Chapter 267:
Brad arrived at the cabin just as Candice removed her gloves and glanced at him. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, a reflex she barely noticed.
His boots struck the metal floor with a firm sound as he entered the medical bay. His gaze immediately went to Rylie, standing quietly in the corner. The sight of her safe and unharmed softened the hard line of his jaw.
“Did the drill go well?” he asked, his deep voice carrying from the doorway.
Candice answered before anyone else could. “Reporting, everything went perfectly under my command. We achieved a one-hundred percent success rate in treating the wounded.” She lifted her chin slightly, pride flickering in her eyes.
Brad gave her a short nod but kept his attention on Rylie. “Any thoughts?”
It was clear he was speaking to her.
Rylie opened her mouth, but Candice interjected quickly, “Miss Owen remained quiet the whole time. She must have learned quite a lot.”
Then, with a pointed tone, she added, “Still, the system is complicated, and simply observing won’t show all its workings.”
Brad’s sharp gaze shifted to Candice. “I was asking Rylie.”
The air in the cabin grew tense in an instant.
Candice’s expression faltered, but she quickly masked it with professionalism. “Apologies. I spoke out of turn.”
Rylie stepped forward and replied evenly, “As the senior medical officer mentioned, I didn’t notice any intricate details.”
Brad gave a short nod and addressed the group. “Thank you for your hard work today. Dr. Nixon, compile the report and send it to me.” He then turned to Rylie. “Let’s go.”
Candice suddenly moved closer. “Brad, there’s a victory party for the troops tonight. As their leader, and now that you’re back on your feet, shouldn’t you meet with them?”
Brad glanced at Rylie. “Do you want to go?”
𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨.𝙘𝙤𝙢
“Sure,” Rylie replied.
“I’ll take her to rest for a while,” Brad said, “Then we’ll join everyone in the cafeteria.”
Candice bit her lip, hesitating. “Alright.”
As they walked through the corridor of the military district, Rylie finally broke the silence. “I’ve had a preliminary look at Ronan’s equipment, and I found some problems.”
Brad slowed his steps. “What kind of problems?”
“The life-monitoring system has a 0.3-second delay. It’s not obvious in normal cases, but with severely injured patients, that delay could cause a critical mistake.” Rylie frowned. “I think this delay was set on purpose.”
Brad’s eyes narrowed. “Are you certain?”
“Absolutely,” Rylie stopped, her expression thoughtful. “From what I see, Ronan is using this flaw as a tactic to push his medical machines. He wants you to keep performing maintenance and upgrades. These issues can be framed as version improvements, and he profits from it every time.”
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