Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

Andrew nearly choked at Jared's declaration. He burst out laughing, mocking, "Unstoppable? You got through on sheer dumb luck, and you're talking about being unstoppable? Aren't you worried about making a fool out of yourself?" Jared's face turned an ugly shade of red. "Andrew, I just made a small mistake! You'll see soon enough just how terrifying my true strength is!"

The sixth round quickly followed. When a small white mouse appeared in front of each contestant, a wave of shocked gasps spread through the audience. They had brought in live test subjects-the difficulty had clearly taken a huge leap.

On the stage, the contestants' faces grew even more strained. They only had one word to describe this round: tough.

Clifford's voice boomed across the arena, dripping with mockery. "To all you future great physicians and national medical masters, each little creature in front of you has a health issue.

"Some have organ damage, some have blood poisoning, and others have

external wounds. But no matter what the problem is, my only requirement is that these adorable little creatures come back to life under your care, jumping around with energy again!"

As soon as the elder finished speaking, the remaining 30-something contestants sprang into action, racing against the clock.

He let out another sinister chuckle. "Oh, by the way, you only have five minutes! If you go over time, you automatically fail and can see yourselves out."

The contestants' heart rates instantly spiked. Five minutes was ridiculous-they might as well have asked them to perform brain surgery with a butter knife.

Jared grabbed his mouse, muttering curses, "Five minutes? Are you kidding me? Those elders from the Advanced Medical Institute are clearly trying to screw us over!"

Thomas's voice cut through the chaos. "Follow the rules and focus. Keep your mind steady and your hands sharp. Or, if you're going to fail anyway, just quit now and stop embarrassing Blumedale Hospital."

Jared clamped his mouth shut and threw himself into his work, a fierce grin creeping onto his face. He thought, 'I'll make it through this round. But Andrew, you can go to hell...'

Of course, there were a few

contestants who seemed to be handling the pressure just fine. People like Mosby and the two elite students from the Advanced Medical Institute moved with practiced ease, their hands steady

and their expressions calm.

This kind of practical task was almost second nature for someone like Thomas—a test of skill he could handle without breaking a sweat.noveldrama

Meanwhile, Francesca was visibly struggling. Ordinarily, performing surgery on a small animal would not have been a big deal for her. However, her mouse had internal organ damage, which significantly raised the difficulty.

Just then, Andrew's voice reached her, cutting through her panic. "Take a deep breath, Fran. Pick up your surgical tools and imagine that this little creature is a critically ill patient who needs your help. Anesthetize it, make the incision, follow the procedure step by step-you'll be fine."

Francesca's body stiffened for a moment, but then the panic cleared from her mind, and her hands stopped trembling.

Suddenly, the bald examiner standing in front of Andrew snapped at him. "No talking! And why haven't you started yet?"

Andrew just leaned back, arms crossed, looking completely at ease. "Start? We've got five whole minutes. What's the rush?"

The examiner's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Five minutes, and you're not in a hurry? Young people these days are so arrogant, so full of themselves! Can't you see that Dr. Lake and Dr. Bozzelli are already racing against the clock, every second counts!"

Andrew just chuckled. "Relax. As a certain show-off once said, let the bullets fly a while longer..."

The bald examiner's face twitched. He thought Andrew was too damn arrogant.