"Ah..."
In the physical therapy room, Carter’s long, trembling moan echoed.
He seemed to feel a flash of embarrassment and immediately shut his mouth.
But the wave of comfort washing over his body still made him close his eyes and groan softly, unable to hold it in.
It was true bliss!
It was like just finishing a sauna session—his body felt warm and incredibly comfortable.
While massaging Carter to let him experience his techniques, Chen Yu said, "You must not exercise much and spend too much time sitting in an office. Over time, this causes muscle adhesions and compresses the blood vessels. You need massage to break up the adhered muscle fascia and restore blood flow."
With the Eye of All-Seeing, all of his problems were clear at a glance.
Combined with the bonus from his massage skill—don’t underestimate it just because it was only five percent, that was already very powerful—it was perfectly normal for someone to cry out in pleasure.
Carter nodded repeatedly. He could also keenly feel that Chen Yu’s massage technique was different.
It wasn’t just a simple matter of strength control.
Nearby, Carter’s young assistant stared without blinking, his eyes betraying his inner thoughts. He also wanted to try it and see just how good it had to feel to make the perpetually serious Carter let loose and cry out like that.
And then there was Nojima Yuji. If he weren’t too afraid, he would have been tempted to ask if he could have a turn.
After a moment, Chen Yu stopped and brought over a moxa stick.
"This is that cigar-like thing you were talking about." Chen Yu lit it and began performing Moxibustion around Carter’s shoulder.
Carter was an orthopedic specialist, and probably from swinging a hammer too much, he had arthritis and numerous injuries in his right shoulder.
In traditional Chinese medicine, these symptoms were all classified as ’Bi syndrome,’ which meant obstructed meridians and poor blood circulation.
And the main purpose of Moxibustion is to warm the meridians, dispel cold, and promote the flow of qi and blood to unblock them.
So Carter soon felt that as the Moxibustion was applied, a warm current seemed to travel through his once-sore and swollen shoulder. Then, his entire shoulder felt clear and much more comfortable.
When Chen Yu finished, Carter tried moving his shoulder.
The dull ache that usually plagued him was now significantly relieved.
"Incredible."
Carter’s eyes lit up. ’After so many years of training, every single one of those astronauts is riddled with old injuries,’ he thought. ’This kind of treatment is exactly what they need to relieve their pain.’
"Is there more?" Carter asked eagerly.
Before Chen Yu could answer, Robinson, who was watching the spectacle, chimed in, "Oh yeah. Chen has a really awesome treatment where his hands catch on fire, and then he slaps you with them. You’ve never seen anything like it."
"Ninjutsu!"
Nojima Yuji, who was nearby, suddenly exclaimed. ’Hands on fire... Isn’t that the legendary Ninjutsu?’
Chen Yu shot Nojima Yuji a speechless glance. ’What nonsense,’ he thought.
Seeing Carter looking at him expectantly, Chen Yu explained, "It’s actually just ignited high-proof alcohol. But because the alcohol concentration isn’t high enough, it doesn’t actually burn the body. Instead, it transfers heat, and combined with massage techniques, it can relieve localized bruising and muscle contusions."
Carter understood, then asked with a look of anticipation if he could experience it.
Chen Yu nodded, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
’Your curiosity is a bit much,’ he thought. ’You have to experience everything, don’t you?’
He had used it with the team before, so he had the medicinal wine on hand, but Chen Yu kept it locked in a cabinet because some fearless idiot had actually tried to steal a drink.
"You’re up." Chen Yu pointed at Robinson, signaling for him to take off his shirt and sit down.
’That’s what you get for running your mouth,’ he thought.
Robinson let out a strange cry and sat down, his face a picture of misery.
Watching Chen Yu ignite the medicinal wine, then quickly scoop some of the liquid up into his hands, which were now wreathed in pale blue flames, Carter was completely dumbfounded.
Curious, he even scooped up some himself, surprised to find it was only slightly hot to the touch.
"Amazing."
Carter gave him a thumbs-up.
He was more convinced than ever that staying to learn from him was the right decision.
These novel treatment methods were all things he had never seen before.
The next day, Carter visited Chen Yu’s clinic as scheduled.
Although the clinic was open for business, Chen Yu was too busy with his other work, so it currently operated on an appointment-only basis. As a result, there were no other patients.
At that moment, Chen Yu was having Ronaldo and Hill try out the newly purchased Anti-gravity Treadmill.
There were two of them, sixty thousand US dollars each. Not cheap at all.
Ronaldo had already removed his knee brace and was beginning targeted rehabilitation therapy to guide the growth of elastic fibers.
He stood on the treadmill, and when the air-pressure chamber activated, supporting his body, the feeling of partial weightlessness made him flail for a moment. He quickly grabbed the handrails, repeatedly exclaiming how incredible it was.
Using the Eye of All-Seeing, Chen Yu adjusted the settings, ensuring minimal pressure on Ronaldo’s knees, and then had him begin a slow walk.
"I feel like I have springs on my feet, like I’m walking on a thick carpet," Ronaldo described, then couldn’t help adding, "Chen, the rehabilitation methods in the United States are so advanced."
He had never even heard of such a thing in Europe.
The last time he had surgery, his so-called rehabilitation consisted of using various simple machines and constantly increasing the intensity.
But here with Chen Yu, they were using such high-end equipment—and it was supposedly designed for astronauts.
Chen Yu just smiled.
Chen Yu was very satisfied with the treadmill’s effectiveness.
It reduced the pressure on the lower body, achieving a perfect state where it only exercised the knee ligaments without putting too much strain on the joint itself.
’But, while good equipment is one thing, the equipment itself is just a machine,’ he thought.
’Take this machine, for instance. If you gave it to Pierre in France, he wouldn’t be able to use it properly either.’
’It all comes down to the person using it.’
’Only I, with my Eye of All-Seeing, can maximize this machine’s potential.’
"Stop," Chen Yu told Ronaldo.
If it were anyone else, determining how long the daily rehab should last and at what intensity would rely either on experience or on daily CT scans.
And the key thing is, you couldn’t even detect the right stopping point with a scan.
Unlike him. With his Eye of All-Seeing, he knew exactly when to stop.
Ronaldo reluctantly got off and sat down to rest, his gaze falling on Hill beside him. "Chen, how much longer until I can run like him?"
On the other Anti-gravity Treadmill, Hill was running at a brisk pace.
His was a traumatic injury, and it had been over a month since his surgery. He had started his recovery training a while ago.
With the regular season ending in about ten days, Hill was eager to rejoin the team and make his comeback.
"It’ll be a while yet."
Chen Yu motioned for him to sit properly and began the massage.
Even with this level of training, it was crucial to perform massages promptly to alleviate fatigue and speed up recovery.
He silently applied a Bronze Level therapeutic effect.
Chen Yu had found three comatose patients and one quadriplegic—four patients in total—to ensure he could "farm" rehabilitation treatment effects at maximum efficiency.
By being diligent now, he could practically guarantee farming one treatment effect per day.
"Think about Anfernee. You’re already doing much better than him." Hardaway had his surgery before Ronaldo, but because he had cartilage reconstruction, he could still only do the most basic rehab exercises.
At the mention of Hardaway, Ronaldo immediately shut his mouth.
Just then, Carter arrived, accompanied by Lexi.
"Is the equipment working well?" Carter asked with a smile.
Chen Yu nodded, then added, "Thomas, we’re friends now. If you guys at NASA develop any other amazing new equipment, you have to remember to tell me."
Carter nodded, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. ’If you think about it,’ he thought, ’the technology you use to train your players isn’t much different from what we use to train astronauts.’
He glanced at Hill running on the treadmill, then back at Ronaldo.
He knew from media reports that Chen Yu had re-operated on this World Player of the Year.
But it had been a little less than two months since the surgery.
’Could he have already started rehabilitation?’ he wondered.
He voiced his doubt to Chen Yu.
After all, Ronaldo’s injury was to the patellar tendon.
Chen Yu nodded. "That’s right. I’ve already had him start simple training. The reason I bought your Anti-gravity Treadmill is to let him exercise without putting pressure on his knees."
"The goal is to ensure that the elastic fibers that grow after the tendon heals are aligned longitudinally, which increases its overall functionality."
Carter thought back carefully, then nodded. "I know the paper you’re referring to, and there are studies in the academic world that prove you should start rehabilitation as soon as possible after tendon repair. But isn’t two months a bit too early? Shouldn’t you at least wait until the tendon is mostly healed?"
He himself was an orthopedic expert. Although his specialty was the meniscus and cartilage, he was also familiar with tendon repair.
A re-sutured tendon like this, due to its limited blood supply, naturally heals slowly. Even if you start targeted training early, it should be at least three months post-op.
But here was Chen Yu, starting training at just two months.
Unless the tendon was healing very quickly.
But even so, how much could it possibly heal in just two months?
"They’re athletes. Their bodies are stronger, and they recover faster. We can’t compare them to ordinary people," Chen Yu said, tossing out a casual reason.
Carter agreed with this point. Never mind a player with world-class physical talent like Ronaldo; even an average athlete’s physical condition far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
But he still felt it was too fast.
Chen Yu didn’t dwell on the issue. He couldn’t very well tell Carter that the reason Ronaldo was recovering so quickly was that he had dumped no fewer than twenty therapeutic effects on him, making his two months of recovery equivalent to half a year for anyone else.
’That was out of the question.’
Leading Carter to his office, Chen Yu took out Hardaway’s medical records for him to inspect.
Carter took the films, and after looking at them, his face was once again a mask of disbelief.
"Are these recent films? This recovery is quite good." ’Good’ was an understatement; it was beyond imagination.
He remembered Hardaway had his surgery in early January, exactly three months ago.
For the cartilage to grow to 3 millimeters thick in three months was simply unbelievable.
Carter had performed microfracture surgery before, and more than once. The general consensus in the medical community was that a three to four-month recovery period was needed post-surgery, during which the patient could not bear weight.
But based on his own clinical experience, cartilage recovery was difficult and varied by individual. Generally speaking, it took five to six months for the substitute cartilage to grow in properly.
Yet here was Hardaway, all healed up in just three months.
And it wasn’t just the cartilage, but also the meniscus and the anterior cruciate ligament.
If he remembered correctly, Hardaway had tears in both his meniscus and his ACL.
But now, looking at the films, everything had recovered very well.
Seeing Chen Yu looking at him with a grin, Carter said, "Chen, if I ask you why he’s recovering so well, you’re not going to tell me it’s because his physical conditioning is good again, are you?"
"What else could it be?"
Chen Yu laughed. "You’re not going to think some kind of miracle happened, are you?"
Carter grumbled to himself. ’A miracle? This is a miracle, okay?’

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