Chapter 686: Who knows who decided on the Resident Chief anyway?

Ji Xiang returned to the System Operating Room.

One second it was a crazy scene full of blood and filth, a complete mess, and the next second he was back in the clean operating room, with the kind System NPC before his eyes; Ji Xiang felt a bit dazed.

"Are you alright?" the System NPC asked with concern for the first time after Ji Xiang returned from Empathy.

He seemed a bit nervous.

Ji Xiang was stunned for a moment, then nodded, then shook his head.

"Come on, keep me company for a smoke." It was rare for the System NPC to say he wanted to smoke.

This time, the Empathy experience was truly different.

Ji Xiang followed him blankly, and the two arrived at the locker room.

The System NPC sat under the 【No Smoking】 sign and took out a White Lingzhi.

He held the cigarette in his mouth, and Ji Xiang took out a lighter and lit it for the System NPC.

"The world of patients with Mental Illness is a mess. This patient was still considered okay; some patients can't distinguish reality from dreams. Even if I go in, I'll have a dazed illusion when I come out."

"Teacher..." Ji Xiang wanted to say something, but didn't.

"Heh." The System NPC took a deep drag of the cigarette and looked at Ji Xiang, "Rest well, no rush to go out."

Ji Xiang nodded.

He knew his state was poor, and if he went out now, who knew what kind of trouble he might cause.

Everything experienced during Empathy was a jumble in his mind, and Ji Xiang just sat quietly beside the System NPC.

Strangely enough, in the world of Empathy, he had felt terrified, but with the System NPC sitting beside him, it was like the sun rising from the east, dispelling all demons and monsters.

Ji Xiang felt a warmth in his heart.

It seemed like a long time had passed, but when Ji Xiang came to his senses, he saw that the cigarette in the System NPC's hand wasn't even half finished.

He gave a bitter smile, "Teacher, how do you treat Mental Illness?"

"There's no way for now," the System NPC said indifferently.

Ji Xiang was a bit disappointed.

In his mind, the System NPC was already an omnipotent existence. But if even the System NPC said it couldn't be done... was there really no way to treat it?

"Don't think too much. Before technological progress, some obstacles are impossible to overcome. For example, things like the Spirit Realm, haven't they also gradually become reality?"

"What?!" Ji Xiang heard a familiar term.

"The System Operating Room, when I was young, was something I couldn't even dream of, and now hasn't it appeared?" the System NPC said indifferently.

He turned a deaf ear to Ji Xiang's question.

Ji Xiang didn't press for details either; if the System NPC didn't want to talk about something, asking more was useless. And this matter... Ji Xiang was very familiar with it.

He had heard his great-uncle ramble about it since he was a child in his arms.

After the System NPC finished smoking, Ji Xiang stood up, "Teacher, then I'm going out."

"Are you better?"

"I don't know," Ji Xiang said after thinking seriously, "My mind is calm, but occasionally I still think of the people and things in there."

"Take things slowly, especially after experiencing this kind of Empathy," the System NPC cautioned.

"Alright, Teacher."

Ji Xiang bowed deeply to the System NPC and turned to leave.

"Xiao Ji, you probably won't have to be a Resident Chief in the future, that's really fortunate. I envy you; you have no idea how terrifying being a Resident Chief is," Chief Resident Xu sighed.

He had no idea what Ji Xiang had experienced during their conversation.

"Resident Chief... I don't know who invented it, it's really a shitty thing," Ji Xiang sighed.

He was still a bit dazed, and it took a few seconds for the phrase "I'm so hungry" to gradually disappear from his ears.

"When I was an intern, I heard people say that if you can't do a surgery, they'll give you ten; if you can't do ten, they'll give you a hundred. When you're a Resident Chief, if you work yourself to death for a year, even a fool would learn it," Xu Leyu said with a complex expression.

Ji Xiang sighed.

"It's really inhumane and easy to drive people crazy. Seeing the Resident Chiefs in other departments, each one more miserable than the last, some people would rather resign and give up their tenure than be a Resident Chief."

"Indeed, I... shouldn't have to go through that process, right?" Ji Xiang muttered to himself, feeling uneasy.

"Probably not," Xu Leyu said, "Xiao Ji, I think Bai Chuzhang thinks very highly of you. You haven't even been in Standardized Residency Training for half a year, and while others haven't even taken their Practicing Certificate, you've already obtained your Intermediate Professional Title."

"And you have your own provincial-level natural science grant; do you know how hard that is to get?"

"I know a little bit, they say that to advance further as a Resident Chief, you must have a provincial-level natural science grant."

"That's for large hospitals; small hospitals in the province don't need it, but moving up from those small hospitals is useless anyway. The provincial-level natural science grant isn't for research, it's just to gatekeep people."

Xu Leyu grumbled.

"Just like the college entrance exam?" Ji Xiang asked.

"The college entrance exam is based on one's own ability, the fairest exam in our lives," Xu Leyu said, "There's plenty of room for maneuvering with provincial and National Natural Science Foundation grants, for example, you..."

As he spoke, Xu Leyu felt he had made a slip of the tongue; Ji Xiang's provincial-level natural science grant application contained the hard work of various department heads and Bai Chuzhang.

Saying it like that sounded like he was being sarcastic toward Ji Xiang.

Although in Xu Leyu's view Ji Xiang really had taken a shortcut, seeing through it without saying it was better; saying it would lose him a friend.

Ji Xiang had also helped him a lot.

Xu Leyu realized he had said the wrong thing.

"Indeed, I don't know when my provincial-level natural science grant will be completed," Ji Xiang said calmly.

Completion...

Xu Leyu almost cried.

For the average person, the completion of a provincial-level natural science grant is counted in three to five years.

Yet less than half a year after Ji Xiang received the Provincial Natural Science Foundation grant, and with half of that time spent recording a variety show, he was already starting to ponder the project's conclusion.

But thinking about it, that made sense; Ji Xiang was surely aiming for the National Natural Science Foundation, and the Provincial Natural Science Foundation was merely a stepping stone, not worth lingering on for too long.

Sigh.

Xu Leyu sighed inwardly.

Others' finish line was merely Ji Xiang's starting point.

"Chief Resident Xu, if there are any Achilles Tendon Repair or knee ligament surgeries, give me a call."

Xu Leyu was slightly taken aback and gave a bitter smile, "These aren't emergency cases."

"Oh, that's a pity then." Ji Xiang spread his hands, "I was hoping to perform similar surgeries to see if I could make some progress."

Xu Leyu's eyes lit up—no, wait, what was he just saying!

Emergency or elective, he was the Chief Resident; if he wanted to admit a patient, the Attending Professor and the Director wouldn't say anything.

This wasn't about returning a favor to Ji Xiang, but about Xiao Ji taking him along to soar.

Xu Leyu almost raised his hand to slap himself in the face.

Idiot.

"How about this, Xiao Ji, I'll go find the Patient." Xu Leyu said very seriously, "Is it to perform the same type of surgery you did for Neymar?"

"Yes." Ji Xiang said, "I've spoken to Teacher Deng, but our hospital has relatively few such patients, which is quite frustrating."

"No problem, leave it to me!" Xu Leyu reached out, made a fist, and tapped his own chest.

How could he let such an opportunity to hitch a ride slip away!

At the thought of the countless papers that would follow once the surgeries increased, Xu Leyu's heart began to boil with excitement.

(End of this chapter)