68: Chapter 68 Forbidden Experiment! I used a single command to open the gates of death!

Su Che's words were like a detonated EMP bomb.

The entire observation room of the "Nuwa" No. 1 Laboratory instantly fell into a dead silence, as if struck by an electromagnetic storm.

"Absurd!"

Academician Chen Shian was the first to explode. His wrinkled face flushed red, and his hand trembled as he pointed at Su Che.

"Do you have any idea what you are saying?!"

"That is a human life! Not a lab rat in your laboratory!"

"Brain death is death, legally and ethically! You are desecrating life; you are challenging the bottom line of human society!"

The dozen or so titans of the life sciences field behind him also wore expressions of horror, chiming in one after another.

"Academician Chen is right! This is too crazy!"

"We haven't even verified the biocompatibility of this system, and you want to use it directly on a human body? This is murder!"

The observation room descended into chaos.

Lieutenant General Peng and President Liu Qianghua's expressions were also grave.

They could provide Su Che with any resources, but this matter had already touched a forbidden red line.

Su Che ignored the group of agitated old experts.

He simply looked calmly at Lieutenant General Peng through the thick bulletproof glass.

"General, I only have one question for you."

"How much longer does my grandfather have?"

Lieutenant General Peng's lips moved, and finally, he spat out a few words with difficulty.

"Three months... at most."

"Three months?" Su Che smiled, but there was no warmth in that smile, only desolation and urgency.

"You spend three weeks 'awakening' the material, and then another three months 'verifying' the equipment. By the time you finish all your procedures, my grandfather's ashes will have already gone cold."

He pointed to the piece of flexible film in his hand.

"I don't have time to play house with science with you."

"I want to see the results today."

These words were arrogant to the extreme!

Academician Chen Shian was trembling with rage. He pointed at Su Che and roared at Lieutenant General Peng.

"General! Listen! Listen to what he is saying!"

"This is science! Science is rigorous; it is not a tool for him to satisfy his personal desires!"

"I will never agree! Not unless you step over my dead body!"

Lieutenant General Peng's fists were clenched so tightly that the veins on the back of his hands bulged.

On one side was a national hero, the hope of a comrade-in-arms.

On the other side was scientific ethics, the order of society.

He felt as if he were being roasted over a fire.

After a long time.

He unclenched his fists and slowly raised his head. His bloodshot eyes swept over all the agitated scientists present.

His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable decisiveness forged in blood and fire.

"Academician Chen, everyone."

"Let me introduce someone to you."

He did not say "find a vegetable," but instead said "introduce someone."

Lieutenant General Peng walked over to a secure terminal nearby and entered a long string of passwords and commands.

An encrypted personal file popped up on the main screen of the observation room.

In the photo was a middle-aged man in military uniform with a bright smile.

Name: Lin Weiguo.

Position: Core engineer of the first batch of the "Dragon Vein" project, responsible for the early application environment construction of the Kunlun Alloy.

Deeds: Seven years ago, during an accident in a high-energy particle collision experiment at the "Dragon Vein" underground base, he rushed into the out-of-control experimental chamber alone to manually close the energy valve, in order to protect the core data and three core scientists, including Su Changshan.

Result: His body suffered ultra-high doses of radiation, resulting in massive necrosis of the cerebral cortex neurons. He has been in a deep coma ever since and was declared a vegetable.

At the end of the file was a line of commentary written by Su Changshan himself.

— — "Peerless National Scholar."

Academician Chen Shian looked at the smiling face on the screen, his lips trembling, unable to say a single word.

So... he was one of their own.

He was a hero who, like Su Changshan, forged swords for the country and burned out his own life.

"He has no family; the country is his family."

Lieutenant General Peng's voice was hoarse and heavy.

"For seven years, we have just let him lie in a hospital bed like a living corpse."

"Now, Engineer Su has a way, a possibility... to let him 'live' in another way, or even to let him truly wake up."

He turned around, looked at Academician Chen Shian, and said word by word.

"Academician Chen, you tell me."

"Is it more ethical to let him 'die' silently in that hospital bed?"

"Or is it more humane to give him a chance, a chance that might create a miracle, or might let him truly find release?"

Academician Chen Shian opened his mouth but could not make a sound.

The group of scientists behind him all lowered their heads.

In the face of the four characters "Peerless National Scholar," any debate about "ethics" seemed so pale and powerless.

...

Half an hour later.

A hospital bed surrounded by various life-support equipment was slowly pushed into the "Nuwa" No. 1 Laboratory.

Lin Weiguo lay on it, his eyes closed, his face peaceful.

If not for the faint heartbeat curve on the monitor beside him, there would be no difference between him and a dead person.

Su Che steadied his mind and stepped forward.

Academician Chen Shian and his team finally chose to compromise. They stood by, assisting Su Che with their operations with extremely complex emotions.

"Connect the vital signs monitoring system."

"Brain waves... flat line."

"Prepare for interface implantation."

Su Che picked up the cicada-wing-thin flexible film and, under the nervous gaze of everyone, gently covered Lin Weiguo's forehead with it.

No craniotomy, no surgery.

The "living" film, the moment it touched the skin, seemed to possess life. It automatically expanded, fit perfectly, and eventually became one with the skin, leaving no trace behind.

"My God... It... It grew in by itself!" a young doctor exclaimed uncontrollably.

Su Che ignored him. He walked to the control console and connected his phone.

There were no complex programs.

There was only an extremely simple input box, similar to a chat application.

Su Che was silent for a moment.

He remembered the four characters that Su Changshan had written in the file.

He slowly typed a line of instructions into the input box.

He didn't use any scientific terminology, nor was it some complex brainwave encoding.

It was just a sentence.

[Lin Weiguo, Su Changshan... misses you.]

Then, he pressed the send button.

A conscious command, imperceptible to mortals and containing a massive stream of information, was instantly injected through the film into that brain which had been silent and death-like for seven years.

Everyone's gaze was locked on the brainwave monitor.

On it, there was still a flat, straight line representing death.

One second.

Two seconds.

Five seconds.

A complex expression, a mix of disappointment and relief, appeared on Academician Chen Shian's face, as if he had expected this.

The miracle, after all, did not happen.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to announce that the experiment had failed.

"Beep—!"

An extremely faint, yet incredibly clear electronic sound rang out abruptly in the dead-silent laboratory!

Everyone turned their heads sharply!

They saw that on the brainwave monitor, which had been displaying a flat line.

At the end of that horizontal line representing death.

An extremely weak, yet real and sharp peak suddenly shot upward!

It was as if it were responding to that call from seven years ago!

Everyone in the laboratory seemed to have been hit by a freezing spell. Their eyes were nailed to that tiny peak, and their brains simply shut down!

It's alive!

This dead brain had really... come alive!

However, Su Che did not look at the monitor.

His gaze was fixed on his phone screen.

Just after he sent the command, he did not receive any "reply" in that "chat box."

Instead, a scarlet, flashing warning pop-up occupied the entire screen!

[Ding! Warning! Warning!]

[Unauthorized third-party high-dimensional consciousness signal detected, attempting to pry into the target brain through your connection!]

[Analyzing source...]

[Source: Dimensional coordinates [Unable to resolve]... Codename... 'the observer'!]