Chapter 182: Empathy That Affects One's Worldview

Ji Xiang did not speak with Zhao Zhe.

Although Zhao Zhe was a bit older, in the Hepatobiliary Hospital, he was just as much of a layman as Ji Xiang. If there were questions, they still had to be asked to the System NPC.

Only the System NPC's explanations were the most authoritative; Ji Xiang now had a blind trust in the System NPC.

Perhaps he had misunderstood, or perhaps this was some sort of super high-difficulty surgical procedure.

Arriving in the System Space, Ji Xiang greeted the System NPC and immediately explained the situation he had encountered.

"Teacher, why does the Hepatobiliary Hospital do it this way?"

"Heh!" The System NPC's face was filled with infinite disdain.

His disdain was not masked in the slightest.

"Teacher..." This was the first time Ji Xiang had seen such an expression on the System NPC's gentle, kind face, and he was somewhat surprised.

"Some surgeries are performed with problems," the System NPC said indifferently, the expression on his face flashing and then returning to normal. "But justice resides in the hearts of the people. A hospital with such a high volume of surgeries has a very low academic status within the discipline. Do you know why?"

"Because the surgeries are not performed well?" Ji Xiang asked.

He felt it was extremely bizarre even as he asked the question.

If surgeries were performed with problems, the reputation of the hospital and the doctors would worsen, and gradually there would be no patients; that was what was normal.

But it was unthinkable that there were still so many patients even though the surgeries were not performed well.

Ji Xiang had also heard his grandfather talk about how, many years ago, the food and service quality at train stations and tourist attractions were very poor, as they relied on one-time customer traffic.

But this is medicine!

This is surgery!!

This is a patient!!

This is human life!!!

He had a vague guess, but Ji Xiang dared not believe it.

"Their surgeries are not performed correctly," the System NPC said. "As for how you choose, that is up to you."

"Teacher." Ji Xiang pressed his lips tightly together, weighed it for a few seconds, and said, "I want to perform Empathy."

The System NPC had originally been standing with his hands behind his back and his waist hunched, looking frail and old.

But upon hearing Ji Xiang say this, he suddenly raised his head, his eyes like lightning, as if he had seen through all of Ji Xiang's thoughts in an instant.

"Last time you told me that Empathy for tumor patients requires a meeting," Ji Xiang said softly. "I have experienced it once, and my psyche has no issues."

"This time is different."

"Teacher, I insist." Ji Xiang's stubborn temper flared up, and he said with his neck stiffened.

Such is the nature of a youth.

Although flighty and not steady, it is precisely this flightiness and exuberance that carries infinite vitality.

The System NPC hesitated for a moment, staring at Ji Xiang.

"This Empathy might have a huge impact on your entire life. Are you sure?" the System NPC asked.

"I am sure," Ji Xiang insisted.

"Then I will go discuss it," the System NPC said, waving his deformed hand, and turned to walk toward the end of the operating room corridor.

Vaguely, Ji Xiang heard a faint sigh.

It might have been the System NPC sighing, or perhaps he had misheard.

Ji Xiang stood quietly in the System Operating Room; there was no noise here, and it was quiet enough to make one's heart palpitate.

Ji Xiang carefully thought about what the System NPC had just said, and combined with what he had seen with his own eyes, he felt he had touched upon the truth of the matter.

But this kind of truth was hard to accept, and Ji Xiang felt a little sad.

After a long time, the System NPC slowly walked back.

"Teacher, I need to sign, right? I'll do it," Ji Xiang said hurriedly.

The System NPC shook his head, stared at Ji Xiang, and only after a long time did he slowly say, "This Empathy will have an absolute impact on your worldview. Because you insisted, we reluctantly passed the application when we held the meeting."

"!!!" Ji Xiang met the System NPC's gaze, silent, not knowing what else the Old Man was going to say.

"Doctor Xiao Ji, do you understand the Dao Heart?"

"Teacher, it is occasionally mentioned in novels—an unstable Dao Heart," Ji Xiang said, somewhat puzzled.

"Actually, it is just one's original heart. Shen Lang always says it, and I think it makes some sense," the System NPC said with a smile on his lips when mentioning the name Shen Lang, though he immediately turned serious. "I repeat: this Empathy might affect your entire life. Are you willing?"

"I am willing."

"Good." The System NPC did not dawdle and took Ji Xiang into the Empathy room.

Light and shadow flickered, and Ji Xiang found himself lying on a hospital bed.

The doctor was making rounds.

The director in the lead was bald, his Mediterranean hairstyle making him look like an old doctor. Behind him followed a group of doctors in White Uniforms; one of them trailed at the very back and walked to the bedside after the director left.

He should be the attending physician.

"Don't worry, the surgery will be quick." The attending physician was still considered kind, and he stepped forward to comfort Ji Xiang.

Ji Xiang habitually revealed a smile, nodded in confirmation, and immediately searched the memories in his mind.

This time he was a patient, but not a patient with a Kidney tumor; he had Liver Cancer.

He had come to one of the most famous hospitals in the country to seek medical treatment, and it had taken a great deal of effort to get admitted and prepare for surgery.

Because the tumors were distributed in both the left and right lobes of the liver, it was impossible to cut off both lobes directly, so they temporarily gave up on a Surgical Operation and accepted Interventional Therapy.

Ji Xiang recalled "his" imaging data; neither tumor was large, about 2×3cm. If he were to perform the surgery himself, the results would be quite good.

The attending physician's rounds were very hurried, and Ji Xiang understood; there were many patients here, and there was simply no time to say even one extra word.

Thinking that "he" had two tumors growing on his liver, the hair on the back of Ji Xiang's neck stood up.

It was similar to the surgical patient he had just seen in the operating room.

Watching the Doctor hurry away, someone beside him said, "Don't worry, the Doctor performing the surgery today is their Director."

Ji Xiang nodded; he could hear the comfort and worry in his "own" lover's words.

Soon, a junior doctor came to take him to the Interventional Catheter Room to prepare for the surgery.

Lying on the DSA operating table, Ji Xiang identified the machine model, and in his mind, the steps of the surgery and the post-operative results already flashed by.

The surgery is not particularly difficult; it should be no problem, Ji Xiang comforted himself.

It was just that the surgical method of performing one surgery every 15 minutes and placing it in the Hepatic Artery without doing any Super-selection made Ji Xiang's throat feel blocked and difficult to accept.

The results...

Ji Xiang felt a complex mix of emotions in his heart.

Relying on his "shallow" medical common sense, he knew the situation might not be very good, and with the added seriousness of the System NPC, Ji Xiang vaguely guessed what the outcome would be.

Soon, the Nurse checked the name.

After a few minutes, the Doctor came in wearing Lead Clothing, inserted the films into the film viewer, and checked them again.

Very meticulous; as expected of a top-tier specialized hospital in the country, Ji Xiang felt some comfort in his heart.

It was not a teaching surgery, yet they were very serious.

The surgeon went to scrub in, returned to disinfect, and prepared for the surgery.

The Iodophor was ice-cold, raising goosebumps all over Ji Xiang's body. However, this could not compare to the disinfection for a circumcision; for the "battle-hardened" Ji Xiang, this was nothing.

(End of this chapter)