152: Scalpel inside the skull

A corner of the "lucky dice" cargo hold had been cleared out.

Several high-power lights illuminated the area as bright as day, creating a stark contrast with the surrounding dimness and forming a crude, temporary sterile operating room.

"Chen Feng, move the base of the force field generator to thirty-two degrees to the left. The margin of error cannot exceed one millimeter."

"Fili, that cooling line over there, connect it to port three. Don't get it wrong!"

Eve became the queen here. She spoke at a rapid-fire pace with clear instructions, directing the two men to move various pieces of equipment she had dismantled from across the ship.

Under her direction, a complex instrument made of various salvaged parts—full of post-apocalyptic style—was quickly assembled around Reno's life-support pod.

This was the framework for the "Bio-Field Furnace."

"Alright." Eve finished the final adjustments and looked at Chen Feng. "Prepare to start."

As she pressed the switch, the furnace, powered by a new energy source, emitted a low hum. A pale blue light curtain rose from the edge of the instrument, slowly closing to form a hemispherical dome that completely enveloped Reno and his life-support pod.

However, the edge of the dome fluctuated violently like boiling water, flickering unsteadily.

"It's not working." Eve's expression instantly turned solemn. "The force field is extremely unstable; the violent Power of the Laws is battering it. I need a 'person' to act as a manual regulator to fine-tune the energy input and output in real-time according to my instructions. This job requires absolute calm and focus; any slight tremor could cause the force field to collapse."

Captain Fili subconsciously took a step back, shaking his head like a rattle.

"I'll do it."

Chen Feng spoke without hesitation.

He walked to the console modified from the ship's old navigator and sat down. On the surface were two crude metal adjustment levers connected to a dense network of wires.

"Tell me what to do." He placed both hands on the adjustment levers, his voice calm and steady.

Eve gave him a deep look. She knew what this meant for a man accustomed to being in control.

It meant he was placing both his and Reno's lives entirely in her hands.

"Left hand controls input power, right hand controls field frequency resonance. I'll give you instructions; you just need to execute them precisely. Don't think, don't judge—just treat yourself as a machine."

"Okay."

"Before the surgery begins, you must make a choice." Eve's voice became serious. "Option A: We do our best to dispel the Power of the Laws and preserve Reno's human form. The success rate is less than ten percent, and even if it succeeds, he will be permanently frail and sickly due to damage to his origin."

She paused and continued, "Option B: We give up the struggle and instead guide this power to merge deeply with his body. The success rate exceeds seventy percent, and his vitality will become unprecedentedly strong. But... he will no longer be a pure human."

Chen Feng hardly thought about it.

"Option B."

His answer was so fast it even surprised Eve.

"I want Reno alive," Chen Feng added, his gaze passing through the force field to land on Reno's pale face. "No matter what he becomes."

These words were like a pebble thrown into the lake of Eve's heart.

Her hands, focused on the operation, paused almost imperceptibly. In her silver eyes, a hint of emotion flashed that she hadn't even noticed herself.

"Surgery begins." She took a deep breath, suppressing all emotions. "Increase input power to 3.1 percent, lower field frequency to 7.4 Hertz. Fast!"

"Executing."

The surgery officially began.

It didn't feel like a surgery; it was more like a tug-of-war on the edge of a blade that lasted for several hours.

"Increase power to fifteen! Fast! His cells are collapsing!"

"Resonance is too high! Bring it down! Zero point two! Hold steady!"

"Oh no! A violent rejection reaction!" Eve's voice suddenly turned sharp. "The force field is about to collapse!"

Before she could finish, the hemispherical dome began to flicker wildly. The energy flow on the surface darted around like out-of-control venomous snakes. Reno's body convulsed violently inside the life-support pod, and various life signs on the screen flashed red frantically!

At that critical moment, a bone-chillingly cold, piercing pain suddenly shot from Chen Feng's left wrist!

It was the 【Geas Marker】!

Chen Feng let out a muffled groan. He felt a surge of energy—pure to the extreme and filled with a sense of "order" and "rules"—surge through his arm and into the control lever he was holding!

Hum—!

The console emitted a groan of being overwhelmed, but the violent energy force field was instantly smoothed out by this external force's "suppression," as if by an invisible giant hand!

"Now!" Eve seized this one-in-ten-thousandth-of-a-second opportunity. Her hands became a blur on the control panel as she completed the final guidance procedure.

The force field stabilized.

Reno's body stopped convulsing, and the frantically jumping life-sign curves miraculously leveled out, eventually stabilizing at a low point.

However, on his skin, patches of strange, faintly glowing ice-crystal-like patterns—resembling mysterious totems—slowly emerged, eventually covering his entire body.

Sizzle... with a soft sound, the energy converter nearby emitted a wisp of black smoke and burned out completely.

The surgery was over.

"He survived." Eve leaned tiredly against the wall, her forehead drenched in sweat. "But... he has also fallen into a deeper level of coma."

She looked at the figure in the life-support pod that was both familiar and strange, her voice full of uncertainty.

"The surgery is only the first step. His body has entered a state of 'Dormant Evolution' that is completely unknown to me. What will be needed next, what will happen..."

She shook her head.

"I don't know."