Chapter 157: Rescue

Inside the operating room, Mr. Ford’s condition was far from good. If not for the several acupuncture sessions Amanda Vance had administered before, which had kept his condition from being more severe and improved his underlying health, he likely wouldn’t have even held on until he reached the operating room.

The other doctors had already begun resuscitation efforts, but with little effect.

Their eyes lit up when they saw Amanda Vance. The lead surgeon immediately asked, "Dr. Vance, is there anything you can do?"

’She even saved that child from the car accident, the one whose internal organs were all displaced. Surely she has a way to handle this, too.’

Amanda Vance said nothing, taking Mr. Ford’s pulse as Mr. Lynch began to take out the Golden Needles.

Thankfully, he had already sterilized them, so they could be used right away.

Amanda Vance’s brow slowly furrowed. ’Just as I thought. His condition is worse than I imagined. It’s almost as bad as the first time I saw him, perhaps even more severe.’

In addition to the cerebral infarction, there were signs of a stroke.

It was a reaction to some kind of shock or agitation.

’This is the worst-case scenario I had considered.’

’Everything was going so well before. I thought he would be fine, but then something had to go wrong at the last minute.’

’But now isn’t the time to figure out why. The priority is to save Mr. Ford.’

Amanda Vance quickly accepted the Golden Needles. "Dr. Olsen, please keep me updated on all his vital signs."

Dr. Olsen was the lead surgeon for this procedure, and with the hospital’s monitoring equipment, he could provide her with real-time feedback.

Dr. Olsen immediately replied, "Of course."

With that settled, Amanda Vance hesitated no longer. She took a deep breath, and the Golden Needle in her hand slid swiftly into Mr. Ford’s body.

This was the first time they had seen her work so clearly—the needle went in a full seven inches!

Everyone gasped, staring at her in shock.

Amanda Vance paid them no mind, concentrating completely as her hands moved the needles faster and faster.

Upon reaching a particular spot, she slowed down again.

Mr. Lynch’s expression turned grave. While handing her needles with one hand, he kept the other on Mr. Ford’s wrist, constantly monitoring his pulse and condition.

He knew they had reached the most critical point. ’The goal of the final acupuncture session was supposed to be simply clearing the remaining blockages, but the occlusion is far more severe now, making the procedure that much more difficult.’

Pressing his lips together, he glanced up at Amanda Vance. Her face was just as grave, and it was clear this procedure was difficult. But she wasn’t flustered; her hands were perfectly steady.

Watching her, Mr. Lynch felt his own nerves begin to settle.

Dr. Olsen stared at the monitors, his eyes gradually widening. ’His numbers are actually improving!’

He looked at Amanda Vance in disbelief. ’This is incredible!’

’This is the first time I’ve ever seen traditional medicine work so quickly!’

’It’s in no way inferior to modern medicine. It’s not just fast-acting; the side effects are minimal. No incisions, no surgery means no post-operative recovery and far fewer complications.’

’It’s simply miraculous.’

’A true gem handed down from the ancestors of Celestia.’

「Outside the operating room.」

Shawn Ford walked over, his shoulders slumped. "Brother, I can’t find the surveillance footage."

Samuel Ford nodded, unsurprised.

"How could you not find it? What do you mean, you can’t find it?" Mrs. Ford asked, alarmed.

Shawn Ford’s expression was grim. "Someone destroyed the footage."

"Then what should we do?" Mrs. Ford instinctively looked to Samuel Ford. Ever since Mr. Ford had been hospitalized, her eldest son had been her pillar of support.

"Don’t worry," Samuel said. "Let me take a look."

’Look at what?’

Before they could ask, Rocco came running over with a laptop. ’So that’s where he disappeared to. He went to get a computer.’

Samuel Ford took it and, in a few moments, accessed the hospital’s surveillance system. Just as Shawn had said, the footage had been destroyed.

Whoever did it had wiped it completely—the kind of deletion that’s impossible to recover.

’This technique... it’s a bit like what happened at the hotel.’

Narrowing his eyes, Samuel Ford let out a cold smirk. ’Too bad for them. They were in too much of a hurry this time and left a trail.’

In fact, the other party was still in the process of deleting data.

Samuel Ford sneered again. ’As if I’d give them that chance.’

His fingers flew across the keyboard. Mrs. Ford and Shawn watched from the side, not daring to speak or ask questions for fear of disturbing him.

A green dot and a red dot appeared on the screen. They knew the green one represented Samuel.

When he gained access, the red had already consumed almost the entire screen, leaving only a single section untouched.

Both of their hearts leaped into their throats. They glanced instinctively at Samuel. ’Is he going to make it in time?’

Samuel’s expression remained unchanged, his hands moving so fast they became a blur.

Soon, the sea of red was gradually devoured by green, which secured the remaining data fragments one by one.

On the other end of the connection, the man’s leisurely expression vanished. He jabbed at the delete key, but nothing happened.

A wave of panic washed over him. The next second, he remembered something and went to shut down the computer, only to find his IP address had been locked.

"Damn it!" he cursed, slamming the laptop shut with a SNAP. His face dark, he stood up and headed for the door.

「At the hospital.」

Shawn stared at the screen, pleasantly surprised. "You got it?"

"Yeah."

"I couldn’t recover everything they deleted, just some fragments. But this last part, the footage from the parking garage, is complete."

They all stared at the laptop screen. A figure emerged from the elevator, wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask. They were so bundled up it was hard to get a clear look.

Mrs. Ford watched the figure, puzzled. "There’s something familiar about that person’s build..."

Samuel said nothing, a suspicion already forming in his mind. When he saw the person get into a specific car, his pupils contracted.

’It really is him!’

Shawn recognized him then, too. "Hey, isn’t that—" he began in astonishment.

Before he could finish, the operating room door suddenly opened.

They all immediately turned to look.

Amanda Vance pulled down her mask. Her face was impossibly pale, but she managed a faint smile for them. "Don’t worry. It was a complete success."

As soon as she finished speaking, her body suddenly slumped to the side.

"Megan!" Mrs. Ford cried out.

A large hand shot out and caught her around the waist, holding her steady. Only when she saw Amanda hadn’t fallen did Mrs. Ford breathe a sigh of relief. She looked at her eldest son and urged, "Samuel, quick, take Megan to lie down and rest."

’She looks absolutely exhausted.’

"Mhm." Without needing to be told, Samuel had already swept her up into his arms.

For now, only Amanda Vance and Mr. Lynch had come out of the operating room; Dr. Olsen and his team were still finishing up.

Mr. Lynch explained what had happened, his voice still laced with shock. "...He was already past the most dangerous part. The rest could have been handled slowly, just like before. But she insisted on clearing every single blockage and curing him completely."

’She was probably afraid of a repeat of what happened today.’

Fortunately, Mr. Ford’s body was able to withstand it. Amanda checked on him at least twice a day and knew his condition inside and out, which is why she dared to take such a risk.

Mrs. Ford and Shawn didn’t understand medicine, but they could tell from the description how difficult it must have been. Mrs. Ford said with feeling, "We really owe everything to Megan this time."

Shawn didn’t speak but nodded in agreement. This time, he was truly impressed. ’She’s incredible.’

But when he remembered the person they had just seen on the screen, his expression darkened again, and the fist at his side slowly clenched.