Just as Mu Tao was about to leave, an elderly voice came from the door. "Is Zheng Ren here?" In Chinese creation mythology, Pangu, the primordial creator, was hatched from a stone egg. Mu Tao does not seem to be comparing himself favorably to a creator god but rather seems to be using a poetic version of "born yesterday".
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Chapter 208 - A Round of Applause (Part 5 of 5)
"Prof. Gu, Mr. Zheng had just finished his last surgery and is probably doing manual compression right now. He'll be here soon," said the secretary, Li Haitao, upon recognizing and approaching Professor Gu. "Please have a seat, he'll be here in a few minutes."
…
In the operating theater, Su Yun was administering manual compression while Zheng Ren sat calmly in the operating console room. His radiation-proof lead apron was absorbed back into the System.
The light blue surgical isolation gown he had on was whole shades darker from being soaked in sweat.
The surgery had gone smoothly, which was in line with Zheng Ren's predictions. The heat from the wound in his left shoulder was bothering him greatly, though.
He had already felt burnt out after wrapping up his first surgery two hours ago.
Even though he was well-protected by the lead apron, he had no energy left to continue.
Zheng Ren felt dejected; he had initially planned to try his best to complete the [The First Stage of The Great Beginning] mission. He decided to enter the System to restore his strength in the brief window where Su Yun was still applying manual compression to the patient.
If this failed, Zheng Ren would rather give up on the mission despite his anticipation. He would not operate in the condition he was in.
As a medical professional, integrity was fundamental. Zheng Ren still had that in him.
After entering the System, Zheng Ren realized that his recovery in it was extremely slow. It would be impossible for him to get back on his feet within such a short period of time.
Alas, the surgery would have to go on without him.
In his disappointment, the bottle of energy elixir that had been left forgotten in the corner caught his eye.
The elixir had been given to Zheng Ren as a reward for one of the System's earliest missions, but who was he but part of the new generation of surgeons, born and raised under the red flag?
How could he carelessly drink a strange liquid without knowing its contents?
'What if I transformed into a mutant?' Zheng Ren wondered.
Nevertheless, Zheng Ren continued to stare at the energy elixir, thinking.
He remembered seeing the energy elixir being sold in the System's store. Time was running out, and Zheng Ren had already established a basic trust with the System.
Should he give it a try?
Once the thought popped in his mind, he could not resist the temptation.
The reward for the first stage of [Emerging Talent] was a Master-level skill book, which included loads of experience points and extended completion times. It also came with a golden c.h.e.s.t, but Zheng Ren had forgotten about that.
He was willing to take the risk for that many ch.i.p.s on the table.
Of course, one reason he could accept such a risk was that the System's track record being fairly reliable from the start.
Zheng Ren picked up the energy elixir and uncorked it.
It smelled minty. Zheng Ren was not particularly fond of it, but did not hate it either.
He took a sip and found the taste acceptable. After almost a minute, Zheng Ren did not feel any discomfort but felt slightly more clear-headed.
'Forget it,' thought Zheng Ren. He prayed that the System would not let him down… the energy elixir could have been designed for an alien being, and he had a weak body…
Fear crept into him the more he dithered. In the end, he stopped thinking, tipped his head, and downed the bottle of energy elixir.
Instantly, a refreshing sensation trickled down his spine and rose back up to the rear of his skull before he felt an explosion inside, as if fireworks were going off in every corner of his body.
The discomfort on his left shoulder was still there. The energy elixir had no effect on external wounds.
However, all the symptoms of his fever and the soreness of his inflamed shoulder seemed to have gone away. He felt invigorated, so much so that he could perform ten surgeries back-to-back.
As Su Yun turned to stop Zheng Ren from risking his life, he saw a whole new person appear in front of him, fully energized.
He was perplexed, unable to fathom how the man had managed to recuperate within a mere 10-minute window.
Zheng Ren was in overdrive in his subsequent surgeries.
As soon as he finished with one patient, they were immediately put onto a stretcher trolley for Su Yun to stop their bleeding via manual compression. Zheng Ren wasted no time shifting into the next surgery, one after another.
After Su Yun wrapped things up and handed the patient over to the interventional radiology department doctor to be warded, Zheng Ren was already halfway through the next surgery.
He operated in full swing for the next three hours. Su Yun's fringe was soaked in sweat, his energy reserve almost empty.
Even though Zheng Ren had consumed a bottle of energy elixir, he was in a similar situation. His energy was being rapidly depleted.
Fortunately, he managed to flawlessly execute the last surgery despite it being the toughest procedure of the day.
"Mr. Zheng, have a sip of water." The operator passed Zheng Ren a bottle of mineral water, which he saw through bleary eyes.
"Thank you," Zheng Ren accepted it and attempted a smile, then tried to twist it open with his right hand.
His hand slipped from both sweat and exhaustion. The cap remained sealed.
Zheng Ren chuckled; it was all he could do. Being sick… was truly unpleasant.
"My bad, Mr. Zheng." The operator retrieved the bottle and opened it for him.
Zheng Ren felt much better after a few mouthfuls of water.
"You're incredible, Mr. Zheng!" The operator gave him a thumbs up.
Zheng Ren laughed.
"I may not have any experience performing surgery, but I've seen enough to recognize a good one," the operator said seriously.
There were many aspects to consider when it came to evaluating a surgery. The interventional surgery operator, anesthesiologist, and scrub nurse had the most objective views.
Mutual flattery between surgeons had no real value.
An anesthesiologist saying that a surgeon had done a great job implied an above-average performance.
If the scrub nurse also had the same opinion, that surgeon was a true professional.
Scrub nurses' paychecks were the lowest of all. Their salary only reached double digits after being on their feet for several hours.
That was why they wished that surgeries end as soon as possible.
When an average surgeon entered their operating theater, nurses' expressions would immediately sour. Experienced scrub nurses would never pair up with subpar surgeons as it would simply be a waste of time.
This applied to the interventional radiology department as well.
There was no operator in the Sea City General Hospital. Zheng Ren had always dealt with his own machines during surgery.
Normally, operators would observe a great deal of surgeries, even more so than any one surgeon by far.
After seeing so many
of them, they naturally understood the basic principles of the procedure.
Even though Mr. Zheng came from Sea City on the far side of the border, his performance was outstanding.
Among other qualities of a surgery, efficiency was a basic requirement. More importantly, he had a steady stance. Zheng Ren executed techniques that most operators would find challenging so elegantly that he made them look easy.
"With your skill, you don't have to stay put in Sea City," the operator said, chuckling, "You would definitely be able to secure an annual salary of a million yuan if you chose to go to any big city in the south, or even Tier 2 cities such as Zhongshan and Zhuhai."
A million yuan.
Money was the most direct measure of his skillset.
Zheng Ren laughed. "We just established the emergency ward back in my hometown. I can't leave now."
The operator would never know what Zheng Ren truly thought. It was not a good idea to share everything with a person he barely knew.
Both of them continued to chat until Su Yun finished moving the patient onto the stretcher trolley, allowing the interventional radiology department doctor to take over from there. Zheng Ren then stood and stretched lightly before saying with a smile, "Thank you for your assistance, I hope to see you again."
After the usual formalities, Zheng Ren left the operating console room and headed straight to the demonstration room.
Su Yun kept his head lowered, either from exhaustion or in speculation as to what had gotten into Zheng Ren that allowed him to complete seven surgeries in a row, especially with the wound in his shoulder.
Zheng Ren knocked on the door out of habit when he reached the demonstration room before pushing it open.
"Clap..." There was thunderous applause as he entered.
…
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Chapter 209 - Unattainable Peak (Part 1 of 5)
Zheng Ren was stunned for a moment before turning around.
His first thought at hearing the applause was that one of the bosses had entered the room at the same time as he. The fatigue was impeding his thought process.
However, all he saw was Su Yun, who looked haggard, his sweat-drenched black hair sticking to his forehead.
What was happening?
Zheng Ren was still in a daze when he heard a voice say, "Dr. Zheng, great job."
'Huh? Am I talking to myself? What's going on?' he thought.
Zheng Ren was still unaware that the applause was meant for him.
The demonstration room was full of pioneers in interventional therapy from all over the country; why would they applaud him for no reason?
He had to have misread the situation.
Even though he was known as Zheng-smarty-pants-Ren, he was not that narcissistic like Su Yun.
"Say something," Su Yun said softly from behind him as he swam in his thoughts.
"..." Even if he was doing another surgery, it would not be as draining as this situation.
An entire room of silver-haired professors was on its feet and greeting him with wide smiles. Why did this feel so alien?
"Come in and have a seat; you must be exhausted, Dr. Zheng." Li Haitao reacted quickly upon seeing Zheng Ren's expression, figuring out that it was this startled young doctor's first time seeing such a grand occasion.
He stepped forward and enthusiastically shook hands with Zheng Ren.
As he touched Zheng Ren's hand, his expression shifted.
"Dr. Zheng, are you having a fever?" Li Haitao could feel something wrong with Zheng Ren. The man's temperature was above normal and his palms felt clammy.
Zheng Ren said weakly, "It's nothing. I just have a cold."
"His temperature was 38.6°C this morning. He's probably at 39°C now," Su Yun interjected behind Zheng Ren.
"..." Li Haitao was shocked. 'Did Zheng Ren just conduct multiple surgeries with a high fever?'
Professor Gu approached Zheng Ren and asked, concerned, "Little Zheng, are you not feeling well?"
"I'm fine." Zheng Ren managed to force a smile. "It's just a common cold, nothing to worry about."
"You got hurt yesterday. Could it be due to infection of the wound?" Professor Gu asked.
"No, Brother Zhao has just cleaned my wound and applied fresh medication. He also mentioned that it was fine," Zheng Ren answered.
Jin Yaowu, Mu Tao, and the others all stood around in awe.
While they had been waiting for Zheng Ren to arrive, Professor Gu had entered the room and spoken to the other professors, telling them about the incident from two days ago.
There had been a vicious assault in the outpatient department. A thoracic surgeon had been badly hurt. The news had spread like wildfire across Weibo and WeChat groups.
Since Fang Lin was neither one of the in-house doctors nor anyone's personal acquaintance, most of the professors and doctors had not paid him a visit. They simply expressed their anger by sharing the post on Weibo.
It was shocking to know that Dr. Zheng had been involved in that incident. Professor Gu also mentioned the wounded shoulder.
Even Professor Pei, who knew that Zheng Ren had participated in the emergency rescue that followed, did not know the details.
As they processed the news, their indignation faded, turning into a barrage of arrows piercing Jin Yaowu, Mu Tao, and every other doctor's self-esteem.
How had he performed surgery with a wounded shoulder?
It had been no ordinary procedure; highly technical, performed in a lead apron that weighed up to 17 pounds and requiring absolute precision and meticulousness.
Was it even possible?
However, they knew that there was no reason for Professor Gu to lie.
Mu Tao slowly realized why the host's movements had been slightly sluggish, despite ultimately being able to navigate the hills and valleys of the surgery.
It was because…
He had been f*cking slashed by that scoundrel!
Mu Tao's pride, acc.u.mulated over decades, crumbled instantly. There was not even any disappointment; so stunned was he that he simply blanked out.
Jin Yaowu was still in disbelief. Nonetheless, the bulge of the bandage on Zheng Ren's left shoulder was physical proof of the wound.
He was not foolish enough to question Professor Gu's words.
Inside, he was tormented by his own competitiveness. Clenching his fist, he decided to work harder, finally finding the motivation to work towards his goal.
Old Wu and Professor Gu were quite close, so the former was aware of the incident and very interested to meet this young doctor.
He neared Zheng Ren, tapped on his unhurt shoulder and said with a voice laden with praise, "Dr. Zheng, I hadn't expected you to have such a good emergency rescue response."
"I… I'm a general surgeon. Currently, I'm the chief resident of the emergency department, so it's part of my job," Zheng Ren answered humbly with a small smile.
This time, Wu Haishi was taken completely aback.
Pei Yingjie had worked with Zheng Ren before and thus knew what was coming. However, everyone else was astounded.
This doctor, dominating interventional surgery with his superb skill, was not a specialist but a mere general surgeon… and now an emergency department chief resident.
What in the world was this nonsense?
What had happened to specialization?
Had the Wooden Barrel Theory[1] become obsolete?
Jin Yaowu turned
grim after hearing Zheng Ren's words.
How could a general surgeon outshine him? It would not have bothered him as much if the demonstration had been a normal surgery. Was his interventional surgery skill no better than a general surgeon's?
Mu Tao was also stupefied, fixated on the image of Zheng Ren's back when the surgeon had been processing the scans in the CT room.
Had he had to examine those films as if he was a medical imaging technologist? After all, he was a general surgeon and the chief resident of an emergency department.
Wasn't the entire hospital supposed to support the emergency department?
Why did he…
Mu Tao had just experienced an emotional roller coaster. After observing Xinglin Garden's live broadcast of the interventional surgery, he had thought that studying 64-slice CT scans with 3D-image reconstruction under Old Wu would lead to an easy victory.
Never in a million years would he have guessed that instead of losing to Jin Yaowu, he would lose to a general surgeon… a young chief resident of an emergency department from a city he couldn't have pointed out on a map before.
"I'll let you guys handle the remaining work. Just notify Zheng Ren of the results," Professor Gu said, putting a halt to further interrogation. "I'll take Zheng Ren to go change his wound dressings. It'll be too late if the wound was infected."
The other professors of similar rank obliged out of respect, especially as Professor Gu was being reasonable. More importantly, they could not hinder his kind offer of help.
'This "small fry" is rather interesting,' he mused. The professors who had been initially displeased by their students had forgotten about the competition and were beginning to take an interest in Zheng Ren.
As Zheng Ren remained in his stupor, Professor Gu extracted him from the demonstration room and pushed him to the inpatient department.
"What were you thinking? Did you not know that you were having a fever? Why did you still go ahead with the surgery?" Professor Gu complained as they walked.
"I'm okay, don't worry. I've sweated it all out after a few surgeries and am feeling much better now," Zheng Ren explained, laughing earnestly.
Su Yun followed behind them, expressionless. He could not fathom why the man front of him was like a tall mountain, its slopes untouchable, its peak unattainable.
The Surgeon's Studio c1-799 Page 104
