SSS-Ranked Surgeon In Another World: The Healer Is Actually OP! - Chapter 205: Probing Code

Chapter 205: Probing Code

“Close,” he murmured. “But incomplete.”

The poison wasn’t gone. The nerves were being forced to fire through damage, worsening the internal strain.

So the solution wasn’t removal alone.

It was suppression, isolation, and gradual breakdown.

That was what Bruce had been looking for.

With this, he would finally get the antidote he needed.

Bruce moved faster now, hands steady but efficient. He refined the mixture, adding a third component, a stabilizing herb that slowed metabolic spread while reinforcing the vascular walls.

He injected the final compound into the poisoned mutant.

Seconds passed.

Then the beast stirred.

Its breathing deepened. The tremors lessened. Slowly, strength returned to its limbs. It lifted its head, eyes regaining clarity, and snarled weakly at the bars.

Alive.

Functional.

Bruce stared at it, then let out a slow breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“…It works.”

Not a cure, yet.

But an antidote.

His lips curved into a faint, tired smile.

He straightened and glanced back toward James.

“I found it,” Bruce said quietly.

Before moving toward the man, he watched the mutant a moment longer. The creature was still weak, still recovering, but the poison was no longer advancing. The numbness had stopped spreading. Its body was reclaiming control.

Bruce nodded to himself.

Only then did he turn back toward James, antidote in hand.

And that was where he stopped.

James noticed the vial first.

It was small. Clear. Ordinary-looking. Too ordinary for something that had just stalled a death sentence.

Bruce crouched beside him and held it out. “Drink it slowly,” he said. “Your body will react.”

James didn’t hesitate.

At that point, hesitation felt pointless.

His fingers trembled as he took the vial, the glass clinking faintly against his teeth as he tipped it back. The liquid slid down his throat, bitter and sharp, burning faintly as it went.

For half a second,

Nothing happened.

Then James gasped.

His back arched violently as a deep chill ripped through his veins, followed immediately by a scorching heat that surged after it. Purple smoke poured from his mouth and nose, thick and heavy, rolling out in dense waves as though his body itself was exhaling the poison.

The smell was sharp. Metallic. Wrong. But Bruce knew this purple smoke was harmless so he did nothing.

The purple haze coiled in the air, then thinned, evaporating rapidly as it dispersed.

James choked, coughing once, twice, then froze.

His eyes widened.

“The numbness…” he whispered.

Slowly, almost afraid to believe it, he flexed his fingers.

They moved.

He swallowed hard and shifted his leg. Sensation rushed back in a violent flood, pins and needles, pain, warmth, all at once.

“I, I can feel it,” James said hoarsely. “I can feel everything again.”

Relief crashed into his expression so suddenly it almost broke him.

From the side of the room,

“That’s impossible!”

The shout came out sharp, raw with disbelief.

Everyone turned.

The villager who had spoken earlier was staring at the dissipating purple smoke, eyes wide, jaw slack. The color had drained from his face as if he’d just witnessed something that shattered everything he thought he understood.

Bruce and James’s gazes both settled on him.

The man flinched.

Then he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “Ah, haha… I’m just surprised, that’s all. Nothing serious. Violetbane’s supposed to be… well, you know.”

James was still reeling, still testing his limbs, still overwhelmed by the sheer fact that he was alive.

He didn’t think much of it.

“Yeah,” James breathed, shaking his head with a weak laugh of his own. “I thought I was done for.”

Bruce, however, didn’t look away.

His gaze lingered on the man for a heartbeat longer than necessary.

Then, casually, as if the thought had just occurred to him, he asked, “James. What’s your friend’s name?”

James blinked. “Huh? Oh, the one that just spoke?”

He glanced over. “That’s Code. He’s a really nice guy. I wouldn’t have made it here without him.”

“Oh,” Bruce said softly.

“Code.”

He let the name sit in the air for a moment.

“Such a nice name,” Bruce continued, his tone mild, almost appreciative. “A good friend indeed.”

His eyes stayed on Code as he spoke.

Just long enough.

Then he looked away.

But in that brief instant,

Bruce felt it.

A sharp, fleeting spike of killing intent, thin but unmistakable, brushing against his senses like the edge of a blade.

The corner of Bruce’s mouth twitched upward.

’Oh?’

His smile didn’t fade. If anything, it grew a fraction deeper.

’It seems I’ve irked somebody.’

He kept his posture relaxed, returning his attention to James as if nothing had happened. “How long have you two known each other?”

James thought for a moment. “A few years now. We hunt together sometimes. He’s always been reliable.”

“Mhm,” Bruce hummed. “And before that?”

“Before that?” James shrugged weakly. “Not much. Met him through a caravan job. Just stuck together after that.”

Bruce nodded, as though genuinely interested.

“And he was the one who brought you here?”

“Yeah. Both of them,” James said, gesturing vaguely. “They didn’t give up on me.”

Bruce smiled faintly. “That’s rare.”

Code shifted where he stood.

Bruce continued, unfazed. “Must’ve been frightening. Watching someone you care about get poisoned like that.”

Code laughed again, too quick this time. “Yeah. Terrifying.”

Bruce tilted his head slightly. “You seem very knowledgeable about Violetbane. You knew the exact time window.”

“Well, everyone knows that,” Code replied. “It’s common knowledge.”

“Is it?” Bruce asked lightly. “In my experience, most people exaggerate. Or underestimate.”

Another pause.

James didn’t notice.

Bruce did.

Code was getting increasingly uncomfortable with Bruce’s probing.

After a few more minutes of casual conversation, Code finally straightened abruptly. “I, I should step outside for some air,” he said. “This place smells… strange.”

The other villager hesitated, then silently followed him.

They left without another word.

Bruce watched them go.

His gaze narrowed slightly, a quiet smile resting on his face as their figures disappeared beyond the doorway.

’Something interesting is at play,’ he thought.

’This is going to be fun.’