Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 254 - 254 34 Side by Side

254: Chapter 34 Side by Side 254: Chapter 34 Side by Side “`

While the surgery was going on, the Group of Heroes was also preparing to retreat.

A few of them took advantage of the sandstorm to start digging outside.

After being surrounded, the Heroes had buried their vehicles in the ground.

Although the sandstorm could block many things, it wasn’t always so thick, and there were times when it was relatively thin.

If a satellite passing overhead at such a time chanced upon even a hint of their presence, a nuclear bomb might descend from the heavens without warning.

It should be remembered that Tao Enhai was here.

The identity of this old hero was not something that space-based debris could overshadow.

They gathered all the scattered supplies.

What could be taken was taken, and what couldn’t be carried was simply burned with a thermite reaction.

The same fate awaited the 3D printers.

Those that could be taken were taken, and those that couldn’t were disassembled on the spot, or simply rigged with explosives.

All equipment capable of storing information was taken away.

However, these tasks did not consume much time.

Soon, the Group of Heroes was fully prepared.

Only the operating room remained.

And Xiang Shan, who had already donned optical augmentation equipment—it looked like an exaggerated set of glasses, very cartoonish.

Due to the size of the brain and skull, the specifications of the Prosthetic Eye were limited.

There was only so much room in the eye socket, only so much light that could pass through, and only so high a level of precision.

Although the eyes that Tao Enhai gave Xiang Shan were powerful, they could not surpass the laws of optics.

However, these auxiliary lenses allowed Xiang Shan to achieve the magnification of a high-powered optical microscope.

He put down the scalpel and said, “Spine separation is complete.

Doctor Tao, how are you feeling now?”

A window in the corner of Xiang Shan’s vision displayed a series of complex ripple patterns, and then several large characters appeared: Mind alert, no abnormalities.

Since the brain itself does not have tactile sensors, even the process of anesthesia could be omitted for this surgery.

It was helpful for Tao Enhai to remain conscious so that the lead surgeon could confirm if anything was going amiss during the procedure.

At least, nothing had gone wrong in this step yet.

Xiang Shan said to Lucius, “You break open the skull.”

He needed a short rest.

Opening the skull, relatively speaking, did not require complex techniques—essentially it was still a blacksmith’s job.

Tao Enhai’s skull already had electronic system-controlled locks.

And before the surgery began, Tao Enhai had already unlocked these clasps.

One simply needed to dismantle them layer by layer from the outside inward.

Soon, Lucius had disassembled the skull, exposing a brain connected to life support and computational units, wrapped in a layer of silvery-grey flocculent.

To the touch of a Natural Person, it would even feel somewhat hard.

Xiang Shan said, “We’re about to remove the electronic devices now, Doctor Tao, how are you feeling?”

Tao Enhai still retained a certain level of awareness, able to observe the outside world through the input from the cameras and also output information via wireless signals.

But once the electronic devices connected to the brain were removed, he would truly plunge into complete darkness.

Theoretically, he would start to feel as if his “awareness” and “emotions” were being peeled away bit by bit.

[I’m fine.] Tao Enhai showed no trace of concern: [I saw your technique just now.

It’s fine.

Keep going.]

Lucius glanced at Xiang Shan.

He noticed that some habits of this hero were indeed similar to those of his teacher.

Xiang Shan nodded at him and said, “Continue.”

Lucius tacitly understood and slowly started to remove the electronic devices from Tao Enhai’s brain.

Xiang Shan put a hand to the side of his head.

As the surgery progressed, he found that Tao Enhai’s memories of surgery were actively flowing into him.

He wasn’t sure whether this was a resonance with memories he himself had forgotten or if the new era’s memory storage formats had become so aligned with human thought.

But this was triggering his own memories…

more memories of the past.

And with those came pain.

“Great Hero?” Lucius noticed that there was something off about Xiang Shan and couldn’t help asking.

“It’s nothing.” Xiang Shan shook his head as if trying to shake off the phantom pain: “Move to the entrance of the protective cabin and start peeling away the Brain-Machine Barrier.”

Lucius nodded, cradled the brain, and moved it above a canister-shaped object, then took out two needle-fine scalpels and started working on the outer layer of Tao Enhai’s brain.

The Brain-Machine Barrier is a protective layer formed by metal-based protein accumulation on top of the original blood-brain barrier.

Influenced by the bioelectric activity of the brain’s nerves, the pattern of the Brain-Machine Barrier is closely related to the structure of the cerebral cortex.

Therefore, it serves as the foundation of the natural Brain-Machine Interface.

Lucius completed the peeling process quickly.

Next, the canister-shaped protective cabin opened, and Lucius, supporting the brain with one hand, gently and steadily lowered it into the Protective Liquid.

The composition of this Protective Liquid was also meticulously prepared.

Tao Enhai’s cerebral interior was going to be emptied soon, leaving only the neocortex.

In such a case, the brain would lose its structural support.

But the neocortex housed all sorts of high-level cognitive functions and memories.

The structure of the neural cell network is the material basis of the human soul.

Even a mere shock to the neocortex could cause subtle changes to one’s temperament or damage to memories.

Let alone folding it.

Furthermore, the preparation of this Protective Liquid was critical.

It could ensure the nerve tissue received just the right buoyancy to float within the liquid.

Even if the interior of the brain was emptied, the exterior could still be suspended.

At the same time, its osmotic pressure matched that of cellular fluid exactly.

And while ensuring these two factors, the Protective Liquid also had to be clear.

Otherwise, the lead surgeon’s field of view would be obscured.

Xiang Shan then connected his wrist data port to the data port of the protective cabin.

“`

Soon, Xiang Shan gained an additional field of vision—the bottom of the protective pod.

Countless tiny, arthropod-like limbs began to emerge from the edge of the view.

Some of these limbs, thin as needles, had sharp edges, while others ended in bifurcations.

Each of these could perform operations at the cellular level.

What was even more valuable was that these tiny limbs were all infused with highly sensitive pressure-sensitive materials.

All of them could provide a sense of “touch.”

Xiang Shan paused for two seconds before saying to Lucius, “Administer the anesthetic.

You decide on the type and dosage.”

Xiang Shan was not that familiar with the drugs of this era.

“Ah…

I’ll do it…”

“There’s nothing to ‘ah’ about,” Xiang Shan said sternly, “If I weren’t here, you would have to do more than just administer anesthesia.”

Normally, an operation would require a specialized anesthesiologist.

Anesthesia not only reduces the patient’s pain but also minimizes the patient’s movements, which can interfere with the primary surgeon’s work.

However, everyone has different tolerance and reactions to specific types of anesthetic drugs—especially the enhanced enzyme system of a Benchmark Man.

This requires the precise judgment of an anesthesiologist.

Especially this time, the anesthesia was to bring Tao Enhai’s brain to a stop for most of its physiological activity, avoiding “thought” processes.

One mistake and the “anesthesia” could become a “death sentence.”

In modern surgery, not only the primary surgeon but also the anesthesiologist bears the life of the patient.

The enhanced hypoxia resistance of Benchmark Men ensures that they can endure the lack of oxygen brought about by cardiac arrest, making specialized anesthesiologists quite rare.

But halting the physiological activity of the brain itself is still a technical challenge.

Lucius nodded, quickly injecting a few drops of a potion through a tube into the protective pod.

He was familiar with his teacher’s response and tolerance to drugs.

Xiang Shan imagined taking a deep breath.

Neurosurgery is the crown jewel of surgical operations, frighteningly high in both difficulty and risk.

That terrifying threshold has driven most doctors interested in the brain into neurology instead.

“I am sufficiently familiar with primate neurons,” Xiang Shan told himself, “I have done similar surgeries in the past…”

Memories surged once again.

In the distant past, “Martial Ancestor Xiang Shan” had assisted Tao Enhai as an apprentice in surgery for a Hero who had damaged his Biological Brain.

With no further hesitation, Xiang Shan controlled the multitude of tiny “surgical limbs” as they began to cut into Tao Enhai’s brain within the protective pod.

The sensation was delicate but adhesive…

The lower levels of Tao Enhai’s brain were already close to being a mass of rotten flesh.

According to Tao Enhai himself, he had realized the work done by the King of Godspeed while in space.

However, lacking the conditions there, he relied on suppressants to support himself all the way to Earth.

In Tao Enhai’s original plan, he intended to find a doctor on Earth.

Although in this era, doctors capable of such surgeries were rare outside of the Scientific Knight Order, there would always be someone in the Jianghu capable of performing the operation.

In Tao Enhai’s eyes, rather than taking a considerable risk by letting his Disciple take the lead and potentially leaving a psychological Shadow on the still young Lucius, it was better to wait a bit longer.

This would be better for both him and Lucius.

But upon landing, Tao Enhai was immediately surrounded by the Protector Order.

To make matters worse, none of the Heroes who came to help possessed the necessary skills.

No, perhaps there had been a medical Hero en route, but they might have perished on the way.

If not for Xiang Shan’s presence, Tao Enhai would have certainly lost the gamble.

Xiang Shan continued to maneuver the surgical limbs, cutting a piece of tissue from Tao Enhai’s brain.

As soon as the tissues were removed from the brain, minute limbs dragged them to the bottom of the protective pod and then expelled them.

The lowermost parts no longer resembled brain tissue.

Xiang Shan worked swiftly.

However, as he neared the hypothalamus, his movements slowed down.

——I must be careful…

Healthy neural tissue was entangled with the cancerous cells.

Xiang Shan remained intensely focused.

Yet unexpectedly, the more focused Xiang Shan became, the smoother the operation proceeded.

——No…

Xiang Shan suddenly realized.

Midway through the operation, it was no longer “himself” leading the procedure.

Something “else” was flowing from inside his “soul,” reaching its “hands” inside the protection pod…

The skill commanding those limbs wasn’t solely Xiang Shan’s.

——So that’s how it is…

Xiang Shan understood in an instant.

——Doctor Tao, you’re fighting alongside me…

The source of these instructions was the storage device Tao Enhai had given to Xiang Shan just a moment ago.

It contained Tao Enhai’s memories.

A supremely skilled surgeon, when facing an unfamiliar operation, might look at references while performing the surgery.

This doesn’t necessarily mean he would perform it poorly.

Or rather, only those with extraordinary confidence in their own skills would undertake such a task.

What Xiang Shan was doing was a more advanced version of that.

His level of Inner Strength allowed him to harness the power of Tao Enhai.