The Surgeon’s Studio

“Sis, what is he doing?” Su Yun asked softly, bored and curious.

“I don’t know.” Sister Zhao stared unblinkingly at the screen, completely forgetting the time.

“…”

“I think he is looking for an abnormal signal near the liver edge to see if it’s a tumor-feeding artery,” Sister Zhao guessed.

“That’s so troublesome.”

“In general, no one does it in this country, but internationally… I’ve never checked any related information, so I’m not too sure about it, but only those specializing in interventional radiology can do it.” Sister Zhao paused briefly and continued, “Some of them can’t even perform it to such a degree. Although those working in the radiology department are involved in interventional radiology, barely anyone in the CT room knows how to do this.”

Su Yun remained silent. Despite his doubts and inability to understand Zheng Ren’s operation, the man’s hand speed alone… he could participate in a professional league of Honor of Kings.

Accurate, fast and decisive.

Another fifteen minutes later, Zheng Ren moved his hand away from the mouse and snapped his finger.

“He found it?” asked Su Yun.

He stole a peek at Sister Zhao at the same time.

As deputy chief of the CT room specializing in the 3D reconstruction of CT scans, Sister Zhao looked puzzled as she had no clue what Zheng Ren had found.

“Yes, right here. A new tumor-feeding artery.” Zheng Ren casually wiped his sweaty palm on his white coat and continued the operation.

Once the end of the pathological vasculature—as thin as a strand of hair—was successfully located, subsequent procedures were plain and simple.

A few minutes later, a tortuous blood vessel emerged onscreen. The artery was visibly heading upward, after which it took a hairpin turn and went back to its point of origin.

It was just like the Yellow River, full of twists and turns.

The 3D reconstruction of the CT scan was completed after ten minutes. The blood vessel had originated from the short gastric artery.

Sister Zhao finally let out a sigh of relief.

That was f*cking amazing!

Even after witnessing the entire operation in person, Sister Zhao could only understand half of what had been done.

She was sure that even if Zheng Ren personally taught her the most crucial steps of this operation, there was no way she would be able to master it in one to two months alone.

“Where do I print the films?” asked Zheng Ren.

“H… Here.” Sister Zhao clicked a button, causing the machine to roar for a while before the films were finally printed.

“Colored films can be printed only tomorrow.” She was still in a trance.

“That won’t be necessary. It’s more than enough for me to locate the source of the abnormal tumor-feeding artery.” Zheng Ren stood up with a smile, obviously in a good mood.

Finding the pathological blood vessel using the machine in the CT room was a hundred times better than wearing a weighty lead apron and constantly exposing onself to radiation in the interventional radiology suite.

Zheng Ren preferred not to do the latter even with the System’s lead apron with radiation energy conversion properties.

‘It seems like the fickle-minded System gave me a reasonable reward,’ Zheng Ren thought happily.

“Ah!” Sister Zhao suddenly exclaimed.

“What’s the matter, sis?” asked Zheng Ren.

“I still have to fetch my kids later!” Sister Zhao instantly panicked. The amazing operation engrossed her so deeply that she had forgotten about everything else.

With a panicked gesture, she pushed Zheng Ren and Su Yun out of the room, quickening her pace while putting on her coat at the same time.

“Sister Zhao, let me send you there.” Su Yun quickly caught up with her.

Zheng Ren stared at the back of the vanishing duo, presuming that Su Yun was shamelessly offering his help despite getting rejected by Sister Zhao.

Su Yun had made a good call. Sister Zhao had been of great help to Zheng Ren, and he would feel responsible if she was involved in a traffic collision due to her haste.

It was almost eight o’clock when Zheng Ren casually returned to the emergency ward.

Hunger started gnawing at him after he instructed Yang Lei to go home, but it was past dinner time already… Whatever, he could not be bothered to fill his stomach now.

Zheng Ren took his book and returned to the on-call room.

He turned on his phone first and informed the group that Zheng Yunxia had undergone a scan. Her condition had improved and she would have to be hospitalized for the next surgery.

Then, he instructed Chang Yue to contact Manager Feng from Changfeng Microinvasive Surgery for free surgical supplies.

After arranging these triviaities, Zheng Ren found himself a comfortable position and began to read his book.

Something was wrong!

He had not gone for a ward round.

No wonder something was constantly troubling him. The 3D reconstruction of CT scan had simply consumed too much of his energy.

Facepalm…

Zheng Ren put on his shoes, bid farewell to his warm and cozy seat, and went for a ward round.

There was nothing much to see during the night round. The patient who had undergone an appendectomy just now was in a stable condition apart from his constant grumbles about pain.

Zheng Ren gave him some medical advice and instructed a nurse to administer him a bottle of analgesia, presuming his pain would be relieved in half an hour.

Upon reaching the last ward, he suddenly recalled that the occupant was the elderly man who was at the end of his life.

Zheng Ren gently knocked and entered.

There were no other patients in the ward. The old man was lying on the middle bed with the bedside lamp as the only light source in the poorly-lit room.

By the headboard sat the old woman wearing a pair of reading spectacles. Holding the old man’s hand in her right, she softly recited the words from a book in her left.

“Xiang Liang asks Xiang Ji to come in. After a while, Xiang Liang gestures to Xiang Ji and says, “It’s time to act!”. Thus, Xiang Ji pulls out his sword and decapitates the governor of the commandery. Xiang Liang holds the governor’s crown in his hand and takes the Chinese official seal with him, causing widespread panic in the crowd of servants and guards. Amidst the chaos, Xiang Ji charges and kills hundreds of people.”

“Ahem.” Zheng Ren was slightly embarrassed upon realizing that he must have disturbed the old couple’s privacy, but his responsibility as a doctor compelled him to interrupt them and ask a few questions.

“Doctor Zheng, you’re here.” The old woman turned around and saw Zheng Ren; she put down her book, caressed the old man’s white hair, stood up and smiled. “Please, sit down, Doctor Zheng.”

“That’s too polite of you, but I can’t sit during a ward round,” Zheng Ren said, “What are you reading just now?”

“Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of Xiang Yu,” the old woman replied kindly, “My husband loves this chapter. Since he can’t read it now, I may as well read it to him several times so that he can relive old memories.”

Zheng Ren nodded.

“I’m really sorry for troubling you this time, Doctor Zheng.” The old woman rubbed her hands subconsciously. “I do apologize for my negligence for not being able to serve you tea.”

“That’s too kind of you.” Zheng Ren waved his hand vigorously. “Do you mind if we have a chat outside the room?”

The elderly woman looked back at the rosy-cheeked elderly man on the bed and smiled ceremoniously. “There is no need for that.

“We’ve accepted our fate at this age. He isn’t suffering much before departing this life, and I’m grateful to be able to accompany him on his last journey.”

“Let me confirm it again: you want me to give a do-not-resuscitate order?” asked Zheng Ren softly.

“Yes, death isn’t a big deal anyway.” The old woman’s tone was gentle but firm.

“Then I shall not disturb you further. Please, carry on.” Zheng Ren bowed and left.

An open-minded person deserved respect.

A diagnosis appeared on the System panel in the upper right corner of his vision—multi-organ failure. Zheng Ren suspected that the elderly man was indeed at the end of his life, like a car that had traveled hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Everything failed in the end.

It was good enough to end one’s life in peace and quiet.