60

Chapter 60

Index

Book

Chapter 60: Difficult Choices

"You…" Zheng Ren was slightly puzzled. He still vaguely remembered that one of these two ladies mentioned something about coming back for training.

He did not expect it to be true.

"We're back," said the twins in unison.

Old Chief Physician Pan smiled and said, "Even though we don't have EICU, they can still engage in anesthesia first. You're lacking anesthesiologists, right?"

That was true. An anesthesiologist seconded from the operating theater would not be as attentive and diligent as his own.

Moreover, he had heard through the grapevine that the anesthesiologist was about to resign and move to a new unit somewhere in the South. Otherwise, it would not have been so easy to second him to the emergency department.

However, were these two ladies up to the task?

Zheng Ren could not refuse Old Chief Physician Pan as the old man had been running around hospital management all day just to demand more manpower. It was not an easy task, either.

"Can you come to the emergency department at night?" asked Zheng Ren directly.

"Yes."

"Okay. You can leave me your numbers and go home now." Zheng Ren showed no enthusiasm and was as calm as a millpond.

The Chu sisters, who had met Zheng Ren and frequently grumbled about his emotional quotient for some time, were mentally prepared to receive this sort of response.

This chief resident was an idiotic pig!

The twins smiled and said, "Don't forget to call us if there are any emergency cases."

Zheng Ren was reluctant to speak anymore and merely waved his hand in response. Then, he went back to his room and began reading hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery literature.

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Rather than wasting time on chatting or cottoning up to the Chu sisters, he might as well utilize this time to read the book for a couple of hours and gain one or two skill points.

Zheng Ren's thoughts… No wonder he had not had any girlfriend so far. It would be very strange if he was in a relationship.

It seemed that reaching out to the hearts of others had recently fallen out of fashion.

…

Once everyone had left the department, Zheng Ren went to check on the two postoperative patients again, whose conditions had remained stable thus far. Then, he had dinner with the nurses, went back to his room and started reading the surgery book.

He already had 1931 skill points in his general surgery skill tree. He then calculated the potential rewards of the missions at hand—the long-term main quest and the mission called The Initial Construction of The Emergency Operating Theater.

Whether he could complete five emergency cholecystectomies within one week depended solely on fate and had nothing to do with his skill level.

As for the three skill books and the 930 skill points in his inventory, which were essentially his family inheritance, he felt reluctant to squander them all as they might save him in an emergency.

It was a peaceful night.

…

Cen Meng was in distress.

Everything had gone wrong ever since Professor Moriyu performed the surgery.

Not only did he fail to acquire a chance to further his study in Japan and enrich his personal development, he had actually gotten himself into trouble since.

Chief Surgeon Liu refused to acknowledge Cen Meng's presence during his visit as well. Perhaps Cen Meng was going to take the blame for all the failures this time.

However, this was not the worst issue yet.

He received a phone call from his uncle this morning.

Cen Meng's home was located out of town and the fact that he was able to work in Sea City General Hospital was all thanks to his uncle.

On the phone, Cen Meng's uncle said that he had abdominal pain and yellowish discoloration of his skin after returning from a meal with alcohol.

The symptoms mentioned were simplified but Cen Meng immediately realized that his uncle was likely suffering from acute obstructive cholangitis.

Cen Meng dialed 120[1] and called an ambulance for his uncle as it was too late in the day to pick him up personally.

The diagnosis was confirmed and his uncle required immediate surgical treatment, but Cen Meng hesitated when deciding who to be the surgeon for the surgery.

In the first general surgery department, Chief Surgeon Liu had been hospitalized, and a few deputy chief surgeons… Cen Meng figured that they were not up to par since Chief Surgeon Liu had been suppressing them for a long time. If he was merely performing a simple cholecystectomy, its success rate would be very high.

However, this was a cystic duct obstruction with a high risk of complications such as acute pancreatitis. Even in the absence of complications, the edematous cystic duct alone was enough to give Cen Meng a terrible headache.

Cen Meng could still give this surgery a try if Chief Surgeon Liu could supervise him.

There was no way he would perform this surgery under such circumstances.

Should he turn to Chief Surgeon Sun from the second general surgery department for help?

Cen Meng's uncle had a married daughter who had bought a house in Shenzhen City. Even though Cen Meng stayed in Sea City, his uncle still treated him very kindly as if he was actually a son.

A figure suddenly emerged and lingered in Cen Meng's mind.

Zheng Ren…

After witnessing Zheng Ren's performance in cholecystectomy last time, apart from envy, jealousy and hatred, Cen Meng had developed a different emotion as well. Since when did this kid reach such proficiency in surgery?

Surgery skills could be honed only through constant practice. There was no other way.

Both of them had worked together in the same department for several years, but Cen Meng had no idea that Zheng Ren was actually concealing his true standards.

Zheng Ren had performed four cholecystectomies in the last three days and each of them had been done beautifully. If the surgeries were considered entertainment, they would have made viewers relaxed and happy.

Thus, Cen Meng suddenly came up with an idea—let Zheng Ren do it.

This idea was like a devil. It could not be destroyed once it emerged.

Subconsciously, he had admitted the truth—Zheng Ren's standards of cholecystectomy and appendectomy were much higher than those of Chief Surgeon Liu and Chief Surgeon Sun.

As for himself… he was far worse in comparison.

If this had been an ordinary patient, Cen Meng would have definitely requested Chief Surgeon Sun supervise his surgery instead of letting him receive treatment in the emergency department.

However, Cen Meng hesitated as this patient was his uncle, who had treated him like a son.

After hesitating and contemplating for a few minutes, Cen Meng finally made up his mind.

He picked up his cell phone and pressed the dial button fiercely.

"Meng'zi, we're arriving soon." Cen Meng could hear his second aunt crying on the other end.

"Aunt, don't worry. Listen to me first." Cen Meng, who was holding the phone in his left hand, clenched his right fist tightly and buried his fingernails deep into his palm.

"Go to the emergency department directly and look for a doctor named Zheng Ren." After saying this, Cen Meng felt an overwhelming embarrassment, but finally let go of all his reservations and added, "Go to the emergency department and let him do the surgery immediately. Aunt, please don't mention my name."

"…" The other end of the phone remained silent.

Cen Meng's heart hurt so bad as if he had been stabbed by a knife.

"Meng'zi, your uncle treats you very well," said Cen Meng's second aunt a few seconds later.

"Aunt, that is exactly the reason why I asked you to go to the emergency department," replied Cen Meng directly. Once the shame had been dealt with, the rest of it became easy instantly.

"Doctor Zheng Ren from the emergency department is the best surgeon to perform hepatobiliary surgery in our hospital," Cen Meng explained anxiously, "But don't say anything about me because we had disagreements before. I'll visit uncle later."

"Okay… Alright then…"

Cen Meng hung up and took a few deep breaths, but was still unable to wipe out the resentment that was buried deep in his heart.

As a surgeon, he had actually informed his closest relatives that his skill level was not up to par. He felt utterly pathetic.

Cen Meng, born in the countryside, had been swallowing his pride and giving up his dignity just to seize every opportunity in life, but why was the result still the same?

He was uncertain about his future.

…

The ambulance drove straight to the emergency department of Sea City General Hospital. The doctor in the emergency department saw that the patient was in a critical condition and immediately phoned Zheng Ren.

The Initial Construction of The Emergency Operating Theater was almost complete after performing four cholecystectomies within the past three days, and the last three surgeries gave Zheng Ren a 120-percent completion rate according to the terms in the main quest.

In addition, Zheng Ren had performed seven or eight appendectomies these past few days. He had actually completed the main mission twice and received 20 skill points and 2000 experience points as the mission reward.

The patients' postoperative recovery had been satisfying. The first patient who had undergone an appendectomy had already been discharged from the hospital and returned home to rest.

Not only had he performed a few surgeries, he had been reading medical books as well over the last few days. Thus, he had accumulated 1945 skill points in his general surgery skill tree and was about to break through the 2000-point mark.

Zheng Ren was reading a book when he received the call. After knowing that a patient with obstructive jaundice had been sent to the emergency department via ambulance, he took Chang Yue downstairs immediately.

Acute appendicitis and acute cholecystitis were not life-threatening diseases, but a patient with obstructive jaundice might pass away at any time. Negligence was unacceptable.

[1] Telephone number for emergency medical service in China.

IndexChapter 61

Index

Book

Chapter 61: Sudden Reward From The Fickle-Minded

In the emergency resuscitation room, the doctor in charge of B-scan ultrasonography had already started examining the patient.

Before Zheng Ren had time to read the patient's condition in the upper right corner of his vision, a bell rang in his ears. "Ding-dong!"

Huh? A mission? Was this person suffering from a special disease?

[Sudden Mission: The Opponent's Submission.

[Task: Complete surgical treatment for acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis.

[Reward: 200 skill points and 10000 experience points. The higher the surgery completion rate, the greater the reward. If the completion rate reaches 100 percent, additional rewards will be awarded.

[Time: 6 hours.]

What the f*ck… Zheng Ren's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Even though the System was not stingy, it was not particularly generous either. In the beginning, when the System had been unstable, the surgical intensive training time given to him had been calculated in hours. Once it had stabilized, the System came up with a new gameplay mechanic—experience points—and started calculating training time in seconds.

The System was indeed fickle-minded.

However, this time, the System was actually awarding 10000 experience points for a simple mission named The Opponent's Submission. That could be converted into precious surgical intensive training time!

Moreover, the time given for the completion of this mission was six hours, which meant that any remaining time would be converted to surgical intensive training time.

What in the world was this?

The confused Zheng Ren savored the thought carefully, only to realize the meaning behind the mission's name after a few seconds.

Someone who was hostile toward him had surrendered. That must have been the case.

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That made sense!

"Chief Zheng, there is a blockage in the patient's common bile duct," said the doctor in charge of the B-scan ultrasonography.

"He needs emergency surgery. Establish venous access, nasogastric tube insertion, urinary catheterization, and start preoperative preparations. Chang Yue, explain the surgery to the patient's family members."

No matter whose family this patient was related to, judging by the mission name, his condition could not be delayed any further.

"Do you know how to perform preoperative counseling of a jaundiced patient?"

"I'll let you review my documentation once I'm done writing," answered Chang Yue.

The nurses and Chang Yue started preparing the patient for surgery without delay.

"I'm going to the operating theater to prepare the equipment. Wheel the patient in as soon as signatures are acquired and preoperative preparations are complete." Zheng Ren scanned through Chang Yue's perfectly written preoperative documentation and left in a hurry.

He appreciated Chang Yue very much after getting to know her better these few days.

She was definitely the kind of person who could bring the dead back to life and send the living to heaven through conversation alone. In addition, all of her paperwork was flawless and indisputable, which greatly eased Zheng Ren's workload.

Chang Yue's preoperative counseling offered better results than Zheng Ren's.

Apart from that, Chang Yue's voice seemed to possess a miraculous ability to calm down the patient's family members without them realizing it.

Zheng Ren hurried toward the operating theater to make necessary arrangements for the operation.

Acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis was a tier-three surgical case, and the surgery was far more difficult than laparoscopic cholecystectomy with new technology.

Most importantly, the System had hinted that this patient was not suffering from a simple choledocholithiasis. It was a rare parasitic infestation of the bile duct!

Zheng Ren wanted to achieve perfection in the surgery, which was why he had to find someplace quiet and visit the Shop for some equipment purchase.

He was going to perform an unconventional operation, one that had never been done in the medical field thus far. It was a surgical technique that he inferred from and experimented with on dozens of mannequins in the System's operating theater.

Since it was a new technique, the newly established emergency operating theater definitely did not have suitable instruments. In fact, such instruments did not exist in the world, so he had no choice but to buy them from within the System.

In the operating theater locker room, Zheng Ren changed into surgical attire and went to the smoking area. Then, as usual, he lit up a Ziyun and took a deep drag, allowing the spicy tobacco to stimulate his nervous system before diving into the System.

He had previously spent all of his experience points learning laparoscopic cholecystectomy, so he could not buy the equipment even if he wanted to.

After completing the main quest several times recently, he had managed to save up some points, just enough for him to purchase a few instruments.

He opened the Shop and scrolled down the menu. From his familiarity, it seemed obvious that he had been planning to buy the equipment all along.

Zheng Ren clicked "Purchase" without hesitation and left immediately with the equipment in sterile packaging in his hands.

Pathetically, there were only 200 points in his savings after spending 1800 on his new equipment.

Upon returning to the smoking area, Zheng Ren stubbed out his cigarette, put it back into its pack, and entered the operating theater with the newly purchased equipment.

"Chief Zheng, what's this surgery about?" A slender figure appeared on the other end of the corridor.

Despite having spent two to three days together, Zheng Ren still had trouble distinguishing the twin sisters—Chu Yanran and Chu Yanzhi.

The question was unfathomable and Zheng Ren would likely never get the correct answer in his lifetime.

"Acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis," answered Zheng Ren.

"It's going to be a new surgery, then. Do you need assistants?" asked the twin.

"Hold the retractor if you have time. I'm going to perform an open surgery today."

"I'll assist you if you can accurately identify me," said one of the Chu sisters, who seized every opportunity to criticize Zheng Ren for his face blindness.

They no longer cared that Zheng Ren had absolutely no desire to court beauties.

"Yiren, prepare an automatic retractor holder," yelled Zheng Ren.

Xie Yiren's clear and melodious voice traveled from the storage room.

"Oh, that's boring. Can't you make a guess?" asked one of the sisters.

"The patient is jaundiced and needs immediate surgical treatment." Zheng Ren walked into the operating theater with a blank expression, which was barely visible in the first place behind a surgical cap and mask.

"When will the patient arrive?" the other Chu sister asked.

"It depends on when Chang Yue can get the family member's signature."

"Prep up, then, the patient will arrive soon." The Chu sisters went into the operating theater together and began preparing for general anesthesia.

The twins were definitely better at anesthesia than those undergoing standardized residency training. They claimed that they had anesthetized hundreds of surgical patients during their training in West China Hospital.

The anesthesiologist seconded to the department, who was going to resign soon, had become even lazier after witnessing their standards and would only take part in preoperative anesthesia administration from time to time.

Zheng Ren did not know if the sisters had actually anesthetized that many patients, but after observing several operations, he concluded that they were highly skilled at both general and epidural anesthesia. This was especially obvious during the general anesthesia recovery phase, where they could get the patient to regain consciousness right after he cut the last suture thread.

The patient was wheeled in five minutes later, just as the Chu sisters predicted.

Chang Yue and the nurses in the emergency ward had the credit for such a drastic response.

Preoperative preparations had been completed swiftly and Chang Yue had been able to persuade the patient's family members to sign consent forms. These two elements were indispensable.

After the patient was transferred to the operating table, the Chu sisters began intubating and anesthetizing him.

"Burn my calories!" shouted one of the Chu sisters childishly.

'That one is Chu Yanzhi.' This was the only time Zheng Ren could differentiate the two.

The younger twin—Chu Yanzhi—was slightly more active and childish than her older sister. She was also the only one who could say such a shameless and silly statement.

Her statement did not refer to burning calories for weight loss but rather focused her attention on the surgery at hand, like a superhero saving the universe in manga.

What a childish postgraduate student. Had all her studies been in vain and had she actually turned insane after being in the medical field?

Zheng Ren began performing a surgical scrub to decontaminate his hands.

"The anesthesia is complete," announced the Chu sisters in unison like a chorus.

Their lovely eyebrows and soft voices were a feast for the senses.

Zheng Ren put on a sterile surgical gown and a pair of sterile gloves before placing the last layer of surgical drapes on the operative field. After that, he took sterile light handle covers from Xie Yiren and installed it on the surgical lighthead.

That way, Zheng Ren could position the surgical lighthead according to his own needs.

The operative site was disinfected with iodophor-soaked cotton and wiped with dry gauze. Xie Yiren then placed the scalpel handle on Zheng Ren's outstretched hand.

Zheng Ren's surgery was again broadcast live in Xinglin Garden during the disinfection process.

[Watching the god performing surgeries is indeed beneficial. I could even feel some improvements in my laparoscopic cholecystectomy skill these past few days.]

[Even a fool can do it after repeated observation. What are you so proud of?]

[Huh? An open surgery today? Let me read the medical record. Wow, this is actually a case of acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis! Finally, I can learn new surgical techniques!]

An incision was made on the right costal margin. The scalpel cut through only the epidermis and dermis without damaging any underlying capillaries.

This was considered a meticulous action.

[It takes more than thirty years to master such incising skills.]

[Is the god planning to perform blunt dissection after making the incision?]

[Isn't this his habit in every surgery? Have you seen the god achieving hemostasis by cauterization? Cauterizing the subcutaneous tissue…]

[Barbeque smell with mushy meat. Your statement made me hungry. I'm going to indulge in some barbeque skewers after this surgery broadcast is over.]

The doctors chatted leisurely; the atmosphere in Xinglin Garden was relaxed and lively as none of them had seen the pathological tissue.

Zheng Ren bluntly separated the subcutaneous and fascial layer and opened the peritoneum. The moment the surgical field was expanded using an automatic retractor holder, the live broadcast room instantly went quiet.

IndexChapter 62

Index

Book

Chapter 62: Edematous Gallbladder

Intraoperative exploration revealed that there were no abnormal changes in the stomach and small intestine. The liver was normal in size and smooth with no irregularities or nodules commonly seen in cirrhosis.

However, the gallbladder was congested and visibly edematous, and it was slightly larger than half an adult man's fist.

The swollen gallbladder looked like an inflated balloon. From its appearance alone, any iatrogenic perforation would blow this surgery sky-high.

[Wow, how many gallstones have accumulated in this gallbladder?]

[It isn't necessarily caused by gallstones. It could be parasites, too.]

[Why do I have a feeling that the gallbladder will rupture at the slightest disturbance, causing bile to flow into the peritoneal cavity and contaminating the operative site? Damn it, I can't watch anymore. I'll probably have a nightmare about a never-ending surgery.]

Despite their claim, the anonymous doctor stayed. In fact, none of the viewers left the broadcast room, and more latecomers continued to come into the livestream to observe the surgery performed by the demon, who had become a legend in Xinglin Garden.

With the tip of his scalpel, Zheng Ren made a small incision 0.5 centimeters away from the liver edge. After that, he began his signature move—blunt dissection.

Most of the viewers were experienced surgeons with hundreds of surgeries under their belt, or they would not dare to even comment on the livestream.

However, none of them could reach Zheng Ren's level of skill at blunt dissection.

After repeated observation of his 49 1 appendectomies, some of them tried to perform a larger range of blunt dissections, but their results had been disappointing and in some cases nearly caused iatrogenic intestinal perforations.

During this period, a new discussion post appeared in Xinglin Garden for those who attempted the host surgeon's technique after watching the live broadcast.

Some of them initially thought that their skills were inferior, but after reading through the post, it seemed everyone was on the same level.

It was likely due to their own perspectives and that the host surgeon had actually performed many surgeries to achieve such expertise in his manipulation.

There was pin-drop silence in the live broadcast room as Zheng Ren bluntly dissected tissue with a pair of hemostatic forceps and his fingers.

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Zheng Ren's movements induced slight tremors in many viewers' fingers.

Like a butcher skillfully and effortlessly dismembering an ox, it was obvious that they could only observe this master at work without no hope at imitating his actions.

The edematous gallbladder, half the size of an adult man's fist, had extremely high surface tension. Even a simple open cholecystectomy would require one to proceed with the utmost vigilance, let alone blunt dissection, as a split-second distraction could rupture the gallbladder.

Even so, the host surgeon seemingly manipulated the instruments without a second thought. The medium curved forceps reached under the incised serous layer of the gallbladder surface and bluntly separated the tissue at a quick pace.

That speed… He must have a death wish.

However, no one would comment that on the livestream.

This was due to the humiliation of every one of the host surgeon's previous critics. To preserve their mortification, many nosy parkers had screenshotted their comments as evidence for the discussion forums.

A few seconds later, the tissue had been bluntly dissected up to the gallbladder neck. The host surgeon then began lysing the messy adhesions caused by inflammation in the Calot triangle.

His finger movements were proficient and slow, but every step was seemingly done without forethought, which frightened the doctors watching the livestream.

The surgeon was walking a tightrope! Generally, professors in Class Three Grade A Hospitals… Why Class Three Grade A Hospitals? Why was he suspected to be a professor? Any hospital below the rank of Class Three Grade A would not dare perform this type of surgery because of the high risk of medical error.

Even in a Class Three Grade A Hospital, ordinary attending surgeons and chief residents would never handle such a troublesome operation.

Only those of lead professor rank and above would possess the confidence to perform such a difficult surgery.

Even so, they would still tackle the situation with extreme care rather than simply using forceps to bluntly dissect tissue without hesitation like this surgeon.

Upon inspection, the host surgeon's movements were not fast but very precise. Then, like a painting, the anatomical structures of the Calot triangle gradually appeared in front of everyone.

This brat must have dissected a few cadavers. No! A few were definitely inadequate; he must have dissected at least dozens of cadavers.

In China, the number of cadavers, also known as silent mentors, was so limited that some medical institutions only had one cadaver per class for studying anatomy.

Few medical institutions had the luxury of providing a cadaver for a group of eight, let alone the mythical four-man team, for dissection.

For example, in a town of strategic importance in the northern frontier, whether it was just an ordinary school or medical institution, countless Kwantung Army[1] corpses from decades ago were still preserved for dissection purposes. That was exactly why the doctors from that medical institution did not know what a silent mentor was.

The Kwantung Army corpses were simply unworthy of that title—silent mentors—even though they had been immersed in formalin for decades.

As the number of cadavers was scarce, many doctors actually made up their minds to apply for part-time jobs in the forensics department.

Naturally, such special privileges were provided only to motivated doctors working in tier-three or four cities[2] due to a lack of licensed forensic pathologists.

The host surgeon in the livestream had definitely dissected a large number of cadavers. This assumption emerged in every viewer's mind at the same time and was proven during the gradual exposure of the Calot triangle.

The cystic duct and cystic artery were clearly visible. The host surgeon then began to ligate, resect and retrogradely remove the gallbladder.

The removal was just the beginning.

[He is very good at laparoscopic surgery, but I didn't expect him to achieve such a high standard in open cholecystectomy too.]

A dazed doctor expressed his thoughts in Xinglin Garden.

An expert would understand the difficulty behind this surgery. From the cholecystectomy alone, everyone firmly believed that the host surgeon would complete this surgery beautifully.

How much could they learn from this surgery? Well, it would depend on their individual talents.

[Are you stupid? How can he perform laparoscopic surgery if he can't do an open surgery well?]

[Not exactly. Nowadays, many junior attending surgeons start their practice in laparoscopic surgery. Hey, both of you have inadvertently exposed your age group.]

[The gallbladder had been resected. I've a feeling that there will be at least three to five gallstones of over three centimeters in it.]

The anatomical structures could be seen very clearly. After the gallbladder had been resected, the common bile and hepatic ducts were exposed in the operative field, and any surgeon could easily identify them.

Even so, Zheng Ren wanted to minimize risks of medical error and requested a 5-milliliter syringe so that he could confirm the common bile duct by bile aspiration.

After traction was applied to stretch the duct, an aspirator with a suction tube was then gently placed on Zheng Ren's palm.

The aspirator was plunged into the common bile duct as soon as it was incised.

It was done without a moment's hesitation. The huge amount of bile that had accumulated in the duct was aspirated before it was forcefully ejected by high intraductal pressure.

This detail attracted the attention of the doctors of Xinglin Garden.

Generally, the area around the common bile duct would be protected to a certain extent as bile leakage was inevitable.

However, the host surgeon had not taken any safety precautions at all. The incision on the common bile duct was the same size as that of the aspirator, preventing any bile leakage.

Everything was done perfectly. It appeared extremely simple and easy, but only those who had performed similar surgeries would understand the difficulty behind it.

[I suddenly feel sad. A few years ago, I performed an incision and drainage of an acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis. Bile leakage occurred during the surgery and resulted in postoperative infection. Initially, it was just a bacterial infection but it was further complicated by a fungal infection. The patient recovered only after one month of aggressive treatment.]

[The feeling is mutual. The host surgeon's manipulation is indeed stable. That incision had been made about the same size as the aspirator. Is it possible to master such a superb hand- and eyesight-based judgment through sheer practice?]

[That's talent, so curb your enthusiasm.]

[1] The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for the Kwantung Leased Territory and South Manchurian Railway Zone after the Russo-Japanese War and was expanded into an army group during the Interwar period to support Japanese interests in China, Manchuria, and Mongolia.

[2] The Chinese city tier system (Chinese: 中国城市等级制) is a hierarchical classification of Chinese cities. Cities in different tiers reflect differences in consumer behavior, income level, population size, consumer sophistication, infrastructure, talent pool, and business opportunity.

IndexChapter 63

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Chapter 63: Parasites In The Biliary Tract

The doctors in Xinglin Garden understood everything that had been done up to this point.

It did not matter if they could perform the exact same procedures, but it would be humiliating if it had all been Greek to them.

Doctors who had received professional training still possessed this basic quality, at least.

'It's time to extract the gallstones.' Everyone had the same thought on their minds. Since the common bile duct had been incised, the next step would be gallstone extraction to alleviate the patient's obstructive jaundice symptoms.

A pair of custom-made lithotomy forceps, a conventional but rarely-used instrument in the operating theater, was then placed in Zheng Ren's extended palm. Xie Yiren had been attentively observing Zheng Ren's movements and necessary instruments would be handed over whenever required.

Many viewers in the Xinglin Garden live broadcast room were envious.

The host surgeon's scrub nurse was competent and far better than their own. Not only were theirs bad-tempered, they even needed to be reminded to pass the lithotomy forceps during unconventional surgical manipulation.

In most cases, they would realize that they had not prepared the lithotomy forceps and circulating nurses would be instructed to retrieve a pack of sterile lithotomy forceps from the sterilization room.

Inevitably, this trip would delay the surgery for a few minutes, but this was not the case for the host surgeon, who could perform the operation in a relaxed manner.

There was a more outrageous possibility—that the nurses returned with a pair of unsterilized lithotomy forceps! That was a nightmare!

Despite the doctors' envy, life still had to go on, right?

The forceps entered the common bile duct. One, two, three… Something was wrong. Why were the gallstones oddly shaped? Was it possible that those were not stones?

[Based on my decades of clinical experience, it seems like a biliary parasite.]

[Decades of clinical experience, are you bullsh*tting me? I don't even think experienced, elderly senior consultants know how to log into Xinglin Garden.]

[I'm now fifty-nine years old, so I'm actually a senior consultant with decades of experience who keeps up with the times. What are you going to do about it?]

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The subject in the Xinglin Garden live broadcast room changed in that instant.

However, judging by the strange shapes that emerged, they did not seem to be ordinary gallstones.

After removing the gallstones in the cystic duct and left and right hepatic ducts, the host surgeon began irrigating the ducts with warm normal saline while aspirating more sediment-like stones.

Then, a rare event occurred—the surgery came to a halt.

[Mayday, mayday. Did the live broadcast just crash? Anyone who sees this comment, please respond. I repeat, please respond.]

[Same. I feel so much better after seeing your comment.]

[It isn't a crash. The host surgeon is preparing the next equipment. I'm guessing a choledochoscope.]

After ensuring that there was no connection issue or livestream problem, this particularly uncommon surgery having an interlude was instantly barraged with comments.

All of them were guessing what had actually happened.

[I think the host surgeon is having diarrhea. I once suffered from acute enteritis and had to visit the toilet eight times while performing an appendectomy. Every time after I scrubbed up and changed into a surgical gown, diarrhea struck me again. That was indeed a tragic experience and makes me feel uneasy even until now. I'm looking for consolation.]

[Perhaps he wants to check if there is any malignant transformation after opening the gallbladder.]

[Maybe the host surgeon fainted.]

Hundreds of comments flooded the screen, which reflected the joyful atmosphere of the moment, but none of them worried about the surgery at all.

What a joke. Disregarding everything else, the blunt dissection and profound anatomical knowledge of the host surgeon were more than enough to fuel speculations that they were an elderly professor in their sixties. How was it possible that they could not complete a tier-three surgery?

In the operating theater, Zheng Ren had temporarily stopped the surgery to allow Chu Yanzhi to unpack the equipment he had purchased in the System, place the fiberscope on the surgical instrument table and put the connector on Zheng Ren. That way, he could see the operative field through the imaging in the fiberscope with his naked eyes.

Chu Yanzhi's height was the same as Zheng Ren's—172 centimeters. Therefore, she had to use a stool in order to put the connector on Zheng Ren's head.

"Chief Zheng, where did you get this equipment?" Chu Yanzhi had assisted in similar surgeries in West China Hospital but had never seen such tools.

"I made it myself." Zheng Ren shut down the whole conversation with a simple sentence.

"What a stingy person," Chu Yanzhi said, annoyed, "I'm not going to take it from you, so why can't you tell me?"

Zheng Ren felt helpless. He could not possibly tell her that he bought it from the System's Shop, and perfunctorily made-up a place was not a viable option either. What would happen if she decided to visit it for equipment purchase? Deception was a better course of action in this case.

His imagination suddenly ran wild like a dog that had broken its leash. If women had access to the System's Shop, would there be a big sale on Double Eleven?

After assisting Zheng Ren with the equipment installation, Chu Yanzhi said with excited curiosity, "Sis, we can perhaps write an SCI if this surgery is successful."

"It's possible as the impact factor should be equal to or more than three." Chu Yanran, who was sitting beside the ventilator with an anesthesia monitoring form in her hands, quietly observed the various data displayed on the ventilator and monitors, adjusting the drug dosage accordingly.

The Chu sisters would behave distinctively only during a surgery.

Zheng Ren was unsure whether this was the only odd way to accurately distinguish them.

The image in Xinglin Garden distorted for a moment before it switched to the fiberscope view.

[What the f*ck, it's a fiberscope!]

[That's indeed high class. We normally use a size-five urinary catheter for continuous irrigation to ensure that there aren't any residual stones in the ducts.]

[I have professors who know how to handle a fiberscope, but they seldom use it. Most people can't use it well, especially with forceps integrated with a fiberscope for the removal of residual tiny stones. This kind of microsurgery is on the same level as neurosurgery.]

The fiberscope advanced deeper and the atmosphere in the live broadcast room became tense and quiet.

The comments disappeared as everyone stared at the white silk thread attached to the walls of the common bile duct in shock.

They were not gallstones, but parasites!

These white silk threads were clearly not suppuration caused by inflammatory exudation, but rather elongated parasites dwelling in the common bile duct.

The gallstones that had been extracted were likely the end products of these parasites that had been wrapped and organized by inflammatory reactions.

[Who can guide me on the treatment in a parasitic infestation? I'm waiting. It's urgent.]

A junior doctor sought guidance in the livestream.

Generally, if someone took the lead, others would follow suit. This was a common phenomenon in the operating theater, but in the live broadcast room, not only was the situation similar, it was more unbridled.

However, this time, an eerie silence reigned in the live broadcast room. The lone comment flew from the right side of the screen to the left with no response.

The junior doctor was smart enough to remain silent.

Every doctor watching the livestream had a bad feeling. This surgery would very likely end in failure.

Was it possible that the host surgeon would observe the condition, performatively try to remove the parasites and give up after realizing that they had embedded themselves into the mucosal layer? After all, they could accidentally damage the common bile duct during parasite removal.

It was highly probable.

However, everyone was greatly satisfied after seeing the parasites cluster like dense, white silk threads.

Moreover, many viewers blindly trusted the host surgeon because they were omnipotent! Since they dared to broadcast their surgery live, they must have anticipated this condition.

They were again astonished upon recalling the earlier intermission in surgery.

Could it be that the host surgeon had diagnosed the patient with parasitic biliary obstruction and the necessary instruments had been prepared in advance?

Even if the instruments had been prepared, though, nothing could be done in this situation.

Parasite removal surgery was still in the preliminary stage in the current medical trend. After all, the risk of parasitic infection was low in developed countries, and most parasitic diseases remained in Africa.

Besides, expecting random medical experts to specialize in the surgical removal of parasites… was basically impossible.

Even if any doctor was willing to learn for the sake of boundless love, to improve their medical skill and for nobility, medical device companies would never invest in or design equipment specifically for surgical removal of parasites.

Even if the equipment was manufactured, Africa had limited financial power to purchase it.

This surgery had evolved from an incision and drainage of a "simple" obstructive suppurative cholangitis to an unfamiliar procedure.

What would the host surgeon do to complete this surgery with an unknown difficulty level?

Perhaps he just wanted to observe the situation and give up in the end?

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Chapter 64: New Surgical Technique

In the fiber-optic choledochoscope view emerged a tiny forceps-like instrument. Even though there were thousands of doctors watching the livestream, none of them could identify this device.

[Forceps? That's so small. How does the host surgeon plan to operate with it?]

[I'm completely confused. I'm going to watch the video replay a hundred times after the surgery is over.]

[Shut the f*ck up and watch the surgery!]

A few comments expressing their surprise were soon suppressed. This may be a new surgical technique and was likely more advanced than endoscopic transrectal appendectomy.

Perhaps this was the first appearance of a new surgical procedure.

Silence hung in the air as numerous pairs of eyes stared at the operative field, where delicate forceps grasped a white thread, only a few microns thick, with deadly hawk-like accuracy.

It was done without touching the mucosal layer of the common bile duct, which stunned the audience.

However, none of them spoke because the most crucial step was coming soon.

The parasites had tough filariform extremities that allowed firm adherence to the common bile duct. Since their fine hairs had embedded themselves into the mucosal layer of the duct, forceful removal would result in irreversible damage to the layer.

Severe injury would result in postoperative complications such as bacteremia or toxemia.

Thousands of eyes stared unblinkingly at the live broadcast with curiosity and anxiety tormenting their hearts.

However, to everyone's surprise, there was a slight twitch in the forceps and the parasite was pulled off.

What of the injury to the mucosal layer of the common bile duct that they had feared? It did not even exist!

[What the f*ck, what did I just see?]

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[Is the host surgeon also working as an animal trainer? Did they raise those parasites?]

[Please respect the host surgeon. They may be the teacher of your teacher's teacher. If you don't want to embarrass yourself after their identity is disclosed, don't use derogatory words. Thank you, my name is Lei Feng.]

The viewers were going crazy in the live broadcast room.

The preconceived nodus had been thrown out the window as the parasite was removed without any difficulty.

The forceps retracted and then extended again, presumably for parasite removal from the body.

The repetitive, mundane procedure and the host surgeon's precision were like that of a machine. Aside from the surgeon's accurate manipulation, the parasites were unusually obedient as they relaxed all their hair immediately after being clamped, allowing for smooth extraction. It was why the mucosal layer of the common bile duct remained unharmed thus far.

[Who can tell me what the hell the surgeon is doing?]

[Is he an alien?]

[Impossible. That's just ordinary equipment made of nickel-titanium alloy, judging from the familiar metallic luster.]

[Then why didn't the parasites adhere to the wall? Does the nickel-titanium alloy possess any property that intimidates them?]

[Oh my God. Host surgeon, please accept my worship.]

Parasite removal with forceps was a delicate task, and there were hundreds of parasites residing in the common bile duct, so complete removal was not easy either. No matter how fast or precise Zheng Ren's movements were, it still took him fifteen seconds to remove a single parasite.

In Xinglin Garden, a few experienced doctors with profound knowledge about equipment gradually noticed something peculiar with the procedure.

[I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but the parasites seem to be spasming after the host surgeon grasped them with the forceps.]

[I noticed it too. The twitch was mild but that should be the key here.]

[I'm a postgraduate student who studies parasites, and I've been working on a related topic recently. I suspect that there is some mild bioelectric stimulation that caused the parasites to spasm.]

The doctors in Xinglin Garden had gotten closer to the truth in less than half an hour.

Xinglin Garden was indeed a professional website!

[That's awesome! Is this a new surgical technique?]

[The-Surgeon's-Name Biliary Parasitosis Removal, how does that name sound?]

[If you have enough data and your English level is up to par, write an article and publish it in The Lancet.]

The Lancet was a magazine published by the Elsevier Publishing Company in collaboration with Reed Elsevier Group since 1823.

The journal had founded that year by Thomas Wakley, an English surgeon who named it after the surgical scalpel called a lancet, as well as after the architectural term "lancet window", which was a window with a sharp, pointed arch to indicate the "light of wisdom" or "to let in light".

The Lancet was the top journal for surgery, similar to other magazines for science and nature.

Regarding the impact factor… The Lancet had achieved up to 33.6.

This concept could be difficult to understand, so to simplify comparisons, the impact factor of ordinary medical journals was between 0 to 0.1.

Medical journals in China had an impact factor between 1.0 to 5.0.

Thus, the fact that The Lancet had achieved an impact factor of 33.6 was truly impressive.

Article publishing in The Lancet, though?

It was a tempting idea as whoever managed to do so would have access to national research funds, a humongous supply of resources, academic status…

However, these had nothing to do with the viewers in Xinglin Garden.

After regaining their composure, everyone immediately realized that the host surgeon must have studied this kind of equipment for god only knew how many years and publicized it only after it had become fully operational.

Anyone who could devote their life to the continual performance of a single task deserved the utmost respect.

Birds of a feather flock together, especially in the medical field. The better one's medical standard, the higher their societal status. That was beyond question.

The host surgeon was highly skilled and could still devote their life to experiments… Could it be that they were a demon in the Chinese Academy of Sciences? Perhaps… Perhaps they were an expert from a foreign country?

Today's surgery was indeed enjoyable.

Even if they were not the researcher or surgeon behind it, viewers could still boast that they had witnessed the historical first appearance of a technique over drinks in the future.

After coming up with a publicly acceptable explanation, the live broadcast room was instantly bombarded with innumerable comments.

No one could read the overwhelming comments. This time, the livestream was barraged with words like bullets flying across the screen.

It was not for complaining, but rather how they expressed their heartfelt respect to the elderly researcher.

Zheng Ren had no clue that he had inadvertently become an old researcher or an expert foreign professor.

He was focusing his attention on removing the parasites and placing them in a kidney dish beside him.

Xie Yiren's exposed skin was chalky-white. No matter how courageous a lady was, she would still be afraid of such squishy worms.

It was not just one worm; Zheng Ren had already removed more than a hundred parasites from the patient's bile duct.

Chu Yanzhi had been hiding behind the ventilator for a long time and failed to come up with more childish retorts due to a lack of courage. No matter how many calories she burned, it would not be enough to relieve her intense perturbation.

Chu Yanran's face was ashen-grey as well, but she was much calmer than her younger sister. She dared not observe Zheng Ren's surgery and merely forced herself to focus on the boring numbers on the ventilator and monitors.

It took Zheng Ren more than an hour to remove all parasites—more than three hundred of them—residing in the bile duct.

Zheng Ren grumbled internally about the System while removing the parasites. 'No wonder it gave me such a long completion time. I thought it was going to give me a bonus, but I didn't expect to see so many parasites!'

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Chapter 65: I Was Wrong

Anxiety plagued Cen Meng as he repeatedly looked at the time on his phone.

He had been imagining the perioperative procedures ever since his uncle was pushed into the operating theater.

As far as he knew about Zheng Ren… Of course, given recent events, the incision and drainage of acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis should have been finished within an hour.

There was nothing difficult about it, after all.

The minutes ticked by and when it reached the fiftieth minute, he started texting his second aunt on WeChat.

Cen Meng instantly felt uneasy upon hearing that his uncle was still in the operating theater.

Had something gone wrong with the surgery? Did Zheng Ren catch wind that the patient was actually his uncle and deliberately delayed it?

Cen Meng's heart sank immediately.

Chief Surgeon Liu was a pessimist who had told Cen Meng many drunken stories.

Perhaps Chief Surgeon Liu was an alarmist or had committed countless wrongdoings, but the man always had a guilty conscience and saw things fanatically. This issue had actually become a thorn in Cen Meng's flesh as he was constantly worried that one day, he would make the same mistakes.

'My attitude toward Zheng Ren previously… wasn't so bad, right?' The further Cen Meng went down memory lane, the greater his fear, and his fingers trembled uncontrollably.

The very thought made Cen Meng's blood boil.

However, he became dispirited almost immediately upon recalling the obstacles he had put in Zheng Ren's path, sending a chill down his spine. The false earthquake… Letting Zheng Ren stay for abdominal surgical wound closure… Postoperative punishment and the attempt to fire him… Was there any difference between these and murdering his father or abducting his wife?

Had karma found him at last?

He started regretting his initial decision. He should have just requested Chief Surgeon Sun from the second general surgery department to perform the operation instead.

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Five minutes later, Cen Meng called his classmate immediately after confirming that the surgery was still ongoing. There was nothing wrong with asking an anesthesiologist to check on the progress of the surgery, right?

Cen Meng was rational enough to prevent himself from making a decision that would make him regret living.

At the sixty-eighth minute, Cen Meng's classmate entered the emergency operating theater.

Soon, he received a shocking photograph.

There were countless white silk-like parasites wiggling in the kidney dish. They were so fresh that adding chopped green onions and stir-frying them would make a delectable dish.

It had been… a rare obstructive jaundice secondary to parasitic infection?!

How did Zheng Ren take all these parasites out alive?

Cen Meng's medical standard was similar to the ordinary doctors of Xinglin Garden, perhaps even inferior to them.

More than a thousand viewers had approximated the truth after half an hour of discussion. How could Cen Meng even come close?

"Cen Meng, asking Chief Zheng to perform this surgery was indeed a wise decision," Cen Meng's classmate replied via text message.

The compliment would have given Cen Meng hypertension and exasperation had he not seen the white silk-like parasites in the kidney dish.

However, the parasites quietly reminded Cen Meng that his classmate was absolutely right. He did not even understand how Zheng Ren had performed the surgery.

Cen Meng's phone suddenly rang and as soon as he answered the call, there was an anxious, crying voice. "Meng'zi, how is your uncle? You ungrateful child, how could you be so cruel? Your uncle treats you so well, but you didn't even check on the progress of his surgery."

"Aunt, he has a special condition and it's going to take a while before the surgery can be finished." Cen Meng buried his dejection deep within his heart and tried to comfort his second aunt, who was on the verge of a breakdown.

"What special condition?!" Cen Meng flinched at the acidity in his second aunt's voice.

"Uncle has eaten way too much Japanese food and there are parasites residing in his gallbladder now. Doctor Zheng is removing them one by one, so it's going to take a long time. Aunt, don't worry." Cen Meng then hung up and sent the photograph, a nightmare for trypophobic people, to his second aunt via WeChat.

There were too many parasites and he presumed that complete removal would take at least three hours.

Cen Meng felt slightly dazed and absent-mindedly went to the rooftop to get some cold air.

The wind was strong and cool, but failed to extinguish the fire that burned within his heart.

'I must become stronger! I mustn't return home and become a farmer!' The obsession remained embedded in Cen Meng's mind.

His perturbation and anger was a wake-up call for Cen Meng. It was better not to seek quick success by any means, otherwise… The gusty wind on the rooftop sent an unexpected shudder through him.

His phone suddenly rang again. The surgery had been going on for one hour and forty-one minutes. His second aunt must be distressed by now.

Cen Meng sighed and answered it.

"Meng'zi, the surgery is complete. Come and help me transfer your uncle back to the ward." His second aunt's tone was filled with boundless joy. It seemed like his uncle's postoperative general anesthesia recovery was very good and he could already engage in conversation.

Cen Meng was dumbfounded.

The surgery was finished within one hour and forty-one minutes? That was fast!

How did Zheng Ren perform it so quickly?

If it had just been "simple" obstructive cholangitis, Cen Meng believed that the man could finish it within ninety minutes.

However, that was excluding the time for anesthesia to take effect and postoperative anesthesia recovery.

The surgery would take more than two and a half hours if every factor was taken into account.

Even so… Complete parasite removal from the common bile duct and common hepatic duct in just one hour and forty-one minutes… Was this a brand new surgical technique?

It was definitely a new procedure that could hasten the surgical process. Who exactly was Zheng Ren? Subconsciously, he realized Zheng Ren had become far more skillful than he could ever be.

Dispirited, shocked and puzzled, Cen Meng did not hang up and allowed his second aunt to continue the conversation.

…

The surgery livestream had ended in Xinglin Garden.

A few attentive viewers calculated that 296 parasites had been removed within one hour and five minutes.

Most doctors were meticulous and had various kinds of obsessive-compulsive disorders. A tedious task such as counting worms… someone would still do it quietly.

After parasite removal had been completed, the surgery once again traveled back to earth, a place all surgeons were familiar with.

The equipment was then removed, rinsed and reintroduced to the duodenum for thorough exploration. After that, a #22 T Tube was placed in the common bile duct before peritoneal cavity irrigation and abdominal surgical wound closure.

Everything was performed accordingly and looked "simple".

Numerous accounts continued to log in and enter the live broadcast room until the end of the operation. Once the surgery had officially ended, comments finally started to unscrupulously flood the live broadcast room.

It caused another wave of traffic overload, which shocked all the staff of Xinglin Garden.

Fortunately, the surgery ended early. From the peak viewer count of 10020 viewers in the live broadcast room, the staff were glad that nothing serious had happened.

No one discussed the new surgical technique during the madness near the end as it was simply incomprehensible. Viewers merely bombarded the room to express their deepest respect and admiration for the host surgeon.

…

Peng Jia began paying more attention to the anonymous account after another near-overload of Xinglin Garden. He had initially planned on investigating the account but had decided against it after a few moments of hesitation.

If any mogul was trying to achieve something through this, it would be disastrous if he knew too much about it.

However, staring at the data handed over by a technician, he ruminated for a while and then said, "Check its location."

Two hours and fourteen minutes later, the technician sent him an email stating that the signal had gone through various channels but the source had been located after a painstaking investigation—Montreal Medical Center, one of the top five medical centers in Canada.

Strangely enough, after the signal had been traced, the target seemed disgusted and had retaliated with a powerful virus, which caused the website to enter a half-paralyzed state that it was still in.

There was one sentence left at the end—Don't reply, don't reply, don't reply.

Er… Peng Jia was stunned.

Medical practitioners knew how to play around with computer viruses too?

How ridiculous!

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Chapter 66: Heartfelt Admiration

Ding-dong…

The mission completion sound was indeed heart-warming.

[Sudden Mission: The Opponent's Submission completed. Completion rate: 100 percent.]

The System's robotic female voice was like music to Zheng Ren's ears.

[200 skill points and 10000 experience points obtained. Time used: 2 hours and 15 minutes. Additional 14100 experience points awarded.

[Hidden Side Quest: Heartfelt Admiration completed. The host has acquired the opponent's admiration. Every reward in this mission will be doubled.]

Zheng Ren was momentarily stunned. According to the System, Cen Meng must have admitted defeat, but because he had achieved a 100-percent completion rate in this surgery, Cen Meng knelt down completely and sincerely without the slightest grievance?

This was actually a thing?

Zheng Ren stopped bothering about Cen Meng and started counting his profit like a hamster trying to survive the winter.

'48200 experience points and 400 skill points. That's very good! How good it would be to encounter more opponents like Cen Meng,' Zheng Ren thought happily.

Zheng Ren currently had 1370 skill points in total—970 points in his inventory plus 400 points acquired from the mission. If he used up all his skill points, he would have a little over 3200 points in his general surgery skill tree, one step closer to the Master rank at 5000 points.

There were 48400 experience points in the inventory, which meant Zheng Ren could once again purchase a few hours of surgery intensive training time. However, he decided to hold onto them as he had no need for training at the time being. Besides, the points would not devalue while in the System, right?

The mission tab gave Zheng Ren a sense of satisfaction.

Every doctor would feel content whether they were saving lives or improving their skills.

Zheng Ren was taken aback when he noticed the main mission's progression.

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An incision and drainage for acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis was considered a tier-three surgery, and thus according to the terms in the main mission, it was equivalent to four tier-one surgeries.

However, the completion rate…

Zheng Ren had completed the main mission—The Best Surgeon—twice after performing several cholecystectomies and appendectomies these past few days.

There was still some progression left after receiving the rewards twice, but Zheng Ren noticed a notification upon seeing the main mission. "The mission has been completed. Please receive the reward."

The completion rate should be 4 1=5, right? Why was there a reward?

Well, a reward was always good. Zheng Ren immediately clicked the "Receive" button without hesitation.

After obtaining 10 skill points and 1000 experience points, Zheng Ren then observed that the main mission completion rate was at seven.

In other words, the surgery he had performed just now was actually much more advanced than a tier-four surgery.

Was parasite removal considered a tier-five surgery? Even though Zheng Ren was aware that barely anyone in the world could properly perform a parasite removal surgery, parasitic diseases were still uncommon in China.

Every time a patient with parasitic disease was treated, the doctor in charge would brag about it and enjoyed public admiration by posting it on Xinglin Garden or Zhihu[1].

Zheng Ren was exhilarated to find out that he had completed what had turned out to be a highly advanced surgical procedure.

Even though there was no comprehensive improvement, his total savings of three skill books, nearly 50000 experience points and 1380 skill points put a warm smile on his face.

He had 1975 points in his general surgery skill tree as well.

This surgery had given Zheng Ren lots of benefits.

…

After the patient was transferred back to the ward, Zheng Ren put on a white coat without changing out of surgical attire and went for a ward round.

Since there were not many patients in the emergency ward, almost every patient had the privilege of their own sick room.

Zheng Ren saw Cen Meng taking care of a patient when he walked into the ward.

He knew that his former superior had completely admitted defeat, so he gave Cen Meng a forgiving smile and read the data on the monitor.

The patient's vital signs were stable. He had fully regained consciousness from general anesthesia and was able to speak fluently.

The initial yellowish discoloration of the skin, just like a Minion, had begun to recover at a rate almost visible to the naked eye.

"Zheng Ren, thank you," said Cen Meng in embarrassment.

"No worries." Zheng Ren waved his hand and smiled. "I'll feel relaxed tonight knowing that you'll be here taking care of the patient."

"Postoperative recovery is uneventful. Good job on the surgery."

They engaged in an awkward conversation afterward. Cen Meng had previously only created trouble for Zheng Ren and yet had been repaid with kindness, filling him with guilt and shame.

Not only was Zheng Ren unbothered by Cen Meng's attitude, the man was not even spiteful, and that greatly mortified him. He did not realize that the System had already informed Zheng Ren of his sincerity.

Zheng Ren saw Chang Yue chatting with a patient when he visited the other ward. Both the patient and his family members were particularly enthusiastic toward Chang Yue, as if she was one of their own, to the point that Zheng Ren, the surgeon who treated the patient, was basically non-existent in their eyes.

'That's skillful.' Zheng Ren sighed emotionally.

Chang Yue stopped chatting immediately upon noticing Zheng Ren's entry to the ward.

In her opinion, chatting was just a means to improve the relationship between patients and family members. It was similar to psychotherapy in that it could hasten patients' recovery.

She stood aside and half a step behind Zheng Ren, explaining the patient's condition.

Chang Yue was able to clearly explain every trivial matter and one could understand the patient's recovery process from her explanation alone without needing to personally check on the patient.

Most importantly, almost everything Chang Yue mentioned was the same as what was shown in the upper right corner of Zheng Ren's vision.

Even if there were slight differences, that was not Chang Yue's fault too as they were insignificant and unusual.

'This clinician is very good.' Zheng Ren nodded.

He did not know how to praise anyone. There was no one else he could compliment when he was still a junior doctor years ago, and now that he had been promoted to a chief resident, he still needed time to adapt to such a situation.

Chang Yue, who accompanied Zheng Ren for the rest of his ward round, was amazed at how quickly the patients had recovered.

However, Chang Yue was more aloof toward Zheng Ren compared to the patients. She seemed to have spent all her energy on them and simply had no interest in flattering her "immediate superior".

Chang Yue's trouble had been the talk of the town before, and even Zheng Ren was aware of it.

He actually found it interesting that her temper was much worse than his.

He admired her for her honesty and bluntness. As a doctor, it was considered the pinnacle of skill to cure patients' illnesses and save lives. Anyone who thought they could get their way through flattery alone would have betrayed the white coat and their conscience.

Zheng Ren returned to his office after the ward round. He planned to utilize his free time for revision so that he could acquire skill points and reach the Master rank as soon as possible.

His phone beeped just when he opened his books.

It was the group chat created by Xie Yiren which included herself, the Chu sisters, Chang Yue and him.

The group was used for work-related issues only.

Therefore, Zheng Ren did not turn off notifications for it out of worry that he may not receive any emergency messages in time.

"Chief Zheng, the surgery today disgusted me," said Chu Yanzhi.

"The feeling is mutual. I'm looking for consolation," replied Xie Yiren.

"You won't be able to get through this trouble if you don't treat us to a meal. :face with hand over mouth:," said Chu Yanran.

"What should we eat?"

"There is a newly opened restaurant in Jianshe Road, and it has good reviews too."

"…"

There was no need for Zheng Ren to speak at all as the women had already decided to eat Sichuan boiled fish and that he would be the one paying for the bill.

Zheng Ren felt helpless. He had an average of over four hundred APM during surgery, but that was not the case during a conversation, especially with women. Soon, he was defeated.

[1] Zhihu is a Chinese question-and-answer website where questions are created, answered, edited and organized by the community of its users.

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Chapter 67: Word Misidentification

Zheng Ren was left alone after the ladies happily went for their meal. Finally, some peace and quiet for more revision.

He was fully aware that Rome was not built in a day.

Reading books attentively offered many advantages. For example, during his intensive training in the System, how could he have come up with various creative ideas if he lacked even the basic knowledge of surgery?

Wasting the System's intensive training time was a crime!

In addition, Zheng Ren had a feeling that the growth in his skill trees would make intensive training more beneficial in the future. If an expert in hepatobiliary surgery went for training in gastrointestinal surgery with a strong foundation, their learning process would be ten times faster compared to junior doctors who had just graduated. It was a logical assumption.

Zheng Ren was perturbed during his revision. He thought for a while and decided that it was likely because he had not gone for a ward round in the emergency department after visiting the wards.

'Better just go and have a look, so that I don't have to keep worrying about it.'

After ensuring that the patients in the wards were alright, Zheng Ren went downstairs to the emergency department. If all the patients' conditions were stable, he could then return to his office and concentrate on his revision.

He was greeted with a flurry of activity upon reaching the emergency department corridor.

Unconscious drunkards who had been binge-drinking in the middle of the day were currently receiving gastric lavage. There were parents bringing their children, who were playing truant and pretending sickness, for consultations. People involved in minor traffic accidents were unwilling to relent and came to the emergency department to pursue their grievances.

Zheng Ren had gotten used to it after constantly experiencing these situations throughout his career.

There was a suppressed, despairing weep at one corner of the corridor, unlike the kind of theatrical wailing with a complete absence of tears.

Huh? What had happened? In general, patients visiting the emergency department were critically ill. Since their conditions were usually unexpected, the family members would express their emotions in a relatively straightforward way instead of letting out such a sob.

Zheng Ren walked toward the source and felt even more puzzled.

Everything looked fine. A family of three was hugging each other and crying sorrowfully as if one of them was going to depart this life.

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"Girl, you've to take care of your mother when I'm gone," said a dark-skinned man, who appeared mature and hardworking, with dust and mud smeared across his body.

Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be in his fifties, but Zheng Ren read through the details on the upper right corner of his vision and realized that he was only forty-two years old.

They were most likely farmers from a remote village.

A swarthy lady knelt on the floor and sniveled alongside a middle-aged woman opposite her. Pearl-shaped tears rolled down their cheeks one after another with no sign of stopping.

"Dad, you're going to be fine. Nothing bad will happen to you."

"It's okay. I don't recognize many words but I can still understand them. I initially thought it was just a minor illness but I didn't expect it to be cancer. Girl, as older generations once said, life and death are fated. I'm not going to blame fate, but I just regret leaving this world without seeing your marriage and my grandchildren in my lifetime."

The more he spoke, the sadder he became. In the end, he choked up and words failed to leave his mouth.

Different characters would have distinct behaviours in a life-and-death situation.

However, this time… It was definitely the most absurd situation Zheng Ren had ever encountered in his life.

He quickly walked toward the family and tried to make his voice as gentle as possible so that he would not accidentally irritate the "terminally ill" patient.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Zheng Ren.

"Huh?" The middle-aged man raised his head and saw Zheng Ren wearing green hospital attire underneath a white coat, unlike the other doctors he had seen previously. Thus, he presumed that Zheng Ren had a much higher rank than them.

"Doctor, please save my father." The girl noticed Zheng Ren and immediately stood up.

Wow… The teenage girl aged around eighteen years old actually stood at 180 centimeters, which made Zheng Ren look extremely short…'What do the ladies eat nowadays? They're so tall!' Zheng Ren complained in silence.

The girl bowed deeply, trying her very best to convey her hope.

"Stand up and talk," Zheng Ren replied with a smile, "Your father is fine."

"He has cancer." The girl's complexion was ashen-grey with despair.

Zheng Ren shook his head and took the outpatient medical record from her hands. The details had been written very clearly and the diagnosis was exactly the same as the System provided—right inguinal hernia.

"This is a hernia, not cancer." Zheng Ren's mind went offline instantly.

"It was written here," The girl pointed at the word "hernia" in the final diagnosis and said, "This is cancer[1]. Doctor, can you save my father?"

Her eyes were lucid and crystal clear like limpid spring water in a mountain valley.

"…" Zheng Ren suddenly realized that the reason for this family's sorrow was because… because… because they misidentified the word.

Zheng Ren had been working in the medical field for almost seven years, and this was the first time he encountered this issue.

It was said that doctors' handwriting was atrocious, and that was the truth. There was a good reason for that—previously, all prescriptions had been handwritten and half of the text was in Latin. Doctors, especially those working in the emergency department, would be beaten to death if they took their time writing medical records.

However, everything had been computerized, and ugly handwriting was basically non-existent in the current world.

Zheng Ren had no idea how to react to this situation.

"Lady, this word is called hernia, not cancer," Zheng Ren tried his best to be gentle in his explanation. How he wished Chang Yue could assist him at this moment.

Judging by Chang Yue's communication skills, she could probably convince this family in deep grievance within a minute.

On the other hand, Zheng Ren had to explain further before he could successfully persuade them.

"Huh?" The girl froze for a moment, rubbing the corner of her shirt with her fingers repeatedly as if she was going to tear it to shreds in confusion and shame.

"This disease can be easily treated." Zheng Ren smiled.

"Doctor, you can't lie to us. We really don't have enough money," said the middle-aged man honestly.

"Don't worry. If you undergo the surgery on time and there is no bowel necrosis, you can be discharged in three days and go to work in one week," replied Zheng Ren.

The family was still in a trance after escaping death. They were dazed and confused as they had not completely come out from their deep mire of sadness.

This was an elective surgical case and belonged to the general surgery department.

"Let's go. I'll ask other doctors to handle your hospital admission process. In the ward, you'll undergo examination and testing. If there are no contraindications for surgery, we'll then perform the operation. It's just a simple procedure, so don't worry."

"Am I really fine?"

"Yes, really." Zheng Ren could only use simple, mundane words to convince this family.

"Chief Zheng, where are you? We've returned with your meal. Well, they're basically leftovers." Zheng Ren received a call from Xie Yiren amidst the trouble.

"Ask Chang Yue to come to the emergency department," instructed Zheng Ren who seemed to have found his lifesaver.

Soon, Chang Yue, dressed in snow-white with a red stethoscope hanging on her shoulder, entered the emergency department with her ponytail dancing with every footstep.

Where did such a young, beautiful lady get her communication skills from? Zheng Ren was puzzled.

After listening to Zheng Ren's explanation, Chang Yue smiled and said, "Leave it to me."

Then, Chang Yue, who seemed to radiate a calming and peaceful aura, brought the family to a quiet corner. Zheng Ren sighed in relief and went for a ward round in the emergency department observation units.

The patients' conditions were relatively simple. In the surgery division, a patient with head trauma had been admitted for observation to prevent possible delayed traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage. In the internal medicine division, the cases were mainly acute gastroenteritis secondary to binge eating and drinking.

The diagnosis and treatment of these cases were simple.

After looking around the unit and ensuring that there had been no misdiagnoses, Zheng Ren finally felt at ease.

Zheng Ren vaguely heard laughter from the corner of the corridor upon exiting the last observation unit.

He walked over and saw the middle-aged woman holding Chang Yue's hand in delight.

Had Chang Yue become one of their own just like that?

Zheng Ren was truly amazed and felt that he could never achieve such a skill even if he had his whole life to do so.

Chang Yue chatted with the family, who had smiled away the sadness, for a while and then went to Zheng Ren. "Chief Zheng, the patient has agreed to receive surgical treatment. Should I admit him to the ward now?"

"Hey, this is an elective surgical case. We can't accept him," Zheng Ren quickly said.

There were rules in the hospital and it was better not to break them without support from powerful superiors. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous.

"The patient's condition is simple, but the problem is that they're poor," said Chang Yue as she stood in front of Zheng Ren. Whenever she was fulfilling her duty, the smile she wore while chatting with the patients and family members would vanish without a trace.

[1] Hernia (疝) and cancer (癌) look almost similar and hence, the confusion.

IndexChapter 68

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Chapter 68: Uncle, Are Your Legs Numb?

"Are you suggesting crowdfunding?" asked Zheng Ren.

"Old Chief Physician Pan made a policy during the establishment of the emergency center. In some cases, the medical charges of patients can be reduced or exempted." Chang Yue bore a flat expression with no attempt to flatter her direct superior—Zheng Ren—and added, "In the general surgery department, the surgeons will use a synthetic mesh for hernia repair, but it costs between 1000 to 2000 yuan; basically his family's annual income."

Zheng Ren was aware of this situation.

"If the patient has to go to the general surgery department, I think the young lady will marry someone immediately in exchange for a bridewealth of around 3000 to 5000 yuan to pay her father's medical fees. Whether the man she married to is a dumb-dumb or—"

"Stop!" Zheng Ren quickly interrupted Chang Yue.

He knew she was hoping that he would proceed with routine surgical intervention. Since he first started to work in this hospital, he had been using synthetic meshes for hernia repair, a surgical technique completely different from decades ago.

A synthetic mesh could minimize postoperative complications and its price… was not really very expensive.

Nowadays, it was speculated that all junior doctors working in the general surgery department did not know how to perform a herniorrhaphy. Naturally, Zheng Ren…or at least, the former Zheng Ren was included as well.

The "know" here meant that the surgery completion rate would have to reach at least 80 percent.

"I'm going to ask Old Chief Physician Pan for instructions." Zheng Ren went straight to Old Chief Physician Pan's office.

A few minutes later, Zheng Ren came out and said with a smile, "Done, admit him to the ward."

"How much do you think the treatment will cost them?" asked Chang Yue with a blank expression.

"If we order necessary tests, excluding other optional tests, and reduce surgical treatment fees… I guess around 300 to 500 yuan," answered Zheng Ren.

Chang Yue nodded without continuing the conversation and returned to the family. Her temperaments would change immediately when facing patients—positive, sunny, cheerful and with an intimacy that could easily gain people's trust.

Zheng Ren shook his head. This lady and her attitude… No wonder she had to take the blame after solving the huge issue in the obstetrics department.

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However, Zheng Ren really liked this sort of person.

[General Mission: Doctors with Parental Heart.

[Task: According to the patient's actual condition, use an appropriate method to repair the inguinal hernia.

[Reward: 50 skill points and 1000 experience points.

[Time: 2 days.]

Doctors with Parental Heart? Zheng Ren savored the mission's name for a while.

Fortunately, he had an unprecedented two days to complete the mission. Excluding preoperative fasting, the surgery itself was very simple as well. If he went to the System's operating theater for intensive training with around a hundred herniorrhaphies, he could certainly achieve a surgery completion rate of more than 90 percent.

Doctors with Parental Heart, really? That was interesting. Zheng Ren had failed to anticipate that the System cared about this sort of issue too.

…

Zheng Ren returned to his office after assigning tedious, trivial matters to Chang Yue.

He smelled the food as soon as he entered the office.

Zheng Ren had almost forgotten to eat. Had it not been for the fact that the women had brought food for him, he may possibly have skipped his meals again.

He took a few quick bites and threw the leftovers into a black plastic bag in a trash can beside the toilet before going back to his office for more revision.

Chang Yue was busy dealing with the patient's preoperative preparations, medical record documentation and preoperative counseling. Since she seemed to be enjoying the working process, Zheng Ren decided not to lend a hand.

"The patient has been fasting since this morning. He'll be ready for surgery in ten minutes," she informed him.

"Alright. Inform them in the group to prepare for surgery." Zheng Ren was unwilling to waste time communicating with Chang Yue, who was talking to him with a straight face, so he closed the book and headed straight to the operating theater.

He went to the smoking area in the male locker room, lit a Ziyun, took a deep drag and dived into the System, as usual.

Zheng Ren still had 49400 experience points in his inventory. Keeping 25000 experience points, he exchanged the rest for surgery training time and started the intensive training for herniorrhaphy.

Based on Zheng Ren's current skill level, he could easily complete this surgery without any need for training, but he preferred not to take any risks. After all, he had never performed or even seen anyone doing a herniorrhaphy since he had started working in this hospital.

Just to be on the safe side, Zheng Ren exchanged some of his points for 407 minutes of surgery intensive training.

The System's operating theater rose from the ground, the mannequin emerged before his eyes, and the intensive training began.

Zheng Ren managed 121 herniorrhaphies as each surgery took only three to five minutes. When the operating theater faded away, he had a feeling that he had made some progress in his understanding of gastrointestinal surgery.

Even though it was just a hernia repair surgery, it could still increase his skill points.

After glancing at the general surgery skill tree, currently at 2044 points, Zheng Ren returned to reality and changed into surgical attire to prepare for surgery.

He heard one of the Chu sisters asking the patient upon entering the operating theater, "Uncle, are your legs numb?"

"…" The patient remained silent.

That was strange. Did an accident happen during anesthesia? The patient should be answering questions at this time, right?

That very thought instantly made Zheng Ren's hair stand on end.

He could only guarantee the success of the surgery, but there was nothing he could do about an anesthesia accident. Even if it was just an epidural anesthesia… If the patient had diplegia… It would be a major event, a medicolegal issue!

Zheng Ren quickly walked in and saw one of the Chu sisters standing at the foot of the operating table and using a blunt instrument to gently touch the patient's thigh. "Uncle, are your legs numb?"

"…" There was still no response from the patient.

Zheng Ren scanned through the System panel and relaxed only after reading that the continuous epidural anesthesia had been successful without any sign of failure.

Since anesthesia had been successful, why did the patient not answer the question?

Instead of getting impatient at the patient's silence, another twin stood closer to his ears and asked softly, "Uncle, I'm asking you, are your legs numb?"

Something peculiar flashed past the middle-aged man's expression… Was it a shame?

Why was he ashamed? Zheng Ren was puzzled.

"Mother[1]."

"…" Everyone in the room was dumbfounded.

There was pin-drop silence in the operating theater.

"Bang!" Xie Yiren accidentally knocked over an opened bottle of normal saline and spilled it all over the floor.

Zheng Ren walked to the other side of the middle-aged man's head and said with a grin, "Relax. They're asking you if your legs are numb and can't feel any pain. They aren't instructing you to address them as your mother."

Initially, the Chu sisters had no idea why the patient would address them as his mother, but after listening to Zheng Ren's explanation, they finally understood everything.

The atmosphere in the operating theater instantly became lively.

The great motherland was indeed mighty. How many dialects were there in total?

"Quiet. Anyone who makes homophonic jokes will have their salary deducted." Zheng Ren, who also felt helpless, forcibly interrupted the laughter in the operating theater and urged everyone to prepare for surgery.

The anesthesia had been administered perfectly. The Chu sisters' standard was at least higher than Trainee rank, which explained why the anesthesiologist responsible for training junior doctors was absent from this surgery and chose to read novels in his room. He was waiting for his contract to expire so that he could go to work in the South.

Zheng Ren performed a surgical scrub and began applying the surgical drapes.

The surgery had officially begun. This would be the simplest surgery Zheng Ren had done ever since he found the System.

[1] Are your legs numb (脚麻吗, pronounced as jiao ma ma) sounds almost similar to Mother (妈妈, pronounced as ma ma), hence the confusion.

IndexChapter 69

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Chapter 69: A Surgery Without Highlights

The live broadcast in Xinglin Garden started at the same time.

Every doctor who received the notification immediately entered the live broadcast room to watch the surgery if they did not have any important duties to attend to.

[The god has started performing surgery again. I'm still watching the replay of his last surgery.]

[I watched it twice, but I still don't understand how the host surgeon removed the worms.]

[My intuition tells me that the host surgeon may be an e-sports expert. Look at that hand speed, he must've achieved an average APM of 500, superior to all e-sports gods! Apart from that, precision is the key, too. He manipulated a tiny pair of forceps outside the body, but every time he grasped a parasite, he didn't cause any damage to the mucosal layer. That was actually very impressive.]

[I just bought the freshest and most tender tofu ever and prepared thin cotton threads. I believe I can reach the host surgeon's standard after practicing for one week.]

[Dream on. You'll never achieve the skill level possessed by the great god in your lifetime.]

Everyone was chatting and exchanging their experience and thoughts in surgery, but this relaxing atmosphere would be short-lived and existed only when the host surgeon was still disinfecting the operative site and preparing for surgery.

Once the surgery had begun, no viewers wanted a crucial surgical step to get blocked by comments.

Xie Yiren gently placed the scalpel on Zheng Ren's palm, which he used to make an incision.

[Why do I have a feeling that this is an inguinal hernia case? It sure looks like it, judging by the location, but why would the god perform such a low-class surgery?]

[Didn't you read the case? This is an uncomplicated case of inguinal hernia. Young man, your speculation is correct.]

[What's there for us to see? Why didn't the god perform a laparoscopic hernia repair instead? Has he reverted back to simplicity?]

A hernia repair was actually uninteresting. Besides, the patient's condition was uncomplicated and Zheng Ren's surgery was plain and simple.

The anatomical structures were clearly visible, and every step was textbook. There was absolutely no deviation at all.

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That was strange. The host surgeon had recently performed biliary parasite removal that no one had seen before, and this was the simplest hernia repair surgery possible. Did they possess a wide range of surgical knowledge and experience? Would he perform surgery from other departments in the future?

A few doctors' imagination began to run wild after recalling the first surgery in this live broadcast room—a simple wound debridement and closure.

[There's really nothing interesting to watch. It's just a simple case of herniorrhaphy and has been eliminated in our hospital fifteen years ago.]

[That's true. The host surgeon still has his usual standard. He used a continuous suture technique to reinforce the weak abdominal wall so that the risk of recurrence can be minimized. These are impeccable, but I really can't see anything special about this surgery.]

[Can anyone tell me what you've learned from this surgery?]

Three minutes later, the surgery ended.

Only a few comments flew weakly past the screen in the live broadcast room.

The viewers had become picky after watching numerous advanced surgeries performed by the host surgeon. A simple and flawless hernia repair surgery was unable to satiate the hunger that tormented their hearts.

Every surgeon knew how to repair hernias, especially through laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair using a synthetic mesh. Therefore, this surgery had no highlights, disappointing every doctor watching the livestream.

The surgery ended, and so did the stream.

[I heard that the professors in Imperial Capital and Sorcery Capital rarely take the patients' financial status into account. Those who can afford to consult them don't really care about the costs anyway.]

[Nowadays, this simple hernia repair surgery has become extinct. I really miss them.]

[:weary face: I've just learned laparoscopic hernia repair, but now I've a sudden, strong urge to learn herniorrhaphy. I think I should spend some time mastering it, just in case there are any poor patients that require me to perform this surgery.]

All of them were doctors and fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages of these two surgical methods.

What was the purpose of the host surgeon's ordinary and boring operation? It was self-evident.

…

The patient was transferred back to the ward after the surgery was complete.

There was no patient-controlled analgesia pump as the patient would receive only the simplest and most basic treatment.

After knowing that the surgery was successful and the risk of recurrence was almost zero, the mother and daughter were finally relieved.

Heartfelt joy was written all over their faces.

Ding-dong!

[The first phase of the continuous mission Doctors with Parental Heart is complete.]

The System's robotic female voice rang in Zheng Ren's ears.

Huh? Was that not a general mission? Since when did it become a continuous mission?

Would it become a main mission in the future? Zheng Ren quietly griped about the System's unreliability.

[50 skill points and 1000 experience points obtained. Time used: 2 hours and 28 minutes. Task completed in advance, additional 163920 experience points awarded.]

Zheng Ren had expected a massive gift since the System had given him two days to complete the mission.

However, the number 163920 still gave him quite a big surprise.

If he were honest with himself, had the System informed him of a reward based on the remaining time of just below forty-eight hours for this particular mission, he would be unsurprised. However, showing him directly that he had received one hundred and sixty thousand points was simply jaw-dropping.

The System was a little too generous.

In Zheng Ren's view, that amount was just too huge. Exhilarated, he stared unblinkingly at the reward for three minutes.

That was equivalent to more than forty hours of intensive training time!

Ever since the mission Hostility From Peers, the System no longer calculated rewards in days or hours, but started distributing experience points based on seconds. Apart from that, he had even unlocked the Shop in the System. It was a trap. These were definitely traps.

Zheng Ren had a feeling that the System was constantly evolving. It was so fickle-minded.

Forty-hours of intensive training time. That was very nice.

The intensive training time was especially suitable for Zheng Ren, a single-minded, determined, opportunistic and insensitive man. It was difficult for someone with a flexible mind to attentively and continuously perform the same surgery a thousand times for a dozen hours.

There could be surgeons who could perform the same surgery a thousand times, but hardly anyone could learn from their mistakes in each surgery and continuously improve their standard like Zheng Ren did.

Perseverant and brilliant. Apart from his lack of romanticism… he was plain-looking too. Appearance ruled the world; this saying was especially true in modern society. Thus, he had no choice but to hone his skills for survival.

Therefore, Zheng Ren saw these experience points as an essential tool and desperately needed them to survive in the medical world. How could he not feel happy?

After savoring his jubilation, Zheng Ren gave it some thought and figured that the System had a sunny disposition that could radiate positive energy to him.

Doctors with parental heart, a phrase rarely mentioned these days. Most of the time, patients and their family members would simply say, "Doctor Zheng, your services and attitudes are very good."

This statement always induced a slight discomfort in him.

Doctors had parental hearts.

The mission name met Zheng Ren's views of the world.

…

In the Sea City General Hospital emergency building, a shy and grubby girl with dark hair stood in a spacious corridor in the emergency ward located on the second floor. Her dirty and messy appearance failed to conceal the gleam in her eyes.

After scanning the area like a thief and ensuring that she was alone, she quickly opened a big, black plastic bag in the trash can and took out a few lunch boxes.

The girl and another middle-aged woman squatted in the hospital fire escape staircase and opened the lunch boxes; other than vegetable soup, there was nothing else in them.

The young lady was tall and had very long legs, which made her posture appear particularly strange when squatting. Holding a crumbly, dry bun, she carefully tore off a small piece of it and dipped it into the soup in the lunch box.

Their expressions were full of unpretentious joy as if leftover soup was more than enough to make their life better and fulfilling.

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