Harem Investment System: Getting Money And Women-Chapter 211: Silicon City (VI)

Riley's father let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Thank you," he said, voice thick with emotion.

The doctor gave a small nod before stepping out to make further arrangements.

Riley wiped at her eyes, looking toward the door as if expecting Ethan to walk in at any moment. But he didn't.

Of course he didn't.

Maybe he wanted them to have time… but she was grateful for it, she didn't want him to see her in this sorrowful state, with tears streaking down her eyes and snot coming out of her nose. She turned back to her mother.

…

The doors to the hospital room swung open shortly after, and a team of doctors and nurses entered, their movements precise and practiced.

Without wasting a second, they began preparing to transport Riley's mother to the operating room.

The quiet hum of machines filled the space as they carefully unhooked and adjusted equipment, checking her vitals one last time before the move.

Riley stood by the bedside, her hands clasped tightly together, watching as her mother was lifted onto the stretcher.

The IV lines and tubes attached to her made it all the more terrifying. She looked so fragile, so breakable, it seemed she would break at any moment.

Her father swallowed hard, his usual stern expression masking the deep worry in his eyes.

Oliver stood rigid, his jaw clenched, hands shoved into his pockets as if trying to keep them from shaking.

None of them spoke. There was nothing to say.

As the doctors pushed the stretcher forward, Riley followed, her legs moving on instinct.

Her father and Oliver walked beside her, the three of them a silent force trailing behind the medical team, the medical team was calm, they had done this too many times before and that was what made Riley calmer.

The hallways felt endless.

The cold fluorescent lights reflected off the sterile white walls, casting a clinical glow over everything.

With every step, they passed more and more patients — people in wheelchairs, people clutching their chests, people whose faces were pale and hollow, everybody was in a different situation.

They might not have pulmonary fibrosis like her mother but still, there were people with different conditions – the Hospital was just that big.

And then they saw him.

A man on a stretcher, barely breathing. Blood soaked through the sheets covering him, pooling around a bullet wound in his chest.

His face was contorted in pain, his breaths shallow and ragged.

A nurse shouted for a trauma team, and more staff rushed in, wheeling him past them at full speed.

Oliver shut his eyes for a moment, his face tightening. Riley turned her head away, unable to bear the sight.

Death was everywhere in this place.

It reeked in the air, seeped into their noses and made the hospital even more scary.

It made her mother's situation all the more real.

They reached the doors of the operating room, where a few more doctors were already waiting.

One of them — a woman in her forties with sharp eyes and a calm demeanor — approached them.

"We're taking her in now," she said gently. "The transplant preparations are underway, and we'll be stabilizing her before the procedure. It will take time, but we're optimistic."

Her father gave a stiff nod, as if afraid that speaking would break him.

Riley, however, found her voice. "Can we stay? Can we wait here?"

The doctor offered a small, understanding smile. "It's going to be a long surgery. I suggest you all go home and rest."

Riley wanted to argue, wanted to insist that she couldn't possibly sleep while her mother was on an operating table, but Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She's right," he murmured. "We're no help standing around."

She looked between him and her father, then back at the doctor, her heart sinking.

"Will you call us the second there's news?" she asked.

"Of course."

Riley turned her eyes to her mother one last time as they wheeled her through the doors.

Then they were left standing in the empty hallway, the only sound the steady beep of machines from nearby rooms.

Stepping outside the hospital doors felt like surfacing from deep underwater.

The crisp late afternoon air wrapped around them, a stark contrast to the sterile, artificial atmosphere they had just left behind.

For a brief moment, Riley inhaled deeply, trying to rid her lungs of the lingering scent of antiseptic and sickness.

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The hospital parking lot was dimly lit, with only a few streetlights flickering in the distance.

Even though it was well past rush hour, the hospital's emergency entrance remained busy.

A couple of ambulances were parked near the entrance, their back doors wide open as paramedics hurried to unload new patients.

As the family walked toward their car, another stretcher was being wheeled in, a man groaning in pain, his body twisted unnaturally.

Riley glanced away quickly, but the image was already burned into her mind.

This place never rested.

That was how hospitals were, she could only wonder what it was like working in this place.

Her father, Robert, walked ahead with slow, heavy steps, his shoulders hunched in a way that made him look older than he was.

He reached his car, a modest dark blue sedan, and unlocked it without a word.

Oliver got in first, sliding into the passenger seat. Riley hesitated, still holding her phone in her hand.

She had tried calling Ethan twice, but each time, the call didn't go through.

She frowned, her thumb hovering over the redial button.

Maybe he was busy.

She wasn't sure why, but it unsettled her.

He had just up and disappeared after paying for everything.

Had he gone back home? Was he just giving them space? It was getting weird.

She bit her lip, staring at her phone screen before sighing and slipping into the back seat.

Robert started the engine, and the low hum of the car filled the quiet.

No one spoke as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

…

Ethan leaned back in the cab's seat, eyes roaming the cityscape as the taxi weaved through the bustling streets.

This was his first time in Silicon City, and even though he had heard about it, nothing could have prepared him for the sheer size and energy of the place.

If he thought driving from the subway to the hospital made this place big then he was immensely wrong, Silicon was even bigger than that.

Neon signs flashed against the glass buildings, and the sidewalks were packed with people, some walking briskly in business attire while others laughed over street food at stalls.

The cab driver, an older man with graying hair and a thick accent, glanced at Ethan through the rearview mirror.

"First time in Silicon City?"

He wanted to say no like he did with the first Taxi but rather he admitted the truth.

Ethan nodded, still taking everything in. "Yeah. Heard a lot about it, but seeing it in person is different."

The driver chuckled. "That it is. This place never sleeps. You could spend a whole year here and still not see everything."

Ethan smirked. "Guess I better make the most of it, then."

The driver hummed in agreement and made a sharp turn onto a wider road, where even more towering buildings lined the horizon.

"You know, since you're new here, I can show you around a bit. For a little extra, of course."

Ethan pulled out his wallet without hesitation. "Fair deal."

He handed the man some bills, and the driver grinned.

"When there's money involved, one would do anything," the driver muttered with amusement as he pocketed the cash.

And Ethan agreed, Money was one of the most important things in this world.

The taxi slowed as they reached a large, open plaza, a rare stretch of space amidst the tightly packed city.

In the center stood a tall statue, its bronze surface reflecting the glow of the surrounding streetlights.

The driver turned off the engine and gestured for Ethan to step out.

"Come on, kid. You oughta see this up close."

Ethan hesitated for a moment before stepping out of the cab.

The driver walked ahead of him and pointed at the statue.

"This right here is Arthur Silicon, strange name but it's important — the guy who built Silicon City from the ground up. Back then, this place was just another small town, but he had a vision. Turned it into what you see today."

Ethan tilted his head, examining the finely sculpted details of the man cast in bronze.

"Must've taken a lot to build all this."

The driver scoffed. "You bet. This city ain't just about money; it's about ambition. You got that, you can make it here. Without it? This place'll eat you alive."

Ethan listened, his gaze drifting from the statue to the skyline above.

He could see it now — the way opportunity pulsed through this city, the way the lights never truly went out.

It was different from Greyport, where things moved at a steadier pace. Here, everything felt… limitless.