The First Order

Chapter 804: Crisis

“What is your specialty?” Zhong Zhen asked as he looked at Liang Ce.

Liang Ce answered, “Cardiovascular surgery.”

“Dr. Yang, we’ll let you ask the questions then,” Zhong Zhen said to a middle-aged doctor with a smile.

“Of the small saphenous vein, ulnar artery, and left gastric artery, which can’t be used as a transplant material for vascular bypass during surgery?” the doctor named Yang Shiruo asked straight to the point.

Liang Ce answered without hesitation, “Left gastric artery.”

“Please list three possible symptoms of cardiac tamponade,” Yang Shiruo asked calmly.

Liang Ce answered without hesitation again, “Distention of the jugular veins, muffled heart sounds, and collapsed ventricles on a chest X-ray.”

Ren Xiaosu watched from the side as everyone answered their questions independently. If anyone tried to give them a hint, their answers would be invalidated. Everyone would have to answer their three questions in an extremely strict manner.

There were doctors here who specialized in cardiovascular surgery, general surgery, and burn surgery. In order to identify any spies within the group, Zhong Zhen brought along over a dozen doctors from the stronghold to ensure no one could slip past their checks.

Wang Jing looked at Ren Xiaosu and said with a smile, “Why do I feel that you’re a little nervous?”

“Oh.” Ren Xiaosu replied, “This feels a little like taking exams when I was back in school.”

“A simple test like this won’t trouble you at all. Don’t worry.” Wang Jing patted Ren Xiaosu on the shoulder.

Liang Ce had already answered the three questions posed to him. Yang Shiruo looked at Wang Jing, who was standing next to Liang Ce, then said to Zhong Zhen, “There won’t be a need to ask Elder Wang any questions. With my limited knowledge, I’ll just be making a fool of myself in front of him.”

However, Zhong Zhen said with a smile, “Go on, ask him. How can you not? I happen to want to learn more so I can broaden my horizons as well. I have a lot of respect for Elder Wang, so let me take this opportunity to listen to his lecture.”

Nearby, Sima Gang said indignantly, “What? Do you think Elder Wang would be a spy?”

Zhong Zhen turned to look at him and said, “There’s spies who are experts at disguising themselves these days, after all. There’s even superhumans who can take on the looks of others too.”

Wang Jing smiled calmly and said, “Ask away then. We should all be treated the same. For the sake of the medical exchange, there’s no need to take this small matter to heart.”

When everyone heard Wang Jing say that, they did not protest any further. At the end of the day, there was no reason for them to be afraid of these questions anyway. After all, those who could participate in the exchange were all outstanding talents in their respective specialities. Even Liang Ce and Meng Nan, the two interns, had scored the best grades during their school days.

The Q&A session proceeded very quickly as Ren Xiaosu quietly watched the progress. After Wang Jing finished answering his questions, Zhong Zhen suddenly turned to Ren Xiaosu and said with a smile, “And what is this young man’s specialization?”

Ren Xiaosu answered calmly, “Cardiovascular surgery.”

This time, even Liang Ce and the others were stunned. On the journey thus far, they had seen Ren Xiaosu skillfully treating external injuries, so everyone thought he specialized in general surgery. They did not expect him to specialize in cardiovascular surgery instead!

Zhong Zhen said with a smile, “I’ll have to trouble you to ask a few questions this time, Doctor Liu. You can ask a few more questions this time. I heard this young man is extremely enthusiastic about treating and saving people in our town at Stronghold 31. I’m sure his medical skills should be really superb.”

Wang Jing and the others were stunned. They were stunned that Zhong Zhen seemed to be targeting Ren Xiaosu and wondered what had happened between them.

Ren Xiaosu gave Zhong Zhen a glance. He was the only one who knew Zhong Zhen was deliberately targeting him. That was because he was the one who had shot dead the deserter. The recon platoon lurking in the wilderness had witnessed everything.

So, if their positions were switched and Ren Xiaosu were responsible for finding the spy, he would also think he was the most suspicious person in the group.

Zhong Zhen was eyeing Ren Xiaosu like a tiger stalking its prey. His subordinates around him were casually putting their hands on their holsters.

Doctor Liu asked, “A female patient aged 38 suffers from heart palpitations after performing physical labor. She has been experiencing shortness of breath for 10 years, and it’s getting worse by the year. For nearly a year now, she has had to take digoxin daily for her medication. Sometimes, she takes a diuretic as well and can walk for up to a kilometer without any problems. She has a history of knee arthritis pain from 15 years ago… Her electrocardiogram shows atrial fibrillation, with fatty infiltration in her right ventricular wall. The echocardiogram found that she has mitral stenosis and a left ventricular thrombus. If she was under your care, what treatment would you choose for her?”

Ren Xiaosu said calmly, “Open mitral commissurotomy.”

Doctor Liu asked, “Why?”

“This patient has both a long-term and long history of illnesses. She’s also suffering from thrombosis in the left ventricular wall, so performing an open mitral commissurotomy operation will be the most suitable. Moreover, this method can also remove the narrow obstruction under the valve and completely treat her mitral valve stenosis. In addition…” Ren Xiaosu said slowly, enunciating each word clearly.

Wang Jing looked at Ren Xiaosu in surprise. He had not expected this young man to think the same as him. If he were the chief surgeon, he would also make the same choice as Ren Xiaosu after hearing about the case. His reasons for doing so would be the same as well!

This feeling was as though someone was speaking his mind for him. It even made Wang Jing feel like he was a confidant.

The smile on Zhong Zhen’s face gradually disappeared. He did not expect the person he was most suspicious of could actually answer the question so smoothly.

Doctor Liu turned to look at Zhong Zhen. “I’m done asking. There’s no problem.”

Zhong Zhen said, “You can ask a few more questions.”

Doctor Liu was dumbfounded. At this moment, everyone understood that Zhong Zhen was targeting Ren Xiaosu.

However, Doctor Liu did not argue with him. As a member of the Kong Consortium, who would be willing to offend these devil incarnates of the intelligence agency? He asked Ren Xiaosu five more questions, but Ren Xiaosu still answered all of them smoothly without any problems! He answered them flawlessly!

If it weren’t for the fact that Ren Xiaosu was young, the cardiovascular specialists like Doctor Liu and Yang Shiruo would almost think the young man in front of them was an experienced surgeon who had been working at the operating table for many years!

He might not be the best surgeon, but he was definitely at the level of a chief physician.

The way that Wang Jing was looking at Ren Xiaosu had completely changed. Previously, he only admired him. But now, it was as though he had discovered a treasure.

“My apologies.” Zhong Zhen said with a fake smile, “I didn’t expect you to be such an amazing doctor.”

When Ren Xiaosu heard this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was not a fluke that he was able to pass the questioning today. Ever since “Old Xu” discovered those reconnaissance troops in the wilderness, he felt there would probably be others coming to make things difficult for them when they arrived at the city. So he used Basic Skill Duplication Scrolls on Wang Jing.

The skill the first scroll had copied was Advanced Accordion Playing, the second scroll copied Intermediate Sketching, while the third skill he copied was Tai Chi for the Elderly. When Ren Xiaosu copied the skills to this point, he nearly lost all hope. He could only think to himself how multitalented Elder Wang Jing was. Besides, why was the Tai Chi skill even annotated with the word “elderly”? What? Do you mean to say that youngsters cannot practice tai chi?!

It wasn’t until the fourth skill duplication scroll was used that Ren Xiaosu was finally relieved: “Advanced Cardiovascular Specialty.”

Suddenly, Zhong Zhen picked up the list and said, “Eh, I saw from your list that 13 people will be entering the stronghold. There’s only 12 of you here. Where’s the last girl? Can you please get her to come and answer the questions as well?”