Chapter 238: Talent: Solidify the Ethereal into Reality!

Wu Chang could clearly feel that the robotic arms performing surgery inside his brain had stopped; they seemed to have encountered a problem, the micro scalpels at their tips trembling slightly, as if unsure what to do next.

Seeing the red alarm inside the medical bay, Wu Chang, who had only been rendered numb by anesthesia, now felt his mind go numb too.

What's going on? Wasn't it said that the success rate of the psychic stimulation surgery is one hundred percent, with only the degree of psychic stimulation varying?

He won't become the first medical accident in Song Corporation, will he?

Wu Chang inside the surgical bay was anxious, but someone outside was even more anxious.

Xiao En's position as manager was no secret among managers, and everyone could see Chairman Schulz's favoritism toward him.

Especially this promotion to Level Nine Partner—though Manager Xiao En signed two major contracts in quick succession, how much of those deals were watered down, others couldn't say.

But those two achievements weren't actually the reason for Xiao En's promotion; they were merely an excuse to silence others, so everyone tacitly kept quiet.

Since Chairman Schulz values Manager Xiao En so highly, the psychic stimulation surgery must not be taken lightly; to ensure absolute safety, Hughes personally performed the operation.

As the core developer of the secondary psychic stimulation surgery, Hughes possessed immense theoretical and practical experience; no one in Song Corporation understood psychic stimulation surgery better than he did.

Not only was he a core member of the psychic stimulation surgery, he was also a core member in the development of the micro-surgical robotic arms inside the bay.

Once, he was a towering figure in both the medical and medical equipment industries; his private medical equipment company was sought after by countless top hospitals and doctors.

Until a mole exposed that, to extend treatment cycles, they deliberately worsened patients' conditions during therapy.

To force other hospitals to upgrade to the latest equipment, after releasing new models, they caused older devices to malfunction intermittently, outputting misleading results—delaying treatment in minor cases, causing major medical accidents in severe ones.

When both scandals broke, his private medical equipment company's reputation collapsed, and it went bankrupt soon after; it was Schulz who recognized his ability, suppressed the backlash, and brought him to Song Corporation as one of the core developers of psychic stimulation surgery.

Hughes had terrible character, but his abilities were unquestionable—especially in brain science; he dared say that if he couldn't solve a problem, no one else in the world could.

Especially after delving into psychic stimulation surgery, he felt he had unlocked all the secrets of the brain; over these years, he had encountered tens of thousands of complex cases and had never been stumped.

Until today, he suddenly realized that the secrets of life were far more mysterious than he had imagined.

Manager Xiao En's brain was unlike any case he had ever seen.

As he was at his wit's end, the surgical room door opened, and Schulz walked in.

Schulz's expression was calm, but that calm was like the dark, still sea before a storm. "What's the situation?"

Sweat beaded on Hughes's forehead; he paused to gather his thoughts, then said:

"Manager Xiao En's brain structure differs slightly from ordinary people's. When we developed psychic stimulation surgery, we referenced brain models from our database and classified talent-zone development levels into three tiers; later, through AI modeling, we refined it to four tiers."

Every person is a completely unique individual—even faces differ—and the brain, being the most intricate and mysterious organ in the human body, naturally varies even more.

When psychic stimulation surgery was developed, hundreds of thousands of precise brain models were collected, and by studying their talent zones, brain talent development was divided into three degrees.

Some people only need to complete the first-degree procedure to fully develop their talent zones, while others must undergo the third-degree deep surgery to achieve full development through complex modifications.

Like cosmetic surgery: to raise a client's beauty to nine out of ten, some might only need eyelid surgery, while others require nose augmentation and bone reshaping.

Some, even after completing the full set, barely achieve a human shape—barely passing, let alone reaching nine out of ten.

Hughes continued: "This newly developed secondary psychic stimulation surgery is based on data collected over recent years, raising the talent-zone development tier to five. Under this new model, previously undevelopable talent zones can now be fully developed."

The secondary psychic stimulation surgery Hughes spoke of was his greatest achievement in recent years—it had surpassed mere modification and approached creation.

It was as if, even if a client walked in with no facial features at all—just a ball—he could first carve out the orifices, then sculpt perfect nine-out-of-ten features.

It was precisely because of this technological breakthrough that Hughes believed he had unlocked the true essence of life.

But…

Hughes pointed at the paused surgery on the computer screen, his voice dry:

"Manager Xiao En's talent zone is far stranger than any case I've ever seen. At first, it resembled a typical Level Four brain, but as the surgery progressed, the difficulty gradually approached Level Five—just now, even the AI couldn't determine the next modification step. And Manager Xiao En's psychic stimulation is only halfway done."

"The uniqueness of Manager Xiao En's brain is unprecedented. I estimate we'd need to elevate the technology to at least Level Eight to modify it. My recommendation: terminate the surgery immediately."

In the past, difficulties in psychic stimulation surgery always stemmed from the client's poor baseline—no matter how you modified it, recovery was impossible.

But such poor baselines had limits: clients might walk in with a ball on their face, or a pumpkin—this was already the maximum difficulty.

But Wu Chang's case was different; his brain was like a face with three faces. Hughes had just finished reshaping the front face to nine out of ten, but when he turned to the side, he found he wasn't dealing with a jawline—he was facing another face.

Hughes had only learned how to perform cosmetic surgery on one face, not on someone with three faces. He didn't even know what "nine out of ten beauty" meant for a three-faced client.

Not only did he not know—the AI didn't know either.

As Hughes spoke, sweat kept streaming down his forehead; Manager Xiao En's brain had shattered his understanding of medicine—and even his understanding of humanity.

He had thought he had uncovered the essence of life, only to realize he was standing on a castle in the air; this collapse of expectation left him emotionally shattered.

Schulz noticed Hughes's state was off; he spoke slowly: "Don't dwell on Xiao En's case. Humanity has existed for millions of years, with over a hundred billion individuals born—there will always be a few outliers. One or two, a hundred or two hundred—it's possible."

"Our focus must be on the vast majority of humans. There's no need to waste energy on extreme cases. Go rest. I'll handle what comes next."

Hearing Schulz's reassurance, Hughes's twisted expression of frustration and confusion gradually eased.

Hughes understood Schulz's meaning—he knew he shouldn't obsess over an anomaly. Without performance pressure, he had endless free time to study Wu Chang's brain later.

He looked at the halfway-complete surgery and hesitated: "Chairman, should I terminate this surgery now?"

Schulz shook his head. "You don't need to handle what comes next."

"Huh?" Hughes was bewildered—who else could handle this? In all of Song Corporation, who dared claim they could manage a surgery he couldn't complete?

Are you going to do it yourself, Chairman?

His confidence in his surgical skill made him slightly resentful of Schulz's words—but when he met Schulz's gaze, his resentment vanished instantly, and he said meekly:

"I'll wait outside. If you need me, I'm ready to assist at any moment."

Leaving the surgical room, Hughes exhaled sharply and realized his back was soaked with sweat.

That single glance from Schulz had affected him more than Manager Xiao En's brain ever had—it felt like gazing up at a towering mountain.

A sudden thought struck Hughes: perhaps Chairman Schulz really could do it.

Psychic stimulation surgery was a technology Hughes developed after Schulz invited him, based on the direction Schulz provided.

Logically, before he joined Song Corporation, psychic stimulation surgery shouldn't have existed at all—and no matter how brilliant a person was, their talent zone could only be naturally active; they couldn't achieve full talent development without modification.

Yet over the years of working with Schulz, Schulz's many behaviors—his extraordinary reading speed, his endless stream of bizarre ideas—clearly indicated he had undergone psychic stimulation.

Even the very concept of psychic stimulation surgery was first proposed by Schulz. Then who performed the psychic stimulation surgery on him?

Hughes shuddered, daring not to think further.

In the surgical operation room, Schulz connected the control system to the AI, with the other end linked to his own body.

He set the surgical mode to have him provide the implementation plan, while the AI translated his method into actual operations.

Actual surgical execution cannot be compensated by knowledge alone, but fortunately, the AI had recorded enough surgeries; though it could not yet independently complete complex spiritual activation procedures, it was more than sufficient as a tool.

Schulz stared at the screen and murmured:

"Is it possible to fully modify Xiao En's brain?"

"I don't care about the difficulty—I only need to know whether it can be done or not."

"Spirit Light doesn't matter—I've saved enough Spirit Light over the years to cover this surgery."

Schulz listened, then frowned slightly after a moment.

!

"It will delay that matter—that's a problem, but no matter. If needed, we'll find another way. Let's begin now."

As Schulz made his decision, the robotic arms paused on the screen began moving—far faster than when Hughes operated them, indicating the commands were dense and precise.

A standard spiritual activation surgery lasts five to six minutes at shortest, up to half an hour at longest, but Wu Chang's spiritual activation surgery lasted twelve full hours.

Though completing Wu Chang's spiritual activation surgery seemed equivalent to performing nearly a hundred human spiritual activation surgeries, the actual consumption was far greater than that number.

Only Schulz knew how much he had expended to complete this surgery; even if he drained a thousand others who had undergone spiritual activation, it still wouldn't make up for his Spirit Light loss.

But all of it was worth it.

As the robotic arms slowly halted, Schulz—once capable of working nonstop for a month without sleep—showed signs of exhaustion on his face.

He disconnected from the computer and returned to Wu Chang's surgical pod, gazing at Wu Chang, who lay asleep, a smile forming on his face.

"Level Nine difficulty—I knew you wouldn't let me down."

Inside the surgical pod, Wu Chang knew nothing of what had transpired outside.

He merely felt this surgery was unusually long; aside from the alarm triggered shortly after it began, the rest of the procedure went smoothly.

Not only was it smooth, but the robotic arms operated even more fluidly than before the alarm.

Throughout the surgery, his Inspiration never triggered an alarm, so he didn't divert attention to the outside world, focusing all his energy on the brain transformation.

He felt the membrane enveloping his consciousness being steadily worn away, then pierced.

The sensation of his awareness growing clearer, his thoughts flowing more freely, was indescribable—like reliving the entire journey from an ignorant child to full mental maturity.

Coupled with the constant warmth from the nutrient fluid that left his spirit utterly relaxed, he felt as if returning to his mother's womb, life being reborn once more.

Unconsciously, he sank into deep sleep—this slumber was complete; when he opened his eyes again, the surgery was over.

He looked at his attribute panel and saw a string of notifications pop up.

"You have completed the True Spiritual Activation Surgery. Your Talent Zone has been fully activated."

"Your Life, Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Energy each increase by 10 points. Your Inspiration and Willpower each increase by 20 points."

"Your control over your body has improved, allowing you to use Talents, Skills, and Class Skills with greater ease."

"You have gained a new Talent—Spirit Light."

"Talent Name: Spirit Light · Condensing the Illusory into Reality."

"Description: Your powerful Inspiration and Willpower allow you to project your thoughts onto the external world, condensing the illusory into reality. The effect and strength of the projection depend on your Energy, Inspiration, and Willpower."

"Note: When combined with your other Talents, it may yield unexpected results."

"Your Talent Zone has been fully activated. You may now perform one Talent Item Draw. Begin drawing now?"

Wu Chang glanced at the nutrient-filled surgical pod and decided to wait for later.

Sensing his consciousness had returned, the nutrient fluid drained away. Wu Chang took a shower, changed into new clothes, and stepped out to find Schulz waiting for him outside.

For some reason, though he was the one who underwent surgery, Schulz looked more exhausted than he did.

Had he stayed up too long, drained his body beyond recovery, and finally reached the age where he needed tonics?

Schulz saw him emerge and smiled: "How do you feel?"

Wu Chang said: "Never felt better in my life."

The effects of the spiritual activation surgery far exceeded his expectations—it granted him a large number of attribute points, sharpened his senses, and gave him a unique Talent.

No wonder those players in the files would endure years as beasts of burden just for a chance at spiritual activation surgery.

This upgrade was truly worth it!

Schulz nodded: "Good. I'll return to work. If you feel anything unusual, contact me anytime."

While Wu Chang's physical body lay in the surgical pod undergoing spiritual activation, his True Self had not paused.

Last night's attack extracted vast information from Farrell, and through Farrell's transformed Fly King, they severely wounded Mist Veil and eliminated half of the Iron Armor Squad's elite members; the rest were likely injured.

With Mist Veil's injuries, it would be nearly impossible for him to recover combat readiness before the dungeon ends.

Wu Chang had not told Bu Ke and the others that the Iron Armor Squad had external aid; thus, to Bu Ke and the others, the current situation was three versus two—and with Wu Chang, at least 3.5 versus two. They held the advantage; even if Fei Guang and Qian Ye had Sacred Song Company's protection, they still had a fighting chance if they met directly.

Both the main storyline and the grudge against the Iron Armor Squad had achieved great success.

Lei Mengde planned to strike the next target before Sacred Song Company reacted.

Sacred Song Company's Level Nine Partner, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mo Ke.

(End of Chapter)