Chapter 407 - 271: A Zombie in the Cyber World?
Doctor Lin understood Lin Qi’s unspoken meaning and didn’t press the matter further.
"Mm," he first agreed with Lin Qi.
Then he continued, "If worse comes to worst, just give Lin Xin a call."
Behind Lin Xin is the Assassin Alliance, and behind them, the Eastern Alliance.
As her family, Doctor Lin and Lin Qi could run away at any time.
This was the source of the old man’s confidence.
The topic had somehow grown a bit heavy. It was just treating a patient, so why was a Prosthetic Doctor getting so worried?
Doctor Lin changed the topic again, trying to lighten the mood.
"Speaking of which, how do you think we should divvy up Green Hair’s inheritance? You don’t think he’s planning to leave it all to that dame from the Celestial Palace, do you?"
"I can’t believe people like that still exist in this world. He’s really a... hopeless romantic? That word is so old-fashioned, I almost couldn’t remember it."
It seemed Doctor Lin was imagining the scene after a failed surgery.
Lin Qi, on the other hand, was rather speechless.
’What kind of Prosthetic Doctor wishes for their client to die on the operating table?’
’If I remember correctly, our Prosthetic Clinic has no ties to the Cleaner Fish faction, right?’
The No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic didn’t use prosthetics from corpses; all their second-hand parts were acquired through legitimate channels.
"Dad, you should go get the waiver ready."
Lin Qi waved his hand and simultaneously extended his Spiritual Vision, examining the state of Brother Green Hair’s brain from a distance.
The Exotic Spiritual Particles were lodged in Brother Green Hair’s frontal lobe.
In a sense, this was a good thing.
At least the risk of excision would be much lower. If Lin Qi used his Rapid Growth Ability, there wouldn’t even be any post-operative complications.
The real risk wasn’t in the surgery itself, but in the Exotic Spiritual Particles.
Lin Qi wasn’t sure if this thing would suddenly erupt during the excision process, just like the Holy Light had.
If it did erupt, there were only two possible outcomes.
One was an effect similar to that of the Holy Light, though it was uncertain what changes it would cause to the human body—but Lin Qi felt it would most likely not be a good thing.
The other was an even worse outcome: the Exotic Spiritual Particles could directly transform Brother Green Hair’s brain, turning the surrounding brain tissue into an Extraordinary Item.
If this Extraordinary Item turned out to be the Cyber World’s version of a Crimson Crystal Stone, then there would be no need to elaborate on Brother Green Hair’s fate.
Perhaps Brother Green Hair would become the first Zombie Lin Qi had ever seen in the Cyber World.
As Lin Qi was thinking, Doctor Lin began rummaging around for the storage chip containing the waiver.
The waiver was on a premium chip; not only did the chip itself cost money, but signing it also required an additional fee.
"Found it."
Doctor Lin placed the chip on the table in front of Lin Qi.
Then he asked, "Will you need my help with the surgery later?"
Lin Qi shook his head. "Just wait upstairs. It won’t take long."
Lin Qi didn’t plan on letting his father into the operating room. After all, god knows what kind of scene would unfold if those Exotic Spiritual Particles were to erupt.
There was no need to expose his father to that risk.
Doctor Lin naturally nodded. Lin Qi’s technical skills had already surpassed his own, and he trusted him completely, even if the kid seemed to be hiding a few secrets.
Lin Qi picked up the chip, estimated that it was about time, and took it into Doctor Lin’s personal workshop, which also served as the prosthetic operating room.
Brother Green Hair’s face looked much paler than before, but it wasn’t for physiological reasons.
He looked very nervous.
"Chairman Lin, do you think I’ll still be able to work after this?" Brother Green Hair asked, seemingly trying to relieve some of his stress.
While loading the chip, Lin Qi replied, "If the surgery goes well, you’ll probably have to create value for the company for several more decades."
The chip finished loading, and the waiver agreement appeared in front of Brother Green Hair.
Brother Green Hair needed to sign it digitally and pay a fee of one thousand Credit Points.
Brother Green Hair quickly completed the signing; he was very familiar with this sort of thing.
Lin Qi didn’t waste any time. He already had the anesthetic ready and, without much further discussion with Brother Green Hair, injected it directly.
"Chairman Lin, I ho—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Brother Green Hair’s consciousness faded to black.
Even an Extraordinary couldn’t withstand this stuff. A Pure Prosthetic Implanter like Brother Green Hair was knocked out in the blink of an eye by the advanced anesthetic.
"Go to sleep. There’s no point in saying too much. If everything goes smoothly, there’s no need for words."
"And if there’s an accident, there’s even less need."
Lin Qi muttered to himself as he picked up his surgical tools and began the delicate procedure.
The surgical tools were merely symbolic; what was truly doing the work was Lin Qi’s Extraordinary Power.
Just as he had when performing remote surgery on the Wizard from the Aishwarya Clan, Lin Qi directly used Blood Manipulation, forming it into sharp scalpels and beginning to cut around the area where the Exotic Spiritual Particles were gathered.
The excision area encompassed the entire frontal lobe region. He would rather expand the area than risk compromising the integrity of the mass.
Based on his experience with the Aishwarya affair, if this thing was damaged even slightly, it would cause the Exotic Spiritual Particles to erupt.
Back then, what had erupted was Holy Light.
What would this batch of Exotic Spiritual Particles erupt into?
A light of blood, perhaps?
Lin Qi didn’t know, nor did he want to test his theory.
His hands moved swiftly. While using Blood Manipulation to completely separate the entire piece of brain tissue, he used a Prosthetic Doctor’s tools to perform a craniotomy on Brother Green Hair.
Scalp, skull, exposed tissue—swiftly removed.
Everything was going exceptionally smoothly.
The thing Lin Qi had worried about didn’t happen. Within just a few minutes, the complete frontal lobe, carrying the Exotic Spiritual Particles, was out of Brother Green Hair’s head.
It was as if he had simply plucked it out while it wasn’t looking.
It was the influence of this thing that had caused Brother Green Hair’s so-called "appetite." After its removal, there were no residual Spiritual Particles left in his head.
Lin Qi placed the excised tissue onto a tray, his gaze locked on it.
Based on Lin Qi’s experience, a change was about to happen very soon.
Sure enough, not long after the brain tissue left the human body, the Exotic Spiritual Particles began to change.
A powerful Spiritual Particle adhesion effect suddenly occurred. The Spiritual Particles scattered throughout the Cyber World’s space rapidly converged upon it.
Immediately after, a touch of crimson appeared on the surface of the brain tissue. The residual blood on the tray from the "Blood Scalpel" was rapidly absorbed by the tissue.
In the end, the piece of brain tissue became increasingly crystalline, as if taking on a glass-like texture.
"Crimson Crystal Stone..."
Lin Qi’s suspicion had come true.
According to his Wizard’s instincts, this thing had a similar essence to a Crimson Crystal Stone. The two were very much alike, but there were subtle differences.
This difference most likely stemmed from it being a counterpart from a different world.
But without a doubt, this thing was the Cyber World’s version of the Crimson Crystal Stone.
Before, Lin Qi had only speculated about Brother Green Hair’s condition, guessing that it was a man-made disaster.
But after the Crimson Crystal Stone appeared, Lin Qi was certain.
This thing had to be related to the moon!
And the factions in the Cyber World currently connected to the moon were the European Big Business Alliance, the Round Table Conference, and even Ninghang Technology Company!
Lin Qi now had a general direction for his investigation.
But he still needed more information and intelligence to support it.
Tearing his gaze away from the surface of the Crimson Crystal Stone, Lin Qi looked over at Brother Green Hair.
Theoretically, declaring the "surgery a failure" would be the best way to maintain secrecy.
But Lin Qi didn’t want to do that.
Besides, the Lin Qi of today was no longer a minor character.
Even if people from the European Big Business Alliance wanted to make a move against him, they would have to consider the attitude of the Asian Political Zone Big Business Alliance.
Saving Brother Green Hair’s life was something Lin Qi had decided on long ago.
Lin Qi picked up the piece of skull he had cut from the tray and placed it back onto Brother Green Hair.
For a heavily augmented Implanter, this level of surgical trauma was no big deal.
The only side effect would be the loss of his frontal lobe, which would cause changes in Brother Green Hair’s personality.
However, Brother Green Hair’s Prosthetic Doctor happened to be Lin Qi. Lin Qi simply used a burst of Rapid Growth, and the missing part of Brother Green Hair’s brain grew right back.
’I can’t let Brother Green Hair show his face in Red Fruit City for a while. At the very least, he can’t appear in front of the perpetrators.’
A plan began to form in Lin Qi’s mind.