I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapters 131 and 133: Changing Hospital Beds (4k)

"It's largely true that Professor Kurokawa's ghost can cure cancer. But we need to keep it a secret for now and not spread it around. Professor Noriuchi, is that alright?"

The dean, who chaired the meeting, set the tone for the whole matter, and Professor Junai remained silent for a moment before nodding in agreement with the dean's opinion.

The Dean of the Medical Department is the Dean of the Medical School at Nippon Medical School, a university position.

A university can have more than one affiliated hospital, so theoretically the director of the affiliated hospital is responsible to the Minister of Medicine, who in turn is responsible to the university president.

The position of the medical director is higher than that of the president of the affiliated hospital, but their jurisdiction and duties overlap and are also distinct. They are not considered direct superiors. In reality, their power in the affiliated hospitals of the medical university is roughly equal.

Although Professor Shine was not very willing to acknowledge this incredible paranormal event, he harbored deep resentment towards Professor Kurokawa, his arch-enemy, who was still able to outdo him even after death and cure his own terminal cancer.

But facts speak louder than words, and this time there is both eyewitness testimony and physical evidence.

After the "ghost doctor" incident last night, the head nurse reported it overnight. The head nurse's testimony was more convincing than that of Dr. Satomi and several nurses. The video also clearly captured Professor Kurokawa's face, which finally attracted the attention of the medical university hospital.

Before the official start of work, they called and pulled the staff of the diagnostic department out of bed. A group of doctors and nurses stood guard by the bedside in room 1302. As soon as the old lady woke up, she was immediately arranged to undergo a special examination.

The subsequent X-ray clearly showed that the old lady's malignant liver tumor had shrunk into a small piece, transforming her from late-stage liver cancer to early-stage liver cancer. Even her pre-existing cirrhosis was cured.

If the significant improvement in Ms. Ebina's cancer lesions could be somewhat explained by a misdiagnosis, then trying to cover up the old lady's condition this time by claiming a misdiagnosis is simply self-deception.

It's impossible for a medical university-affiliated hospital, which is designated by the state as a cancer treatment center, to make such a basic mistake twice.

Not to mention that the old lady was transferred here after her condition worsened, and there were test reports from the previous hospital showing that her liver cancer was more serious then than it is now. The possibility of two major hospitals making such a basic mistake at the same time is extremely slim.

Seeing that the two people at the top of the hospital's power pyramid shared this attitude, other hospital executives also expressed their agreement.

Although doctors are highly educated, they are not a group of people who follow the old ways and are inflexible. On the contrary, the speed at which medical research results are updated is astonishing. Doctors must keep learning and keeping up with the progress even in their spare time, otherwise they will be eliminated from the front line.

If you continue to ignore things that are as solid as ironclad facts in order to protect your fragile worldview, then you are simply burying your head in the sand.

"It's amazing that there's still hope for a terminal illness like late-stage cancer. Looking at this film, it seems that just one more course of treatment might be enough to cure it completely."

"A complete cure is too much of a luxury, but both patients are in the early stages of cancer, and with surgery, their five-year survival rate is very high."

The hospital's experts looked at the images in their hands, their faces filled with disbelief, marveling at them.

Even after treatment, when the latest testing technology proves that all parameters of early-stage cancer patients are normal, doctors dare not say that they are cured, because cancer cells mutate from normal cells every day. Therefore, the professional term is the five-year survival rate.

This five-year survival rate doesn't have any profound mechanism; it's just statistical data. It's generally believed that if a patient doesn't relapse within five years, they are considered cured, but it's not 100% certain.

"Dean, should we inform Professor Kurokawa's family about this?" a department head asked with a somewhat strange expression.

Professor Kurokawa was, after all, the dean of the medical school during his lifetime, and he left behind a considerable reputation in the hospital.

"No, this matter must be kept secret! Although the Ghost Doctor has come to the hospital for two consecutive days, no one can guarantee that he will come again in the future. If the Ghost Doctor never shows up again and this matter blows up, it will be difficult to handle and will also have a negative impact on our hospital's reputation." Professor Ze Nei rejected the idea without even thinking.

"We should prepare first. If Professor Kurokawa returns today..."

A doctor began to speak, but seeing Professor Zene's displeased expression, he quickly changed his words:

"If the ghost doctor appears, in which ward on the thirteenth floor would he be?"

Professor Kurokawa appeared in room 1301 on the first day and in room 1302 on the second day. Both of these rooms were the closest to the elevator building and were double rooms.

"Besides Ms. Ebina, who has late-stage stomach cancer, there's another patient in room 1301 with uterine cancer, but it's not life-threatening. So Professor Kurokawa skipped over it?" someone said, flipping through the medical records.

"The other patient in room 1302 is a child with bone cancer, and the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. Even with amputation, the condition is not optimistic, and there's no guarantee he'll survive. So, is it very likely that Professor Kurokawa will be here this time?"

"Let's talk about that later. It's not even certain whether Professor Kurokawa will come tonight."

After much discussion, a few ideas were finally settled.

The most important thing is to keep it confidential. All nurses and doctors who know the inside story must cooperate with the director and Professor Zene's decision and keep their mouths shut.

Secondly, new surveillance cameras need to be installed on the thirteenth floor. Considering the strange power outage when Professor Kurokawa appeared, the power distribution room also needs to be on high alert, and the entire floor's electrical system needs to be thoroughly checked. The new surveillance equipment also needs to be the kind that can store electricity.

The next step is to strengthen security. In addition, important figures such as the dean and Professor Zene have decided to personally oversee the scene to see whether it is a human or a ghost.

After the meeting, Dr. Satomi and the intern nurse walked out of the conference room together.

As witnesses to Professor Kurokawa's return to life twice, the two were also required to attend. Of course, they didn't have much say; they spent their time answering questions from senior officials of the affiliated hospital before and after the meeting.

"Why do the dean and Professor Norina both look so unhappy? Professor Kurokawa saved two lives, which is a good thing for the hospital." The intern nurse pouted and complained to Dr. Satomi.

"Is it because Professor Kurokawa can treat cancer, and they're afraid of losing their jobs?"

Dr. Satomi shook his head with a wry smile.

How could it be that they're afraid the affiliated hospital of the medical university won't have any business?

Data from Japan's National Cancer Center shows that the probability of developing cancer increases significantly from age 40, reaching a cumulative cancer rate of 21% by age 71 and 36% by age 85.

Cancer originates from gene mutations, specifically errors in DNA transcription. Since gene transcription continues throughout a person's life, the longer one lives, the higher the incidence of cancer.

Japan is known for its long life expectancy, which naturally leads to a large number of cancer patients.

According to statistics, the cancer rate in Japan is 65% for men and 51% for women. This means that one in two people will have cancer, and one in three will die from it.

Professor Kurokawa appeared twice, but only treated two people. Even if he came every day of the year, the number of people who could be saved would be a drop in the ocean.

As the president of the affiliated hospital of the medical university and a minister of the university, although he is a doctor, he wields great power and has a significant influence on the hospital's personnel arrangements and management strategies. Naturally, he has inevitably developed a bureaucratic style, dislikes all changes, whether good or bad, and prefers peace and tranquility.

If word gets out that a doctor with a ghost performed the surgery, the consequences for the hospital are truly unpredictable!

Therefore, the dean and Professor Zene were more than happy that such a bizarre paranormal event had never happened before.

Dr. Satomi had a minor surgery in the afternoon, and by the time the surgery was completed, it was already evening.

Dr. Satomi will definitely be on night shift tonight, so he'll stay on the thirteenth floor to see if Professor Kurokawa will show up.

However, it was still early, and Dr. Satomi wanted to check on Ms. Ebina and the elderly woman in the next bed.

Moreover, Professor Kurokawa will most likely be in bed number two of room 1302 tonight.

The couple from last night also witnessed Professor Kurokawa's appearance and were horrified. They even wanted to transfer to another hospital, but only agreed not to be transferred after Dr. Satomi's strong reassurance.

Dr. Satomi wanted to subtly remind them of a few things so they wouldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Amputation is so heartbreaking for a child.

However, when Dr. Satomi took the elevator to the 13th floor, he found that rooms 1301 and 1302 were empty, with only a strange man living in room 1302.

Dr. Satomi found out from the nurse on duty that this was Professor Noriuchi's arrangement, and that the patients in the two wards had been moved to other wards.

He didn't care about anything else and rushed to the medical school director's office to question why the bed had to be changed at this time.

Professor Zene did not give a direct answer, but told him that the situation was complicated and had to be considered from various aspects, which was why the patient with the most suitable condition was selected to stay in room 1302.

Then they sent him away.

Unwilling to give up, Dr. Satomi inquired through other channels and learned that the man was the president of a large company who had been hospitalized for esophageal cancer.

The richer people are, the more they cherish their lives. The president of the company hasn't enjoyed enough wealth and luxury, so of course he's unwilling to accept his fate.

The wealthy president came to the medical university hospital for treatment. Upon admission, he donated 30 million yen to the hospital and promised to donate another 100 million yen after his condition improved.

Such a generous VIP naturally attracted the attention of the hospital's top management, and the best doctors were summoned, with Professor Zene serving as the core of the medical team, who devoted all their efforts to the diagnosis and treatment.

However, the treatment results were not ideal. The president's condition continued to deteriorate, and the cancer cells spread to other places. Even the affiliated hospital of the medical university could not save him.

So, Professor Kurokawa arranged for Professor Kurokawa to treat the president in room 1302, and even emptied the two wards closest to the elevator, all so that Professor Kurokawa could treat this president?

As a result, they even changed the bed of the child with bone cancer in room 1302, snatching that glimmer of hope away from the child.

How could Professor Zene be so blinded by greed as to do such a thing? He's absolutely heartless!

At the meeting, Professor Zenai pretended not to want Professor Kurokawa's ghost to cause trouble, but then turned around and arranged for important patients to be in room 1302, treating Professor Kurokawa as a tool for his pursuit of fame and fortune.

Dr. Satomi would absolutely not agree to something like this.

As midnight approached, the people on night shift were no longer just nurses and doctors, but a group of hospital executives, including the hospital director and Professor Zene, who personally came to oversee the operation.

In addition, seven or eight hospital security guards were also called in, making the entire duty room and corridors feel somewhat crowded.

Furthermore, the hospital specially arranged for nurses to go to other wards on the 13th floor to remind patients to go to sleep early and not to wander around or run out of their wards.

At this time, most of the ignorant patients and their families on the 13th floor are already asleep, while the large group of doctors and security guards on site are all watching the elevator doors with trepidation.

With a "tick," the wall clock and minute hand overlapped and pointed directly upwards. After a soft chime, the light in the entire duty room and corridor dimmed again.

"So it really is a ghost? After all these preparations, the power still tripped." Someone muttered quietly.

But at this point, no one cared anymore; everyone's eyes were fixed on the moving surgical elevator.

The surgical elevator on the first floor was locked and several security guards were on duty, but it still mysteriously went up.

Where is the patient?

As the elevator doors opened, Professor Kurokawa, exuding a chilling aura, stepped out in a white lab coat and spoke in a cold, expressionless voice.

He actually came back!?

Professor Zenai's eyes widened in surprise. Of course, he recognized this enviable genius doctor. It was after Professor Kurokawa's death that he was appointed dean of the medical school.

"It really is Professor Kurokawa!"

"This is impossible?!"

The people gathered on the 13th floor now are all senior doctors who have worked at the affiliated hospital of the medical university for many years. Everyone knows Professor Kurokawa, who was the dean of the medical university a year ago.

Although I was mentally prepared, I was still terrified when I saw Professor Kurokawa's ghost actually appear.

Professor Kurokawa approached step by step, and some doctors, unable to withstand the pressure, retreated in fear.

Where is the patient?

Professor Kurokawa asked again, but the doctors in the hospital were all trembling with fear, looking at each other, not daring to utter a word.

Although no one answered, Professor Kurokawa's body began to move toward room 1302, as if he had foreseen that there was an incurable patient inside.

However, Professor Zene's eyes revealed a smug look of triumph at his successful scheme.

"The patient is in room 1309!"

Dr. Satomi rushed out and said decisively.

Professor Kurokawa had already placed his hand on the doorknob of room 1302. He stopped, tilted his head, and gave Dr. Satomi a strange look with his eyes rolled back.

(End of this chapter)