The Enhanced Doctor

Everyone was in high spirits, not just because of the successful surgery, but also because an islet tumor had been discovered during the operation. Such a small islet tumor would be very difficult to detect in a standard, comprehensive physical examination.

Outside the operating room, the patient's wife was still waiting.

"Rest assured, the operation was very successful," Liu Banxia said with a smile. "Moreover, there's a 90% chance that this type of islet tumor is benign. Our radiologists also meticulously checked the pancreas during the operation and found no other tumors; it was a solitary one."

"Furthermore, based on our diagnosis, we've confirmed that the islet tumor caused your husband to lose consciousness while driving. This information should be helpful for your insurance claim."

"Doctor, thank you," the patient's wife said, wiping away her tears.

While waiting, she had looked it up on her phone. However, she had searched for pancreatic cancer and knew its mortality rate was very high.

Hearing Liu Banxia's words now was undoubtedly like a ray of light piercing through a sky full of dark clouds.

"You don't need to thank just me; everyone here played a crucial role," Liu Banxia said. "You should get some rest. Your husband will need a follow-up brain CT scan shortly. If there are no complications, he can be transferred from the ICU to a regular ward after one night."

"I've already spoken to the department. We'll arrange for your husband and child to be in the same ward, which will make it more convenient for you to look after them."

"Thank you, thank you, Doc—" Before she could finish, the patient's wife fainted. Liu Banxia, with his quick reflexes, caught her.

"Let's get her a brain CT scan too," Liu Banxia said after a brief examination. "She probably hit her head in the car. She's likely been running on adrenaline, worrying about her husband and child. Now that she has relaxed a bit, her body just gave out."

"Teacher Liu, I'll go! I'll go!" Xu Yino raised her hand, and Qing Kewa did too.

"Alright, stay here with her. She should wake up soon," Liu Banxia said, nodding with a smile.

He approved of their initiative. Indeed, a doctor's growth often occurs through the process of treating patients. This growth isn't just about medical skills, but also about character and mental fortitude.

If it hadn't been for the profound impact of that pregnant patient's death, the joy from that child's successful birth, or the experience of staunching that stabbing victim's bleeding with his bare hands, perhaps the Liu Banxia of today wouldn't exist.

So what if the system was incredibly powerful? No divine magic could bring the dead back to life. Even after acquiring the system, there were still patients he treated who unfortunately died.

Take today's patient, for example. If the lesion had been more distinct or larger, would he have dared to operate even with the system's help? Just getting Dr. Shi wouldn't have been enough; they might have had to perform a pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Their interaction with the patient's wife by the doorway attracted the attention of other waiting families. This was the operating room floor, and many families were anxiously awaiting news about their loved ones' surgeries.

Now, they all longed for their own surgeons to emerge and announce, "The surgery was successful." To a patient's family, those words were like a divine melody.

"President Liu, was the surgery a success?" Wang Chao asked cheerfully as Liu Banxia walked into the emergency department.

Liu Banxia nodded. "We'll need to adjust the surgical roster later. Two surgeons clearly aren't enough. However, Dr. Shi will be able to free up some time, so we should be able to manage the workload."

"We're at your command, President Liu," Wang Chao said with a smile.

"It seems today's surgery has really invigorated you," Liu Banxia teased.

"Well, I can't compare to you, doing surgeries back-to-back. But getting to perform one every now and then? That's truly satisfying," Wang Chao replied with a smile.

"That's the advantage of our emergency department. If I were in General Surgery, would someone like me get to be the lead surgeon? It's definitely more intense and challenging here, but if you can handle it, you'll have a promising future."

"Did you all hear that?" Liu Banxia said to the interns. "Those are words of wisdom from your senior." Then, turning to Wang Chao, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Go grab something quickly, or I'm worried you'll be starving by tonight."

"Oh, you're right! I completely forgot about eating." With that, Wang Chao hurried off towards the cafeteria.

He had only taken a couple of bites of lunch when the call about the surgery came through. He'd been so excited he completely forgot he hadn't finished eating.

"Teacher Liu, today was incredibly thrilling," Huang Bo said with a smile.

The others nodded vigorously, all feeling much the same.

Liu Banxia glanced at them. "Keep striving. This feeling can be addictive, but don't get too caught up in it. Otherwise, you might not be able to handle the flip side."

His words left some of them a bit confused. Liang Xiaolin, however, understood to some extent, though she had no interest in recounting what had happened back then.

Being a doctor is never easy, she thought. If you want to enjoy the joy of saving lives, you must also be prepared to endure the pain of losing patients. Even though she had only started a little over a month before them, she had experienced a great deal in that short time.

Liu Banxia had just sat down, intending to read a book on diagnostics, when his phone rang.

"Lawyer Gao, hello. Is there any news on my case?" Liu Banxia asked after answering the call.

"They just contacted me today," Lawyer Gao said with a smile. "They've decided to agree to our terms: a compensation of one hundred yuan per person and a public apology."

"Thank you so much! That's a huge weight off my mind," Liu Banxia said. "If it weren't for your help, I don't know how long this would have dragged on. Are they still planning to sue the hospital?"

"Of course not," Lawyer Gao chuckled. "They just wanted to cause a stir and see if they could get something out of it."

"This time, the hospital's stance was very firm. Coupled with the recent news reports, they've lost the appetite for it. They'll likely have the body removed for burial in the next day or two, so it shouldn't cause any more trouble."

"Send me photos of the relevant bank cards later, and the money will be transferred to each. If you have no other objections, I'll reply to them."

"Thank you, Lawyer Gao. I have no objections at all," Liu Banxia said. "Let's find a time when I'm not so swamped and you're free. We should get together for a proper chat."

"Haha, sounds good," Lawyer Gao replied. "Though, according to President Qiu, you're much busier than we are. The most we have are court appearances, and those are scheduled in advance. You, on the other hand, are constantly dealing with emergencies."

"Sigh, you're not wrong there," Liu Banxia said. "Just today, we had a patient with an islet tumor who lost consciousness while driving and crashed his car into a shop."

"Well, Lawyer Gao, I won't keep you any longer. I'll send my bank card details over in a bit. And it's settled then—I really must treat you to a meal when we find the time. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how else to thank you."

"Alright, let's pencil it in then. We'll work around your schedule," Lawyer Gao readily agreed.

This matter truly relieved Liu Banxia of a lot of stress. It was only through this experience that he realized how many procedures were involved in suing someone. It wasn't as simple as filing a lawsuit and then heading straight to court the next day for a showdown.

Even sending the lawyer's letter, for instance, couldn't be done via ordinary express delivery; it had to be sent through postal EMS. This was so the delivery route could be tracked, or something like that. Anyway, there were specific protocols for everything.

Liu Banxia settled down comfortably. Instead of immediately picking up his book, he first pulled up his attribute panel. He needed to check on the status of the System Mall upgrade.

Liu Banxia: Level 40 (79,135/83,500 XP)

Title: Excellent Surgeon

Spirit: 67 (Understanding, Memory, Focus +19.64%)

Agility: 70 (Stability, Speed, Touch +29.63%)

Strength: 57 (Power, Instrument Mastery, Instrument Effectiveness +32.56%)

Endurance: 49 (Tolerance, Physical Strength +25.64%)

Attribute Points: 15

Glory Points: 154

Dressing Skill: Level 3 (24,619/49,999 XP)

Suturing Skill: Level 3 (26,314/49,999 XP)

Diagnostics: Level 3 (45,581/49,999 XP)

System Mall: Upgrading...

He felt a bit frustrated. He'd assumed the upgrade would be instantaneous; he hadn't expected it to take this long. It was just adding new items to the shelves, wasn't it? A simple refresh should have been enough!

If the system knew his thoughts, it would probably cough up a mouthful of old blood from sheer exasperation. Deep down, it seemed he really didn't take the system all that seriously.

He then focused on the title awarded by the system. Its effect was to increase the probability of his surgeries being rated as 'Perfect' or 'Flawless'.

This was good for the patients, but for him, it undoubtedly increased the difficulty of leveling up.

After he received the first title, the experience rewards for 'Perfect' and 'Flawless' ratings had dropped significantly. Now, he probably wouldn't gain much experience even from properly performing an appendectomy.

Was it because he was already Level 40? From now on, to gain experience points normally, he would need to perform Level 2 or higher surgeries.

"Teacher Liu, the CT scans are done," Xu Yino reported as she and Qing Kewa casually strolled back. "The patient's head scan is clear, and so is his wife's. At most, they might have slight concussions."

"Alright, then you two can manage these patients," Liu Banxia said. "Put some extra effort into their care. Consider this a reward for both of you."

"Roger that!" Xu Yino replied cheerfully.

To Xu Yino, this truly felt like a reward. Liu Banxia found her enthusiasm rather endearing; it made him a bit nostalgic for his own greenhorn days.

When he first arrived at Second Hospital, wasn't he the same? He'd cared so much for the patients assigned to him. He had felt like he'd finally become a doctor in the truest sense, with patients who were his own responsibility.

Once you were tempered by the relentless workload, however, it became a different mindset, a different story altogether.

The emergency department wasn't overwhelmed with patients right now. But when the patient volume increased, the number of unexpected crises would rise accordingly. A peaceful night's sleep then? That would be nothing but a dream.

There are many kinds of postoperative reactions. Every single one requires an accurate diagnosis, or it could potentially lead to a medical incident.

He gave a big stretch, picked up his book, and began to read while practicing tying surgical knots.

Still so much to learn, he mused. If his knowledge had been more comprehensive that morning, he wouldn't have struggled for so long with that patient with abdominal pain.