Old Octopus, serving as Lu Xun's surgical assistant, naturally also assumed the role of anesthesiologist.
He approached with a syringe filled with anesthetics, but was stopped by a large fan-like hand.
"I don't need anesthesia." The masked man lay on the operating table, urging Lu Xun on the other side coldly, "Cut me open directly, speed!"
Old Octopus was stunned; his first reaction was that this customer was crazy!
This level of major surgery, no anesthesia, just enduring it?
Absurd.
However, Lu Xun remained calm, picking up the scalpel and making a swift incision.
Pfft—
The knife plunged into the back of the head, cutting downwards like tailoring fabric, all the way down to the buttocks.
The skin, fascia, along with the muscle layer, were all sliced open, revealing the entire shining white spine below.
A huge amount of crimson blood gushed out, blood foam spraying half a meter high, streams of blood flowing like small creeks, running off the operating table onto the floor...
"Holy shit!"
Old Octopus was entirely stupefied, standing there mechanically with the anesthetic syringe in hand.
He never expected Lu Xun to move straight to the action without any hesitation.
He hurriedly looked at the masked man on the operating table.
Yet he found that the man showed no reaction at all, instead casting a sidelong glance at him and impatiently saying, "What are you looking at? Mind your own business."
No way... Can you really feel no pain?
Old Octopus felt a bit frantic.
In fact, the man really couldn't feel it.
The "Pain Editor," a military-grade prosthetic, might not show any direct power, but it could adjust the pain sensation according to battle conditions or even shut it off entirely for zero pain perception.
This was much more reliable than full anesthesia while keeping the mind clear.
"What are you spacing out for? Do I need to shout? Retractor!!"
Lu Xun, maintaining a calm and icy demeanor, extended his hand, palm open, and sternly said, "Can you do it or not? If not, get out, don't stand here in the way."
He took a serious approach to surgery, as the chief surgeon had to be responsible for the life on the operating table and could not afford any negligence.
Old Octopus, yelled at by Lu Xun, finally came to his senses, and hurriedly controlled one of the mechanical arms to pass the retractor over.
Chh-chh——
Lu Xun used the retractor to spread apart the back of the masked man, causing even more blood to flow.
This time without needing to be prompted, Old Octopus automatically handed over the drainage device, clearing the pool of blood in the back to avoid obstructing the view.
"Thermal coagulator."
Without looking up from the operating table, Lu Xun extended his hand, palm ready, and an electrocautery device appeared.
Using the device, he thermally coagulated the bleeding points extensively.
He also blocked blood vessels with hemostatic forceps.
...
Time passed by the minute and second.
Many bags of plasma were transfused.
The masked man woke from a nap, hearing clattering sounds ringing in his ears, resembling the bustling noise of a construction site.
It turned out Lu Xun was swinging a bone hammer, pounding hard on the tip of a bone chisel, trying to break his bone.
But after a dozen strikes, Lu Xun, with lines of frustration marking his forehead, threw down the hammer and chisel.
He realized that his strength was limited, finding it difficult to chisel this guy's rib roots, let alone the thicker vertebral joints.
Just at a low-level life tier, and yet the physical body is this superhuman? Ridiculous!
"Damn, those bones are hard as hell, how many enhancement needles did he take?"
Old Octopus was equally astonished, understanding that a non-human race's physical prowess is comprehensible, as it's part of their racial talent.
But he had never seen a human so powerful.
Only four words could describe it: like human, not human!
"Stop babbling, go straight to the bone saw." Lu Xun said coolly, "If you can't chisel it, then saw it."
If not, use the laser knife!
As a prosthetic doctor, unable to handle a few bones? Absurd!
The masked man saw the two still busy, knowing the surgery wasn't ending anytime soon, so he closed his eyes again, deciding to take another nap.
...
"Hoo~"
Lu Xun took a deep breath, feeling a bit fatigued, so he lifted his head, straightened up, and immediately a mechanical arm stretched over to wipe the sweat from his forehead with a towel.
Then he continued to bend over and focus on the surgery.
A few minutes later, the first vertebra was segmented and removed.
The surgery truly began at this moment.
Because up until now, it was the official initiation of the prosthetic implantation phase.
Lu Xun extracted the final segment of the "War Ghost Type 8."
Then carefully placed it into the gap.
Secured it first, then, using various support materials, combined the prosthetic and the physical body into one.
This step posed significant difficulty, even Lu Xun became anxious, holding his breath, focusing all his attention, not daring to make a single mistake.
The prosthetic was surging with incredibly frantic energy, even just this small section held nearly a hundred connection points requiring meticulous handling.
If any error occurred, it would mean the surgery failed!
With the help of various high-tech instruments and equipment, twenty minutes later, Lu Xun finally completed the cautious implantation of the first segment of the prosthetic spinal bone... and there were another 23 segments to go!
"Indeed, the complexity of a military-grade prosthetic is on a completely different level from a civilian-grade one." Old Octopus couldn't help but remark, "But at this rate, I might miss my flight."
"No, you won't." Lu Xun shook his head lightly, "Next, I'll speed up. Don't worry, I want you to catch your flight even more than you do."
"Heh~ You guys do have some sense, knowing to book flights in advance to make a run for it."
On the operating table, the masked man teased, "But just a reminder, if you run, run far and completely leave the jurisdiction of the Human Federation, or else it's as if you never ran."
"Worry about your own matters." Lu Xun wiped the bone saw blade of bone dust and blood, saying calmly, "Stay still, if you don't want to die."
Chh chh chh——
The surgery continued.
...
10 hours later.
Lu Xun and Old Octopus stumbled out of the operating room.
The two exchanged glances, seeing the fatigue on each other's faces.
But besides fatigue, there was also undisguised excitement and joy.
"Did it really succeed?" Old Octopus lowered his voice and asked, "Surely it won't explode just starting the prosthetic, right?"
"No." Lu Xun shook his head, confidently stating, "This prosthetic is of such a high level that any error in implantation would mean he died on the operating table."
"Conversely, if he can walk away from the operating table alive, it means the implantation succeeded!"
"Hahaha! That's great, you didn't disappoint me indeed." Old Octopus laughed so much that his mouth twisted, "Secured 1.1 billion, let's go divide the money!"
At that moment.
The masked man also emerged, having dressed.
He looked at the two, then fixed his gaze on Lu Xun, speaking in a deep voice:
"Thanks, friend. I never expected to run into such a skilled prosthetic doctor at a black clinic; you're truly remarkable."
He, originally at his wits' end, had already given up hope for life.
Entering the operating room with a nearly life-sacrificing mindset.
Unexpectedly, it actually succeeded!
"You're too kind." Lu Xun's gaze remained calm as he asked, "If you really want to thank me, can you tell me who's hunting you?"
Compared to before, the masked man's attitude improved greatly, speaking sincerely:
"Even if you knew, it would be meaningless. Just remember:
First, they will inevitably find this place within 48 hours.
Second, they won't leave any witnesses, completely exterminating anyone associated with me.
Third, unless you can sever ties with this clinic confidently without being identified, otherwise, run away, run far to survive."
This was a very grave warning.
The clinic had only two people.
Old Octopus was certainly unable to break away; too many people knew about his identity as a prosthetic doctor.
Lu Xun could perhaps disassociate, as no one would suspect a 17-year-old high school student to possess prosthetic modification skills far surpassing master-level capabilities!
But only if Old Octopus wasn't caught.
The masked man offered a few words and then took his leave.
It was clear he was in a great hurry.
Old Octopus divided six pieces of Black Gold among Lu Xun, sheepishly laughing, "Heh, you really guessed everything, didn't you?"
Lu Xun packed them into his backpack, then gave a disdainful look at Old Octopus, saying, "I merely prepared for the worst in advance. When the risk arrives, I won't be caught unprepared."
He now felt more confident than before.
Because the special-level ogre race gene could already be fused!
A massive accumulation of trait points painstakingly saved over thirteen years was used all at once, just how strong could he become? Even Lu Xun didn't dare imagine!
"Let's get to work quickly, carry on as planned!"