Dai Lin didn't sleep that night, as doctors who implanted cursed objects, if willing, could go without sleep for quite a long period of time without feeling fatigued.
The lock of hair over his right eye remained unresponsive after entering the right eye's space, showing no signs of breaking the seal of the eye space.
When he saw the clock displaying seven in the morning, he left his house.
It was the hospital's opening time for appointments.
On his way, Dai Lin noticed that the doctors and nurses passing him by would point and whisper among themselves. He could roughly hear sentences like "He's the current holder of those eyes" and "It's said he doesn't even give face to Director Chen."
Arriving at the outpatient department's nurse station, Nurse Zheng, who was usually as cold as ice, gave him several more glances than usual.
"Dai Lin."
Upon hearing this voice, Dai Lin quickly turned his head.
It was Gao Heyann.
"You did very well yesterday." Gao Heyann approached Dai Lin and leaned in, "I've heard about it, you helped Dr. Zhao successfully trap that fierce ghost."
"But that female ghost still got away..."
"There's nowhere in either the inpatient or the outpatient departments that is absolutely safe. Being alive is already a victory," Gao Heyann glanced at the whispering doctors nearby, "As doctors, our primary duty is to treat and save lives, we can't abandon our patients just because it's dangerous."
Dai Lin was surprised that Gao Heyann would say such a thing.
"Dr. Gao…"
"All I know is that you did everything for the sake of the patients, and that's enough. Learn well under my guidance, and when you finish your department rotations, consider carefully whether you want to choose surgery or internal medicine."
Feeling very emotional upon hearing these words, Dai Lin remembered the oath he had made at the start: "I am determined to do my utmost to eradicate human illnesses, to assist in the perfection of health, to uphold the sanctity and honor of medical science. To save lives and heal the wounded, not shying away from hardship, steadfast in pursuit, striving for the development of our country's medical and health undertakings and the physical and mental health of humanity for life!"
...
In the inpatient department, the ICU ward.
The ICU, also known as the Intensive Care Unit, admits critically ill patients from all departments of Hospital 444.
At that moment, Lin Yan was lying in her hospital bed, shivering and looking at several doctors in front of her.
If Dai Lin were here, he would recognize one of them as the robust Dr. Huo Ping from the recruitment event.
"Miss Lin," Dr. Huo Ping said, "since an emergency examination was conducted, your CT scan report is already out. Director Chen of the Ghost Surgery Department personally reviewed your report. Although we haven't performed surgical curse assessment yet, we are more than ninety percent certain that at least one fierce ghost has cursed you."
"So please… please, I beg you to perform the surgery on me!"
"This is a fierce ghost curse," Huo Ping solemnly analyzed the risks for Lin Yan, "Your situation is complicated, we need to discuss the surgical plan and schedule the operation. You'll need to stay in the ICU during this time, after all, if you were in a general ward, doctors there wouldn't be able to handle your case. The issue now is that the terror level of this fierce ghost exceeds common circumstances, so the surgical risk is significant."
Lin Yan's face paled upon hearing about the high risk of surgery.
"How, how high is it?"
"The risk is not only to you but also includes us doctors. We in the Ghost Surgery Department also face a risk of loss while conducting the surgery, although overall, the probability is low. However, the cost will surely be adjusted upward. As you know, our hospital doesn't take money, only Spiritual Therapy Points. We've roughly estimated the surgery cost, the first phase of the operation… will require 2 million Spiritual Therapy Points from you. If a doctor were to die during surgery, an additional 1.5 million Spiritual Therapy Points would be charged for each death. This is the Director's rule, as your surgery has been assessed as Level A. This doesn't include a series of further treatments, nor the possibility of a second surgery. We have evaluated through the hospital's system that even without considering a second surgery, annual anti-curse treatments would cost about 500,000 Spiritual Therapy Points from you,"
Lin Yan's complexion changed dramatically as she listened.
"Are you sure you want to proceed with the first phase of the surgery? If so, you'll have to assume all these risks."
"How, how can this be? How many Spiritual Therapy Points do I have left? How much medical expense can it cover?"
"That's the crucial point," said Huo Ping gravely, "According to the Director's evaluation, the balance of your life's Spiritual Therapy Points is 3.54 million. So it's very possible that you won't be able to afford the cost. I can only say we are currently optimistically estimating future medical expenses. I am very sorry, but these are the Director's rules and no doctor in this hospital can defy them. Considering the risks of the surgery, you have the option to choose between surgery and conservative treatment."
"You… you mean, I can't afford the surgery cost, so conservative treatment would be better?"
At that moment, another male doctor said, "Let me explain. Given your current condition, if you weren't in the ICU, your life would be in constant danger. The fierce ghost definitely can't get into the ICU. I want to emphasize again that your surgery is very risky, for both you and us doctors. The situation now is that you likely can't pay for the surgery and follow-up treatment with your Spiritual Therapy Points. To put it bluntly, you might actually live longer with conservative treatment."
"Dr. Qin," Huo Ping said disapprovingly, "That was a bit harsh."
"I'm just telling the truth. The ordinary wards did not affect that fierce ghost with their various cursed objects, and even Dr. Long and Dr. Zhao had their hands full with it, right?"
Lin Yan started trembling all over. She never imagined her condition was this serious.
"I can offer you another way," Huo Ping visibly softened, "If you don't want to lose so many Spiritual Therapy Points, you can try to gather the funds for the surgery. If any of your parents or relatives have enough Spiritual Therapy Points to pay for the operation, then we can arrange it immediately."
"My parents… are both dead… killed by that female ghost…"
"Alright." Dr. Qin said impatiently, "Miss Lin, now I'm giving you two options, either have the surgery, or go with conservative treatment!"
Lin Yan clutched the blanket tightly and eventually clenched her teeth saying, "Fine, go ahead with the surgery!"
At that moment, her tears flowed like a torrent, yet the doctors around her showed no change in expression.
Perhaps to them, life and death had long become numb experiences; after all, each of them risked their lives to treat patients.