Chapter 62: A Very Busy Night for Archer

At first, Summer wondered why Dr. Rinko seemed so annoyed with Dr. Rory, but the moment she reached the top floor, she finally understood.

Instead of normal walls, almost the entire floor was surrounded by thick glass specially made to be bulletproof and resistant to strong impacts.

The view alone was enough to make Summer stop for a moment.

From up there, she could see most of Zone 0 stretching far into the distance, with tall buildings, training grounds, and snowy mountains lining the horizon.

Before she could walk any farther, a woman sitting behind a small reception desk lifted her head. "Miss Summer Beaumont?"

Summer blinked. "Yes."

The woman checked something on her screen before giving her a polite smile. "You’re here for your mental assessment with Dr. Rory, correct?"

"Yes."

"Your appointment is still about forty minutes away. You can wait in the lounge."

Summer followed the direction she pointed at and immediately understood why Dr. Rinko had clicked her tongue earlier.

The waiting area looked far too comfortable for a hospital.

There were large couches, soft chairs, shelves filled with snacks and drinks, and calm music playing quietly in the background.

A basket of neatly folded warm blankets sat near the windows for anyone who felt cold while waiting.

Summer stared at everything for a few seconds and then she looked back at the receptionist. "Are patients allowed to eat all of that?"

The woman smiled. "Yes. Everything in the lounge is free."

Summer’s eyes immediately moved toward the snacks again. Compared to the busy examination rooms downstairs, this place felt more like a private hotel than part of a medical center.

The receptionist seemed to notice her expression and added, "Dr. Rory believes patients should be relaxed before entering their mental sea."

"That explains everything," Summer murmured.

She walked over to the lounge, grabbed a small pack of cookies, and picked a seat beside the huge glass wall.

Once she was comfortable, she pulled out her terminal and sent Ilya a message.

[Summer: I’m about to do my mental evaluation. Have you met with the Defense Minister yet?]

Summer expected him to take a while to reply. Instead, her terminal buzzed less than a minute later.

[Ilya: He’s not the Defense Minister anymore haha]

Summer blinked at the message, and then another one appeared before she could reply to him.

[Ilya: He was removed from his position this morning. He hasn’t even woken up from his coma yet. Archer punched him pretty badly, I guess]

[Ilya: I feel kind of bad about it, but I also just found out that he used to drug Zen so he could push himself harder during training]

[Ilya: Honestly... I don’t even know how I’m supposed to feel about all of this haha]

Summer stared at the messages for a moment. After thinking about it, she decided not to type a reply. Instead, she held down the voice message button.

"Is it because you just realized that you weren’t the reason your last Guide died?" she asked softly.

A moment later, Ilya sent her a voice message too. Judging from the wind and faint traffic in the background, he was probably standing somewhere outside the hospital, trying to get some fresh air.

"Part of it, yes," he said. "But the minister always refused to let anyone perform an autopsy on his son, so the whole thing was never really settled. Then last night, Archer stole Zen’s body and sent it to Devereaux Hospital for a proper autopsy."

From Ilya’s voice alone, she could already tell that he was completely stressed out by everything Archer had managed to do in such a short time.

He had destroyed thirty military tanks, set part of the military base on fire, punched the Defense Minister, dug up someone’s grave, and somehow still found the time to bring the body to the hospital.

All in one night.

Not long after, Ilya gave up on voice messages and called her instead. The moment Summer picked up, he let out a long, tired sigh.

"I don’t even think Archer would’ve gotten out of prison that quickly if Balian hadn’t held a press conference about the whole thing," he complained. "And I know he did that because he wants something. Oh, my head."

"Balian?" Summer frowned. "Who’s that?"

Oh, wait. She should have known him.

The original body had some memories about him!

However, before Summer could make an excuse and say that she remembered, Ilya had already answered her, although his tone sounded slightly confused.

"Balian Devereaux," he said. "The one who took over his family’s businesses in military weapons and healthcare. You really haven’t heard of him?"

Summer answered almost immediately. "Oh, I know the Devereaux family. I’m just a little confused after going through so many tests earlier."

Ilya’s tone changed immediately. "Are you alright? How did the tests go?"

"Everything’s fine," Summer said. "Dr. Rinko said there’s nothing wrong with my physical health, so I guess I can officially become your Guide before... you know."

She paused for a moment. "Before the government decides to force me into it."

"They wouldn’t dare," Ilya replied, his voice turning serious. "Before me, you were already registered as Archer’s official Guide. In the eyes of the law, if they want to do anything involving your guiding ability, they would also need Archer’s permission."

And knowing Archer, the chance of him letting Summer become some kind of government test subject was basically zero.

That was also why Ilya had not been in a hurry to sign a contract with her.

"Still, I think it’s better if we do it as soon as possible," Summer said. "Maybe after my mental evaluation."

Ilya let out a quiet sigh. "Yeah. That sounds good."

A moment later, Summer heard someone calling Ilya in the background.

"I should go now," he said. "I’ll contact you again later."

"Okay," Summer replied.

Right after Ilya ended the call, Summer looked at her terminal for a second before immediately searching for the replay of the press conference Balian had held that morning.

It did not take long for her to find it.

The video was already sitting near the top of the trending page, and the title alone was enough to make Summer pause.

[WHEN HEROES ARE TREATED LIKE VERMIN: BALIAN DEVEREAUX SPEAKS OUT]