Chapter 34: What is a Catfish used for?

The patient was about twenty years old, his face still looking childish, but his facial muscles were twisted out of shape, making him look somewhat ferocious.

He was clutching a fish with both hands, shrieking like a ghost.

What the hell is this? Ji Xiang was stunned.

That fish... had completely swallowed the surgical area, hanging there, looking both bizarre and ridiculous.

Ji Xiang racked his brains but couldn't understand what this young man was messing around with.

The key was that the fish was alive, still flopping about, and every time it moved, it was accompanied by the young man's wailing.

Mo Jiaoshou walked over quickly, said nothing, pinched the gills of the Catfish with one hand, and simply "pulled" the fish off.

It looked effortless and logical; Ji Xiang didn't even pay close attention.

His gaze fell on the patient—there was no need for Phimosis Surgery, but as Ji Xiang saw the area dripping with fresh blood after the fish mouth left, a strange thought surfaced in his mind.

Mo Jiaoshou did not treat the wound, but said indifferently, "Don't move yet, wait for the Emergency Vehicle to arrive and take them to the hospital for treatment."

"Mo Jiaoshou, is it okay?"

The owner of the shop next door was startled by the dripping blood, and he asked with deep concern.

Mo Jiaoshou winked at him, then his tone turned stern, and he said sharply, "It might not be salvageable; it will have to be cut off."

Hearing Mo Jiaoshou say this, the young man was so scared that he burst into tears with a "waa."

"……"

Ji Xiang squinted at the patient's injured area; it should be fine, it just looked scary.

The owner of the shop next door was also startled; his legs trembled, and he nearly sat down on the ground.

The owner of Peiyang Barbecue was familiar with Mo Chenggui; he heard something unusual in Mo Jiaoshou's tone, so he helped the owner of the shop next door out and instructed a clerk to look after the patient.

"Brother Mo, is there a problem?"

After walking out, the owner of Peiyang Barbecue lowered his voice and asked.

Mo Chenggui smiled, "Nothing, don't worry, I was just scaring the kid."

"Phew, that's good." The owner of Peiyang Barbecue let out a long breath and patted the shoulder of the shop owner next door, "It's fine, it's fine, don't worry."

"It looks like a lot of blood, but it's actually just damaged capillaries. Go to the hospital to disinfect and check the wound; stitch the slightly deeper parts, and the shallow parts will heal on their own," Mo Chenggui said.

"Mo Jiaoshou, you scared me to death." The expression on the face of the shop owner next door was a mix of crying and happiness, which was quite strange, "You... you..."

"The kid doesn't know where he saw this, just messing around!" Mo Chenggui scolded, "Usually they use... and there are some rare ones... sigh, why am I telling you this. Kids these days really have no common sense, and they're so bold."

"Brother Mo, you really are experienced," the owner of Peiyang Barbecue praised with a mischievous smile.

"……"

Facing the praise from the owner of Peiyang Barbecue, Ji Xiang almost laughed out loud.

Mo Chenggui glared at the owner of Peiyang Barbecue with a dark face.

"I meant experienced in solving problems, not... not..."

"Ji Xiang, you go to the hospital, don't wait for the Emergency Vehicle," Mo Chenggui instructed, "Go see how Wu Zong handles it, and help out if you can."

"Okay."

Ji Xiang was not interested in eating and drinking; he listened to Mo Chenggui's instructions and immediately turned around and ran out quickly.

However, Ji Xiang didn't go straight to the hospital. He heard the wailing of the Emergency Vehicle coming from afar, estimated the time, and found a quiet place to hold his breath and enter the System Space.

"Teacher." After entering, Ji Xiang greeted the System NPC respectfully.

"You're here, Doctor Xiao Ji," the System NPC said gently, "What procedure are you planning to train today?"

"Teacher, I won't do surgical training yet; I have something to consult you about." Ji Xiang quickly interrupted the System NPC and recounted everything he had just seen.

The System NPC was clinically experienced and had long since seen it all, just nodding slightly.

"Teacher, in Urology Department trauma, what is a Catfish used for?" Ji Xiang asked curiously.

The System NPC stared into Ji Xiang's eyes, making Ji Xiang feel a chill in his heart.

"You don't know?" the System NPC asked after a full 10 seconds.

Ji Xiang shook his head blankly.

"Want to try?" the System NPC asked.

Try? Ji Xiang thought of the scene where the man was hanging a Catfish and wailing every time the fish shook, and he felt a bit horrified.

But since the System NPC said so, Ji Xiang couldn't refuse.

Experiencing Empathy once also meant getting Surgical Points, which was beneficial for Ji Xiang.

"Okay." Ji Xiang prepared to make a "sacrifice."

He was also curious about what this thing was actually for.

It was just that the wailing that followed every time the Catfish's body swayed made Ji Xiang feel a bit wary; what if it really broke?

If the knife doesn't fall on oneself, it's always just gossip. Ji Xiang tried hard to steady his mind; he didn't want to be woken up by the System NPC.

Following behind the System NPC, he came to the next room.

Light and shadow flickered, and in the blink of an eye, Ji Xiang arrived in another world.

"Doctor Xiao Ji, today is the time to test your mettle."

Ji Xiang was startled. He glanced over and saw a nurse in her late twenties, who was organizing medicines on the Emergency Vehicle while talking to Ji Xiang.

Quickly recalling, Ji Xiang was a bit confused.

The identity he was experiencing through Empathy this time was the doctor in the Emergency Department responsible for the Emergency Vehicle, not the strange patient using the Catfish.

What was going on? Ji Xiang looked at the sky, shrugged, and was puzzled.

"Lao Liu from the previous shift is really unlucky; I just can't be on shift with him. Every time it's time to eat, as soon as Lao Liu picks up his chopsticks, the Emergency Vehicle bell rings immediately. When we get back, the food is cold. If I'm on shift with him again, I'll definitely have stomach problems within 3 months."

Ji Xiang listened to the nurse's nagging and smiled.

The nurse checked the medicines on the Emergency Vehicle meticulously, and after checking, she turned back and smiled at Ji Xiang, "Clinical duty, bullying the newcomer, you'll have to get used to it."

"Man Jie, I'm fine." Ji Xiang knew this was the Empathy system, just an illusion, a dream, so he wasn't worried.

Man Jie gave a chuckle; it was obvious she felt Ji Xiang had no idea about the depths of Clinical work.

But these things were hard to explain; one had to experience them personally to understand.

"You call me Man Jie, but I'm actually very quick at my work. Doctor Xiao Ji, don't you think the character 'Man' sounds lovely? It's practically a name exclusive to girls."

"It does sound quite nice," Ji Xiang said, not really paying attention.

"Manling, Manyu, Manli, tsk tsk," the Nurse said with a laugh.

"Ultraman?"

"!!!"

The Nurse rolled her eyes at Ji Xiang. "Finished packing up. You must get on the vehicle within 1 minute after the bell rings. Don't take off your clothes when you sleep."

"Got it, got it," Ji Xiang said with a conciliatory smile. "Don't worry, Man Jie."

"Come on, I'll take you to pay respects to our department's mascot." Man Jie didn't care about the Ultraman Ji Xiang had just mentioned.

"Mascot?"

"Let me tell you, when our department was first established a few years ago, it was so busy. Let's just put it this way: the entire social order dropped by 10 years' worth of standards because of the existence of our Emergency Department."

"..."

"Every day, drunk driving and knife wound Patients were endless. Once, an Emergency Department 120 ambulance went out on a call and picked up a pregnant woman whose water had broken. In the ambulance, the fetus was halfway out, and the umbilical cord was wrapped around its neck; its face was even blue."

"..."

Ji Xiang was speechless.

What a damn unlucky department.

The Emergency Department was busy, but such a busy and unlucky department was truly rare.

Could it be that the System NPC made a mistake?

He had asked what that Catfish was for; why did it make him empathize with an Emergency Department 120 Doctor?

Ji Xiang walked in with the Nurse, his stomach full of doubts.

"Later, the Director didn't know where he scrounged up a turtle, claiming it was a bloodline inheritance from Wudang Mountain that could suppress all demons and monsters." Man Jie was spouting nonsense, letting her imagination run wild.

"Is it useful?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Of course." Man Jie brought Ji Xiang to the Nurse's office. There sat a turtle tank with a slide inside, and a turtle was slowly climbing up, having fun by itself.

"Don't say this is feudal superstition; the data statistics are right there," Man Jie said, staring at the turtle.

"With this ancestor guarding, the number of emergencies in our department dropped by 30%. Let's put it this way: before it, 120 calls were over 30 trips every 24 hours. The two Mercedes-Benz ambulances were running so fast they were practically smoking.

Let me tell you, we changed a set of brake pads every three months!"

"That many?" Ji Xiang gasped.

"With it here, Internal Medicine and Surgery combined only make less than 20 trips a day. Pretty impressive, right?"

Ji Xiang nodded earnestly.

"Change the water once a week. Everyone reminds each other about this during the shift handover; just remember that," Man Jie said, starting to prepare to change the water in the turtle tank.

"Just use tap water?" Ji Xiang asked in surprise.

He had already immersed himself in the role, feeling that such a mascot, a treasure to guard the house, should receive better treatment.

"Then what should I use? Dew? Go to the Guanyin Bodhisattva's dojo and beg the Bodhisattva?" Man Jie retorted.

"Hehe."

Ji Xiang had never done this before; he broke into a sweat just helping out.

Halfway through changing the water, a sharp alarm suddenly sounded, and Ji Xiang was startled.

"Damn it!" Man Jie cursed and glared fiercely at Ji Xiang, as if every emergency was Ji Xiang's fault.

The person a new Doctor fears most is not the Attending Teacher, but the Nurse; Ji Xiang knew this from when he was an intern.

He didn't explain, instead sheepishly retreating to the corner of the wall.

"Okay, okay, okay." Man Jie answered the phone, and at the same time, a piece of paper spat out from the printer, with the Patient's name, home address, phone number, and condition written on it.

Ji Xiang's heart skipped a beat. He took a look and saw the words "Catfish Bite" written under the condition.

So that was it. Ji Xiang finally "understood" what the System NPC meant.

He wasn't empathizing with the Patient, but with the Emergency Department Doctor. But... what was there to feel about this? Could it be that even the system was covered by the 404 law and couldn't just let him feel whatever he wanted?

A divine beast is a divine beast; even the system was a bit wary of it, Ji Xiang sighed.

"Let's go!" Man Jie grabbed Ji Xiang's White Uniform and trotted onto the ambulance.

"Man Jie, what is a Catfish Bite?" Ji Xiang asked Man Jie for guidance, being extremely sincere.

(End of this chapter)