Chapter 11: Use this... to carve it out? Yes, just use this to carve it out_4

Moreover, there's no need. Standard modifications usually leave magnet adhesive patches around the eye sockets, jaws, and behind the ears for future maintenance or alterations, unless this person was born with a body of steel.

In short, it doesn't make sense.

Lin Miao walked out of the repair shop carrying a medical box and sat on a bench, "Instead of wasting time spectating, why not help me remove a bullet? After all, I got injured because of you."

"Remove a bullet..." Lucy was a bit surprised. "Aren't you going to the hospital or at least find a body modification doctor?"

"Don't make snarky remarks. Hurry up; I haven't even asked you for compensation yet." Lin Miao rolled his eyes. He didn't have the leisure for this, and rather than spending money at the hospital, it'd be quicker to lay in a modification pod. Though Gloria could stitch the wound, it wasn't the right time to seek her.

Lucy's expression turned a bit awkward at the mention of compensation.

Because she didn't have much money.

As an elite cyber hacker, Lucy was supposed to have plenty of gigs, but she didn't dare take on the big jobs, fearing traces would lead back to her by Huang Ban's hackers. So, she resorted to stealing dog chips from Huang Ban Corporation in the subway or busy markets to sell on the black market, which was enough for rent and daily living, but dreaming of savings was just fantasy.

Recently, Lucy considered joining a reliable Bounty Hunter team, but that thought had to be postponed for now...

If Lin Miao demands thousands or even tens of thousands, she wouldn't afford it and would have to run away.

Lucy crossed her arms as she sat next to Lin Miao's wounded right arm, "Alright, alright, you're really strange, but let's agree first, I'm not doing surgery, and if something goes wrong, it's on you."

"I'll guide you," Lin Miao didn't actually expect her to perform any bullet-removal surgery, neither would he. But he could watch his own interface, pinpointing vessels and nerves, speaking while showing her. After all, she was a hacker, should at least have steady hands.

He opened the medical box, which still had a knife he took inside.

After a simple sterilization with disinfectant, Lin Miao picked up the knife and aimed it at his right arm wound, then made a cut.

"Hey, aren't you going to use anesthesia?"

Lucy was stunned. She remembered not scanning any pain editor on Lin Miao's body.

Forget about it, Lin Miao had long instructed the system to turn off his pain sensors. If the sensations were 1:1 real, players wouldn't make it through; they'd end up wailing with every death.

But he couldn't explain that, so he just held the wound in front of her, "It's fine, I can handle it, just help me pry open the wound."

"..." Lucy's lips parted slightly, wanting to say something, but she bit her tongue, placing her left hand's two fingers on either side of Lin Miao's wound, prying it open, feeling the scalding heat of the blood almost like being burned.

Lin Miao concentrated on his right arm's interface, beads of sweat starting to appear on his forehead. Though the pain was neurologically blocked, the physical response remained, yet he persisted, directing, "Can you see the bullet?"

"Is it the black part?"

"The black part is a muscle, ignore that."

"Is it the silver-white part?"

Lin Miao paused before recalling, "That's bone, I replaced my skeleton, it's titanium alloy. The bronze-colored part next to it should be the bullet."

Lucy adjusted her cyber eye brightness and zoomed in, examining carefully. Sure enough, she spotted a bronze bullet wedged between two bones, "I see it. But it's lodged deep."

Lin Miao then picked up a hammer he had swiped from the repair shop, "Help me chisel it out."

"Chisel?"

"Yes, chisel."

Lucy took the hammer used for car repairs, thinking she might have misheard, her mouth slightly open, dumbfoundedly holding the hammer and knife in her hands, mimicking a striking gesture, "Just like this?"

"Just like that. My bones are titanium alloy, it doesn't matter, go all out."

Lucy felt she was going insane. Is this guy seriously not a cyberpsycho?

"Truly no need for anesthesia?"

"Ugh..." Lin Miao was almost speechless at her verbosity, "How about this, let's chat to distract ourselves."

"Alright." Lucy nodded repeatedly, at least it'd make her feel better. She threaded the knife through the titanium bone crevice, positioning against the bullet, and only then did she feel mad, following his lead to chisel a bullet out this way. But what could she do now when things had come this far?

"Sorry about getting you involved earlier, dragged you into this mess, yet I still don't know your name."

Clang!

"Lin Miao, head of Future Horizon Office, president, CEO, call it whatever."

"Office...is it your own studio?"

Clang!

"You could say, business just started, lacking people and money, and the car I bought this morning almost got totaled."

"Apologies..."

Lucy found it amusing; wasn't he a one-man band?

Clang!

"Save your apologies. I just heard those guys say you're a hacker?"

".....Yes."

Clang!

The final strike, the bronze bullet finally popped out, rolling onto the table with blood. Truthfully, Lin Miao was lucky the bullet lodged between the radius and ulna. Otherwise, had it hit a bone directly, the lead core inside could've burst, at least taking a chunk of flesh.

Lucy quickly grabbed the hemostatic cotton from the medical box to clean the blood around the wound, then stitched up it bit by bit with needle and thread, her actions light and meticulous, her unexpected seriousness. If only her technique weren't atrocious. Had Lin Miao known, he would've swiped a stapler to seal the wound himself.

Finally, Lin Miao revealed his true intentions, "How about this, I won't ask you for compensation. Help me with a job as a trade-off, and we'll be even. What do you think? If successful, I can even give you an extra cut."

Lin Miao just needed to confirm that the Night Wanderer indeed planned to siphon oil, then having a hacker for assistance would undoubtedly yield twice the results with half the effort.