120: Chapter 40 Surgery and Martial Arts 120: Chapter 40 Surgery and Martial Arts Yuki led the little one into the boss’s training room in the mountain stronghold, where Xiang Shan was adjusting a device.

This device looked very similar to the one in Organization Z, but it was much smaller.

“There’s not often a need for so many blades and mechanical arms, so I built it according to the minimum standard,” Xiang Shan patted the device beside him and said, “We also have to thank that noble lady from before for bringing us the assembly machine, or else I couldn’t have made this so quickly.”

Yuki nodded.

“Ah, right, since those young men mentioned the HTML meditation method to you, I have something more to say,” Xiang Shan advised, “Don’t try any World Wide Web meditation techniques or anything of the sort until I say it’s okay, understand?”

Yuki nodded, “I don’t even know what the World Wide Web meditation method is…”

Cui Hai also said, “Senior, I wouldn’t do something that dangerous…”

“I’m not blaming you, it just came to mind when I heard you mention the HTML meditation method, so I thought I’d bring it up,” Xiang Shan sighed, “Never attempt such a thing before you learn to use the Biological Brain to fake a virtual address, got it?”

For some reason, Yuki felt that his master’s tone was very serious, and he tried to ask, “Master, have you in the past…”

“No, I can’t remember,” Xiang Shan shook his head, “It’s just that a voice in my head just reminded me.

The high-ups have long mastered the method of precisely ‘Curse Killing’ an individual.

On the network, once you expose your true identity, you might face the situation where your Prosthetic Body instantly stops, and your Biological Brain dies.

I’m not sure to what extent technology has developed now, or how one’s identity is authenticated but…”

Cui Hai thought this Old Senior’s way of speaking was a bit strange, but he didn’t think much of it.

Perhaps such strong people all have their peculiar quirks.

He said, “Senior, I actually have some information gathered by our Sect, if it can be of use to you…”

Xiang Shan nodded, “Pass it to me later.

Also, have Yuki get you some Reverse Messenger Soaking Agent.

Also, apprentice, get ready to improve your modification rate.

Be prepared.

If you have any requests, feel free to make them.”

Yuki nodded nervously and then handed the little girl to Xiang Shan.

The little girl giggled, finding it all very amusing.

Xiang Shan dropped the anesthetic he had just found into the little one’s nostrils.

In the Old Era, “anesthetist” was a separate position.

How much anesthetic to give a patient, enough to alleviate pain and guarantee the duration of the surgery without affecting recovery, was a profound science.

Many major surgeries that required general anesthesia had long durations.

In such surgeries, administering too much at once could lead to the patient’s respiratory failure or even death from asphyxiation.

Anesthetists also had to constantly monitor blood pressure and heart rhythm readings.

But that was for Homo sapiens.

Benchmark Man did not need such elaborate care.

As long as you didn’t start with a dose aimed at “killing” someone, temporary cessation of breathing and such were negligible minor issues.

This was also one of the reasons Xiang Shan dared to perform surgeries alone.

The little girl soon fell into a deep sleep.

The room had been disinfected and dusted.

Xiang Shan activated the Electrostatic Field, so Cui Hai and the others wouldn’t raise any dust when they entered.

This was a craniotomy.

Xiang Shan first shaved off part of the hair on the little girl’s head, then removed a section of the skull, exposing the wound as much as possible.

[This does not align with Homo sapiens surgical strategies, but it’s normal for Benchmark Man.]

Xiang Shan really wanted to take a deep breath.

The situation was about as bad as he imagined.

Little Poison Insect implanted these flexible electrodes in the little girl right after her birth, and it had been years now.

Given the rate of human brain development, the little girl’s brain had long integrated with these electrode arrays, with nerves intertwining with parts of the electrodes.

These electrodes had even become an intrinsic part of the little girl’s brain.

Cui Hai let out a suppressed gasp.

“What’s going on here?

This is too cruel…” Cui Hai said, “She’s still so young, who would do such a vile thing?”

“Hmm, as she grows up, these electrodes will eventually hinder the brain’s normal functions,” Xiang Shan said, “That bastard never considered removing them, nor did he consider how long she would live.”

These densely packed electrode arrays could not all be left in the little girl’s cranial cavity.

But it was somewhat late for completely removing them…

Some electrodes had already penetrated deep into the brain.

Forcibly removing them would damage the brain itself.

Xiang Shan could only do his best at this point.

“I’ll remove all that I can,” Xiang Shan stated, “The rest…

if it’s not possible, then use content from Inner Strength for compensatory training.

The brain’s compensatory functions are still very strong.

There’s still hope.”

Compensation is a special mechanism of the human body.

If a person has a defect in a certain part of their body, the body will utilize other functionally similar parts to perform the missing part’s tasks.

For instance, when a normal person raises their thigh, they use muscles near the knee joint.

But if someone with a knee injury does the same action, they will feel soreness in the thigh muscles.

This is because when exerting force, the muscles near the injured knee cannot fulfill their function, so muscles in other areas compensate.

The hearing of a person who becomes blind grows more acute, and the sense of smell of someone who goes deaf becomes almost magical—it’s a kind of compensation.

In such cases, the resources your brain originally used to process the lost sensory input are redirected to deal with the perception of available sensory information in another form.

The compensatory function of the human brain is actually quite fearsome—in a sense, humans are creatures with an excess of brain functions.

Medical records even include cases of people who lost half their brain hemisphere but still survived.

In certain extreme cases [like with some stubborn epilepsies], doctors had no choice but to remove half of a patient’s brain hemisphere.

Research on these patients, who have had half their brain removed, revealed that the remaining hemisphere develops numerous new connections in various areas to cope with the loss.

If this happens in childhood, the patient might even retain their full cognitive abilities.

This process shares a similar mechanism to the formation of the “Soth Divine Realm.”

In other words, the “Soth Divine Realm” comes about through the purposeful development of this hidden brain function, using hormones, enzymes, viruses, and conscious training.

Chen Feng…

or someone else associated with him, was the one to introduce this type of therapy into the martial studies system.

—Tch, technologies that solve hunger, that upgrade educational industries, that open up cosmic space, and now technologies that treat neurological diseases…

—So, all these things have become martial arts?

Such thoughts flashed unbidden in Xiang Shan’s mind.

His head ached as if something was trying to burst out.

Yet, Xiang Shan forcibly cut off these stray thoughts.

Right now, there was a life in front of him that demanded his full commitment.

He peeled glial cells and blood vessels that did not require blood flow from the foreign body.

He filled it with pre-prepared absorbable materials.

Bit by bit…

bit by bit…

Cui Hai saw Xiang Shan was serious and did not dare to disturb him, pulling Yuki away instead.

On the way, Cui Hai exclaimed, “Old Senior is truly unfathomable, managing to perform surgeries like this…”

Yuki asked in surprise, “Are there few heroes who can do such things?”

“Very few, because most people think it’s unnecessary,” Cui Hai said.

“As long as you can repair the brain-machine barrier, you can handle most situations.

Direct damage to the biological brain cells is actually very rare.

In the vast majority of cases, when a hero ends up in that state, they’re either dead or would wish they were.”

For the next few hours, Cui Hai spent his time facing the computer inside the base.

Having completed his assigned work, Yuki arrived to find Cui Hai slumped on the ground, with Huang Ouguang kneeling opposite him, offering consolation—with both seemingly at the brink of tears.

Yuki said, “Big Brother Cui, Sister Huang, what are you two doing?”

“It’s nothing, just something embarrassing…” Cui Hai shook his head with a wry smile: “Just…

feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Judging by the speed of my code output, my inner strength might be only half of what it was.

Not to mention the language skills I may not be able to utilize due to my brain injury…

I probably still have the insight of the Compilation Realm, but I really can’t manage actual combat…”

“It’s all my fault, Senior Brother…” Huang Ouguang said.

“If it hadn’t been for me, maybe you wouldn’t have…”

“If it weren’t for you, I would surely have died long ago.” Cui Hai patted Huang Ouguang’s head.

“Don’t cry, and don’t be afraid.

At worst, I just have to rebuild my inner strength.

If I could cultivate it once, naturally, I can do it a second time.”

“But, this is damage to the very foundation…” Huang Ouguang said.

Cui Hai was unconcerned: “There’s always a way.

This morning, I heard the Old Senior talking about the formation methods of the Soth Divine Realm in the inner strength.

It was originally developed as a compensatory training method to cope with brain deficits.

Even with extensive brain damage, there’s still a chance to train other parts to take back the lost functions.”

“Actually, if you think about it, my brain is still intact—I didn’t make any mistakes calculating Yuki’s mathematics problems earlier.

In fact, there are many people in the world whose brains are in much worse shape than mine.

Yet, they are still struggling to live.”

As he spoke, Cui Hai stood up: “I think I understand why the Old Senior wanted me to witness that scene this morning.

Perhaps he even anticipated this…

truly the demeanor of a master.”

Yuki seemed to understand: “Big Brother Cui, does it mean your martial arts…

are not so optimistic?”

“Having martial arts at all is good enough,” Cui Hai laughed and gestured, “Junior Brother Yuki, if you want to practice programming, use this.

I won’t be needing it for now.”

Having said this, he waved his hand and left without looking back.

Yuki felt that this big brother wasn’t as relaxed as he seemed.