Chapter 130: Time Stop and Surgery (Part 2)
[Prosthetic: Silencer [Raqi Industry]]
[Location: Foot]
[Function: Enhanced arch support and experimental level 6 shock absorption, greatly reduces noise from movement once activated.]
"It's like a pair of fake legs."
"What else did you expect to see, pirate hooks or wooden sticks?"
Ryan put on gloves, placed the item in the buffer solution, and began various complex pre-surgery preparations.
John switched to another surgical chair.
The all-metal surface was somewhat cold, and two restraint racks rose, lifting his thighs to maintain balance.
His limbs were also secured.
Various drugs were injected into his body through tubes, causing slight swelling, like a sponge soaked with water beginning to sway.
John felt a bit bored and started inquiring about the surgery process.
The result was even more discomforting.
Ryan said the amputation would start from the end of the thigh bone, near the knee, replacing the entire tibia with alloy.
The ankle joint and foot could retain thirty percent.
The arch would have supporting pads embedded.
The shadowless lamp lit up.
The electric chair automatically tracked, sliding to the position under Ryan's buttocks.
Then the surgical chair was tilted down.
"I feel like I'm paralyzed in bed."
"Mmm-hmm."
"Hey, I'm serious, is everything alright? I feel cold all over, kinda like the symptoms of excessive blood loss."
"Shut your mouth, parrot."
Ryan placed the scalpel into the metal tray, gloves already stained with blood. "Why did I never notice you were such a chatterbox before?"
"I didn't have the chance to speak in the previous sessions."
"Should we switch to full anesthesia then? I'll put you to sleep... If you're really that curious, I can neutralize the anesthetic and you can watch with wide open eyes."
"...You're quite nasty, hasn't anyone ever punched you?"
"Never happened."
"I don't buy it. Aren't the dignitaries at the Nocturne Bar all nice people?"
"If someone has your balls in a grip, even the fiercest butcher will show a gentle and cute side."
Ryan could sense John's nervousness.
He started recounting some cases of crazy clients.
Like a gang kid who installed software and recorded his surgery process to make it into a Super Sensing Chip, then roughly processed it and sold it directly on the black market to hardcore perverts.
"That Shark Coin had a serious technical error."
"Did you kill that person?"
"It wasn't related to the surgery, he secretly recorded the video without notifying me, made a mistake, a common amateur's mistake, confusing pain sensors with drug anesthesia when recording this stuff."
The patient felt no pain during the process.
He thought the things he recorded were the same, but those desperate biological signals were actually all intercepted by the recording software and kept in the raw file.
The chip caused a stir on the black market.
"A gangster boss's brother bought the material, took it home, and watched it raw, original style, do you get what I mean? He was literally tortured to death by the live surgery."
"Unlucky chap."
John tried to divert his attention with the story. "And then?"
Ryan also shook his head with a bitter smile.
That kid was caught by the gang, reenacted the video content without anesthesia once again.
"As expected."
"It's not over yet."
Ryan's bitter smile turned into a cold one.
The gang handed the execution job to the Ghoul, professionals used full equipment to record the process, carefully made it into a Super Sensing Chip...
Again, the same theme was thrown onto the black market for sale.
"It ranked in the top of the annual bestseller list, followed by a pile of copycat works, more unlucky people started disappearing on the streets during that time."
Ryan spoke with a blank expression.
"What a mess."
John remarked with some emotion.
He smelled grease and fishiness, the drugs made his head dizzy.
A part of his body evaporated in the air, returning to his body with each breath, the smell sent signals to his brain, causing a series of terrifying associations.
The scalpel was extremely sharp.
The first half of the cutting process was completely silent, only during cramps and peeling did slippery, sticky noises come through.
John had no concept of complex nerve reconnections.
But the amputation process was more violent than he imagined.
Ryan's prosthetic eye flickered, activating a cutting machine, the robotic arm moved along the ceiling track.
The metal cover was placed in front of John.
He thought it was to prevent him from peeking, but in the next second, a mixture of blood, flesh, and bone powder splattered onto the shield.
The chainsaw steadily carved into the thigh.
John's breathing became rapid; even having seen big scenes, his heart still raced in the prosthetic clinic.
The life-support device operated steadily.
Aside from psychological damage, all intraoperative indicators were good.
Ryan even had the time to reassure John,
"Don't worry too much. Once the surgery is completed, you'll be as nimble as a little wildcat, and your daily steps will lighten. You'll enter stealth mode once you switch to the prosthetic feet."
"The stuff's not bad, right?"
The leg issue had actually been bothering him for a long time.
John hadn't dismissed the idea of a solution or resisted modification; he just thought that if he were to change, it had to be for something good.
The reason he trusted Ryan, besides his skills, was that they shared similar views.
One must have reverence for the flesh.
After several major surgeries, John deeply understood this – you can't open your body repeatedly for cheap products. Only prosthetics of sufficient quality are worth the pain.
"Rest assured, it will definitely meet your psychological expectations."
Ryan knew the market fairly well.
Raqi Industry originated in Japan.
In addition to catering to the market, they also dedicated themselves to promoting their own culture in their products, incorporating a lot of East Asia elements into weapons and implants.
The Single-Molecule Samurai Sword is a classic case.
The Ranger Series Chips also sold like hotcakes.
Raqi Industry sold private armaments externally, with ordinary corporate soldiers equipped with a large amount of high-tech gear, while the true elite units had a strong 'character'.
It is said that in the northern United States and East Asian homeland, there are clear combat records to prove:
Raqi Industry has been raising a ninja unit.
This batch of assassins has modifications all above the Alpha Level, specifically serving as bodyguards for corporate leaders' families and carrying out high-difficulty assassination tasks that seem impossible.
Raqi tacitly confirmed this news.
To capture the high-end prosthetic market, they also started releasing some expensive and rare goods.
The Silencer is the [Ninja] Series.
Not sure how much of it is marketing, those rumors are partly true, always feeling like it's a deliberate promotion to sell products.
"The product is good; the rest, just listen for a laugh."
The cutting saw had already completed its task.
Ryan sat down again at the operating table, reassembling the original bones and flesh back into John's body.
The ensuing work was very meticulous.
The doctor also stopped talking.
This section of the surgery required micro-adjustments based on John's height; the redundant bone cuts had to be polished again, and the alloy parts on the tibia needed to be reset.
The muscle fillers were replaced with high-toughness fiber bundles.
Ordinary flesh couldn't bear such a load, and replacing it with high-tech products could better consolidate volume.
John suddenly felt a sharp pain.
Soon this feeling began to spread to both sides, eventually engulfing his entire lower body.
The nerves began to reconnect.
The effect of anesthesia conflicted with biological currents, even causing phantom limb symptoms.
John struggled in the clinic for half a day.
He finally managed when he was about to be driven crazy.
The cover was lifted again.
John, with Ryan's support, slowly stood on the ground, looking at the legs supporting his body, feeling an almost surreal sensation.
Not many scars were visible on the surface.
Vent holes were reserved on both sides of the tibia. To ensure aesthetics, repairs were made using synthetic leather similar to John's skin.
John tried walking.
Unexpectedly easy.
His adaptability to the surgery reached a terrifying level.
The three-day adaptation period that Ryan estimated didn't happen.
These metal prosthetics seemed to have always been part of his legs.
After disconnecting from the diagnostic system, Black Light immediately fluctuated into view – integrating the new implants, smoothing out some discordant parameters.
The transformation of these feet was complete.
The role of Black Light was much greater than expected.
"I thought I'd become a mechanical policeman. Have you seen those little cartoons? Creaking and very stiff walking."
John walked around barefoot twice, still somewhat excited.
Ryan stood with arms folded, observing, shook his head, and said with a hint of worry,
"Adapting so quickly might not be a good thing, John. I hope you hold on to your humanity a bit longer."
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