Chapter 191: Two-Faced
Li Haotao first briefly explained the anatomical structure before proceeding to angiographic images of the prostate.
It was valuable information.
Barely anyone got to perform an angiography of an organ and save its images if the patient did not undergo that organ’s specific surgery.
However, the research institute actually owned such records. Zheng Ren watched the slideshow attentively and assumed the information came from the private repositories of multiple professors.
They were actually angiographic images of bladder and renal tumors, but some of the contrast agent had entered the prostate or its surrounding tissue, so they had saved these images to provide a theoretical basis for this research project.
Li Haitao merely stated facts without the domineering tone of a lecturer, which eased the atmosphere.
He pointed at an angiographic image and smiled. “This is where the difficulty in our work lies. The prostate has a very thin blood supply network, and the surgeon has to be proficient at inserting an ordinary micro-guidewire into those vessels.”
Dead silence reigned in the room.
The participants were either demons or rising stars in interventional radiology, and so understood what Li Haitao was trying to imply.
It took Li Haitao two full hours to finish presenting the research results.
“The next part is up to you now.” Li Haitao smiled and said, “There is only one patient, currently in the urology department, volunteering for the experimental surgery. He is an elderly man with many comorbidities, so the risks of surgery are significantly higher. After counseling with his family members, they insisted on undergoing the experimental surgery.
“The case has been sent to everyone’s mailbox. Please understand it in detail once you return.”
Mailbox… Zheng Ren immediately opened the mailbox in his phone.
An email had been sent to him two hours ago containing a detailed medical record.
Zheng Ren smiled bitterly after scanning through the case.
The patient was geriatric with all manner of comorbidities; truly troublesome to deal with.
It was no surprise that he wanted to undergo interventional radiology as the risk of sudden cardiac death was high during surgical removal of the hyperplastic prostate.
Although interventional radiology was considered a minimally invasive surgery, it only minimized the risk of sudden cardiac death rather than completely preventing it.
‘Damn, what a tricky case.’ Zheng Ren frowned.
The patient’s medical record had been sent to everyone’s mailbox. After reading it, they suddenly realized something—who would perform the surgery when there was only one patient?
“Who will do it?” asked a middle-aged doctor as the question emerged in his mind.
“The purpose of this research project is to promote interventional radiology and demonstrate its potential and charm to the public.” Li Haitao smiled without answering. “Today is Saturday. Since you have all just arrived, you get two days’ rest. On Monday, you will demonstrate your surgical skill.”
The crowd started murmuring immediately.
What the hell did that mean?
Was this a Player Kill[1] challenge? Although it was not explicitly stated, that was exactly what he meant.
Everyone here was considered an elite among elites, and only a few of them would stand out in the end and lead the future development of interventional radiology.
However, one or two surgeries were simply inadequate to assess a surgeon’s skills; many were required to properly determine one’s proficiency.
Li Haitao’s words implied that the surgery demonstration would be a contest.
The professors’ opinions and the importance they attached to the research project would determine who would perform the surgery in the end.
Only a few of them placed high value on the research, but they were all interested in the surgery demonstration that would be held like an ancient Chinese imperial examination.
Li Haitao seemed to have expected this reaction as he remained calm instead of calling for silence.
When the voices of the young and middle-aged doctors gradually faded after a few minutes, he smiled and said, “Interventional radiology is still at a rapid developmental stage. You’re all elites in this field, so the future of interventional radiology depends on you. Now, I would like everyone to send me original copies of your medical license, practicing certificate and ID card, and I’ll keep them for the record in the medical administration division.
“Also, the hospital management has located a few patients who have given their consent to undergo surgery demonstration.
“The conference ends here. If you have any questions, please send me a message on WeChat. If any of you want to see the patients preoperatively, the chief residents will escort you.” Li Haitao opened the curtains and turned off the slideshow.
The winter sunshine was a little dazzling, but Su Yun’s black hair was almost blinding.
“Hey, are you confident?” he asked.
“Huh?” Zheng Ren was startled.
“Be serious. This is a competition to be the future leader of interventional radiology.” Su Yun’s expression was grim, which was a rare sight. “Whether the surgery succeeds or fails doesn’t matter, but as long as you win the contest, you can choose to work in the interventional radiology department in any Class Three Grade A Hospital in this country. You don’t have to stay in Sea City anymore.”
Su Yun seemed like a completely different man in the moment, as if the part of his soul that had been reluctant to attend the conference had been thrown into a different dimension.
He was now a man with immense fighting spirit burning within him, eager to compete with other surgical titans.
“Not interested,” replied Zheng Ren.
“You’d have a tenfold, twentyfold or even a hundredfold increase in your monthly income. Are you interested now?” Su Yun’s tone reeked of conceit that would have otherwise earned him ten thousand knuckle sandwiches.
“Not really. That’s not what I have in mind for the time being. Besides, even if I miss this opportunity, I can still earn a good income in the future,” replied Zheng Ren absent-mindedly as he repeatedly read through the patient’s medical record from the scientific research team.
“You’re really boring.” Su Yun brushed his black bangs aside and leaned in closer, whispering, “Are you thinking about becoming a glorious live-in son-in-law of the Xie family?”
“Live-in son-in-law?” The term reminded Zheng Ren of a rotten banana.
“I can see that you’ve been flirting with Xie Yiren, but come on, don’t be such a loser. Let me tell you…” In an unprecedented act, Su Yun decided to offer sincere advice to Zheng Ren.
However, just as he began to speak, the long-forgotten System alert rang out in Zheng Ren’s ears. “Ding-dong!”
A mission!
[Mission: The First Stage of The Great Beginning.
[Task: Obtain the surgery qualification for interventional radiological treatment of the prostate.
[Reward: One Master-ranked skill book, 1000 skill points, 200000 experience points and one gold chest.
[Time: 7 days.]
Zheng Ren was flabbergasted upon receiving the mission, turning a deaf ear to Su Yun’s nagging.
The Great Beginning; this mission alone had rewards exceeding that of everything he had received prior.
A skill book that directly upgraded a random skill to the Master rank… That, coupled with a truly humongous amount of points and long mission duration, left Zheng Ren drooling in anticipation.
The points were equivalent to surgery intensive training time in the System!
The flame instantly burned bright within Zheng Ren’s heart, igniting his interest in this surgery.
He needed to complete it!
He had to complete it!
He must complete it!
Zheng Ren stood up abruptly in the midst of Su Yun’s speech.
“What’s wrong?”
“Let’s go see the patients.”
“Huh? What a two-faced b*stard.” Su Yun smirked.
[1] The writer’s original term, PK, most likely refers to a Player Kill challenge: MMORPG slang for a player-versus-player free-for-all in which player characters are killed. Given the writer’s penchant for gaming terms, it’s probably a fair assumption.