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    Chapter 2454


    Ian held his breath as he stared at the barricaded restroom door, cold sweat drenching his back.


    At this moment, Justin''s eyes were full of tears, his gaze unfocused and his consciousness slipping away.


    If no one was here to protect him during his withdrawal, he would be nothing more than a sacrificialmb, waiting to be ughtered.


    Ian''s eyes turned bloodshot. He clenched his teeth, grabbed a mop, and stepped toward the door. "Who is it?!"


    "Ian, it''s me—Arnold." A deep, steady voice came from the other side.


    "Dr. Larson!"


    The mop ttered to the ground. Ian''s tears spilled over uncontrobly.


    "Don''t panic. I''m alone." Arnold paused before continuing, his voice low and urgent. "Justin is having a withdrawal episode, isn''t he? Let me in."


    Ian wiped his tears hastily and scrambled to remove the barricade, unlocking the door.


    Arnold slipped his slender frame inside and swiftly relocked the door.


    "Dr. Larson, please... Please save Mr. Salvador! No one else can help him now!"


    Arnold took a deep breath and walked toward Justin step by step.


    To keep him from thrashing, Ian had bound his wrists with his own tie and stuffed another tie into his mouth to prevent him from biting off his tongue.


    "Justin..." Arnold knelt on one knee before him, his pale lips trembling, tears welling in his eyes.


    "Arnold... Help me..." Justin''s bloodshot eyes pleaded as his body convulsed uncontrobly. He could not stop trembling, nor could he stop the tears from streaming down his face. "I... I just want to die..."


    "As long as I''m here, you won''t die." Arnold immediately pulled a ck cloth pouch from his coat. Unfolding it, he revealed a set of acupuncture needles and several vials of injectable medicine.


    He extracted a needle and pierced it into Justin''s temple, his voice firm and resolute.


    "You are not only my friend-you are also my patient. If I can''t cure you, then that is my failure as a doctor. If anything happens to you, I will take my own life to follow you."


    Ian''s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. ''Although Justin is perfect, and they have a close rtionship, isn''t this going too far?! If something happened to Arnold, what would be of Asher? And if something happened to Asher, what about Ms. Be?!''


    As Ian''s mind spun into chaos, Arnold had already inserted needles into various acupoints along Justin''s head and arms.


    To Ian''s astonishment, Justin''s convulsions gradually subsided. Although he was still unconscious and his face remained deathly pale, he looked much better than before.


    "How long has he been like this?" Arnold asked as he carefully untied the restraints.


    Ian''s throat tightened. "Actually... Even before you left, he was already struggling with this. He''s been suppressing it all along, never telling anyone."


    Arnold drew a syringe from his pouch, injecting medicine into Justin''s arm. His brows furrowed deeply. "How long does each episodest?"


    "In the early stages, about 15 to 30 minutes. But now... If he doesn''t take anything, the pain tortures him through the entire night."


    Arnold removed the needle, his chest tightening. "The drugs have seeped into his bones. It''s slowly eating away at him."


    Ian couldn''t help but ask, "Dr. Larson, what did you just inject him with? As soon as you used it, his symptoms eased up-it''s incredible!"


    "Since leaving Savrow, I''ve been at a researchb in Meridan, searching for a way to neutralize the toxins in Justin''s body and repair the damage to his brain."


    Arnold looked at Justin''s pale face, his expression dark with sorrow.


    "But after thousands of experiments... I still can only relieve his symptoms. I have yet to find a cure."


    His voice trembled slightly. "It''s my ipetence as a doctor. It''s my failure..."