Chapter 58

Xie Xubai had just moved his fingers when the dean, sensing his intention, pushed the box shut with a clatter.

The crimson color vanished instantly, and Xie Xubai's vision was once again filled with only the soft, clean white of the room.

His mind was in a mess, a buzzing sound that was all that could be heard.

Xie Xubai lowered his eyes abruptly when a sharp pain shot through his fingertip, only to realize that he had unconsciously pressed his fingertip against his index finger, leaving a bluish-purple bruise.

The dean seemed to glance at the bruise casually.

Xie Xubai suddenly asked, "In your opinion, is this an equivalent transaction?"

The dean noticed the change in his tone and wording, and raised his eyes: "You don't think it counts?"

"I have to have my doubts."

Xie Xubai met the man's gaze, his tone cold, his eyes as calm and still as an ancient well: "The position of chief physician is very prestigious, but for those whose abilities do not match it, it is only valid for three weeks—just three weeks."

The dean looked at him with a composed expression: "So what if it is?"

Xie Xubai ignored him completely and continued in an orderly manner: "According to the regulations of the First Hospital, newly hired medical staff will have a one-month probationary period during which they cannot use most of the privileges of the position. This means that for these three weeks, I can't do anything except treat patients, and I'm no different from an empty shell."

"If you encounter a boss who likes to make things difficult for subordinates, and is also a treacherous person, such as a trader who tries every means to squeeze people out before they even take office—"

"Then the value of this position is so cheap and worthless that it's astonishing!"

Xie Xubai looked at the briefcase on the table, concealing the sorrow in his eyes, and questioned sharply, word by word: "How can it compare to the heart of a high-level Ghost King?!"

"Could this be the hospital's 'rules'? On the surface, they're strict, but in reality, they allow leaders to lead the way in swindling, taking advantage of others' misfortunes, engaging in opportunism, and falsifying information..."

As Xie Xubai uttered those words with resounding force, layers of dark clouds instantly gathered in the cloudless blue sky above the First Hospital.

boom--

Hearing the faint rumble of thunder outside the window, the dean, who had initially paid no attention, suddenly felt a sharp jolt in his eyebrow.

The moment the two turned their heads, a bolt of lightning crashed down against the outer window wall!

Xie Xubai reacted very quickly, immediately reaching out to protect the briefcase on the table.

He was surprised to see that the dean hadn't run away. The dean's face was grim, and he turned around and darted to block the window where lightning was suddenly flashing.

The lightning bolt looked extremely fierce, with the power to smash through buildings, but it immediately weakened after the dean stood in front of it.

But the aftershocks of the lightning couldn't be stopped; they swept across like ripples on a lake, shattering the glass with a loud crack.

Sharp shards of glass scattered like petals from a fairy's eye, almost all of them hitting the dean's body. The rest were blocked by the thick curtains and fell to the ground with a clatter.

Xie Xubai quickly looked away from the suitcase: "You..."

The dean turned around, and there were dense shards of glass embedded in his flesh, without bleeding, like they were embedded in a corpse.

His face was so dark it looked like it was about to drip water. As if oblivious to the pain, he recklessly ripped the shards of glass off his face, the edges of the shards stained with bluish-black blood.

The dean didn't even glance at them, casually tossing them into the trash can, and coldly glanced at Xie Xubai: "I didn't know you had the mental power to invoke [rules]."

"Where did you learn about this hospital's 'rules'? Did Lü Xiangcai tell you? No, the 'rules' are not known to non-insiders; he couldn't possibly know them."

"..." Xie Xubai stared at his horrific wounds, and after a while, he noticed that the cuts were rapidly closing up. He lowered his eyelashes and said calmly, "If you really want to know, we can make a deal."

Xie Xubai didn't know that he was just gambling.

Dean Fu Zong is someone who openly admits to favoritism and bending the law. Given this, why did the other party appear so fair, just, and meticulous in their paper presentation and public image?

Aside from the restrictions of the rules, I have no other thoughts.

The dean met his eyes, scoffed, and dragged the briefcase away from Xie Xubai's arm: "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking..."

Before he could finish speaking, another deafening clap of thunder came from outside the window.

boom!

Dean: "..."

Xie Xubai: "..."

The dean's face trembled slightly, as if suppressing his anger, and he spoke before the second bolt of lightning struck: "The title of chief physician is cheap and lowly, that's just your own opinion. You're all adults, don't you understand how important an opportunity to climb the social ladder is in this society?"

"If you can't stand firm, it means you're not worthy of your position. It's because you lack the ability. Don't blame it on opportunity."

He was responding to Xie Xubai's previous criticisms.

The thunder in the sky subsided considerably in an instant, seemingly acknowledging the dean's argument.

"As for the claim that I enjoy making things difficult for my subordinates, that's utter nonsense. I was just giving our new director a reasonable suggestion—if a lamb falls into a wolf's den, is it going to run away or just wait to be eaten?"

The dean looked at Xie Xubai with a half-smile: "So you thought the person who brought you here was pretty nice? You smiled at him the whole way."

"..." Xie Xubai answered flawlessly, "I will gradually understand who he is as we get to know each other in the future. As a new employee, smiling at people is the most basic courtesy."

"Then keep your optimistic, positive, innocent, and adorable attitude." The dean sat back down, put his briefcase back under the table, and scoffed rudely, "If you get bullied, remember to hide under the covers and cry in secret. Don't even think about tattling to me. Get lost."

Xie Xubai's gaze remained fixed on the briefcase he was carrying until it was completely out of sight before he looked away.

In the instant the lightning struck, he considered grabbing the suitcase and running away.

He tried it and found that the seemingly light box weighed at least a hundred pounds. Even if he could lift it, he couldn't run fast, so he gave up.

Xie Xubai looked up and met the dean's gaze; both could smell the gunpowder in the air.

From the moment Fu Zong stopped looking at him directly, to the moment he spoke to him directly, Xie Xubai knew that the previous confrontation had barely managed to hold its ground.

However, the premise of actual combat is that the strength of both sides is equal. If one side is far superior to the other, it will inevitably be tricked and devoured.

Even if the dean told him to leave, Xie Xubai had no intention of staying here any longer.

As he approached the door, he suddenly stopped and asked, "Dean, have we met before?"

The dean paused almost imperceptibly: "What, trying to curry favor?"

"Just asking, it's alright." Xie Xubai turned around and smiled slightly at him. "After all, the thought of actually knowing someone like you is really—"

The dean was waiting for his next words.

As a result, Xie Xu abruptly stopped midway through his speech, a slight upturn of his lips revealing the same pretentious, profound smile as the dean, before leaving without looking back.

It can't be said that they didn't look back.

As Xie Xubai casually closed the office door, he turned to the side and glanced at the other person.

His gaze, reflected through his glasses, exuded an aloofness and coldness that kept people at arm's length, making the person being stared at feel uneasy.

The door slammed shut, and the dean remained motionless in his chair.

After a long pause, the middle-aged man chuckled unhappily, "You little brat."

Xie Xubai turned around after leaving the office and took three steps at a time to a quiet corner of the corridor where there were no surveillance cameras, and made a phone call to Lü Xiangcai.

The person on the other end of the phone answered in less than half a second, seemingly waiting for Xie Xubai's reply.

Lu Xiangcai asked impatiently, "You finished the procedures so quickly? How's the work environment? Did anyone give you a hard time?"

Hearing the other person's concerned words, Xie Xubai blinked, then blinked again, trying to calm his unsettled emotions.

When he spoke again, he was as usual, and couldn't help but chuckle as he said, "What could be wrong with the place you helped me choose? The colleagues are all very friendly, and the environment is good too. It's just that the dean, um... is a bit old-fashioned."

Lu Xiangcai didn't suspect anything and said with a smile, "Right? He's a stubborn old man who always has a long face like someone owes him a million or two."

“When I first met him, his condition was more serious. He had to button his shirt all the way up to his collar. In the middle of summer, he would wear three layers of clothing and be completely covered up. He didn’t drink beverages, only tea, and hot tea at that! I always suspected that he was an old scholar who had traveled from ancient times.”

"But it's good to follow the rules. At least the management can be fair in rewarding and punishing. If someone in the hospital makes things difficult for you, go directly to them to deal with it. Don't suffer in silence alone, and don't wrong yourself, you know? If it's too bad, you can always go somewhere else."

Xie Xubai gave a soft "hmm" and smiled, "Okay."

Lu Xiangcai paused, but he actually had something else he wanted to ask.

In fact, Fu Zong himself was very cold and unapproachable, like a stagnant pool that could not be stirred up in the slightest.

This time, Lu Xiangcai made three phone calls, and each time the call was hung up on after a disagreement.

Fu Zong only slightly relented when Fu Zong mentioned being willing to have his head cut open from head to toe without any anesthesia.

Unable to leave, he chose to meet in his personal lounge within the Shengtian Group. Compared to the sterile operating rooms equipped with modern medical equipment, the conditions were rather rudimentary.

Fu Zong made no attempt to hide his disgust, and upon arrival, he immediately began a thorough cleaning, wiping every nook and cranny of the table with cotton swabs. The disposable rag almost sparked the wall tiles.

Helpless, Lü Xiangcai could only put Xie Xubai's information aside and work on it with the other party.

During a break, Fu Zong inadvertently glanced at Xie Xubai's file and picked it up to look through it.

Then Lü Xiangcai was still in pain and sweating profusely because the anesthetic would affect the observation of activity.

Therefore, he dared not tell Xie Xubai what he had traded with Fu Zong, knowing that the young man would definitely not be able to accept it.

Unexpectedly, when it came to vital organs like the heart, Fu Zong suddenly stopped and mercifully spared him.

The answer is that he's thick-skinned and tough, and the way he cuts the strong, middle-aged hospital director's hands hurt.

So when Lü Xiangcai asked if the two knew each other, he picked up the documents and started looking at them without taking off his gloves, which didn't fit Fu Zong's harsh and picky nature.

But he couldn't find a reason to bring it up, and fearing that the young man would notice something amiss and ask more questions, he finally changed the subject and said, "By the way, is Xiao Yi with you?"

"Yes, they're probably worried something might happen to me, so they've been following me."

Xie Xubai crouched down, stroked the shadow at his feet, and used his mental power to sense the fluctuations coming from it. He couldn't help but chuckle, "It's sleeping soundly right now, I can't bear to wake it up."

When one cunning king suddenly enters the territory of another, their auras will inevitably clash.

To avoid causing trouble for Xie Xubai, Xiao Tentacle slept in his shadow during work hours, only revealing itself when it sensed that Xie Xubai was in danger, just like it did at the Jiang family.

Lu Xiangcai was completely relieved. As long as that person's body was intact, no one could threaten their life.

The two chatted for a few more minutes, when Xie Xubai suddenly noticed a figure looming around the corner and whispered, "It's getting late, I should go to my workstation."

"Okay, you're busy. Do you have a fixed time to get off work? I'll have driver Lao Zhang pick you up tonight."

"I'm not sure yet. I might be busy until very late. I'll just take the subway home. By the way, I've been feeling weak and anemic lately. I saw online that a restaurant has a really good tonic menu. Shall I order some for you too?"

“It’s fine if it’s a little later, Lao Zhang can wait.” Lu Xiangcai said readily. “Dietary supplements? Sure! But if you want to eat them next time, just tell me. I know a restaurant that specializes in medicinal cuisine and can customize them.”

Xie Xubai smiled and said, "It's only once in a while, no need to go to all that trouble."

That evening, Lü Xiangcai received a delivery call.

When he saw two deliverymen carrying food boxes that were half his height, he suddenly realized something was wrong. Then, when he saw the medicinal food and blood-nourishing soup piled up on half of his desk, he was dumbfounded.

Let's go back to the present.

Xie Xubai hung up the phone, glanced at the location of the figure, and naturally turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Not long after, his supervising teacher jogged up from behind and hurriedly called out to him, "Are you alright? I just heard thunder outside, it was really scary! What's going on between you and the dean? Did you two start fighting?"

"Thunder?" Xie Xubai looked back at him, feigning confusion. "What does thunder have to do with a conflict?"

The supervising teacher was speechless.

Touching the rules will cause a commotion; this is no secret among senior medical staff.

However, the dean can directly manipulate the rules.

With such a commotion just now, and lightning even striking the dean's office window, if it wasn't Xie Xubai, this clueless outsider, who angered the dean, then how could it be that Xie Xubai was attacking the dean?

The supervising teacher almost laughed at his own conjecture. How could this be?

Seeing that he couldn't get any information out of Xie Xubai through subtle questioning, the mentor concealed his cryptic gaze and led the young man to the Human Resources Department to report for duty.

Upon seeing the supervising teacher, Xiao Liu was extremely enthusiastic. Then, she looked at Xie Xubai and said, "I presume this gentleman next to you is the new Director Xie? He is truly a young man of great talent. At such a young age, he has already taken up the position of director, surpassing many hardworking veterans with more than ten years of experience!"

His face was full of enthusiasm, but his words were barbed. His mentor immediately frowned and reprimanded him: "Watch your tone. What are you being sarcastic about now?"

"Oh? Did I say something wrong again? I'm so sorry! I'm really bad with words, and all I know are these compliments. They might not sound very good, but my admiration for you is genuine. I hope Director Xie won't mind?"

Xiao Liu lowered his head and said meekly, "How about I apologize to you again?"

The supervising teacher yelled at Xiao Liu several times, then forced him to bow and apologize to Xie Xubai.

The HR department staff, all medical personnel from the First Hospital, stopped what they were doing and stood there to watch when they heard the commotion.

In an instant, Xie Xubai was surrounded by gazes with various expressions, becoming the target of everyone's criticism.

He lowered his eyelashes, his fingertips tapping on the work assignment sheet, and suddenly asked, "Before I came here, I heard that positions at the First Hospital have always been filled by the most capable, including the hospital director, is that true?"

The two instructors were completely taken aback by Xie Xubai's complete lack of response, and the question he asked... was it really not implying anything?

They answered hesitantly.

After receiving affirmative answers from both of them, Xie Xubai picked up the schedule and said, "Where is my patient? Would it be convenient for you to take me there now?"

The HR staff at the front desk looked up and exchanged glances with their mentor, who said, "It will definitely be convenient."

The First Hospital treats both ordinary people's illnesses and those of mutated monsters.

The two areas are completely separated, located on the east and west sides, with the general office building where the dean's office is located in the middle of the two.

Xie Xubai followed his instructor to the west side. The architecture and scenery were still beautiful, and judging from the external features alone, they were no different from the human-only area.

"Since it's your first day here, we were worried you might not be used to it, so we only arranged one patient for you all day."

Xie Xubai asked, "Did the other doctors also only need to treat one person on their first day?"

"Of course not, there are at least five, and some even have seven or eight. So this is a special treatment for you."

Is it appropriate to talk about preferential treatment in a place where strength speaks volumes? Xie Xubai remained noncommittal.

The supervising teacher glanced at Xie Xubai and suddenly said, "As for our dean, he's even more amazing! On his first day, he admitted more than thirty patients, breaking the hospital's record."

"After he started seeing patients, he saw more than 130 patients a day. Not to mention us insiders, even if you told outsiders, who would believe it?"

Xie Xubai asked in confusion, "Are there so many patients in the hospital?"

“Hey! You can say that to me, but don’t say it in front of others,” the supervising teacher said. “This is the First Municipal Hospital, after all. Many critically ill patients are desperate to get a bed. Saying things like that is a bit… out of touch with the suffering of others.”

As soon as he said this, several passersby in medical uniforms stopped and glanced at Xie Xubai's name tag before turning away with a cold smile.

Xie Xubai glanced at their expressions and guessed that it wouldn't be long before rumors about him, the new director, being incompetent, lacking in talent, and making things difficult for junior employees would spread like wildfire.

Soon, they arrived at the alienation zone, followed by a few followers who seemed to be either watching the show or simply curious.

The walls here are no longer made of ceramic tiles, but of titanium alloy steel plates, reflecting a cold, sharp light. The door is about 7 centimeters thick; normal armored steel plates are at most 10 centimeters thick and can withstand the power of a ton of explosives. The difference from the human-only zone is immediately apparent!

Xie Xubai stepped through the floor door without changing his expression until he arrived at the patient's room. Only when he saw the heavy-duty protective door with three layers of steel plates in front of him did he raise his eyelids.

I see.

He had just been wondering how to arrange those people to ensure he could focus on only one patient if more patients were needed to prove his abilities.

Now I understand, as long as the patients he arranges are a little more seriously ill, he won't have time to admit other patients.

Upon hearing that the new director of the Special Medical Department had arrived to report for duty, a crowd quickly gathered in the waiting hall.

They still had patients and couldn't stay too long. They planned to wait until Xie Xubai met the patients and saw how they handled the situation before leaving.

Various inquiring gazes were cast upon him, and the supervising teacher standing next to him felt a sense of unease, wondering why Xie Xubai didn't react at all, standing there silently like a wooden statue.

Did he realize his situation was dire and suddenly become stupid?

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Xie Xubai finally moved, turning to his supervising teacher with a questioning look: "Why aren't you opening the door yet?"

The supervising teacher was taken aback, then realized that he hadn't yet recorded Xie Xubai's fingerprints, and quickly said, "I'm so sorry, it was my oversight."

He placed his palm on the control panel, and the heavy protective door made a loud bang. Hearing the loud noise, the crowd couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Why are you treating a severe C-level illness right away? Although curing it will add 8 points to your assessment score, if you can't cure it, you won't get any points."

When they join the company, they receive a classification chart that details the difficulty of treating patients at each level.

The severity of the disease can be roughly divided into: mild, moderate, severe, and terminal.

Patient strength is graded alphabetically, from strongest to weakest: A, B, C, D.

One point is awarded for curing a mild case (Grade D), two points for a moderate case, four points for a severe case, and eight points for a terminal case.

Level C is doubled by 2, Level B is doubled by 5, and Level A is an even more powerful force that only senior medical personnel can handle; others wouldn't even dare to dream of it!

It is said that there is also an S-level, which caused a great uproar upon admission to the hospital. The hospital director personally came forward to treat it, and the information is top secret, so no one else knows about it.

To some extent, that grading chart not only reflects the scores of routine work assessments, but also represents the degree of risk associated with treatment.

"Everyone knows the difficulty of a Level C case, let alone a severe one!"

"Did he choose this place himself? Why did he start with such a high-profile move?"

"That's unrealistic. I suspect it's one of the HR people... Ugh, he went in without any protective gear. We'll talk about it later, let's go check it out!"

As soon as the young man disappeared into the doorway, the crowd surged toward the observation window.

No one noticed the incredulous look on the supervising teacher's face. In the short time it took him to get the protective suit, how did Xie Xubai just walk in?

Good heavens! Although he wanted to drive Xie Xubai away, he never thought that someone would die on the first day. The dean would definitely blame him!

The crowd was so dense that it formed an impenetrable wall, and he couldn't get in at all. He was sweating profusely and shouted frantically, "Make way! Make way! Director Xie hasn't put on his protective suit yet—!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the others standing there, stunned.

Not only were they stunned, but the supervising teacher's gaze also froze, and her mouth gradually opened wide.

They felt an overwhelming and terrifying pressure, and their expressions turned horrified. Someone immediately grabbed the instructor by the collar and demanded, "The room door indicated a Class C critically ill patient, so why is there a Class A patient inside!"

"The severity of Grade A and Grade C cases is not even in the same league. Even other department heads in office wouldn't dare to admit them easily. Are you planning to kill the new head of department?!"

No, no, no! He clearly assigned it to a C-level, so why is it an A-level? Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't have the authority!

Who wants to harm them? No... who would go to such lengths to harm Director Xie?

The supervising teacher looked down in panic.

The treatment room had a recessed design and a thickened soundproof barrier, so Xie Xubai, who was going downstairs, couldn't hear their conversation at all.

At that moment, everyone's heart leaped into their throats, their vision went black, and they knew something terrible was about to happen!

Author's Note: