Chapter 46 The Heart of the Ring Surgery

Shunan stood frozen in place, sweat slowly seeping from his palm. His fingers were stiff, unable to press the button no matter how hard he tried. With difficulty, he swallowed.

With a click, he tapped YES.

The next moment, ripples spread across the screen. A black shadow grew clearer and, to his astonishment, burst out from the screen. With a soft thud, it landed in Shunan’s hands.

Everything returned to normal.

He picked it up and saw it was a glossy black helmet. Its shape was much like a motorcycle helmet, only considerably lighter.

Though Shunan had long suspected this extraordinary game was not ordinary, he couldn’t help but feel awed.

“No matter, I’ll put it on and try it.”

He examined the helmet for a long time, finally gathering the resolve to wear it. Curiosity always burns bright in the face of the unknown.

He sat in the recliner, slipping the helmet over his head.

At the very moment the helmet fit snugly, a golden-framed pure white pentagram emblem flashed at the front.

Shunan’s hands dropped, as if he'd lost consciousness.

He slumped in the recliner, his head falling back.

His state was difficult to describe—like being struck by a prizefighter, his ears ringing, everything around him fading and blurring, as if worlds away.

Gradually, faint voices drifted to his ears.

It sounded like an old man was talking to someone.

“Is the Celestial Star powder ready?”

“It’s ready.”

“Is the basic model of the Heart of the Ring ready?”

“It’s ready.”

“Is the imprint guiding pen ready?”

“It’s ready.”

“You didn’t put in any anesthetic, did you?”

“Rest assured, teacher. Anesthetic would lower the success rate of the Heart of the Ring. How could I possibly use it? I knocked him out by other means. Trust me, teacher, I handle things properly…”

“In any case, he won’t wake up until at least tomorrow.”

“All right, let’s get started, quickly!”

“Understood!”

Then came the sound of chopping and cutting.

“What happened to me? Where am I?”

Shunan suddenly awoke, dazed, his gaze wandering around. This seemed to be a professional operating room.

“Did I transmigrate?”

Confused, he tried to sit up, raising his head. At that moment, his eyes met those of two doctors who had turned toward him. They were covered in blood—he had no idea where it came from.

His gaze dropped, and he realized the blood was spurting from his own chest cavity! He could even see his internal organs!

“Damn!”

Shunan cursed, laying back down.

Too disgusting! Even if they were his own intestines.

Yet, he didn’t seem to feel any pain?

As he wondered, a line of text appeared before him, cascading downward, floating silently in the air.

“You are undergoing Heart of the Ring surgery…”

“Due to excessive pain, your pain senses have been temporarily blocked to prevent emotional distress and accidental log-out.”

“So I’m still in the game… But everything around me feels so real… No, perhaps this is a real world after all.” As Shunan was lost in thought, the lead surgeon was berating someone.

“You said he wouldn't wake up until tomorrow!”

“I don’t know!” The apprentice sounded aggrieved. “Should we pause the surgery and administer anesthesia?”

“How can we pause? Damn it, I’ve already cut open his chest! Can I just stitch it back up and push him out?”

“So what now? He’s awake; we can’t keep operating, or the pain will kill him…”

Suddenly, a voice interrupted: “It’s fine, doctor. You do your surgery, and I’ll lie here.” Shunan lifted his head and spoke calmly.

“You’re really okay? Don’t overdo it! If you push yourself, the pain will drive you mad…”

The lead surgeon put down his scissors.

“Actually, when I was young, my brain was a bit faulty; I barely feel pain. If you don’t believe me, look.” Shunan spoke as he raised his finger, peeling back the gaping wound on his chest. No reaction from his body at all.

“Well, this is a first for me…”

Seeing Shunan so composed, the lead surgeon decided he wasn’t just putting on a brave face, so he continued with the operation.

Tomato sauce splattered, and Shunan watched curiously. Perhaps it was the helmet’s feature to block disturbing visuals, but he didn’t feel frightened at the sight of his own organs.

“I must be undergoing the Heart of the Ring surgery right now. This body belongs to Kashu…” Shunan glanced at his right hand.

The virtual helmet seemed to have brought him directly into Kashu’s perspective—vision, smell, touch—all present…

Pain sense… just got blocked by the system.

“Can I log out?” The thought crossed Shunan’s mind.

“Sorry, you are in a special state”

“Heart of the Ring surgery in progress…”

So it was possible to exit, but currently he was under surgery; he’d have to wait until it finished.

This realization relaxed Shunan considerably.

Thus, he lay on the operating table for four whole hours. The lead surgeon and his apprentice were drenched in sweat—not from the difficulty, but because Shunan, bored, kept staring at them.

For a surgeon, the most terrifying thing in the world is performing a major operation while the patient whose chest is open stares back at you with dead eyes.

But it wasn’t Shunan’s fault. Without pain, but with touch, he couldn’t sleep while they sliced him up.

Unless they gave him a book to pass the time, but that would be odd. What surgeon would run out to fetch a comic, and when asked why, reply that the patient liked to read during surgery?

Of course, in these four hours, Shunan wasn’t just staring blankly at his bloody intestines. He studied the game’s mechanics; some aspects matched what he’d seen on the computer before.

He could check his status bar, inventory, etc.

But other parts had changed. For example, when Shunan had the sudden urge to grab the scalpel and stab the doctors, the neutral NPC tag didn’t appear, nor did any hostility indicator. Could he kill at will now?

The map was gone, the interaction panel vanished.

Yet, perhaps this was a good thing? Now he could say whatever he wished, not limited to preset dialogue.

Like, “Damn you, doctor!”

“What did you say?” The lead surgeon looked over in confusion.

“I said, thank you, doctor.”

Half an hour later.

A soft chime, and the operating room door slowly opened.

Two nurses, long awaiting outside, quickly stepped in to wheel the unconscious patient to his ward.

But upon entering, they saw the patient chatting with the doctor, apparently asking about the names of surgical instruments.

“?” “?”

Fresh out of surgery and already so full of life?