Chapter 2329: 2250 Little Fox Spirit (Part 2)

"Nothing wrong, huh." The police said unhappily.

Encountering a lunatic, that's mild compared to being beaten! He then looked at Zheng Ren and asked, "Doctor, his brain wasn't damaged by the blow, was it?"

"Not seeing anything." Zheng Ren shook his head, "But the CT hasn't been done yet; judging from the current situation, traumatic causes shouldn't be considered."

The police pondered twice before understanding what Zheng Ren meant.

It's just nothing, why say so much? Today's really a hassle—how did we get called out and run into a lunatic?

"Police uncle, really really." The young man hurriedly explained: "I know her; we met at a comic convention—she's a cosplay fox spirit."

This kid is really ill, and not mildly—he can't tell reality from cosplay. Having heard of people who can't distinguish reality from fantasy, I never expected to meet one today.

"Police uncle, don't doubt me—I didn't just see something today; I really saw her grow a tail!" The young man grabbed the officer's arm and quickly spilled everything.

"A tail?" the police asked doubtfully.

"Trivial matter." Su Yun said disdainfully, "You got hit by her over this?"

"Sure thing," the young man said, "I thought it odd after seeing it, so I poked it twice—who knew she'd flip out and smash me with a water cup?" His expression mixed resentment and fear, tangled together.

"Just false tail syndrome, nothing strange." Zheng Ren consulted the girl's health system panel and guessed the problem.

"False tail syndrome? You mean a growth at the tail base?" the police asked.

"Tail base" is folk speech for an abnormality of the coccyx.

"Usually it's a midline sacrococcygeal protrusion resembling a tail, a congenital developmental anomaly." Zheng Ren said, "Most people have no issues; if you want to keep it, keep it, but sitting can cause some discomfort. If you don't want it, it can be removed under local anesthesia."

"……" The young man stared for a moment.

"Its full name is human false tail syndrome; it's uncommon but not a big deal." Su Yun looked scornfully at the young man and said, "If you're fine, read more—stop obsessing over nonsense. What's your deal with being fierce toward the girl?"

Su Yun has always held a grudge against the young man for being harsh toward the girl.

"But……"

"There aren't that many fox spirits around—what nonsense are you filling your head with?" the police scolded.

"I'll go check on her." Zheng Ren said.

Human false tail syndrome—I've never seen it. Maybe the young man misspoke, or maybe he really has this issue.

Even the Big Pig Trotter hasn't given a diagnosis; looks like it won't be serious.

Zheng Ren was also curious; after coming out he saw Zhou Litao standing beside the girl, looking embarrassed. Zheng Ren guessed that Zhou kept talking while the girl ignored him.

He called the girl to the treatment room; Zheng Ren thought of several ways to ask about her medical history, but she rejected them all.

Asking such a private matter is embarrassing. Zheng Ren gave Su Yun a look, indicating he should take the interview.

Su Yun obviously understood his boss's meaning, glanced scornfully at Zheng Ren, and said, "You go out first."

Just like that, Zheng Ren and Zhou Litao were kicked out.

"Call a nurse in." Su Yun didn't forget to avoid suspicion.

Usually at such times, one must avoid male-female medical encounters, mainly a male doctor alone with a young female patient in a room.

If anything happens, it'll truly be impossible to explain.

"Boss Zheng, what's up?" Zhou Litao, sweating profusely, came out and asked.

"Supposedly it's human false tail syndrome; let Su Yun ask about the situation." Zheng Ren said, "I don't know how to ask."

Zhou Litao thought, and if it were him, he probably wouldn't know how to ask either.

"Is it an atavistic phenomenon?" Zhou Litao asked.

"You could say that, or call it a congenital deformity. But it's hardly problematic—after all, it's on the outside of the body." Zheng Ren said, "They're just minor issues, nothing to worry about."

"Could it be connected to the spine?" Zhou Litao asked curiously.

"Human false tail syndrome is just a description; there are hardly any reports on such conditions, and this diagnosis is merely conventional." Zheng Ren chuckled, "It's called a false tail, but there's no bone or major blood vessel—just something like a polyp or excess flesh."

"Oh, then whether to cut it or not doesn't matter." Zhou Litao said.

"That's not entirely true either—the presence of a false tail could adversely affect the patient's mental health development; after ruling out contraindications, it should be excised surgically as soon as possible." Zheng Ren said, "But if the patient can accept it, then it doesn't matter."

Just thinking about having a tail, Zhou Litao's small eyes blinked, wondering what he was thinking.

"Boss Zheng, have you performed this kind of surgery?" Zhou Litao asked.

"I haven't done it, but I'd like to take a look—still feels inconvenient. You've also seen that girl; she's fierce. I guess this is a mental knot for her; I don't know if she'll agree to have it removed."

"What if she agrees?"

"First do a vertebral CT to check for any spinal connection." Zheng Ren said, "If there's no relation, just remove it under local anesthesia."

"In that case, we need to be careful." Zhou Litao said, "You definitely can't just chop straight down at the sacrococcygeal spot."

"Um, during surgery we definitely can't use electrocautery to cut all the way through."

"That would easily blur tissue layers, causing unnecessary damage. By carefully distinguishing tissue layers and combining blunt and sharp dissection with excision, the procedure ensures complete removal without harming surrounding important structures."

Zheng Ren spoke, his finger twitching slightly. Zhou Litao keenly caught Zheng Lao Ban's small movement, felt amused, and thought Zheng Lao Ban truly wanted to lop off the little tail.

After a full ten minutes, Su Yun finally walked out chatting and laughing with the girl.

Seeing how quickly Su Yun resolved the issue, Zheng Ren thought it was truly brutal! If it were him, he wouldn't even manage to talk and laugh—just not having the girl get angry at him would be good.

Holding back his curiosity, Zheng Ren waited silently for the outcome; after they left, he asked, "Did you see it?"

"I saw it—how can you be so gullible?" Su Yun seized the moment without hesitation to retort.

"Hey." Zheng Ren said nothing, just waiting for Su Yun to continue.

"At the midline sacrococcygeal area, about 7 cm posterior to the gluteal cleft, the skin shows a cord-like tail-shaped protrusion, roughly 12 cm × 3 cm × 2.5 cm in size; the surface skin is normal and intact, with no hair growth. The lesion is slightly soft, with no evident bony tissue or other abnormal nodules felt inside, no vascular pulsation, no tenderness on pressure."

Su Yun gave a professional explanation.

"You don't agree to cut it?" Zheng Ren still held a sliver of hope.

"Well, she likes it. The nine-tailed fox cosplay tail—others can't wear it, but she can; it's an innate advantage, she'll make a living off it. Cut? Cut a piece of thread."

"The 2D world doesn't belong to Zheng Ren; he simply doesn't grasp it. The psychological issues described in books, which in reality evolve into a means of making a living, are also beyond his comprehension."