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

The President's Office, Beicheng Military Region General Hospital.

The air was heavy and oppressive, like a low-pressure trough before a downpour.

A black Hero fountain pen, its nib split from excessive force, slammed heavily onto the thin sheet of paper on the mahogany desk, making a sharp, tearing sound.

"Comrade Zhou Hai, in this matter, you have not only neglected your duties, but also condoned it!"

The man sitting opposite Zhou Hai was in his early forties, wearing a crisp gray Zhongshan suit, with two pens clipped to his breast pocket. His name was Lin Weihua, a senior reporter for the "Internal Reference" magazine. He had brought down many officials with his pen and was known in the industry as "Judge Lin."

Lin Weihua pushed up his thick-rimmed black glasses, his eyes behind the lenses sharp as knives: "I'll repeat the contents of the whistleblower letter again—performing craniotomy on a worker under the rudimentary conditions of a county hospital without any imaging data to aid in the diagnosis; using unverified minimally invasive techniques on combat hero Comrade Zhao Guozhu without any domestic precedent or organizational review. Comrade Zhou Hai, this isn't treating and saving lives, what is it? This is using the lives of class brothers for personal heroism! This is using living people as experiments!"

Zhou Hai's face was ashen, his hands clenched into fists on his knees, his knuckles turning white from the force. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, not from fear, but from a suppressed rage.

"Reporter Lin, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. I don't know about the situation in Qingyun County, but the surgery performed by Hero Zhao, where the patient was successfully treated and is recovering well, is a medical miracle..."

"A miracle?" Lin Weihua interrupted Zhou Hai with a short, cold laugh. He leaned forward, his hands on the table, exuding an air of authority. "A miracle is just luckily surviving? What about next time? If this unhealthy trend isn't stopped, will anyone dare to scalpel and wring their hands around in a patient's head? This bourgeois liberalization of medical practice, detached from the masses and reality, must be thoroughly investigated! It must be reported! We need to let all medical workers across the country see what kind of doctors we really need!"

The heavy wooden door to the office was half-open, and the sound seemed to have grown legs, slipping out through the crack and echoing in the empty corridor.

At the corner of the corridor, two figures were pretending to be studying the work schedule in front of the bulletin board, but in reality, their ears were practically stuck to the crack in the door.

As Zhao Tiancheng listened to Lin Weihua's aggressive and piercing voice, he couldn't help but smile, unable to suppress it. This Lin Weihua was indeed a mad dog; once he bit down, he wouldn't let go, and every bite struck the most vulnerable spot.

"Brother Tiancheng," Lin Wan, wearing a woolen overcoat, stood beside him, her long, flowing hair making her small face look pitiful. Her brows furrowed slightly, her voice carrying a perfectly measured worry, "Uncle Lin's words are too harsh... If it really makes it into the 'Internal Reference,' that's a document that reaches the desks of central leaders. Will my sister be unable to be a doctor for the rest of her life? After all, a political stain is a lifelong matter."

Zhao Tiancheng suppressed his overwhelming joy and sighed deeply, though he was secretly overjoyed.

Just then, a commotion broke the tranquility of the inpatient department at the hospital entrance.

"We're from Qingyun County! We're here to see Dr. Ye! We want to see your hospital director! Let us in!"

"Hey! You folks, this is a military hospital. There are rules. You can't just barge in!"

Zhao Tiantian peeked out of the second-floor window and her pupils dilated instantly. She saw a dozen or so country folk, dressed in heavy black cotton-padded coats with dried mud stains on their trousers, shoving and negotiating with the guards at the gate. The woman leading them, though dressed in a cadre's uniform, was also covered in dust, her hair disheveled by the wind. Behind her followed even more people, carrying heavy sacks and bamboo baskets, looking determined to make their way from afar.

Zhao Tiancheng's eyes lit up, and his heart began to pound wildly.

People from Qingyun County have arrived!

Could it be that the victims of Ye Zhen's "harm" in Qingyun County have come to cause trouble?

Was it spontaneous, or the work of "Judge Lin" inside the house?

In any case, these people arrived at the perfect time; it's truly a stroke of luck!

Lin Weihua, who was in the office, also heard the commotion. He quickly walked to the window, glanced down, then turned abruptly, pointing at Zhou Hai with an undeniable, triumphant expression: "Dean Zhou, listen! Listen to this! This is the voice of the people! The complainants have come all the way from the county to the city. How long do you intend to protect her?"

Zhou Hai frowned, his heart sinking. He stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."

Lin Weihua snorted coldly, straightened his Zhongshan suit collar, and strode out first: "I'm going too! I want to see if the victims' tearful accusations can wake you up! I want to personally record the people's anger towards this unscrupulous doctor!"

A group of people surged towards the lobby on the first floor. Zhou Hai walked behind, his steps heavier than ever before.

Zhao Tiancheng and Lin Wan exchanged a glance, both seeing barely suppressed excitement in each other's eyes. They immediately mingled with the medical staff and patients' families who had come out to see what was going on, and quickly followed.

The lobby on the first floor was now in complete chaos.

Yan Hua's hair was disheveled by the northern wind, and her cheeks were red with cold, but her eyes were unusually firm. She clutched a long, rectangular object wrapped in red cloth tightly in her hand, arguing with the guards blocking their way: "Comrade, please do me a favor! I am Yan Hua, the director of the Qingyun County Health Bureau! I need to see Dean Zhou Hai, and I also need to see Comrade Ye Zhen! I have very important information to report in person!"

"Please show me your identification, otherwise I can't let you in with so many of you..."

While the guards hesitated, Lin Weihua, like a righteous messenger descending from the sky, pushed through the crowd and rushed to the front. He spread his arms wide, protecting the guards and villagers like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

"Stop! Who gave you the right to obstruct the people?"

Lin Weihua turned around with a righteous air, facing Yan Hua and the group of seemingly honest, weathered villagers. His face was filled with compassionate concern, and his voice was loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear: "Fellow villagers, don't be afraid! I'm a reporter from the Beijing-based *Internal Reference*, here to speak for the people. Are you here to report something? Is it because that female doctor named Ye Zhen, who went to the countryside, performed surgeries recklessly in your county and caused problems? If you have any grievances, tell me, and I'll stand up for you today!"

The surrounding onlookers immediately erupted in uproar, their discussions rising like a tidal wave.

"Wielding a knife recklessly? Really?"

"Judging by this, it seems genuine. Otherwise, why would so many people come all the way from the county?"

Hearing these discussions from behind the crowd, Zhao Tiancheng trembled with excitement, almost bursting into laughter. Now, with witnesses and evidence presented, Ye Zhen couldn't possibly clear her name even if she had a hundred mouths! He could even imagine Ye Zhen being exposed in public, her face pale, her reputation ruined.

The air in the hall seemed to freeze.

All eyes were on Yan Hua and the villagers behind her.

Yan Hua was stunned.

Hu Dazhi, the vice president of Qingyun County Hospital, who was standing behind her, was also stunned.

The dozen or so people from Qingyun County who had followed were even more astonished, exchanging bewildered glances.

Yan Hua looked at Lin Weihua from head to toe as if he were a fool, giving him a special look at the two iconic pens pinned to his chest. Suddenly, she waved her hand, her movements swift and decisive, like shooing away a buzzing fly, and pushed him aside from her.

"What do you mean, 'wielding a knife randomly'? Are you crazy?"