Chapter 1845

Because Zheng Ren didn't know when he would be sent on a mission, he was absent-minded.

Zhu Liangchen probed indirectly, learned there might be something, so he sensibly ended the drinking party early.

In the end, Zhu Liangchen paid the bill, saying it was to welcome his own people, and it wasn't suitable for others to pay.

Liu Xu zhi was stunned by these scenes; Zheng Lao Ban's status in the jianghu was far higher than he had imagined.

After they all left and got in the car, Su Yun complained, "Boss, even if it's a mission, flying to Europe takes at least ten hours; what's there to fear about a drink?"

"I feel a bit uneasy." Zheng Ren laughed, "When you get home, have a drink with Chang Yue; no one will stop you, just don't overdo it."

"Yi Ren, any vegetables at home?" Su Yun gave a hehe laugh and tried to climb up the pole.

"I originally wanted to make garlic fragrant fish today, bought the fish, then told you Liu Xu zhi was coming. We have everything at home; I'll make it for you when we get back." Xie Yiren didn't mind.

Cooking and making rice, for Xie Yiren, is itself a source of joy.

"Boss, look at Yi Ren, then look at yourself." Su Yun said disdainfully, "What a huge difference in how to be a person."

Zheng Ren felt helpless, shook his head, and said, "Drink a little less; we might be called out on a mission at any time."

"It's been three days, and still no word on who's coming to get us." Su Yun complained, "Any news?"

"By the way, is Old Monitor coming too?"

"Hmm, he didn't say why, but he's adamant about coming along. I guess he feels embarrassed because we gave him too much last time." Su Yun said, "Won't you take it step by step?"

"It doesn't matter; it's just a mission, nothing should happen."

Su Yun fell silent for a few seconds.

Regarding this mission, regarding the so-called ancient, mysterious family in Europe that claims medieval heritage, he still had some worries.

But as Zheng Ren said, it's just to look at a patient. Putting it bluntly, it's merely an elderly vampire on his deathbed—nothing serious.

Besides, vampires are just rumors.

If porphyria patients were all handsome men and beautiful women, pharmaceutical companies worldwide would have long developed drugs to block heme synthesis.

Wanting to cure this disease is harder than climbing to heaven.

But blocking heme synthesis is much easier.

The extent of humanity's pursuit of beauty is hard to imagine.

Weight loss surgery, in a sense, should be suitable for patients with intractable obesity and stubborn diabetes.

But as soon as word got out about a reliable weight-loss method, without any publicity, the patients on Lin JiaoJiao's side already filled up.

It's said that surgery appointments have been booked up to three months later.

If one could directly become a handsome man or beautiful woman like those in Twilight—never mind side effects, never mind avoiding sunlight—those choosing drug or surgical treatment would have to line up from Earth to the moon.

"Boss, what disease do you think they have over there?" Su Yun asked.

"He's old, didn't I say that? He's beyond help." Zheng Ren said, "I've never seen a porphyria patient at death's door; this time I'll get to have a look."

"You want to look even at the point of death?"

"Porphyria still has clinical significance." Zheng Ren said, "For example, unexplained abdominal pain with no identifiable cause—you can't have all patients pee in a cup and leave it out in the sun, can you?"

Imagining the 912 courtyard filled with urine cups, Su Yun burst out laughing; this really paints a vivid picture.

A breeze blew over, the water sparkled; not only was it picturesque, the smell was ample too.

What Zheng Ren said is a characteristic of porphyria.

Porphyria, also called vampire disease and purpura disease.

It is a group of porphyria metabolism disorders caused by a deficiency or reduced activity of some enzyme in the heme synthesis pathway; it can be congenital or acquired.

The main clinical symptoms include photosensitivity, gastrointestinal symptoms, and neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Urine changes color when exposed to ultraviolet light; this is one of the most direct ways to diagnose porphyria.

A few years ago, a TV series had a plotline involving this method of diagnosing porphyria; recently, a movie has been entirely centered around porphyria.

Rare abdominal pain is easily misdiagnosed; Zheng Ren hasn't seen it, so he's quite curious.

Recently he crammed some porphyria knowledge, reading many literature reports; the more he read, the more confused he became.

"Boss, when they ask you to drink blood, will you?" Su Yun suddenly asked.

Zheng Ren felt the vehicle noticeably veer; Xie Yiren must have been scared.

He reached out and took Xie Yiren's hand, smiling, "Don't listen to Su Yun's nonsense."

"Who's talking nonsense?" Su Yun said, "The intestines can absorb heme."

This is also one of Zheng Ren's doubts; the rumor about drinking blood is relatively common in film and TV works.

"In 1985, Canadian biochemist David Dolphin published a paper linking vampires and porphyria—seeing that treating porphyria required intravenous heme, he reasoned that these patients drinking large amounts of blood could achieve the same effect as a transfusion, thereby alleviating symptoms."

"That's the official line, but David Dolphin is a renowned biochemist." Su Yun said disparagingly, "Just because transfusions treat disease doesn't mean drinking blood does—are you that stupid?"

This is also one of Zheng Ren's doubts.

But in front of Xie Yiren, talking about drinking blood or not, Su Yun is just begging for a beating.

Find a time; I'll definitely knock him a few times.

Hmm, definitely!

Before hitting him, I should do a bone density test to see how much impact his bones can take. I definitely need to hurt him, or else he'll spout nonsense, Zheng Ren thought.

Seeing Zheng Ren not speaking, Su Yun seemed to realize something was off. The boss is quite petty; don't provoke his anger.

So Su Yun began talking about tomorrow's surgery, how many patients Lin JiaoJiao's side had, etc.

Soon, after returning home, Xie Yiren went to make garlic-flavored fish; Zheng Ren and Su Yun sat in the living room, watching a very boring TV drama.

Boss, you wouldn't believe that vampires are really porphyria, would you? Su Yun asked.

If we look from the perspective of conspiracy theories, I think there's a problem. Zheng Ren said: "Porphyria is divided into congenital and acquired types; logically it shouldn't be that extremely rare disease with only a few or dozens of cases worldwide—there should be a lot of research literature."

Exactly! Su Yun slapped her thigh, saying: "That's the point. Even now, since David Dolffin published his research findings in 1985, everyone in this field has been tight-lipped about it."

Hmm, so I think there's a problem. But we don't need to worry too much; we're just going to see a doctor and make a terminal diagnosis. Apparently, it's because of the title of a lifelong professor at Massachusetts General Hospital that they wanted me to consult.