Chapter 1977 U: Beyond Major Events (66)_1

"Was Shiller really a surgeon once?"

Lord Superman turned to Bruce and asked. Bruce paused before answering slowly, "I can only say he knows how to perform surgeries, but whether he really is a surgeon is unknown."

"Wouldn't most surgeons avoid becoming psychologists?" Spider Man disagreed, stating, "These seem to be two entirely different fields."

"The question isn't if Shiller can perform a surgery, but if his surgical skills can save this child." Constantine sighed, "In my view, this child's chances of survival are slim; he should've died long ago."

Spider Man turned to Constantine with a hint of disapproval. Constantine pressed his lips in retort, "I'm not cursing him."

Then he shook his head, apparently aware of some untold secret yet unwilling to reveal it.

It was then when Owen finally spoke again, "Alright friends, let the betting commence again! This time it's simpler: the bet is whether Shiller's operation will be successful. The minimum bid is one point, with no limit. Triple payoff. Let the betting begin."

"Wait, give us some time." Lord Superman interrupted him, then turned back to Bruce, "Have you ever seen your professor perform a surgery?"

"He's stitched me up before," Bruce said guardedly, "But that doesn't give me any insights into his overall surgical skills, since even a layman can learn to stitch up with a bit of training."

"Have you ever considered the illusion you experienced with Batman? Do you know how difficult it is to peel off someone's skin intact?"

"He almost perfectly preserved the underlying nerves." Arthur chuckled, "Only when the nerves are intact can his victim feel enough pain to jump higher."

"This is what I'm talking about. He does possess remarkable surgical skills, but rarely uses them for medical purposes," Bruce affirmed, nodding his head.

"He mentioned that he once performed a difficult cardiac surgery on a child. The operation was successful, but the child eventually died anyway. Is this true?" Constantine asked another question.

"I don't know, that incident must have happened a long time ago when he was young."

"You wouldn't deliberately withhold information from us, would you?" Lord Superman frowned.

"It makes no sense to do that. If I had any information, I would share it with all of you so that we could win together. It wouldn't harm me, but I really can't be certain."

"Have you guys thought about the possibility of a trap here?" Constantine chimed in, "The present scenario might be related to what Shiller had once encountered. Perhaps the hosts are trying to trigger his memory of that child."

"That doll once asked, 'Does this happen every time?' It's obvious that Shiller had failed. Though the surgery was successful, the child died. Would that affect him in any way?"

"But the child's parents are also dead," Bruce turned towards him, "At least, according to Shiller, they jumped off a building out of sheer grief."

Arthur chuckled softly, finding the reason somewhat laughable. But his eyes flickered with sudden realization, "I choose failure. There's no way this surgery can be successful."

Lord Superman was planning to choose after Bruce, but Bruce seemed to be waiting to be the last one to pick. So Lord Superman chose success, "He's a madman, but a talented one. He might just pull it off."

After placing his bid on failure, Constantine added, "This isn't as simple as it seems, it's not just about the surgery."

Immediately after, Bruce also chose failure. Lord Superman seemed surprised at this, but Bruce simply shook his head and said nothing.

Spider Man eventually chose success, "Consider this a blessing from me. I hope the child can be saved."

Once again, they all trained their eyes on the screen, where Shiller was checking the surgical tools. He seemed to be preparing for the surgery.

"First, I need to perform an examination," said Shiller as he put on latex gloves, "Given the circumstances, there's no point in considering sterilization since he may not live long enough to experience an infection."

"Let me be clear, I don't perform surgeries. But I need to assess his heart before deciding if a surgeon should be called."

Although Shiller had a plan in mind, he considered it a last resort. If a problem could be resolved by surgery, that was still the most preferable option.

Performing heart surgery was not complicated—in Shiller's words, there was no point in worrying any longer. The patient was hanging by a thread—nothing could make it worse.

As soon as time stopped, Little Bruce, who was lying on the operating table, began to breathe again. Unfortunately, it was so weak it was as if he weren't breathing at all. A visible life bar appeared on his head, its red segment rapidly diminishing.

Shiller estimated he only had 15 minutes left. At least the doll seemed to show some semblance of humanity by anesthetizing the patient. When Shiller made an incision, Little Bruce showed no response.

To examine the heart, all it took was opening the chest cavity and checking the condition of the heart against some medical images. But when Shiller opened the chest, he discovered a cut on the heart.