Lin Jie felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, a kind of indescribable cold, like needles piercing all over his body.

He shivered immediately, waking up, and then got up from the ground.

Seeing the ice cubes rolling off his body, and the cold water dripping occasionally, Lin Jie's somewhat fuzzy mind understood a bit.

He had been splashed with ice water.

Could it be someone playing a prank, doing the ice bucket challenge?

Lin Jie wiped the cold water off his face with his hand, looked up, and found a bald, skinny man in his forties standing in front of him, shirtless.

Beside him stood a young man with a crew cut.

His shirt was open; his chest was covered with scars, and his bare arms were densely covered with tattoos, his face fierce.

In his hand, he still held a constantly shaking plastic bucket.

This made Lin Jie understand that the bucket of ice water just now must have been from his hand.

Lin Jie shook his head hard; the lingering effects of the anesthetic were still there, but it didn't stop him from recalling what had happened before.

Zhou Maocang had used high-efficiency anesthetic to knock him and Guan Muhua out!

He looked around and found no one else apart from the two in front of him, no Zhou Maocang, and no Guan Muhua.

The room's furnishings were very simple, and through the window, he could see the night sky outside!

It was just dark outside, with faint lights visible in the distance!

Where is this?

"It seems that our doctor is fully awake now; give him a towel, catching a cold would be bad!"

A cold voice entered Lin Jie's ears.

Turning his head, a wide towel was already thrown over him.

Lin Jie grabbed the towel and slowly wiped the ice water off his head and face, thinking about his situation.

Anesthetized, woken by ice water, the other party's actions were unfriendly, was this a kidnapping?

While wiping the ice water from his body, Lin Jie began to scrutinize the bald man in front of him.

Although the young man with the crew cut looked more aggressive, the main speaker was clearly this bald man in front of him.

The bald man grinned at Lin Jie and said, "Now that you're fully awake, come with me."

Lin Jie followed the bald man and the young man into the inner room.

The young man lifted a piece of flooring in the center of the room, revealing a downward passage.

At the bald man's prompting gaze, Lin Jie first followed the wooden stairs down into this underground room.

The sight in front of him startled Lin Jie.

This well-lit basement had an operating table, shadowless lamps, a ventilator, and resuscitation equipment!

It turned out to be a makeshift operating room.

And on the operating table lay a boy attached to an IV line, motionless, appearing to be only six or seven years old.

There was also a young girl with tear-stained cheeks, casually tied in a ponytail, accompanying the boy.

Following closely behind Lin Jie, the bald man said, "Miss Guo, you don't need to worry anymore, we've brought the best neurosurgeon for your nephew."

"Now, your nephew can be saved."

He pointed to Lin Jie and said, "Miss Guo, don't underestimate him for being young; he's recognized as the most renowned surgical expert in the country."

"Diseases that others can't treat, he can."

"Miss Guo, think about it, not just for your nephew, but for our own lives, we would definitely hire the best and most skilled doctor."

After saying this, the bald man looked at Lin Jie, giving a sinister smile, and said, "Dr. Lin, to make you more aware of your circumstances, I need to briefly introduce the situation."

He pointed to the boy on the operating table and said, "He's the grandson of Guo Baosheng, one of the top ten tycoons of Hong Kong Island, his only grandson."

"The other person is Guo Baosheng's youngest daughter, Guo Fenhan."

"We kidnapped them, hoping to make a fortune in ransom, then find a place where no one can find us to live a carefree life."

The bald man sighed and said, "It's just that plans don't keep up with changes, and a little accident happened; this little guy got a head injury."

"To get the ransom, I must return a living grandson to Guo Baosheng."

"Otherwise…"

The bald man's muscles twitched slightly and, gritting his teeth, said, "Guo Baosheng would place a ten or twenty billion bounty on the underground black market, and my brothers and I, including our families, won't have peace in this lifetime."

"Having said that, Dr. Lin, do you understand?"

Seeing Lin Jie still a little bewildered, the bald man viciously said, "If you save this kid, everyone can live."

"If you can't save him, me, and my brothers…"

The bald man's face showed a sinister expression, "In the future, we might die, but I can tell you for sure…"

"You, him, and her!"

The bald man's finger slowly pointed over Lin Jie, the boy on the operating table, and Guo Fenhan.

"You will surely die."

"I will dispose of your bodies first, and before we get discovered, we'll run as far as we can…"

Upon hearing this, a chill rose from deep within Lin Jie, spreading through his entire body.

He had encountered ruthless desperados.

The bald man walked close to Lin Jie, gently patted Lin Jie's shoulder.

With the pat, Lin Jie shuddered, involuntarily stepping back.

The bald man snorted coldly and said, "Dr. Lin, your life, the life of the Guo family's little grandson, and Guo Fenhan's life, or even our lives, are all in your hands."

"If the Guo family's little grandson lives, you live! If the Guo family's little grandson dies, you die!"

The bald man waved his hand again, shouting loudly, "Bring everything needed for the operation over here!"

With this command, the sound of footsteps resounded on the stairs.

Two men carried a large refrigerated box into the basement and placed it in front of Lin Jie.

After that, these two men went back and forth two more times, bringing in two more boxes.

"Dr. Lin, everything you need is in these three boxes. If you need anything beyond that, there's no need to ask, because we don't have it."

"Whether he lives or dies is up to you."

After saying this, the bald man left the basement with his people. Just as the stairway cover was being closed, his voice came down through the passageway again.

"I forgot to tell you, Dr. Lin, you only have twelve hours."

"Exceeding that time means death."

Death, death, death!

The word 'death' weighed heavily on Lin Jie's heart, but perhaps because it was repeated so often, it actually eased his fear of death.

He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his inner panic, and looked around.

The walls around had not a single window, suggesting this was a cellar-type basement.

However, he could feel the flow of air and the indoor temperature was quite comfortable, clearly indicating air conditioning was providing ventilation here.

The wooden stairs were the only way out!

Lin Jie didn't believe that he could rush out through there.

His gaze returned to the little boy on the operating table!

"Dr. Lin, can you really save Xiao Bao?"

Guo Fenhan, who had been silent all along, timidly asked.

Seeing Lin Jie not responding, she said tearfully, "Please, please save Xiao Bao."

"The Guo Family will give you a lot of money, really, I promise, we will give you a lot, a lot of money."

Lin Jie said softly, "No matter how much money there is, you have to be alive to spend it."

Despite saying this, he still walked to the operating table, reached out to feel the little boy's forehead, and began examining him.

"First, tell me, how long ago did he get injured?"

"He got injured the day before yesterday!"

Guo Fenhan wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and eagerly said, "The family came here to attend the trade fair, and I brought Xiao Bao to explore. The day before yesterday, we were wandering around when we were drugged."

"When I woke up, I was here and found Xiao Bao injured."

"They told me that while we were driving, we were hit by a car driven by a drunk driver. No one else was really hurt, but Xiao Bao got a head injury."

"Dr. Lin, ever since that day, Xiao Bao has not woken up. Please, save him."

"Please…"

Saying this, Guo Fenhan began to cry again.

Lin Jie said softly, "Xiao Bao has a fist-sized depression fracture on his left skull and mild intracranial hemorrhaging. There seem to be no other injuries on his body, and his vital signs are stable."

"The cranial injury causing Xiao Bao's coma cannot be detected by this kind of examination."

"Has he had a cranial CT scan done?"

Although Lin Jie internally knew this was unlikely.

CT equipment is bulky, and doing this check must be done in a proper hospital, which would be too risky for these people.

However, he still held onto a sliver of hope while asking.

Guo Fenhan shook her head and said, "The day before yesterday, someone claiming to be a doctor came to examine Xiao Bao. After the examination, he said it was a cranial injury."

"Cranial surgery is needed, but he can't do it, and the conditions here are inadequate. He needs to be sent to a hospital immediately."

"Otherwise, if time drags on, Xiao Bao might become brain dead."

"Then, I heard them arguing. That doctor was threatened, told that if he couldn't save Xiao Bao, not only would his past be exposed, but his wife and children wouldn't survive either. They said if Xiao Bao dies, everyone dies together."

Hearing this, Lin Jie suspected that doctor was probably Zhou Maocang.

He didn't have the capability, yet he implicated me.

At this moment, being angry with Zhou Maocang was pointless; he could only think about how to extricate himself from the current situation.

He hoped the others would keep their promise, treat this boy, and let him go.

But without any cranial injury examination, it's like feeling an elephant blindfolded; how could he target the treatment accurately?

Lin Jie thought as he approached the three boxes and opened them one by one.

The refrigerated box contained plasma, anesthetics, and various other medicines.

Lin Jie browsed a bit and found that all the drugs needed for cranial surgery were available.

Clearly, the person who prepared these things was an expert.

The other two boxes contained a complete set of cranial surgery instruments, sterilized surgical gowns, and more, including a good amount of saline and disinfectant alcohol.

Lin Jie concentrated for a moment and finally came up with a less-than-ideal plan.

He walked to Guo Fenhan, looking at her like a frightened little rabbit.

Guo Fenhan had been kidnapped, frightened, and worried about her nephew. Being able to hold it together without breaking down was already quite commendable.

Nevertheless, Lin Jie had to say, "Guo Fenhan, to treat your nephew, we need to perform cranial surgery. But I can't do it alone; I'll need you to assist me."

"Can you do that?"

Guo Fenhan didn't hesitate. She nodded forcefully and said, "Dr. Lin, in these circumstances, I can't say no. I will follow your instructions."

"Good!"

Following Lin Jie's instructions, Guo Fenhan washed with saline and then disinfected with alcohol before putting on a surgical gown.

As she tidied up, Lin Jie noticed that Guo Fenhan was quite pretty, with a fresh and delicate appearance.

Lin Jie picked up a slender puncture needle and said, "Before the surgery, we need to identify the primary injured area of Xiao Bao's brain."

"I hope this puncture needle brings us luck."

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