The doctors' conversations were getting increasingly professional and all over the place as they began to discuss gene therapy and nanotechnology.
The surgery had been completed, and it had been a piece of cake, in Zheng Ren's opinion.
Following the successful embolization of the bleeding artery and the infusion of fresh frozen red blood cells from the pressurized infusion device, the patient's blood pressure gradually increased.
Unless something unforeseen happened, the patient would most likely survive.
Zheng Ren shifted his gaze to the System panel, which trumpeted a 100-percent completion rate in its upper right corner.
This was the true power of the Master rank in interventional radiology. Furthermore, after superselecting multiple arteries during Zheng Yunxia's surgery, Zheng Ren had a feeling that he had definitely advanced past that rank.
He should probably enter the System and check his current mission reward after returning to the emergency ward.
It was a shame that the other mission, Doctors With Parental Heart, had failed due to a missed deadline; either that, or the System had not notified him about its success.
What a pity.
However, had Zheng Ren been given a second chance, he would have still continued to search for the correct artery rather than casually ending the surgery.
"Ding-dong!" There was the mission completion jingle again.
[The first phase of the Emergency Mission: Distortion of Human Nature or Loss of Moral Values accomplished.
[Task: Saving a patient with heavy postpartum hemorrhage completed. Reward… Calculating… Passive ability—Luck +2 obtained. The remaining time has been converted to 5640 experience points.]
Zheng Ren frowned.
Since when had the mission become another continuous one? Also, the fickle-minded System had also taken a few seconds to calculate the mission's rewards.
He could even feel his brain starting to heat up. Was it due to excessive CPU usage?
'I'll need to visit the System when everything is settled.' Zheng Ren forced himself to calm down and savored the benefits Luck +2 brought him.
However, nothing was happening thus far.
The puncture wound was compressed for fifteen minutes before a pressure bandage was applied. After that, Zheng Ren, a nurse from the suite and a doctor on duty from the obstetrics department transferred the patient to a stretcher trolley.
The operating table was completely covered in blood.
Postoperative procedures would be time-consuming as cleaning, arrangement and disinfection alone would take at least an hour.
An ECG monitor attached to the patient after she was sent back to the ward revealed that her systolic pressure was exceeding 90mmHg, which was a promising sign.
A successful emergency rescue was indeed satisfying.
"Chief Zheng, thank you," said the exhausted obstetrics chief resident, finally at ease after seeing that the patient's vital signs had stabilized.
"You're welcome." Zheng Ren smiled and asked, "Has preoperative informed consent been completed?"
"It's done," the obstetrics chief resident answered, "We asked the emergency department to send us a copy because we didn't have a template."
"Use v.a.g.i.n.a.l packing for hemostasis and continue blood transfusion, but take precautions against potential DIC. She should regain consciousness soon. By the way, let the medical administration division be the guarantor and handle the treatment cost," said Zheng Ren, who was honest enough to share his experience handling unidentified patients with her.
Lots of mistakes would arise from inexperience when managing this sort of situation.
Zheng Ren had gradually gained his knowledge in the general surgery department.
"Thank you."
Upon leaving the ward, Zheng Ren thought he noticed a familiar figure, who disappeared in the blink of an eye.
For Zheng Ren, who had late-stage face blindness cancer, identifying someone from behind was significantly more difficult than performing a pancreaticoduodenectomy.
The obstetrics chief resident saw him off all the way from the obstetrics ward to the elevator.
…
…
In the emergency ward, Zheng Ren saw Yang Lei sitting alone absent-mindedly in the office. There was an unopened lunch box beside him while his own food was already finished.
This was normal in hospitals as medical personnel's schedules were unpredictable. Therefore, they would have meals together if conditions permitted. Otherwise, they would simply have to seize every available opportunity to take a bite.
Heaven only knew when the next emergency case would arrive.
"What's wrong? Have you had too much food?" Zheng Ren joked.
"Zheng Ren, the patient on bed 6-12 has a f*cktard in her family," Yang Lei said, "That young man slapped her, but she just knelt on the bed and apologized to him that night, and then that son of a b*tch went out again! The patient requested to be discharged afterward. I've checked her wound, so a discharge should be fine."
"Okay," said Zheng Ren.
"Best if you don't get married. If your wife bears a child—"
Zheng Ren interrupted him. "Let me tell you this: don't persuade me not to get married when you're married and have children in the future. If possible, pass your children to me and I'll raise them in the hospital. Maybe they'll become the best professors in the country, right?"
Both of them stopped talking about the patient on bed 6-12, the middle-aged woman who had undergone an appendectomy.
This type of case was frequently encountered, but what could they possibly do despite their anger? Such cases were none of their concern, and a hasty intervention could be deadly. The other patients' family members could form a temporary alliance and rain hell on the nosy parker for half an hour.
It was more than enough for a doctor to perform their job well.
Was it not inappropriate to command a dog to catch a mouse? Thus, it was wiser to not meddle in other people's business.
Zheng Ren asked Yang Lei to return home after chatting for a while and went for a ward round.
Zheng Yunxia stared at the ceiling, bored, as if immersed in her own thoughts.
Among their small group, Zheng Ren was the only one not closely acquainted with Zheng Yunxia. Apart from his standard medical inquiry, he had no d.e.s.i.r.e to stay to chat and returned to the on-call room.
Lying on the bed and listening to the cold wind screaming outside the window, Zheng Ren stared at the lone star glistening amongst the black marble; he started to get a little emotional.
When was the last time he gazed upon the stars?
He always returned home from work late at night, and yet spared no time to enjoy the night view. That was a part of life. It was better to be busy than bored.
Zheng Ren then dived into the System.
Before he could scan his surroundings, a bell resonated in the mysterious space like music to his ears.
Chapter 123 - Red Packets From The Fickle-Minded
[The hidden mission, Social Warmth, has been triggered. Mission accomplished.
[Reward 1—The second phase of Doctors with Parental Heart is complete. This reward will be calculated independently.
[Reward 2—200 points to related interventional radiology skills and 20000 experience points obtained.]
Zheng Ren was slightly confused. Was the fickle-minded System giving out red packets?
Judging by the descriptions provided, the System must have decided to reward him at the last minute after he had chosen to give up the previous mission and flawlessly finish Zheng Yunxia's surgery.
Since when had the fickle System become so kind?
Moreover, 200 points would be added to every related interventional radiology skill. That was awesome.
Previously, all his interventional radiology skills—cardiovascular, neurosurgery, endovascular and visceral—had been upgraded to the Master rank. Even though 200 points were basically a drop in th
e ocean compared to the 5000 required for further advancement, he had still obtained a total of 800 skill points from this mission.
The System was indeed generous.
The second phase of Doctors with Parental Heart had turned from grey to a completed state in the System panel. Zheng Ren then received its rewards—10 skill points and 1000 experience points; unfortunately, there was no additional bonus due to the missed deadline.
As for the main mission, since he had performed two interventional radiology-assisted surgeries as well as a tier-three surgery, he had been awarded a 4+4=8 completion rate, which meant that he had completed another cycle of the mission.
10 skill points and 1000 experience points were just a miniscule part of his current "wealth".
The fact that Zheng Ren had acc.u.mulated 3162 points in his general surgery skill tree exhilarated him as the Master rank was achievable if he threw all of his saved-up 1849 points into it.
However, after hesitating for a while, he decided to give up his dream of acquiring the Master rank in general surgery.
After all, the emergency department was a f*cked-up place. God only knew when a difficult situation beyond his capabilities would arise and demand he resolve it with a life at stake.
He had enough skill books to increase one skill to Graduate rank. If he could save up 4000 points…One subspecialty would be instantly upgraded to the Master rank…
Zheng Ren started daydreaming.
Greed was a normal trait in all human beings.
That was only part of it, though. More importantly, Zheng Ren reasoned that the addition of skill points had to be coupled with surgical practice before he could proficiently perform operations using highly advanced techniques, just like how interventional radiological treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma had given him plenty of insight into interventional radiology.
Staring regretfully at the general surgery skill tree, Zheng Ren decided to study hard and gain as many skill points as he could.
It was better to save up the points for now as his current Expert rank was more than enough to deal with existing emergency cases.
It had been a while since he had last converted experience points to surgery intensive training time. However, with 111260 points sitting in his inventory, he could only exchange them for slightly below 31 hours.
Zheng Ren felt that the System had been more generous during his intensive training for appendectomy as its time had been calculated in days.
Even so, there was no way he would willingly go through that again.
Unlike the current peace and quiet, he had been threatened with elimination, and the System had been unstable and on the verge of collapse. Thus, he was very happy for this continued tranquility despite the reduced rewards from the unpredictable System.
He was quite conservative with his resources, anyway.
Content, Zheng Ren quietly sat beside the pond in the mysterious world and enjoyed this quiet moment, a luxury he rarely had.
Zheng Ren stared blankly at the pond and completely emptied his mind, savoring the calm and escape from his hectic medical life.
The pond had grown to twice its size without his knowledge, and the water was crystal-clear, resembling a large, beautifully carved gem. The thatched cottage opposite him was still the same with its unlatched wooden door, but the door would not budge at all after numerous attempts at pushing it.
The little fox statue at the door was getting increasingly realistic, and he would not have been surprised if the statue came alive.
Silence reigned in the mysterious world. When Zheng Ren met the fox's gaze, he was overcome with déjà vu rather than fear or other negative emotions.
When, where or why they had met remained a mystery to him.
Nor was he willing to think about it. It was better not to let these trivial matters disturb such a quiet and warm moment.
A smile gradually formed on Zheng Ren's face as he stared into the little fox statue's eyes.
He was truly having a good time.
…
…
Not knowing how much time had passed, Zheng Ren suddenly detected a presence in the on-call room. He quickly summoned himself back to reality and opened his eyes.
The person who had returned was Su Yun. Zheng Ren, who was in a good mood, greeted him enthusiastically, "Done with dinner?"
"Yes." Su Yun was still reluctant to speak to Zheng Ren. "Professor Pei wanted you to replace him as a fly-in, fly-out surgeon in case he can't attend surgeries, and Old Chief Physician Pan promised you to him after a couple of drinks."
A fly-in, fly-out surgeon?
It never occured to Zheng Ren that he would have taken such a title one day.
Come to think of it, he had already achieved the Master rank in interventional radiology, so it was within reason that he would be a fly-in, fly-out surgeon once in a while.
"Bullsh*t," Su Yun said angrily, "Professor Pei doesn't understand the situation, but what about Old Chief Physician Pan? What is the scope of practice registered on your medical license? A fly-in, fly-out surgeon? Any registered hospital will require a copy of your license, so are you going to perform interventional radiology as a general surgeon?"
Zheng Ren thought about it and realized that Su Yun's words made sense.
However, that was just a minor and insignificant detail.
He truly had no d.e.s.i.r.e to fly around as well. There was a lot on his plate already; was that not enough? Although he could secure a large income by being a fly-in, fly-out surgeon, why would he, a chief resident, even need so much money for?
He was just a bachelor who had no courage to find a girlfriend.
"Where are they?" Zheng Ren changed the topic.
"Chu Yanran, Chu Yanzhi and Xie Yiren returned home together because Xie Yiren's house is nearer and more convenient for them if there are any emergency cases tonight."
"How convenient?" Zheng Ren could not grasp the scope of the matter. Xie Yiren had once mentioned that she had a house nearby with its own garage.
However, poverty had limited his imagination, and he was unable to form a picture that was even close to the actual situation.
"Somewhere near the hospital within a five-minute walking distance," answered Su Yun bluntly as he changed out of his clothes, took out a clean sheet from a cabinet and put it on the bed.
Sea City General Hospital was located in the city center, and every area reachable with a five-minute walk was a high-end community area.
A five-minute walk was equivalent to a one- to two-minute drive. She could drive directly from her house to the hospital's underground parking lot, take the elevator to the operating theater, and still arrive at the same time as he did with the patient.
'Tut-tut… It's nice to be wealthy,' Zheng Ren thought.
"By the way, I performed another interventional radiological treatment for postpartum hemorrhaging while you were out having a meal. Take a look at the patient when you're free," said Zheng Ren, recalling it.
"Got it," replied Su Yun plainly, unsurprised.
The night went on uneventfully. There was no drunk driving, drunken brawl, drug overdose or hemorrhaging. The world had seemed to quiet down.
How good it would be if there was no disease in the world.
Zheng Ren had a dream where everyone was prosperous and lived a healthy life, which greatly satisfied him.
However, it was just a dream.
At half-past three in the morning, Zheng Ren was awoken by a phone call. "Chief Zheng, something has happened!"
Chapter 124 - The Uncrowned King
From the other end of the phone came the obstetrics chief resident's voice, filled with anxiety and… despair?
Zheng Ren froze for a moment and said, "Wait for me. I'll arrive shortly."
"What's wrong?" asked Su Yun, who had been woken by the noise as well.
"I don't know. Let's find out." Zheng Ren put on a white coat and darted out of the room.
Su Yun quietly
followed him like a ghost.
Upon reaching the obstetrics department, Zheng Ren heard chaos as soon as the elevator doors slid open.
His heart sank immediately as his intuition told him that this was a medical dispute.
Such disputes could still occur no matter how cautious medical personnel were.
As the saying went, "Play with fire, you get burned".
Zheng Ren became distressed. His blood pressure skyrocketed and his heart rate accelerated.
"Who gave you permission to perform surgery? Did you obtain the familys' consent?!"
"The hospital is getting fanatical about profit! The surgery alone cost more than 7000 yuan, are you guys robbing us?"
"This doctor looks respectable, but she turns out to be a f*cking bloodsucker too."
Zheng Ren instantly knew what was going on after listening to the cursing and noise.
Onlookers gave him a hostile glare as he weaved his way through the sparse crowd.
"Ding-dong!" The System notified him of a new mission.
[Emergency Mission: The Second Phase of Distortion of Human Nature or Loss of Moral Values.
[Task: Survive the twisted sense of human nature with the light in your heart unstained by darkness.
[Reward: Passive ability—Luck +2.
[Time: 24 hours.]
Huh… There really was a second phase in the Distortion of Human Nature or Loss of Moral Values mission.
"Chief Zheng, you're here!" The crowd had cornered the lonely and helpless obstetrics chief resident, whose heart swelled with relief as soon as she saw Zheng Ren. Then, she leaned against the wall and slumped onto the ground, hugging her knees tightly as she let out a wail.
"What happened?" asked Zheng Ren.
"They're the unidentified woman's family members. Someone came asking for her about an hour after her surgery. I thought they had been preparing money to pay for treatment, so I told them the truth, but I didn't expect these people to come…"
The obstetrics chief resident had lost her usual competency and composure while explaining the situation.
It was a messy statement, but Zheng Ren immediately understood the situation.
This was an organized medical dispute, and the troublemakers were probably licensed as well.
The Surgeon's Studio c1-799 Page 66
