Chapter 39: A Bountiful Harvest

"Not bad." The System NPC beamed; it was the first time Ji Xiang had seen him so happy, as if he were the one who had gained the skill instead of Ji Xiang.

"Teacher." Ji Xiang was also a bit excited, not knowing what to say.

"Don't use the remaining bottle of potion yet," the System NPC said. "You've already performed too many surgeries today; go out and get some rest."

"Mm." Ji Xiang nodded vigorously. Having obtained the skill to go from LV6 to LV7, he had nothing else to ask for today.

"Teacher, I'll use up my Endurance Value, then wash up and sleep."

"Good."

"Oh, right, Teacher!" Ji Xiang suddenly remembered something and took out the two purple potions rewarded by the system after experiencing Empathy three times.

"If I use these two potions, can I upgrade the circumcision to the top level?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Mm, the top level is LV9, yes, you can."

Ji Xiang hesitated for a moment.

"What are you thinking about?" the System NPC asked.

"I'm debating whether to wait until the Kidney Transplant to use them," Ji Xiang admitted.

"Use them," the System NPC said. "Experiencing the peak of a surgical procedure will be of great help to you. Besides, upgrading to LV9 will allow you to complete the mission and open the System Mall."

"Okay." Ji Xiang had no further doubts, opened the potion, and drank it in one gulp.

LV7 to LV9, achieved in one go.

A warm current washed over him, and Ji Xiang shivered. It was as if he had entered a state of sage-like clarity, and the entire world seemed to have changed in his eyes.

As for what exactly was different, Ji Xiang couldn't say; it was a very profound feeling.

Shortly after, Ji Xiang heard a mechanical voice ring in his ears.

【Congratulations on upgrading the circumcision to the top level. Rewards are as follows:

1. Surgery Department Experience Points +3000.

2. Surgical Points +100.

3. Basic Comprehension +3.

4. Active Skill—Gaze of the Senior Doctor has been upgraded. While retaining the original rewards, the cost per use is reduced to 1 Surgical Point.】

Ji Xiang looked at the numbers soaring across the screen and felt very happy.

"Teacher, is the Gaze of the Senior Doctor skill useful?"

"It's useful." The System NPC nodded and said very directly and firmly, "As your technical level grows, it will become more and more useful."

"!!!"

"Go back and rest first."

Ji Xiang wanted to check the System Mall, but he was exhausted and felt there was no rush, so he left the System Space.

On the other side of the screen, the researchers watched the screen, trembling.

The boss's expression was looking worse and worse; everyone knew the "mother tyrannosaurus" had been on the verge of exploding for a long time.

The boss was supposed to meet with the head of a listed company tonight, but her secretary had just walked in and said one sentence before being scolded away.

Nothing was more important than one's own son, but watching the superhuman performance of the boss's son on the screen, everyone felt a mix of laughter and tears.

The data curve soared once again.

Everyone was already numb.

How many times was this? Twelve or thirteen?

People's memories had become blurred.

The legend of the "seven-times-a-night man" was nothing compared to the boss's son; with an APM reaching 320, maintaining it for an entire lecture—who else could do that!

What is a natural-born talent?

This is it!

However, the boss's son still hadn't stopped.

He refreshed everyone's worldview once again, breaking everyone's stubborn prejudices under impossible circumstances.

The APM curve was very steady, very fast, and broke through the 320 value at an almost 90-degree angle, reaching 390.

390!

390!!

If he were an e-sports player, the keyboard would probably have been smashed to pieces!

Even if you swung your mouse until it flew off, you couldn't be that fast.

Wouldn't he cause friction and catch fire?

What kind of person could spend a happy night with a hand speed of 390?

So he had been holding back before...

But this time it didn't last long; in less than 10 minutes, the data curve dropped and returned to zero.

So his limit is 400, some researchers thought seriously.

"Knock, knock, knock~~"

Ji Xiang heard the knocking, stopped his movements, and looked back with the Needle Holder in his hand. "Dad, is that you?"

"I'm coming in."

Ji Xiang's father clearly didn't want to give him any time; he pushed the door open and walked in right after speaking.

When he saw Ji Xiang holding a Needle Holder in one hand and a Banana Peel in the other, he froze in place.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Are you... practicing Suturing?"

"Yeah, what else could it be?"

"It's nothing." Ji Xiang's father's heart had shattered into eight pieces, only to be stitched back together.

That roller-coaster-like feeling made him, usually as steady as a mountain, feel as if the entire world had become illusory, ethereal, and bizarre.

"It's so late, have you opened your night trading? Is there any non-farm payroll data being released today? It seems like that's still a few days away."

"..." Ji Xiang's father spread his hands, "Forgot."

"Should I focus a bit more?" Ji Xiang put down the Needle Holder in his hand and stretched.

If not for wanting to level up, Ji Xiang certainly wouldn't have overdrawn himself time and time again, to the point that even his Basic Endurance had increased by a bit.

"Ji Xiang, this Banana Peel you stitched is not bad, I'll take it to admire." Ji Xiang's father swiped a Banana Peel.

After leaving Ji Xiang's bedroom, he examined it carefully.

The Banana Peel was very soft, and it was stitched densely with thread, looking like the thousand-layer-sole cloth shoes of the past.

The child is learning a skill, and this stubborn persistence is just like me! Ji Xiang's father smiled, his heart filled with old-fashioned comfort.

Returning to the study, he recorded a video of the Banana Peel and sent it off.

Tonight's harvest was great, but he was also very tired.

Ji Xiang even had a sense of world-weary maturity.

Having performed the circumcision for so long, equivalent to the lifetime surgical volume of 95% of doctors in the Urology Department, Ji Xiang didn't feel annoyed, but he was a bit tired.

Ji Xiang repeatedly looked at the skill and the Level 9 circumcision on the System Panel in the upper right corner of his field of vision, joy rising in his heart.

He didn't know what the experience would be like when he performed the circumcision again.

Thinking and thinking, the exhausted Ji Xiang drifted into a dream.

Ji Xiang's father frowned, sitting at the desk with a serious face. He looked motionless, but his toes had already worn holes through his slippers and were pressing hard against the floor.

Crack, crack, crack, like a mouse gnawing on wood.

【It is fate, it is love, it is childhood innocence...】

The phone rang.

He let out a soft sigh and answered the call.

"Xiao Ying." Ji Xiang's father was a bit embarrassed; his mind was filled with the image of Ji Xiang holding the Needle Holder and suturing, and without realizing it, his toes pressed even harder, making cracking sounds.

"Old Ji, I did indeed misunderstand this matter."

"Heh."

"This kid Ji Xiang is something else; he's only been a Doctor for a few days, and his hand speed is already that fast. Don't blame me, this really isn't my fault."

"Of course I don't blame you."

Complaining was meaningless; Ji Yongchang knew this principle.

Fortunately, he hadn't put on an air of holding someone accountable, otherwise it would have been even more embarrassing.

Also, how could his own son not be like him? Thinking back to when he was young, he also gave his all to push a task to the extreme.

Ji Xiang was worthy of being his son; he was practically carved from the same mold.

"Do you think that at Ji Xiang's age, not looking for a girlfriend, not going out to the bright lights and wine, but insisting on practicing surgery, is there something wrong with his psychology?" Ji Xiang's mother asked.

Ji Yongchang knew his wife's temper very well; she was just embarrassed and didn't know what else to say, so she was randomly finding excuses.

As for talk about something being wrong with his psychology, she was likely suspecting that there was something wrong with her own.

The couple understood each other deeply, and Ji Yongchang understood in an instant.

"It won't be." Ji Yongchang comforted her, "Don't think about it anymore. We've already misunderstood Ji Xiang, so don't let the misunderstanding go any deeper. Let this matter end here."

Ji Yongchang was a man of few words, living his life as precisely as a robot, a standard master of time management. He generally didn't speak at home; whenever he said something in this tone, it meant this matter had reached its ultimate conclusion.

"Old Ji, Ji Xiang isn't young anymore, we should introduce him to a girlfriend." Ji Xiang's mother said, "Tell me, if he had a girlfriend, would I have misunderstood?"

"A girlfriend..."

"Right, what requirements do you have for your future daughter-in-law? Say it early, don't wait until I've introduced someone and then you start being picky."

"As long as Ji Xiang likes her, that's fine. I have no other requirements." Ji Xiang's father smiled, "Look at you, when he was in school you wouldn't let him date, listing a bunch of reasons. Just arrived at the hospital, and you're already in such a rush."

"Then that's settled. I'll make some contacts; I think the girl from the Feng Family looks good." Ji Xiang's mother clearly already had her own choice, "Although it's not exactly a match in social status, she's more honest and steady than other people's children, and I find her quite pleasing to the eye."

"Do as you please. I don't care what kind of girl she is, as long as Ji Xiang agrees," Ji Yongchang added.

"Of course. That little brat, exactly like you, secretly training for surgery. You say he doesn't sleep in the middle of the night..."

Crisp laughter came from the other side of the phone, but the laughter couldn't hide the inexplicable embarrassment.

Both husband and wife had the same thought: today's affair was handled poorly, and they had misunderstood Ji Xiang.

Hanging up the phone, Ji Yongchang twisted the phone with his right hand, the corners of his mouth gradually curving into a crescent. His own son was promising; that was the main point.

As for the embarrassment, he had covered it up well, so it didn't matter.

As for what his wife said about introducing a girlfriend to Ji Xiang, Ji Yongchang didn't take it to heart either.

He trusted Ji Xiang's judgment; in this regard, he was the least in need of worry.

In Shanghai, on the big screen in the CBD, the numbers and graphics disappeared, and a strange Banana Peel appeared on it.

"Today's work is finished." The muscles on the female assistant's delicate face seemed to be trembling as she suppressed a laugh and announced something to all the staff.

"What is this?"

"A Banana Peel? What about the data interface! I feel like it could reach at least 450, and there's still potential!"

"Impossible, if the APM is 450, that's like drilling wood for fire; stupid humans are courting their own destruction!"

The female assistant's expression was serious as she scanned her surroundings.

"Cough, cough, that person recently started working at a hospital back home and is currently practicing suturing on a Banana Peel."

"Suturing? He wants to suture it? Then later..."

A chubby programmer said in surprise; halfway through his sentence, his colleague covered his mouth and dragged him to the back.

The reason for explaining this to everyone is that someone had already guessed this point about that female Tyrannosaurus Rex.

If someone were to say something strange at this moment, it is feared the female Tyrannosaurus Rex would immediately go berserk.

"Practicing suturing? Really?"

"Yeah, but the stitches on the Banana Peel are quite dense and even. Is it really practicing suturing?"

"That can't be."

A programmer wearing glasses walked to the screen in surprise and carefully examined the stitches on the Banana Peel.

"My dad is a Doctor; when I was little, I always watched him suture pig skin at home. This is too fine and dense, and the hand speed reached 400—what kind of level is that?"

"What do you know," the female assistant said, "I still have to explain to you what talent is."

"No wonder, I remember now, the legend..."

This person was again dragged away with their mouth covered.

Today is an inauspicious day; even speaking must be done with caution.

However, the son of the female Tyrannosaurus Rex seems to be quite powerful; someone has already picked up their phone to take a photo of the Banana Peel, preparing to find a classmate studying medicine to ask about the situation.

Early the next morning, Ji Xiang got up on time.

The rest time was not enough, and the Endurance Value was not fully replenished, but as long as he did not go into the System Space for surgical training, this endurance was enough for a day's consumption; he did not even skip his morning half-marathon run.

Ji Xiang guessed that morning runs were helpful for increasing stamina, and he prepared to find time to increase the intensity and try it out.

He officially began to take stock of his gains.

Although it was only the circumcision surgery that was upgraded to Level 9, the harvest was immense.

Normally, it takes 511,000 Experience Points to upgrade a surgical procedure to the maximum level, especially the later stages from Level 7 to Level 9, which account for the vast majority of the experience.

If not for the reward of Empathy and the System Mall not being open, it would have taken him at least half a year to upgrade the circumcision surgery.

Pretty good, Ji Xiang smiled.

Afterwards, he glanced at the Experience Points for the Urology Department; one percent of the experience from every surgical procedure accumulates to the entire Urology Department, and one-thousandth accumulates to General Surgery.

The system gave 3,000 Surgical Points, and in addition to that, the Experience Points for the entire Surgery Department increased by 3,000 points.

Converted, every surgical procedure in the future can start from an extremely high platform.

Ji Xiang was slightly excited.

With over 30,000 Experience Points in the Urology Department, looking at this number, Ji Xiang understood why the System NPC wanted him to use the precious level-up potion as early as possible.

This is the foundation!

Besides this, there was an extra button with a prompt—System Mall.

Clicking to enter, Ji Xiang carefully examined things one by one.

Actually, the items in the mall are very trivial, and the vast majority are things that can be used in Clinical practice, but Ji Xiang knew he could not redeem them now.

If a Standardized Training Student brought a pile of equipment to the Clinical department and directly said "I want to use my own things," they would likely be kicked out immediately.

The most practical one is, of course, the Endurance Potion.

Ji Xiang had already experienced its power; it is absolutely useful.

As for the gene-altering potion, Ji Xiang could not afford it for the time being. If the System NPC did not open a back door for him, he would still need to upgrade many surgical procedures to the top level.

Ji Xiang curiously examined the various items in the mall; in the end, he even saw that an ECMO was for sale. As for the price... it was eye-searing; Ji Xiang didn't even bother counting how many zeros were at the end.

Normally, a gene-altering potion should be more expensive, but in the mall, it was the opposite. Ji Xiang didn't dwell on it; he guessed it was a future-tech ECMO that could bring the dead back to life, or perhaps even lead to Mechanical Ascension.

While looking, Ji Xiang suddenly paused.

Tucked among the various high-priced items in the mall was something priced at 1 Surgical Point.

Because he had already seen various luxurious hospital instruments, the countless zeros had long since made Ji Xiang numb. Suddenly seeing something that only cost "1" Surgical Point... it was so out of place with the surrounding items.

White Lingzhi.

It was actually a pack of cigarettes?!

Ji Xiang was stunned; he looked closely at the pack of cigarettes, wanting to find out what was so different about it.

But no matter how he looked at it, it was an extremely ordinary, even somewhat crudely made pack of cigarettes. The item description even spared no ink to write a sentence—inferior cigarettes.

Why would the system sell this stuff?!

Ji Xiang stared blankly for a long time.

It seemed like some clue was dangling right in front of his eyes, but Ji Xiang could not grasp it.

After a long time, a flash of inspiration hit Ji Xiang, and he suddenly remembered that when he entered the system, he saw the System NPC's hands were deformed like chicken claws.

Besides that, his fingers were somewhat yellow.

That was a color that had not been scrubbed away by countless pre-surgical hand scrubs and disinfection.

That person is an old chain-smoker, Ji Xiang had an estimate in his heart.

Clicking to purchase, Ji Xiang bought a pack of White Lingzhi.

Ji Xiang had not thought about high-sounding terms like "respecting teachers and valuing the Dao"; it was just an instinct. Every time he saw the System NPC, he felt particularly close to him; if he liked them, buying a pack was only right.

After the purchase, Ji Xiang held his breath and entered the System Space.

Items purchased in the mall are stored in a cabinet at the entrance of the operating room. After Ji Xiang entered, he bowed slightly, called out "Teacher," and turned to take out the White Lingzhi and the accompanying lighter.

The System NPC's eyes lit up.

"Teacher, I saw this for sale. Do you smoke?"

"Heh." The System NPC moved the hands he had been holding behind his back to his front and rubbed them together, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Ji Xiang understood perfectly; he handed over the cigarettes with both hands.

"Teacher, why don't you smoke Havanas?"

"When I was young, let alone Havanas, being able to bum some tobacco leaves and roll one with scrap newspaper was like celebrating the New Year."

The System NPC took the White Lingzhi, his face beaming with joy.

"Teacher, since they are in the mall, why..." Ji Xiang left the question unfinished.

"They nag, always saying smoking is bad. Now that I'm old, I still have people constantly managing me; it's very annoying." The System NPC waved his hand and opened the packaging to take out a cigarette.

However, he did not light it, but instead held the cigarette to his nose and sniffed it forcefully.

"Let's go to the locker room to smoke one," Ji Xiang said.

The System NPC shook his head, his gaze toward Ji Xiang becoming increasingly kind.

(End of chapter)