“You probably haven’t realized the severity of this matter, have you?” Billy spoke again, his tone indifferent.


    “Do you know how many people have died so far due to the materials you provided?” he continued.


    “Don’t try to shift the me onto Wild Swan Pharma for their own product issues. I…,” Ashton Erickson started to speak, but he was abruptly cut off.


    Bang!


    Before he could finish his sentence, he was sent flying, crashing heavily into arge desk behind him, blood dripping from a wound on the back of his head.


    “If you don’t start being honest, do you believe I can make you experience the sensation of your blood flowing in reverse?” Stout interjected, pulling out a silver needle from his pocket as he spoke.


    “What… what are you going to do?” Ashton Erickson trembled.


    Just then, three silver needles had already prated Ashton Erickson’s body.


    “Ah…” Immediately after, Ashton Erickson let out a miserable scream. He barelysted for ten seconds before surrendering, “Stop! I’ll talk… I’ll talk…”


    “I thought you were tougher than this!” Stout swept his hand, and a gust of wind sent the silver needles flying out of Ashton Erickson’s body.


    Ashton Erickson copsed to the ground, breathing heavily.


    “Speak up!” Stout demanded.


    “The person who instructed me is…” Ashton Erickson started to speak again after taking a deep breath.Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    But halfway through his sentence, he let out another cry of pain. In the next moment, he was rolling on the ground, trembling and contorting in agony. His face was twisted with boundless suffering. Within the blink of an eye, dark red blood surged out of his mouth.


    “Hmm!?” Billy furrowed his brows and quickly moved to Ashton Erickson’s side. He took out three silver needles from his pocket and inserted them into Ashton Erickson’s heart area.


    However, he was still slightly slow.


    As the needles entered his body, Ashton Erickson fell silent. His eyes widened, his expression twisted in a grimace of pain, and his body was drenched in sweat.


    “Boss, what’s going on?” Stout asked, his face filled with surprise.


    “He’s been cursed!” Billy observed briefly and frowned. “And it’s a highly domineering Heart-Devouring Curse.”


    “A curse?” Stout was taken aback. “So, there’s something fishy going on!”


    Stout knew well that cultivating curses wasn’t a simple matter and required a lot of effort and time. Generally, unless necessary, it wasn’t something people would use casually.


    Billy nodded.


    “Is this rted to the people in the Southern Edge?” Stout asked again.


    “I’m not sure!” Billy shook his head. “Although the origin of curses lies in there, it doesn’t mean everyone who practices curseses from the Southern Edge.”


    After saying that, he pulled out his phone and dialed Judge’s number.


    “Boss, have you found out the reason?” Judge’s voice came from the other end of the line.


    Billy had messaged him earlier, providing a brief overview of the situation with Wild Swan Pharma. So, Judge knew that Billy was investigating the mastermind behind it.


    “Dispatch all of our brothers in Ozin, and have them search the city for anyone skilled in curses!” Billy instructed.


    “Curses?” Judge was taken aback. “Did someone from the Southern Edge do this?”


    “It’s too early to conclude that,” Billy replied. “Check with our contacts. If you find any leads, don’t act rashly. Be cautious because if they can use curses, we need to be careful.”


    “Understood!” Judge responded.


    “Also, I’ll send you a person’s nameter. He’s the owner of a medicinal herbpany. Have someone check his call records for the past month and see if we can find anything.” Billy continued.


    “Got it!” Judge hung up the phone.


    Five minutester, Billy and Stout were on their way back to thepany of Wild Swan Pharma Solutions.


    After driving for a while, Harleen’s call came in.


    “Honey, is there something wrong?” Billy answered the call.


    “Billy, I just received news. The bodies of those severely ill patients who died, they’re missing!” Harleen Knight’s voice carried a slightly heavy tone.


    Billy was taken aback. “What do you mean?”


    “Earlier, a colleague went to the hospital to handle some aftermath work and found out that the bodies of those deceased patients had been taken from the hospital.” Harleen Knight exined.


    “Do you know who did it?” Billy was surprised again.


    “I don’t know. The hospital’s surveince cameras were also damaged.”


    “I see. Don’t worry about this, I’ll handle it.” Billy reassured her.


    “Billy, is this dangerous? Please be careful.” Harleen Knight sounded worried. Given how the situation had developed, she understood that things were far from simple.


    “Don’t worry, dear. Everything will be fine.” Billyforted her before hanging up.


    “Boss, what’s happened now?” asked Stout.


    “The bodies of the deceased patients have been stolen.” Billy’s eyes narrowed.


    “What?” Stout was astonished. “What are they trying to do?”


    After a brief pause, Stout’s pupils contracted slightly, and his face showed a hint of surprise. “Boss, could they be…”


    “Most likely!” A chilling sensation emanated from Billy.


    “These people are despicable!” Stout eximed in anger.


    “Don’t return to Wild Swan Pharma. Go directly to SHADOW.” Billy said after a moment of thought.


    “Alright!” Stout nodded.


    Half an hourter, the two of them arrived at the headquarters of SHADOW.


    “Boss,” Judge came forward to greet them.


    “How’s it going? Any progress?” Billy asked.


    “We don’t have concrete results yet,” Judge shook his head. “The person named Ashton Erickson has scattered call records over the past month. There are a lot of calls, with at least thirty to forty calls per day. It will take some time to sift through.”


    “Tell them to speed up their efforts!” A solemn expression appeared on Billy’s face.


    “By the way, send someone to the hospital again,” he said. “The bodies of several deceased patients have been stolen. See if you can find any clues.”


    “Bodies stolen?” Judge was taken aback. “What are they trying to do?”


    “If my guess is correct, someone is using these people for drug testing.” Stout chimed in.


    “What!? Are they really capable of such heartless acts?” Judge eximed in anger.


    Soon after, he pulled out his phone and started making arrangements.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    Before long, Alban Carroll, the inspector in Ozin briskly walked in, his expression somewhat grim.


    “Commander, Governor!” Alban Carroll bowed respectfully upon arriving.


    “I’ve just received word, another pharmaceuticalpany in Ozin has encountered problems with its product. Four seriously ill patients have died, and their bodies, including the corpses, were stolen.”


    “As I suspected,” Stout’s eyebrows furrowed simultaneously.


    “Judge, instruct all hospitals in Ozin to suspend the targeted treatment drug!” Billy turned to Judge to give his orders.


    “Yes, Commander!” Judge nodded and pulled out his phone once again.


    “Stout, give Alban a copy of the prescription you wrote for Harleen earlier,” Billy instructed again. “Alban, take the prescription to the hospital. Prepare the medicine ording to it and administer it to patients with mild symptoms.”


    “Yes, Commander!” Stout and Alban both nodded in agreement.


    Before long, Judge’s phone began to ring.


    “How’s it going?” he asked in a deep voice after answering the call.


    “Judge, we’ve got a lead!” a voice from a SHADOW member came through the speaker.