“You guys go find a hotel in the city yourselves,” Lu Yuan said as he turned around, his words tinged with loneliness.
It was the helplessness of an honest man being misunderstood, not knowing how to defend himself.
He had only wanted the best for President Wu, yet they just didn't understand.
But it was fine, they would understand soon enough.
As he watched Lu Yuan's departing back, for a brief moment Wei truly felt that he and his colleagues had wrongly accused Doctor Lu.
Yes, just for a fleeting moment.
After all, although Wei was young, he wasn't stupid.
President Wu had just gone in, and the nurse was already standing outside with a mop and bucket ready.
Who would believe this wasn't premeditated?
As he left, Wei also called out to Lu Yuan, "Doctor Lu, if he really can't be saved then just let it go..."
Lu Yuan: "..."
Carrying the severed head, the "misunderstood" Lu Yuan arrived at the entrance to the operating room.
At this time, The Clown was leaning against the wall outside the operating room, idly playing with a dagger and a water balloon.
He held up the dagger with one finger, balancing the tip of the blade against the water balloon.
It looked precarious, as if it could topple over any moment, but in reality it was very steady.
When Lu Yuan approached, The Clown shifted to the side, holding his toys in one hand while staring intently at Lu Yuan.
"This doesn't fit your style today. You could have easily punctured that balloon."
"How is it not my style? This is the best choice for him."
"Everything is for the patient. That is my style."
As he spoke, Lu Yuan opened the door to the prep room next to the operating room and turned on the lights.
A brand new mechanical prosthetic was already sitting on a cart in the prep room.
The Clown tilted his head and followed Lu Yuan inside, still holding his toys. "But your patient may not accept your good intentions."
Lu Yuan put down the severed head and took out surgical gowns, caps, gloves and other items from the cabinet.
As he changed, he said, "With his original body, he would have at most 10 more years to live, and that's under ideal circumstances."
"With this prosthetic, if he doesn't meet with any accidents, it can give him at least 20 more years."
"99% of people would know which to choose."
Still unconvinced, The Clown continued, "What if he just doesn't want it? Or can't afford it?"
"Then I'll switch it back. No big deal," Lu Yuan replied.
The Clown: "..."
After changing into surgical scrubs, Lu Yuan entered the operating room through a passageway from the prep room.
Behind him, The Clown dutifully followed while pushing the cart.
"Mr. Lu, Doctor Lu, I have one last question."
"Go ahead."
"Shouldn't this man's surgery be queued up after mine?"
Lu Yuan turned around with a frown. "Can't you have a conscience?"
"You and Jiang Yingying, one with transplant abilities, one transgender. You've done nothing for several nights."
"This man is on the verge of death. What's wrong with bumping him to emergency surgery?"
The Clown was taken aback. "It's me who has no conscience?"
Lu Yuan glared. "Who else?"
"At most I just failed at defusing the bomb!"
"It's not like I was the one who installed the gas explosives, or complained about queue jumping surgery!"
The Clown nodded. "Doctor Lu is right, it is me who has no conscience..."
Ten minutes later in operating room #5.
Lu Yuan frowned at the irregularly severed neck of Wu Xiong.
The stump was too jagged to directly install the prosthetic.
"Oh well..."
He sighed, then took an electric saw from a side cabinet.
Under the excited and thrilled gaze of The Clown, he plugged it in.
Vroom--
...
Morning of the next day.
The hospital was closed today, because the primary doctor was busy.
Now Lu Yuan's surgical queue was already three people long.
Today Jiang Yingying was having her bandages removed. If there were no issues with her facial reconstruction, it would be the final body shaping operation.
Wu Xiong's surgery had been very successful, and he was now under observation.
When Lu Yuan emerged from Operating Room #5, it was already 10am.
He rushed straight towards Jiang Yingying's ward.
But at the door, he was stopped by Liu Yuan.
"Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
"Do you even remember when you last slept?"
Faced with Liu Yuan's twin soul-piercing questions, Lu Yuan was momentarily at a loss for words.
It seemed...he really couldn't remember when he last slept.
Lu Yuan smiled. "It's just part of being a doctor, isn't it?"
"I'll go eat. Please check on Jiang Yingying's facial condition for me."
Liu Yuan handed him the medical chart. "I've already looked. There are no abnormalities so far. Based on the surgery schedule, her bandages can only be removed this afternoon."
"This afternoon? Perfect, enough time for a nap..."
"Breakfast was just reheated, still warm."
"Great, thanks."
That afternoon.
Sun Ying, Wei and Long came.
Because last night Lu Yuan had said, "You can come visit tomorrow night."
After experiencing The Clown collecting bodies and the meeting with President Wu, those words from Lu Yuan sounded to Sun Ying and the others just like "Come see me tomorrow night."
The three didn't come empty-handed.
Sun Ying bought a brazier and yellow paper, Long bought two paper effigies.
Wei bought a funeral wreath, but Long snatched it from him and threw it back in the car when he tried to carry it into the lobby.
But even so, they still ran into Liu Yuan's cold reception at the front desk.
"Doctor Lu is resting today. Please come back tomorrow."
Liu Yuan's voice was icy. Her sweet face was covered in frost.
In her eyes, her boss worked so hard that anyone who disturbed his sleep was no friend.
Somewhat afraid, Sun Ying said, "Nurse, Doctor Lu asked us to come last night."
Liu Yuan frowned. "What did Doctor Lu ask you to come for?"
The three fell silent and exchanged glances.
Long shuffled back a few steps and murmured, "To pay respects to the departed."
Sun Ying: "Yes, departed."
Wei: "The departed, should be...quite cold by now."
Liu Yuan's frown deepened, her tone growing more unfriendly. "We have anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 cold bodies here. Are you looking for intact ones or incomplete ones?"
"We have over 3,000 complete ones still hanging down there.
As for incomplete ones, there are way more of those. Under the lawns, in the organ culture dishes in the basement, in the bellies of the crocodiles out back in the pond..."
"Oh right, there's also one buried up the hill out back. Which one are you looking for?"
Sun Ying and the others: "..."
Liu Yuan wasn't exaggerating at all.
In the five years since this clinic opened, back when public security in Yun City was poor, they would hang up dozens or even hundreds of bodies every night.
Later as Yun City's public security gradually improved, Lu Yuan started eyeing nearby heterologous beasts.
Killing dozens of them a day and displaying some of the valuable ones was easy.
The clinic operated on a one day on, one day off schedule. On off days, Lu Yuan was never idle.
After that, when the beasts near Yun City were gone, Lu Yuan began clearing out mysterious realms and pollution source areas in the surrounding areas...
And so over five years, he had amassed a collection of over 3,000 specimens.
They were medals of honor for Lu Yuan the surgeon, who served patients wholeheartedly.
It was only recently, as the clinic's business picked up, that Lu Yuan stopped hunting beasts around Yun City.
At this moment, Long wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Uh, the other nurse should know who we're here to visit..."
"Oh? It's YoYo..."
Hearing the other person mention YoYo Lin, Liu Yuan suddenly had a look of understanding.
Seeing the things these people had brought in their cars, Liu Yuan knew who they were here to visit.
"It's a bit of a walk over there, please wait here and I'll find someone to take you."
With that, Liu Yuan went upstairs.
Soon after, she came back leading Zhang Baobao, and instructed her, "Baobao, these brothers and sisters need to go to the back hills. I'm tied up at the moment, can you help show them the way?"
Hearing Liu Yuan say "back hills", a hint of grief flashed through the eyes of Sun Ying and the others.
Sure enough, President Wu was most likely already gone.
As soon as Zhang Baobao saw Sun Ying, she immediately smiled and said, "Okay!"
"The pretty sister who is sweet to eat, you've come again!"
Seeing Zhang Baobao's forced smile, Wei was lost in grief, while Long quietly shuffled back a few more steps.
A few minutes later, carrying braziers, yellow paper, flower wreaths, and paper effigies, Sun Ying and the others followed the bouncing Zhang Baobao up the back hills of the medical academy into the night.