THUD, THUD, THUD!

A flurry of chaotic footsteps sounded.

Su Xuan released Alice and looked toward the door. Several fully-armed bodyguards burst into the room. Instead of attacking, they simply surrounded Su Xuan. Then, Susanna appeared, pushing Richard in his wheelchair. Jeff stood beside Richard. He opened his mouth as if to speak upon seeing Su Xuan, but no words came out. He couldn't defeat Su Xuan in a fight or an argument; he was truly at a loss.

Richard cleared his throat and said to Su Xuan, "You've got some nerve. Not only were you not scared off, you even stormed into my home."

His expression was grim. After speaking to Su Xuan, he glanced at Edward and said, "You have quite the nerve as well. Have your father come see me tomorrow."

Edward seemed not to have heard Richard. He remained dazed, replaying the recent scene in his mind.

How did Su Xuan and Alice suddenly get together? Could they have had a history?

"Alice, what happened to your father?" Su Xuan looked down and asked her in confusion. "Why is he in a wheelchair? He was so full of life the last time I saw him, wasn't he?"

Before Alice could explain, Richard spoke for himself. "Su Xuan, I've been ill for a long time. When I saw you last, my condition was already quite serious."

"What illness?" Su Xuan frowned. "With your wealth, there can't be many illnesses that are a problem for you, right?"

"Heh," Richard chuckled, shaking his head. "In the face of illness, everyone is equal. It doesn't spare you for being rich. The disease I have is called Proteus syndrome, and all the money in the world is useless against it."

Su Xuan's eyes narrowed at the strange name of the disease. His first instinct was that Richard was lying, that this was just another one of his schemes. After all, if Richard was ill and needed family to care for him, Su Xuan wouldn't be able to take Alice away.

"Su Xuan," Alice whispered, "my father isn't lying to you. Last time, he was so insistent on taking me away, even making a detour, precisely because his condition had become severe. He was in a hurry for me to take over his business. That's when I found out."

Su Xuan's expression turned grave. He immediately took out his phone to look up Proteus syndrome. It was a rare genetic mutation disorder with an incidence rate of one in ten thousand. The patient's skin and bones would deform, causing severe bodily harm and eventual death. Eating wild game or seafood could trigger this disease.

Seeing Su Xuan searching for information on his phone, Susanna spoke up. "Mr. Richard hosted a sea-fishing trip several years ago. He personally captained a cruise ship, taking his wealthy friends out to fish. They caught a blue lobster, which isn't that rare. But after he ate it, he started to feel unwell. That's when he discovered the lobster carried a terrifying deep-sea virus that triggers genetic diseases. Current medical technology is completely helpless against that kind of virus."

"You really shouldn't eat things indiscriminately," Su Xuan muttered, pursing his lips. "So many illnesses are caused by eating recklessly."

Still, Su Xuan was skeptical. On the surface, Richard looked no different from a normal person, aside from being in a wheelchair. In fact, with his superhuman senses, he could detect a potent, vigorous aura emanating from Richard—nothing like that of a sick man!

Richard glanced at the expression on Su Xuan's face and snorted. "Hmph. I have no need to lie to you. I really am sick and don't have many days left. You've lost. There's no way you can take my daughter!"

With that, Richard gave Susanna a meaningful look. Understanding his intention, Susanna knelt beside Richard and rolled up his pant leg.

Su Xuan's pupils contracted at the sight. On Richard's legs, he beheld a horrifying scene. Richard's calf bones had grown numerous sharp spines that pierced through his skin, closely resembling the thorns on a crab's or shrimp's leg! His skin, too, had changed. It looked like the shell of a crustacean, shimmering with a strange luster.

Only then was Su Xuan completely convinced. He couldn't help but say again, "You really have to be careful about what you eat! That's horrifying!"

"Hahaha!" Richard laughed wildly, a laugh filled with both despair and a strange, sinister tone. He then made a dismissive gesture toward Su Xuan and said coldly, "Even if I let Alice go with you, she wouldn't leave. Go on back to China!"

"Su Xuan..." Alice looked up at him and took his hand. "My father is seriously ill, so I can't leave. But you could stay here with me."

"No!" Richard waved his hand dismissively. He said to Alice, "You haven't fully taken over everything from me yet. With him around, you'll be distracted. The two of you must be separated!"

He was well aware of Alice's feelings for Su Xuan. Ever since leaving China, she had been studying everything he gave her, staying up nearly every night. She was desperate to take over his business empire so she could see Su Xuan again, even if he hadn't achieved a net worth of a hundred billion US dollars. But if they were together, he feared Alice would lose all her motivation to learn.

"I'm only doing this for her own good," Richard muttered to himself.

Alice looked from her father to Su Xuan, on the verge of tears, trapped in an impossible situation.

"Inheriting the family business isn't the priority right now. A life is at stake." Su Xuan tilted his head and suddenly said to Alice, "Your father's illness can't be cured here, but that might not be true in China. Alice, take your father to China. He might not have to die!"

Alice blinked. "Ah? Su Xuan, does Kangnai have a cure for this?"

She asked this reflexively. After all, Su Xuan was the boss of Kangnai, and Kangnai represented the pinnacle of medical treatment in China. If Kangnai really could cure her father, she wouldn't mind taking him to China. That way, she could stay by her father's side and continue learning from him.

"Hah!" Richard scoffed. "I really underestimated you. You don't just want to take my daughter, you want to take me too? How preposterous! Besides, I know all about the medical standards in China. They're far behind ours—third-rate at best!"

"Do you want to die?" Su Xuan said, suddenly walking toward Richard step by step. "Tell me the truth."

"What do you think you're doing? Back off!" Jeff yelled, immediately moving to block Richard.

Su Xuan didn't stop. "The wonders of China are beyond words. How could you possibly comprehend them?"

As he spoke, Su Xuan took out a brocade pouch and from it, he produced a strikingly colorful, round pill...

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