Chapter 20: Wow, That's Full Defense!
Chapter 20: Wow, That's Full Defense!
"Ding! Patient Jack the Lizardman has assigned you a task: Treat his fractured arm! Task completion reward: 200 copper coins! Fracture surgery experience +20! Do you accept? Yes! No!"
The system's voice sounded.
A reward? Charlotte's eyes lit up, and he promptly accepted the task.
With Jack the Lizardman's consent, Charlotte's current mood was a mix of nervousness and excitement.
Although he had been running the clinic alone for two days, most of the patients he received were for external injuries and could be treated with potions, falling under the realm of magic.
But surgery, that was a first.
However, what allowed his predecessor to establish a foothold in this abyss was the determination to perform surgeries on patients.
Regardless of success or failure, at least courage was maxed out.
So, this wasn't just a fracture surgery, but also his attempt to use his years of veterinary experience in performing his first surgery in this otherworldly place.
Even if it was for the sake of saving the world, this surgery had to be done.
The worst-case scenario would be to switch to amputation for this patient.
That was already nothing new in the diary.
He had performed amputation surgery before. He still remembered a little dog whose left front leg was crushed in a car accident...
"You can lie down in the operating room first. I need to make some preoperative preparations," Charlotte pointed towards the direction of the operating room.
Vivian immediately approached and led the uneasy Jack into the operating room.
As he stepped into the operating room, Jack suddenly began to regret it. The coldness of the operating room sent shivers down his spine. He sat down on the surgical bed, feeling tense as he anxiously looked towards the door.
"Surgery? And it involves cutting open the arm?" Vivian was also filled with doubts. This was a method she had never heard of before.
Even in the Imperial City, where they deceived ignorant commoners, the barbers would only bleed the patients or perform amputations.
For a patient with a fracture like this, either they would be bound with two pieces of wood for natural recovery, or they would be declared for amputation, permanently losing a limb.
She had never heard of cutting open the arm and directly treating the bone.
Charlotte, now dressed in a clean white robe, walked into the operating room, staring at Jack's scaly arm for a while, furrowing his brow in thought. He then opened the nearby toolbox and started taking out tools.
Scalpels, cleavers, saws, hammers, nails... The patient's condition was somewhat unique, requiring him to make some additional preparations.
"What... What are you going to do?" Jack, who was already nervous, looked at the scene and paled.
"Your scales are too tough. I need to make some extra preparations," Charlotte explained with confidence.
Jack's throat gulped, feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"Eileen, take these things and boil them in hot water for disinfection," Charlotte looked at Vivian and said.
"Boil them? Disinfection?" Vivian looked puzzled, but under Charlotte's gaze, she obediently picked up the tools and went to the alchemy room.
Performing surgery was already rare, and these preoperative preparations made her even more curious.
Following Charlotte's arrangements, Jack lay flat on the surgical bed, closed his eyes, and wore an expression of resignation.
Charlotte brought all the oil lamps from the clinic and surrounded the surgical bed, but even in the dim light, it was still somewhat dark, far from the level of an operating room's overhead light.
When he had enough money, he would renovate the operating room, at least upgrading the lighting.
Surgery was a delicate task that couldn't afford any mistakes. If, by any chance, he cut the wrong artery, it would be a major medical accident.
Vivian quickly brought the disinfected tools into the operating room and stood by, curious.
Without using healing magic or potions, she was very curious about how Charlotte would treat this patient's fracture.
Charlotte first took a small knife from the tray, and by "small," it was relative, but compared to the surgical knife he used to use, it was still quite large, resembling a fruit knife with a length of 20 cm.
Charlotte first cleaned and disinfected Jack's arm with a cleaning agent. Then, he took the small knife and made a strong swipe on his arm.
Squeak, squeak, squeak.
It sounded like scraping against hard metal, producing a sharp and piercing noise.
Upon closer inspection, not even a scratch could be seen on the fine scales.
Jack glanced up, his mouth twitching, wanting to laugh but holding it back.
People like Charlotte, weak humans, wouldn't be considered a threat even if he was injured in the Abyss.
Even if he stood there with a knife, he probably couldn't penetrate Jack's scales.
Charlotte furrowed his brow and put the small knife back, taking out a cleaver instead.
The back of the cleaver was thick, the blade wide and sturdy, almost half a meter in length. It was a lethal weapon for chopping.
Charlotte placed a cutting board under Jack's left hand and held the cleaver with both hands, raising it above his head.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you going to do?" Jack quickly pulled his hand back, looking at Charlotte with a terrified expression.
He retracted his earlier thoughts. This guy holding a cleaver in both hands was still somewhat scary, and the act of placing a cutting board made him feel like a lamb about to be slaughtered.
"Your scales are too thick, so I need to resort to extreme measures. But don't worry, it should be fine," Charlotte reassured him, retracting his claws and placing them back on the cutting board.
"You're not going to cut off my hand with that strike, right?" Jack trembled in fear.
"I shouldn't? I'll try to control the force," Charlotte said calmly.
"What do you mean 'shouldn't'? Have a little more confidence!" Jack tried to sit up, propping himself on the edge of the bed. "I'm not doing it, I'm not doing it."
"No, you can't back out now." Charlotte pressed the blade against Jack's neck. "Your fracture is severe and requires immediate surgery. As a doctor, I have to take responsibility for you."
Feeling the cold touch on his neck, Jack's throat rolled, and he reluctantly lay back down.
Encountering such a responsible doctor was truly unfortunate for him.
"Thank you for your cooperation." Charlotte nodded satisfactorily, raised the cleaver again, and carefully aimed it at Jack's arm.
He had only seen such a heavy bone cleaver in a butcher's shop, usually used to chop large animal bones.
Jack turned his head away, tears swirling in his eyes. If he could start over, he would not step foot in this black-market clinic. It was too terrifying!
Vivian instinctively took two steps back, covering her eyes, but still peeped through her fingers.
She felt that the upcoming scene would be extremely bloody and violent, even scarier than amputation surgery at a barber shop!
But for some reason, her heart was pounding faster, and she... felt a bit excited and anticipatory?
That was even scarier!
Ding!
The heavy bone cleaver fell on Jack's arm, and Charlotte felt like he had struck an iron rod. His hand went numb, and the cleaver flew out of his grip.
Looking at Jack's arm, there was only a shallow mark, still unable to break through a scale.
Charlotte shook his hand, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Wow, that's full defense!
The intense vibration made Jack grimace in pain, and he jumped off the bed.
"I give up! I give up! I want to leave!" Jack's emotions completely collapsed. He saw through it all. This human wasn't a doctor at all, lacking even the ability to be a proper butcher.
"Wait a moment! In that case, it seems I have to bring out that sword." Charlotte reached out to stop Jack, his expression becoming solemn.