Chapter 21: New Empathy

Ji Xiang rode his bike home, pondering today's surgeries the entire way.

Although he had performed many surgeries in the System Operating Room, that feeling was fundamentally different from surgeries in reality.

Ji Xiang was also clear that the pressure of training in the System Operating Room was not high, but in reality, every time he performed a surgery, he would involuntarily empathize, as if the person lying on the operating table were himself.

This feeling was complex and difficult to put into words.

However, his surgical skills were indeed improving very quickly, and coupled with the fact that Empathy was not as terrifying as he had imagined, a wild ambition gradually rose in Ji Xiang's heart.

Skill improvement was one aspect; on the other hand, Ji Xiang had also completed a System Task—【Assembly Line】.

He performed 32 surgeries today; the first 20 surgeries each granted 0.2 Surgical Points, totaling 4 points + 2 points for the task reward + 0.3 extra points for each surgery after completing the first 20, which was 6 points.

12 Surgical Points had arrived in his account.

But there were 22 more Surgical Points on the System Panel; Ji Xiang estimated the remaining 10 points were rewards given by the system for his Empathy.

Ji Xiang still hadn't figured out how to spend the points, but the more of this stuff, the better.

He examined the changes with joy, like a hamster preparing for winter.

His Experience Points increased by a standard 3,300 points; each surgery in reality provided 100 Experience Points, no more, no less.

The 6,000 Experience Points Ji Xiang had used to train in the System Space yesterday by exhausting his Basic Endurance had already been spent on upgrading his surgical technique.

With 3,300 Experience Points, plus today's surgical training, Stapler Circumcision could also be upgraded to Level 4.

He didn't know if there was a reward for upgrading from Level 3 to Level 4, and Ji Xiang felt some anticipation.

Returning home, Ji Xiang changed his shoes and greeted the old man as he passed the study.

It was exactly lunch break time, yet the old man was staring at the computer, watching the K-line chart.

It was a one-minute K-line chart, which was of no help to real-world trading, but Ji Xiang's father treated watching one-minute K-lines as a way to entertain himself and rest.

Ji Xiang smiled; there was no doubt that he had inherited his father's obsessive, fanatical personality. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so fond of the dull, endless surgeries and find tireless joy in completing them.

Returning to his bedroom, Ji Xiang didn't rush to the System Operating Room, but washed up first.

After taking a hot shower, Ji Xiang sat down and recorded some scattered details of today's surgeries.

These records were actually meaningless, much like the old man's fondness for watching one-minute K-lines.

After finishing everything, Ji Xiang lay on the bed, closed his eyes, focused his mind, and arrived at the System Operating Room.

The System NPC stood in the corridor with his hands behind his back and his waist slightly bent; he looked like a statue—the Medical Saint Zhang Zhongjing that Ji Xiang had seen in the campus square when he first started school.

Ji Xiang collected his thoughts and focused, walked over, and bowed respectfully.

"Teacher, I'm here."

"Hmm." The System NPC nodded slightly, "How do you feel?"

"Quite good." Ji Xiang then got straight to the point, "Teacher, I want to participate in more Empathy trials."

"Your temperament is firm, so it doesn't matter," the System NPC said, "but the surgical training you exchange for might be a bit dull."

Ji Xiang pursed his lips and said nothing; his expression already conveyed his intent.

"Not bad." The System NPC gave a rare word of praise and took Ji Xiang to perform surgery.

Ji Xiang knew that this time he was performing surgery on himself, so he was exceptionally focused.

After surgical training and surgeries in reality, Ji Xiang had some of his own understandings and questions about the procedure after learning about Circumcision.

While performing the surgery, Ji Xiang asked the System NPC questions, and the System NPC explained every detail.

Afterward, it was time for Empathy; in order to have more opportunities for surgical training, Ji Xiang had no fear of Empathy, but was instead eager to try.

It was just a circumcision; he would get used to it.

Ji Xiang also knew that absolutely no one in this world was as familiar with performing circumcisions as he was.

The legendary Prince of Circumcision should be him!

Feeling it time and again, Ji Xiang didn't watch the repair of donkey hooves, nor did he read the History of Ming, but focused on the pain sensation in contrast to the surgical process.

The process went smoothly, and for the first time, Ji Xiang fully experienced the various situations a postoperative Patient had to face.

After coming out, Ji Xiang consulted the System NPC regarding some things he had been thinking about.

He performed surgery again, and experienced Empathy once more.

However, the system had restrictions on this bug-like reward; as Ji Xiang experienced Empathy again, there were no extra rewards, and he could only feel the gains and losses of his own surgery.

Ji Xiang didn't mind; after all, one couldn't just experience a circumcision and expect to climb to the peak of Surgical Operation.

The surgery was monotonous and boring, but Ji Xiang found his own fun in every operation. Several hundred surgeries were completed just like that, and his Stamina gradually approached zero.

"One last time, you should rest," the System NPC said kindly.

Having accumulated another 3,000 Experience Points, Ji Xiang upgraded Stapler Circumcision to LV4.

A warm current rose, and Ji Xiang looked at the System Panel.

Ji Xiang was both satisfied and disappointed.

Perhaps because it was the same type of procedure, the reward the system gave for upgrading from Level 3 to Level 4 was the same as the reward for Manual Suturing—Hand Speed+3, and a 20% reduction in the error rate for Circumcision.

Fortunately, the reward effects for similar surgeries could stack; Ji Xiang now had Hand Speed+6 and a 40% reduction in error rate for Circumcision.

"Phew." Ji Xiang let out a long breath; it was still pretty good.

"You are progressing very quickly," the System NPC said.

Ji Xiang could clearly feel that the System NPC was very satisfied with his efforts. His heart stirred, and he asked, "Teacher, I want to learn a new procedure."

"A new procedure." The System NPC pondered.

"Is it possible?"

"It is." The System NPC said, "To be learned and specialized—this is inevitable. The next procedure is Extension Surgery."

"..." Ji Xiang felt that he wasn't facing the serious and kind System NPC, but as if Wang Daxiao or Mo Jiaoshou were standing here, joking around with him.

Extension Surgery... this thing sounded like magic.

"I will take you through an Extension Surgery first," the System NPC said, "This procedure is generally used for obese Patients; actually, I don't advocate doing it for obese Patients either. I have performed over three hundred cases, and they were basically all extensions after burn injuries."

Burn?

Ji Xiang was stunned for a moment.

In his consciousness, Extension Surgery was a cosmetic plastic surgery similar to breast augmentation, nose padding, or chin shaving.

Yet the System NPC was talking about burns.

Thinking carefully, what the System NPC said seemed to make some sense, although Ji Xiang hadn't even carefully looked at a single burn Patient yet.

During his internship, Ji Xiang had seen extremely severe patients when he rotated through the Burn Department. If it were just a minor task, the Attending Teacher would let Ji Xiang do it.

However, for a severe burn Patient, every dressing change was not only a torture for the Patient, but also a torture for the Doctor.

The Attending Teacher would always change the dressings personally; to prevent infection, they wouldn't even bring students along, spending an hour and a half on a single change alone.

Extension Surgery after severe burns... Ji Xiang felt a sense of awe in his heart; every surgical procedure had its own purpose, which was to treat illnesses and save lives.

"Come on." The System NPC raised a hand and patted Ji Xiang on the shoulder.

The Operating Room was still the same one, but this time it was a bit different—an Instrument Nurse appeared in the operating room, and there was also an Anesthesia Doctor.

The System NPC did not communicate with the Instrument Nurse, and after the Anesthesia Doctor performed the Continuous Epidural Anesthesia on the Simulated Human, they began to scrub in.

Unlike Circumcision, Extension Surgery at least looked like a proper surgery; the Anesthesia Doctor and Instrument Nurse in the operating room were silent reminders to Ji Xiang.

Ji Xiang focused, performed disinfection, laid out the sterile drapes, and then changed clothes to stand in the assistant's position.

The System NPC stood ready, reached out, and said softly, "Scalpel!"

A Scalpel was slapped into their palm.

Ji Xiang shivered.

Cool!

Really fucking cool!!

"Focus." The System NPC said, "This time we are talking about ordinary Extension Surgery. First, perform a circumcision incision, separate the subcutaneous tissue and fascia, down to the Corpus Cavernosum White Membrane."

Ji Xiang focused, watching the System NPC's movements while helping out.

The System NPC was not in a hurry to explain the surgical process, but instead taught Ji Xiang step-by-step, starting from being an assistant, explaining the surgeon's intent and what the assistant should do.

Fully mobilize and release the Corpus Cavernosum, and deglove the foreskin to the root of the penis.

Separate and release the ligament between the root of the penis and the pubic bone to fully extend the penile body, then suture the Corpus Cavernosum White Membrane at the root of the penis to the skin at the pubic bone (on both sides of the penile angle).

Restore the foreskin to cover the penile body, trim and suture the penile skin and the inner plate of the foreskin, and perform Pressure Bandage using Vaseline Gauze and the like.

The System NPC performed the surgery unhurriedly, spending the vast majority of the time explaining the surgery to Ji Xiang and what they should do as an assistant.

The surgery was finished, and Ji Xiang had already memorized the entire process.

"Go back." The System NPC said kindly after seeing Ji Xiang and the Anesthesia Doctor lift the Simulated Human onto the flat cart.

"Teacher." Ji Xiang pursed their lips and called out with a hint of stubbornness.

"Hmm?"

"I want to experience Empathy."

"I don't really suggest you do that right now." The System NPC said, "Especially Empathy for Extension Surgery."

"I am very strong, don't worry."

Ji Xiang knew that they had to use Empathy for the New Surgical Technique to gain more surgical training opportunities, so they were very insistent on their idea.

"Alright then." The System NPC nodded, "This Empathy might not have much to do with the surgery, but it's good to go and experience it."

Ji Xiang took a deep breath; it wasn't the first time they had been taken to the adjacent Operating Room by the System NPC, but they were still a bit nervous.

"You are very good." The System NPC looked into Ji Xiang's eyes and said calmly.

Ji Xiang was startled; they didn't know why the System NPC would say this.

"You are number 27149, and less than 5% of people can accept Empathy." The System NPC said slowly, "Experiencing three different Empathies in a short period of time will have a hidden reward."

"Uh..."

"Actually, I don't approve of doing this, but Zhou Congwen and the others discussed it in a meeting and thought it was okay. I... won't talk about that. In other words, you have already passed the initial test and deserve a reward."

"Teacher, what is the reward?" Ji Xiang was a bit tempted.

"Two bottles of potions to improve surgical skills." The System NPC said.

Ji Xiang didn't understand what that was, but they didn't ask in detail.

Honestly, Ji Xiang was not a masochist and had no interest in those things. What they were interested in was how the surgery they performed turned out and how it could be further strengthened.

From the needle at the head to bleeding at the frenulum and infection, Ji Xiang had felt all these complications and had also made targeted reinforcements.

Regarding this, Ji Xiang was very satisfied; they felt that the designer named Zhou Congwen mentioned by the System NPC was very impressive.

"Then let's begin. Remember, if you can't take it, tell me." The System NPC instructed.

"Okay, don't worry, Teacher." Ji Xiang glanced at their Energy Value and nodded vigorously.

Arriving next door, light and shadows flickered before their eyes, and the next second Ji Xiang found themselves crying in a square.

"Yanzi!"

Ji Xiang knew they were in an immersive experience; this time there should be a role for an NPC, and the heart-wrenching shouting just now was emitted by the NPC they were possessing.

"Stop shouting." A female voice came from the side, "Yanzi has a good home, you shouldn't disturb her."

"But how am I supposed to live without her!"

"With you, how is she supposed to live." The woman sighed, took out a cigarette, and handed it over.

Ji Xiang tentatively moved, but unlike the previous two perceptions, the person speaking was not themselves.

Perhaps... Ji Xiang's thoughts flashed like lightning, realizing that this time they didn't have the opportunity to improvise freely, but were just quietly watching from the perspective of a bystander.

"Themselves" wiped away tears and snot with their sleeve and took the cigarette under the woman's disdainful gaze.

"Dahai, we didn't agree when Yanzi was dating you." The woman said coldly, "We're buddies, I'll tell you a fact."

Dahai tremblingly held the cigarette in their mouth and struck the lighter, which had Peking Union Medical College Andrology written on it, three or five times before it lit.

"Are you 180 centimeters tall? Are you 180 millimeters long? Do you have a 180-square-meter flat?" The woman's voice was cold, indifferent, and even carried a hint of cruelty.

"You have nothing."

"So, let's just leave it at that." The woman took a deep breath and exhaled it onto Dahai's face.

"It is you who are not worthy of Yanzi; you need to be clear about that in your heart. Don't look at Yanzi crying; what she is reluctant to let go of isn't you, but the love of the past. Past matters are as good as things from a previous life; forget it, it's better for you and for Yanzi."

"We'll still be buddies in the future; if you want to drink, just give me a shout, and I'll drink by the crate with you."

"Little Mo, I treated Yanzi so well..." The man was crying like a dog.

"Dahai, do you need me to say it more clearly!" The woman's voice was a bit hoarse; she glared at Dahai and squeezed a sentence out through her teeth, "You are just a bottom-tier simp, you are not worthy of Yanzi!"

After speaking, the woman looked at Dahai with disgust; the smell of the cheap perfume on her body was somewhat pungent.

The woman named Xiaomo did not comfort Dahai again; she took a deep drag, smoked a cigarette down to the filter, and then exhaled heavily.

"Little Mo, I just want to see Yanzi one more time," Dahai pleaded.

Xiaomo stood up, not bothering to hide her look of contempt; she brushed the man's hand away and turned to leave.

But she only took one step, then turned around, a mischievous smile at the corner of her mouth that was somewhat detestable.

"Looking, what use is that?"

"Dahai, don't you have any self-awareness about what you're like? It's not that I despise you for being poor, nor that I despise you for not being handsome enough..."

"Self" was a bit dazed, looking at Xiaomo blankly. Ji Xiang could perceive the confusion and pain in "self's" heart, and tears were streaming down profusely.

"Dahai, your concubine cannot do it."

A knife was plunged into Dahai's heart.

(End of this chapter)