Chapter 229: Chapter 229

"Nothing can stop my yearning for surgery. Today, I'm removing five appendices and four gallbladders..."

It was Liu Banxia's tenth consecutive day of performing surgeries. Now, he was humming a triumphant tune, striding along as if he owned the place, leading his interns toward the operating room.

He couldn't help but feel proud. These past few days had not only earned him the titles of "Appendix Terminator" and "Gallbladder Terminator" but had also allowed him to level up and gain skill points in a thoroughly satisfying manner.

Over these nine days, he had performed a total of 46 surgeries: 21 appendectomies and 16 cholecystectomies.

This had pushed his Appendectomy and Cholecystectomy skills to Level 3, with 31,038 and 27,743 proficiency points respectively. It had also elevated his character level to 38, with a total of 75,390 Glory Points.

Of course, there was a downside: now when he performed these low-level surgeries, the experience gained was very little, mostly just some increases in skill proficiency.

This once again proved that the system's rewards were quite strict; the higher his proficiency in a certain surgery, the fewer the rewards upon completion.

However, he wasn't picky. These few days of "cultivation" had also allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of surgical operations, as if some bottlenecks in his body had been broken.

For example, during the first few days, he had to drink at least five or six bottles of nourishing potions per day. Now, he only needed one in the afternoon and another in the evening.

Not to mention, during these few days, he hadn't only removed appendices and gallbladders. He had also performed several gastrointestinal surgeries. This was invaluable experience, the kind that was hard to come by just waiting in the emergency department, as they might not necessarily encounter such patients.

With two more days to go, I can reach the minimum requirement for the Impressive Challenge task today. Anything more tomorrow will be an extra bonus.

"You're so full of energy, you can really keep going. I'm about to collapse," Wang Lei said while waiting to scrub in.

Xu Yino and the others, who had been spiritedly following Liu Banxia just moments before, were suddenly deflated. Find the newest release on novel⸺fire.net

The past few days had indeed been thrilling—who wouldn't enjoy such a continuous run of surgeries? However, the fatigue was undeniable; they were truly exhausted. Even if they couldn't wear makeup in the hospital, they didn't even have time to apply face masks after returning home at night; they would just collapse into bed and fall asleep instantly.

"Teacher Liu, how come you're so full of energy every day?" Xu Yino asked curiously, looking at Liu Banxia.

"This shows the importance of lifestyle habits. Usually, you're all messing around with your phones instead of sleeping. I, on the other hand, seize every opportunity to rest," Liu Banxia replied earnestly.

"You all must be exhausted these days, right? But don't worry, I've checked with the inpatient department; thanks to our efforts, after today's surgeries, there temporarily won't be any more patients needing appendectomies or cholecystectomies."

"Don't say that. Now that you're famous, patients might specifically come seeking you out due to your reputation. And haven't you noticed? The number of minimally invasive appendectomies has significantly increased recently," Wang Lei said.

"If I had been doing this for a month, perhaps I would have gained some fame. But not now; it's only been a few days," Liu Banxia shook his head.

"Hehe, don't underestimate word-of-mouth among patients. It can spread explosively; one person can bring in many others," Wang Lei said.

"Hasn't Sister Li lost her temper?" Liu Banxia asked.

Wang Lei gave a bitter smile and nodded. "She hasn't, I suppose. But I figure that's thanks to you."

"Just endure it for a few more days. The minor surgeries have been mostly cleared out. As for major surgeries, I can't handle the other types yet; those will require the director and the others to personally step in," Liu Banxia said.

"You're already doing great. You've independently completed three laparoscopic liver cyst resections, and according to the inpatient department, the patients you operated on are all recovering very well post-operatively," Wang Lei said.

"Haha, that's just my luck. Let's finish this one quickly. Who's assisting me today?" Liu Banxia looked at Xu Yino and the others.

Su Wenhao raised his hand.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Verify the patient's information with Doctor Wang. In a few more months, I estimate you'll be able to try your hand at it."

"Dr. Liu, are you doing my surgery this time?" the patient lying on the operating table asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be doing your surgery. But they aren't bad themselves. Their current skills might be a bit lacking, but they'll become excellent doctors in the future," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

This isn't just flattery, he thought. Excluding Liang Xiaolin and Qing Kewa, the other six were truly superb. In his assessment, they were definitely much better than he had been before acquiring the system.

Truth be told, doing appendectomies doesn't give much experience or skill points anymore. I'd like to let them participate more, but the patient is under local anesthesia, and I'm worried about startling them.

This patient was quite robust, with a large abdomen. Liu Banxia made a 1.5-centimeter incision. After barely probing with his finger, Liu Banxia frowned slightly.

"Teacher Liu, what's wrong?" Xu Yino asked curiously, seeing that Liu Banxia hadn't pulled out the appendix as smoothly as usual.

"This appendix is a bit unusual. The appendiceal wall feels somewhat thin and fragile, and there's some exudate. I need to be careful," Liu Banxia replied with a smile, then inserted the appendiceal forceps.

The patient's CT and ultrasound scans showed that while the appendix was inflamed, it hadn't reached a suppurative state, and the patient hadn't exhibited the severe pain characteristic of suppuration.

Just now, when he palpated it, he felt as if there was some exudate at the tip of the appendix. This made the procedure slightly more complicated, requiring extra caution when extracting the appendix.

Xu Yino and the others were taken aback. From Liu Banxia's unspoken words, it implied that the appendix might have already suppurated and possibly even perforated.

This was highly plausible. The progression of a disease isn't always controlled by subjective assessments. It was also quite possible that the patient, due to excessive pain, had taken some painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs, or had perhaps pressed on the area too firmly, which could also happen.

Now, Liu Banxia's next move startled them slightly, as he didn't enlarge the incision. Is he going to do it by feel?

Handling a normally inflamed appendix this way is fine, but this one has suppurated! One careless move, and pus could spread everywhere in the abdominal cavity.

"Dr. Liu, there's nothing else wrong, right?" the patient asked, starting to worry.

"Don't worry, it's just that your appendix is a bit chubby and not so easy to pull out. You'll feel a pulling sensation for a moment; just bear with it," Liu Banxia said reassuringly.

After a full two minutes, Liu Banxia carefully extracted the appendix. There was a perforation at its tip.

And Liu Banxia's appendiceal forceps? They had only grasped a tiny bit. If that tiny bit hadn't been clamped securely, it would have been an entirely different story.

Now that the appendix was out, the rest was easy to handle. However, because there was indeed pus, after cleaning the area, a drainage tube was left in the small incision.

DING! Daily Task completed (20/20).

Obtained 300 Experience Points, 5 Glory Points.

Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 39 (75,690/79,135). Obtained 1 Attribute Point, 5 Glory Points.

Advancement Mission Triggered: Excellent Surgeon.

Prove you are a qualified surgeon with your skills. Complete no fewer than five Perfect-grade surgeries, with each surgery being Level 2 or higher, to advance to Level 40. Mission Reward: None.

Impressive Challenge Task completed (47/50).

Obtained 50 Experience Points, Appendectomy Skill Proficiency +300, Diagnostics Skill Proficiency +50, Dressing Change Skill Proficiency +20, Suture Skill Proficiency +20.

This surgery has been rated: Perfect. Obtained 50 Experience Points, Appendectomy Skill Proficiency +300, Diagnostics Skill Proficiency +50, Dressing Change Skill Proficiency +20, Suture Skill Proficiency +20, 5 Glory Points.

The rewards for this surgery were already quite generous compared to the appendectomies he'd done these past few days. However, looking at the advancement mission, Liu Banxia truly felt like crying but had no tears.

Five Perfect-grade surgeries, and they have to be Level 2 or higher... that's really too difficult. I was having such a good time grinding through surgeries; why did such a major obstacle have to pop up now?

Now he finally understood. The last advancement mission was at Level 20, and now, as he approached Level 40, another one had appeared. He wondered if it would be the same at Level 60 and Level 80 – would he have to go through this again?

Besides, leveling up is already so difficult now. These low-level surgeries only give a hundred or so experience points each. Unless I do actual major surgeries, I won't get much more.

"Teacher Liu, you're truly amazing! The appendix was suppurated and perforated, yet you still managed to extract it through such a small incision. If it were me, I wouldn't have dared to even try," Xu Yino remarked with feeling.

"Actually, it's all about the same; just be a bit more careful. Now you can see the importance of the protective measures we take after opening the abdomen, right? If the incision site were to get contaminated, it's very likely to lead to complications," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"So, when you perform surgeries in the future, you must also be this meticulous. There's no room for carelessness. The necessary protective measures must be taken. In short, being cautious is never a mistake."

Xu Yino and the others nodded in unison. Today was a very vivid example. Didn't they see everyone in the observation gallery applaud after the appendix was extracted?

It was just a minor surgery, after all. And he had performed so many of them recently. To still receive applause was a true testament to Teacher Liu's skill.

Once outside, Liu Banxia lay down to rest.

Compared to minor surgeries like appendectomies, even if he did many, he wouldn't get too tired. The truly exhausting ones were surgeries that lasted two to three hours, or even longer.

If they had all been appendectomies, he would have completed the Impressive Challenge task long ago. Performing ten or so appendectomies a day wouldn't have been a problem at all.

Now, he wasn't worried about the Impressive Challenge task at all, but this new advancement mission was quite a headache. The cholecystectomies scheduled for the afternoon were considered Level 2 surgeries, but he wasn't confident he could achieve a Perfect rating for every single one.

I can only take it one step at a time. Who knows what other curveballs the system will throw after Level 40. There were changes at Level 20, so there should be some changes at Level 40 too.