Part 2. In the hospital

"This is a miracle! It's impossible for an ordinary person to be as resistant to poison as you are, especially since all of your organs are intact and none of them have been damaged. This is incredible!" said the doctor who was treating Ricky.

Even though Ricky knew that the doctor at the hospital wasn't the one who usually gave him poison, he still felt wary of the doctor.

Throughout his conversation with the doctor, who was actually just listening to the doctor talk, Ricky could only smile awkwardly. His body was sweating profusely from fear of the doctor.

"Doctor, how's the... cost?" asked Ricky, he tried to look the doctor straight in the face, but it was still difficult.

The doctor's white uniform made Ricky feel scared, even though he knew it wasn't the doctor who hurt him.

"Don't worry about the cost, the owner of the hospital will cover all the costs of your treatment here, we will also help arrange identity cards and other things you need. Do you also want to take the C package exam so that you can graduate equivalent to high school? We can take care of that too."

Ricky just nodded because he didn't know how to respond, because his head was already dizzy, he felt cold and hot.

"Alright, now you eat and rest first, later we'll come again to check."

Finally, the doctor and nurse left the room Ricky was in.

Even though Ricky had not seen the outside world for a long time, he could still understand that he was in a VIP room. He also had good food that was still warm, not bland like usual. That alone was like heaven, because it felt good.

Ricky thought he had lost his sense of taste a long time ago, but now, he could feel the flavor of the food. Before he knew it, tears came to his eyes.

[We've repaired some of the master's damaged body parts]

[Including, internal organs, tongue, brain and others]

[But as for your lack of speech, you can relearn]

As Ricky expected, many of his organs were damaged due to the effects of the poison. Even though he had survived the poison for eight years, his body was slowly deteriorating.

After eating rice, chicken soup and eggs, Ricky tried to get out of bed. He wanted to learn to walk again, as he had not been able to walk for about two months. The poison made his legs hurt when he walked, and over time his legs became numb. So he could only lie down or sit up.

Ricky had only taken two steps, and his knees were already shaking. But he didn't give up, so he took three more steps, until he came to a large mirror in the all-white room.

The mirror was sturdy, so Ricky leaned on it. Even though he only walked five steps, he was already panting as if he had run hundreds of meters.

Ricky recalled that when he was still at school in a suburban school with poor facilities, he had participated in a running competition there. Ricky had only won second place, but he was so happy that he had won $80 in prize money. He thought his father would be happy when he got the money.

But he was wrong, his father nagged and scolded Ricky because he was only second place, he should have won first place in order to get 100$.

From that moment on, Ricky realized that his father never loved him, he only loved money.

In fact, he didn't even think twice about selling Ricky to the Harvert family.

For that much money.

Even though he knew many children had died after being sold to them.

His father was his only family, his backup, the only father he had in this world, his only world. All this time Ricky had been trying hard to get good grades just for his father, winning competitions with prize money also for his father. He was even willing to eat less so that his father could drink and gamble with his friends. He was also willing to get beaten up when his father got drunk or lost a gambling game.

But all he gave him in return was betrayal. Endless pain, which he would never forget for the rest of his life.

"Is this... me?" murmured Ricky, in a hoarse voice that wasn't very clear.

In front of him, in the mirror to be precise, was a person who looked very familiar to him. He hadn't looked in a mirror since eight years ago, but he couldn't even recognize himself.

He had grown taller, but his body was very thin. His skin had become much paler than he could ever remember before. His face had also changed a lot, he was very pale and gaunt.

Perhaps he couldn't recognize himself because he was an adult now, not a ten-year-old anymore.

But, he never remembered his hair turning white, or light gray? Ricky didn't understand. All he remembered was that his hair was light brown.

Not being able to hold his body up, Ricky collapsed, sitting in front of the mirror.

[Master!]

"I'm fine," Ricky muttered again.

Then the nurse came to give him some medicine, and she was surprised to see him slumped in front of the mirror. The nurse helped Ricky to lie back down on his bed.

"You have to rest a lot, eat a lot, and if you want to go for a walk, it's better to be accompanied by a nurse. You will also be helped to walk, so if there is anything, just press this button, and the nurse will come to you." the nurse said patiently. She helped Ricky take some medicine to restore his stamina.

"Would you like to have a snack? We'll give you whatever you want to eat, because there are no dietary restrictions for you. Would you like anything?" the nurse asked.

"I don't know."

"Then, we will provide you with a snack, you can wait here while reading a book, I heard you like reading books."

The nurse handed Ricky a book, and Ricky was grateful that it was the latest book.

Ricky didn't know if he liked reading or not, but in that small room, there were only shelves with many books on them. Ricky read them every day in the dim light.

His vision was getting more and more blurry and unclear, so Ricky was quite surprised when he was able to see normally again. Maybe it was the system that restored his sight.

The book the nurse brought was a recently published novel. It told the story of a man whose life was miserable, then he took revenge and started a business, until he became successful.

As the hours passed and Ricky finished reading the novel, he now wanted to follow in the footsteps of the male lead. He wanted to be successful, then take revenge on the Harvert family.

Father?

Ricky had considered his father dead since he had sold himself to the Harverts.

Ricky was alone now.

"I need to recover, then start a new life." Ricky muttered.

[Is the master ready to join the handsome prince system?]

Ricky frowned, "what's that? Prince?"

[I'll explain in detail]