I have only published a few minor papers.

Lin Yuming never expected that Luo Hao could ever have such an academically engaged moment.

Luo Hao stood in front of the whiteboard in the doctor's office, holding a thick black marker and "giving a lecture" right there by the board.

Lin Yuming had no idea Luo Hao was even capable of this.

Would he end up misleading the students? Lin Yuming wasn't worried; he only found it amusing.

"When you are constructing the model, you shouldn't choose mice with normal immune systems.

You should choose immunodeficient mice.

Only immunodeficient mice lack rejection responses. Only then can tumor cells grow. If you use healthy mice, they will all have normal rejection responses."

Professor Chu stared blankly at Luo Hao, his expression dull and his gaze vacant.

"Senior Brother, what should I do then?"

Not far away, a muffled female voice came through.

"Let me explain a simple developmental history of immune deficiency, and you'll understand.

First, there is a defective gene on chromosome 11, including the m-one gene, which undergoes a change and subsequently causes thymic defects, blocking T-cell development."

Luo Hao began to use the marker to write things on the whiteboard that Lin Yuming could not understand at all.

It was presumably scientific research content, so it made sense for it to be obscure and difficult to understand, Lin Yuming guessed.

He turned his head just as he wanted to ask Professor Chu, but Lin Yuming saw Professor Chu, looking equally dumbfounded, foolishly staring at Luo Hao.

Could it be...

Could it be!

Professor Chu didn't understand either?

A bizarre thought surfaced in Lin Yuming's mind.

Damn it!

Although this thought was utterly absurd, Lin Yuming gradually came to believe it was the truth.

The world was just a makeshift stage, Lin Yuming believed this, so he wasn't particularly surprised that Professor Chu didn't understand mouse experiments.

Now, scientific research and professional promotions were both filled with absurdities, resembling a makeshift stage.

Making clinical doctors do scientific research, and even tying it to promotions and income—the people who devised this policy must have water in their brains.

Did they not know how busy clinical work was?

If those people who didn't do proper work were made to cover a few shifts in the clinic, they would all bloody well behave themselves, Lin Yuming thought to himself.

Although such a thing was utterly impossible, Lin Yuming felt happy just thinking about it.

Luo Hao kept talking. To Lin Yuming, whatever Luo Hao was saying about mice or cancer genes was as obscure and incomprehensible as a heavenly book.

After a full ten minutes, Luo Hao finished.

"Understood?" Luo Hao asked the smartphone in front of him.

"Pretty much. Senior Brother, could you leave your contact information? I can consult you anytime I don't understand something."

In the video, the female student who had just been crying her eyes out had already stopped crying and was earnestly asking Luo Hao for his contact information.

You only need an expert to make a move to know if they have the goods.

Luo Hao's lecture wasn't long, but it was full of professionalism.

"No problem."

Luo Hao walked over and turned off the video, looking up to see Professor Chu and Lin Yuming standing at the door.

"Teacher Chu, you've been busy, it's all fine now. I just exchanged a few minor questions with them, and they are very smart," Luo Hao said softly.

"..."

Professor Chu silently looked at Luo Hao, feeling utterly bewildered.

He had originally thought the young Dr. Luo Hao was just a clinician, especially since Luo Hao was the one who had pointed out the fat embolism that he himself hadn't even spotted.

Yet he never expected Luo Hao to be well-versed in scientific research as well.

Recently, Professor Chu had been driven nearly crazy by scientific research, and the bitterness of it all was beyond description to outsiders.

He grew somewhat excited, and out of character, grabbed Luo Hao's hand. "Little Dr. Luo, you know how to do research?"

Lin Yuming and Secretary Chu on the side were stunned.

This... was... simply too obsessive.

Professor Chu behaved as if he had laid eyes on a priceless treasure, losing his usual composure.

"I understand a little. I always have to write a thesis to graduate." Luo Hao smiled, effortlessly withdrawing his hand from Professor Chu's grip.

"Then explain the difference between the Tsiri and Tsiri1 gene groups to me."

Looking at the enthusiastic Professor Chu, Secretary Chu felt an illusion of infinite absurdity in his heart.

This person was a renowned expert invited from the provincial capital, brought in with their leader's personal prestige!

How was it that upon arriving at the Mining General Hospital, he acted like a student, suppressed at every turn by this young man named Luo Hao?

Once might be a coincidence, but there were far too many such coincidences.

Secretary Chu was somewhat bewildered.

Yet he was not stupid; far from being stupid, he was actually quite smart.

When all unreasonableness centered around Luo Hao, it ultimately converged into a single answer—this young man definitely possessed something extraordinary.

Luo Hao spoke for a full half-hour before Professor Chu finally let out a breath of satisfaction.

"I was wrong. When choosing the topic back then, I shouldn't have chosen this kind," Professor Chu said helplessly. "Everything relies on self-study, there's really no other way."

"You have a lot of clinical work and no time for research; everyone understands. Just like today, coming to our Donglian City to put out fires. Teacher Chu definitely does this kind of thing often, saving countless lives. In the old phrasing, it's called being a living Buddha to thousands of families," Luo Hao said sincerely.

"..."

For a moment, Professor Chu didn't know whether Luo Hao was speaking in earnest or mocking him.

Judging by his expression, he didn't seem to be ridiculing him.

Yet somehow, the words sounded grating no matter how he listened to them.

If all the diagnoses had been his own, and he could handle the mouse drug and gene experiments himself, then such a comment would indeed be fine.

But right now...

Professor Chu momentarily lost his focus.

Luo Hao smiled. "Teacher Chu, you've seen the patient, there are no issues, right? Is there anything I need to pay attention to tonight?"

"The patient's condition is quite good. A little later, they can go to the hyperbaric oxygen chamber for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and there's a high probability they will make a full recovery."

"Alright then, shall we exchange contact information? I'm nursing the patient tonight, so if I encounter any problems, I can consult you, Teacher Chu."

This was precisely what Professor Chu wanted to say.

He readily exchanged contact information with Luo Hao and, with great satisfaction, pulled him aside to ask, "Little Luo, your research level is quite good. Have you published any papers?"

"I've published a few minor papers."

Minor papers, huh? Professor Chu finally received some good news.

That made sense too; after graduating, this young man had returned to his hometown, likely because he had offended his boss back at school.

Without a boss to act as the corresponding author, publishing high-tier articles was extremely difficult.

It was even questionable whether this exceptional young man had actually graduated with a doctorate yet, Professor Chu gradually formed a clear judgment.

What an unpolished piece of jade! Was this a reward bestowed upon him by the heavens?

On the way here, the GL8 had been speeding, and Professor Chu had even felt he might die in a car accident at any moment.

At that time, he had sworn oaths to himself never to come to Donglian City ever again. Yet never had he imagined he would encounter such a treasure of a young man.

"We can collaborate sometime; I'll lead you in publishing articles," Professor Chu said eagerly, a look of pride crossing his face. "At the very least, they'll be national-level journals."

Secretary Chu remained speechless.

He never would have imagined that Professor Chu would hold this young doctor from the Mining General Hospital in such high regard.

"Alright," Luo Hao smiled. "I hope Teacher Chu will guide and support me in the future."

"You're too polite. When it comes to learning ability, it has to be young people like you. As for me, I'm getting old."

"Not at all. Teacher Chu is in his prime right now, with rich clinical experience and abundant energy. In the medical profession, you are at the peak of your youth and capable of great achievements."

The two of them exchanged professional compliments for a few minutes before Professor Chu left reluctantly.

Once inside the car, Professor Chu let out a long sigh.

"Professor Chu, the patient will survive, won't they?" Secretary Chu asked with concern.

Professor Chu felt a bit put off. He glanced at Secretary Chu, but instead of snapping back, he replied vaguely.

"Right now, the patient is still in the critical period. Whether it's a fat embolism or a pulmonary embolism, both are acute and critical illnesses. However, once the cause is found and targeted methods are applied, the patient should gradually improve. But rare situations cannot be completely ruled out, such as..."

Professor Chu was no less adept at using diplomatic boilerplate than anyone else; it was a skill honed through years of communicating with patients' families.

While casually prevaricating, he took out his phone and began searching.

After listening for a dozen seconds, Secretary Chu wanted to burst into tears.

These doctors were truly bloody hounds; you couldn't write the word "dog" twice and expect any difference!

No matter who they were, old or young, regardless of how close the relationship was, you could beat them to death and they would still never say anything definitive like "everything is definitely fine."

With answers like that, how was he supposed to go back and report to the leadership?

Was he supposed to just repeat Professor Chu's exact words?

If he said that, the leader would probably give him a couple of massive slaps!

Secretary Chu gathered his focus, organized his thoughts, and wanted to try asking from a different angle.

Before he could figure out how to phrase it, Professor Chu suddenly cursed in astonishment, "Damn it!"

"???" Secretary Chu started. "Professor Chu, what's wrong? Is there a problem with the patient?"

In an instant, Secretary Chu tensed up all over and began to sweat.

Nothing must go wrong!

"No, no." Professor Chu held his phone, staring blankly for a few seconds. "Did Dr. Luo just say he published a few minor papers?"

"Yes, I heard it too. Didn't you find any? That's normal; the publications must be tiny, so Baidu's big data didn't index them," Secretary Chu said, his fright subsiding slightly.

"I found them..." Professor Chu stared dazedly at his phone.

Secretary Chu had no idea what had happened, so he leaned over to take a look.

The massive words *Nature* appeared before his eyes.

*Nature* magazine?

A top-tier global journal!

"Teacher Chu, are you planning to publish an article in *Nature*?" Secretary Chu asked.

"No, these are the 'minor articles' Dr. Luo mentioned, published in the *Nature* journal."

"!!!"

"!!!"

Secretary Chu was struck speechless.

He knew that in many fields of scientific research, some of the most important and cutting-edge research results were published in the form of brief reports in *Nature*.

This was one of the top scientific journals in the world, yet Luo Hao actually had articles published there!

"I misjudged," Professor Chu recovered his wits and gave a bitter smile. "He was just being polite to me, but I took it seriously and thought I could take advantage of him. My perspective is truly lacking, sigh."

Hearing this, Secretary Chu didn't even know how to respond.

Yet since that young doctor named Luo Hao had already published papers in *Nature*, why was he still holed up as a junior doctor at the Mining General Hospital? Bizarre.

Professor Chu kept staring at his phone, falling entirely silent.

True enough, things that he himself couldn't figure out were handled effortlessly by Dr. Luo Hao, who explained them with utter clarity, proving that his foundational skills were unimaginably solid.

Yet no matter how hard Professor Chu racked his brains, he couldn't understand why a powerhouse who could publish papers in *Nature* while still a student had chosen to return to the Donglian City Mining General Hospital.

It was simply a waste of heavenly talent.

***

After seeing Professor Chu off, Luo Hao returned to the ward to check on the patient.

"Luo Hao, have you been watching the patient the whole time?" Chen勇 asked, coming to find Luo Hao during his lunch break.

"Yeah, watch them for a day; once they get through the acute phase, they'll be fine," Luo Hao said calmly.

"Is your OCD getting worse? This is a disease; you need treatment."

"How are the preparations for the interventional surgery?" Luo Hao countered. "Get the schedule sorted out. There's only the two of us in the medical team right now, and I have other things to attend to, so I'm counting on you for this."

Chen Yong's lips moved, presumably harboring complaints, but nothing came out.

Someone poked their head in to look around.

Seeing that it was Secretary Chu, their eyes met. Secretary Chu narrowed his eyes slightly and beckoned to Luo Hao.

"Dr. Luo, I'm sorry about earlier." Secretary Chu called Luo Hao out and offered a sincere apology.

"You're too polite, Secretary Chu. It was all for the sake of the patient—everyone was anxious, perfectly understandable." Luo Hao waved it off with a smile.

"Dr. Luo, give it to me straight: is the patient going to be alright?" Secretary Chu asked.

Luo Hao paused slightly, immediately realizing why Secretary Chu was asking this.

He figured that whether it was Director Li, his uncle Lin Yuming, or Professor Chu, everyone had used clinical hedging language with him, yet not a single person had given him a definitive answer.

That was why Secretary Chu was feeling anxious.

The handling of ordinary accidents and major accidents differed by heaven and earth.

A thought stirred in Luo Hao's mind. "Secretary Chu, let's find a quiet place to talk."

In that split second, Secretary Chu felt overwhelmingly grateful to Luo Hao.

For a whole day—a full twenty-four hours—not a single person had been willing to tell him the unvarnished truth.

As expected, it takes a local doctor from Donglian City to be straightforward, Secretary Chu thought to himself.

Reaching the fire exit, Luo Hao pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Secretary Chu shook his head, indicating he didn't smoke.

Luo Hao didn't take one either and put the pack back.

"Here's the thing, Secretary Chu."

"I'm older than you, just call me Brother Chu."

"Brother Chu, to speak the absolute truth, you don't need to worry—the patient has a 99% chance of being discharged smoothly."

Secretary Chu was on the verge of shedding tears of gratitude.

Finally, someone was willing to say those words to him! Once he got back, he would finally have an explanation to give the leadership.

"However, I've noticed one issue—just mentioning it casually, mind you."

"Go ahead, say it."

"Once the patient's condition stabilizes, they need to be sent to the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. You saw the situation earlier, Brother Chu; we can't just drag their vital signs back only for the patient to end up a vegetative state."

"Even though ordinary accidents and major accidents only count deaths, what if—and I'm saying *what if*—the patient's family refuses to accept it and keeps appealing upward?"

"That's true," Secretary Chu mused.

"There's no problem this time; a period of treatment in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber will allow the patient to recover, and there basically won't be any sequelae."

Hearing Luo Hao reiterate this, the stone in Secretary Chu's heart finally landed safely.

"But what about next time? Our mining district deals in hazardous work; everyone talks about safety in production, and everyone wants safe production, but accidents are inevitable."

Secretary Chu nodded solemnly.

"When the mining district has a safety accident, it's just like our hospital having a medical malpractice incident—you can never completely avoid them."

"The question is how to turn major issues into minor ones, and minor ones into nothing at all, wouldn't you say?"

"You mean the mining district should cough up some funds to keep the hyperbaric oxygen chamber running?" Secretary Chu was astute and immediately grasped the core point.

"Mhm." Luo Hao didn't play games and admitted it directly, nodding. "To be honest, this incident gave us quite a scare. We also hope for fewer troubles so we can eat hot pot and sing songs in peace."

"And then the bandits show up," Secretary Chu added.

"Exactly. The municipal finance department doesn't allocate funds. Forget the hyperbaric oxygen chamber; they can't even pay wages in full. We live a hard life too, and every time we chat, everyone reminisces about the days back in the mining district."

"That's why when an accident happens in the mining district, our Mining General Hospital takes it so to heart."

"Xiao Luo, I'll go back and talk to the leadership. A hyperbaric oxygen chamber isn't a big deal—is thirty million enough?"

"That's too much, too much; a few million is plenty."

"But official accounts are tricky to route funds through. Right now, you belong to the municipal government, and with every goose that flies overhead plucking a feather, I'm afraid not a single cent will make it into your hands in the end."

"I'll handle the coordination with the city, Brother Chu, you can rest assured."

"Alright, it's a deal." Secretary Chu wasn't afraid of Luo Hao having requests; he was only afraid of him having none.

As long as he had tasks for him to handle, tens of millions were public funds anyway. Using state money for a state hospital—who could say anything against that?

As long as the patient didn't die or end up disabled, everything else was fine.

Having nailed down the matter, Luo Hao politely escorted Secretary Chu away.

Turning back, he caught sight of Chen Yong's gloomy face.

"What's with that expression?" Luo Hao asked.

"Keeping a dog? Easy to raise, a bootlicker," Chen Yong said with disdain.

"You've got issues."

"You're the one with issues! Just listening to what you said back there made me feel embarrassed for you. You're a product of the nine-year compulsory education system!"

Chen Yong denounced him with righteous indignation.

"You don't know a damn thing," Luo Hao scolded with a laugh. "Do you know how many patients the hyperbaric oxygen chamber treats every year?"

"Why would I need to know?"

"Stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, trauma rehabilitation patients—at least 200 people undergo rehabilitation treatment in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber every year. Even if they can't recover their original function, having the hyperbaric oxygen chamber allows their function to recover by at least 20% more!"

"So you were just being kind?"

"What did you think?" Luo Hao said lightly. "If you don't get it, go back and ask your master."

"You..."

"Tomorrow is surgery day. If you screw up the surgery, get lost. My medical team doesn't feed idlers."

Luo Hao wasn't angry, but he spoke quite firmly to Chen Yong.

Through a period of observation, Luo Hao felt that Chen Yong responded well to this approach.

In the afternoon, Luo Hao took the patient to the hyperbaric oxygen chamber for treatment.

The reversible window for vascular injury is limited; the earlier the better, as the earlier intervention leads to a more thorough recovery for the patient.

When they came back out with the patient, Luo Hao conducted another evaluation and sent the assessment sheet to Secretary Chu, appending his own evaluation notes at the bottom.

Overall, everything was ideal, and the patient would surely improve day by day.

After finishing his immediate work, Luo Hao went to find Lin Yuming.

He felt as though he was no longer a doctor, but a hospital director—only directors worried about these administrative matters, and even then, only those with real responsibilities.

Lin Yuming hadn't left yet and was staring blankly at his computer screen.

"Director Lin." Luo Hao smiled as he entered the office and first reported the patient's condition.

"Sit down and talk." Lin Yuming looked at Luo Hao with a gaze full of paternal affection.

After finishing the report on the patient, Luo Hao brought up the main topic: "Uncle, I want to ask the mining district for some funds to repair the hyperbaric oxygen chamber."

"Pfft~"

Lin Yuming was drinking water; upon hearing Luo Hao's words, a mouthful of water almost choked his lungs.

"Little Luo-horn, are you running a fever?"

"No."

"Is this the kind of thing you should be worrying about?" Lin Yuming laughed despite himself.

"I've already discussed it with Secretary Chu. This is also for the safe operation of the mining district, to guarantee..."

"Don't give me those official clichés," Lin Yuming scolded. "You are just, and can only ever be, a clinical doctor. Do you really think you're the director?"

"Uncle, I'm planning to go to the provincial capital after the New Year," Luo Hao said softly.

"Huh? Is it finalized?"

"Shouldn't be a problem. Teacher Liu has mentioned it to me a few times. He has more patients there, and I need the surgical volume."

Lin Yuming fell silent.

Although children would eventually spread their wings and fly far away, when that day truly arrived, a sense of reluctance was inevitable.

"Securing the funds to repair the hyperbaric oxygen chamber means it can be used for another ten years, helping over two thousand patients."

Luo Hao spoke very slowly, his voice very soft, but Lin Yuming felt as though his heart had been struck by something, a surge of warmth rushing upward.

"I'll go find Director Li. This matter requires Director Li to step in personally," Lin Yuming said after weighing the options.

"Sorry to trouble you, Uncle."

"Did the mining district agree?"

"Should be no problem. I'll follow up on their end."

***

One week later.

Except for the plaster cast on her thigh preventing movement, the patient had recovered in every other respect.

Only at this moment did everyone finally let out a breath of relief.

Secretary Chu didn't break his word, and Lin Yuming also received news from the mining district, leaving him with no choice but to bite the bullet and go find Li Qiubo.

Early in the morning, the functional department heads were all lined up outside the director's office to curry favor. Lin Yuming didn't cut the line either; he simply waited patiently in the queue.

In truth, Lin Yuming had long since regretted it.

At the time, his blood had been pumping hot and he had agreed to Luo Hao, but the more he thought about it afterward, the more wrong it felt.

The city was dirt poor, and rumor had it that next year they wouldn't even be able to issue civil servant salaries.

For a sum of money to actually land in the account and make its way into the hands of the Mining General Hospital? Fat chance.

Realizing the monumental difficulty of the task, Lin Yuming wanted nothing more than to string Luo Hao up and whip him with a leather belt just like when he was a kid.

This damn brat, had water gotten into his brain?!

Even the hospital director wouldn't dare dream of such a thing, yet this minor staff member of the medical administration department, Luo Hao, actually...

Lin Yuming cursed Luo Hao countless times in his heart.

Finally, it was his turn. Lin Yuming knocked on the door and went in.

As soon as he entered, Lin Yuming put on a different mask, his face blooming with smiles, looking precisely like Luo Hao's expression whenever he wanted something from him.

"Director Qiubo, I'm here to report on my work."

Director Li lifted his eyelids to glance at Lin Yuming, a bad premonition flashing through his mind.

This old dog clearly didn't harbor any good intentions today. What was he up to?

"Director Qiubo, it's like this. The patient from the mining district accident..." Lin Yuming began reciting the patient's condition, which he had long since memorized.

Director Li waved his hand. "I've already been briefed on that today; someone arrived earlier than you did. Yuming, close the door and speak honestly: what are you really here for?"

Lin Yuming bent his waist slightly, smiling until his face wrinkled up. "Director Qiubo, it's like this. The mining district is exceptionally pleased this time and has said they want to allocate funds to our Mining General Hospital to renovate the hyperbaric oxygen chamber."

"Huh?!" Director Li Qiubo froze in place.

Such a massive deal, yet he, the director, knew nothing about it.

"Sigh, it's all just Luo Hao messing around."

Knowing he couldn't bluff his way through, Lin Yuming had no choice but to speak the truth.

Though he tried his best to embellish the process, Director Li's expression grew increasingly stern.

As soon as Lin Yuming finished speaking, a resounding "smack" echoed as Li Qiubo slammed his hand down on the desk and sprang to his feet.

"Lin Yuming, do you bloody well know what you're saying!"

(End of Chapter)