American Medicine: I survived the death knell thanks to the devil.

Prescott is at a crucial point in his career, poised for promotion to attending physician.

He was still holding an unfinished paper cup of coffee in his hand.

"Dr. Prescott."

"Old Hudson's comments just now were very insightful."

Prescott took a sip of his coffee. "He brought up the name of a resident at the academic conference. I've been at the Metropolitan Hospital for four years, and this is the first time I've seen that."

"It's really not easy for a resident to publish an article on trauma research, even though it's a different level of medical expertise."

"But to be honest, the threshold for publishing articles in general orthopedics is quite different from that in bone tumors. In some fields, you can get started with just one good case, while in others you need to run data for three years before you even reach the threshold."

The tone wasn't harsh; in fact, it could be described as objective.

But Lynn understood that what he meant was: You published an article, that's good, but don't think you've reached a certain level.

"You're right," Lynn said. "The thresholds are indeed different."

Prescott patted him on the shoulder lightly, like a senior encouraging a junior.

"Keep up the good work. There aren't many areas where resident physicians can publish articles, so don't miss out on good case studies."

Finished talking and left.

At the edge of my field of vision, that semi-transparent interface resurfaced.

The Demon Worldline Convergence System has been activated.

[Demon detected...]

[Race: Marquis of Rhetoric (Twenty-fourth Seat in Hell)]

(Prescott: "This junior resident is really lucky. I've been working on bone tumors for four years and never had this kind of opportunity. Oh well, the osteolytic case we admitted in the ER yesterday is enough to get a paper in JBJS.")

[You can choose from the following world lines]

[A: Remain inactive and wait for cases to enter the regular consultation process as acting chief resident. At that time, you can legitimately intervene in the diagnosis. (Reward: "Advanced Bone Tumor Imaging Interpretation")]

[B: Proactively express your interest in bone tumors to Prescott, humbly requesting to join his diagnostic team to obtain firsthand information. (Reward: 1 Common Skill Point, Prescott's Friendship)]

[C: Immediately rush back to the ER, retrieve the CT scan of the osteolytic case, roll it up, and stuff it into the white coat pocket, physically "stealing" the case. (Reward: Title "Film Thief")]

[D: Privately recruit other doctors to form independent academic partnerships before the specialist training program begins, and complete the preliminary diagnostic framework for the cases. (Reward: "Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy - Advanced")]

……

Julian followed behind and walked alongside Lynn for a while.

When he reached the nurses' station and there were fewer people, he said:

"What did Prescott say? Never mind, don't take it to heart, that's just how he is."

Lynn glanced at him.

"Whether it's what old Hudson said or your paper, they won't think about these things when they go back. But whether they've reached in or not, when the moment actually comes, it's a different story."

The two turned past the nurses' station.

Victoria stood at the corner of the corridor, looking down as she flipped through folders.

"Dr. Vanderbilt," Julian nodded politely.

Victoria nodded briefly, then looked at Lynn.

"The preoperative consultation for bed 16 is at 11:30. Don't be late."

"understood."

Victoria looked away, picked up the folder, and left.

The high heels clicked on the floor, a beat faster than usual.

Julian watched her retreating figure.

"I feel like the way she looks at you today is a little different."

"It's probably just my imagination; hasn't it always been like this?"

Lynn finished the last sip of coffee, threw the paper cup into the trash can, and hit it squarely.

Julian didn't press the matter further.

The two entered a less crowded passage.

"Lynn, I've thought about something seriously."

Julian stopped in his tracks.

"You have the technology, I have the academic resources."

He looked at Lynn.

"We can team up. You provide the case studies, and I'll provide the framework. Once we publish a couple more papers of this caliber, the 'acting' title for acting chief resident will be removed."

"And what are your needs?"

"Try to take me with you to your surgeries in the future."

"Okay," Lynn said, "but let me make this clear: you might not be able to learn what I teach you."

"That makes me even more eager to learn."

Julian smiled broadly.

Then he took out his phone from his white coat and opened an emergency room admission record.

"Speaking of publishing papers, I admitted a patient yesterday who is of great research value."

Lynn took the phone.

The screen displays an emergency room admission record.

Patient: Elena Reyes, 26 years old, female.

Occupation: Lawyer.

Chief complaint: Progressive pain in the right shoulder for four months, which has worsened and been accompanied by limited range of motion for two weeks.

He scrolled down.

The reconstruction image from the external CT scan was mediocre, but the problem was immediately apparent: extensive osteolytic destruction of the right scapula with jagged edges, resembling a beam eaten by termites.

The lesion has affected the proximal articular surface of the humerus, and there is also a suspicious low-density shadow in the fourth posterior rib.

The external hospital's biopsy report stated: "Interstitial thin-walled vascular proliferation, no clearly malignant cells observed. Further examination recommended."

"Was the biopsy only performed once?"

"The biopsy sample wasn't large enough. The pathology report says it's atypical angiogenesis, which basically means I don't know what it is either."

Julian leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"After reviewing the imaging, my first thought about the bone tumor was that it was malignant. But the biopsy didn't support it, and it didn't seem like an infection, Langerhans syndrome, or metabolic bone disease."

"It's somewhat related to each one, but it doesn't completely match any of them."

"What about the patient's insurance situation?"

"She had only been with the company for six months. The group insurance provided by the law firm covered hospitalization, but for this rare disease, the insurance company would most likely file a lawsuit to refuse to pay."

Julian paused for a moment. "She's a lawyer too. Won't she defend herself?"

Lynn zoomed in on the CT scan with two fingers and stared at the edge of the osteolytic area for a few seconds.

There was no periosteal reaction, no obvious soft tissue mass, and the bone was simply disappearing.

Like a block of ice thrown into hot water, the outline remains, but the solid part has already begun to collapse.

Who is involved?

"Prescott. Yesterday afternoon, before the patients had even been assigned beds, he was already asserting his dominance."

"Who else?"

"Garret, that perennial clinical lecturer on bone tumors. And Park Jung-woo."

"Park Jung-woo in the direction of the spine? What does that have to do with the scapula?"

"He said the lesion involves the posterior rib and paravertebral area, falling within the spine-chest wall junction." Julian's expression was somewhat disdainful.

Three groups of people.

Throwing a rare case into a group of specialists who need to write papers is like pouring a bucket of blood into a shark tank.

"You didn't go?"

"I've been waiting for you," Julian said. "Didn't you just agree to share this case? This case is a better fit than I thought."

Lynn returned the phone to him.

"Get her complete imaging records and medical records from other hospitals. I will go see them."

"OK."

Julian put away his phone, took a few steps, then turned back. "By the way, she's a lawyer, so don't say anything wrong."

"understood."

Lynn has already gone far away.