Chapter 141
Diana calibrated the needle length without looking up.
"I want to see how, under extreme pain stimulation, a 'vegetative' brain can use higher cortical commands to suppress instinctive responses from the lower neural centers."
Elisa felt her scalp tingle with unease.
"Interesting? I think you've become addicted to playing with fire."
Looking at Diana's perfectly calm face, she could hardly imagine what shocking things were going through her mind.
"What if he can't hold back and kicks you across the room? I won't be able to stop him."
"He won't," Diana arranged her selected silver needles in a row, her tone certain. "He's a competent actor. He won't break character."
Elisa rolled her eyes, giving up on persuasion.
She knew that once Diana decided on something, others could rarely change her mind.
She could only resign herself to preparing the emergency equipment.
The specialized care room on the seventeenth floor was so quiet you could hear the machines breathing.
Diana, dressed in sterile gear, sat by the bedside.
Elisa stood tensely beside the monitoring equipment.
"'Hermes' Sting' protocol initiated. Phase one, establishing stimulation response baseline."
Diana spoke to the air, and Athena's electronic voice immediately responded.
[Command confirmed. Multi-dimensional data monitoring activated: brain waves, heart rate, cortisol levels, neural reflex arcs.]
Diana picked up the first silver needle, targeting the radial cutaneous nerve reflex point on Rupert's left wrist.
This was a relatively mild test site, primarily used to evaluate autonomic nervous system stability.
Her movements were gentle yet precise—inserting the needle, twisting, lifting and thrusting, all in one smooth sequence.
On the monitor, the alpha wave band showed a gentle peak, and his heart rate increased slightly by 2%—all within normal physiological reflex parameters.
Diana set down the first needle and picked up the second.
Elisa unconsciously held her breath.
This needle targeted the dense nerve cluster at the tip of his right index finger.
Fingertips are among the areas with the highest concentration of nerve endings in the human body, extremely sensitive to pain.
Diana's focus was absolute, as if she held not a silver needle but a scalpel capable of dissecting the soul.
The needle tip touched skin.
In that instant, the data stream on the monitor showed an extremely brief, almost negligible pause.
Then the needle penetrated.
"Beep! Beep!"
The heart rate monitor jumped instantly from 65 to 72, only to be forcibly pulled back to 68 in the next second.
On the EEG, the delta and theta waves representing deep sleep remained unchanged, but a beta wave—indicating wakefulness and thought—spiked sharply before being ruthlessly suppressed within two seconds by some invisible force!
[Warning: Abnormal brain wave suppression detected. Higher cortical activity conflicting with thalamic reflex signals.]
Athena's alert sounded only in Diana's bone conduction earpiece.
Elisa only saw the slight heart rate fluctuation and asked nervously: "How is it?"
"Normal response," Diana's tone remained neutral, but her fingertips twisted the needle, rotating it slightly deeper into the acupuncture point.
On the bed, Rupert's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly before smoothing out again.
But his body couldn't lie.
On the subcutaneous microcurrent monitor, the stress response curve showed a zigzag that defied all physiological norms.
It indicated his body tensing momentarily, muscle fibers contracting, then forcibly relaxing under command.
Diana's lips curved into a smile no one noticed.
So that's how it is.
She withdrew her hand, not continuing to stimulate the fingertip, and moved to the next target.
One by one, she used silver needles to probe key neural junctions throughout his body.
When she needled the posterior tibial nerve in his foot, his toes involuntarily curled slightly under the blanket, unable to completely suppress the instinctive response.
At the superficial peroneal nerve in his leg, when the needle tip reached the deep fascia, his calf muscles tensed for a full five seconds.
For the final needle, she paused above the trigeminal nerve at the philtrum.
This is one of the body's most critical emergency stimulation points, located in the central depression above the upper lip.
Rich with nerves and just above the medulla oblongata, the slightest mistake could have unthinkable consequences.
Elisa's heart was in her throat. "Diana, this one... maybe we should skip it? We have enough data already."
Diana ignored her.
She held the needle suspended 0.1 inches from his skin, and stopped.
She didn't insert it, just quietly watched him.
That flawlessly handsome face still maintained its pure, peaceful sleeping expression.
But now in Diana's eyes, every minute detail of his face revealed his flawed disguise.
She could imagine how, beneath this calm mask, his soul was gritting its teeth, enduring this torture she had orchestrated.
He must be wondering what exactly Diana was trying to do.
She was also curious how long he could keep up the act.
Diana suddenly found this quite amusing.
She withdrew the needle, ending the "treatment."
"'Hermes' Sting' protocol preliminary testing complete. Patient's nervous system response is good, with activity in certain regions exceeding expectations. We can prepare for the next phase of drug introduction."
She summarized for the recording equipment in the air.
Elisa exhaled a long breath, feeling as if she'd just been pulled from water, her back damp with sweat.
Diana stood up, removed her sterile gloves, and tossed them into the disposal box.
Before turning to leave the room, she paused, her gaze falling once more on that sleeping face.
She walked to the bedside and leaned down, as if adjusting his blanket.
Her lips moved close to his ear, whispering in a breath only the two of them could hear:
"Nice acting. However, Mr. Russell, next time remember to control your cortisol secretion levels. Lying tends to disrupt your endocrine system."
With that, she straightened up, turned, and left, her face expressionless.
Behind her, the "sleeping" man's eyeballs moved slightly.
The air in the room had become thick with their brief intimacy.
And taut as a bowstring from the challenge it contained.
Top floor of the Russell Group Building, the CEO's office.
Once Rupert's domain, now temporarily commandeered by Cruz.
On the fine purple sandalwood desk, an expensive Jian teaware set steamed gently.
Cruz personally poured tea for the young man sitting across from him, his movements slow and elegant, like a benevolent elder.
"Idris, I've seen the York Group's recent financial reports. The outlook isn't good."
He pushed the teacup forward, his tone carrying just the right amount of concern. "With several banks withdrawing their loans simultaneously, it's only a matter of time before the cash flow breaks. It would be a shame to see the foundation your father built crumble in your hands."