The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

Page 329

It seems that when I summoned Wuwei this time, I didn't use my clinic member ID badge.

Before she could ponder the reasons for the difference, Haida had already entered the clinic and stepped straight into the entrance hall.

Good day, Sister Heda. And you, little cat.

Fran, with his hands behind his back, greeted him warmly.

"Good day." Haida nodded gently.

Bebesa looked at the two's familiar and concise way of communicating and inexplicably shrank back.

At their first meeting, Luara's attitude toward Fran was a mixture of intimacy and instinctive fear. However, this fear gradually faded as they spent more time together, while the saber-toothed creature's apprehension and fear toward her were much more genuine.

To call it "fear" would be an exaggeration, since Fran cleansed her of the rust curse without causing any real harm. But it's also quite far from being "close."

Sigh, the doctor's examination methods on the Leviathan were so impressive that I can't forget them.

In short, Bebesa had a slight psychological trauma related to Fran.

"Bebesa, are you adapting well to the Order of the Hunters? I've heard that the attrition rate for Funeral Maids and Outer Path Hunters is very high in the early stages, so the training must be quite tough."

Although he spoke in a questioning tone, Fran did not seem to intend to get an answer from the other party's response.

For this doctor, the answers to most questions can be found directly in the patient's body, and he cannot lie or cover it up.

She deftly took Bebesa from Haida's hands, pulled her into her arms, and pinched her fleshy belly covered with soft down.

"The proportions of your body haven't changed much, but your scrotum has become fuller. The food at the Funeral Home is still as good as I remember, and your appetite should have improved as well."

She made a quick judgment.

Saber-toothed creatures can only consume food from the Great Lin region, thus missing out on seafood and birds, which is quite regrettable. However, Loredon's imitation technology clearly did not fully adhere to fundamentalism, resulting in some differences between Bebeza and the original saber-toothed beast.

Normally, saber-toothed beasts only have a beast form, and they only fall into human form after consuming food that does not originate from the earth.

Individuals who have fallen into depravity and become tainted with mortal nature can no longer be called saber-toothed beasts. They have lost their innate extraordinary strength and are essentially no different from ordinary people, except that they may live a little longer.

But Bebesa can transform into human form at will, without being bound by ancient and rigid rules. She can even maintain her small leopard cat form to conserve energy.

It sounds very flexible and convenient.

...But Fran knew very well that all of this was by no means without a price.

"Both your mental state and physical health have improved and are stabilizing. If you were an ordinary patient, I would almost congratulate you on your recovery."

Fran gently pinched Bebesa's vertebrae one by one, as if measuring her specific size, and occasionally stroked her neck and back along her fur, estimating her development based on the color of her skin and flesh. His actions and expression resembled those of a dedicated international competition judge.

She only placed her on the sofa after Bebesa's eyes drooped and she became drowsy.

Although Bebesa was reluctant to admit it deep down, the doctor's skills and experience in comforting small animals were so adept that her resistance and resentment dissipated before they could fully take shape.

"Wear and abnormal operating loads."

After completing the initial examination, Fran delivered the diagnosis.

"This little guy's intelligence and power are similar to the original saber-toothed creatures, but some of its internal structures are too simple...it's almost like a modified human template. Further examination would require internal sampling for testing, or even disassembly for in-depth analysis of its internal structure."

To avoid upsetting the patient, she spoke in standard Mandarin.

Over the past month and a half, Haida has been teaching Bebesa some basic Common Language vocabulary and grammar, but it will clearly take her quite some time before she can understand the passage mentioned above.

Upon hearing the word "disassemble," Sigrid's eyes, which were positioned to the side, lit up slightly, gleaming with a dazzling, molten gold light.

Seeing this, Fran slightly curled the corners of his lips, revealing a hint of a smile.

"Take her to the operating room." (Thinking)

"Ah."

Haida agreed. Wu

The nun picked up Bebesa, who was curled up in the corner of the sofa, intending to say something to calm her down. But before she could speak, she noticed that the saber-toothed creature's eyes had already closed tightly, as if it had been fast asleep for a long time.

Fran's earlier actions had already left Bebesa somewhat dazed, which made it easy for Luara to enter a dream state without any resistance; she went from waking up to sleeping in the blink of an eye. Of course, even if she didn't cooperate at all and resisted with all her might... it wouldn't really make much difference.

We entered the operating room.

As is customary, after completing the routine disinfection work, Fran slightly closed his hands and unleashed the "Dust Removal" spell, enveloping the operating platform and the surrounding interior space. Under the clear light, the originally cold interior gained a peaceful atmosphere.

The entire disassembly process was exceptionally smooth and uneventful, without any unexpected incidents.

From the perspective of modern medicine, this is undoubtedly extremely dangerous. The body of a living organism is like an extremely precise yet fragile electronic device; even if it is disassembled, repaired, and almost perfectly restored, its normal operation cannot be guaranteed.

But clearly, this was just a fairly ordinary, routine medical procedure for Fran.

With the combined efforts of bio-alchemy, soul techniques, and medical equipment from dozens of millennia in the future, even a patient's wholehearted desire to die is quite difficult.

The disassembly and examination of Bebesa is less than one percent as technically complex and dangerous as the Haida proto-body surgery.

Oh, that's still a rather conservative estimate.

"I see."

After the thorough medical examination, Fran looked thoughtful.

"Sabertooth creatures were created by the gods and forged in a furnace, so they can be called purely mythical creatures. However, as imitations, they are mixed in terms of techniques, processes, and raw materials, and contain a certain malice of the creator."

"Of the factors mentioned above, the most important is the raw material."

As she spoke, she stuck out her tender pink tongue and licked her slightly dry lips.

"Bebesa, or rather all the saber-toothed replicas that originated from Loreton, are made from the souls of those who were once saber-toothed beasts but fell into human form. Even after being smelted and purified, their fragile mortal nature is still preserved in the process."

"In order to ensure a continuous supply of raw materials, they regularly execute the replicas, stripping off valuable limb materials and then remelting the soul essence. This creates a complete mass production cycle."

"And even if a few lucky individuals escape execution, they will rapidly decline and die in adulthood due to the disharmony inherent in their mortal nature. Judging from Bebesa's current physical condition, her entire lifespan, even under extreme conditions, will not exceed twenty years."4

"The essence of the 'design flaw' in Bebesa's body is that some special organs did not differentiate completely. The saber-toothed beast organs that should have had a complete form underwent a mutation that assimilated into humans, thus triggering a series of complications."

"Those organs were originally only meant to support the strength of a human body, but now they have to ensure the life activities of a huge saber-toothed creature. Constantly under high load, they've become unbearable and are gradually failing as they reach adulthood."

As Fran recounted his story, Haida frowned, her grey-chestnut eyes momentarily darkening.

While Bebeza may have some shortcomings, her ideals and personality align well with those of a Hunter, and she possesses many of the traits of a saber-toothed creature. Given more time, she will undoubtedly become an excellent hunter.

"Is it possible to repair the defect?"

In response to the nun's question, Fran simply twitched his slender index finger.

"Repair? If that's all, then I'm just cleaning up the messes made by those lousy counterfeiters in Loretown."

She raised her eyebrows slightly, seemingly dissatisfied.

"Based on my personal aesthetic preferences, I need to find a way to add some unique designs to this little guy..."

-

-

soup!

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Four Stages of Alchemy

Due to an inherent flaw caused by a design defect, Bebesa, along with almost all of her kind, had their lifespan limited to around twenty years.

This is not entirely a matter of process and raw materials; to a certain extent, it was also a deliberate act by the artisans of the North.

Although the organs of the fake saber-toothed creatures are hampered by human characteristics, they can still extend their lifespan by reducing the workload and organ burden by weakening their physical strength.

However, this leads to a decrease in the quality of the limb materials they produce.

Furthermore, a short lifespan might not be a disadvantage for the artisans of the Northern Kingdom... These artificial blade-like creatures possess strength and spiritual energy comparable to the native species, but their lifespans are far shorter, making the entire race easier to control and fitting their role as consumables.

This can be considered a form of "planned obsolescence".

"Speaking of which, Bebesa seems to be the first case I've encountered in recent years that is directly related to lifespan. Previous patients were either still long-lived but plagued by disease, or they had taken matters into their own hands and resolved their lifespan issues..."

Fran rubbed his palms together, then began to move his fingers with a hint of excitement.

Even those who study esoteric rituals but are still considered mortals will have their lifespan generously extended to at least three hundred years once they complete the fourth stage of advancement. Besides this more orthodox path, there are other, perhaps less respectable, but more direct and effective ways to prolong life.

For example, the "Want to See the Flowers" Karmion, which changed its carriers time and time again.

Before truly reaching the Apostle level, that guy probably tried every secret ritual he could find, all in an effort to survive longer and avoid the increasingly imminent, chilling end.

This includes, but is not limited to, splitting oneself into a mirror image, transforming into a girl in a mirror, and obtaining ancient SoUSuo:9 similar to ￥$蚆〕.二≮★san三／嶺◎∩榕 saplings and the finger bone of the former King of Heil through trade.

Fran glanced subtly at Sigrid and Sister Heda beside him, his expression slightly subtle.

Although the timing and occasion seemed inappropriate, and she was currently being stared at by two pairs of eyes... she still inexplicably wanted to recite that classic line, and couldn't suppress it for a moment.

A moment later, she raised her hand and gently touched her forehead, swallowing back the words that had welled up in her throat.

Even with this doctor's weak sense of shame, it would be difficult for him to solemnly utter in a serious setting about to begin surgery things like, "The idea of ​​lifespan is really being underestimated," or "The power of medicine is limitless!"—words that are hard to understand.

"Dr. Fran?"

Seeing that she had fallen silent for a moment, Sigrid leaned closer and asked her with concern.

The craftswoman didn't believe Fran's hesitation was due to Bebesa's condition; after all, the kitten only had a slight design flaw, which could be reversed with a simple remelting and reconstruction. Even if the doctor did nothing, Sigrid could accomplish the task on her own.

Judging from her serious expression, she was probably thinking about the details of the improvement plan.

"Sorry, Sigrid, I was a little distracted."

Upon hearing Sigrid's call, Fran involuntarily raised his hand to cover his mouth and coughed lightly.

Although she had been suppressing the urge to deliver her prepared lines, she had taken the opportunity to refine the medical plan in her mind. After gathering some medications and materials, she could begin the surgery immediately.

Although the first and second assistants may have lacked some professionalism this time, they were at least highly efficient in executing instructions and were able to share a lot of the low-tech and tedious procedures with her.

After taking a deep breath, Fran began to give instructions on the preoperative preparations.

"First, mold her into the complete form of a saber-toothed beast. Sigrid, the leopard cat is too small, making it less convenient to install implants."

"Hmm." Doctor

As she spoke, Sigrid placed her hand on Bebesa's chest. As the molten gold-like glow intensified, the saber-toothed creature's body visibly swelled and expanded, gradually taking over the entire surgical platform.

The subadult saber-toothed beast was roughly the size of a medium-sized lion or tiger, and still had about a third of its body still to grow. If this large surgical platform hadn't been designed from the outset to accommodate non-human beings, it probably wouldn't be able to accommodate her yet.

To be honest, Fran was quite interested in the plasticizing technique used to transform the saber-tooth replica.

It's illogical that Bebesa could transform from the tiny size of a leopard cat into the size of a lion or tiger in the blink of an eye. Where did this extra mass come from? She even retains a human form.

From carnivora to primates, from felines to hominids, from crawling to walking upright, from tailed to tailless, from four pairs of mammary glands to one pair…

Even Fran, at times, couldn't help but marvel at the extraordinary and unconventional aspects of the mystical rules.

"Dr. Fran, in which specific areas do you intend to make 'improvements'?"

Haida, who had been observing from the sidelines, pondered for a long time before finally raising her question.

Strictly speaking, Bebesa is currently a registered funeral maid, a member of the Order of the Mystics. Out of a sense of responsibility to her subordinates, the nun still wanted to understand the specifics of the surgery beforehand.

"My dear Haida, don't worry, it's just a minor, harmless surgery."

Fran readily offered her answers, explaining the steps and concepts of the plan with practiced ease as she guided Sigrid through the remelting and reshaping of Bebesa's internal structure.

"First, we need to erase the human characteristics from Bebeza's organs."

"It might sound strange, but for saber-toothed creatures, the human parts are a kind of mutation, or rather, a burden. They are impurities that weren't in the original design, almost dragging down the entire body." U

"Fortunately, it's not difficult to solve." N

As she spoke, she extended her index finger, guiding Heda's gaze to Sigrid, who was busy reconstructing Bertha's internal organs.

The most efficient way to remove impurities is naturally to rework them.

And right now, there isn’t a furnace of higher quality than Sigrid’s in all of Norlington… The material that makes up the primordial sun has symbolized the final stage of alchemy since its inception, namely, “perfect crystallization”.

At first, Bebesa's body began to appear as a carbonaceous gray-black, as if it were being charred by the heat and light. But after a few breaths, these black impurities began to peel off in pieces, turning into ashes and dust that drifted in the wind.

The black dust vanished, and incandescent light followed in quick succession.

The flaws and imperfections that were originally there were now sublimated in the dazzling white light, imbued with a kind of "reasonableness" that was difficult to describe in words. After the pure, pale light faded away, the deep yellow copper color remained, and the surrounding temperature gradually began to drop.

During the alchemy process, Sigrid's expression was completely unlike her usual gentle and ardent one; her eyes flashed with a solemn, emotionless look. But as soon as the process was over, her expression quickly returned to normal.

Cruelty is the nature of the forge, and even as a fragment of the primordial sun, it is not immune to its influence when using itself as a furnace.

"finished."

She wiped away non-existent sweat from her forehead, then let out a long breath, seemingly still wanting more.

The complete alchemical process is divided into four stages: black (Nigredo), white (Albedo), yellow (Citrinitas), and red (Rubedo). It begins with the black stage, which involves sedimentation, dissociation, and impurity removal, and ends with the yellow stage, which involves activation and transmutation.

So why not end with the red phase, completing the final step of the entire process?