busy, so if there’s nothing out
of order, I’ll go back to my research.”
