Just as Dr. Mahadi's fingers were about to touch the IV line interface—

A hand wrapped in bandages suddenly seized his wrist!

Cold!

Hard!

Dr. Mahadi felt as if he were being gripped by a hydraulic clamp and couldn't help but let out a low growl—

"Ugh!"

He instinctively tried to break free, but the strength of the hand was astonishing, and his struggles didn't cause it to move an inch.

He looked up in terror, meeting the suddenly opened eyes of Song Heping.

Completely different from when he first entered, Song Heping's eyes, under the dim bedside lamp, were as sharp and cold as two ice-tempered daggers.

"Doctor."

Song Heping showed a disdainful smirk at the corner of his mouth.

"The sweat on your forehead... and the tremor in your fingertips..."

His gaze swept over Dr. Mahadi's forehead covered with fine cold sweat and the hand that was still trembling uncontrollably.

"...speak more than the instruments."

As he finished speaking, Song Heping's other hand shot out from under the thin blanket like a ghost, quickly snatching away the syringe he intended to use for injecting potassium chloride.

"No—!"

Dr. Mahadi was instantly overwhelmed, his desperate scream catching in his throat and only producing a broken sound.

He struggled with all his might, his body twisting frantically like a fish out of water, and his other hand clawed chaotically at Song Heping's face.

But Song Heping's movements were faster, fiercer, more precise!

His bandaged arm erupted with incredible strength, pressing Dr. Mahadi firmly at the edge of the hospital bed like an iron clamp.

At the same time, the needle with a cold glint stabbed viciously into Dr. Mahadi's arm, the same one he had gripped so tightly moments ago!

Dr. Mahadi watched helplessly as Song Heping's fingers firmly and powerfully pushed the plunger of the syringe.

The syringe, containing a 10% potassium chloride solution, its lethal liquid being injected into his own bloodstream by Song Heping!

A cold stream entered his vein, flowing rapidly toward his heart!

Flowing throughout his body!

10% potassium chloride!

His own choice!

His own death warrant!

An ultimate fear gripped Dr. Mahadi's heart in an instant!

The intense burning sensation from the strong irritation of the high concentration of potassium ions on the blood vessel walls, along with the horrible premonition that his heart might be gripped by an invisible giant hand, caused him to emit an inhuman scream.

"Agh—!"

Dr. Mahadi's eyes widened; his eyeballs, overwhelmed with extreme terror, seemed on the brink of popping out of their sockets as he stared in disbelief at Song Heping and then looked down at the small injection hole on his arm.

The immense fear fueled his strength, and Dr. Mahadi suddenly broke free from Song Heping's hold.

The survival instinct erupted like a volcano!

Antidote!

Calcium gluconate!

Calcium ions can counter the toxicity of high potassium on the myocardium!

The antidote is downstairs!

There's still time!

Calcium injections must be administered immediately!

Otherwise, the heart could stop at any moment!

Like a trapped beast pushed to the brink, he unleashed his final strength and, without regard for anything, turned and lunged toward the ward door!

A garbled scream came from his throat.

"Stop him!"

Song Heping's voice was cold and clear.

Kafvan, who had been in a daze, finally came to his senses!

He leaped like a leopard, landing a heavy hook punch onto Dr. Mahadi's side and soft ribs!

"Puff!"

Being a Revolutionary Guard officer trained by the Special Forces, Kafvan's punch smashed all of Dr. Mahadi's movements and roars to pieces.

The severe pain darkened the vision of the already thoroughly embarrassed doctor, violently expelling the air from his lungs, and he stumbled forward like a collapsing sack of mud.

Before he could hit the ground, Kafvan's thick, powerful arm looped around his neck like a steel cable, choking him tightly.

Meanwhile, his knee pressed heavily into Mahadi's lower back, pinning him firmly to the floor.

Two seconds later, the cold muzzle of a gun pressed heavily against his temple, the icy metal sensation instantly freezing all his struggles.

"Move again, and I'll blow your head off."

Kafvan's voice was close to his ear, each word dripping with intense murderous intent.

Dr. Mahadi could distinctly feel the bulging muscles on Kafvan's arm and the pressure being applied by the gun's muzzle.

He lay limp on the ground, his body convulsively twitching uncontrollably from extreme pain and suffocation.

The cold sweat mixed with tears of agony, smearing his face stickily.

More terrifyingly, he could distinctly feel the intense burning pain from the injection point on his arm, his heart beginning to beat erratically, like a runaway wild horse pounding against his chest—a sign that hyperkalemia's early symptoms had begun to appear!

Song Heping was already sitting up.

He removed the IV needle from the back of his hand with crisp and efficient movements, as if the thunderous blow just now hadn't exhausted him much at all.

He threw off the thin blanket, placing his feet on the cold ground, and the bandaged leg seemed not to impede his movements.

He looked down loftily at Dr. Mahadi, pinned tightly to the floor, his eyes devoid of any ripples, only a cold scrutiny.

He bent over, reaching down to pick up the near empty syringe.

The syringe contained only a tiny bit of the leftover colorless liquid.

"What is it?"

Song Heping's voice wasn't loud, his gaze almost playfully sweeping across Dr. Mahadi's face.

"Cyanide?"

Dr. Mahadi remained silent.

Song Heping immediately dismissed his own thought: "No, if it was cyanide, you would already be showing very obvious symptoms…"

He ran his finger back and forth beneath his lips twice.

As if trying to scrape out the answer.

Then asked again:

"Digitalis glycosides?"

Dr. Mahadi still didn't respond.

Song Heping glanced at the liquid in the syringe and continued shaking his head: "It doesn't look like it either…"

Finally, it seemed like Song Heping had figured out something, and asked with a smile:

"High concentration potassium chloride? Direct intravenous injection. A dose enough to completely stop the heart within a few minutes. Clean and efficient. A very surgeon-like choice, Dr. Mahadi."

He casually tossed the empty syringe onto the floor in front of Dr. Mahadi, producing a crisp clattering sound.

"Now."

He crouched down, meeting the scattered gaze of Dr. Mahadi, whose eyes were blurred with pain and fear, and his voice dropped even lower: "Tell me, who is directing you? Who exactly is the poison snake the CIA has inside Persia?"

Kafvan's cold gun barrel very timely pressed into Dr. Mahadi's temple again, syncing with Song Heping's interrogation rhythm.

Dr. Mahadi felt another violent and irregular spasm in his heart, bringing a suffocating panic.

"Wronged… I… I am wronged!"

He struggled to breathe, each word coming out with blood and a hoarse cry, his voice distorted by Kafvan's arm pressing against him, filled with a deliberate show of panic and grievance.

"That… that's hydrochloride levofloxacin! It's an anti-inflammatory! I… I just wanted to change the medication! Mr. Song! You can't do this! The General… the General will…"

He rambled incoherently, trying to leverage Avanti's name, yet his eyes were filled with genuine terror due to the abnormal pulsation of his heart.

Kafvan did not relax his grip on the man's arm at all, but his brows furrowed tightly.

He lowered his head, looking at the sniveling, utterly disheveled doctor beneath him, whose body was constantly convulsing from excruciating pain and some internal agony.

How many minutes had passed?

Besides the physiological tremors caused by fear and pain, he seemed...

His complexion was becoming more ashen, his breathing rapid and heavy, cold sweat trickling down his forehead like a stream...

Furthermore, Kafvan could feel the man's heart beating underneath, astonishingly fast and completely irregular.

This was absolutely more than fear!

Could it be…

Kafvan's eyes turned with suspicion towards Song Heping.

No expression was visible on Song Heping's face.

He slowly stood up, but his gaze remained cold.

"Kafvan."

Song Heping's voice broke the oppressive silence in the ward, calm without even a ripple.

"Send the residual liquid in this syringe downstairs to the lab. Have them analyze the potassium ion concentration as quickly as possible."

His gaze shifted to the still pointlessly writhing and protesting Dr. Mahadi on the ground, whose convulsions were becoming more pronounced, the corner of his mouth curling into a sneer.

"As for our 'innocent' Dr. Mahadi…"

Song Heping spoke each word deliberately: "Detain him. Solitary confinement. No one is allowed to contact him. No medication is to be given."

He paused, his gaze landing on Dr. Mahadi's face, twisted suddenly by cardiac pain.

"Especially… calcium supplements."

The final two words were bitten out particularly clearly and slowly.

"Keep him locked up. Until… the 'normal saline' in his body starts to take effect. Until our esteemed doctor personally experiences how the poison he carefully selected silences his heart completely."

He leaned closer again, looking at Dr. Mahadi's face twisted with intense pain and despair.

"Feel it well, doctor. Feel how those heartbeats become more and more frantic, disorderly… then… stop. You have very little time to decide whether to die with your secrets or… seize the last chance."

"No!!"

The doctor let out a piercing wail.

Song Heping's words branded him like a red-hot iron searing into his nerves.

Countdown!

Calcium gluconate!

The antidote so near yet so far!

He could clearly feel the icy grip of death on his heart, each irregular beat felt like the last struggle!

The fear of the poison's effect, like a flood, washed away all his hopeful defenses.

Suddenly, his heart gave a violent twist, almost suffocating him in pain, and he began to gasp for air.

"I'll tell! I'll tell!!"

He howled, collapsing.

"It's… it's Sadiq! Sadiq Zakhdi! The Intelligence Chief of the Revolutionary Guard Holy City Brigade! It's him! Codename 'Poison Needle'! It's him! He forced me! Threatened me with my daughter… with my daughter! Antidote! Give me the calcium! Hurry! I'm begging you! My heart… it's about to stop! I don't want to die! I don't want to die—!"

Sadiq Zakhdi!

The name exploded like a thunderclap in Kafvan's ears.

Holding Dr. Mahadi down, Kafvan's body abruptly went stiff, and his face instantly drained of color, leaving only extreme shock and disbelief.

Revolutionary Guard Holy City Brigade!

Intelligence Chief!

He was one of the General's most trusted right-hand men!

He was responsible for the core layer of this security endeavor!

How could this be?!

Kafvan jerked his head up to look at Song Heping, his eyes filled with horror and questioning.

However, Song Heping's face remained calm, as if this earth-shattering name had long been within his expectations.

"Kafvan, what are you waiting for?"

He asked.

"Waiting to keep this scourge around for Eid?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com