Chapter 354: Transformation
"The initial modification of the nerve plexuses is complete. The next step is the implantation of protein microcrystals..." Inside a military medical center in Tianzhong City, a group of nervous and bustling medical staff constantly circled a comatose man on the operating table, their hands never stopping for a moment.
Dozens of catheters connected to various parts of his body, maintaining the temporary stability of his form. Meanwhile, several medical experts standing on the periphery observed the surrounding instruments, occasionally conversing briefly before frowning again.
Behind them, overseeing the entire situation, was a doctor who still looked quite young. Yet, no one found anything strange about it.
Outside the operating room, a man with eyes as sharp as an eagle's sat calmly in a waiting chair, attentive to anything that might disturb the procedures within. Even though this was already a highly secure area within the Huaxia Federation, he dared not let down his guard.
His tightly clenched palms and slightly taut skin, however, still betrayed the fact that his heart was far from calm.
"It must succeed. Big Brother has been in a coma for ten years. It's truly difficult, but we finally have a turning point." Wu Tian Ze, waiting outside the operating room, felt little different from any other patient's family member.
During the Tianqing Rebellion ten years ago, Wu Ye, the Imperial Guard captain who had unlocked his fifth internal 'gate' at the cost of burning his life force to gain terrifying power, was immediately frozen by Ye Zi's ability after the battle, in an attempt to await a turning point provided by future medical technology.
This wait lasted for ten years.
As a model of loyal service to the nation, several batches of medical experts from the Huaxia Federation had successively inspected his condition. However, they only advised maintaining his cryopreserved state and awaiting further developments.
It wasn't until a year ago, with the discovery of "Foundational Wizardry Modifications" from the Tianqing test site database, that a turning point finally arrived for everything.
It contained quite detailed records of a series of human modification methods, including primary brain modifications that injected protein microcrystals into the brain to slightly enhance computational abilities, and primary nerve plexus enhancements that accelerated nerve conduction speed to improve human reaction time...
These costly and considerably dangerous modification methods, once unearthed, were uniformly sent to the Spirit Energy Research Institute for optimization.
Initially, the big figures in the upper echelons didn't take these modifications too seriously. Even if one were exceptionally lucky and truly managed to complete all basic modifications alive, as the data suggested, they would only barely step into the Third Tier, which held little meaning for Five-Tier powerhouses whose life essence had already transformed.
However, out of consideration for the overall optimization of the nation, they were still placed within the research's priority sequence.
Yet, a few months ago, Dong Fang Sa, a genius doctor within the Federation, performed a series of large-scale adjustments to these surgical procedures and discovered they had miraculous effects in certain areas, thus leading to the scene above.
"This is..." After the surgery, the still-groggy Wu Ye opened his eyes in the ward, then immediately closed them again. The light in the room was too stimulating for eyes accustomed to darkness.
"Big Brother, you're awake? It's Tian Ze!" Wu Tian Ze dropped his previous sternness and tightly grasped Wu Ye's hand. He held deep affection for this Big Brother who had raised him since childhood, closer than a true sibling.
"Tian Ze?" Wu Ye's thoughts were still a bit muddled.
"Mr. Wu, the patient has just woken up. Please be a bit more careful..." Facing this human-shaped beast, the hospital staff could only softly advise.
Wu Tian Ze, who had already mastered the Nine-Orifice Body and was but a step away from entering the Dharma Body realm of the martial path, possessed a surging power within him sufficient to tear a Tyrannosaurus apart. Even the slightest hint of this power, unleashed in his excitement, caused the surrounding air to tremble. The ordinary nurse, a mere mortal, appeared somewhat timid.
Upon hearing the subtle advice, he realized his impropriety. He then took out a bulging envelope from inside his leather jacket and handed it to the nominal attending physician nearby.
Although doctors at the military medical center weren't short on money and usually didn't accept 'red envelopes', he still took the envelope. Wu Tian Ze was a high-ranking military official; refusing it would be a clear sign of disrespect.
As for the true attending physician, Dong Fang Sa, he had already quietly departed the moment he left the operating room, paying no mind to the family waiting outside. To him, healing and saving lives was more like a challenging game.
"Wu Ye is awake." In the Cheng family's courtyard house, Cheng Mu was holding his routine tea ceremony with Liu Zhen and a few others. The fragrance of tea leaves, steeped in boiling water, permeated the entire clean room.
"Once he recovers, fully support him in reaching the Fifth Tier. We need more strength."
"The power we hold is still too little; it's far from enough to face him. Perhaps we should consider cooperating with them to get past this hurdle first?"
"In your opinion, what are our chances of victory?" Liu Zhen pondered for a long time before finally asking the question. With their true bodies in subspace, and a final retreat path available, they didn't necessarily have to wade into these troubled waters.
"I don't know, but no matter what, I will not give up the supreme authority of this nation. His arrangements have revealed immense ambition, unlike what he claimed ten years ago about having absolutely no interest in power."
After Bai Mo disappeared, the Spirit Energy Network System and the Heaven-Human Integration Towers immediately ceased function. Large numbers of investigators were dispatched to various locations to determine the cause of the failure.
After extremely detailed research, it was discovered that the entities responsible for energy absorption in various cities were actually Bai Mo's avatars, not the principles he had mentioned in his research reports.
He, by his own power, used the Heaven-Human Integration Towers as a central hub, effectively controlling the Spirit Energy Network System that covered nearly half the territory of Huaxia.
All individuals who discovered this matter were immediately silenced. To the public, it was announced that the failure was due to a desperate, dying strike by aliens before their annihilation, requiring a lengthy period for recovery.
It was precisely this discovery that caused almost everyone in the upper echelons of Huaxia, who had initially maintained a neutral stance toward Bai Mo, to change their attitude and begin exploring possibilities for dealing with him. What he was doing was clearly undermining their very foundations, aiming to capture them all in one fell swoop.
Once this network was complete, Bai Mo's power could instantly appear in any corner within the Huaxia Federation, easily uprooting their influence. Those at the top absolutely could not tolerate such a threat.
"He has no friends, no factions, not even subordinates. What is the meaning of him wanting power?"
"Could it be that he wants to become like Hou Zi, a Heavenly Dao hanging over our heads?" Cheng Mu, aware of Bai Mo's past meeting with Hou Zi, suddenly had this thought.
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