Chapter 308: Dekan's Skull-Cracking Therapeutic Method |
In less than a minute, the little nurse came rushing back.
She had successfully borrowed a tool hammer and presented it to Dekan with both hands.
Dekan held the hammer up, examined it briefly, then placed it back in the little nurse's hands.
"It won't work?"
The little nurse clutched the hammer timidly with both hands, unsure what this demon doctor was planning next.
"It's perfect. This hammer is yours now."
Dekan said, while simultaneously summoning the Ruined Poet and the Lament Song Mermaid.
Black mist and sea fog billowed forth, transforming the operating room into an abyss reminiscent of the Sea of Death. The little nurse felt the instinctive suffocation of someone sinking into the deep ocean.
In that instant --
"Don't be afraid. They're my familiars. They have anesthetic properties."
Dekan explained with a straight face.
The little nurse, Eve, trembled as she managed to say: "But..."
Dekan: "No buts."
Faced with Dekan's unyielding attitude, the little nurse could only shrink back and swallow her words.
Your two familiars don't look right in any way whatsoever...
Could you maybe take one look at the patient on the operating table before spouting nonsense?!
His eyes are already rolling back!!
Though the little nurse was screaming internally, she instinctively tightened her grip on the hammer.
These two familiars weren't particularly high-ranked.
Yet their presence was extraordinarily terrifying, as though it belonged to mythical creatures alone.
Who knew what kinds of horrifying properties they possessed.
The little nurse confirmed once again that this red-haired dragon demon was immensely dangerous, even at only fifth rank.
Even a Great Demon might not necessarily command two familiars like these.
As the seconds ticked by --the deadline for completing the anesthesia was drawing near.
Yet the doctor showed no sign of beginning, which made the little nurse glance at Dekan in confusion.
And as it happened --
Dekan was looking right at her.
Dekan: "Hit him on the head."
The little nurse: "Huh?"
"I said hit the patient on the head. Crack his skull wide open with pain -- you understand, don't you? Can't you see he's about to pass out from the agony?"
Dekan wore a look that said he thought this nurse was far too stupid, directing her with visible impatience.
"???"
The little nurse looked down at the hammer in her hands, then at the patient, then at Dekan.
She thought she was beginning to understand this doctor's medical philosophy.
Are you a devil?!
You're a physical-school anesthetist?!
"What are you hesitating for? Relax, nobody knows anesthesiology better than me."
Dekan pointed at the clock, signaling that if the little nurse didn't do as she was told, time was running out.
When the task failed, she would also bear 5% of the consequences and lose 50 Devil Points.
50 Devil Points!
For a nurse like her, even if she worked herself to the bone with overtime --
earning a fraction of a single Devil Point per hour would already be impressive!
The reward was so enormous this time purely because the anesthesia task was difficult enough, and she happened to be assigned as this doctor's assistant.
But was this a blessing or a curse?
If it failed, she didn't know how long it would take her to earn back those 50 Devil Points!
And yet -- if it actually succeeded, she'd receive a 5% share of the reward: 5 Devil Points. Factoring in her current super-overtime status, that meant quadruple pay -- a whopping 20 Devil Points!!
That was a full month's earnings under normal conditions!
Seeing the inexplicable confidence in this absurd anesthetist's eyes, the little nurse almost wanted to believe him!
But right now, not swinging meant a guaranteed loss of 50 Devil Points, while swinging meant there might be a sliver of hope for 20 Devil Points!
The little nurse was on the verge of losing her mind. She finally chose to squeeze her eyes shut, raise the hammer high above her head, and bring it crashing down on the patient's crown!
WHAM!!!
Amid a howl that was cut short halfway through --
the patient's head lolled to the side. He was thoroughly knocked unconscious, foam dribbling from his mouth.
Dekan walked over and, with rather professional form, placed his fingers just above the patient's lips. He could feel calm, steady breathing through the nostrils.
"Very good."
Dekan nodded with satisfaction.
A fifth-rank non-combat-specialized demon couldn't possibly crack a seventh-rank demon's skull with a single hammer blow.
The force had been just right.
"That... actually worked?"
"I told you my familiars have anesthetic properties. The trigger condition is physical impact."
"I feel like you're lying to me..."
"But he won't lie to you."
Dekan pointed at the demon officer, now thoroughly unconscious.
In the indigo sea fog, Dekan's piercingly bright golden demon pupils and his cold, severe expression made the little nurse shudder from head to toe.
Unlike the composed gaze this dragon demon had worn before --
in this moment, the little nurse was finally certain she was facing a supreme-tier demon who could not be judged by rank alone.
Why would a demon of this caliber come to a hospital to serve as a mere physician?
Could he have ulterior motives?
But she quickly realized she couldn't afford to think any further.
While she was thinking, the other party was also observing her.
Those pupils had been deliberately revealed for her to see.
And now he wanted to observe her reaction.
She was certain -- her thoughts had been read as though they were concealed behind nothing more than a single thin veil.
She stiffly shifted her gaze in the direction Dekan was pointing.
All she could see was the pitiful state of the officer on the operating table.
It was hard to imagine that even if the surgery succeeded, he could still function normally on his own.
"I don't want anyone else to know about my proprietary medical research."
Dekan said calmly as the intensity in his eyes subsided, then glanced at the hammer in the little nurse's hands.
"And I'm sure you don't want the director to find out what you just did, either?"
The little nurse nodded vigorously.
Telling anyone about this would do her absolutely no good.
Compared to questioning this doctor who used barbaric anesthesia techniques, the director would definitely move to punish the nurse who had just confessed to bashing a high-ranking officer on the skull with a hammer first!
But... if this treatment method actually proved reliable --
then following this doctor around...
she'd rack up Devil Points incredibly fast, and the success rate could be extremely high.
No, no, no!
The little nurse hastily banished the terrifying thought.
The more dangerous the demon, the more important it was to steel one's mind and not be lured astray by their temptation.
"Please rest assured, I don't remember a thing."
The little nurse instinctively backed up several steps, seemingly wanting to leave the operating room and go finish other tasks.
She had completed her assigned emergency duty -- "escort the new chief physician to anesthetize a high-ranking officer."
If this extremely dangerous and bizarre red-haired dragon demon didn't assign her more tasks in his capacity as anesthesiologist, she wouldn't need to follow him around for now.
However --
Dekan simply beat her to the door, pressing his hand against the doorframe.
"Come to my office. You'll continue assisting me with the next round of work."
Dekan said, and then walked out through the operating room door.
"Doctor, there are plenty of other nurses you could pick as your assistant!"
The little nurse blurted out in a panic.
"If you can say that, you should also be able to figure out exactly why I chose you."
Dekan dropped just that one line without looking back, and left.
Leaving the deeply conflicted little nurse standing in place.
She understood what Dekan meant.
The moment she was able to sense Dekan's dangerousness, Dekan would never let her go.
If she didn't obey --the hospital's rules offered ample protection for medical staff and patients, true.
But with this doctor's talent for earning Devil Points --once he accumulated enough, he could kill her without his total dropping to zero.
And more importantly --this creature clearly possessed things far more terrifying than death itself...
The little nurse's shoulders trembled, her expression a blend of fear and grievance.
In the end, she bit her lip and followed him.
She hadn't done anything wrong. If she had to blame something, it was that she wasn't stupid, but also wasn't quite smart enough, and was weak.
She could detect a demon like this for the threat he was, but once he locked onto her in return, she knew perfectly well she couldn't handle him.
From here on out, her fate would likely be in his hands.
...
Before long --
Dekan returned to his comfortable office.
He settled back into his chair at leisure, raising his wrist to check his demon bracelet.
The Devil Points hadn't been credited yet.
It seemed they wouldn't be settled until the surgery was completed successfully.
The little nurse was currently pressed up against the office doorframe.
Her hands clasped in front of her chest, she looked thoroughly cowed, not daring to get too close to Dekan.
"There's no need to be afraid. I never harm anyone who hasn't wronged me. I've never even killed an enemy more than three ranks below me -- same goes for demons."
Dekan said evenly without looking at her.
"You're perfectly safe. Or rather, you're standing in the safest place there is right now."
The little nurse only grew more terrified after hearing Dekan's words.
It was completely impossible to tell that being near him was safe, thank you very much...
This creature was obviously extremely dangerous, and saying things like that only made him seem even more deranged.
And what did he mean by never having killed a demon more than three ranks below his own?
First of all, the little nurse absolutely did not believe this supremely cruel demon had never killed a demon.
So did he mean he only ever killed when the gap was three ranks or more above him?
That couldn't be possible!
Her first instinct was that he was trying to intimidate her.
But then again, it felt like this guy wasn't joking at all...
Because this creature didn't need to bluff. He was genuinely dangerous.
Dekan paid no mind to how the little nurse interpreted his honest words.
He continued in a rather businesslike tone:
"Answer a few questions for me. After that, if you want to leave, I won't stop you."
This little nurse hadn't made a great first impression on him.
But in his experience, she was a rare demon who wasn't particularly malicious.
She might even be better than many humans.
Dekan had no desire to toy with a weak, pitiable demon who only wanted to survive.
"Okay..."
The little nurse nodded and murmured.
"Do you know if there are any Great Demons in this hospital?"
Dekan cut straight to the chase, asking the question that mattered most.
"Great Demons? The director is eighth-rank, but that's not really enough to qualify... unless there's a patient..."
The little nurse strained to think.
"A few days ago, it seems like a secret patient was brought to the sixth floor, and the director personally handled the treatment. But I only heard about it -- I wouldn't dare say for certain. Apparently, the previous anesthesiology chief failed to control the dosage properly and let the patient suffer considerable pain during surgery. Even though the surgery itself succeeded, the anesthesia chief was executed by the director..."
Dekan frowned and asked:
"Doesn't the director have to worry about the war? Just acting on whims like that?"
The little nurse quickly waved her hands:
"Shh! Don't say things like that! I only heard rumors!"
Dekan didn't press the little nurse further and thought about it himself.
This director was probably similar to the principal of a demon academy -- herself the enforcer of the rules.
So long as no one from above came to inspect, she could cover the sky with one hand.
It seemed, then, that the mysterious patient whose very identity had to be concealed --
was receiving the hospital's highest level of protection while in their injured state.
Almost certainly a Great Demon.
And the demon Delois had originally planned to find -- this patient was undoubtedly the only candidate.
So Dekan needed to find a way to gain access to the sixth floor.
"I'll need to climb even higher, then."
Dekan recalled that the regulations specified: during wartime tensions, if a management position became vacant and no superior had appointed a replacement, it would automatically be filled by whichever demon held the most Strategic Devil Points.
In theory, it was possible for him to take out the deputy director or even the director and seize their positions.
The prerequisite was grinding like mad to accumulate a Devil Point total that exceeded every other doctor's.
But another problem arose.
Setting aside how to earn the points --
in this hospital --
he couldn't even attack other doctors or patients at will.
Nor could he knock other doctors unconscious and drag them to the operating room for anesthesia -- he could only act on patients who were legitimately assigned for the procedure.
Whether it was making money or eliminating people, his hands were tied.
"This is going to be tricky..."
Dekan muttered to himself, then suddenly thought of something and asked the little nurse:
"By the way, why are you working yourself to the bone like this?"
Dekan could tell this little nurse had been working nonstop for an extremely long time, all for the sake of earning the quadruple pay that kicked in past eight hours.
The little nurse hung her head, fidgeting with her fingertips. She said nothing.
It seemed that even under Dekan's implicit threat, she was unwilling to answer this particular question.
"Let me rephrase, then. How have you managed to work continuously for this long?"
According to the hospital's work regulations, if a staff member was in overtime status, even if their work hours crossed into a new day, their overtime would automatically end after a continuous hour without a task assignment.
Even if they started working again, the clock would reset from the beginning of the new workday.
Looking at this little nurse, she had been working for dozens of consecutive hours without a break, all to maintain the quadruple overtime pay.
No matter how busy the hospital was, surely there was no way she wouldn't get a single hour of rest.
"Nurses each have a few fixed departments related to their field, but during wartime when we're shorthanded, the director approves requests for nurses to assist in other departments..."
"Can doctors also work across departments?"
"You can apply for it, and the director would probably approve... but if a medical accident occurs, the standard penalties apply without exception..."
The moment he heard this, Dekan snatched up the hospital information from the portfolio and began reading.
As expected of a meritocracy-driven hospital!
So long as you had the talent, the hospital would never restrict you from shining!
In no time, Dekan's attention locked onto a specific department and its detailed information.
Within seconds, he felt as though a perfect chain of objectives had been completed in his mind!!
"Heh-hahaha! Anesthesiology plus Psychiatry -- best match!"
Dekan set down the papers, unable to contain his laughter.
This hospital was about to fall under his total control!!