by <unknown>
Outside the window, there was the chirping of birds and the natural sunshine piercing into the room. The room itself was filled with the strong scent of disinfectant. This scent made James Watson's head feel cloudy. He struggled to register where he was.
He slowly glanced to his side and saw an array of life-preserving machines next to the bed. He saw bundles of cables connecting these intricate machines to his own body.
"You're awake."
It was at this moment when James Watson suddenly heard a calm voice from in front of him. James Watson weakly turned to the direction of the sound to see several doctors standing at the foot of the bed.
James Watson opened his mouth and tried to say something. To his dismay, he discovered that he could not force the words out of his mouth. Before he could spiral into a panic, one of the doctors stopped him.
"Your brain sustained major damages previously and you've been in a coma for the last two months. It's normal to not be able to perform certain cognitive functions as your brain is still trying to adapt."
After the doctor informed the patient of this, he whispered something into his walkie-talkie. Shortly after, hectic rounds of approaching footsteps came from outside the room.
James Watson turned to the door and saw his closest family members charging into the room.
"My God…"
"Father!"
Watson Jr. was the first one to step forward. He held James Watson's hand tightly in his palms. "Father, how are you feeling?"
"Where… Am… I…"
Watson asked, surprised that the words managed to escape his lips this time.
"You were shot previously and we took you to the hospital. We're now in the Eco Science City in Namibia, Africa."
Watson Jr. sounded overwhelmed as he informed his father, "It was Uncle Felix that saved us."
"So, it's him…"
Watson's voice was unimaginably hoarse. "But, why don't I… I can't remember the incident…"
"Doctor?"
Watson Jr. first thought was to turn to the doctor for directions.
"This is normal."
The doctor gave it to him straight. "We used the chip to restore the functionalities of the damaged region of his brain. However, there's only so much we can do when it comes to his memory. It's considered fairly normal to lose a portion of one's memory after sustaining a major brain injury."
"Alright, then."
Watson Jr. turned to his father again and tried to reassure him. "It's alright Father, we can help you jog your memory later on."
Watson nodded at the suggestion. It was then when he suddenly realized something and reached for his right eye.
He felt his hands brushing against a layer of bandages.
"My eye…"
"Your eye sustained severe damage and cannot be salvaged. Don't worry, after you have recovered, we can install a bionic eye for you. It's a part of the design of the Xingtian Project."
The main surgeon explained.
"Bionic eye?"
Watson Jr. was baffled by this. "I've been paying attention to this project as well, but I recall that the Xingtian Project only included bionic limbs and there was no such thing as bionic eyes."
"Bionic eyes are part of the latest developed bionic organs of the Xingtian Project. It's currently in its developmental stage and thus not announced to the public yet."
The main surgeon elaborated, "Its underlying principle holds resemblance to the current brain restoration technology. Surgical machines connect the patient's visual nerve with the electrodes in the bionic eye to achieve the effect of granting vision."
"Unbelievable…"
Watson Jr. was astounded by the prospect of this technology.
Before any of this had happened, if someone told him that current technology allowed the restoration of brain damage and regaining sight, he would flat out call that person a liar.
What he was witnessing now had shattered his sense of reality. Not only did his father wake up from his coma, but he also awoke in a healthy state. He now realized that the Earth Federation's technology…. No, Eco Science City's technology had reached the realms of divinity…
Several hours later, the doctors brought a stack of cards with figures printed on them to conduct a basic recognition test on Watson who was lying in bed. The results were astounding. The elderly man who had sustained significant brain damage did not display any difficulty with recognizing basic objects and patterns. There was also no symptom of an altered personality caused by the damage, thus proving that he still had regular cognitive functions and personality.
A day later, Watson had progressed to a point where he could sit up on his own and eat without any assistance.
Watson first got down from his bed three days after waking up. Barring his slow movements, he displayed the physicality expected of an average person.
It was by this point when everyone fully comprehended that James Watson had recovered. From someone who was on the brink of death and suffered major damage in more than ten percent of his brain region, he was brought back to the state of a regular person. It was a scientific marvel.
"Mr. James Watson."
While the Watson family was celebrating merrily, several doctors arrived in Watson's intensive care unit room. Among the group of doctors was a familiar figure — Qian Wenhuan.
"Is there anything I can help you with, Doctor Johnson?"
Watson had been here for some time and familiarized himself with the doctors. He quickly greeted the head surgeon.
"This gentleman would like to have a short conversation with you."
Doctor Johnson announced as he turned to Qian Wenhuan.
"Father, allow me to introduce you."
Watson Jr. thought to himself. "About time" as he introduced the guest, "This young gentleman here is the CEO of Blackwatch, Mr. Qian Wenhuan."
"Oh, I'm afraid I'm not."
Qian Wenhuan waved his hands. "I'm just the CEO of the African branch." He shook hands with James Watson as he said this and set a sheet of a document on the table. "Mr. Watson, I'm sure you know why I'm here. This might not be the best time to discuss this since you haven't fully recovered, but I figured I'd bring the letter of intent ahead of time. If you'd like to further negotiate, feel free to contact me."
"Is this about me joining Blackwatch?"
James Watson nodded. "I'm no longer the chairman of Cold Spring Harbor. As long as you can excuse my old age, I'd be more than willing to step up to the position you ask of me."
"Excellent."
Qian Wenhuan nodded before producing a thin golden card and handing it to Watson. "Since you've agreed to join, then this card shall be our company's introductory gift to you. The director himself instructed me to give this to you."
Watson accepted the card, slightly dumbfounded by this gracious gesture. After inspecting the gift, he was shocked to see that this golden card was a membership card to the sanatoriums.
"What the h*ll, this is a golden membership card!"
Bruno exclaimed, "A premium membership card only below diamond and platinum cards!"
"That's right, looks like Mr. Bruno is well informed."
Qian Wenhuan smiled. "This is the hospitality that our professor-level researchers are entitled to. Once Mr. Watson makes further contributions to our company, this may be upgraded to diamond or platinum."
The doctors that came in with Qian Wenhuan were filled with jealousy when they heard this remark. The golden membership card was extremely precious but it was nothing compared to the diamond and platinum cards, the true symbol of luxury.
The benefit that came with the platinum membership card was completely unrestricted access to the services in Eco Science City sanatoriums at any given time!
James Watson's treatment was certainly what a world-class scientist rightfully deserved.
After leaving the hospital, Qian Wenhuan turned to the secretary behind him. "Inform our department to file James Watson's records into our company's
Beta grade confidentiality. Don't forget about the medical records as well."
"Understood."
The stockily-built secretary replied with a firm nod before writing down the message to the relevant department. Just as he tapped the send button on his phone, there was an unexplainable sudden blink.
The secretary thought it was some sort of strange bug. He clapped his phone against his hand and inspected again. It was displayed that the message was sent successfully.
Seeing that his task was complete, the secretary put away his phone and continued following Qian Wenhuan out of the hospital.
On the other side, the director of the Human Resources department received Qian Wenhuan's secretary's message. However, only the first half of the message was visible. The second half of the message had completely vanished, perhaps caused by either a program error or signal congestion…
Chapter 404: Kidnap |
"I've intercepted the message coming from Qian Wenhuan's end, just as you instructed."
A little girl in a white dress and barefoot sat cross-legged on a sofa and said with her eyes shut, "The Human Resources department are doing as they were instructed. They are filing James Watson's document into Beta grade confidentiality along with his associating medical records."
"Stop him."
Chen Chen instructed.
"Understood."
The little girl answered swiftly. Meanwhile, in an office in the Human Resource department located in Eco Science City's headquarter, there was a Chinese man in his mid-thirties. This charming man was the director of the department, recently relegated here from another headquarter.
Just as he was about to tap the mouse and enter the encryption confirmation password, his phone suddenly rang.
[span]"Tunak tunak Tun… Da Da Da! Dholna, vaje tumbe val taar, Soode dil de pukar, Aaja karle ye pyar…"[/span]
The Chinese man frowned and looked at his phone. He saw the display of his phone set on the table repeatedly flashing. There seemed to be something wrong with it.
His first instinct was to pick it up to inspect what the problem was. The moment he picked it up, he felt a scorching sensation burning across his palms!
"Hnghh…!"
The Chinese man dropped his phone as if he had been electrocuted. The moment his phone clapped against the ground, the display shattered all across the floor with a sudden crack!
"The h*ll?"
The Chinese man was jolted by this. He could only watch helplessly as the smashed pieces of the phone became engulfed in flame. The hungry fire slowly devoured the SAMSUNG logo etched on the back of the phone…
It was only until the phone had become completely smoldered and the awful stench of burnt plastic filled the room when the Chinese man came back to his senses. When he glanced at the computer again, he saw that the encryption had been completed.
Without paying any further attention to the encryption page, his first thought was to open a new webpage and head to QQ and posted a short update on his feed. "Just had the living crap scared out of me, I was just working and minding my business when my phone exploded…"
…
Half a day later.
"Bruno, are you sure you're going to return to Chicago all by yourself?"
Watson Jr. expressed helplessly. "I really can't leave here right now, if you insist on leaving, you have to head back by yourself."
"Come on, I'm not a toddler okay?"
Bruno responded impatiently, throwing his shoulders out as he said with a bewildered expression, "Come on, I know how to take care of myself."
"You're a grown-up now, I hope you don't cause any further trouble out there."
Watson Jr. looked at his father Watson who was sleeping soundly in the other room. His voice still filled with concern as he asked, "Are you not going to wait until your grandfather wakes up to say goodbye?"
"No need, he's not dying anytime soon anyway. Besides, this entire thing turned out to be a blessing since both you and he are going to receive the age-reversal treatment."
Bruno commented with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice and quickly left without much hesitation.
Immediately after turning around with his back facing his father, a coy smile appeared on Bruno's lips. He tapped on his shoulder, the cunning smile still hanging on the corner of his lips.
When Bruno arrived on the ground floor, he immediately went to the receptionist. He produced a patient certification from his pocket and presented it to the nurse on duty. "I'm a family member of James Watson, I'd like to look up some information regarding his medical records."
"Alright, this way please…"
The nurse at the reception took the patient certification and nodded after ensuring it was the original document. She got right up and led Bruno to an office.
There was nothing out of the ordinary inside the office, only several laptops set up across a table. The nurse opened one of the laptops and looked up one of the files on the server.
"What is this, where's the medical record?"
Bruno asked, perplexed.
"We use digital medical records here. If you want the medical record in print, you'll have to ask the head surgeon."
The nurse explained, "The documents are with the head surgeon."
"Alright then."
Bruno shrugged at the nurse's suggestion and seated himself in front of the laptop. He started flipping through the digital medical record while taking out his phone, appearing as if he was going to take pictures.
The nurse did not comment on Bruno's actions, she only promptly turned around and left.
After ensuring the only witness was gone, Bruno grew bolder. He selected and opened James Watson's medical record, then held his phone up to the screen and tapped on the capture button.
"Click!"
With an abrupt click, Bruno had recorded the first page of the medical record.
"Ehh…"
It was only after taking a picture of the first page when Bruno noticed there was a small mark printed onto his grandfather's medical record.
It was a symmetrical pattern that reminded him of an illustration of a starry night sky. The image was printed in black and white and sparsely splattered across the section below the text on the first page of the medical record. It looked like some sort of watermark or perhaps it was some sort of pattern printed in the document background.
"Whatever, who cares."
Although the appearance of these patterns was rather outlandish and seemed to come out of nowhere, Bruno knew he did not have time to care about minor details such as these. He selected the second page and took a picture with his phone again.
Then on to the third page and the fourth page...
The medical record was certainly extremely comprehensive. The operation report of the head surgeon alone took up more than 30 pages. By the time Bruno was done with documenting everything, twenty minutes had passed.
Bruno massaged his slightly sore wrist and pulled himself up from his seat before heading out of the office.
"Sir, have you found what you needed?"
The nurse on shift asked when she saw Bruno stepping out of the office. Bruno completely ignored the nurse's question and sped up his pace, quickly stepping out of the nurse's line of sight and out of the hospital.
After leaving the hospital, Bruno hurriedly signaled for a taxi as if he was being pursued by somebody. After entering the taxi, he took out his phone and sent the first few pages of James Watson's medical records to another email.
Within half a minute, Bruno's phone started ringing. Bruno found himself slightly surprised by this near-immediate callback and proceeded to answer it without a second thought.
"D*mn, Bruno. Are what you just showed me real? James Watson receiving treatment in Eco Science City? What's this about some brain restoration technology in Eco Science City?" the caller spoke urgently.
"Of course, Ackerman."
Bruno answered smugly, "How's that, some pretty shocking news, I know.
How much for this info?"
"You're not trying to scam me, are you?"
The broker still asked in disbelief, "Bruno, you know what happens if you try to play any tricks on me."
"I won't try to scam you, I swear."
Bruno explained quickly, "I know you guys won't believe me, so I went out of my way to sneak footage of my grandfather's operation and footage of him after recovery."
"Oh my God, so it's the real deal?"
The voice on the other end of the phone was growing more excited. "Bruno, I swear you must be my lucky star if this is real. I'll offer ten thousand for the medical records and the footage. Don't sell it to anyone else!"
"Ten thousand is nowhere near enough."
Bruno frowned. "This isn't your everyday local flash news. I want a hundred thousand or else I'll look for other buyers!"
"Impossible!"
The broker exclaimed, "There's no way this should cost me a hundred thousand, who are you trying to take advantage of here? Where's your honor? How about this buddy, fifty thousand… How's fifty thousand? We can meet each other halfway?"
"Sixty thousand!"
Bruno called again.
"Deal!"
The person on the other end of the phone had to grit his teeth and agree to this price.
Bruno could not help but break into a smile when he heard the magic word. "Perfect, Ackerman. We can meet tomorrow when I get back to Chicago and finish the transaction there."
…
The taxi headed for the Walvis Bay International Airport. By the next day, a plane arriving from Namibia landed at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
After the plane had landed and everything was sorted, Bruno let out a lazy yawn and shuffled out of the plane with the rest of the passengers.
Before he could even step foot out of the airport, several men in suits and wearing sunglasses approached him and cut him off.
"Who are you guys?"
Bruno quickly wiped the drowsy, jet-lagged expression off his face and perked up in alert. "Where's Ackerman?"
"Ackerman is waiting for you outside the airport, Mr. Bruno."
One of the men took off his sunglasses and addressed Bruno sternly. "Please come with us."
There was a hint of doubt in Bruno's eyes. Before he could decide on his next move, two of the men with sunglasses had approached him from both sides. They pincered him in the middle and held some sort of hard object against his waist.