22 The Cunning Schemer

"Hey, that’s going too far." After watching the girl leave in a huff, Luo Hao complained in a low voice, "That line you just said gave me goosebumps. If you drag me in as a shield again and spout such disgusting things, don't blame me for being rude."

"I told you I couldn't take off my mask, but you wouldn't believe me." Chen Yong didn't seem to care; he just shrugged and went back to eating his skewers, looking as if he were used to it.

Luo Hao genuinely hadn't realized that Chen Yong’s mask held such a hidden meaning.

"People without good looks can hardly understand my troubles, you mortals," Chen Yong said calmly.

"..."

"Do you know that when Cameron was filming *Titanic*, the actor originally cast as the lead wasn't Leo?" Chen Yong suddenly asked, straying completely off-topic.

Luo Hao shook his head, looking closely at Chen Yong; he didn't look like Leonardo DiCaprio at all.

"During the auditions, all the female staff ran out just to get a glimpse of Leo. To be fair, back when he was young, Leo’s looks could actually hold a candle to mine."

"Uh..." Luo Hao was speechless.

"Leo was just a pretty boy back then. Once he arrived, every woman on set started swooning. Cameron didn't stick to his own guns; he chose to trust the aesthetic judgment of the masses."

"And then?" Luo Hao asked.

"I’m just using a real-life example to tell you that some things you either have from birth, or you don't. And some things, you just won't ever understand."

Luo Hao looked down at his skewers. The child sitting beside him was sitting quietly, the slap mark on his face clearly visible. Luo Hao’s hand itched—he really wanted to smack Chen Yong.

It was obvious that Chen Yong was trying to start a conversation, but his topics were awkward and uninteresting.

After finishing the meal, Luo Hao scanned the QR code to pay the bill. As they left the barbecue place, he asked, "What's wrong with you today?"

The question was a bit vague, but Chen Yong understood.

The mask shifted slightly, and eventually, a thousand words were reduced to a single sigh. "I’m not used to talking to men."

"!!!"

Luo Hao really wanted to give Chen Yong a good kick while his [Energy Conversion] was still active; this guy was truly asking for a beating.

*As the saying goes, men are boys until they die, but why should a boy worry about such...*

His phone rang.

Luo Hao picked it up and glanced at it; it was Lin Yuming. He answered immediately.

"Luo Hao."

A serious voice came from the other end, and Luo Hao’s expression tightened.

It had to be something at the hospital. Otherwise, at this hour, his uncle would have started by calling him "Little Bugle."

*We have a patient with a bowel obstruction; it’s suspected to be an intussusception.*

"How old?" Luo Hao asked.

"Forty-two."

"!!!"

Intussusception is common in children—the same kind of "brat" age he’d encountered while eating earlier. In adults, intussusception is almost always accompanied by a malignant tumor.

"We’re doing a contrast-enhanced CT scan now. Come take a look."

Lin Yuming’s tone was firm. It wasn't a request; it was a notification.

"Alright, I’m on my way."

He hung up the phone. Luo Hao didn't ask why; he rushed toward the CT room.

Just as he arrived, a chaotic noise came from inside.

*Did the patient suffer a sudden cardiac arrest?!*

Luo Hao’s heart sank. At the same time, a "Ding-dong~" notification sound echoed in his ears.

[Emergency Task: Benign or Malignant]
[Task Content: Accurately diagnose the cause of the intussusception and determine if it is benign or malignant, then successfully perform surgical treatment.]
[Time Limit: 8 hours.]
[Task Reward: 10,000 EXP, AI Diagnostic Fragment ×2.]

The task had appeared, but Luo Hao felt no joy.

He wasn't the department head, so he wouldn't be the lead surgeon. Even if he volunteered, both Lin Yuming and the relevant department heads would refuse. Sometimes, the "seniority-based" atmosphere in the medical system was so pervasive it felt like a mental imprint. There were reasons and logic behind it, of course, but for Luo Hao, such rules were a nightmare.

The system had issued another impossible task.

Even so, Luo Hao hurried into the CT room. But then, something unexpected happened—he saw a scene he wouldn't have dreamed of even in his wildest fantasies.

Lying on the floor wasn't the patient, but Director Wen Youren.

Wen Youren was clutching his chest, his face the color of a liver. Lin Yuming was on the phone, calling for the emergency department to send someone immediately.

What was going on?

"Tch, he's faking it," Chen Yong whispered with disdain behind Luo Hao.

Faking it?

Luo Hao glanced at the CT screen; the contrast-enhanced images were already up. Even without the AI, Luo Hao could provide a clear diagnosis: intussusception plus a space-occupying lesion.

The imaging showed a slender structure, 6cm long, inside the intestinal lumen, with uniform fat density and clear margins—suggesting an intestinal lipoma.

"Director Lin, I’m here."

Seeing Lin Yuming finish his call, Luo Hao spoke immediately. As he spoke, he kept his eyes on Wen Youren, who was lying on the floor.

Wen Youren’s face was a dark, congested color, his lips slightly cyanotic, but it didn't look like a heart attack. If one held their breath, it could change their complexion and lip color, but heavy sweating was hard to fake.

On this point, Luo Hao agreed with Chen Yong: Wen Youren was intentionally faking a medical emergency.

But why would Wen Youren do such a thing?

To collapse in public like this—what would Wen Youren say when the EKG showed nothing was wrong?

"Look at the scans first; don't worry about Director Wen’s emergency care," Lin Yuming said in a deep voice.

Soon, the 120 emergency doctors arrived and whisked Wen Youren away on a stretcher to the Cardiovascular Department.

A full half-hour later, Lin Yuming returned with a dark expression.

"Luo Hao, what do you think?" Lin Yuming asked.

"An intestinal space-occupying lesion; it appears to be benign," Luo Hao replied.

"Benign? Are you sure?"

"Not entirely. You know as well as I do that pathology is the gold standard. Until the pathology results are in, any definitive statement is just a lie."

"..."

Lin Yuming hated this typical "doctor-explaining-a-case" way of speaking, even though he would say the exact same thing when it was his turn.

"Luo Hao, I need a definitive answer."

"I see it as benign, but it needs the gold standard of pathology," Luo Hao said. "Director Lin, is Director Wen..."

"He suspects it’s a malignant tumor. He lacks the skill to handle it himself, and there isn't enough time to transfer the patient to a higher-level hospital, which would lead to bowel necrosis. So, he decided to just 'play dead' instead," Lin Yuming said harshly.

*Playing dead.* The term was certainly descriptive.

***

Lin Yuming had only mentioned the "best" theory; he feared that mentioning an even more malicious possibility would corrupt the younger generation.

Luo Hao didn't dwell on the matter of Wen Youren. He didn't care about the dirty tricks of those old schemers; instead, he began contacting his mentors in the capital to provide a correct, definitive diagnosis.

Watching the busy Luo Hao, Lin Yuming felt a sense of calm. Luo Hao was the bridge connecting the Mining Hospital to higher-level facilities and high-end medical resources. Since Luo Hao had returned, certain matters could be left to him without needing to worry.

High-end medical care was important to everyone. Without Luo Hao, the position of Vice Dean would have been out of reach for him.

Soon, Luo Hao finished communicating with the relevant professors in the capital. They agreed with his diagnosis: the intestinal lesion was likely a lipoma.

Even with a definitive diagnosis, Lin Yuming’s expression didn't improve.

"Director Lin, the diagnosis is clear; we need to perform emergency surgery immediately," Luo Hao suggested.

"Hmph!" Lin Yuming scoffed, his face cold.

Luo Hao was confused.

"In the General Surgery department, no one can perform a bowel resection except for Director Wen," Chen Yong whispered, sharing a "secret" as he tugged at Luo Hao's sleeve.

"!!!" Luo Hao was shocked.

"Director Wen hoards all the slightly more advanced surgeries for himself. No one else is allowed to touch them. Because of this, he’s forced at least three doctors to quit."

"Director Lin, doesn't the Medical Affairs Department do anything about this?" Luo Hao asked.

"It’s an internal department issue. No rules were broken, and no families have complained. If the department head thinks his subordinates aren't capable of handling advanced surgeries, how am I supposed to intervene?"

*Since when are bowel resections and anastomoses considered 'advanced' surgeries?* Luo Hao was baffled.

"Anyway, I’ll reach out immediately and find someone who can come in to do the surgery," Lin Yuming said distractedly.

When the medical affairs department had scolded Wen Youren to his face during the hospital-wide consultation, it had felt satisfying, but it had certainly left Wen Youren harboring a grudge. Lin Yuming hadn't expected the guy to use surgery, medical treatment, and a patient's life as leverage against him. He was busy contemplating his response while mentally digging up Wen Youren’s ancestors' graves thirty-six times over.

However, Lin Yuming wasn't panicked. He never hesitated to expect the worst in people. Regarding Wen Youren's actions, Lin Yuming already had a plan.

The patient had an intussusception; if the blood supply to the bowel was compromised, surgery delayed by even a little would lead to necrosis. By that point, they wouldn't just be cutting out 10cm of bowel—a full meter could be lost.

*Damn it!* Lin Yuming cursed inwardly. Wen Youren was truly a piece of work.

Luo Hao frowned slightly, walking quickly alongside Lin Yuming.

"Uncle, if you can't find anyone, I can do it."

"Hmm?!" Lin Yuming turned to look at Luo Hao in surprise. "Little Bugle, this is a matter of life and death. Don't mess around."

Luo Hao pulled a stack of papers from his pocket, flipped through them, and handed one to Lin Yuming. It was a copy of his intermediate-level certificate, clearly listing his scope of practice.

"A scope of practice isn't enough; you also need the technical skill."

The words had barely left his mouth when Lin Yuming fell into deep thought. If simple procedures like ovarian cyst or liver cyst puncture-sclerotherapy were easy and didn't count as real surgery, ERCP was a different story. One could say that in the entire province, fewer than fifty doctors could perform an ERCP. Although Luo Hao hadn't performed one himself, Director Shi’s assessment of Luo Hao was incredibly high...

*Could he actually do it?*

No, no, no. This was too serious. Even if Luo Hao wasn't practicing medicine illegally, Lin Yuming didn't want to risk it.

"Uncle, we can do this," Luo Hao said, his mind sharp as a CPU running at high speed. He was glowing with focus, instantly finding a way to persuade Lin Yuming.

"How?"

"I’ll take Chen Yong to start the laparotomy. Once we open it up, we can reduce the bowel. If I can complete it, I will; if I can't, I’ll cover it with warm saline gauze. That way, the surgeon you call in won't have to rush to get here in ten or twenty minutes."

"???"

"!!!"

It was indeed a perfect solution.

"I have the surgical qualifications; legally, there’s no problem. I’ll go handle the immediate crisis first; everything else is secondary."

Lin Yuming made a swift decision, his right fist slamming into his left palm.

"Alright!"

"Uncle, who are you planning to call?"

"Old Director Guohua," Lin Yuming said, his voice deep as he strode out. "He’s Director Wen’s mentor; he oversaw Wen's surgeries for nearly twenty years. But he’s elderly, so he might not get here quickly."

Luo Hao nodded.

"Also, we’ve offended Wen Youren deeply. If Old Director Guohua doesn't understand the situation and gets hot-tempered on the operating table, you swallow every grievance you have and keep your mouth shut."

Luo Hao nodded again. Whether he felt aggrieved was one thing—he didn't care. Getting the surgery done was what mattered. If they delayed, the patient would lose another meter of bowel. Compared to that, his own feelings were truly unimportant.

The diagnosis was clear, pre-op prep was done, and the medical treatment was proceeding methodically.

...

In the private room of the Cardiovascular Department, Wen Youren lay on the bed with his legs crossed.

"Old Wen, what kind of trouble are you causing today?" his wife asked, looking impatient and confused. "Lying on the floor in front of so many people—if you don't feel embarrassed, I do."

"What do you know?" Wen Youren said with disdain. "The patient today needs surgery—resecting the bowel and then performing an anastomosis. Let me tell you, this is no minor surgery. Without exaggeration, in Donglian City, no one can do this except me. And even when I do it, the success rate isn't high."

"I seem to remember that back when Old Director Guohua was around, this wasn't such a big deal," his wife asked skeptically. "Whenever we had dinner together, I’d always hear you guys talking about car accident patients with shattered guts, full of feces, joking about being 'sewage workers'."

"Hmph." A triumphant expression crept onto Wen Youren’s face. "The people who knew how to do it are all gone. For the past few years, I’ve kept the other doctors from touching it. Jiang Wenming tried to perform this surgery so many times, I banished him to the outpatient clinic. Damn it, does a little monkey really think he can jump out of my palm?"

"Little Jiang is quite good, though. Why don't you let him do it?"

"If the apprentice learns everything, the master starves," Wen Youren said. "Just like this time, that old dog Lin Yuming actually undermined me in front of the whole hospital. I want to see who he finds to perform the surgery when a real emergency hits."

His wife looked pained.

"Don't worry, I’m not really going to refuse the surgery," Wen Youren said. "I’ll go to the operating room while still on an IV drip. This time, Lin Yuming will definitely have to play the part of the grandson. Hahaha!"

At the thought of his triumph, Wen Youren laughed out loud.

"What if he doesn't?"

"You don't understand," Wen Youren waved his hand. "Those who work in clinical practice are brainwashed by the idea of saving lives; they’re all stupid."

His wife was stunned.

"I’m going to rest for a while. When the time comes, I’ll walk into the OR carrying my own IV drip. Lin Yuming will have to kneel and beg me!"

...

Fifteen minutes later.

The patient was positioned, the anesthesiologist had finished the anesthesia, and he looked at Luo Hao and Chen Yong, who were scrubbed in, with eyes full of concern.

"Chen Yong, where’s your mentor?" the anesthesiologist asked.

"At home," Chen Yong said lethargically, devoid of any energy.

"Old Wen is sick, and your mentor is the only one in your department who can resect a bowel. Call him!" the anesthesiologist suggested.

"Brother Guan, do you remember the car accident two winters ago? You were the anesthesiologist then. I had just returned from England and started clinical practice; it was my first time assisting in an emergency."

Luo Hao pricked up his ears. *Chen Yong was an overseas student in England? Which diploma mill was it?*

"I remember. Old Wen was drunk that day and couldn't make it to the OR. Your mentor resected the bowel and did the anastomosis. To be honest..."

The anesthesiologist glanced at the airtight door of the operating room.

Outside, there was no one in sight; it was quiet.

"Your mentor’s skills are actually better than Director Wen’s. He didn't work fast, but he was methodical and actually very nimble. Not like Old Wen, who had Old Director Guohua teach him so many surgeries, yet still can't handle common procedures well."

"Because my mentor performed that surgery, the day before the patient was discharged, Director Wen found an excuse to suspend him and make him a teaching secretary."

"What? He became a teaching secretary because of that?"

"Yeah, I assume so," Chen Yong said, gritting his teeth. "If my mentor dares to step into the OR now, he wouldn't even be able to work the outpatient clinic tomorrow."

"Tsk, tsk..." The anesthesiologist was speechless.

He turned to look at Luo Hao and said helplessly, "Even so, you can't just let Little Luo perform the surgery."

Chen Yong froze for a second. The skin between his mask and cap turned slightly red. After a few seconds of silence, he said awkwardly, "I’m assisting. I’m the junior doctor to Luo Hao."

"!!!"

"!!!"

The anesthesiologist, the circulating nurse, and the scrub nurse were all stunned. The two nurses who were counting supplies even forgot what number they were on, staring at Chen Yong in disbelief.

"Little Luo, have you performed a similar surgery before?" the anesthesiologist asked in surprise.

"I have. I did dozens of cases back in school," Luo Hao answered while putting on his gown.

*In school.*

The anesthesiologist sighed inwardly. *That doesn't count!*

The Mining Hospital had lost the spirit it had a dozen years ago. Back then, it was the top hospital in the eastern part of the province, only slightly inferior to the three affiliated hospitals of the Medical University, and miles ahead of the rest. But now, all sorts of riff-raff were... sigh.

The anesthesiologist made no attempt to hide his disappointment and sighed deeply.

Luo Hao stood at the operating table. The shadowless lights were white—dazzlingly white. This was like a stage, with no applause, only endless responsibility.

Luo Hao didn't have any poetic thoughts. After locating the incision site, he reached out and said in a low voice, "Disinfect."

A gauze pad soaked in iodophor was slapped into his hand. The force was a bit heavy; it was clear the scrub nurse was unhappy about him being the lead surgeon.

Luo Hao didn't mind. He looked up, narrowed his eyes, and gave the scrub nurse a faint smile.

After the surgical area was disinfected, Chen Yong wiped it with dry gauze. Luo Hao reached out: "Knife."

A scalpel was slapped into his palm.

He used the pen-grip method to incise the skin, and dry gauze was immediately pressed onto the incision. After using electrocautery to stop the bleeding, he began blunt dissection.

The anesthesiologist wrote the time on the anesthesia record, glanced at the vitals on the monitor, and looked down to continue writing. But then he let out an "Oh?" and stood up, looking from the patient’s head toward the surgical field.

*In the time it took to write a record, he’s already started protecting the peritoneum?!*

The anesthesiologist knew his stuff. It wasn't rare to see a surgeon enter the abdominal cavity quickly, but it shouldn't happen with someone performing the surgery for the "first time." He stood behind Luo Hao with his hands behind his back, staring at the field.

Luo Hao had already finished protecting the peritoneum, gently incised it, and used blunt scissors to extend the opening.

Once the abdominal cavity was fully opened, Luo Hao picked up a large curved retractor, dipped it in warm saline, pulled back the abdominal wall, and handed the retractor to Chen Yong.

"Keep the handle higher," Luo Hao instructed.

Chen Yong, who rarely spoke, was clearly nervous, but he cooperated well, and the surgical field was perfectly exposed.

The incision was well-placed, the field was clear, and the site of the intestinal torsion was visible.

"Adult intussusception is rare. Can't you use an air enema?" After watching for only a few moments, the anesthesiologist’s attitude toward Luo Hao changed.

In surgical and clinical departments, skill is what matters. As long as someone isn't a jerk, the better their skills, the more they are respected. Especially with Luo Hao’s "Peer Admiration +1" bonus, the anesthesiologist’s attitude shifted from cold to warm.

"Look at the scans; the patient has a space-occupying lesion in the bowel. It doesn't appear malignant. The preliminary diagnosis is a benign lipoma," Luo Hao said.

The anesthesiologist clutched his head and groaned, "Has the pathology department been notified?!"

"Director Lin asked the head of pathology to come for an intraoperative frozen section; the machine is already turned on," Luo Hao said.

"Director Lin is probably sleeping at home, right?" the circulating nurse asked with a touch of annoyance.

Performing a surgery in the middle of the night with a "novice" lead surgeon had everyone in the OR feeling disgruntled. If not for the "peer admiration" effect, the nurses would probably be slamming things around.

"No, Director Lin went to Old Director Guohua’s house to invite him to take over," Luo Hao said while gently manipulating the bowel, untwisting the incarcerated and intussuscepted segments.

*Ah, so that’s it!*

The atmosphere in the OR instantly brightened. Luo Hao was only handling the preliminary work; the actual surgery would be performed by Old Director Guohua.

*That’s good! That’s great!!*

"Sigh, you should’ve said Old Director Guohua was coming sooner." The circulating nurse moved a high stool for the scrub nurse so she could sit down, then sat on a stool in the corner herself. "Little Luo, I thought you were the lead surgeon."

"I’m just handling the emergency," Luo Hao laughed. "Just finding the spot and fixing the intussusception so the bowel doesn't become too necrotic. Once Old Director Guohua arrives, he can go straight to the resection and the frozen section. If everything is clear, he can perform the anastomosis, and we’ll be done in half an hour."

The atmosphere in the OR became even more cheerful. The previous tension vanished.

"What about Director Wen?" the scrub nurse asked curiously.

"Director Wen had a sudden heart attack and was admitted to the Cardiovascular Department."

"Old Wen looks so healthy usually; how could he be so fragile? Collapsing right when he was about to go into surgery," the circulating nurse said with a smile. "What a waste of such a big frame."

The nurse knew a bit about the hospital rumors, and linking it to this sudden "heart attack," she quickly winked at the scrub nurse.

Luo Hao ignored their opinions on Director Wen. After releasing the bowel, he felt it for 30 seconds. "It should be fine. Warm saline gauze."

"Coming right up!" the scrub nurse answered briskly.

Covering the bowel with warm saline gauze to check for necrosis was mandatory. This time was perfect for waiting for Old Director Guohua to "rescue the table."

"Chen Yong, did you study abroad in England?" Luo Hao rested his hands gently on the gauze pads protecting the peritoneum and looked at Chen Yong.

"Yeah," Chen Yong nodded.

"Which school?"

"..." Chen Yong was silent.

Luo Hao found it strange; even if Chen Yong had graduated from some diploma mill, he shouldn't be embarrassed to say so.

"Hahaha, Little Chen is actually quite impressive," the anesthesiologist, who knew the truth, laughed. "You’d never guess what he studied."

"Wasn't it a Master’s in Medicine?" Luo Hao asked.

"Ever seen *Harry Potter*?"

"???" Luo Hao was full of question marks. *Chen Yong studied abroad—could he have gone to Hogwarts?* That was absurd.

"Exeter University in England."