Chapter 485

Page 485

On the other side, Rami chimed in, "Yes, Senior Himer, we almost missed the surgery."

In order to prepare for the surgery, the two of them barely rested at noon today and immediately got busy when they received Hermer's notification.

Even so, they barely made it in time for the surgery.

"I'm sorry, thank you both for your hard work," Hermer said apologetically. "We're short-staffed for the upcoming surgeries, so we may need your help."

"Don't worry, after this surgery is over, I can use Director Palvis's authority to give you both a long vacation so you can have a good rest."

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a glance and both saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

Shortage of staff? How could the structural engineering department be short-staffed?

Furthermore... if there really is a shortage of manpower, why insist on having these two newly promoted, mediocre researchers participate in this surgery? Even if they were just minor members of the team.

All the details suggest that this surgery was definitely not ordinary.

"Could it be... that something happened to Ifrit?" Rami asked tentatively.

Only something concerning that child would make Senior Himer go to such lengths.

Hammer hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"There are some problems with the chimera therapy. We must remove the Originium crystal from Ifrit's body as soon as possible, otherwise her life may be in danger."

She was telling the truth, but she concealed part of the truth.

Abel and Rami could clearly sense the hidden meaning in Himer's words, but they wisely refrained from asking any questions.

Himer had all of Palvis's authority, so even if they wanted to doubt, there was nothing to doubt.

The setbacks of chimera therapy were obvious; the two had already begun to doubt the therapy long before the 37th chimera therapy experiment failed.

That didn't look like treatment at all; it looked like some kind of cruel human experimentation.

Unfortunately, their voices carried little weight, and even if they offered their opinions... they would only receive criticism and nothing more. So they kept their sympathy for Ifrit hidden in their hearts.

Now that team leader Himer has proposed this surgery, they are willing to take the risk for the child, regardless of whether Director Palvis has given his approval.

Anyway... even if things are exposed, Himer will be there to protect us.

The two exchanged a glance, then nodded in perfect unison.

"We're all set, Senior Himer."

“Let’s go then, everyone else is already waiting in the operating room,” Himer said.

Afterwards, the group prepared to go to the chemical shower room before the operating room to wash off any remaining Originium radiation that might have remained on their bodies.

Although Abel and Rami noticed the presence of the stranger Li Ang, they were both very clever and only curiously observed Li Ang without asking about his identity.

There were some things... that they really shouldn't have known, and both of them cleverly pretended not to see them.

Even Abel, who was undergoing the disinfection procedure with Li Ang, didn't say a word to him during the process; the whole process was both quiet and swift.

They quickly changed into clean surgical gowns, took the sterilized instruments, and entered the operating room.

Inside the operating room, Joyce and Kal'tsit had been waiting for quite some time.

Himer introduced Kal'tsit's identity to Abel and Rami, and then discussed the specific details of the surgery with them.

However, the two of them were only responsible for some miscellaneous tasks, so there weren't many things they needed to pay attention to. The real pressure was on the other three people, and Hermer quickly assigned tasks to the two of them.

However... during this process, the two of them noticed someone who seemed completely out of place in the operating room—

Li Ang leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, looking completely idle.

"Senior Hemer, what does that person do?"

Seeing Li Ang standing idly to the side, Rami lowered his voice and asked curiously.

That guy... he doesn't look like he's here to help at all.

He is...

Upon hearing Rami's question, Himer hesitated for a moment before slowly answering,

"He is the last line of defense for this surgery."

Ensure that everyone is not killed by the out-of-control fire demon.

Chapter 113

"Begin the injection."

After everyone was ready, Kal'tsit coldly gave the order.

Following Kal'tsit's orders, the anesthetic she brought was administered intravenously to Ifrit's body.

Within seconds, Ifrit on the operating table began to breathe steadily and lost consciousness completely.

Rhodes Island's specially made anesthetic is extremely effective, even surpassing the dangerous substance extracted by Himer from the neurotoxin of the Sleeping Beast, and it doesn't easily cause cardiac arrest like that stuff.

At this moment, Joyce also completed the endotracheal intubation with machine-like precision and speed.

Logically speaking, the Balrog's consciousness has already awakened, and it will take advantage of Ifrit's unconsciousness to forcibly control her body.

This is what Kal'tsit wanted Leon to stop.

However... even so, the Flame Demon still showed no intention of taking over the nest. In Li Ang's perception, his consciousness was like a still, lifeless lake.

After confirming that the anesthetic had taken full effect, the five people on the other side quickly got moving.

The Flame Demon Project... or rather, Chimera Therapy, is a treatment option for Oripathy that is currently difficult to promote on a large scale.

On the one hand, the price of specially made Originium crystals remains high, and on the other hand, this implantation surgery is extremely difficult.

According to Li Ang's perception and observation, they implanted more than twenty fire demon fragments of varying sizes in different locations on Ifrit's body.

This includes not only implants from Rhine Life, but also many left over from Hayden Pharmaceuticals.

The smallest of these fragments is no bigger than a grain of rice, while the largest fragment, located in the very center of the body's circulatory system, is as big as a broad bean.

The sheer difficulty of precisely implanting the fragments into the body is immense, and only highly experienced doctors are qualified to perform this surgery... Clearly, not every hospital can do it.

Removing these fragments... is naturally incredibly difficult, and without Li Ang, they wouldn't even be able to carry out this surgery.

The flaming demon fragments implanted by Himer were fine; their location and size were clearly recorded in the Structural Department's records.

However, the identity of the Flame Demon fragments implanted in Haydon Pharmaceuticals is impossible to ascertain.

Under examination by various instruments and equipment, the Flame Demon fragments are almost indistinguishable from the naturally formed Originium crystals in the bodies of infected individuals. It is virtually impossible to distinguish which ones are Flame Demon fragments using these devices.

Parvis probably understood this, which is why she wasn't worried about Himer interrupting the Balrog Project. The only thing she could do was... try her best to save Ifrit's life while the Balrog fragments still remained in Ifrit's body.

But Palvis clearly hadn't considered the existence of Leon.

Through Li Ang's perception, he could clearly distinguish between the Flame Demon fragments and ordinary Originium crystals. Several days ago, Li Ang had already told Himer the location of all the fragments to avoid accidentally missing one or two, or mistakenly removing an ordinary Originium crystal.

Even so, the surgery was still very difficult. They only had enough manpower, which made the surgery far more difficult than usual.

According to Himer's expectations, this major surgery would take at least ten hours.

The good news is that even Abel and Rami, who were called in to help, would be capable of performing most surgeries in an outside hospital.

Unfortunately, everyone at Rhine Life was a genius selected from all over Colombia, and among a large group of geniuses, the two of them didn't stand out much.

As for Himer and Joyce... they are undoubtedly among the best, and as for Kal'tsit? She could even be considered to be at the pinnacle of the Terra medical system.

The surgery posed no difficulty for them. The three of them could take turns performing their tasks, and even Abel and Rami could temporarily fill in to conserve everyone's energy.

The surgery lasted more than ten hours, and there were no second or third teams to take turns, which was a huge test of their physical strength.

After the surgery began, Kal'tsit did not start with the simplest ones, the Balrog fragments implanted in the limbs, but instead chose to open the abdomen and work on the complex organs.

Of course, the most crucial flaming demon fragment must be avoided until all the other fragments have been removed before taking action.

Although leaving it until the end might lead to excessive physical exertion and affect the outcome of the surgery, Kal'tsit and Hammer were more worried about affecting the Balrog consciousness within Ifrit's body.

Putting the largest piece last is definitely the right thing to do.

With the aid of healing and restorative Originium Arts, surgeries in the world of Terra... appear much more exaggerated. As long as enough blood can be replenished in time, most of the damage caused during surgery can be restored through healing and restorative Originium Arts.

The prerequisite is having sufficient understanding of healing spells and human tissue structure.

Li Ang stood by and watched for a moment, but quickly lost interest.

Since Li Ang couldn't understand what they were busy with anyway, he stood aside without disturbing their work and quietly observed Ifrit's condition with his senses.

In the quiet operating room, only Kal'tsit's occasional commands and the sound of sharp instruments cutting could be heard.

As the first fragment of the Flame Demon was removed and tossed into the tray with a thud, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

After that, Kal'tsit did not stop at all and continued to try to separate the other Balrog fragments.

The others were not idle either; each of them was focused on their own task, whether it was checking and adjusting the equipment in the operating room, handing over the necessary surgical instruments to the surgeon in a timely manner, or monitoring Ifrit's vital signs.

At that moment, Li Ang walked over and picked up the Originium fragment that still carried a faint smell of blood.

Kal'tsit and the others noticed Leon's actions, but they said nothing and remained focused on removing the Balrog fragments.

At this moment, Li Ang's attention was entirely focused on the tiny, sesame-seed-sized fragment of the Flame Demon on his fingertip, and he was deeply perplexed by it.

What exactly is this thing?

In Li Ang's perception, this fragment of the Flame Demon contained no will; it was a completely lifeless object.

The lingering demonic consciousness within had long since merged deeply with Ifrit's body through countless chimera therapy experiments, stimulated by the active agent.

Hearing that the neurotransmitter research was not yet complete, Himer's expression was very complicated.

She couldn't quite describe her feelings... perhaps a mix of disappointment and relief.

Although rationally he understood that the invention of neurotransmitters was a good thing for all Terrans, Himer also understood that this invention would inevitably destroy the old order.

No one wants to live in a world full of turmoil.

“I know, you can bring it in,” Himer nodded and said.

Even if Li Ang didn't bring out the transducer, but instead brought out a standard spellcasting unit, Himer would still have let him bring it in.

Otherwise, if we can't use magic, how can we fight against the out-of-control Ifrit, or the Balrog?

During past treatments, Ifrit had briefly lost control a few times, and the consequences of those few outbursts alone were enough to give a glimpse into just how terrifying the Balrog truly was.

Himer wasn't so old-fashioned as to tell Li Ang to bring nothing.

The contamination caused by a single casting unit... is still barely manageable in Himer's opinion.

"Alright, then I'll go in first."

Just as Li Ang was about to go to the operating room to discuss the next steps with Kal'tsit, he and Himer heard two footsteps approaching.

"Senior Himer!" x2

Looking back, Li Ang saw two researchers running towards him carrying a large pile of things.

A shy-looking young man with short blond hair and freckles on his face, and a Liboli woman with medium-length black hair and a very cheerful smile.

These must be the two helpers that Himer called.

"Abel, Rami."

Himer quickly went to meet them and took some of the things from their hands, lightening their burden.

"Thank you for your hard work," Hermer said.

The two young men, panting, slowly regained their strength.

Having recovered a little, the young Caprini man named Abel asked, "Senior Hermer, what kind of surgery is it this time? This is so sudden."