Chapter 188: Extremely High Difficulty

The angiography process was fast.

As the Contrast Agent traveled through the blood vessels, the Tumor, which was half-hidden, actually had edges that were somewhat visible.

That was the result of capillaries climbing over it.

But the image Ji Xiang wanted to see flashed by in an instant, with only a faint boundary appearing on the screen.

The passive skill—Insight—etched this scene into Ji Xiang's memory.

Something seemed wrong; Ji Xiang pondered carefully, filtering through several possibilities.

After nearly a minute, Ji Xiang had already selected three blood vessels in his mind that might be problematic.

Sorting them by probability, Ji Xiang was 95% certain he could complete the surgery within 3 Super-selection attempts.

"Hurry up and perform the surgery; the Patient is just lying there on the table," Ling Tian said impatiently. "The boss gave you three chances, but if you mess up anywhere while operating, don't think you can keep going."

"You don't even have a Practicing Certificate, and letting you on the table is already going too far, you know? If something happens, it's my responsibility. All for your one moment of willfulness..." Ling Tian said coldly, his nostrils flared at Ji Xiang.

"Teacher Ling, I know," Ji Xiang said calmly, having formed a basic solution in his mind.

Kicking open the Airtight Lead Door and returning to the operating room, Ling Tian put on Lead Clothing to assist Ji Xiang with the surgery.

The first Super-selection artery—the Diaphragmatic Artery.

In the lower part of the Thoracic Aorta, Ji Xiang manipulated the Guide Wire to successfully perform the Super-selection and found the Diaphragmatic Artery. Afterward, he avoided the junction of the Musculophrenic Artery and the Pericardiacophrenic Artery and began injecting the drug for Angiography.

Watching Ji Xiang's Super-selection during the surgery, Ling Tian felt a sense of pity.

Analyzing it from an objective perspective, Ji Xiang's surgery was performed better than his own.

For a young person just starting out, who according to Ji Xiang's description had only just come into contact with Interventional Surgery a few times, to be able to perform the surgery with such mastery was simply a genius among geniuses.

It was a pity that the young and arrogant Ji Xiang was so conceited, wild beyond measure. The moment they met, he offended the boss during the very first surgery, and offended him to the point of no return; no matter how he tried to pull him back, he couldn't.

This was fate.

Next, if Ji Xiang was lucky, he would find the abnormally proliferating blood vessels during the 3 Super-selection attempts.

But even so, after dodging the first pit the boss dug, he would immediately have to face the boss's successive blows.

So what if the surgery was done well?

Becoming an old Attending Physician like Zhao Zhe, unable to hold his head up for the rest of his life, was the high-probability outcome.

The corners of Ling Tian's mouth beneath his mask curled slightly; the feeling of pity gradually vanished, leaving only the anticipation of delivering a merciless blow to Ji Xiang.

This kid, unless he stopped being a Doctor and didn't work in any medical-related field, otherwise, if the boss wanted to, he wouldn't be able to dodge the thunderous strike.

The Diaphragmatic Artery angiography showed no problems; the source of the abnormal blood supply to the liver was not a branch of the Diaphragmatic Artery.

Failure ×1.

Ling Tian looked coldly at Ji Xiang without saying a word.

Villains die from talking too much; the protagonist is still like this.

People who talk too much don't end well!

Ling Tian knew he was the protagonist, so he couldn't be long-winded.

Ji Xiang had been talking too much today; he was bound to end up with no place to be buried.

He would wait until the three Super-selection attempts failed before mocking this kid who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, and stomp him into the dust.

Yet in Ling Tian's field of vision, Ji Xiang showed no signs of disappointment, but instead began the second Super-selection unhurriedly.

"Second time," Ling Tian said coldly.

Less talk is less talk, but applying some pressure to Ji Xiang was necessary.

"I know, Teacher Ling," Ji Xiang began the Super-selection of the Intercostal Artery.

The Intercostal Artery includes one larger Posterior Intercostal Artery and two smaller Anterior Intercostal Arteries.

The former originates from the Thoracic Aorta, while the latter originates from the Internal Thoracic Artery and the Musculophrenic Artery; the two anastomose with each other, and the spinal branch of the Posterior Intercostal Artery enters the spinal canal through the intervertebral foramen to supply the spinal cord and its meninges.

After the Anterior Intercostal Artery emerges from the Internal Thoracic Artery and the Musculophrenic Artery, it divides into upper and lower branches.

The upper branch runs along the lower margin of the upper rib, and the lower branch runs along the upper margin of the lower rib; both branches run laterally. There are 9 pairs of Posterior Intercostal Arteries, which run along the costal groove in the intercostal spaces below the 3rd rib.

It was possible, but unlikely. Ling Tian instantly reached a conclusion about Ji Xiang's judgment—the probability was less than 5%.

The most likely Diaphragmatic Artery had already been Super-selected, proving it wasn't a branch of the Diaphragmatic Artery.

He figured Ji Xiang was just a blind cat bumping into a dead mouse.

Moreover, there were numerous Intercostal Arteries, and finding the source of the problem among them was even harder than hard.

Thinking it was a good idea, Ling Tian sneered; keep dreaming.

If it were so simple to find, why wouldn't his own boss...

Just as he thought this, Ling Tian's eyelids jumped violently.

Ji Xiang's Super-selection technique exceeded his expectations; he had unexpectedly and flawlessly performed the Super-selection into the Intercostal Artery of the right ninth rib on the first try.

Was he that sure?

Ling Tian suddenly had a very bad feeling.

If Ji Xiang succeeded, it would be a massive face-slapping scene!

Thump, thump, thump~

Ling Tian, who was always calm and indifferent, felt his heart rate accelerate, but he didn't stop Ji Xiang's surgery; he only prayed silently.

Angiography.

The high-pressure Syringe injected the Contrast Agent into the blood vessel.

As the black Contrast Agent spread on the screen, Ling Tian's heart beat faster and faster.

The accelerated heart rate, which even 95mg of Betaloc couldn't control, made Ling Tian feel quite uncomfortable.

Fortunately, this process was extremely short.

Within 3 seconds, the conclusion was already out—it was not a branch of the Intercostal Artery passing through the diaphragm to supply the liver Tumor.

Ling Tian let out a long breath.

"The second Super-selection failed." Ling Tian suppressed the joy in his heart; he felt the large iron plate ahead getting closer and closer, while Ji Xiang was rushing toward it at an indescribable speed, crashing into it until his scalp bled.

Young man, arrogant and domineering; he actually dared to accept the trap the General Manager had so obviously set.

This time, I must teach him a lesson in how to behave!

Ling Tian sneered inwardly; it had already been twice. Once he failed again, he could terminate the surgery on the grounds that the dosage of the Contrast Agent was too high.

This was a decision no one could find fault with.

Want to urinate and defecate on the prostate of morality? Young man, you are still too green.

You ignore the broad, open road to walk a narrow, winding path; you are courting death!

Ji Xiang returned to the System Operating Room; he had already failed twice, and he could not fail again.

Using the Simulated Human to find the feeding vessel of the Tumor, although he lacked the guidance of the System NPC, Ji Xiang felt that if he kept trying bit by bit, he would eventually succeed.

However,

The difficulty of the surgery exceeded Ji Xiang's imagination.

After 28 Super-selections, Ji Xiang still had not found the source of the problem.

But Ji Xiang was incomparably stubborn, and the experience of Empathy also gave him endless courage and patience.

The System NPC performed the duties of an assistant perfectly, not saying a single word of nonsense, just quietly helping Ji Xiang search for that "damn" feeding vessel.

52 times.

64 times.

78 times.

Ji Xiang failed countless times and tried countless times.

……

……

Ling Tian tilted his head slightly, wanting to see Ji Xiang's embarrassment.

But the next second, he froze.

Although Ji Xiang was wearing a mask, Ling Tian felt as if he could see Ji Xiang wearing a smile, looking completely certain.

This was completely different from what he had imagined!

What had Ji Xiang discovered?

Ling Tian shuddered and focused his eyes on the Angiography.

There was no problem at all!

He turned his head to look at his General Manager through the Lead-lined Glass; Qin Chu's expression was cold as he stared at the screen. Based on Ling Tian's understanding of his General Manager, the General Manager should not have discovered any problems either.

Then...

(End of this chapter)