408-410

Chapter 408: Everyone Cleans Out the Intestines Together  

Medical Center.  

"What's wrong? You look terrible."  

Adam snapped out of his train of thought and noticed that Meredith looked visibly upset. He was a little surprised.  

Could it be that Meredith had also heard about that 'famous foodie,' psychology master, and professor's story?  

"Mr. Harper…"  

Meredith looked like she had just swallowed a fly. She hesitated before continuing, "He said my features are too perfect, too delicate, like porcelain. He also said he didn’t want to tell me what he swallowed because it might be offensive. And the way he looked at me…"  

At first, she just assumed Mr. Harper was attracted to her.  

It was normal. A tiny part of her even felt a little flattered.  

After all, she was stunning.  

That was the typical reaction men had when they saw her.  

But now that Adam pointed it out—  

She actually felt violated.  

"Oh, I see."  

Adam said seriously, "In that case, I suggest you talk to Dr. Bailey and hand this case over to someone else. Preferably not a woman."  

"Thanks for the advice."  

The moment Meredith heard the words hand the case over, her eyes sharpened. "But no need. I can handle it."  

"Are you sure?"  

Adam chuckled. "Guys like this? They either have pica, a curtain fetish, an unusual preference, or they just like it."  

"I think he just likes it."  

Meredith grabbed the CT scans and went to find Dr. Bailey.  

"You won’t think that for long."  

Adam quickly caught up with her and walked by her side. "Do you know why he enjoys doing this? Either he likes the feeling of swallowing and passing it later, or this is just the beginning of some twisted fetish."  

"I don’t want to hear this!"  

Meredith let out a loud groan and picked up her pace into a jog.  

Tsk.  

Even after all that, she still wouldn’t give up the surgery?  

Adam sighed. What a shame.  

But he quickened his steps to keep up.  

Jokes aside—  

Meredith was still kind of a friend. He didn’t actually want her dealing with a guy like that alone.  

At the very least, he should take a look and make sure everything was okay.  

After spending so much time with Juno and studying psychology seriously, plus his mental enhancement after becoming a super genius, Adam had developed a pretty good sense of danger.  

He wasn’t on Juno’s level of seeing right through people—  

But his instincts were fairly accurate.  

Imaging Room. 

"The results are in?"  

Dr. Bailey glanced briefly at Adam before turning her attention to Meredith. "Foreign object?"  

As an experienced senior resident, she had already made her own assumptions.  

"No."  

Meredith handed her the CT scans. "It’s… the head of a doll."  

"What?"  

Dr. Bailey looked shocked. She grabbed the scans, slid them onto the lightbox, adjusted the brightness, and leaned in for a closer look—  

Then immediately gasped.  

"Holy crap! That’s a Judy Doll!"  

"You can tell the brand just from the scan?"  

Adam raised an eyebrow at Dr. Bailey.  

"I know what you’re thinking."  

Dr. Bailey rolled her eyes. "Why wouldn’t I be familiar with Judy Dolls?"  

"Of course, of course."  

Adam nodded quickly. "Every woman has a little girl inside her. It’s perfectly normal for you to love Judy Dolls, Dr. Bailey."  

Meredith immediately gave Adam a massive eye-roll.  

Seriously?  

Dr. Bailey? A soft-hearted Judy Doll lover?  

Which part of her looked like she had a ‘girly side’ to him?!  

Suck-up!  

Adam ignored Meredith’s judgmental glare and smiled sincerely.  

Sure, Dr. Bailey wasn’t exactly attractive. She was short and stocky—  

But she had a warm heart.  

And hey, plenty of men had a soft spot for Judy Dolls, too.  

Why shouldn’t Dr. Bailey?  

Adam’s words were absolutely genuine.  

Definitely not just an attempt to earn some extra points with her.  

Nope. Not at all.  

"I love Judy Dolls. I collect Judy Dolls."  

Dr. Bailey looked at Adam expressionlessly, but her tone had noticeably softened.  

For someone who never talked about personal stuff at work, she had just voluntarily shared a little more than usual.  

Meredith, who had worked under Dr. Bailey for a while, found this completely shocking.  

Adam’s flattery was so obvious—  

And yet, Dr. Bailey still enjoyed it.  

She knew it!  

Nobody was completely immune.  

Not even Dr. Bailey!  

Meredith threw Adam a disdainful look.  

Adam simply glanced back at her, as if saying, You’re one to talk.  

After all—  

Hadn’t Meredith, on her second shift, proudly brought Dr. Bailey a latte in front of everyone?  

What was that if not blatant bootlicking?  

Back to Business. 

"Meredith, how are we handling this?"  

Dr. Bailey quickly shifted back into professional mode.  

"Complete bowel irrigation!"  

Meredith answered seriously.  

"Details."  

Dr. Bailey pressed.  

"We need to remove all 36 feet of Mr. Harper’s intestines from his abdominal cavity, manually locate all the doll heads, cut open the intestines, squeeze them out one by one, then suture everything back together."  

Meredith responded quickly and efficiently.  

"Okay. Meredith, book an OR. Harper’s condition is critical—we need to operate today."  

Dr. Bailey nodded approvingly, then started assigning tasks. "See if George, Yang, and Liz are available. If they are, bring them in."  

"Got it!"  

Meredith responded enthusiastically and shot Adam a triumphant look.  

Trying to steal my surgery?  

Keep dreaming!  

Adam just smiled.  

"Adam, go to Psych and bring someone in to evaluate Mr. Harper. We need to figure out what’s wrong with him."  

Dr. Bailey turned to him. "And if you’re free, you can assist in surgery. We’ll need extra hands—this is a lot of intestine to work through."  

"Absolutely, Dr. Bailey."  

Adam’s smile grew even more sincere.  

Hallway. 

"Suck-up!"  

Meredith muttered.  

"Are you questioning Dr. Bailey’s fairness?"  

Adam raised an eyebrow.  

"Of course not…"  

Meredith immediately shut up.  

She worked under Dr. Bailey. No way was she admitting to that.  

"Exactly."  

Adam grinned. "So your accusations are completely baseless. Now go book the OR."  

With that, he walked off toward the psych department.  

Leaving Meredith behind, gritting her teeth.  

Patient’s Room. 

Adam followed a psychiatrist into Mr. Harper’s room.  

The moment he laid eyes on the patient—  

His gaze sharpened.  

That smile. 

That look.  

It wasn’t the same as that professor’s kind of perversion—  

But this guy was standing at a crossroads, looking around.  

And down one of those paths…  

He could definitely see shadows of that professor.  

For a moment, Adam’s thoughts raced.  

Chapter 409: Grey is Scared 

Medical Center 

Hospital Room 

"Where's Dr. Grey?" 

Mr. Harper, a man with the potential to become a renowned professor, glanced behind Adam, his faint smile fading slightly. 

"She's in the operating room for a scheduled procedure," Adam explained, turning his gaze toward the psychiatrist. 

The psychiatrist took the hint and stepped forward, attempting to engage Mr. Harper in conversation. 

Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain. 

Mr. Harper merely smiled politely and ignored him completely. 

The psychiatrist shrugged and walked away. 

This was a common occurrence in American hospitals. 

Difficult patients were often passed around like a hot potato. Everyone tried to avoid getting too involved. 

Take the case of the psychic patient Liz once encountered. Technically, he should have been under psychiatric care. But since psychics, when accurate, have an uncanny ability to read people, they make everyone—including trained psychiatrists—deeply uncomfortable. 

So, the psych ward conveniently transferred him to neurosurgery under the pretense of a suspected brain tumor. 

Turned out, they weren’t entirely wrong—the guy really did have something wrong with his brain. 

Because of the unusual nature of Mr. Harper’s condition, Meredith had pulled some strings to get him prioritized for surgery. 

Adam accompanied Meredith as they wheeled the sterilized and prepped Mr. Harper toward the operating room. 

"Is this a desperate act?" 

"No." 

"Are you doing it for attention?" 

"Of course not." 

"I'm trying to understand, Mr. Harper. Why did you eat the heads of ten Judy dolls?" 

"Because eleven would have been too many." 

"..." 

Meredith, still gripping the stretcher, carried on with her interrogation, completely ignoring Adam’s subtle warnings. 

Adam sighed. 

Meredith was a surgeon, not a psychiatrist or psychologist. Digging into the twisted psychology of patients wasn’t her job. 

Yet, she insisted on doing it. 

Adam understood why. Meredith saw herself as the ultimate embodiment of both beauty and righteousness. In her mind, people were supposed to open up to her, confess their darkest secrets, and embrace her moral perspective. 

This wasn’t just his speculation. 

Looking back at all the cases Meredith had handled, she always did this. Whether with patients or their families, she had an uncontrollable urge to make them see the world as she did. 

Most of the time, thanks to a mix of charm and sheer persistence, she succeeded. She’d often walk away smiling, satisfied with the impact she’d made. 

But this time, Adam was genuinely worried for her. 

Girl… 

You’ve already caught the attention of this psycho, Mr. Harper. 

The way he looks at you? Downright unsettling. 

And now, you’re practically throwing yourself into the fire? 

Ever heard the saying, "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back"? 

By probing into his mind, Meredith was only making herself more interesting to him. 

Sure enough, instead of lying flat on the stretcher like he was supposed to, Harper had turned to his side, watching her with that eerie, unreadable gaze. 

Considering how TV dramas love putting doctors in horrifying situations… 

Uh… 

No way, right? 

Operating Room 

Dr. Bailey was already inside, waiting with George, Liz, and Cristina. 

This was about to be a full-team effort. 

"I think it has something to do with his mother," Liz speculated while working on the intestines. "Maybe she wanted a girl and gave him Judy dolls as a gift." 

"That reminds me—I should probably warn my friend Ross," Adam quipped as he worked alongside her. "His ex-wife is a lesbian and got remarried. She and her wife are raising Ross’s son, Ben. They only buy him Barbie dolls. Ross freaked out and immediately bought him a bunch of G.I. Joes." 

"Found another one!" George called out before jumping into the gossip. "So? Did Ben end up preferring the G.I. Joes or the Barbies?" 

Everyone turned to listen, clearly curious. 

"Barbies," Adam said casually as he pulled another Judy doll head out of the intestines. 

"That makes sense. Kids like pretty things," Meredith chimed in. "And when they grow up, they just go from playing with toy Barbies to chasing after real-life Barbies." 

"You’d know all about that," Adam teased. "Ross actually loved Barbies as a kid. He even dressed in girls’ clothes once. And in college, he had a thing for girls like you. That’s why he and his best friend Chandler both secretly competed for you." 

"What?!" 

"Meredith dated your friend?!" 

The gossip sent a wave of excitement through the room. 

"Not just one friend," Adam corrected with a straight face. "Friends. Plural." 

"Adam!" Meredith shot him a glare, flustered. 

"You know how college is…" she trailed off awkwardly. 

"Totally understandable," Liz said, coming to her rescue. 

After all, everyone in the room had been to college. No explanation was necessary. 

"Found another one!" Cristina announced. "Maybe his mom looked like a Judy doll, and he’s a voodoo practitioner. Instead of stabbing the dolls with needles, he eats them." 

"Black Judy!" Dr. Bailey exclaimed as she extracted another doll head, this one with an afro. "Before she grew out her hair, she had a full African-style cut, wore platform boots, and a leather jacket. Forceps!" 

A nurse quickly handed her a fresh pair. 

After pulling out Black Judy, Dr. Bailey glanced at the next one. "Model Judy! She’s riding a tiny yellow scooter. You know what’s weird?" 

"It’s not already weird enough?" Meredith muttered. 

"She kind of looks like Meredith," Adam noted, immediately catching on to what Dr. Bailey meant. 

"Exactly," Dr. Bailey nodded. 

"Huh. She really does," the others murmured, glancing between the doll and Meredith. 

Meredith felt deeply uncomfortable. 

"When a man is obsessed with a woman, there's a classic romantic line: ‘I want to become one with you,’" Adam remarked. "Meredith, does that still sound romantic to you now?" 

"..." 

Meredith’s eyes flicked to the bowl of doll heads, particularly the one that resembled her. 

She shivered involuntarily. 

Suddenly, Adam’s warnings and the way Harper had been looking at her clicked into place. 

No wonder Harper didn’t want to talk about it. 

This wasn’t just creepy. 

This was terrifying. Truly, deeply terrifying. 

Chapter 410: Having Parents Is Good, But Having Your Own Is Better! 

Night fell. 

The surgery was over. 

"Adam." 

Meredith called out to Adam. 

"What is it?" Adam looked at her. 

"Can you help me keep an eye on Mr. Harper?" Meredith gritted her teeth as she spoke. 

"No problem," Adam nodded. 

"Really?" Meredith was utterly shocked. 

After spending over two months working together, she had a clear understanding of Adam’s personality. He always made a point of keeping professional and personal matters separate, and he never agreed to such requests. 

She wouldn’t have asked if Mr. Harper’s smile didn’t send shivers down her spine. And if it weren’t for the fact that her only companions at the moment were Liz, Cristina, and George—her three best friends—leaving Adam as the only real man in the group, she wouldn’t have even considered making this request. 

Plus, she hadn’t really expected him to say yes. 

But, to her surprise, Adam agreed without hesitation. 

She found it hard to believe. 

"Don’t overthink it," Adam explained. "This is a special case. You didn’t really think I was just trying to scare you before the surgery to steal your case, did you?" 

"No…" Meredith was touched and quickly shook her head. 

"Actually, you were right," Adam cut in. "I was trying to scare you before the surgery." 

"..." Meredith felt a lump in her throat, completely speechless. 

"But that was before the surgery. Or, more precisely, before I actually met Mr. Harper," Adam said seriously. "Now, it’s completely different. Mr. Harper is a dangerous man. You really shouldn’t be anywhere near him! This isn’t a joke. If you trust me, listen to me." 

Meredith shuddered. "I trust you. But what about you?" 

"Danger is relative." Adam smiled. "To you, Mr. Harper is dangerous. But to me, he’s harmless." 

Ever since he started hunting with Juno, Karen, and Heather, he had lost all sense of fear. His other skills kept improving, but anything related to fear—like his reaction speed—remained stagnant. Sometimes, it even frustrated him. 

Meredith’s expression was complicated. She felt grateful toward Adam, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his arrogance. 

Adam ignored whatever she was thinking and took over watching Mr. Harper until his discharge. 

Ring ring ring. 

His phone rang. 

Adam glanced at the caller ID and smirked. 

"Rachel?" 

"Adam! What kind of gift did you send me?! You’ve gone too far this time—" 

Rachel’s voice roared through the phone. 

Adam instinctively pulled the phone away from his ear, waited a few moments, and then replied calmly, "I’m sorry. If you don’t like it, I’ll have someone take it back." 

Beep beep. 

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by the sound of the call disconnecting. 

Adam wasn’t surprised at all. 

Rachel’s yelling had been loud, but there was no actual anger behind it. She was just putting on an act—trying to insist that she didn’t like the gift. 

But the truth? She definitely liked it. 

Maybe even… really liked it. 

Ring ring ring. 

Just as he was smirking at the thought, his phone rang again. 

Still Rachel. 

"Rachel?" 

"Adam, it’s Phoebe." 

The voice on the other end was Phoebe’s. 

"Phoebe." Adam instantly had a feeling about what was coming. 

Best friends were truly mysterious creatures. 

Even this was a topic they shared? 

Emmm… 

"Chandler, Monica, and the rest of us all miss you," Phoebe went on. "You haven’t joined us for a get-together in so long…" 

"Sorry, being a surgical intern is just so busy," Adam apologized. "How about tomorrow night? Does everyone have time? Let’s all catch up." 

Friendships took time and effort to maintain, and Adam hadn’t joined his old friends in a group gathering for over two months. That was definitely pushing it. 

Time was a strange thing—if you really wanted to make time for something, you always could. 

"Yes, yes!" Phoebe said excitedly. 

"Then it’s settled. We’ll meet at Monica’s apartment, and I’ll take care of dinner," Adam said with a smile. 

"Awesome!" Phoebe clapped her hands. "Oh, by the way, Adam, my birthday is on February 16th." 

"..." Adam’s lips twitched. 

It was only September. 

Her last birthday had been over seven months ago. Her next one was still more than four months away. 

What was she trying to say? 

"I don’t mean anything by it," Phoebe giggled. "I just think you treat Rachel really well. But we’re all friends, right? You shouldn’t play favorites. Whatever you do for her, you should do for me too. That’s fair, isn’t it?" 

"Alright, I get it," Adam said, half amused, half exasperated. 

"I knew you were the best, Adam!" Phoebe cheered. 

After hanging up, Adam shook his head. 

He wasn’t sure what real-life American friend groups were like, but in sitcom universes, things could get really weird. 

Friends casually asking each other for an Iron Man suit—who could imagine? 

But once the initial shock passed, Adam understood. 

Could Phoebe afford a high-end Iron Man suit? 

Well… no, not really. 

And to be fair, there were all kinds of models—MK1, MK2, MK3, Hulkbuster, even Whiplash’s knockoff version, and Justin Hammer’s cheap rip-offs. 

They were all called Iron Man suits, but the combat effectiveness? Worlds apart. 

Adam had his assistant order from the store on 8th Avenue—the one personally endorsed by Barney Stinson. 

Forget looks and functionality (since Adam had no idea how good it actually was), just in terms of price— 

It was definitely top-tier. 

It was completely understandable that someone like Phoebe would want one after seeing it. 

"At least Monica hasn’t jumped in on this…" Adam muttered to himself. 

Thirty minutes later— 

Ring ring ring. 

His phone rang again. 

Adam looked at the screen, sighed, and picked up. 

Monica’s voice, deliberately lowered, mixed with the sound of running water. After some roundabout conversation, it turned out— 

She wanted the same thing as Phoebe. 

"Chandler isn’t working out in the mornings anymore?" Adam frowned. "Didn’t I remind you to keep him consistent?" 

"No, no," Monica denied. "We’ve been keeping up with morning workouts." 

"Then why?" Adam asked, puzzled. 

"Well…" Monica hesitated for a while. 

Eventually, Adam got the message. 

In short: Having parents is good, but having your own is better! 

It made sense. 

If Monica didn’t have this kind of curiosity, she wouldn’t have come up with the "seven zones of pleasure" theory… 

No need to overthink it! 

Adam agreed and had his assistant order the upgraded Iron Patriot model as an early birthday gift for them. 

Just as he was shaking his head in disbelief, a commotion erupted nearby. He quickly ran toward the noise—only to be shocked. 

He found Meredith hiding, peeking out from behind a corner, trembling as if something terrifying was after her…