Pain reflex is one of the most basic conditioned reflexes of the human body.

Even if a person is in a deep coma, they will still respond more or less to pain stimulus.

Unless the brain is severely inhibited or damaged, or the neural transmission pathways, such as the spine, are blocked due to accidents or anesthetics.

After undergoing brain surgery, patients are subjected to a detailed examination of various body parts upon waking, to detect any potential post-operative brain injury.

What Lin Jie needs to do now is to use deep pain stimulation to elicit a physical response from the comatose little boy.

From there, he can inversely infer the potentially injured areas in the boy's brain based on the presence or absence and strength of his physical responses.

Although this method carries some uncertainties, it is the most practical solution Lin Jie can think of given the current conditions.

It's much safer than opening up the boy's skull and rummaging through the brain to find the injury.

Seeing the thin puncture needle pierce the little boy's fingernail, Guo Fenhan felt a twinge of pain as if the inexplicable pain had occurred in her own fingertip, causing her to shudder.

With a sob in her voice, she pleaded, "Dr. Lin, must it be done this way?"

Lin Jie looked up at her and nodded, saying, "Given the current circumstances, this is the best method I could come up with. If you can't bear to watch, then turn away."

"I, I can bear it..."

As she was speaking, Guo Fenhan saw the puncture needle in Lin Jie's hand deeply plunge into the little boy's neck, almost three to four centimeters deep, and she immediately turned away.

A minute or two passed, seemingly as long as a century.

Unable to resist, Guo Fenhan asked, "Dr. Lin, is it done yet?"

There was no reply. She endured for another two or three minutes and asked again, "Is it done yet?"

There was still no reply.

After repeating this a dozen times, Guo Fenhan asked once more, "Is it done yet?"

"It's done, you can turn around now."

Finally receiving an answer, Guo Fenhan quickly turned around and saw the little boy covered with a sterilization membrane, dotted with blood spots like plum blossoms.

She understood those were the puncture wounds.

Suppressing her discomfort, Guo Fenhan looked at Lin Jie and anxiously asked, "Dr. Lin, how is the little boy?"

Lin Jie put down the stethoscope and exhaled deeply.

In the past forty-plus minutes, he had to carefully feel the slight reactions conveyed by the muscles with each puncture, sometimes using a stethoscope to listen for changes in heartbeat and breath sounds.

These changes were very subtle, requiring Lin Jie's full attention, consuming a substantial amount of mental energy.

However, the examination results were relatively exciting.

He said in a deep voice, "With each puncture, the little boy showed a response. Although the responses were very weak, they were indeed present."

Hearing this, a great sense of hope rose in Guo Fenhan's heart, and she eagerly asked, "Dr. Lin, what do you mean by this?"

Lin Jie explained, "Given that the little boy's physiological signs are within normal range and that various body reflexes are present to some extent, although it's not possible to check if sensory functions like taste, smell, hearing, and sight are normal, I can basically determine that your little boy's brain injury is not too severe."

He hesitated for a moment and continued, "I am seventy to eighty percent certain that the little boy's current coma is likely caused by cerebral edema, leading to high intracranial pressure and brain inhibition."

After hearing the explanation, Guo Fenhan inexplicably felt somewhat relieved and asked, "Then, Dr. Lin, what do we do next?"

Lin Jie bent down to take a cranial electric drill and a scalpel from the box and said, "Shave off the little boy's hair, drill at the fractured skull to relieve pressure..."

Even though Lin Jie was not a barber, using the sharp edge of the scalpel to shave the head was easily accomplished.

But for the drilling and pressure relief, Lin Jie first made some preparations.

First, he set up two intravenous transfusion channels for the little boy to prevent massive bleeding in case the intracranial pressure relief causes ruptured blood vessels in the brain.

Lin Jie understood that if the major intracranial arteries or veins hemorrhaged, even ten transfusion channels would be useless.

Right now, he could only gamble a bit!

The second step was sterilization!

He retrieved disinfecting alcohol and solution from the box and meticulously disinfected the makeshift surgery room in the basement.

Who knows how many fungi and bacteria are in this basement surgery room that had been around for who knows how long.

Under such conditions, Lin Jie speculated that the chance of infection and death could far exceed the likelihood of death from the surgery itself.

Lin Jie's strategy was to adopt minimally invasive, conservative therapy.

The goal was to have the little boy wake up within twelve hours, or rather, within ten hours.

His aim was merely to wake the boy, not to cure him fully.

Under the current conditions, expecting to perform craniotomy and cure the little boy could only be termed a miracle.

While many referred to Lin Jie as a miracle worker,

he was aware of his limitations, and the so-called miracles he previously performed were all within his confidence range.

But this time, without microsurgical equipment for brain operations, Lin Jie had no assurance at all.

He could only hope that luck continued to be on his side, allowing the little boy to wake up within ten hours as anticipated.

At that point, the criminals would see the boy has revived and assume he had survived.

They might expedite the ransom process to return the boy to his parents for better treatment, perhaps ultimately averting the deterioration of his condition and preserving his life.

Utilizing all available resources, Lin Jie meticulously prepared before operating the cranial electric drill.

The "buzzing" sound of the motor was particularly distinct in the silent surgery room.

Especially when the drill touched the skull, the "buzzing" turned into a "hissing" sound.

Guo Fenhan felt her scalp tingle.

This time, without Lin Jie's reminder, she turned around by herself.

Though she turned her back, she didn't think to cover her ears to shut out the nerve-wracking noise.

The sound of "zzz" continued, and suddenly there was the sound of "squeak... squeak..." mixed in.

It sounded like the noise of spraying water.

Curious, Guo Fenhan turned around.

The scene before her left Guo Fenhan so shocked that her entire body went stiff, her mouth agape, but she couldn't utter a sound.

On Xiaobao's head, just like a water gun, blood sprayed out in a mist.

The blood sprayed all over Lin Jie's surgical gown, then dripped wetly to the floor!

"Ah..."

Guo Fenhan finally let out a scream, using all her strength on that one "ah," piercing the air like thunder, making Lin Jie's ears ache!

Lin Jie frowned and advised, "This is normal, don't shout, or you'll attract the bad guys."

The fear of the bad guys far outweighed the fear in front of her, so Guo Fenhan covered her mouth with both hands to stop herself from making any sound.

At this point, the blood spray from Xiaobao's head had eased, turning into a continuous flow of blood down his head.

Lin Jie observed carefully for a while and saw that the flowing blood was decreasing and eventually stabilized.

He took a soft drainage tube, inserted it into the burr hole in the skull, and secured it with medical tape.

Then, Lin Jie adjusted the control valves for the blood transfusion and fluid infusion, increasing the flow rate slightly.

Seeing the pale red blood flowing drop by drop through the drainage tube onto the ground, Guo Fenhan anxiously asked, "Dr. Lin, you need to think of a way to stop Xiaobao's bleeding."

"How can we let it keep flowing like this? Xiaobao will die."

"Your Xiaobao won't die!"

Lin Jie said confidently, "The volume of bleeding indicates that the blood vessels injured in Xiaobao's brain are relatively small, or the wound on the vessel is small, which will not affect Xiaobao's normal brain blood supply."

"The body's self-healing ability is quite good, especially for children. After some time, the intracranial bleeding in Xiaobao should stop."

As he spoke, Lin Jie picked up a needle from the side and pricked Xiaobao's thumb again.

Instantly, Guo Fenhan panicked and shouted, "Why did you prick Xiaobao again?"

Lin Jie calmly observed Xiaobao's reaction and smiled, "Xiaobao's reflexes are significantly stronger than before, indicating he's recovering."

"I have confidence. Xiaobao will wake up within three to five hours..."

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a "pop" sound, faintly heard through the wall.

Lin Jie paused and asked Guo Fenhan, "What was that pop sound just now?"

"What pop sound? I didn't hear anything," Guo Fenhan looked puzzled.

While Lin Jie wondered if he was hearing things, Shen Lanruo's voice immediately sounded in his mind, "It's a gunshot!"

"A-Jie, that's a gunshot. I've heard too many gunshots in the United States; I can be sure it is."

The gunshot indicated they had been discovered and that someone was coming.

Though Lin Jie was pleased, he realized that the most dangerous moment had also arrived.

The perpetrators might do something insane, so he had to protect himself!

Lin Jie selected a long-handled surgical knife from among the surgical instruments and gripped it firmly in his hand before directing his gaze toward the heart pacemaker...

A tattooed young man with arms full of tattoos and a chest full of scars, along with a long-haired young man, rushed into the operating room, just to see Lin Jie holding the pacemaker, ready to use it on the little boy.

Lin Jie glanced at them and said irritably, "What are you doing here? Don't interrupt my work, quickly leave!"

Seeing Lin Jie covered in blood and the floor soaked in it, the tattooed man was momentarily confused.

If someone bled out completely, it would look just like this!

He sniffed, taking a deep breath of the bloody scent in the air, and sneered, "No need for rescue anymore. You two, come with me now!"

The tattooed man stepped heavily into the blood, slowly approaching the operating table, drawing a military knife from his waist, and said viciously, "Put down everything in your hands and just come over honestly, or I'll cut off your fingers one by one."

"As you wish!"

Lin Jie straightened up, loosened his grip, and the two heart pacemakers in his hands fell to the ground.

The moment the pacemakers touched the bloody ground, there was a muffled bang.

At the same time, the tattooed man's whole body jolted, the military knife slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, and he slowly collapsed.

Lin Jie's pacemakers had been fully charged a while ago, with the switches pasted firmly, and the blood on the floor acted as a conductor.

He and Guo Fenhan were standing on several pieces of foam, perfectly insulating them from the electrical surge.

Lin Jie only lamented that the long-haired young man had not stepped into the blood as well.

The saline and the blood in the bags were limited, covering only part of the area in front of the operating table, and if too much had been poured, it would arouse suspicion.

The unexpected event startled the long-haired young man behind, but he quickly came to his senses.

He drew a thirty-centimeter sharp short knife from his lower back, performed a display of dazzling knife tricks, bypassed the blood on the floor, and quickly edged toward Lin Jie along the wall.

"You bastard, I'll carve the flesh off your body piece by piece..."

Observing the man's fierce expression, vicious eyes, and the short knife aimed at him, Lin Jie instinctively swung the long-handled surgical knife in his hand a few times.

Several soft sounds of cutting were suddenly heard.

Lin Jie focused and saw a longitudinal cut on the right wrist of the long-haired young man.

The tendons in his hand had been severed.

Meanwhile, blood sprayed from the young man's left chest area and his neck was gushing blood...

The tendons, the heart, the carotid artery!

Admiring his work, accomplished almost in the blink of an eye, Lin Jie roared, "Compete in knife skills? I'm the best knife in the world!"

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