Inside the office.
Matthew looked at the updated Pass, unable to hide his joy; even the pressure from the test experiments half a month ago had lessened significantly.
However, just as he was checking the Pass for any good items, the phone next to his hand suddenly rang.
Beep, beep, beep—
A crisp and direct ringtone echoed through the room.
Matthew glanced at the phone screen.
[Remember this site's domain name, look for Taiwan novels at Chaoquan]
[Ada Wong]
Behind the name, Ada, the culprit, had even thoughtfully attached a photo of herself.
"..."
"Hello?" Matthew picked up the phone.
However, a second after the call connected, Ada's slightly serious tone came from the other side: "Boss, something happened at the Orphanage."
"!!!"
The Orphanage?!
That was the sustainable system points project Matthew valued most at the moment!
To keep the Orphanage running normally, Matthew had invested a lot of money and even had Kingpin secretly provide protection for it. How could something have happened?
"Tell me the details... never mind, I'll head over there."
After a brief thought, Matthew decided to go there personally.
After all, to some extent, Matthew felt the Orphanage project was even more important than the Dr. William Birkin he had snatched.
Before long.
A black Maybach pulled up at the entrance of the Orphanage.
Seeing Matthew get out of the car, Ada hurried forward to meet him.
Since it happened so suddenly, Ada wasn't wearing any makeup, and there was even a trace of sleepiness in her eyes.
"Boss, today's matter seems a bit 'eerie.' You need to handle it personally."
"Eerie?" Matthew's brow twitched slightly. "Ada, there aren't many things that would make you use that word."
"Before I go in, you should give me a general overview of the situation."
"Mm!"
With a soft grunt, the two of them stepped into the Orphanage.
Before Ada could explain how the incident was 'eerie,' Matthew raised his hand to interrupt her.
"...Ada... I think I know what you mean by eerie."
Matthew looked at the leaves frozen in mid-air before him, as well as the bats suspended in the sky and the dust in the air; a look of shock suddenly appeared in his eyes.
What is this...
Time stop?
Is the Time Stone at work?
Or has the Ancient One arrived...
Of course, whether it was the Time Stone or the Ancient One, neither was a situation Matthew wanted to face.
"Contact the company, set up a perimeter, and forbid anyone from entering within one kilometer of the Orphanage."
"Understood!"
Ada took out her phone and finished the instructions in a few words.
Then the two exchanged a glance and walked into the interior of the Orphanage.
Inside the Orphanage, apart from the sound of their footsteps, not a single sound could be heard.
Here, it seemed even the air had stopped flowing.
Matthew walked down the long corridor, his gaze sweeping over the pendulum that had stopped swinging at the end, and the children in pajamas frozen in running poses in the hallway. His confusion grew.
Even his skin began to secretly armor up at this moment.
"Ada, how did you find out what happened here?"
"Did someone notify you? Or did the surveillance footage suddenly stop moving..."
Ada, following beside Matthew, explained, "The Security Department within the company, which is specifically responsible for monitoring the Orphanage, discovered it immediately."
"According to regulations, the Monitoring Department patrols various surveillance screens in the Orphanage every half hour to ensure there's no bullying, educational abuse, or any kind of accident."
"Until they noticed the surveillance footage seemed to have stopped at a certain moment..." Ada's tone became increasingly serious.
"They found that while the time in the upper right corner was moving forward, the image was completely still, as if frozen in that instant."
"When they first discovered the situation, they thought there was a problem with the surveillance system."
"But when they called to ask the Dean and the teachers inside, there was no response. Even the security phone, which is required to be open twenty-four hours a day, went unanswered."
"Realizing something was wrong, they called me immediately. But by the time I arrived, I found that the situation here was beyond my ability to handle."
Ada gripped the pistol in her hand tightly, her senses heightened to their absolute limit.
This scene was much more eerie than a biohazard incident.
After all, a biohazard incident was ultimately a crisis caused by a research leak, whereas the thing causing this crisis was still unknown, which forced her to be on guard.
Matthew glanced at the pistol in Ada's hand, then at the serious-looking Ada.
"...Ada, are you serious?"
Ada: "..."
Ada looked at the small pistol in her hand and still stubbornly replied, "Better to have it than not."
"...Forget it. After this is over, I'll give you an injection to enhance your physical fitness."
"The World will only get more dangerous from now on. Your combat skills and that pistol alone won't be enough."
Matthew was referring to the Spider-Man enhancement serum and the Green Goblin serum being studied by the research department.
These two serums had just been developed yesterday. To relieve his mental stress, he hadn't had time to look at them yet.
Now, he could let Ada try the 'new medicine' and experience the 'Power of Nine Dragons.'
"Oh? Is this a treatment only I get, or will Eleanor have it too?"
Ada squinted at Matthew and teased him.
"First come, first served. Of course, she'll have it too."
"Tsk... what if I want to catch up from behind?"
"That's not impossible; it depends on your sincerity."
The two bantered with each other to ease the atmosphere.
Until, amidst the dead silence, Matthew heard a third heartbeat besides their own.
"What's wrong, Boss? Can't wait already?"
Ada looked at Matthew, who had suddenly come to a halt.
This time, Matthew didn't respond to Ada's banter. Instead, he gently pressed his hand down, signaling her to stay put.
Immediately after...
Whoosh!
Ada only felt a blur flash past!
Matthew vanished in an instant.
"This..." Ada's expression was subtle.
That fast?
Could this be the enhancement injection Matthew mentioned?
One shot and you turn directly into a Superhuman?
On the other side.
In just an instant, Matthew crossed the entire Orphanage and arrived at the Forest park outside.
The heartbeat was coming from this direction.
His gaze swept over the bushes in the distance...
He only hoped that a certain bald head wouldn't appear behind the bushes.
Matthew had originally planned to approach the bushes fully armed, but then he thought that if it really was the bald Ancient One, his fully armed appearance would definitely be seen as a provocation or a threat.
Besides, even if he were fully armed, Matthew didn't believe he could actually do anything to the Ancient One.
The esteemed Sorcerer Supreme—did he really think she was joking?
'I hope it's not the Ancient One...
But... if it's not the Ancient One, who could it be?' Matthew's eyes narrowed slightly as he stepped toward the bushes.
"Excuse me... is that Sorcerer Ancient One?"
No response.
"..."
Seeing this, Matthew pushed aside the bushes.
Soon, a small figure wearing pajamas, with eyes glowing with white light and clearly in an unconscious state, came into view.