Chapter 174: The Mysterious Girl in Imperial City

The academicians were all elderly, but a young man, Marvin, had recently emerged. This naturally displeased older members like Dean Sebastian. The established academicians considered themselves equals, and Marvin's arrival didn't sit well with them.

However, over three years of academic forums, Marvin had presented innovative and brilliant medical texts. This gradually lessened the older men's initial resentment.

Dean Sebastian's announcement elicited gasps and stunned silence from the audience. "Marvin," he declared, "is the youngest academician in the medical field."

Pamela was shocked, standing dumbfounded. She stared at Marvin and Olive in disbelief. She could hardly believe that the young man who often slept in the pharmacy was both the youngest academician and the youngest son of the prestigious Augustine family. Either title alone would make him an elite in Imperial City, completely inaccessible to her and the reporters.

Dean Sebastian approached Olive. "As for Olive," he declared, "let the speculation cease. She entered the Ivory Council through me, not through any special channel."

The crowd gazed at Olive in awe. Dean Sebastian then addressed the media.

"Tonight's events were a misunderstanding. I invited both Olive and Marvin. They will jointly perform this operation—Marvin as the main surgeon, and Olive as the main acupuncture point sealer." He continued, ignoring the shocked reactions, "This operation is risky, but I have complete confidence in them. This won't be their first collaboration. Recall the news from two years ago: a mysterious girl and a young man performed a successful street surgery in Imperial City. The girl disappeared afterward. That girl was Olive!" He finished with a proud sniff.

The night's revelations were shocking. The surgery two years ago had already garnered considerable attention. All eyes were now on Olive, awestruck by her abilities.

"How old was Olive two years ago?" someone asked.

"She just turned twenty a short while ago," another replied.

"She was eighteen then," a third added.

Murmurs filled the room. "Wasn't she an orphan from the countryside? How did she end up in Imperial City performing such complex surgery?"

The reporters buzzed with confusion. Pamela felt numb, her head swimming. She had no idea what the dean was orchestrating. While the reporters may not have known about the street surgery, she did. She had been studying at Holy Nile then, and even participated in a student outing to appreciate the mysterious girl who vanished without a trace. She remembered the widespread praise surrounding the girl. She never imagined that the mysterious girl had been Olive, her stepsister, all along.

"I will hold a press conference to answer your questions later," Dean Sebastian announced. "Olive, Marvin, let's go."

The trio left, and the reporters erupted.

"Pamela, you brought us here to expose a fraud, and now this? You've been completely humiliated by Director Robert!"

"Pamela, you should find something more worthwhile to do. This is ridiculous and pathetic."

"Pamela, I bet you didn't even know Marvin was an Imperial City academician, did you?"

"Forget her, let's go write our stories. We have plenty of breaking news tonight."

The reporters dispersed. Pamela struggled to breathe, her anger simmering. Her second phone vibrated; it was Patrick, her father. She let out a shriek and scratched her head in frustration.

Outside the pharmacy, Dean Sebastian approached Marvin. "Marvin, Mrs. Robert, your grandmother's close friend, needs surgery. She came to Los Angeles to visit your grandmother but fell ill. Fortunately, Olive was there to help. I need you to participate."

Marvin replied, "You already announced to the media that I'll be the surgeon alongside Olive. Can I still refuse?"

Dean Sebastian understood. "Olive, do you have any objections?" he asked.

(Note: I corrected grammatical errors, punctuation, and improved sentence structure. I also removed the seemingly extraneous lines "The Subwärts Bridle Dated by Danire Husband" and the final "(6)" which seemed out of place.)