The Surgeon’s Studio

“Little Zheng!” Old Chief Physician Pan roared at the top of his lungs to stop Zheng Ren from continuing such a bold move. Otherwise, people would die.

That was embarrassing! Zheng Ren had no sense of priorities at all!

Even Chief Surgeon Liu was dumbstruck as well. He stared at Zheng Ren with wide eyes and had absolutely no idea what he had up his sleeve. Zheng Ren was not an idiot, that was beyond question. He performed forty-nine appendectomies within twenty-four hours and each of them had been done perfectly. Not even Chief Surgeon Liu, who was a senior general surgeon, code-named Sea City Supreme Scalpel, could find a single flaw in them.

Could he have performed such a magnificent feat if he was an idiot?

However, Zheng Ren’s confidence shook Chief Surgeon Liu’s beliefs instantly.

Honestly, that was impossible, right? There was no such surgery as a woundless appendectomy.

Zheng Ren walked toward the projector screen and started explaining the surgical technique to the crowd while Chief Surgeon Liu was still immersed in his own train of thought.

“Everyone should have some understanding about an ESD procedure, right?”

ESD, also known as endoscopic submucosal dissection, was a recent advancement in endoscopic surgery. The endoscopy unit in Sea City General Hospital was prepared to develop this technology but necessary arrangements had to be made before it was successful.

The chief of the medical administration division had heard about this new technology, but the senior consultants—Old Chief Physician Pan and Chief Surgeon Liu—were unfamiliar with it due to infrequent exposure to technological advancements.

“Let me make a brief introduction. An ESD procedure is a new surgical technique that uses an endoscope to dissect the pathological submucosal layer for treatment purposes. In the year 2010, an endoscopic transrectal appendectomy was performed in the endoscopy unit at Harbin Medical University Affiliated Second Hospital. Even though this surgical technique hasn’t been carried out nationwide, cases are often reported. In fact, hundreds of successful operations using this technique have been recorded and we’re not actually touching this domain for the first time,” explained Zheng Ren confidently.

The chief of the medical administration division gave this some thought and continued listening to Zheng Ren calmly.

“Since the patient has special demands and her conditions seem uncomplicated, I think an endoscopic transrectal appendectomy is justified.” Zheng Ren’s words were firm and confident, but Old Chief Physician Pan shook his head repeatedly because he preferred not to take such a great risk.

“Can I take a look at the patient first? I won’t know if she is fit for this operation if I don’t see the patient myself. Also, hospital management will decide whether I should be the surgeon in this case,” said Zheng Ren.

The chief of the medical administration division pondered for a while and nodded. “The patient is in special demands ward 3-2. Old Chief Physician Pan, go and have a look at the patient with Zheng Ren. I’ll ask for Secretary-General Chen’s opinion in the meantime.”

…

…

After Zheng Ren and Old Chief Physician Pan left the surgical demonstration classroom, Old Chief Physician Pan complained, “Little Zheng, you were too impulsive. Are you emotionally unstable due to exhaustion?”

“No,” replied Zheng Ren with a grin. Even though he was trying to express his optimism, he was haggard, especially with his hair deformed by compression from the sterile surgical cap after a whole night of surgeries.

“It’s my fault.” Instead of accusing Zheng Ren, Old Chief Physician Pan started introspecting. “I didn’t expect Liu Tianxing to be so shameless. Don’t worry, I’ll make him pay for what he did to you within a month. We’ll admit defeat this time, alright?”

“Chief Physician Pan, that isn’t necessary,” answered Zheng Ren.

“Huh?”

“I’m highly skilled in performing endoscopic transrectal appendectomy, and it isn’t riskier than performing an open appendectomy, so the chances of success are actually very high,” Zheng Ren continued bragging about his expertise without an ounce of embarrassment.

“You must be joking. Where did you learn it when Sea City General Hospital hasn’t even developed this technology yet?” Old Chief Physician Pan remained doubtful.

“Innate talent plays an important role in surgery too. I’ve never performed a pancreaticoduodenectomy in my life, but I did it after Professor Moriyu ran away, right?” replied Zheng Ren.

This example was convincing. Old Chief Physician Pan turned quiet immediately and did not pursue the matter.

However, he did not support Zheng Ren’s decision either. He merely lowered his head and quietly contemplated the situation that lay before them.

They walked toward the special demands ward in silence and reached sick room number two, located on the third floor.

After knocking on the door, Zheng Ren entered the room and saw a woman, at least 180 centimeters tall, lying on the sickbed. It was a safe assumption as her feet were hanging off the sickbed, which had a standard length of 180 centimeters…

That height… Tut-tut… Zheng Ren savored the thought for a while before carefully reading the patient’s condition on the upper right corner of his vision.

It was a simple acute appendicitis case. Three days of conservative treatment were ineffective and the inflamed appendix was on the brink of perforation. According to the timeframe provided by the System, the appendix would perforate within three hours.

The patient’s assistant stood up and received Zheng Ren and Old Chief Physician Pan immediately. Despite her condition, the patient was courteous enough to greet them as well.

Even though her eyebrows were furrowed in pain, she looked exceptionally gorgeous and obviously had had a good upbringing too.

In order not to make their visit appear abrupt, Zheng Ren performed a physical examination on the patient first before leaving the sick room with Old Chief Physician Pan.

“How is she?” asked Old Chief Physician Pan.

“The appendix will perforate in three hours. If she is going for surgery, we’ve to do it now,” said Zheng Ren confidently.

In Old Chief Physician Pan’s opinion, his explanation seemed exaggerated.

An expert among experts could diagnose an impending perforation in an inflamed appendix, but Zheng Ren could provide a countdown? That was absurd.

However, Old Chief Physician Pan made no attempt to challenge Zheng Ren’s judgment. No matter what he said, Zheng Ren would shut him up by saying, “Look, Professor Moriyu ran away from the pancreaticoduodenectomy last time, but I did it.”

That example made his judgment irrefutable.

“Are you sure?” asked Old Chief Physician Pan.

“Yes.”

“How sure are you?”

“Very.”

Old Chief Physician Pan came to a halt and stared at Zheng Ren seriously. His gaze was bright and piercing as if he was going to drink a farewell shot before going to the battlefield.

Zheng Ren stopped at the same time but felt uneasy and had no idea where to place his limbs under Old Chief Physician Pan’s intense stare.

This elderly man was a war veteran. Rumors claimed that during the war in Southern Xinjiang, Old Chief Physician Pan had avenged his fallen comrades by going on a killing spree with a submachine gun.

There was no way Zheng Ren could resist the murderous aura emitted from Old Chief Physician Pan’s soul.

“I trust you. Let’s prepare for the surgery,” said Old Chief Physician Pan heavily before he took out his cell phone and started making phone calls.

The statement “I trust you” weighed a ton and set his heart on fire.

Suddenly, the robotic female voice appeared in his ears like a ghost and a translucent screen with a new mission on it emerged before him.

[Sudden Mission: The Soldier Dies For His Comrade.

[Task: Live up to the senior chief physician’s expectations by completing an endoscopic transrectal appendectomy.

[Reward: 30 skill points and 300 experience points.

[Time: 5 hours.]

Er… Zheng Ren was taken by surprise.

In all honesty, Zheng Ren had seen through Chief Surgeon Liu’s little trick but knew that it was unlikely for him to perform the surgery himself too.

However, he had not expected Old Chief Physician Pan’s trust to actually trigger the System into assigning a new mission to him. Now he had no choice but to handle it personally.

Zheng Ren knew that he had to perform this surgery himself.

Everything else aside, the mission being called “The Soldier Dies For His Comrade” alone was more than enough for him to do it.

Otherwise, he would feel sorry for the fire burning inside his heart.

Old Chief Physician Pan returned momentarily. “Little Zheng, I gave the city management a phone call just now and a warrant for this surgery has been issued. Success is compulsory. Failure is not an option.”

“Chief Physician Pan, don’t worry. I’ll succeed in performing this surgery.” Zheng Ren tightened his fists and made a promise.

Zheng Ren had experimented on various creative ideas—including an endoscopic transrectal appendectomy—during the intensive training last time.

Even though he had never used this technology in reality, he had performed at least one hundred endoscopic transrectal appendectomies in the System.

Thus, he was essentially the country’s most qualified surgeon in performing an appendectomy with an endoscope.

That was the reason for his confidence.