The Enhanced Doctor

"Chao, do you think this is the calm before the storm? Are we being granted some respite before we transfer to the new hospital building?" Liu Banxia casually asked after taking a bite of an apple.

"Heh, isn't that nice? A little reprieve to slack off before the real work begins. By the way, next time, save me a bone that has a lot of tendon; I prefer chewing on tendon rather than meat," Wang Chao said.

Liu Banxia rolled his eyes. "Be grateful you're getting something to eat at all. Do you know how much bones cost per pound? Sister Li cooks so much every time. Never mind the cost, lugging them all the way here is quite a task due to the weight alone."

"Then why don't you just buy more bones next time? Hundreds of pounds of them, and let Sister Li stew them. Problem solved," Wang Chao retorted nonchalantly.

"You're just an onlooker who enjoys stirring up trouble. It takes forever to cook them. Sister Li is working night shifts every day; I feel bad even eating what she makes," Liu Banxia responded.

"Anyway, any news? It looks like tonight will be quiet. Have some fruit and take a nap first, and I can sleep during the latter half of the night."

"How can there be news every day? My mom arranged a blind date for me, but I told her I've been too busy lately and need to work overtime, so I turned it down. Does that count as news?" Wang Chao said with a sigh.

Liu Banxia nodded. "I guess it does. But I haven't had many surgeries lately, and it's starting to get to me. It's tiring if I do too many, but if I do too few, my hands start to itch for one."

"Are you still dwelling on that patient from last night?" Wang Chao asked, surprised.

Liu Banxia shook his head and took another big bite of his apple. "Why would I think about it so much? If doctors dwelled on every case like that, we wouldn't be able to function."

While they were still talking, two people walked into the waiting hall. Both were in cycling gear, and one of them, a young man, was clutching his right shoulder, his face contorted in pain.

"Fell?" Liu Banxia walked over and asked.

"I was cycling, got blinded by a car's headlights, and crashed onto the curb. My shoulder really hurts," the young man said.

"Sit down first. Your companion can help you register. We'll have to cut your clothes open so I can take a look," Liu Banxia said.

After cutting open the clothes, the young man's right shoulder was red and swollen. Liu Banxia gently pressed it. "It's fractured. Let's get an X-ray. You might need surgery for internal fixation."

"Do you have any allergies or a history of medical conditions? Like high blood pressure, heart disease, anything like that? Also, were you blinded by the car's headlights causing you to fall, or did you hit something while cycling and then fall?"

"No allergies, and no prior medical conditions," the young man said.

"I was just blinded by the car headlights, then I felt the lights were too bright, lost my grip on the handlebars, and fell. It really, really hurts. If I need surgery, how long will recovery take? I'm a programmer; I can't work with one hand."

Liu Banxia took out his small penlight. "Follow my light source. Good. Blink. Okay. Let's also get a head CT scan. One reason is to check if you hit your head when you fell. The other is to see if your fall might have been caused by photosensitive epilepsy."

"Your eye-tracking response to the light was slow, and there was a slight tremor. Doing a CT will give us some peace of mind. I hope I'm overthinking this; it would be best if there's nothing wrong."

"Doctor, I was wearing a helmet. It should be okay, right?" the young man asked, leaning his body awkwardly.

"Think about it," Liu Banxia said. "Normally, even if someone is dazzled by strong lights, their subconscious reaction would be to control their speed. It's rare for someone to just fall."

"You also said just now that you didn't hit anything. And think carefully now, do you have any memory of the fall itself? Does it feel like there's a gap, like you blacked out for a bit?"

The young man thought carefully for a moment, then frowned and nodded.

Earlier, he was too focused on the pain, and on the way to the hospital, he'd been cursing those high-beam drivers. As for how he actually fell, he really had no impression.

"Actually, there's a simpler test," Liu Banxia continued. "We could use a strong, flashing light to stimulate you. That would clearly show if you have photosensitive epilepsy. However, many types of epilepsy have varied manifestations, and it's more often due to neurological causes."

The young man felt a surge of anxiety. He understood some of what Liu Banxia was saying—that there might be something wrong with his brain.

"President Liu, you've become quite skilled at this, haven't you?" Wang Chao said after the patient and his companion left for their examinations.

"What's so amazing about it? He told me everything himself. I just made a reasonable suspicion based on what he said and then looked for confirmation, that's all," Liu Banxia said nonchalantly.

"If any surgical cases come in tonight, you take priority. You haven't operated in days, right? You can't let your skills get rusty for too long."

Wang Chao nodded. "It's mainly because our ER has been really slow lately. Actually, I'm not expecting much right now. Let's wait until we move to the new building; patient numbers should gradually increase then."

Although the Emergency Center had increased its dispatch volume, it was still subject to certain restrictions.

Take the car accident victims from last night, for instance. The driver was also unconscious but was easily rescued and taken to the City Hospital. The patient *we* received was in critical condition, which is why they came to the Second Hospital.

After a while, the X-ray and CT scan images were delivered. It was another patient with a brain tumor and a fractured scapula. General surgery wasn't involved, so they would invite an orthopedic surgeon to perform the internal fixation. The brain tumor could be addressed more slowly, after the orthopedic surgery was completed.

DING! Patient consultation completed.

Gained 30 Experience Points, 75 Diagnosis Skill Proficiency Points.

Liu Banxia sighed inwardly. He'd let Wang Chao handle the liaison with the doctors from the two departments for this case. He was really hoping for surgeries himself; that was currently the easiest way to level up.

The difficulty of leveling up had increased significantly, and he didn't dare use his Glory Points casually anymore. Even though he could now earn Glory Points from consultations and surgeries, it wasn't exactly easy.

"President Liu, that Porsche in the hospital parking lot, does it belong to the family of one of our ER patients? I don't think anyone working upstairs owns a car like that," Wang Chao remarked casually upon his return.

"I borrowed it yesterday when I was rushing to the hospital. I need to ask Qiaoqiao when she's going to come and drive it away," Liu Banxia said, taking out his phone.

Qiaoqiao might be a little upset, thinking he'd seen her drunk. But leaving the car here wasn't appropriate either; what if it got scratched or bumped?

However, even after waiting for more than ten minutes, his message went unanswered.

Just as Liu Banxia was feeling bored, he saw Zhou Shuwen walking over from the corridor. It startled him; it was almost ten o'clock at night, and Zhou Shuwen still hadn't left work.

"Director, why are you heading home so late again?" Liu Banxia asked, stepping forward to greet him.

"I'm waiting on a donor for a liver transplant patient. How was your day? Was the ER quiet?" Zhou Shuwen asked.

"Everything's fine. We had a wave of patients who overdosed on nitrous oxide; they were all transferred to the Neurology Department. Director Miao also reminded me to write a report on it for the hospital administration," Liu Banxia quickly replied.

"Let me take a look," Zhou Shuwen said.

Liu Banxia hurriedly handed over the documents from his desk.

"What are you so afraid of me for? I heard you had another conflict with Qi Wentao in the ER today?" Zhou Shuwen asked while flipping through the papers.

"Director, it wasn't exactly a conflict, more like a difference in work philosophies. But don't worry, I'll handle it properly. I've also communicated with Sister Wang; in the future, when we encounter pediatric patients or other difficult cases, we'll try to have experienced nurses handle them," Liu Banxia said.

"In the future, don't concern yourself too much with these things," Zhou Shuwen said. "When managing, just focus on the task and disregard unnecessary interferences. Address the matter, not the person; that's what matters."

"This report is acceptable. I'll sign it for you now. However, I doubt I'll have time tomorrow, so take it to Assistant Sun yourself. He can arrange the rest."

"Director, you should head home and rest early too," Liu Banxia said.

Zhou Shuwen waved his hand. "No rush. I wouldn't be able to sleep even if I went back now. Let's chat for a bit. What are your plans for your own future?"

"Um..." Liu Banxia thought for a moment before saying, "I just want to work hard to improve my medical skills and perform every surgery well."

"There are still so many surgeries I haven't encountered, and many diseases related to the abdominal cavity. Anyway, the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know. I still occasionally overthink things when diagnosing patients."

Zhou Shuwen chuckled. "I thought you were going to make some grand pronouncements. This is good."

"You're fortunate. Your outstanding performance has thrust you into the spotlight, and related opportunities will naturally gravitate towards you. However, your luck isn't entirely good either; you must maintain your composure and stay grounded."

"Later, take some time to think about what kind of study plan you should create, which surgeries you intend to focus on. Make a list, and if there are suitable opportunities, I'll arrange them for you."

"The fact that you performed so many consecutive surgeries last time was truly remarkable. You're smart, and you have a strong ability to 'read' surgeries; that's your advantage. But many patients, due to individual differences, present very differently during an operation."

"You need to coordinate your own study time with the time spent training the other interns. In a while, when we move to the new building, that will be the real test for you, and also the most exhausting time."

"Director, don't worry, I can definitely handle it," Liu Banxia assured, although he felt a little unsure inwardly.

My strong ability to 'read' surgeries? That came from grinding it out in the Dream Space.

Nevertheless, he was very excited. Having a good mentor truly helps one avoid many detours. Otherwise, if he had to rely on luck bit by bit, these surgical cases wouldn't have come to him so conveniently.

And for him now, even just observing surgeries was hugely beneficial. After observing a procedure once, he could then practice it in the Dream Space.

The experience of observing live was completely different from watching videos. And it was Zhou Shuwen who could provide him with such opportunities.