Bella and Adelle were silently crying. Dean was hugging Bella.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Bella was still sniffing.
"No worries, it's all in the past. I didn't want to tell you because I want you to live without worries until I find them."
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome! So let me continue. A month after, I couldn't contact Joe anymore, who died in an accident but I found it two months later. So I tried calling my own phone to see if there were any messages. There was the last call from your mom warning me, the gardener and…." He hesitated. Bella didn't see it, but Dean did.
"And?" Bella asked with puffy eyes.
"Aaaannndd the phone call ended." Belden evaded her eyes. Rubs his hair.
"I know they would've saved me if they could. I'm not mad at them. I'm happy they're together and I'm sure they'll come back."
"No, Uncle, I will look for them. They need to be warned. Dean will help me."
"Oh, that's good then." He looked at Dean. 'Don't make promises you can't keep or I'll fry you!'
Dean understood his Uncle's eyes threatening him. It's funny, but he's also grateful that he cares for Bella and her family. 'I'll talk to him later and also make sure to treat him well too.'
"Let's go I'll show you around!" Bella took Dean's hands, and they walked. She moved them on the other side and explored the new stretched field. Then she showed them the cave. Uncle Belden was already making a mental note of the things he also needed to prepare. He also plans to rent a warehouse and call Bella to move the things when the time comes.
Dean's impressed at how big the space was. It looks unlimited. He also had the theory that it will become better if they find other stones. They were in front of the unexplored door. It has a grey color that blends with the color of the surrounding rocks. Above the door, there is a red and green light that seems to be switched off.
Dean looked at the door closely at the center, then he pushed something.
"PUUUFFFFF" They were startled and stepped back. A small rectangular shaped box opened. Inside were two black valves with numbers around it. The first from the left has 1 to 30 numbers, the second has 1 to12 number, then the last one looks like those scrolling lock numbers on luggage. It's divided into five digits scrolls, each digit has numbers from 0 to 9. There was also a red and green button in all of them.
Bella, Adell, and Uncle Belden were in deep thought, trying to figure out what it's for. They didn't notice Dean, who was smiling and went away. When he came back, he had the transparent vase from the table filled with wet soil. They only notice him when he opens the doorknob.
"Hey, wait, are you doing?" Bella pulled his hand.
He smiled brightly. "Watch this." He smiled mysteriously. He went inside and went out right away without the vase. He closed the door, and he turned something underneath that seemed to be a lock. Then he touched the rolling numbers, and it looked like '05000'.
Then he pushed the green button. "Toing!" The red light above the door lit. Dean watched his watch. After one minute, "Toing!" The green button lighted and the red light switched off. Then "Click". The lock underneath the knob pops out. Dean opened the door. Waited 10 seconds and went in. When he went out, everybody was dumbfounded!
From the transparent vase grew a plant, and it seems like... ginseng! 'WTH!!!!'
Bella looked at him wide-eyed, her eyes almost popped out.
Dean laughed. "It is precisely what you're thinking, a 5,000-year-old ginseng!"
Everybody gasped. Uncle and Adelle covered their mouths. Bella shakingly reached for the vase. Dean gave it to her slowly. Bella embraces the vase like a precious baby and looks at Dean with the brightest smile.
In Bella's head 'It was the pink stone?'
In Adelle's mind, 'We can make great wine!'
In Dean's brain, 'It's a time machine!'
In Uncle Belden's heart, 'It's an oven of time?'
Bella and the company went out of the space. Uncle Belden and Dean made calls, while Adelle started searching the net about wine brewing. Everybody was busy, so Adelle ordered takeout for dinner. A week is wasted, but at least she has gained very useful abilities. It's also time to continue managing the deliveries and learn from Grandpa Tang.
Bella went to the kitchen and prepared ten thermoses, which she filled with water from the space. She gave her uncle and Adelle two that they can bring with them. Also for Dean, two for him and the rest for testing. Since he had access to laboratories, it's better to know more about it. It could be a great help if it has healing abilities, this will bring hope for everybody.
So many things would be contaminated in the apocalypse, if this water somehow can cure, even slowly, it would cause a better future than her last life. I will all depend on their actions now.
Dean is also a doctor, and every day he treats people with different illnesses and health problems. It might be unethical as a doctor to use his patients to be guinea pi 'ehem test subjects' especially without their consent, but right now, the future depends on it. They drank it themselves and there was no problem, right? Heck, it would be their gain if it can cure them, especially in those hopeless cases. Dean took them and went straight to the hospital.
Uncle Belden stayed for the night because he was really exhausted from all the events that happened. He was sitting on the bed thinking of the last phone message Alexandria made. That still makes him worry. There were sounds of gunshots and things crashing. If he had told Bella about it, it would make her worry, but it's also giving her false hope. When she said that Dean could help, maybe it's for the better. Since having hope makes one fight to go forward, he'll give this burden to him. Anyway, he will always be with her no matter what happens. This way, he could make use of his second life that God gave him and that Stefano painstakingly saved.
Dean sent a message to his Grandpa and his parents requesting for a family meeting. After he planned in the hospital, he went home. He's still inside his car in the parking lot. So many things needed to be done. But he wants to disclose Bella's involvement until he can. It would be hard to convince them without proof, so he could only try. All of this made him admire Bella even more, a strong-willed woman. He's very proud of her, but at the same time afraid of the surrounding dangers. He wishes that he'll have more power to protect her and everything she loves.
He can't help but smile at how hard he fell for her in such a short time. This love that wishes to change the future into a more peaceful one. Not only a good life away from dangers, but also filled with tranquility and love instead. If there's a way to prevent the apocalypse, he would do it so he would start from surveying the sky. Since his family has built connections around the globe, it's time to use it. He exited the car and asked Butler Bo to get him something, then went straight to his Grandpa's study room.
Grandpa Jin, Grandma Dy, and his parents are in the room.
"Honey, are you okay? How's Bella?" Aurora asked Dean worriedly.
" I'm fine, but I need to tell you something very important. But give me a minute before I start." Somebody knocked on the door and Butler Bo entered holding a tea set for them. He placed it on the table before he left,
"You know what to do." Dean said looking at Butler Bo.
"Yes, young master." He bowed and exited the study and closed the door. He waived at the five people waiting outside and they all went to their respective positions to guard the room.
All of them were looking at Dean with curiosity. Dean opened his bag and took out a thermos. He poured the water to the teacups.
"Do any of you feel pain in any part of your body?" Everybody raised their hands.
"Oh, Oh me! I hit my foot on the bed!" said Granny Dy while raising her hand.
"You know, I always have a backache at this hour." said Grandpa Jin
"I have aching legs and feet because of my heels," Aurora said while massaging her leg. Then they turned to Sean, who was raising his hands but was silent.
He drops his hands like a guilty kid. He says, "Well, I don't have any pain but by the looks of it you want us to drink that right? So I thought, you won't give me some if I don't have any pain…." He murmurs at the end. Aurora facepalmed and his grandparents shook their heads.
Dean laughed. Everybody smiled, it was rare to see him laugh without restraint. They were nervous when he called for a meeting, but now it lessens a little. Dean also felt the pressure in the room, but since all of them are already tired from work, he'll cut them some slack.
" I'll give it to everybody, I just want you to note your body's conditions before drinking it." He encouraged them to take the cups. They all drank it. Dean looked at his watch. His grandparents were blinking at him. His parents are looking at each other. Thirty seconds passed and Aurora's face widened. Grandpa's jaw dropped while Granny Dy was moving her feet.
"Well, the pain on foot is gone." Granny murmurs.
"My….my back pain's gone too." Grandpa said in deep thought.
"Omo omo." Aurora sips the water till not a drop was left. "My legs feel better, I...I think I could run a marathon!"
"I feel good too, like I can go to work for an entire day without resting!" Said Sean excitedly.
"So Grandson, is this a miracle elixir?" Grandpa asked confusedly because elixirs are kept in jade bottles or crystals, not in a thermos…. 'Who's the nut head that kept an elixir in a $10 thermos, such a waste!"
"Actually, I just left a sample in the lab and I have some here but I'll send it to Aunt Deborah for testing."
"This is good stuff son! Maybe it could do more! Give me some and I'll test it myself!" said Sean.
"But where did it come from? Why do you have more?" Granny Dy asked.
"For now, I can't tell you but don't worry, it's a very reliable person."
"We trust you but don't put yourself in danger, honey," Aurora said worriedly.
"What's more? You didn't call us only for this, right?" Grandpa said seriously.
"This will be a long story but first, the most important, this person knows about the existence of Battalion Base..."
"WHAAAATTTTT!!!!!!!!!" Everybody shouted together.