After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The surgical plan was finalized, but the tension in the air didn't ease in the slightest. The hope that had just ignited on the faces of the experts was extinguished by Ye Zhen's next words.

"Dean Zhou," Ye Zhen looked up from the CT scan and turned to Zhou Hai, who had remained silent, "Does the hospital have a Zeiss OPMI series microscope?"

Zeiss OPMI.

Zhou Hai looked troubled and rubbed his hands together: "Xiao Ye, you know our conditions... that stuff... our hospital doesn't even have it, let alone have seen it. One of those things costs tens of thousands of US dollars."

Liang Guodong interjected, "Our provincial People's Hospital does have one, but it's an older model..."

"The resolution of the old model is not enough." Ye Zhen shook her head, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. "The shrapnel is surrounded by a dense network of blood, and even a slight difference in the field of vision can lead to a huge error during the operation. It must be the latest model, with a depth of field and lighting system that can keep up."

Zhou Hai gritted his teeth and slapped his thigh: "If we don't have it, we'll borrow it!"

Zhou Hai grabbed the telephone on the table and dialed a number.

"Beep—beep—"

The call connected, and a strong, resonant voice came from the other end: "This is Zhang Guohua! Who is this?"

Everyone in the conference room shrank back. Zhang Guohua, the president of the Beijing Military Region General Hospital, was a household name; who didn't know him?

Zhou Hai took a deep breath and said with a forced smile, "Dean Zhang, it's me, Zhou Hai."

"Zhou Hai?" Zhang Guohua's tone softened slightly, but it still carried impatience. "You old fox, you don't come here unless you need something. What do you want?"

Zhou Hai glanced at Ye Zhen and said with a wry smile, "We've taken in an old hero, Zhao Guozhu, whose condition is critical. The surgical plan has been finalized, but... we're short of someone to help him make a living."

"What do you need? As long as I have it, just take it!" Zhang Guohua said with great generosity.

"Zeiss's latest surgical microscope," Zhou Hai said cautiously.

There was a three-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"What?! A Zeiss surgical microscope?!" Zhang Guohua's roar nearly shattered the phone. "There are only a handful of those in the whole country! I've had my application submitted for six months, and it still hasn't been approved! You want me? You might as well sell me for foreign exchange to buy one!"

A suppressed laugh rippled through the conference room.

Zhou Hai's face flushed red: "What do we do then? Xiao Ye said that without this mirror, the surgery can't be performed. Are we just going to look at the old hero..."

"Did Xiao Ye say that?" Zhang Guohua interrupted him, his roaring stopped, and his tone became somewhat strange. "Alright, stop howling! I don't have one, but others do. Xiehe Hospital just got one last month, and they're treating it like a precious gem. I heard they're still testing it."

"Peking Union Medical College Hospital?" Zhou Hai was dumbfounded. "Old Zhang, Peking Union Medical College Hospital is directly under the Ministry of Health, it's completely different from our system. Do you think they'd lend it to me?"

"You certainly don't have enough face," Zhang Guohua snorted, "but if you mention my name... I doubt you'll get any more credit."

Zhou Hai: "..."

"Alright, I'll give you Wu Wenqing's office phone number. Go try your luck. If you can't borrow it, have that girl try; she has influence!"

Zhang Guohua read out a number and then slammed the phone down.

The conference room was deathly silent.

Liu Jianming looked at Zhou Hai: "Dean Zhou, you're not really going to call Xiehe, are you? Do you really think they'll lend us their newly imported treasure?"

Zhou Hai didn't speak; his forehead was covered in sweat. But after glancing at Ye Zhen, who stood calmly beside him, he steeled himself and dialed the number again.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered. A slightly tired voice came through: "Who is this?"

"Hello Dean Wu, I am Zhou Hai from Beicheng City Hospital."

"Zhou Hai?" Wu Wenqing's tone instantly turned eight degrees colder. "Didn't we send you the equipment last time? Is there anything else?"

"No, no, no! Dean Wu!" Zhou Hai was sweating profusely. "We have a top-class combat hero hospitalized here. Shrapnel in his head is pressing on his optic nerve, causing him to go blind and suffer unbearable pain. He urgently needs a Zeiss microscope for surgery. We'd like to borrow your hospital's..."

"Nonsense!" Wu Wenqing's voice suddenly rose. "Do you know how much that microscope cost? It's a scientific research device bought with foreign exchange specially approved by the state! How could it just be transported to a local hospital like yours? Do you know how high the transportation requirements are? If it gets bumped along the way, the optical axis will deviate, and the precision will be compromised. Can you take responsibility for that? If something goes wrong, you couldn't afford to compensate even if you sold your hospital! No way! Absolutely not!"

The refusal was firm and unequivocal, leaving no room for negotiation.

Liu Jianming shrugged, with an expression that said, "I knew it would turn out this way."

Zhou Hai was in despair; his hand holding the microphone was trembling.

Just then, a fair and slender hand reached out.

Ye Zhen, who had been silent all along, stepped forward and, without saying a word, simply extended her hand to Zhou Hai.

Zhou Hai stared at her blankly, as if he hadn't reacted.

Ye Zhen extended her hand forward again.

Zhou Hai then seemed to snap out of his daze and subconsciously handed the receiver to her.

"Dean Wu, I am Ye Zhen."

There was a sudden, deathly silence on the other end of the phone.

A full five seconds passed.

Then, a voice, completely different from before and filled with urgency and passion, burst forth from the receiver: "Xiao Ye?"

Ye Zhen said calmly, "It was me. I was the lead surgeon for this operation."

"You were the surgeon?!" Wu Wenqing's voice was as excited as if he had won the lottery. "You can even use a microscope?"

"Yes. But I don't have a microscope."

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Wu Wenqing's attitude changed completely, and he spoke at lightning speed, like a machine gun. "Xiao Ye, you wait here, I'll personally escort it over! By the way, besides the microscope, what else do you need? Do you need a high-speed drill? Do you need bipolar electrocoagulation? I'll bring it all for you!"

Everyone in the conference room was stunned. Liu Jianming's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Was this really the legendary, stern, and extremely difficult Vice President of Xiehe Hospital? This was practically an obedient logistics manager!

"I want them all," Ye Zhen said. "It's a long journey, thank you Dean Wu."

"No trouble at all! I'll set off right away. Tell the driver to go faster; I'll definitely be there in four hours... no, three and a half hours!"

"Click." The call ended.

The meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Zhou Hai stared blankly at the phone in his hand, then turned to look at Ye Zhen, finally managing to stammer out, "Girl... your influence is even greater than the provincial governor's!"

Ye Zhen acted as if she had only done something insignificant. She raised her wrist, glanced at her watch, and said, "Three and a half hours left. Notify the operating room to prepare. I'll go check on the patient and do the final preoperative assessment."

After saying that, she turned and walked out of the conference room, leaving behind a room full of petrification experts.