Chapter 174: Presence, the Miraculous Leaf

An Jibo nodded earnestly. “I understand, I understand. I won’t ask what I shouldn’t, won’t say what I shouldn’t. I’ll just bring my eyes and ears along.”

Zhao Anan glanced at Bian Changxi in mild surprise, thinking, This one’s got quite the presence.

Bian Changxi’s expression remained calm as she stepped into the inpatient department. The head of the department, Director Jiang Fu, had already received word and hurried downstairs to greet her. “Miss Bian, you’re finally here! These past two days without you, everyone’s been on edge—can’t eat, can’t drink, even the patients can’t sleep well. Every day they’re craning their necks, watching the door for you.”

Before the apocalypse, this director had been the deputy director of a major hospital in Jiangcheng. His name was Jiang Fu. He wasn’t especially skilled professionally, but he was extremely snobbish—fawning over those he should, trampling those he could, with no regard for feelings. He could be rather unlikeable, but when it came to handling certain matters, he was remarkably smooth. Put bluntly, he was a master at playing both sides; put nicely, he was a social chameleon.

Hospitals are places where disputes easily arise, especially the inpatient department. Resources are tight, the atmosphere is heavy, and both patients and staff are often irritable—accidents can happen at any moment.

But it’s impossible to have a real big shot stationed here. Lu Shaoyang was originally in charge of this area, but ever since he got his hands on the Chinese medicine plantation, he’s been busy running that and developing new medicines, barely touching the ground. So after Gu Xu took over Jiangcheng’s medical system again, the smooth-talking Jiang Fu finally had his chance to shine.

Of course, he’d been thoroughly trained—repeatedly lectured by the higher-ups. Now he worked diligently and cautiously, pinning all his hopes on his position as director to climb the ranks and make his fortune.

To him, Bian Changxi was a veritable god of wealth. Through various channels, he’d learned that this powerful wood-type ability user had a special status—directly connected to the big boss, Gu Xu. Only with her regularly working at the hospital could the boss’s attention be drawn here, giving Jiang Fu more chances to show his face. Besides, working alongside Bian Changxi made him look good, too.

Listening to his flattery, Bian Changxi found it amusing. The one craning his neck every day was probably him.

“Director Jiang. Give me an update on the past two days.”

As the group walked inside, Jiang Fu, already prepared, opened a folder in his hand. “First, the two types of patients you’re treating—the ulcerative and atrophic types—originally numbered 708. As of three days ago, 93 have been discharged. In the past two days, no one else has left. For the twenty patients you’re currently treating, we’ve assigned three wood-types to continue care, but they can only stabilize the condition. Only two show signs of recovery.”

Jiang Fu shook his head as he spoke. Those wood-types were nowhere near Bian Changxi’s level. Three people, two days—no, three days now—working themselves to the bone in the wards, but still unable to cure anyone.

He continued, “Among the untreated patients of those two types, five have deteriorated. We called in Mr. Liang Ziyin for emergency help. He managed to stabilize them, but their lives are still at risk. As for the other four types of patients, seven have passed away in the past two days.”

Bian Changxi paused. Those four types were the ones she hadn’t been able to treat before. When she was around, she could only rush over to stabilize those on the brink. Over many days, only two had died, but in just two or three days, seven had passed.

She said, “Let’s start with the twenty I’m already treating. For the most critical among the two types, arrange for me to see them later. For the other four types, pick two milder cases from each.”

Jiang Fu was excited—was she about to tackle those four types now?

Jiangcheng’s high cure rate for these strange illnesses had made it the flagship of the entire base’s medical system. If all these mysterious diseases could be cured, Jiangcheng’s reputation would soar even higher, and as director, he’d share in the glory.

He lowered his voice. “We’ve kept the daily external treatment quota at one, so there are now two patients waiting. There was almost a commotion yesterday…”

Bian Changxi sneered, “Let them make a fuss if they want. Let’s see if they can shout their illnesses away.”

Jiang Fu shrank back. She really was a VIP—those external slots were for important people, but Miss Bian always treated them like any other patient. This time, she was clearly annoyed. That cold laugh sent chills down his spine. He could tell she’d advanced—her presence was even more overwhelming, and her temper seemed sharper, too.

An Jibo, who had been following behind, listened intently. Hearing the numbers, he was deeply shocked. In terms of mortality rate, it was clear Bian Changxi alone was holding it down—look how deaths spiked as soon as she was gone.

In fact, by now, aside from those in Jiangcheng, most people who’d contracted these strange illnesses elsewhere were already dead—either killed or driven to suicide. It was tragic, but at least it was over. Of those still alive, nine out of ten were influential figures who couldn’t die easily. For Jiangcheng to still have hundreds or even a thousand patients was truly unique.

As far as he knew, half of these patients had been poisoned by human hands before Mid-Autumn. If not for Bian Changxi, these thousand people would have died one by one, and Jiangcheng’s reputation would have been ruined—Gu Xu might not have been able to recover from it.

Is this the power of a wood-type ability user?

He felt a surge of emotion.

Bian Changxi was thinking along similar lines.

These patients consumed a huge amount of resources every day, and Jiangcheng Group hadn’t yet managed to bring in large supplies from outside. They had to cure these people as soon as possible, or the hard-won golden reputation of Jiangcheng Medical would rot away, becoming a laughingstock.

Screech—

A sudden, urgent braking sound came from outside the hospital’s covered walkway. A stretcher was rushed in, and someone ran ahead, shouting, “Miss Bian, wait! I’m the aide to Deputy Commander Ge Jianhua. Today, it’s our chief’s turn for the external treatment slot. Could you please…”

Bian Changxi was already in the inpatient lobby, heading for the elevator, so she couldn’t see clearly what was happening outside. When the stretcher reached the entrance, Jiang Fu looked displeased—wasn’t this cutting in line? But Bian Changxi’s expression turned serious. She signaled Jiang Fu to wait, then strode over and lifted the blanket. The person on the stretcher had a face covered in ulcers, with short white maggots crawling over the wounds, and a stench assaulted her nose.

An Jibo’s face changed instantly. This person was already rotting—might as well be dead. Bringing him here was just asking for bad luck.

The Jiangcheng medical staff were also shocked and disgusted, thinking this was someone here to cause trouble—worse than that Wu Hao incident before.

The aide was practically begging, and the people around the stretcher looked desperate and pained. Bian Changxi knew this wasn’t a stunt, but it was odd—how had it gotten this bad before they brought him in? Even without a slot, they could have swallowed their pride and sent him to the villa. Just yesterday, when Staff Officer Xu Chang was seriously injured, they’d blocked the door without hesitation, and this was the deputy commander himself.

If this had happened when she was still at tier two, she wouldn’t have been able to save him. Luckily, she’d advanced. She flipped her left hand, and a lush green seedling, covered in a layer of frost, appeared in her palm. Instantly, the air cleared, and everyone nearby felt invigorated by the fresh, cool scent.

An Jibo’s eyes widened. This seedling was strange—it didn’t look like his at all!

Bian Changxi plucked a leaf and placed it in Ge Jianhua’s ruined mouth. The leaf dissolved instantly, turning into streams of white, green, and red energy that flowed into his body. At once, his complexion improved, the rot visibly receded, flesh and blood regenerated rapidly, and the maggots died off in an instant. In the blink of an eye, he went from a rotting corpse to looking like a normal person.

Everyone was stunned.

Bian Changxi said, “Director Jiang, admit him. I’ll treat him in turn later.”

With that, she calmly returned to the lobby. Jiang Fu stood frozen for two seconds before trembling with excitement. “Yes, yes, admit him! Admit him!”

Upstairs in the wards, the twenty patients were arranged in five adjacent rooms, four to a room—already a very good arrangement. Although nearly a hundred had been discharged, that only meant the beds in the hallways had been removed; the wards were still crowded, with five or six people squeezed into a room.

Everyone was even more attentive to Bian Changxi now—handing over charts, bringing chairs. The group’s imposing presence made the patients, staff, and three wood-types inside feel a bit awkward, but seeing Bian Changxi, they were all excited.

Bian Changxi didn’t rush to start treatment. She first checked on the two patients showing signs of recovery, then looked at the three wood-types. These three were on Gu Xu’s priority training list and had followed her for several days, receiving her personal guidance.

In fact, she wasn’t the only wood-type who could cure these strange illnesses—there were three or four in the base—but their efficiency and effectiveness varied. Even those who left her care and were treated by teams of wood-type doctors often recovered.

So she was surprised and a bit displeased that these wood-types hadn’t managed to cure anyone.

Her displeasure showed on her face, making her expression darken. The three wood-types grew anxious. “Miss Bian, we’re incompetent. We’re sorry.”

Bian Changxi waved it off and turned to An Jibo. “Mr. An, have you studied this illness? Could you lend me a hand?”

“Me?” An Jibo pointed at himself. “I… I guess so. I’ve treated two cases before.” Both were much milder than the ones here.

Still, it counted. Sun Buqun had rewarded him handsomely for it. If he were asked to treat these patients alone, it wouldn’t be impossible. He straightened his back, feeling a bit more confident.

Bian Changxi nodded. “Good. I have a new plan that can cure the patients quickly, but it might leave them physically weak for a while. That means we’ll need wood-types to continuously nourish them with their abilities. We’re short on wood-types here—only one for every five wards. This area is already over the quota, so I can’t ask for more. I’ll need your help.”

She smiled slightly, fixing her gaze on him.

Thanks to the seventh-ranked Peace Amulet!

Thanks to “Kapok Has Bloomed” for the pink ticket!

Thanks to “soi” for the pink ticket!

Thanks to “Maple Flourishing” for the pink ticket!

Thanks to “Anonymous Historian” for the pink ticket!

You’re all so enthusiastic! Some voting records aren’t showing up in the review section—if I missed thanking anyone, I apologize (though I don’t think I missed anyone). There will be another update tonight, but it might be late~~l3l4"