Surgical Preparations

A female nurse wearing a mask, whose eyes were fairly pretty, said, "We have all kinds of surgical instruments, all of which have been sterilized and are kept in a sterile toolbox."

"Then, do you have a needle?"

"Needles? What kind of needles? Surgical sutures? We have all sizes, and at least three sets of each."

"It's not that needle." The Tinkerer, who was about to explain, thought for a moment, then gave up and said, "Never mind, I'll take mine." He went back to his briefcase and took out a rolled-up cloth bag.

The Tinkerer glanced at the oblivious, smug-smiling Old Bai man and asked, "Do you want the surgery today, or perhaps another auspicious day? Maybe Thanksgiving? Christmas?"

The Old Bai man, taken aback by the question, asked doubtfully, "Shouldn't we do some research first?"

"What If...? you agree to let me research for ten years, and I'm confident I can come back."

Can I hold out that long?

"That's why I set this time," the Tinkerer said nonchalantly.

The Tinkerer simply followed the diagnosis given by others. He had no intention of wasting his brainpower searching for faults in this fat old man, since the man wouldn't listen to his advice anyway.

Even the usually decisive and ruthless Old Bai, who could decide life and death with a single word, was now somewhat unsure of what to do.

He had never encountered such a bold person before, unless the other party was more powerful or of a higher rank. Otherwise, wouldn't all those low-level henchmen tremble in fear before him?

He knew the other person's identity: a hotel worker from Continental Hotel. Just a worker, nothing more.

As long as they're not members of the High Table, the affairs of the service staff can easily be categorized as personal grudges. Unless one is foolish enough to send people into the hotel to kill someone and break a taboo, the Continental Hotel won't avenge these people.

So he was wondering what the other party was relying on to justify this attitude.

However, the Old Bai fat man couldn't come up with any results just by thinking.

Furthermore, lacking medical knowledge, he dared not go to a legitimate hospital to consult a doctor to verify the validity of the person's claims. Therefore, his remaining options were simply to believe or disbelieve this unlicensed doctor he had "invited."

Judging from his uncooperative attitude, this person isn't trustworthy. So, should we cut ties with him and find someone else?

Perhaps it would be safer to kidnap those renowned doctors at medical centers and have them perform the surgery on him. But how long could he hold out? The Old Bai, chubby man struggled with this question.

The Tinkerer hadn't learned to read minds, so he had no way of knowing what the fat man was thinking. But from the micro-expressions on his face, he could still discern the struggle within him.

In the end, the Old Bai, fat man chose to compromise. He had his subordinates bring in this quack doctor precisely because the doctor's skills were considered exceptionally good.

This was the experience of one of my subordinates whose hand had been severed, and how this person had reattached it completely and restored it to its original state.

This proves that his medical skills are no less than those of the famous doctors at the medical center.

People working at veterinary medicine centers carry certain risks, and there's no guarantee the other party will cooperate. Those already involved in the underworld, however, are more likely to accept their situation and choose outcomes that are acceptable to everyone.

After figuring out the pros and cons, the Old Bai man, supported by the two girls beside him, stood up and said, "If you're confident..."

Let's have the surgery today. I've waited long enough.

The Tinkerer gave a cryptic, unfriendly smile.

But the chubby Old Bai had seen it all, and was worldly-wise. He remained confident that everything was under control.

The two arrived at the inflatable mobile operating room, where several nurses immediately stepped forward to help the surgeon and patient change their gowns.

They might have had their medical or nursing licenses revoked, or for other reasons, be unable to return to the normal medical system. That's why they're here, for that hefty hush money and reward.

Although the surgeon only glanced at the medical records briefly before deciding to operate that day, which seemed unreliable, everyone had other things to do, and it would have been better to get things done quickly and go home. So no one said anything.

In any case, they all have clinical medical experience and know what to do and when. As long as they don't mess things up, the success or failure belongs to the attending surgeon.

After everyone changed into their protective gear, they passed through a disinfection tunnel and entered a mobile, sterile, inflatable operating room. The chubby Old Bai man voluntarily lay down on the operating table, ready to be anesthetized.

Just as the anesthesiologist was about to explain the procedure, he said, "General anesthesia will be administered, which will take fifteen to twenty minutes. Intubation will be necessary, and it may be somewhat painful, sir. Please be careful."

Since it wasn't a standard surgery, no consent forms were required. The anesthesiologist simply came over with a syringe to begin preparations for anesthesia.

But the Tinkerer stopped him, saying, "A spinal anesthetic will suffice."

"But this kind of major surgery—"

"I'm in charge, so listen to me. What If...? you're all that skilled, then you can do it yourselves, and I'm out," the Tinkerer said domineeringly.

This attitude left the others somewhat bewildered. It was the fearless, oblivious Old Bai man lying on the operating table who didn't see anything wrong with the doctor's statement. He nodded, signaling for the others to cooperate.

Their decisiveness stemmed somewhat from a "what's the use" mentality. Having chosen to believe him, they had no choice but to believe him to the end.

So, with the help of a group of people, the Old Bai, chubby man lay on his side, hugging his legs and curling them up like a shrimp, just to make his Spinal Cord more prominent for easier injection.

However, finding the precise injection site is not so easy when the body is covered by fat deposits. Especially since this anesthesiologist was not a top performer in the industry, but rather messed up and was expelled from the medical system.

The Tinkerer, unable to bear it any longer, snatched the syringe from the other man's hand and administered Spinal Cord anesthesia. He then roughly threw the syringe into the used collection tray.

Spinal Cord anesthesia takes one to two minutes to take effect. But even that doesn't guarantee a successful surgery. Tinkerer can't just perform surgery at Super Speed in front of everyone.

Therefore, he needs to ensure that the patient does not move around during the procedure, while also remaining conscious.

To this end, the Tinkerer unfolded the cloth bag he had brought in, inside which was a row of gold needles used in traditional Chinese acupuncture.

This self-taught Tinkerer has never received formal training in traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine. Therefore, his approach is always to use whatever works, without strictly adhering to any particular method or procedure.

Just by seeing him use a soldering iron to stop bleeding, you can tell how unconventional his methods are.

Acupuncture and acupoints were naturally within the scope of the Tinkerer's research. In particular, by combining his knowledge of Western medicine's nervous and circulatory systems, he also figured out some unique approaches.

After being pricked by several long needles, the Old Bai man could no longer feel anything below his neck. This caused him, still conscious, to feel a surge of fear.