Hayden's keen eyes spotted Freya, and he waved her over.

Freya went over and sat down beside him.

"I have a few questions for you."

"Well, go ahead and ask."

"I want to ask, besides acupuncture, medication, and herbal baths, are there any other treatments for Bradley's condition?"

She felt it could not be that simple.

"These herbs can only stabilize his mind and reduce the frequency of his episodes. As for clearing the toxins from his body, it will require us to develop a specific antidote, which is a long process.

"Back then, I did come into contact with the Beast Army. They were in a worse state than Bradley as they would fly into a rage at the slightest provocation, just like wild beasts. Regular medication could not control them at all. My team and I spent a full five years developing the antidote.

"However, by the time we managed to save a few of them, the Beast Army had nearly wiped out. While we managed to cure their psychosis, their injuries were too severe. In the end, they still died.

"The current poison is an improved variant, rendering the previous antidote ineffective. We have to redevelop it. Previously, with my team, it took five years. Now, alone, research has become much more difficult. I can't guarantee the development of an antidote."

Hayden was exceptionally clear-headed at that moment.

Upon hearing that, Freya's heart felt incredibly heavy.

She curiously asked, "What about your previous team? Where did they all go?"

"They're dead."

The two words felt like a huge boulder on her chest, making Freya feel short of breath.

"How... did they die?"

"In order to develop the antidote, they injected themselves with the poison and became sacrifices in the experiment."

Over a dozen people, and he was the only one left in the end.

Hayden watched each comrade fall, and that put him under a lot of stress and pressure.

He did not lose control of his emotions until his wife passed away, and that turned him into this.

"Hayden, you are not alone. You still have me and Sean. We are family."

Freya sympathized with Hayden's experience and blamed herself for picking at his scabs at such a time.

Why would a person throw away wealth and glory and live alone in seclusion unless the burdens they were carrying were too much for them?

"Hmph. A daughter who has been married off is wasted. Daughters eventually belong to someone else."

After Hayden said that, he took another sip of wine and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Help!"

Suddenly, a cry for help came from up ahead.

Freya squinted. "I'll go take a look."

She walked further ahead and saw a woman sitting on the ground with a small green snake swiftly disappearing into the bushes.

"Don't move. You have been bitten by a snake." Freya quickly stepped forward and carefully inspected the woman's wound.

"This snake is venomous, so the wound must be treated as soon as possible."

"Sue, what's wrong?"

Hayden also hurried over at the sound of the commotion.

"She's been bitten by a snake!"

"Let me see."

Hayden frowned. "This is Stejnegeri's Viper. It is highly venomous, so the wound must be treated immediately."

There were herbs near wherever snakes were. As Hayden has been in the forest for a long time, he soon found the herbs.

He crushed the herbs and applied them on the woman's leg.

Freya silently stood by the side, wondering why a woman would appear out of nowhere this far into the forest.

It was unusual.

"How did you end up here?"

Years of honed vigilance prompted her to speak.

"I came here with my friends for an adventure through the wilderness, but this forest is too big, and we were all separated."

The woman looked young with glistening eyes and a petite, delicate face. She carried a backpack on her shoulders with a camera hanging around her neck.

Based on her appearance and words, she did not seem to be lying.

"The forest is full of wildlife, especially vipers that are hard to spot in the bushes. You're lucky to run into the two of us siblings."

"You are siblings?"

Yvette Jenner sized them up, surprised.

"Is there a problem?"

Hayden narrowed his eyes with a hint of displeasure.

"Not at all. I just think that the age gap between you two is a little big. You don't look like siblings..."

"Oh, I look older than my age. Everyone thinks Sue and I are grandfather and granddaughter."

That we are.

Freya thought to herself, I'll give you credit for being self-aware.

"Alright. With this medicine, you should be fine. Still, the toxin from the viper is very strong. You need to get an antivenom injected."

He skillfully treated Yvette's wound.

Yvette blinked. "Are you a doctor, old man?"

"Who is this 'old man'? Do you have any tact? Although I look old, I'm only 38. You should call me 'sir' at most."

Hayden's face darkened. He could not stand it when others called him old.

"Sorry, sir. I didn't know how young you are."

Yvette felt a little embarrassed and turned to look up at Freya. The more she examined these two, the more they looked like grandfather and granddaughter instead. How could they be siblings?

"Alright. Come with me back to my home. I'll give you a blood test."

Hayden had a stern look on his face as he recalled Yana before walking away.

Freya had been observing Yvette the entire time. Something was off, but she could not say what.

"Sue, why are you still standing there? Help her back to our home."

"Okay."

Without thinking further on it, she helped Yvette back to the small wooden house.

Yvette carefully examined the small wooden house. It was her first time seeing a place like this, and she wanted to look around.

Freya told her, "Don't go wandering. There are traps everywhere here. If you fall in, I won't be able to save you."

Those words made Yvette stand still on the spot, too afraid to move.

Freya gave Yvette a look with her dark eyes before she headed upstairs to check on Bradley.

Hayden lived here alone and had a special room that contained various medicinal herbs.

There were many snakes in the woods, so he had plenty of antivenom on hand.

He quickly fetched the medical kit and injected Yvette with some antivenom. "Rest for a while, then you can leave on your own."

"Okay. Thank you, sir."

Hayden did not say anything and just returned to his room.

Yvette stood up and looked around before lowering her eyes with a smirk on her lips.

However, the smirk did not last long.

She sat in the yard and took out a camera to capture the structure of the wooden cabin.

At that moment, Freya was standing by the second-floor window, watching everything below.

For some reason, she always felt that Yvette's appearance in this area was somewhat unusual.

Yvette had ventured deep into the mountains and wild forests without even taking basic wilderness survival measures.

This made Freya doubt the truthfulness of Yvette's words.

"What are you looking at?"

A deep and elegant man's voice came from behind.

Freya slowly turned around as a hand wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her into Bradley's arms.

"Nothing. She's just a girl we rescued who was bitten by a snake in the woods earlier. Something just feels off."