Chapter 653: The Cost of a Miracle

Time ticked by, each second stretching as tension gripped the operating room.

Everyone threw themselves into the fight against death for Mr. Song, doing everything they could to buy him more time and give Zhou Can a chance at success.

The temperature in the OR was freezing; several nurses were shivering with cold.

The alarms on the monitors and respirator never stopped, ringing out like the relentless toll of a doomsday bell.

Zhou Can moved at lightning speed, excising the section of the patient’s sutures from ten years ago.

At that moment, his mastery of the Steady Scalpel Technique and Fast Scalpel Technique reached a new peak. Even his more recently learned Precise Scalpel Technique broke through along with them.

His hand looked like it moved slowly, but in reality it was quick as lightning.

Not only fast, but steady too—and to top it off, every move was incredibly precise. It was as if he broke the very rules of physics.

Dr. Xu watched, absolutely stunned with both delight and a sudden sense of newfound inspiration in his eyes.

He had always prided himself on speed, but never managed to keep things steady. Precision? That was even further out of reach.

He could only rely on sheer speed, plus decades of honing his sense of force, touch and experience, just to cut accurately.

Now he looked at that cold scalpel, alive in Zhou Can’s hands—blazing fast, rock steady, and crazily precise. It was a truly perfect technique, one he had never even dared to dream of mastering.

This apprentice of his was nothing short of extraordinary.

Comprehension, talent, hard work, temperament—every quality was top notch. Somehow, Zhou Can had already surpassed his own teacher without even realizing it.

Even when Zhou Can soloed level-three surgeries or challenged high-level, level-four surgeries, Dr. Xu never felt he’d been outdone. In his mind, if he could just shed his own guilt and devote himself to surgical practice, he could exceed his former peak.

But this moment, seeing Zhou Can fuse three scalpel techniques into one seamless, perfect new method … Dr. Xu finally felt the truth of the saying: New waves push the old onto the shore, leaving the old stranded on the sand.

He had finally been surpassed by his student.

The surgery pressed on. After successful debridement, Zhou Can faced the single most crucial step: reconnecting the cranial nerves.

The hardest part was aligning the countless nerve filaments perfectly.

If you tried to do each one individually, even working non-stop for a month wouldn’t finish the job.

And you’d need a microscope that magnifies thousands of times just to see them clearly.

Almost every nerve anastomosis is done ‘blind’—

—meaning you connect the severed nerve ends purely by feel.

Experience, talent, and anastomosis technique—any one factor could make or break the end result.

Unlike blood vessels, where proper alignment ensures a working connection,

nerves are more like fiber optic cables, packed with countless fine strands inside, each needing to meet its match.

But Zhou Can’s seventh-level Anastomosis, Suturing, and Ligature skills, plus his exceptional talent for nerve connections, gave him a huge advantage in this operation.

From opening the old fusion site, to cleaning up, and finally completing the nerve anastomosis—all told, he only took eight minutes and five seconds.

Once he checked that everything was fine, he moved on at once to clean out the cranial cavity and close everything up.

Even though he used absorbable sutures that wouldn’t need to be removed, the major post-op risks meant the removed cranial bone flap wasn’t put back immediately. It would only be reimplanted once the patient’s vital signs stabilized, requiring another surgery to open the scalp.

For now, the patient would need at least ten days in the ICU.

As the operation ended in smooth success, everyone let out a huge, relieved breath. Their faces finally relaxed again.

“Zhou Can!”

Director Feng called out.

“Here,” Zhou Can answered, confused.

He looked over, unsure what was coming.

“The patient’s brainwaves are very flat. Your bridging nerve repair might not have worked as well as we hoped. In fact, the result may even be worse than before. If the patient’s brain scans stay like this, even if he wakes, he’ll likely be in a vegetative state.”

Director Feng had seen more complex neurosurgeries than anyone could count.

Maybe not thousands, but definitely several hundred at least.

And the anesthesiologist, responsible for the entire perioperative safety, could tell how bleak the prognosis looked.

The relief in the room quickly turned back into tension after hearing this.

But Zhou Can didn’t seem surprised at all.

“Operating near the brainstem carries tremendous risks. Now that surgery is over, all we can do is wait for a medical miracle. Jiang Wei, I’m leaving all the nursing and nutrition management plans for the patient to you.”

“No problem,” Jiang Wei replied cheerfully.

She accepted without hesitation.

……

Once the operation ended, the patient clung to life by a thread, transferred to the ICU for intensive monitoring through the riskiest two weeks after surgery.

But with his post-op brainwaves identical to a vegetative state, a shadow hung over Zhou Can.

No one felt certain whether this surgery would count as a success or a failure.

Time raced by while Tuyu Hospital directed its best resources to care for Mr. Song.

Fifteen days flew past in the blink of an eye.

No miracle came. Mr. Song’s brainwaves remained flat—he was now truly in a vegetative state.

When the surgery had just finished, Director Gao had been extremely active, showing off in front of the Song Family at every turn.

But now with the deadline gone and Mr. Song still unconscious, Director Gao sensed danger and avoided the entire critical care area, washing his hands of it completely.

Seventeen days after the operation, the Head of the Song Family personally came to the hospital.

Director Gao rushed over the moment he heard and stayed at his side.

Several Health Administration Department leaders arrived too.

After the Head of the Song Family finished his visit to the ICU, he left with a stormy expression and not a word. Clearly, his brother’s vegetative state left him thoroughly dissatisfied.

Compared to being paralyzed, this outcome was clearly worse.

But he didn’t hold Zhou Can accountable.

Nor did he summon him to explain.

Right after the Song Family head left, Director Gao gathered all the hospital’s leaders—including Zhou Can—for a meeting.

A heavy cloud hung over Director Gao’s face as Health Administration Department leaders sat at the front table.

“I’ve called everyone here for one reason only. Zhou Can, Vice Director of the Emergency Department, put personal ambition ahead of all else, using his small skills to perform a brainstem surgery on a patient with a history of medical accidents at our hospital. As a result, the patient’s condition didn’t improve—in fact, it worsened. His family has been magnanimous enough not to pursue legal action, but for our hospital’s sake, we must deal strictly with the doctor involved.”

Claim the credit when things go right—

But when disaster strikes, pawn off the blame on someone else.

While Head of the Song Family might be furious, he never said what should happen to Zhou Can.

No sooner had the Song Family left than Director Gao called the meeting and lifted his axe over Zhou Can.

All of it to show the Song Family that they were willing to appease them at any cost.

It was nothing more than desperate flattery, trying to calm the Song Family’s wrath.

“I propose that Zhou Can be immediately stripped of all duties and suspended from medical work. The patient’s ongoing care and compensation should be borne solely by Zhou Can. Tuyu Hospital doesn’t need lone heroes—we need practicality, unity, and a hospital that’s truly first-rate nationwide.”

Director Gao didn’t pull any punches.

He wanted Zhou Can utterly crushed and left with nothing.

He especially pointed out the ‘lone hero’ problem.

Truth was, Zhou Can was easily Tuyu Hospital’s most outstanding doctor of the past two years—no contest.

To many in the hospital, he was a hero, even a role model—possibly with more influence than Director Gao himself.

Even after Director Gao took charge, Zhou Can stepped back on his own, but his surgical brilliance only stole the spotlight further.

His reputation just kept rising.

Patients with complex illnesses traveled from all over the country for a chance to be treated by Zhou Can.

Whenever department heads struggled with a tough case, Zhou Can was the first to come to mind.

Such influence made Director Gao deeply uneasy.

But since Zhou Can had never given him any reason to act, and his reputation was ironclad, Director Gao hadn’t dared move against him—until now.

They’d kept an uneasy truce, quietly staying out of each other’s way.

Now Director Gao jumped at the chance, coming down hard in hopes of cutting Tuyu Hospital’s ‘lone hero’ down for good.

Zhou Can sat calmly, completely unruffled.

He’d prepared himself for backlash from the moment he decided to operate on Mr. Song.

Many clinical department leaders—especially the deputy directors—were clearly upset. But with Health Administration Department leaders present, no one dared to protest openly.

“Director Gao, you’re absolutely right. If you make a mistake, you take responsibility—I agree with that completely.”

Director Lou was the first to stand up and support Director Gao.

Everyone watched Director Lou’s display with barely concealed contempt.

Lately, few vice directors or department heads had shown Lou anything but coldness.

“Vice Director Lou truly lives up to his Emergency Department post—such dedication to principle! So fair and strict, never one to cover up mistakes.”

A trace of satisfaction flickered across Director Gao’s face.

He’d been at Tuyu Hospital a long time. While he controlled power tightly, his support in the hospital—especially from clinical department heads—was almost nonexistent. Besides Director Lou, not a single leader backed him.

That left Director Gao frustrated and, often, quite helpless.

“Thank you for your recognition, Director Gao. But I wasn’t finished. You’re absolutely right, except for one thing. The main person responsible for Mr. Song’s care isn’t Zhou Can—it’s me, Lou Jingshan. Since things have gone wrong, it’s only right for me to take full responsibility. Zhou Can is an excellent doctor who put everything on the line for the patient.

Now you want to blame him for this? That’s not right, and it would break the hearts of everyone in clinical care.”

Director Lou’s words froze Director Gao in his tracks.

His smile vanished in an instant.

“Director Lou, do you know what you’re saying?”

Fury erupted in Director Gao’s face like a volcano.

Director Lou, always so obedient, was now publicly challenging him in front of everyone.

It was outright rebellion.

“I’m very clear about what I’m saying. I led Mr. Song’s operation, so all responsibility falls on me. I’m willing to resign as Vice Director and Emergency Department Chief and apologize publicly to Mr. Song and his family. Zhou Can performed the operation by the book and did nothing wrong. He shouldn’t be punished. Otherwise—I don’t believe anyone here will stand for it.”

Director Lou looked at Director Gao with calm resolve, none of his former deference in sight.

He was determined to stand his ground and fight to the end.

“You—you…”

Director Gao’s face turned a dark, ugly purple—he was ready to explode.

“I think Director Lou makes a very strong case. Dr. Zhou Can followed the rules and is not at fault.”

Deputy Director Ye was the first to speak up.

“That’s right—no fault at all.”

Hospital Assistant Qin, gloomy for so long, finally seized his chance to speak for Zhou Can, his voice almost shrill.

“Support for Zhou Can. Punishing him is completely unreasonable.”

Deputy Director Bai also joined the call for Zhou Can’s exoneration.

“I’m Chief of Surgery as well as Vice Director—and when it comes to surgical safety, my word counts. I’m backing Dr. Zhou Can all the way. If a doctor can follow procedures yet still be blamed for failed surgeries, who would dare operate in the future? Zhou Can is innocent.”

Director Xie had always clashed with Zhou Can.

Yet even at this critical moment, he stood up for Zhou Can.

“Director Xie said it well—I support Zhou Can too. No reason to pursue punishment.”

In Pediatrics, Dr. Tang Fei brushed her bangs aside to reveal her striking features, and quickly spoke up.

“Tuyu Hospital is here to serve everyone. We’re not here to sacrifice our doctors for the sake of currying favor with the powerful. Dr. Zhou Can has broken new ground for Tuyu, saving patients with skill and compassion, never for himself. We cannot let such a hero shed blood, sweat, and tears all at once.

Instead of punishment, I suggest Zhou Can be rewarded!”

Department Head Tan from Internal Medicine added his weight:

“Obstetrics rarely speaks up, but I have to say something now—we fully support Dr. Zhou Can, and we’re against the abuse of authority and bullying of front-line doctors. As Director Tan said, Tuyu is not ruled by one—it’s ours. We need heroes like Zhou Can. Every clinician should learn from him.”

Director Zhang Bihua from Obstetrics had a reputation for never backing down, but when she spoke, her words held real weight.

She was advanced in age but just as fierce as ever.

……

Voices calling for Zhou Can’s support rang out across the room. Director Gao, once so high and mighty, turned paler and paler.

Even the Health Administration Department’s leaders sensed the mood had turned.

No one expected Dr. Zhou Can to have this much backing.

So many at Tuyu Hospital stood behind him.

From senior hospital leaders down to ordinary nurses and department heads.

As the saying goes, water carries a boat, but it can overturn it too.

If Director Gao really pressed on, not only would he fall—those government leaders just might fall with him.

“Looks like the people know best. Everything Dr. Zhou Can did was righteous—his selflessness earned him widespread respect. Director Gao, there’s no need to punish him. As for a reward, we’ll wait a bit—after all, we need to consider the family’s feelings.”

Sweat rolled down the leaders’ foreheads.

If they didn’t cool the anger in the room, things might not end well for anyone.

Who would have thought Zhou Can had put down such deep roots at Tuyu Hospital?