I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 129: Exploring the Truth: The Secret of the Drug Trial (Patreon)

When they reached the bus, Watson went inside and sniffed around.

Sure enough, he picked up a faint scent of blood.

But that was all.

Liam searched the bus from top to bottom and couldn't find a single other clue.

"These people are careful."

Liam figured the Vampire assassins had probably already hidden somewhere in the forest and set up an ambush.

"Lily, can you detect them?"

"Something's wrong, Little One. There aren't any Vampires or humans anywhere in this forest."

Huh?

That left Liam completely stumped.

They couldn't seriously have come all the way out here just to hike, could they? Had they abandoned their bus just to go camping?

Then Liam suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled out his Events Logbook.

Sure enough, a new event had appeared.

[Vampire Night Raid]

[Event Level: C]

[Exploration Progress: 100%]

[Reward: Assassination (Accelerates spiritual energy accumulation while hidden in the shadows)]

How had it suddenly been completed?

This was the first event Liam had ever resolved without personally getting involved.

But after thinking it over, it actually made perfect sense.

The Vampires had been led into the forest by Bob and Bobby, and for some reason, the entire group had ended up wiped out.

That explanation made sense.

Liam just wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Charlotte spoke up.

"I can weave spiderwebs around the edge of the campground. If anyone touches them, I'll be able to sense it."

"That's perfect."

Liam hadn't realized Charlotte could do something like that. It was basically a living infrared alarm system.

"It's another ability I've recently regained. I didn't expect the show you suggested to attract so many viewers. My power has been recovering very quickly."

Charlotte sounded quite pleased.

Liam asked curiously,

"Once your faith is fully restored, how strong can you become?"

Lily stood in front of him proudly.

"Little One, let me tell you something. I used to be incredibly powerful. No one could ever catch me."

"Even now, no one could catch you if you decided to run away."

Charlotte couldn't resist chiming in before turning to Liam.

"You might be disappointed. Even at our peak, we'd have trouble dealing with a steel monster like a tank. But we have plenty of unique abilities.

"For example, I used to be able to use my spider silk to set all kinds of traps across an area almost as large as this forest."

Lily stared at Liam with her wide, cat-like eyes.

"Back then, I could gather almost any information about an enemy. My stealth abilities also helped me save quite a few companions, although there were many others I couldn't save."

Liam rubbed Lily's head.

"Don't worry. You might recover your full strength sooner than you think."

"Little One, once I'm fully recovered, I'm going to rub your head too."

Over the next few days, Liam spent his days at the TV station producing the program about drug trials, while at night he worked on props for another show.

He planned to combine James's and Taylor's suggestions and turn the investigation into a broader special about drug trials in general.

That way, it wouldn't look like deliberate retaliation against any particular company, while also making the report more credible.

Finally, a few days later, a new episode of Exploring the Truth was ready.

That evening, Sean sat excitedly in front of the television, waiting for another fascinating Mysterious Event.

Instead, Liam's opening words immediately confused him.

"Viewers, tonight I'm going to reveal a bloody truth."

"As everyone knows, many of the medicines that save lives and treat diseases are developed by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. And throughout that process, sacrifices are inevitable."

Sean looked puzzled and called over to his father.

"Dad, what's a pharmaceutical company?"

"It's a company that makes things like the cold medicine you take. Aren't you watching some silly kids' show? Why are they talking about this?"

Sean's father sat down beside him, equally confused.

Sean immediately defended the program.

"Dad, Liam's not that simple. He knows all kinds of things people don't know about."

That caught his father's interest.

Now he wanted to see what exactly the host of a children's program had to say.

"On the surface, drug trials follow the law and appear perfectly safe. But what we found tells a very different story."

The program then showed the photographs Dylan had taken, along with the extremely questionable procedures he'd witnessed.

Sean's father frowned.

"I didn't realize things were this bad."

He hadn't expected the procedures to be so sloppy. Some of them almost looked like a joke.

If the test subjects didn't even know what drugs they were taking, how could anyone guarantee they were being given the correct medication?

Next came a recorded interview.

Naturally, the interviewee's face had been pixelated.

"I've been short on money lately, so when I saw ads from those pharmaceutical companies, I signed up. I never expected the drugs to mess with my head like that."

The interview didn't go into detail about everything the subject had experienced, but anyone watching could tell the drug trial had affected him badly.

Sean's father remembered seeing advertisements like those before.

At first, he'd assumed they were simply another option for people struggling financially.

Now, that option didn't seem nearly as harmless.

The entire program remained remarkably restrained.

It didn't name any particular company, nor did it exaggerate the side effects.

It simply presented the evidence they had gathered.

Near the end of the program, Liam calmly added,

"Human progress inevitably comes with sacrifice. I only hope those sacrifices have meaning and aren't made for nothing."

When the program ended, Sean was thoroughly satisfied.

To him, it had been another strange and exciting glimpse into something he'd never known about before.

But when he turned toward his father, he saw a serious expression on his face.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about a few things."

Sean's father shook his head.

There was no way he could explain all the darker implications behind the program to his son.

Instead, he asked,

"Do you have a videotape of this show? I'd like to watch it again."

"Sure! I'll go get it."

Sean happily ran off to find the tape.

He simply liked knowing that his father finally seemed to approve of something he enjoyed.

The next day, James made an excited announcement at the station.

"Our show pulled in huge ratings again!"

"Yeah!"

Everyone cheered.

James continued,

"The episode's gotten so much attention that I heard people were already gathering outside several drug trial sites this morning, demanding to see their permits and paperwork."

Evan looked a little concerned.

"Couldn't that interfere with legitimate trials?"

Liam patted him on the shoulder.

"That's not our concern. Our job is to uncover the truth and show it to the public.

"If those companies aren't doing anything wrong, then all this attention will only improve their reputation."

"Oh, I see."

Evan nodded in realization.

After delivering the good news, James went over to Liam.

"Come upstairs to the office. There's something I need to tell you."