MMA System: I Will Be Pound For Pound Goat

Chapter 432 Surgical Wait I

Jake noticed Damon's expression and narrowed his eyes. "What's with the look?"

Damon thought fast. "Huh? Oh, nothing, just... I think the water looks a little off."

Joey frowned. "What do you mean? It's just water."

Damon gestured vaguely at the glass. "I don't know, maybe it's the lighting or something. It just doesn't look right to me."

Jake gave him a skeptical look. "It's hospital water, man. Probably tastes like a swimming pool anyway."

Damon stood, grabbing the glass. "Hang on. Let me just check it real quick. Trust me, you don't want to be drinking anything sketchy, especially with surgery tomorrow."

Joey raised an eyebrow but didn't stop him. "You're acting a little paranoid."

"Better safe than sorry," Damon muttered as he turned slightly, pretending to examine the glass closely.

With a subtle motion, he uncapped the vial of elixir in his pocket and quickly poured it into the water.

He gave the glass a small swirl, watching as the liquid dissolved completely.

"There. Looks fine now," Damon said casually, placing the glass back on the counter. "Probably just a trick of the light."

Jake shrugged, still unconvinced. "You're weird, man. But whatever." He reached for the glass and took a sip, grimacing slightly. "Tastes like chemicals. Typical hospital."

Joey smirked. "You're gonna be fine, Jake. Just get through tomorrow, and we'll figure everything else out."

Damon sat back down, feeling a small sense of relief. "Exactly. Just one step at a time."

Jake set the glass back down after finishing his sip, leaning back into his bed. "Guess I just need to survive tomorrow, huh?"

"You'll be fine," Joey said, giving his brother a reassuring smile. "I'll be here the whole time."

Damon nodded in agreement. "Same. You've got this."

A short silence fell over the room before Joey glanced at Damon. "We should get out of here. Let Jake rest."

Jake waved them off, his tone light but tired. "Yeah, get out of here, both of you. I'll see you after the surgery."

Joey patted his brother's shoulder before leading Damon out of the room.

The hospital corridors were quiet as they walked back toward the lobby.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "You never told me that."

Joey rolled his eyes, pulling out his phone. "Because I figured you'd hate social media. You've made it clear a million times you didn't want to deal with all the comments and crap. That's why you gave it to me."

"I mean, yeah, but..." Damon trailed off. "I didn't know I could still log in myself."

Joey smirked, pulling up the account. "Here, let me show you." He reached over, unlocking Damon's phone and logging him in. "Boom. There. Now you have full access."

Damon stared at the screen, bemused. "So, this is what power feels like."

Joey clinked his glass against Damon's. "Now you can start beef on Chirper and keep me out of it."

Damon chuckled. "Yeah, because that's what I needed, more drama."

Joey raised his hands innocently. "Just saying. Use it wisely, or recklessly. Your call."

Damon smirked, his thumb hovering over the app. "I'll think about it."

Damon unlocked his phone, now logged into his account for the first time.

He scrolled through the notifications, the sheer volume of comments, mentions, and messages overwhelming at first.

Joey had been handling this chaos with ease, but now it was his turn.

He found Ismael Desayen's post, the one that had everyone buzzing.

Damon stared at it for a moment, his thumb hovering over the reply button. He didn't want to overthink it. Sometimes less was more.

Finally, he tapped on the reply field and began typing:

"After I win the tournament, it'll be an honor to fight someone like you, Ismael. A pioneer, in a way. Let's make it a fight everyone remembers."

Satisfied, Damon hit post and leaned back, a small, confident smirk on his face.

It was cocky, sure, but it wasn't disrespectful. He wanted people to know he wasn't backing down from the challenge, but he also respected what Ismael had accomplished in his career.

Joey glanced at him from across the table, noticing the smirk. "What'd you post?"

"Just agreed to the fight," Damon said casually, locking his phone. "With a little flair."

Joey chuckled, shaking his head. "You've got no chill, huh?"

"None," Damon replied, taking a sip of his drink. "Now let's see how the internet reacts."