Chapter 178

"Critical situation! Intracranial pressure spiking! Risk of brain herniation imminent!" The emergency alarm blared through the operating room.

"Dr. Laurent, systolic blood pressure just exceeded 200!"

All eyes locked onto Vivian Laurent. Her slender fingers guided the puncture needle with precision, its tip piercing through a one-millimeter micro-incision.

"Administer antihypertensives. Buy me three minutes."

Assistants scrambled to adjust medication dosages. The blood pressure monitor remained stubbornly unchanged, numbers climbing relentlessly.

"This is outrageous!" VP Casstevensa suddenly barked. "A general surgery rookie leading this high-risk procedure? Did the preoperative risk assessment mean nothing?"

His eyes gleamed with malice. During morning rounds, he'd secretly swapped the patient's antihypertensive medication with vitamin tablets. Those innocuous white pills now dissolved harmlessly in the patient's stomach.

"Dr. Laurent's technique is textbook perfect!" the anesthesiologist countered. "None of us could execute with such precision."

VP Casstevensa smirked. He'd orchestrated this surgical deadlock perfectly. Hypertension combined with cardiac surgery and missing medication—this was divine intervention.

"Brain hemorrhage detected!" The monitor shrieked. "Blood loss exceeding 50ml!"

Chaos erupted. Midway through open-heart surgery, the patient suffered a cerebral bleed. Like encountering a storm while tightrope walking.

"Page neurosurgery!" Vivian's voice remained steady.

"They won't arrive for twenty minutes!" The scrub nurse stamped her foot in frustration.

Behind the observation window, VP Casstevensa's lips curled upward. He could already envision Vivian's professional ruin. How dare this upstart challenge his authority at Central Hospital?

Beads of sweat formed on Vivian's temples. Her hands accelerated suddenly, sutures dancing between cardiac vessels at inhuman speed. The room held its breath.

"Take over the cardiac procedure." She stripped off bloodied gloves. "Prep for craniotomy."

Gasps filled the room. Simultaneous open-heart and brain surgery? This was stealing lives from Death's grasp.

The EKG began erratic patterns. CT scans showed the hemorrhage expanding rapidly. VP Casstevensa's smile widened—the climax approached.

As Vivian lifted the surgical drill, the OR doors burst open. An unexpected figure stood silhouetted in the doorway.