"What?" Li Yingni was taken aback. She hadn't expected Shen Xingkong to dismiss her so abruptly. Her face flushed even more as she silently stood up and left his hospital room without another word.
Watching Li Yingni's retreating figure, Shen Xingkong's face revealed a sly smile. Since Chang Le believed that he was hospitalized after being beaten by Wang Lei's men, Wang Lei was likely to think the same. Although those men were beaten badly by Shen Xingkong, Wang Lei wouldn’t care about their condition. Instead, he would be pleased to think that Shen Xingkong had been hospitalized, believing his revenge was successful.
This meant that, for the time being, Wang Lei might not cause any more trouble for Shen Xingkong, giving him time to slowly explore his abilities. He had a strong feeling that the grudge between him and Wang Lei wasn't over. If they clashed again in the future, Shen Xingkong would be ready to face it using his abilities.
The hospital expenses were covered by Chang Le, and Professor Shi waived some of the fees for him. Shen Xingkong quietly left the hospital, found a housekeeping company, and had his battered home thoroughly cleaned.
In the afternoon, he bought some essential supplies. Fortunately, he had earned a few thousand yuan from his recent beauty treatments for women. After covering the costs of the housekeeping service and necessities, he had about three thousand yuan left. He decided to use it to set up an internet connection at home and bought a second-hand computer from a nearby electronics market. This way, he could access medical information and resources online.
By evening, Chang Le called him, wondering why he wasn't in the hospital. Shen Xingkong explained that he was feeling much better and saw no need to spend more money contributing to the hospital's GDP when he could rest at home. Chang Le didn't press further; he was more interested in his latest crush, a well-endowed freshman girl.
While Chang Le was busy pursuing girls, Shen Xingkong was immersed in the internet, researching deep into the night until he finally understood the workings of the adrenal glands.
The adrenal glands consist of two parts: the adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla. The medulla produces adrenaline, which helps the body tap into its potential in emergencies.
Adrenaline primarily stimulates the heart, increases blood flow, dilates the blood vessels in muscles, numbs pain receptors, and heightens other senses. Clinically, adrenaline is used to revive patients on the brink of death, but it must be administered in moderation. An overdose can cause a healthy person to experience sudden death, much like an overdose of drugs.
In simple terms, the heart has its limits. If it beats too intensely, it could stop permanently. Blood vessels in the brain also have their limits; excessive blood pressure can lead to ruptures. Additionally, every person has their own physical limits—no amount of adrenaline can make someone leap to the moon.
Shen Xingkong's previous collapse was due to an overdose of adrenaline, causing his blood pressure to spike and leading to strain on his heart and brain vessels.
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Sitting in front of his computer, Shen Xingkong began to contemplate deeply. Issues with other bodily functions could be managed, and he didn't need to reach superhero levels to deal with Wang Lei and his gang. The main challenge was how to prevent his heart and brain vessels from failing or bursting under the influence of adrenaline.
Strengthening the heart and brain vessels is a daunting task, almost a myth in traditional medicine. But Shen Xingkong was unwilling to give up. He took out his needle pouch, pulling out the golden needle. The needle gleamed under the fluorescent light.
The heart is mainly composed of cardiac muscle. When the heart suddenly stops beating intensely, it’s because the cardiac muscles are overly fatigued, losing their ability to contract. However, like other muscles, the cardiac muscle can be trained. If the golden needle could stimulate the heart, encouraging it to undergo planned high-intensity training, the cardiac muscle would gradually become stronger.
But what about the brain vessels? Should he implant a mesh inside the blood vessels? So far, he hadn't heard of any method that could thicken the walls of brain vessels.
Pondering the problem, Shen Xingkong couldn't come up with a solution. He put away the golden needle, deciding to try a "dead horse as a living horse" approach by searching online for ways to thicken blood vessel walls. Technically, modern Western medicine uses stents to support and expand blood vessels, typically to treat thrombosis, but it only works for short segments of the vessels.
The brain's blood vessels are more intricate and delicate than a spider's web. What kind of stent could protect all the brain vessels? Even if such a thing existed, there isn't a surgeon in the world capable of implanting stents in every inch of the brain's kilometers-long network of vessels—unless some divine intervention occurs.
Refusing to give up, Shen Xingkong decided to seek advice online before dawn. Perhaps someone on the internet could solve his dilemma. He found a large medical forum, registered a new ID, and posted a thread titled, "Under what circumstances would blood vessel walls thicken?"
In the post, Shen Xingkong pretended to be a sci-fi enthusiast, asking others to imagine a future technology that could thicken blood vessel walls—what would it look like?
After posting, he took off his clothes and went to bed. After two days in the hospital, he needed to return to school tomorrow.
Despite going to bed late, Shen Xingkong woke up at seven in the morning, feeling refreshed and not the least bit tired. He made some white porridge with his new cookware and, with the pickles he bought the previous day, ate seven or eight bowls in one go. Satisfied, he patted his stomach, grabbed his textbooks, and left for school.
He took the bus to the medical school, walked through the familiar campus, and returned to the long-missed classroom. Everything seemed unchanged. Shen Xingkong quietly found a seat at the back of the classroom. At that moment, Chang Le arrived, grinning as he sat beside Shen Xingkong, eager to brag about how he had won over the busty freshman girl the day before.
The morning's two classes were dull and uneventful. Chang Le napped on his desk, while Shen Xingkong pondered how to adapt his body to handle the effects of adrenaline. When the dismissal bell rang, Shen Xingkong snapped out of his thoughts, and Chang Le, jolted awake from his dream, gathered his books to head to the cafeteria for lunch.
At that moment, the teacher on the platform called out to Shen Xingkong.
"Shen Xingkong, Professor Shi wants to see you in his office after class. He has something to discuss with you."
"You go ahead. I'll go see what Professor Shi needs," Shen Xingkong nodded at the teacher, then turned to Chang Le.
"Then I'll skip it too. You go on your own! Hehe, I'm off to find my little sweetheart for another round of excitement," Chang Le's face gleamed with mischief.