"This is all completely baseless."
Chen Yu was being interviewed by reporters.
Normally, Chen Yu didn’t like dealing with reporters.
But this time, to quell the matter as quickly as possible and avoid affecting the Magic, who were in the middle of the Eastern Conference Finals, Chen Yu contacted reporters. The day after Tegart’s departure, he held a small press conference at his clinic to address the issue.
"I am the head of the league’s player health management department. I would never use performance-enhancing drugs to harm a player’s health. Just yesterday, I cooperated with the anti-doping organization and the FDA to complete the relevant investigation."
"They should be announcing the official results of the investigation soon. At the same time, to show my commitment to opposing doping, I had a friendly discussion with Mr. Tegart, the head of the anti-doping organization. At his invitation, I will also be serving as an honorary consultant for the organization."
The reporters didn’t react much to the first part of his statement, but when Chen Yu got to the end, they were all a bit stunned.
’Weren’t they here to investigate Chen Yu? How did an investigation end with him becoming an honorary consultant for the anti-doping organization?’
If Chen Yu had used performance-enhancing drugs, on what grounds could he become an honorary consultant?
The reporters exchanged glances. Could it be that they had really been wrong about Chen Yu?
Several reporters raised their hands, ready to ask questions.
Chen Yu was about to refuse—he hadn’t prepared to answer any questions—when Lexi suddenly ran over, panting for breath.
"Chen, you need to come, quickly."
Lexi pointed toward the inpatient area behind her, so out of breath she could barely speak.
Chen Yu’s expression changed. He hurried over and asked what was wrong.
"It’s Carl! He’s awake."
Lexi said urgently.
"What?"
Chen Yu exclaimed in shock. ’You’ve got to be kidding me.’
’A man in a vegetative state... how could he wake up?’
Ignoring the crowd of reporters, Chen Yu broke into a run toward the inpatient area.
"What’s going on?"
The reporters exchanged bewildered glances.
The slow ones were still looking around in confusion, but the quick-witted ones had already taken off after him.
"Make way, please."
Carl’s room was already surrounded by people.
Nurses, orderlies, and even other inpatients were craning their necks, peeking into the room.
Chen Yu squeezed his way into the room with difficulty.
Sarah, craning her neck, shouted excitedly, "Dr. Chen, Carl’s awake! It just happened! Oh my god, I feel like I’m dreaming."
She was overcome with excitement.
By the hospital bed, Jennifer was hugging Carl, sobbing her heart out.
In her arms, Carl stared blankly at the ceiling.
His eyes were open, and upon hearing the commotion, he even turned his head to look.
Their eyes met, and Chen Yu was stunned too.
’The kid actually woke up!’
Because Chen Yu had been constantly farming experience from him, Carl, who had been bedridden for a long time, had filled out physically. Now, seeing Chen Yu, his eyes were filled with confusion.
"Jennifer, please step aside for a moment."
Chen Yu stepped forward and motioned for Jennifer to move, then leaned down. His Eye of All-Seeing pierced through all obstructions to lock onto Carl’s brainstem.
Carl had suffered brainstem damage in a car accident, which had put him in a vegetative state.
"Huh."
Under the Eye of All-Seeing, Chen Yu was surprised to find that there were some changes in Carl’s brainstem.
From the very beginning, Chen Yu had seen that Carl’s brainstem had some minor damage.
And now, that minor damage was still there.
But he wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the eye, or perhaps too much time had passed and he couldn’t remember clearly, but Chen Yu felt that the damage had lessened.
Chen Yu frowned subconsciously.
’First of all, the brainstem can’t heal itself.’
’However, some studies do say the brainstem has a certain capacity for self-repair, and that extremely minor damage can possibly heal on its own.’
’But Carl’s case clearly didn’t fall into that category.’
’So how did he recover?’
Chen Yu knew his system had incredible abilities, but he had only been farming experience from Carl. He hadn’t applied any treatment effects.
’No, wait. I did!’
Chen Yu suddenly realized.
’Every massage, every acupuncture session I performed on Carl, because of my skills, was equivalent to applying a five-percent treatment effect.’
’Five percent wasn’t much, but over time, it really added up.’
After all, whenever Chen Yu was at the clinic, he would perform rehabilitation therapy on Carl every single day without fail.
And it wasn’t just once or twice. On some days, he might do it seven or eight times.
That added up to several hundred times a month. From March until now, a period of two months, he had already performed several hundred rehabilitation sessions on Carl.
The cumulative therapeutic effect was nothing to scoff at.
Chen Yu was certain this was it. ’First, Carl’s brainstem damage must not have been that severe.’
’Or rather, the key damage that caused his coma and vegetative state wasn’t that extensive.’
’Then, through my accumulated rehabilitation treatments over time, that damage was successfully repaired, and he woke up.’
His brainstem was still damaged, however, because Chen Yu had already noticed that Carl’s current condition wasn’t normal.
"Jennifer, has he spoken at all?" Chen Yu turned his head and asked.
Jennifer suddenly threw her arms around Chen Yu, too emotional to speak.
When Chen Yu had first approached her, Jennifer had clung to a sliver of hope, but deep down, she knew the chances of Carl waking up were minuscule.
Fortunately, Chen Yu’s rehabilitation therapy had been effective, alleviating much of Carl’s pain.
She truly never expected that Carl would one day wake up.
Across from them, Lexi frowned, pointed at Carl, and whispered, "Do you think he has amnesia?"
Chen Yu had noticed. After waking, Carl seemed completely dazed.
After a while, Jennifer finally composed herself and shook her head, indicating that Carl hadn’t said anything.
Sarah, who was also there, spoke up to confirm that Carl hadn’t said a word since waking up.
She had been the one to first discover he was conscious.
Chen Yu had already checked Carl’s physical reflexes.
His paralyzed limbs were now showing a response.
But he wasn’t speaking and his expression was vacant. Chen Yu suspected the aftereffects of the brainstem damage were still present.
It had likely affected his memory and his language functions.
"Jennifer, it’s wonderful that Carl is awake, but he’s been lying down for so long that his body has surely sustained some damage. I think we need to take him to another hospital and have a neurologist give him a thorough examination."
Chen Yu wasn’t an expert in neurology.
Jennifer nodded repeatedly.
After asking Lexi to arrange the examination for Carl, Chen Yu began to consider who to call.
’A patient waking from a vegetative state!’
’This is an absolutely miraculous case, with immense research value.’
’Saint Luke Hospital is out of the question. Their standards are average. Their cardiology department is their strongest, but their neurology department is a mess.’
’What about Mayo?’
Chen Yu thought of Wash.
’Mayo would definitely be interested in this case.’
’Forget Mayo; all the major medical research institutes in the United States would be interested.’
’For instance, the renowned Stanford University Neuroscience Institute, and the Brain Science and Cognitive Research Center, a joint venture between MIT and Harvard University.’
’Especially a case like Carl’s, who was in a vegetative state for over half a year.’
The moment he stepped out, he was mobbed by a swarm of reporters.
"Chen, was your patient in a vegetative state? Did he wake up?"
"How did he end up in a vegetative state? Is it possible for someone in that condition to wake up?"
Questions were thrown at him from all directions.
Although these were all sports reporters, a patient waking from a vegetative state was a true medical miracle—a huge news story at any time.
"That’s right. He’s awake. It’s a miracle."
Carl’s awakening put Chen Yu in a fantastic mood.
’How could it not? A one-in-a-million case like this had fallen right into my lap. What an incredible addition to my resume, and think of all the prestige it’ll bring!’
"Please, make way."
Chen Yu didn’t answer too many questions.
’I haven’t even figured out the full situation myself, so how could I answer?’
Back in his office, Chen Yu didn’t hesitate and immediately contacted Wash.
"Hold on."
After hearing the situation, Wash said just two words and hung up the phone.
Just as Chen Yu was wondering if Wash’s reaction had been a little too calm, he received a text message from her.
She said she had already booked a flight and would arrive in Phoenix tomorrow.
Chen Yu smiled. ’Now that’s more like it.’
The next day, however, before Wash arrived, another patient showed up, a player who had come seeking him out.
"Dr. Chen, hello. My name is Tony Stevenson."
The man handed him a business card. He was in his thirties, dressed in a well-fitting suit, and spoke with a distinct accent that Chen Yu recognized immediately.
British.
He glanced at the card.
He was an agent with the British SPX Sports Group.
Chen Yu, however, had never heard of the company.
Putting the card away, Chen Yu looked toward the patient.
He had brought his whole family with him.
The patient was a young man in a wheelchair, with short blond hair, a square face, and a prominent brow bone. His name was Alf-Inge Haaland.
’Norwegian, it seems.’
Beside him was his wife, Gerry Marita, who had long blond hair. She was holding a baby boy who looked to be less than a year old, while another child, about four or five years old, hid behind her, peeking out at Chen Yu.
"How did you injure your right knee?" Chen Yu asked, looking at the protective brace on Haaland’s right knee.
Haaland sighed. "I was kicked."
"Kicked?"
Chen Yu was taken aback. "Didn’t you call the police?"
’How hard must that kick have been? A ruptured medial collateral ligament, a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, a grade two tear of the posterior cruciate ligament, plus varying degrees of damage to the meniscus and knee cartilage.’
’An injury this severe... the other guy should be in prison.’
A flash of embarrassment crossed Haaland’s face, and he shook his head.
Just as Chen Yu was about to ask more, Tony Stevenson explained, "He was injured during a match. It was a malicious foul from an opponent."
He then went on to explain the details of how the injury occurred.
He even found a video of Haaland’s injury on Chen Yu’s computer.
As the captain of Manchester City, he had been taken down by a kick from Manchester United’s captain, Keane, during their match on the 21st of last month.
Watching the video, Chen Yu was startled. ’Holy crap,’ he thought.
’The guy was kicked so hard he practically did a somersault in mid-air.’
He gave Haaland another look. ’This guy must have a serious grudge with his opponent. Otherwise, who would kick someone like they were trying to kill them?’
He flipped through Haaland’s medical records.
He had been injured just last month and had since been searching for famous doctors all over the United Kingdom.
After all, he was only 29 years old and had just become captain of Manchester City. He wasn’t ready to retire so early.
But with an injury like his, who would dare to treat it?
Haaland had traveled all over Europe but couldn’t find a single doctor willing to treat him who could also guarantee his knee function would be restored.
Then, presumably after hearing the news about Chen Yu, he had made a special trip to the United States.
The group watched Chen Yu nervously.
The little boy in his wife’s arms was biting his fingers. He didn’t seem shy at all and was making faces at Chen Yu.
’What a little rascal!’
Chen Yu smiled and put down the medical records. "I can treat it, but the fee won’t be cheap. It will be at least five hundred thousand US dollars."

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