Chapter 454 - 444: Intelligent Brain

When they heard Moira Lynch say they had to remove their old Intelligent Brains, Shane Rhodes, Kai York, and Hugh Finch all stiffened.

It wasn’t that they were reluctant to part with their current Intelligent Brains, but that the ones they’d originally gotten were implanted directly into their eyeballs.

Remove them?

How were they supposed to remove them?

Just gouge them out by hand?

Of course not.

"Moira, when you say ’remove them,’ you don’t mean we’re supposed to do it with our bare hands, right?" Kai York asked, raising a trembling hand.

"Of course not," Moira Lynch said, rolling her eyes. "How could you possibly remove them by hand? I’m not a savage."

Hearing Moira say that, the three of them let out a collective sigh of relief.

"When you first bought your Intelligent Brains, didn’t they come with an accompanying implantation kit? You didn’t throw it away, did you?" Moira Lynch asked.

Shane Rhodes and Hugh Finch both nodded.

"I didn’t throw it away. Mine’s in my room," Shane Rhodes said.

He had figured that since the device was so exquisitely made, it might come in handy someday, so he hadn’t thrown it out.

Of the three, only Kai York froze. He turned his head stiffly toward Moira Lynch, his lips trembling as he spoke.

"Moira, if—and I’m just saying, hypothetically—what would happen if someone lost that implantation kit?"

Moira Lynch replied earnestly, "If it’s lost, then it’s impossible to remove the Intelligent Brain implanted in the eyeball. The only way to get it out would be through surgery, but that kind of operation can’t be performed on Caelus."

"Besides, the Intelligent Brain is connected to the brain’s nervous system. The surgical removal process is extremely dangerous. The slightest slip-up could damage your nerves, and not even the gods know what kind of consequences that would cause."

Moira Lynch spoke with such gravity that Kai York’s face turned deathly pale. He stammered, "Isn’t there any other way? I mean, besides surgery."

"Hmm..." Moira Lynch propped her chin on her hand, striking a thoughtful pose. "If we rule out surgery, then there’s only one last option left."

"What is it?" Kai York asked anxiously.

Moira’s expression had been so serious that he was genuinely frightened. At that moment, only one thing was on his mind: ’I am absolutely not getting surgery.’

’If only I’d known that thing was so important, I wouldn’t have just carelessly tossed it aside.’

If he hadn’t carelessly tossed it aside, he wouldn’t have accidentally stepped on and crushed it. His current mood could only be described with one phrase: utter regret.

Just as he was eagerly waiting for Moira Lynch to reveal the second solution, he heard her say breezily, "Borrow one from someone else."

The thoroughly terrified Kai York: ...

The equally terrified and worried Shane Rhodes and Hugh Finch: ...

A few seconds later, an explosive roar of fury echoed through the treehouse.

MOIRA LYNCH!!!

In the living room, Moira Lynch and Kai York were staging a real-life parkour chase.

Kai York chased after Moira Lynch, his face a mask of fury. He was completely seeing red.

’And to think I trusted her so much! I was regretting it so hard my guts were turning green, and this was the result... this...?’

"Get back here, you little rascal! I promise I won’t beat you to death!"

Moira Lynch planted a foot on the table and used the momentum to vault directly up to the second floor. Turning back, she stuck her tongue out at Kai York and made a face. "I’d be a real fool to stop. Besides, I wasn’t wrong. Surgery *can* get the Intelligent Brain out, but it’s also extremely dangerous."

"You still dare to say that!"

As he spoke, the faint shape of wings appeared behind him.

Just as he was about to show Moira Lynch what true speed looked like, Shane Rhodes and Hugh Finch grabbed him from either side and held him back.

’Are you kidding me? If Kai York really unleashed his power in the living room, we could kiss all our furniture goodbye.’

Kai York hadn’t actually intended to attack; he just wanted to scare Moira Lynch a little. Seeing Shane Rhodes and Hugh Finch intervene, he took the opportunity to back down.

The two of them guided Kai York over to the sofa. Shane Rhodes turned to Moira Lynch, who was perched on the staircase railing, and said, "Aren’t you going to get down here and help us remove our Intelligent Brains?"

"Oh."

Instead of taking the stairs, Moira Lynch simply leaped straight down.

In the past, a jump like that would have resulted in broken arms and legs at the very least, but now, Moira Lynch did it with incredible ease.

Shane Rhodes and the others didn’t say anything. After all, taking the stairs could be agonizingly slow, and they often did the same thing.

Shane Rhodes and Hugh Finch returned to their rooms and brought out the kits.

The removal and installation processes for the Intelligent Brains went very smoothly. For the three of them, it just felt like putting in eyedrops twice in a row; there was no other sensation.

After installing their new Intelligent Brains and syncing the data from their old ones, the three men began to eagerly explore the new devices.

There was no denying it; the new model was a world of difference from the old one.

The feeling was like jumping from a primitive society straight into a technological one.

Perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

Moira Lynch saw that they were all immersed in studying their new Intelligent Brains and decided it was best not to disturb them.

Just then, her stomach let out another RUMBLE, and a wave of hunger washed over her.

’I’m starving. Looks like I can’t count on these guys to cook. I should go see what there is to eat in the kitchen.’

Since they had been away for several days, all the vegetables in the refrigerator had wilted. She’d take them out to feed the chickens later.

As for leftovers? Sorry, but they never had any in this house.

After searching the entire kitchen, she only found a single cup of instant ramen.

Moira Lynch clutched the cup of ramen, staring at the pots and pans in the kitchen, feeling deeply conflicted. ’I really don’t feel like cooking today, but if I don’t, this one cup of ramen won’t be nearly enough to fill me up.’

A few minutes later, Moira Lynch walked out with her prepared instant ramen.

’Oh well,’ she thought. ’I still have some food in my storage space. I’ll just make do with this for now.’

At that moment, Shane Rhodes and the other two were still engrossed in their new Intelligent Brains, not even noticing Moira Lynch as she came out with her cup of ramen.

Normally, seeing Moira Lynch eating instant ramen would have prompted them to make a bowl for themselves—while they wouldn’t stoop to stealing hers, they certainly wouldn’t miss out.

At the dining table, Moira Lynch ate her ramen while checking on her storage space. The Xisuo Vine and mushrooms she had put up for sale still hadn’t sold out after all this time.

She checked the time. It was almost morning, so Moira Lynch had Patience slow down the rate at which it listed her items.

With the midnight sun, Moira Lynch had almost forgotten they had returned in the dead of night. At this rate, their sleep schedules were going to be a mess for a while.

Moira Lynch finished off the last of her ramen, drinking even the last drop of broth.

’Oh well,’ she thought. ’If it gets messed up, it gets messed up.’

After eating and drinking her fill, Moira Lynch didn’t feel like going back to her room to rest. She wasn’t tired yet.

She got up, stretched a bit, and then walked toward the game pod.

’I haven’t logged on in days,’ she thought. ’I wonder what’s been going on in the game.’