Chapter 33: The Radical Surgery for Kidney Deficiency

A glimmer of light sparked in Lu Xiao’s dead-fish eyes. It had to be said, Darts’ words had struck a chord deep within him. All the others had spoken at length, yet none had hit the mark.

He stood up with a sudden jerk. "Sorry, I won't be entertaining you any longer! I have to go see my friend now!"

After Lu Xiao left, Slippery patted Streaming Light on the shoulder. "Brother! I must say, that speech you just gave got my blood boiling!"

"I am willing to crown you 'Hot-Blooded Boy'!"

Streaming Light looked at him with a face full of black lines. Darts scratched the back of his head. "I hope the Prison Doctor can guide him toward the right choice."

As for the Prison Doctor’s thoughts, Darts couldn't begin to guess. After all, the two were of different species, and only a freak like Lu Xiao could ever get along with the Prison Doctor.

***

"Lu! Why have you come?"

The Prison Doctor was in the middle of diagnosing an unfortunate patient. "Lu! Wait a moment, let me finish diagnosing this poor patient first!"

Lying on the operating table was a man wearing a yellow vest. At that moment, he was struggling with a look of sheer terror. As a piece of expendable material, his purpose for existing was to provide data for the containment facility’s researchers, or to serve as a sacrifice to fulfill some bizarre containment condition.

"Let me go! I’m not sick! I’m perfectly healthy!"

The Prison Doctor’s bird-like beak clacked, and a grating, unpleasant voice emerged from within. "Patients always say they aren't sick! You must trust my diagnosis!"

"My friend! Believe me, you really are sick!"

With that, the Prison Doctor extended a finger and lightly sliced across the expendable patient's chest. Instantly, skin and flesh, along with the clothing, were parted. Blood began to ooze slowly from the wound.

The Prison Doctor dipped a finger into the patient's blood, then brought it close to his beak to sniff it gently. "My friend! There is good news and bad news; which would you like to hear first?"

Hearing this, the patient was visibly stunned. "Good news?"

The Prison Doctor nodded and said, "The good news is, you are indeed sick!"

Hearing this, the patient looked frantic. "How is that good news?"

The Prison Doctor did not answer his question, but continued, "The bad news is, your illness is not serious at all; you only need a minor surgery to be cured!"

Hearing this, the patient visibly exhaled in relief. It was the best news he had heard all day. However, Lu Xiao sensed a hint of regret in the Prison Doctor’s tone.

He stepped up to the operating table as well. "Mr. Prison Doctor, what exactly is this poor patient suffering from?"

The Prison Doctor sounded somewhat distressed. "He just has a bit of kidney deficiency!"

"Oh! Well, that certainly isn't a very serious problem!" Lu Xiao also sounded a bit disappointed.

Despite the regret, the Prison Doctor’s medical ethics were beyond question. He quickly began performing the surgery. He first flipped the patient over and then made an incision in the patient's waist area.

As the Prison Doctor worked, he chatted with Lu Xiao. "Lu! For a minor ailment like kidney deficiency, a simple little surgery is all it takes to solve it!"

As he spoke, Lu Xiao listened with great interest, forgetting his own initial purpose for coming. A piercing, pig-like shriek erupted from the patient on the table. The Prison Doctor suddenly stopped.

"Lu! I seem to have forgotten the anesthesia again!"

Hearing this, Lu Xiao felt a bit awkward. He raised his hand, knocked the patient unconscious, and then said, "Mr. Prison Doctor, where were we?"

The Prison Doctor nodded and picked up the thread of the conversation. "For a minor ailment like kidney deficiency, a tiny surgery is all that is needed to eradicate it!"

Lu Xiao played along. "What kind of minor surgery?"

As they spoke, the Prison Doctor was already holding a brownish-red mass in his hand. Lu Xiao looked closely; it was clearly a kidney.

The Prison Doctor’s sharp laughter rang out. "A nephrectomy!"

Hearing this, Lu Xiao suddenly understood. "Mr. Prison Doctor, does his other kidney also suffer from the same deficiency?"

The Prison Doctor nodded with great satisfaction. "Lu! You have learned to draw inferences about other cases! If you chose to study medicine, you would surely become a great doctor!"

The two began to discuss academics. Meanwhile, the poor patient with the kidney deficiency had both his kidneys removed by the Prison Doctor, without the use of anesthesia.

***

After stitching up the poor patient, Lu Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead. "A successful surgery! The patient will no longer be troubled by kidney deficiency!"

"I’m sure he will be very grateful to you, Mr. Prison Doctor!"

The Prison Doctor’s beak clicked incessantly; his emotions seemed somewhat agitated. "Lu! Are you sure you won't consider studying medicine? I have a feeling that if you studied, you would soon surpass me!"

Lu Xiao shook his head in refusal. "No, my friend! Actually, I came to see you this time because I am lost!"

Hearing this, the Prison Doctor was silent for a moment. "Tell me about it. Perhaps I can help you."

Lu Xiao nodded. "It’s still about my curse!"

"A magical mirror told me that if I want to solve the curse, I have to sacrifice the entire present world to obtain the method!"

The Prison Doctor seemed entirely unsurprised. He steered the conversation away, asking, "Then, my friend, do you want to sacrifice the entire present world?"

Lu Xiao fell into confusion once again. "I don't know!"

The Prison Doctor reached out and placed a hand on top of Lu Xiao’s head. "Lu! You need to face your inner self!"

"Now, tell me, are you willing to trade the entire present world for the answer you seek?"

Lu Xiao instinctively shook his head.

The Prison Doctor’s voice sounded gratified. "My friend! You have already made your choice, haven't you?"

Lu Xiao was startled, and he looked up at the Prison Doctor. Standing before the three-meter-tall doctor, he looked like a lost little child.

The Prison Doctor withdrew his hand. "Lu! In truth, your heart does not want to use the present world to trade for the answer you seek!"

"You are not lost!"

"You are simply afraid of the future!"

"Fear is what makes you feel lost!"

Hearing the Prison Doctor’s words, Lu Xiao fell into deep thought. After a long time, he finally spoke. "But I also don't want to turn into a puddle of mindless, instinctual rotting flesh!"

"That makes me feel sick!"

A hint of disappointment crept into the Prison Doctor’s sharp voice. "My friend! Have you completely forgotten my medical advice?"

"That magical mirror is merely a shortcut for you to seek answers!"

"In the future, there may be many more such shortcuts!"

"And yet, you are currently agonizing over this shortcut, thereby wasting the little time you have left!"

Hearing this, Lu Xiao’s body trembled. He finally understood completely.

The Prison Doctor had told him to go into the present world to find a way to solve the curse. Lu Xiao had found the Mirror of Omniscience, and subconsciously, he had decided that the mirror was the method he was looking for.

He suddenly felt enlightened. "I'm sorry, my friend! It is I who failed to follow your medical advice!"