Chapter 88 Negative Ion "Therapy"

"Ugh..."

A muffled groan escaped He Zhenhua's throat. His whole body suddenly hunched over as if his bones had been removed.

Cold sweat instantly broke out, soaking through his innermost undershirt.

Pain.

A heart-piercing, bone-gouging pain.

Neurogenic pain, commonly known as "phantom limb pain."

The brain thinks the hand is still there, and it thinks it's burning, twisting.

"Engineer He!"

Sun Erga dropped his cart and rushed over, wanting to help but not daring to touch him. "What's wrong?"

He Zhenhua's teeth chattered as he gritted them; he wanted to maintain his dignity as an engineer.

But his body had already slumped uncontrollably.

"Do you have medicine? Where is the medicine?" Er Ga asked anxiously.

He Zhenhua shook his head with difficulty.

Strong painkillers were right in his pocket.

But the side effects of this medicine were enormous; taking too much would cause hand tremors and slow reactions.

As a precision machinery expert, what he feared most was hand tremors.

What he feared most was a slow brain!

He chose...

To endure it!

Anyway, he had endured it like this for the past ten-plus years.

All for the sake of one day being able to use his useful self to continue to shine and contribute!

"Quick! Quickly call Old Zhang from the infirmary!"

The eyes of the surrounding workers were full of sympathy, but also full of helplessness.

Just then, a pungent smell of traditional Chinese medicine forced its way into the crowd.

"Everyone, move aside! Why are you all crowding around? Do you want to suffocate him?"

Lin Xi strode in, carrying a glass jar in his hand.

"Manager Lin! Engineer He, he..." Sun Erga said in terror.

"Shut up. Lift him."

Lin Xi pointed to the nearby temporary warehouse. "Carry him in and lay him flat on the table."

A few minutes later, in the temporary warehouse.

He Zhenhua lay on two office desks pushed together.

His consciousness was already blurred from the pain, and he had bitten a row of bloody marks into his lips.

A brand-new "Red Star · forest oxygen bar" was right beside him.

Dr. Zhang from the infirmary ran in panting. Seeing the scene, he reached for his stethoscope.

"Dr. Zhang, you should rest."

Lin Xi stopped him. "Neurogenic pain. Your stethoscope won't find anything."

"Then what are you doing?"

Dr. Zhang watched as Lin Xi pulled out a black substance, his brow furrowing into a deep frown.

"Vice Manager Lin, this is about treating a patient and saving a life. What kind of folk remedy are you pulling here?"

The surrounding workers were also whispering.

A fan? Ointment?

He wanted to cure the condition that had tortured Chief Engineer He for over ten years with just this?

Wasn't this a joke!

In his daze, He Zhenhua felt someone pulling up his sleeve.

He struggled to open his eyes and saw it was Lin Xi. With a pale face, he forced a bitter smile:

"Manager... Manager Lin, it's no use..."

"I don't believe in... TCM..."

He was an engineering student who had studied in Germany; he believed in data and machinery.

He had a natural resistance to these black roots and barks.

"Shut up and save your strength."

Lin Xi didn't explain. He applied a thick layer of the high-concentration ointment to the stump of He Zhenhua's limb.

Then, he moved the "forest oxygen bar" fan onto the table.

The air outlet was pointed directly at the wound, less than ten centimeters away.

Click.

Maximum air volume.

There was no whistling sound of fan blades turning, only an extremely faint sizzling sound, like an electric current flowing through the air.

"Everyone, back up three meters."

Lin Xi's expression was serious. "Don't block the negative ion flow."

Old Zhang: "???"

He was so angry his beard curled up:

"Ridiculous! Simply ridiculous!"

"You can stop pain just by blowing on it with a fan?"

Lin Xi ignored him, staring intently at He Zhenhua's reaction.

In the livestream room, the comments were flooding the screen:

[This is the principle! A high-concentration flow of negative oxygen ions can instantly change cell membrane permeability!]

[Plus the medicinal liquid extracted via ultrasound, the penetration rate is faster than an injection!]

[More importantly, high-concentration negative ions themselves can block the abnormal discharge of pain nerves! This is standard procedure in rehabilitation departments nowadays!]

One minute.

Two minute.

The warehouse was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

He Zhenhua's tightly furrowed brow didn't relax; instead, it furrowed even tighter.

That was the soreness brought by the medicinal power forcibly penetrating the epidermis and stimulating the nerve roots.

The workers looked at each other. Some had already started whispering, feeling that Little Manager Lin had overplayed his hand this time.

Dr. Zhang even snorted coldly and turned around to get his first-aid kit.

Suddenly—

"Whew—"

He Zhenhua suddenly let out a long breath.

It was a very long breath, as if he wanted to exhale all the pent-up frustration that had accumulated in his chest for ten years.

The next second.

That body, which had been as tense as a bowstring, suddenly... went limp.

That visible relaxation was like a machine that had been powered down.

"What's happening? Did he faint?" Sun Erga was startled.

Lin Xi made a "shh" gesture.

Zzz... Zzz...

A few minutes later, a thunderous snoring sound echoed in the warehouse.

The rhythm was steady and full of vigor.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

The first-aid kit in Dr. Zhang's hand hit the ground with a "clatter."

"He... he fell asleep?"

He Zhenhua was a severe neurasthenia sufferer; it was said he hadn't had a full night's sleep in over ten years.

Now, in this drafty, noisy warehouse, after having some black ointment smeared on him and a broken fan blowing on him...

He actually fell asleep?

And sleeping so deeply and soundly?

Lin Xi reached out to turn down the fan setting, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and turned to look at the stunned crowd.

"This is called 'transdermal drug delivery assisted bio-electrotherapy'."

Lin Xi was talking nonsense with a straight face.

"The principle is very complex; you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

"In short, let him keep sleeping here. No one is allowed to wake him up."

After saying that, Lin Xi walked away with his hands behind his back.

...

This sleep lasted a full eighteen hours for He Zhenhua.

At noon the next day, when he opened his eyes, he saw the mottled cement marks on the ceiling.

Subconsciously, he reached for his left hand.

Empty.

But this time, there was no shadow-like demon.

No burning, no sawing pain, only a warm comfort, like being soaked in warm water.

It disappeared?

The phantom limb pain that had tortured him for four thousand days and nights, making him want to jump off a building countless times, had actually disappeared?

He Zhenhua sat up abruptly and found himself covered with a military overcoat.

Not far away, Lin Xi was sitting on a small folding stool.

He was holding blueprints in his hand and munching on a steamed bun.

Hearing the movement, Lin Xi turned his head and handed over half a steamed bun:

"Awake? Want some?"

He Zhenhua looked at this young man, who was more than two decades younger than himself, and his throat felt as if it were tightly blocked by something hard.

In his life, he had only cried once, when he received his graduation certificate from Munich University.

Even when his arm was blown off in an experimental accident back then.

Looking at the mangled wound, he hadn't shed a single tear, only gritting his teeth and saying "continue data recording."

But at this moment.

This fifty-year-old tough guy, this man who had been almost deformed by life and pain.

His eyes turned red.

He tremblingly reached out his remaining right hand and took the cold steamed bun.

"Manager Lin..."

He Zhenhua's voice was hoarse, with a hint of a sob.

"This life of mine is yours from now on."

This wasn't just politeness.

For an engineer who had been sentenced to death.

Allowing him to have a clear brain and stable hands again was more precious than giving him a mountain of gold!

Lin Xi smiled and draped the overcoat back over him:

"Old He, your life is your own. Keep it to build machines for the country."

"However..."

Lin Xi winked.

"Since you're better, you'll have to chair the afternoon's regular meeting. I'm going back to catch up on some sleep."