Chapter 158 - 157: For Your Exclusive Use

Chapter 158: Chapter 157: For Your Exclusive Use

At 12:10 PM, Yu Zhiming finished his morning physical examinations and, accompanied by Qiao Lei, Zhou Mo, and Luan Guoqing, hurried back to the main office.

As soon as he entered the main office, Yu Zhiming saw a small safe, about sixty centimeters tall, next to his desk.

The safe’s paint was mottled and flecked with rust; a single glance told him it was quite old.

"Dr. Yu, don’t be fooled by its small size. This safe has two sets of combination dials, for a total of six digits."

Luan Guoqing, his face full of anticipation, hadn’t even finished speaking when he saw Yu Zhiming bend down, reach out, and flick the safe a few times with his index finger.

Immediately after, Yu Zhiming squatted in front of the safe and began to work on one of the three-tiered combination dials on its face.

"Dr. Yu, do you need a stethoscope?"

Luan Guoqing pushed Qiao Lei, who was standing to Yu Zhiming’s left, aside and took off the stethoscope hanging around his neck.

"The safe has been sitting for a long time, so the sound is a bit muddled. This stethoscope of mine was bought abroad; its sound reception and noise cancellation are quite good."

Yu Zhiming didn’t take the stethoscope. He moved his hand to the other combination dial and casually turned each tier, some less than half a turn, others more.

A moment later, the second three-tiered dial was set, and the second three-digit combination was cracked.

Without making any fine adjustments or double-checking, Yu Zhiming gripped the small handle of the safe.

He forcefully pressed down and turned...

The sudden CLICK made Luan Guoqing’s jaw drop, his eyes instantly widening as far as they could go.

He saw the safe door crack open, a musty smell wafting out from the gap.

"It’s... it’s... open?" Luan Guoqing couldn’t believe his eyes.

"Go ahead and see what’s inside for yourself."

Yu Zhiming stood up to make way, his face showing no excitement or sense of accomplishment whatsoever. He was completely unfazed.

In his heart, he was actually quite disappointed.

Yu Zhiming had often recalled scenes from movies and TV shows where spies or master thieves opened safes in thrilling, high-stakes situations.

But his own experience just now—opening the safe—felt as ordinary as drinking a glass of water.

There was no special feeling to it at all.

He had only needed to tap the safe to understand its internal structure with perfect clarity.

The combination dials posed no challenge whatsoever.

It was even less difficult than the metal puzzle box he had opened before, the one that held expensive medicine.

’Having exceptional abilities isn’t always a good thing. You’re bound to miss out on the simple joys in life that only ordinary people can experience.’

As Yu Zhiming silently lamented, he watched Luan Guoqing pull the safe door open.

"Holy shit..."

"Holy shit!"

Yu Zhiming and Qiao Lei blurted out the classic expletive in unison.

As the safe door swung open, not much cash spilled out—only about four or five thousand yuan’s worth.

But there were quite a few gleaning, eye-catching coins, as well as small gold ingots and gold bars.

There were at least twenty or thirty of them.

"Doctor Lan, were you born into a rich family?" Qiao Lei asked.

Luan Guoqing chuckled sheepishly. "Just a comfortable, middle-class family. But I do have a lot of aunts and uncles."

"And I’m the eldest of my generation."

"When I was a kid, I always got a lot of gifts for New Year’s and my birthday, heh heh..."

"Everyone here gets a share today, so don’t hold back!"

Being quite generous, Luan Guoqing grabbed a gold ingot and two Gold Coins, tossing one item to Yu Zhiming, Qiao Lei, and Zhou Mo each.

Yu Zhiming caught the peanut-sized gold ingot. It was engraved with a traditional geometric pattern, and as he weighed it in his hand, he realized it was at most fifteen grams.

He knew it must be hollow inside.

Seeing Qiao Lei and Zhou Mo both look toward him, Yu Zhiming chuckled lightly and said, "Go on, take them!"

"Doctor Lan isn’t short on cash, otherwise he wouldn’t have forgotten about a safe full of treasure for so many years."

"Let’s hurry and get lunch..."

After eating the takeout lunch Luan Guoqing had brought and taking a short break, Yu Zhiming started his busy afternoon...

At 6:10 in the evening, Yu Zhiming finished his work for the day and was about to leave when his mentor, Qi Yue, appeared.

"Zhiming, come with me..."

Yu Zhiming walked out of the Qi Yue Medical Research Center and followed Qi Yue toward the back of the hospital.

"I’ve been nominated for the medical academician selection three times. Twice I was eliminated in the second round of reviews, and once in the third."

Qi Yue said as he walked slowly, "I’m famous as a diagnostician, which also means my medical research is broad and varied but lacks sufficient depth. I don’t have any research achievements that are significant enough."

"Although I knew my chances of ultimately being selected as an academician were minuscule, every time I made the short list, I was still incredibly excited and would let my imagination run wild."

Yu Zhiming said softly, "Teacher, in terms of age for an academician, you’re still very young. You still have a great chance."

Qi Yue chuckled. "I’ve already given up on that idea. In terms of my research, there’s indeed a gap between my achievements and the standard for an academician."

"I also know there’s a lot of controversy surrounding me."

Qi Yue turned to look at Yu Zhiming and said, "Zhiming, don’t take this kind of criticism to heart."

"As long as your core integrity is solid and your conscience is clear, a little criticism won’t have any real impact on you."

"Those academician reviewers aren’t fools. They know what’s most important."

"If you put anyone under a microscope, you’ll find flaws."

Yu Zhiming chuckled. "Teacher, you don’t need to give me a special pep talk. At my current age and level, I really have no ambitions about becoming an academician."

"I’d have to wait at least eight or ten years and make it to Chief Physician first. Becoming an academician is still too far off."

A smile spread across Qi Yue’s face. "That’s true. You have to eat your meal one bite at a time and walk your path one step at a time."

"Absolute strength can crush all opposition."

"Focus on doing every task before you well, and many things will naturally fall into place later on."

"Some people are too clever by half, always scheming and calculating, but they never achieve anything great in the end."

After a pause, Qi Yue changed the subject. "That Zhang Rui refuses to say who convinced her to target you."

"Clearly, she knows she can’t afford to alienate both sides. She has to stick with one to reap some benefits."

"Zhiming, what about Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital?"

Yu Zhiming mulled it over for a moment, then said, "Let’s leave them hanging for a month. It’s a long-term project anyway."

"A month sooner or a month later won’t make much of a difference..."

As they spoke, Yu Zhiming followed Qi Yue to an old, seven-story building with a dated design.

He followed Qi Yue into the old building and headed down the stairs.

One level!

Two levels!

Three levels!

When they reached the third basement level, Yu Zhiming stepped off the staircase and into a somewhat gloomy, dimly lit hall.

The smell wasn’t pleasant, either. Yu Zhiming sniffed the air and caught the faint scent of formalin.

"Teacher, this place is?"

"It’s where specimens used to be stored."

Qi Yue explained, then continued, "We went to that underground bunker you mentioned."

"It’s certainly quiet enough."

"This place is the quietest spot in the hospital that we could think of."

"Zhiming, what do you think?"

Yu Zhiming took a few steps forward into the center of the space, which was at least two or three hundred square meters, and closed his eyes...

’The sound of airflow, the sounds of many small insects...’

Dozens of seconds later, Yu Zhiming opened his eyes.

"Teacher, it’s so-so. But it’ll need a complete renovation."

Qi Yue chuckled. "Since you’re satisfied with the place, it will be completely renovated and furnished to serve as your future private office, examination room, and operating room!"

Yu Zhiming was stunned for a moment. He spread his arms out, gesturing around, and asked in astonishment, "Teacher, are you saying... this whole place... will be mine in the future?"

Qi Yue smiled. "That’s right. It’s all yours."

"Given your extreme sensitivity to sound, the hospital has decided to do a deep renovation of this space for your exclusive use."

"This renovation project will take at least a few months, and that Mr. Shen can’t wait that long."

"We’re going to have to borrow that underground bunker, make some modifications, and set up a temporary operating room."

"We expect it will be ready for use by next Wednesday or Thursday."

Yu Zhiming grinned. "Perfect. While we’re using that place, we can also take care of Luo Qing’s blood clot removal surgery."