Chapter 43 Roll up your sleeves!

Domestic hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery experts came out to greet him in person, and he was settled directly in the lavish residence. Unfamiliar doctors visited and brought fruit baskets.

He didn't even have to wait in line for checkups; instead, they utilized the personal time of the medical staff in the endoscopy suite.

These were things Lu Zhankai wouldn't even dare to imagine.

It wasn't that it couldn't be done, if he really hardened his heart and threw his weight around... but even then, no. Lu Zhankai had a clear and sober judgment of himself.

"Old leader, I just checked the medical orders. There is no treatment scheduled for today, so please rest easy. Early tomorrow morning, after your blood draw and tests, have a light meal. Don't eat anything tomorrow noon, and after work tomorrow afternoon, I'll take you to the endoscopy suite for an EUS examination."

"Alright," Lu Zhankai replied softly.

"Then I'll take my leave first."

"Dr. Luo, why don't you stay for a casual bite to eat this evening?" Lu Zhankai's secretary invited.

Luo Hao gave a wry smile. "Probably won't be able to make it."

"..."

"I've already turned down a dozen dinner invitations. I'm scheduled to have dinner tonight with Director Cui... from Anzhen."

Leaving the ward, Luo Hao let out a long breath.

The concentration of pollen in the ward was simply too high; it choked the nose.

What utter nonsense, sending so many flowers. It wasn't as if they were attending a memorial service.

Luo Hao muttered inwardly to himself.

That afternoon, Qian Guangming had no clinic hours. He accompanied Luo Hao to pay respects to several veteran experts who were regarded as the ultimate treasures of the hospital.

They were the ones who truly counted as Luo Hao's teachers.

All afternoon, they spoke countless words until his throat felt like it was smoking.

It wasn't until after work that Cui Ming宇 drove over to pick up Luo Hao.

Once in the car, Luo Hao slumped limply into the passenger seat, pondering whether he should allocate any future free attribute points to stamina.

"Little radish..."

"Call me Godfather," Luo Hao said listlessly.

Socializing and networking were truly much more exhausting than performing surgery. If he operated for a whole day—even clad in full armor—he wouldn't be as tired as a dog.

"Let's be serious for a moment," Cui Mingyu said with solemn sincerity. "How are you getting along at Kuangzong? That small hospital has no future anyway. If you don't mind, why don't you come to Anzhen and join my team?"

As Cui Mingyu spoke, he grew excited, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Luo Hao, if you come over and we're on the same team, in a year—no, half a year—we'll work those people to death."

"Why be so cutthroat? Aren't you tired?"

Luo Hao glanced at the system panel.

Sigh, it seemed he would have to start grinding and competing as well.

Anzhen specialized in minimally invasive cardiac surgery, performing occlusion procedures for ventricular and atrial septal defects. The difficulty wasn't high, allowing him to easily rack up surgical case numbers.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Luo Hao's mind.

He hadn't utilized the medical team system yet, and Cui Mingyu was indeed a suitable candidate.

"Old Cui, what kind of surgeries do you mainly perform?"

"Minimally invasive," Cui Mingyu said. "Interventional closures, stents, and things like that."

"I'm calling out to you now, do you dare to answer!" Luo Hao shouted abruptly with a mischievous grin, just like back in their school days.

"Just call!" Cui Mingyu barked back defiantly.

"Cui Mingyu, let me ask you: are you willing to join my medical team?" Luo Hao tapped open the medical team panel.

"I'm willing!" Luo Hao spoke quickly, and Cui Mingyu didn't quite catch it all, only hearing a few keywords like "medical team," so he casually gave his consent.

Luo Hao felt a minor flutter of tension. He was essentially exploiting a glitch, and he had no idea if the system would penalize him for cheating.

"Ding-dong~"

The system prompt sounded, and Cui Mingyu's name was officially imprinted beneath the medical team's roster.

Holy crap!

It actually worked!!

Luo Hao's spirits soared.

"Old Cui, seriously speaking, how many surgeries can you do in a day now?" Luo Hao asked.

"Five or six. If I push myself to the limit, I can do ten."

"!!!"

Luo Hao could already see the dawn of completing the second-stage mission.

This kind of bug was probably only something he could exploit, compounded by the fact that Cui Mingyu was quite capable, having already become a deputy director at Anzhen at such a young age.

"By the way, when did you become a director? Why didn't you tell me?" There was a hint of mild dissatisfaction in Luo Hao's tone.

"Oh, don't even ask." Though Cui Mingyu said that, his expression was immensely smug, striking a pose that practically shouted, *I'm here to show off right in front of you.*

He casually tossed over a certificate.

Luo Hao opened it, and the first things that caught his eye were two lines of red text at the top: *August 21st Xiema Mountain Fire Rescue Volunteer Service Certificate.*

Below was the body text: *Respected Cui Mingyu, during the August 21st Xiema mountain fire rescue, you enthusiastically threw yourself into the volunteer firefighting service, building an indestructible Great Wall of fire suppression with your practical actions, and gathering the warmth and strength that touched the city.*

Below that was the seal of a certain district in Mountain City.

"Old Cui, awesome!" Luo Hao raised his thumb in praise. "You've kept it in such great condition. Do you worship this thing at home just so you can use it to humble me?"

"Of course," Cui Mingyu said smugly. "Awesome, right? Let me tell you, three days and three nights, it nearly worked me to death. My newly bought electric scooter was completely wrecked."

Though Luo Hao was bantering jokingly, his right thumb remained firmly raised.

It was genuinely impressive.

"As for this military medal of honor, half of it belongs to you, and half belongs to me," Luo Hao said. "If it weren't for your godfather—me—treating you to so many meals over the years, you wouldn't have had the stamina for it."

"Hahaha," Cui Mingyu laughed heartily.

"Still, what does fighting a mountain fire have to do with getting promoted to deputy director?"

"I didn't say I was promoted because of this," Cui Mingyu said with a look of disdain. "What's there to say about being a deputy director? As long as you come back, you can lead a team within half a year and be a deputy director too."

Luo Hao smiled faintly.

"Speaking of which, how are things at Kuangzong? When I visited your home a few years ago, I noticed Donglian City had a pretty severe population outflow. There isn't much future for you there, is it?"

"Population outflow is population outflow, but the baseline in our Northeast region is very high, just like the medical industry. Don't you think the Northeast and the medical industry are a match made in heaven?"

Faced with Luo Hao's teasing, Cui Mingyu didn't take it seriously.

However, what Luo Hao said about the high baseline was indeed true.

Arriving at the restaurant, Cui Mingyu and Luo Hao entered a private room.

"Let's just have a simple bite. Today, your godfather is treating."

"Truly a rare sight. After all these years, I'm finally seeing some payback money."

"Rest assured, there will be plenty of payback money in the future," Cui Mingyu said. "If you can't survive at Kuangzong, come find me anytime."

At this point, Cui Mingyu wore a puzzled expression and asked earnestly, "Luo Hao, why are you so set on returning to the Northeast? Isn't it good in the Imperial Capital? In our medical industry, platforms are extremely important. Don't use those top-tier grandmasters as examples; we aren't at that stage yet."

"Returning to my hometown, I got seven intermediate qualification certificates," Luo Hao stated the honest truth.

Cui Mingyu looked at Luo Hao with the gaze one would reserve for an absolute fool. "You really think I'm stupid? If you're going to make up an excuse, at least make it believable. What do you even need so many practice scopes for? Nonsense."

See? Nobody believed him even when he told the truth.

Luo Hao didn't elaborate further. He certainly couldn't tell Cui Mingyu that he had acquired a system, that he needed seven practice scopes just to unlock it, and that he ultimately chose a sea of stars over staying at the university hospital.

If he said that out loud, Cui Mingyu would probably have him shipped off to the Sixth Psychiatric Hospital.

Cui Mingyu didn't press the matter either; everyone had their own choices to make. Luo Hao probably felt his life had been too smooth-sailing and simply wanted to add some random difficulty settings to his existence.

Regardless, Cui Mingyu had absolute confidence in Luo Hao.

*They say a man remains a youth until the day he dies, but where are the youths...*

Luo Hao's phone rang.

"Director Qian!" Luo Hao answered the call with a cheerful smile.

"I'm having dinner with Cui Mingyu. Why don't you come join the fun? Cui Mingyu is treating today."

"Yes, yes, exactly—that same idiot Cui Mingyu who got chased off the operating table by our teacher and later went to Anzhen."

Cui Mingyu's face contorted into a bitter gourd.

Luo Hao really knew how to press all the wrong buttons. That incident where he spoke foolishly and got chased off the operating table by their teacher had happened who-knows-how-many years ago, yet Luo Hao still remembered it with crystal clarity.

Seeing Luo Hao hang up the phone, Cui Mingyu asked, "Was that Director Qian Guangming?"

"Mmm-hmm."

Cui Mingyu felt a twinge of envy.

Luo Hao possessed a powerful natural affinity with people. Whether it was teachers or patients, everyone looked at Luo Hao in a special light. He couldn't help but admire him for that.

A moment later, after picking up Qian Guangming, it was obvious that Cui Mingyu held a certain dread toward him, acting like a mouse seeing a cat. Yet, Luo Hao was exceedingly familiar and casual with Qian Guangming.

A small dining gathering of three seated themselves.

"Luo Hao, that matter regarding the drug package insert you mentioned has some headway," Qian Guangming said straight to the point after sitting down, without any pretense of fluff.

"Huh?" Cui Mingyu was startled.

Luo Hao was planted in the backwaters, yet he was worrying about matters of such a high level?

Modifying a drug package insert was a domain so elevated he probably wouldn't touch it in his entire lifetime.

"Thank you, Director Qian."

"What are you thanking me for? I happened to run into President Xu, and he was chatting with the Boss for a bit. After President Xu left, I mentioned that you had come regarding this matter of the package insert."

"What did the Boss say?"

"The manufacturer's insert has already been revised; the difficulty isn't high. The Boss just needs to push it along from his end."

"Can I go see the Boss?" Luo Hao asked.

"The Boss doesn't agree. Look at you," Qian Guangming had no eyebrows, and when he was slightly irritated, his bald face radiated a very real, tangible murderous intent. Cui Mingyu couldn't help but shiver.

"When you returned to your hometown, you claimed you wanted to take care of the elderly, yet you insisted on blabbering about how you'd accomplish this and that in the future. Go ahead, brag all you want, I'd love to see how you manage to wrap this up."

"Director Qian, I..." Luo Hao hesitated for a moment, let out a chuckle, and didn't continue.

Back then, he had been quite chuunibyou, declaring that he would only return after making a name for himself.

That single sentence probably remained lodged in the Boss's heart like a fish bone, difficult to let go of even to this day.

Luo Hao felt a twinge of regret.

The things he had done wrong over the years could be counted on one hand, and the words he uttered before leaving certainly constituted one of them.

Glancing at his long-term main quest, Luo Hao cast another deep look at Cui Mingyu.

He himself was working hard, but Cui Mingyu had better work hard too!

"Don't worry, the Boss talks tough, but in his heart, he dotes on you endlessly." Qian Guangming's expression softened slightly, though he still looked fierce enough to frighten a crying child into silence. "When are you planning to work in your hometown until? If it doesn't work out, hurry up and come back."

"The Boss is just saying that. If you really come back, he'll definitely be overjoyed. By the way, accolades like the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars all look at age. You can afford to be willful for a few years, but any longer and it will delay your future prospects."

"Mm," Luo Hao didn't answer.

Knowing Luo Hao's stubborn temperament, Qian Guangming didn't push him further, believing that Luo Hao had his own judgment.

"Director Qian, I ran into a situation recently," Luo Hao changed the subject, bringing up his own distress.

"Go ahead."

Luo Hao briefly recounted how he had lost his temper over the phone during an emergency rescue the other day.

"Director Qian, during emergency rescues, my emotions sometimes become a bit hard to control. What do you think is going on?" Luo Hao asked for counsel.

"What of it?" Qian Guangming waved a hand dismissively, unconcerned. "Take Old Sun, for example. Look at how amiable he is off the operating table, smiling at everyone he speaks to. Once he gets on that operating table, he turns into a completely different person. He curses everyone in sight, whether they deserve it or not. And the result? Once he gets off the table, he still has to act like a humble grandson and apologize to people."

Luo Hao and Cui Mingyu laughed together.

Director Sun was exceptionally skilled at surgery, ranking among the top surgeons in the country for cardiothoracic surgery.

Yet, just as Qian Guangming described, a person who was usually gentle and approachable would undergo a complete metamorphosis the moment he stepped into the operating theater. His temperament and disposition would flip entirely, without even needing a major rescue.

Scolding whoever was in sight was the mild part; roughly six out of every ten surgeries involved him throwing instruments at people.

"Surgeries... the pressure is high, and lives are hanging in the balance," Qian Guangming continued. "Some people have strong stress-resistance, while others are weaker. It doesn't have much to do with technical proficiency. What do you do when you can't handle the pressure? You find an outlet and vent it out."

"Your incident is nothing. A little later down the line, a patient might spray a mouthful of blood up onto the ceiling, and it'll be too late to save them. Put it this way, I think you did the right thing, though you should apologize to the other party afterwards. Never mind, you probably already apologized ages ago."

Luo Hao nodded.

"In emergency rescues, always being slow and methodical simply won't work. Not everyone knows the situation is critical. If you don't lose your temper, this whole machinery of people will operate just a fraction slower."

"When it's a matter of racing against seconds, being a second off here and a second off there means it'll be too late by the end."

Luo Hao felt a sense of validation.

Although Director Qian wasn't particularly good at counseling people's inner knots, everything he spoke of was the cold reality.

"I actually feel you weren't arrogant enough."

"!!!"

"You're the Boss's student... of course, the Boss isn't your only teacher, but isn't that the best justification? With so many big names standing behind you, in an emergency rescue, no matter how you argue, you hold the absolute moral high ground. Plus, you're part of the Medical Affairs Office."

Luo Hao and Cui Mingyu both felt a sense of intimidation at the mention that countless grandmasters stood behind Luo Hao, as if they could leverage that backing to bully others at will.

But then again, leveraging power to bully others wasn't necessarily a derogatory term in certain contexts; it was simply stating a fact.

Bullying others with borrowed power, riding on the tiger's might—those phrases suddenly seemed to carry some logic.

"I understand, Director Qian," Luo Hao nodded earnestly.

"We don't bully others, but we won't let others bully us either. No matter what grievance you suffer, call the Boss directly!" Qian Guangming instructed.

Cui Mingyu was the one footing the bill, but this meal had completely turned into a session of Qian Guangming and Luo Hao reminiscing, leaving him utterly unable to interject.

The disparity between people was just that stark. Cui Mingyu even felt an itch to remind Director Qian that he and Luo Hao were classmates, and that he was already a deputy director at Anzhen.

But he didn't dare.

Luo Hao held a definitive place in the hearts of those grandmasters, a stature he simply couldn't compare to. Cui Mingyu still possessed that much self-awareness.

The meal ended quickly, with Qian Guangming continuing his earnest admonishments. Even though he was kind and affable, even when speaking comforting words, he still gave off the lingering aura of a mastermind plotting something illicit.

After sending Director Qian off, Luo Hao and Cui Mingyu found a roadside barbecue stall to grab a few casual bites, reminiscing about the old days with lighthearted cheer.

The next day, Luo Hao spent another full day paying respects to the veteran experts.

After work, the endoscopy suite performed an extra-scheduled examination for the patient Luo Hao had brought.

During the EUS procedure, it was discovered that the patient's pancreas was diffusely swollen with inhomogeneous hypoechoic changes, exhibiting a capsule-like appearance. The pancreatic duct ran straight through the pancreas with no dilation throughout its entire course. Multiple enlarged lymph nodes were visible around the pancreas, and the pancreatic supply was abundant.

Elder Zhao's judgment had been correct. Not only did the endoscopic ultrasound reveal the capsule-like changes, but the "sandwich sign" was also very distinct, falling under the classic category of autoimmune pancreatitis.

Upon learning that the result was benign, Lu Zhankai grabbed Luo Hao's hands outside the endoscopy suite and wept uncontrollably.

Luo Hao offered comforting words. Lu Zhankai wasn't in a rush to go home; he still needed to undergo some related treatments and obtain a comprehensive treatment plan, but Luo Hao couldn't stay.

There were matters waiting for him back home, and Luo Hao had tasks to fulfill.

The system's long-term main quest required patient, grinding effort, and time waits for no man.

Everything that needed to be done during this trip to the Imperial Capital had been accomplished. Knowing that the revision of the drug package insert was already showing headway, Luo Hao could finally set his mind at ease.

However, the Boss urging him through Qian Guangming's mouth added a mountain of pressure and motivation to Luo Hao.

Grind!

Work hard and grind!!

Cui Mingyu had to grind, and he himself had to grind even harder.

By the time Luo Hao returned to Donglian City, the edge of the sky was already tinged with a fish-belly white.

Heading straight back to Kuangzong, Luo Hao washed up in the Medical Affairs Office.

"Luo Hao, come to my office." Lin Yuming arrived for work, spotted Luo Hao, and called him inside.

"Director Lin, the old leader's endoscopic ultrasound is a textbook benign condition, not late-stage cancer," Luo Hao stated with certainty.

"Really?!" Lin Yuming was both startled and overjoyed.

He hadn't expected that even Luo Hao would overturn such a standard-looking set of imaging scans and obtain a definitive, confirmatory answer from a higher-level hospital.

Brilliant!

"The ultrasound imaging definitely shows no issues. The capsule-like changes and the sandwich sign are both very typical. A needle biopsy was performed for pathology, and the results will take a few days, but I couldn't wait so I came back first."

Lin Yuming let out a long breath and focused on boiling water.

With his back turned to Luo Hao, one could only guess what was running through his mind.

The water bubbled and boiled away, but Lin Yuming didn't move.

"Big Uncle, the water is boiling," Luo Hao reminded him. 2

"Ah?!" Lin Yuming snapped out of a daze and only then began to brew the tea.

Clutching the enamel mug, Lin Yuming took a loud sip.

Only today, the expression on Lin Yuming's face was somewhat wooden—there was no uncontainable joy, nor any sense of loss; it was simply bizarre.

"Big Uncle, what are you thinking about?" Luo Hao asked.

Lin Yuming gazed deeply at Luo Hao, sighed after a long pause, and said, "I came from an imaging background. Back then, there weren't many doctors nationwide who had proper, formal training in imaging."

This was something Lin Yuming had always been immensely proud of.

When he was in school, undergraduate degrees were referred to as "Da Ben," which held even more weight than modern postgraduate degrees. Moreover, his alma mater's imaging program was renowned nationwide—thoroughly orthodox and formally trained.

"To be honest, I haven't let my clinical skills slip over the years; my ability to read scans isn't low. Based on that film, I thought a consultation wasn't even necessary—it was a hundred percent late-stage cancer."

Lin Yuming pursed his lips and shook his head slightly.

"Autoimmune pancreatitis is inherently a rare disease, and on imaging, it's hardly distinguishable from cancer. Not being able to pick it up..."

"Is also to be expected?" Lin Yuming scoffed self-deprecatingly.

"Not quite that," Luo Hao consoled him. "Our hospital doesn't even have an endoscopic ultrasound. These are all new technologies from the past decade or so. Big Uncle, you haven't seen them, so it's normal not to think of it."

"Take you, for instance." Lin Yuming's fleeting sense of loss vanished as he cradled his enamel mug. "Little Spiral Shell, I thought you came back because you couldn't survive down there, but looking at it now, that's not the case."

"I'm very capable. I told you that when I came back, Big Uncle."

"If you're so capable, why'd you come back to your hometown? What nonsense are you spouting, are you deranged?"

Luo Hao wiped the sweat from his brow.

He wasn't deranged, but the system's activation method was undeniably a bit unhinged.

If it had progressed from easy to hard instead of slapping him with a hell-difficulty activation requirement, he wouldn't have been scolded by the Boss or looked down upon by his Big Uncle.

"I'm old; I can't manage you and I don't want to manage you, but there's just one thing!"

Luo Hao nodded obediently. "I know, Big Uncle. Do fewer surgeries that involve eating radiation exposure."

"You do know!" Lin Yuming flared up, cursing in a low voice.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, Big Uncle, nowadays a lot of interventional surgeries don't require radiation exposure." Luo Hao patted his chest to guarantee it.

Even Luo Hao didn't believe his own words, let alone Lin Yuming, who was craftier and sharper than a monkey.

"I've scrounged up a set of gear for you. From now on, whenever you go up for interventional procedures, you are to put them on."

Lin Yuming took another slow, loud sip of tea, stood up, and retrieved a box from the cabinet.

The box was exceptionally heavy; Lin Yuming almost lost his grip, and it finally hit the floor with a heavy *thud*.

"A full set of lead armor?!" Luo Hao was caught between laughter and tears.

He had seen the full body equipment for lead suits—dozens of pounds heavy, no different from ancient heavy armor.

If he wore something like that, completing a surgery would be exceptionally difficult.

"Wear it if you can, and if you can't, crawl back to Peking Union. Out of sight, out of mind for me," Lin Yuming scolded.

Luo Hao felt tears streaming down his face.

His own Boss had told him to crawl back to Donglian City, and now his Big Uncle was telling him to crawl back to Peking Union. It seemed he had truly become a pitiful wretch that nobody wanted.

Fine, he'd wear it.

It appeared he needed to hurry up and complete the second-stage long-term main quest; at least 5 of those 15 free attribute points had to be dumped into stamina.

Otherwise, no matter how high his luck attribute was, without stamina, he wouldn't even be able to make it to the operating table.

However, now that he had the "Medical Team" feature, the minimally invasive surgeries Cui Mingyu performed at Anzhen also counted toward his own surgical volume.

Luo Hao felt a mix of delight and lingering anxiety, terrified that the system might pull some underhanded stunt.

Much like slashing prices on Pinduoduo, only for them to refuse to count it at the very end, rendering all his scheming effort completely worthless.

A few days later, seeing that he hadn't performed any surgeries himself, Luo Hao noticed the progress bar of the system quest was still slowly ticking upward.

After making a phone call to confirm that Cui Mingyu had indeed completed a few surgical cases on his end, Luo Hao finally set his mind at ease.

This could be considered shearing wool.

As for whether he was shearing Cui Mingyu's wool or the system's wool, Luo Hao didn't care to parse the difference.