"The ship has a medical bay. The equipment is all top-of-the-line, and there are professional medical staff as well. It can definitely meet your needs. Is there something wrong with your body?"
D. Fild had spent a fortune investing in these people to build his reputation. If someone died of illness halfway through, it would be a huge loss.
Research was a bottomless pit to begin with. Since D. Fild had already covered the biggest expense, he did not care about these small costs.
"No, but that child's heart isn't in good condition. I promised her I'd take care of it."
"That Mink girl? A valve defect, or her blood vessels?"
"Congenital heart disease. If not for the Mink Tribe's physique, I estimate she would not have held on this long. I had originally planned to take her to another country for treatment after some time."
The Kingdom of Sorbet's medical standards were quite average. There was indeed an operating room here, but that operating room...
If a patient did not die after surgery, it could only be called good luck.
"I can help with the medical issue. I'm a doctor myself, but have you found a suitable donor heart?"
Vegapunk himself had made some achievements in medicine and overcome quite a few difficult illnesses. A mere open-heart surgery would not stump them; the problem was the donor heart.
The human body was an incredibly complex thing—fragile beyond measure, yet immensely powerful. A strong heart was difficult to replicate, and rejection would eliminate the vast majority of options.
Even if the two were compatible, whether she could endure the rejection period and whether it would affect her life afterward would both be issues.
"I don't recommend a heart transplant. Conservative treatment might extend her lifespan further. After all, she's from the Mink Tribe. Finding a matching heart would be... far too difficult."
Though humans, fish-men, and other races shared the same blood, there were still clear differences in their organs. The Fish-Man Tribe's dual respiratory system and the Mink Tribe's ability to generate electricity both made their hearts somewhat different from human hearts.
"Director Vegapunk, I think you may have misunderstood something. I never said I was looking for a donor heart."
Vegapunk's concerns were not problems to Oran at all. From the very beginning, Vegapunk had gotten one thing wrong: what limited Oran was not technology or donor hearts, but the Kingdom of Sorbet's basic environment.
This place could not even manufacture certain basic components, and the population's overall capabilities did not meet the hiring requirements for some products.
For example, if someone could produce bricks, Oran could teach them how to stack those bricks into walls.
The problem was that these people did not even know how to dig up the clay needed to fire bricks. The path had been locked off at its root. If he truly developed things here step by step, he could probably start offering incense to Kate.
Not to mention donor hearts...
Even in places with relatively peaceful conditions and well-developed systems, they were not easy to find. Few people were willing to donate their bodies in the first place, and finding one with a usable heart was rarer still. Even if they found a match, there would be a whole string of problems afterward.
Killing someone for that purpose went against Oran's principles even more. Besides, he had no need for such a low-level method.
"Don't limit yourself to flesh and blood. Machinery is another option as well."
A Hextech Heart—this had been the solution Oran had decided on when he first planned to deal with Kate's heart condition.
After all, there had been more than one such example in Piltover on the original timeline. Whether it was Camille or Orianna, both had their hearts replaced by Hextech Hearts.
The former had done it for power, while the latter had done it for survival and her father.
Excessive modifications might cause someone to lose their humanity, but only if they became completely uncontrollable.
"Machinery? Forgive me for being blunt, but no machine currently exists that can operate as powerfully and continuously as a heart for decades."
"That's only because you don't know of one, Director Vegapunk. You're being imprisoned by your own understanding, and that is a major taboo for a scientist."
Vegapunk suddenly stiffened. Oran's words made him realize a problem he had been having lately: he had kept trying to solve future problems with known methods, and that had instead led him into a dead end.
With Vegapunk's way of thinking, he would not have dwelled on this matter for long, but Oran's words still saved him even more time.
"I once heard a saying: humans cannot imagine things they have never seen. All fantasies are extrapolated from one's own knowledge.
Artificial hearts are not in that category. At least in my view, making one is much easier than imagining a color that has never existed.
Since you've agreed to all my conditions, I have no further issues. You're planning to stay here for a few days anyway, so I'll settle what I need to during that time."
Vegapunk had already agreed to Oran's conditions, so there was nothing bad about joining an organization that would benefit his research.
As for possibly drawing the World Government's attention after setting sail, that was not much of a problem either.
First, no member of the World Government had ever seen Oran's true appearance. The only Celestial Dragon who had come into close contact with him was long dead. Even among the people who had fled with him back then, most did not know Oran's name or face.
Oran had concealed his face with a gas mask at God Valley. Now he had changed his hairstyle and taken off his glasses. In a world plagued by face blindness, that was already an extremely strong disguise.
The World Government itself had no idea what had happened on the island during that time. Countless pirate crews had turned the place upside down, and now not even a single stone remained. It was impossible to say how difficult it would be to investigate.
There was no longer any news of God Valley on the seas. The World Government's cover-up had begun to show results. Under such circumstances, even if they wanted to find someone, they could not openly issue a wanted notice.
At the World Government's usual efficiency, even if they managed to track him down, Nika would probably be out dancing by then.
After confirming their intentions, Vegapunk took Oran on a tour of the ship's medical bay. Once he confirmed that the facilities were suitable, Oran went to find Kate and explained his treatment plan to her.
"Oran, are you saying you can treat my illness?"
"I believe I told you that from the beginning. I wasn't trying to comfort you. It's just that I only finished designing the specific plan recently. Just as I said, the Hextech Heart will replace your original heart.
I'm fully confident in this operation. Before long, you'll be able to run freely. But there are still some important special considerations I need to explain to you first."
After explaining the surgery, Oran's expression turned serious. He was confident in the operation's safety, but there were certain unpredictable factors he could not control. Those were inherent traits of the Hex Crystal itself.
Seeing Oran's grave expression, Kate's newly relaxed mood grew tense again.
Though she had always felt that she had come to terms with it, when the choice truly arrived, her mindset still changed.
"Let's start with the good news. Based on the racial traits of the Mink Tribe, I adjusted part of the Hextech Heart's structure. It can enhance your control over electrical currents.
I've named this heart model—Zaun Spark."
Before you continue