Old Mr. Lancaster's legs were nearly fully recovered. He had gone from standing briefly to walking with support for a few minutes, and now he could walk assisted for over an hour without pain.
Serena applied a thick layer of a specialized medicinal mud to his calves. "You should be able to walk completely unassisted in a few days, Grandpa," she said, handing the empty bowl to Alfred, the butler.
Catherine quickly handed Serena a warm towel to wipe her hands. Just as the family was celebrating the good news, Serena's phone rang.
It was Mr. Harrison.
Serena narrowed her eyes slightly, wiping her hands before answering. Before she could utter a word, a frantic, booming voice came through the speaker.
"Thank God you're back in the country! If you hadn't returned, I would've flown out there to drag you back myself!"
Serena pulled the phone away from her ear. Waiting for him to finish yelling, she signaled to her family that she needed to take the call. She walked out into the garden, her tone cool. "Get to the point."
"It's a massive breakthrough!" Mr. Harrison sounded ecstatic. "That neural research chip you sent back from the United Realmon States—the core data is flawless! I heard the Ghost Alliance spent years developing it, and you just handed it over to us!" He paused, chuckling nervously. "The government actually sent a commendation pennant to the Gray Zone to thank them. I hear the guy who accepted it looked pretty confused."
"Focus, Harrison," Serena sighed.

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