Chapter 196: The Old Village Chief in a Fairy Tale World (Alliance Leader Niuniu Diandian)

"Teacher, I have another question." Ji Xiang thought for a long time, but not knowing how to organize his words, he said stutteringly.

The System NPC seemed to see Ji Xiang's difficulty and smiled, "Speak freely. Some things become clear as you talk about them."

"Teacher, it's like this." Ji Xiang began to recount the events he encountered today and what Zhao Zhe had experienced.

"I feel that the Hepatobiliary Hospital has become accustomed to it. You could say their technical level isn't enough, and most doctors can't do it, which I can understand. But the techniques of doctors Qin Chu and Ling Tian are sufficient, yet they simply won't do it."

The System NPC smiled faintly, "Once, there was a Western legend. I think what Zhou Congwen said about it is correct."

"The story is very cliché: there is a wicked dragon on a mountaintop that eats people every year, until one day, a young lad kills the wicked dragon."

"That story is very cliché," Ji Xiang said.

"Yes," the System NPC said, "but including myself, what would you do if one day you suddenly realized you wouldn't be that young lad in clothes as white as snow who comes and goes like the wind, and that your best destination is to become the village chief?"

Ji Xiang was stunned.

The angle from which the System NPC posed the question was truly strange. The story of the hero fighting the dragon is well-known; who wouldn't want to be the hero? Everyone would think they are the young hero.

Village chief?

That kind of NPC...

Thinking of this, Ji Xiang frowned slightly and looked at the System NPC.

The System NPC ignored Ji Xiang, walked to the changing room with hands behind his back and a hunched waist, and sat under the 【No Smoking】 sign to take out that pack of White Lingzhi.

With a flick of his wrist, a White Lingzhi jumped out like an elf.

But the System NPC did not light the cigarette, instead holding it to his nose and sniffing it again and again.

"Teacher, I hadn't thought of it from this angle," Ji Xiang said, sitting opposite the System NPC, speaking frankly.

"When you discover you can't become that young lad in clothes as white as snow, and your best destination is just to be the village chief, what would you think?"

"I won't test you. What Zhou Congwen said at the time made a lot of sense. Everyone will understand that they will never be the protagonist, and their best destination is to become the village chief; he will ponder which family's girl to send to the wicked dragon to be eaten this year."

"..." Ji Xiang was silent.

"Last time, I used a dying old woman to replace the girl and fooled the wicked dragon, which counted as saving one life. The time before that..."

As the System NPC spoke, a playful smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"Later on, you will think that every time you deal with the wicked dragon, you are putting your head on the line, and this is for the sake of the whole village—how great you are. Since that's the case, sleeping with the girl about to be sent to the wicked dragon isn't wrong, right? She's going to die tomorrow anyway."

"!!!" Ji Xiang stared in shock.

But upon second thought, it was indeed that kind of logic.

His own grandfather had said similar things during casual chats, but his own experience was too shallow to understand.

Having encountered the "unimaginable" practices of the Hepatobiliary Hospital this time, and after the System NPC's reminder, Ji Xiang seemed to vaguely understand these matters.

"Look, the person who becomes the village chief will gradually change. He is no longer the young lad who pestered the village blacksmith to forge a low-quality long sword, possessing only solitary courage to fight the wicked dragon with his life."

"Being able to become the village chief is still good; a village only has one village chief. What if you are just villager A, B, C, or D? You can only sacrifice your daughter to the wicked dragon? And damn it, she gets slept with by the village chief before being sacrificed?"

The System NPC calmly dropped a curse word, without any emotion.

Ji Xiang listened quietly as the System NPC told the story.

This angle of entry made Ji Xiang shudder, but thinking carefully, he had followed his father in reading history books as a child, and it seemed every line was evidence.

"I'm old, my mouth is loose, I'm nagging. Zhou Congwen and the others say I'm instilling values, which is very unlikable, so never mind," the System NPC said. "You can substitute yourself into any role and think about it."

"Teacher, I roughly understand what you mean," Ji Xiang said, feeling solemn and sitting up straight. "Please tell me more."

The System NPC shook his head slightly and did not continue to feed Ji Xiang chicken soup, although Ji Xiang didn't feel it was that.

If one followed the System NPC's line of thought, this matter was truly very interesting.

"Being a doctor is a job of conscience, not to mention those shitty rules of the hospital, like performance bonuses and such," the System NPC said. "Being a doctor is hard, not because of the books as tall as a person or the drive to learn until you're old, but because it's fractured from the very beginning."

"Schizophrenia."

The System NPC emphasized.

"The whole society is talking about making money, right, Teacher?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Mm," the System NPC nodded.

"I remember there were a few years when everyone called a certain capital tycoon 'Dad'."

"That's about it. The profession of a doctor actually isn't that complicated. It's like running a restaurant: at first, you act according to your conscience and use high-quality ingredients for everything, but one day you discover the one next door uses gutter oil to lower costs, and they have more diners than you."

Ji Xiang spread his hands.

"Bad money drives out good; that's about the meaning," the System NPC said. "I won't nag about the rest. The reason I said a lot to you before your last Empathy is because that Empathy would indeed change your values."

"I think it's fine, and I don't regret it," Ji Xiang said firmly. "Teacher, then I know."

"Mm," the System NPC said. "That's about it. The new content you are going to learn this time is very important."

"New content?"

"You need to learn how to fight."

"I don't understand, Teacher," Ji Xiang said.

"Academic conferences—if you just want to enter this circle and curry favor with some big shots, that's very simple," the System NPC said. "Everyone gets along, eating and drinking, and it passes. Plus, your technical level is quite good; as long as one has eyes, they know you are inevitably a future rising star, and no one will offend you for no reason."

"But if you insist on your original intention and insist on the content an academic conference should have, you need to fight."

"I understand," Ji Xiang suddenly realized. "It's just like how it's absolutely impossible to convince an idiot on the internet."

"Hahaha," the System NPC suddenly laughed loudly. "Zhou Congwen said the same thing."

"Heh." Ji Xiang was very interested in that Zhou Congwen the System NPC mentioned.

"How exactly to do it depends on yourself; I won't interfere. Whether you stay or go back."

"Okay, Teacher," Ji Xiang had already made up his mind.

"Go on, get some rest early. Tomorrow is your first time attending an academic conference. The surgical procedure of Embolization and Resection is still good, but the data in your hands has loopholes. If there are loopholes, you might be seized upon and attacked because of them."

Although the System NPC said he wouldn't interfere, he seemed to have already assumed that Ji Xiang would definitely fight.

Ji Xiang nodded and left the System Space.

The night was already deep; Ji Xiang opened his eyes, and before him was filled with the fairy tale told by the System NPC.

It was still better in fairy tales, but thinking carefully, it was precisely fairy tales that had more reversals.

(End of this chapter)