He hadn''t seen her in person over the past three days, only catching glimpses of her in theb''s corridors. Now, seeing her standing beside the enormous piece of equipment, her figure so frail and her face so pale, he noted that only her eyes remained focused and determined.


    Principal Maxwell arrived. He shook Garth''s hand, exchanged a few words, and then gestured for Eleanor''s team to enter.


    Inside the operating room, Eleanor and Ryan performed their final checks. When Mansfield''s bed was wheeled in, Eleanor did her best not to look at him. Seeing his gaunt figure would make her lose control of her emotions, and right now, what she needed most was to be calm.


    The lights in the operating room were cold and blinding, bleaching every shadow out of the room.


    Mansfieldy quietly on the operating table, his face pale and thin. The faint, steady blips on the monitor beside him were the only proof that he was still hanging on.


    A tiny chip had already been imnted in his brain. Principal Maxwell looked at Eleanor. "Eleanor, are you ready?"


    Eleanor nodded, finally allowing her gaze to rest on the peacefully sleeping Mansfield. She took several deep breaths, her hands covered in sterile gloves, and exchanged a look with Ryan.


    "Commencing system integration," Eleanor''s voice announced, calm and steady.


    Theplex neural interface device was connected to the imnt in Mansfield''s head. On therge screen, a massive amount of brainwave data and chip feedback began to scroll by.


    Eleanor''s eyes were glued to the screen, her fingers flying across the control console as she issued a constant stream of adjustmentmands.


    The operating room was eerily silent. Everyone held their breath.


    This was a test of a cutting-edge medical technology. Would it work? Could it break through the limits of traditional treatment?


    Time ticked by, second by agonizing second.


    The tension in the room was almost thick enough to touch. In the observation area, Garth''s hands were clenched into tight fists, his eyes glistening with tears as he stared at his son, his expression one of a father''s most desperate hope.


    Suddenly, the brainwave patterns on the screen changed dramatically After a burst of chaotic fluctuations, they began to settle into a strange rhythmic pulse.


    "We have a response," Ryan whispered, his voice tight with suppressed excitement.


    Eleanor''s own heart began to pound. She focused even more intently, guiding the system through its final stabilization sequence.


    Just then, on the operating table, Mansfield''s fingers, whichy still at his side, twitched almost imperceptibly.


    "Major Ellington''s fingers moved!" Dr. MacLeod eximed in a hushed, thrilled voice.


    Then, as everyone watched, transfixed, Mansfield''s eyshes, which had been still for three months, fluttered.


    One second, two, three...Seven secondster—


    ет


    Mansfield''s heavy eyelids slowly, arduously, opened a sliver. At first, his gaze was unfocused but then he blinked, and as he opened them again, everyone held their breath.


    "Mansfield!" Outside the operating room, Garth could no longer contain himself. Tears streamed down his face as he cried out his son''s name.


    They had done it.


    The neural interface procedure was a sess.


    A wave of immense joy and relief washed over everyone in the operating room.


    However, in that moment of collective euphoria, Eleanor, who had been holding herself together by sheer will, suddenly swayed.


    The seventy-two hours of non-stop,


    high-intensity work, the sudden


    ine


    release of extreme tension, and the


    emotional impact of seeing


    Mansfield wake up-


    It was all too much. Her exhausted body finally gave out, and she began to fall.


    "Eleanor!" Ryan, who was closest to her, reached out to catch her.


    At the same moment, in the observation room,n, who had been watching her intently, was already moving toward the door.