Chapter 69: Disbanding the Diagnostics Department? Did You Ask Me? (7600 words) (Page 1/2)
Cuddy finally understood. She hadn't mentioned House's name at all, but this Edward insisted that the slacking guy in front of him was House.
He clearly knew who House was; he came specifically for House!
Donating one hundred million dollars just to fire House?
Isn't that excessive?
Or is Edward's ultimate goal to privatize this hospital?
Countless thoughts raced through Cuddy's mind instantly.
Honestly, she was starting to regret accepting this one hundred million dollar donation.
But there was no helping it—he gave too much.
Cuddy could only suppress her inner frustration and try to reason with Edward.
"Perhaps I wasn't very clear just now.
House's role is to solve cases that others cannot.
So most of the time he appears very free.
But in reality, ninety percent of the difficult cases in the hospital are solved by the team he leads..."
Cuddy was interrupted by Edward before she could finish:
"I've seen your planned budget for the diagnostics department—three million dollars, right?
And I also noticed you set aside fifty thousand dollars every year for House for legal fees, which is a privilege no one else gets.
But the diagnostics department on average takes seven days to completely cure one patient; this efficiency is a bit too low, isn't it?
House's current behavior proves that this department is not busy at all, and is even a bit too relaxed."
Saying this, Edward specifically glanced at David and Chase who were following behind.
The meaning couldn't be more obvious—if these two doctors from diagnostics were busy, how could they have free time to follow him around?
After Edward made Cuddy notice this fact, he continued:
"So isn't House's current behavior called slacking?
I seriously suspect that you and House have an inappropriate relationship, which is why you give him such privileges."
Edward's accusing gaze turned towards Cuddy. Cuddy didn't expect the twist in Edward's last sentence to be an accusation about their personal relationship.
After Cuddy was stunned for a moment, she immediately denied:
"No."
But Cuddy's momentary hesitation, to a corporate shark like Edward who had navigated the business world, was as good as confirmation.
"So there was something before, right? No need to deny it. I now question whether your abilities are suitable for the position of Dean of Medicine.
Then I assume even if I call a board meeting, you will oppose me, right?
Indeed, for me to remove a doctor, I need the agreement of all board members.
But what if I want to remove you? Think carefully, Dr. Cuddy.
Is the Dean position more important or is House more important? You don't want to leave this hospital, do you?"
After Edward finished speaking, he showed a friendly smile to a passing unfamiliar doctor:
"Hello, I'm the new Chairman who arrived today..."
As Edward's voice faded, Cuddy, whose expression was conflicted, turned her head and looked at David and Chase, saying:
"Tell House to come to my office."
Chase, who had overheard the entire conversation, frowned and said to David beside him:
"It seems your assessment of the situation is as accurate as your diagnoses.
This guy really wants to downsize, and the one he wants to target is our diagnostics department.
Damn corporate raiders—we clearly saved so many lives, and now we're going to be kicked out.
Is there no way to stop him?"
David smiled:
"Of course there's a way—invest more money than him to become the new Chairman, or arrange for him to have a fatal accident..."
Hearing the words "fatal accident," Chase's expression changed and he immediately interrupted:
"Shh, quiet, you can't say things like that.
So many people are around here; if something really happens to him, you won't be able to clear your name."
Although he said this, Chase vaguely wondered if David's shadow was also involved in the accidental death case of Pete that the police ruled on.
Chase could be said to have witnessed the entire process of the conflict between David and Pete.
If talking about motive for killing Pete, then David beside him had it in spades.
First, there was a verbal conflict at the Continental Hotel, followed by Pete coming to the hospital to try and humiliate David, but David countered with results.
Then Pete used his medical connections to steal a patient and tried to humiliate David again, but David, together with House, shut him down completely.
Anyone with eyes knew Pete wouldn't let it go.
And just at this critical juncture, Pete died suddenly!
Anyone would find this suspicious.
Fortunately, the most important conflict information happened at the Continental Hotel, which meant the police wouldn't know about it.
So the final conclusion of the case was accidental death.
After all, in a city this big, accidental deaths are quite normal.
Only Chase, who knew enough information, would think a bit deeper.
Now, after hearing David say the words "fatal accident," he even imagined the scenario of Edward's accidental death.
Even Chase, who enjoyed excitement, didn't want to see that scenario.
But visibly, he felt a hint of fear towards David beside him.
Just as Chase was worried, David had already found House and relayed everything to him.
House didn't show much reaction to this. In his words, he had witnessed this hospital change chairmen three times already, and wasn't he still doing just fine?
In a hospital, you still have to speak with ability.
David just smiled at this, because times had changed.
"But we still have to give Cuddy some respect. How about this—you two go handle a patient for me and do some preliminary tests.
This person's 3 senior executives and 15 vice presidents all specifically requested me to see her.
But obviously, I have to go to Cuddy's office now.
Oh, right, the patient's basic information is: 32 years old, female, CEO of a publicly traded company, right leg paralysis with pain.
Alright, I'll go first. Chase, did you hear that?"
Chase, lost in his own thoughts, raised his head blankly. He only heard the last sentence, but this didn't prevent him from saying "Yeah."
David, who was beside him, saw that there was work to do and immediately nodded in agreement:
"Don't worry, I'll get all the information and relay it clearly."
House nodded and left the office, leaning on his cane.
He was quite confident when David handled things.
David nudged Chase, who was still wondering if David had been involved in an assassination, with his elbow:
"Hey, Chase, you seem a bit distracted."
Chase gave a wry smile. It was because of him.
Of course, he didn't say it out loud. The words that came out were about the previous patient.
"I'm still thinking about that rabies patient this morning. It's a real tragedy.
If we had known before symptom onset, we could have saved her life."
David spread his hands, indicating there was nothing they could do.
"I've come to terms with it—there are always some people in this world who cannot be saved.
For example, the rabies patient this morning, for example, Pete.
Alright, we always have to look forward. Isn't there work now?"
Hearing David mention Pete again, Chase felt even more uneasy.
He quietly followed behind David to receive the high-powered executive who had specifically requested House for her consultation—Carly.
When Carly, who was sitting in a wheelchair and still handling company matters on her phone, saw two young doctors appear before her, her eyes immediately lit up:
"Which one of you is Dr. House? Dr. House seems much younger than I imagined."
"Neither of us. Dr. House has a temporary matter, he asked us to take you for routine tests first."
"Oh, sorry, but can you wait for me to reply to this email first? It's very important."
"Sure."
As a result, ten minutes passed.
Seeing that Carly had no intention of putting down her phone, David took Carly's phone and quickly said before she could get angry:
"Do you want to spend two hours sending emails here and then die, or go for the tests immediately to save the rest of your life?"
Carly instinctively raised her eyebrows and was about to get angry, but upon hearing such serious consequences, she was first stunned, and then her eyes immediately showed distrust.
Apart from her leg not being able to move, her hands, torso, and mind were fine. How could it suddenly escalate to the point of death?
She concluded in her heart that this young doctor in front of her was exaggerating!
However, she also understood that the doctor in front of her meant well, and getting angry at him was pointless.
Compared to that, it was better to finish the tests as soon as possible, and she would have more free time.
After all, there's nothing to do during treatment—what else could she do besides work?
So she said to the assistant following her:
"Tell them to temporarily suspend the launch plan for the Asian market, wait for my notification. I need to monitor data changes in real-time."
"Okay, Ms. Carly."
After the assistant went to make arrangements, Carly then rested her chin on her hand and looked at the man who dared to take her phone, saying:
"Alright, you can take me for tests now.
By the way, what tests are you planning to do on me?"
David shook his head. It seemed this executive was trying to maintain control everywhere.
"We will use contrast dye to do an angiogram to see if the temporary paralysis of your right leg is caused by a blood clot.
If the result is negative, we will also do a spinal MRI to confirm if there is a lesion on your spine.
If we find something, we will perform a minor procedure to take a biopsy of your leg tissue."
Carly nodded, then immediately thought about her phone again:
"Oh, can I use my phone during the tests? Please, it's really important to me."
David chuckled and handed the phone over:
"Of course you can, as long as you're not afraid of the MRI's magnetic field turning your phone into an expensive brick."
Carly reluctantly handed the phone back to David, and then consciously handed her designer purse to David as well.
Then Carly suddenly raised a new question:
"Okay, wait—I don't need to undress for the tests, do I?
If I do, I refuse to do these tests, not even with a female doctor."
Doesn't want to be seen undressed? David already remembered what illness this young female CEO in the wheelchair was suffering from.
"Don't worry, there will be a hospital gown for you to wear."
Carly finally felt relieved after getting the answer.
"That's good."
Soon all the results were back, and there was nothing abnormal.
Even House couldn't find any abnormalities based solely on the data.
They could only guess that there might have been a blood clot in the right leg, but the routine treatment after admission dissolved the relatively minor clot.
Facing this situation, House could only say to keep the patient in the hospital for observation for an afternoon, and if there were no issues, she would be discharged.
However, after Chase and the others left, David did not leave the conference room. Instead, he took out a bottle of opened ipecac syrup from his pocket.
House raised an eyebrow upon seeing this bottle of medicine, his eyes filled with curiosity.
This medicine is usually used for poisoning and emergency gastric evacuation—in short, it's an emetic.
But David in front of him showed no signs of acute poisoning.
Not understanding its significance, House immediately asked:
"Did you get food poisoning?"
David shook his head:
"No, this is something I found while going through the female CEO's personal belongings."
A knowing look flashed in House's eyes.
In the past, only he would do such things. Unexpectedly, by observing and learning, this David had actually picked it up too?
"Good kid, you're pretty bold. But what are you trying to show by taking this?
The female CEO has been inducing vomiting to maintain her figure?"
David nodded, confirming House's statement:
"I suspect what she is suffering from is not a physical illness, but a psychiatric one.
She has bulimia. Despite appearing very strong on the surface, her insecurity about her appearance leads to self-destructive behavior.
Moreover, as the CEO of a publicly traded company, she cannot afford to have a psychiatric disorder like bulimia.
She would be removed from the CEO position by the board of directors.
So she must have an effective method for inducing vomiting. Obviously, she found one. By using ipecac syrup to induce vomiting, she can effectively hide the fact that she has bulimia.
But long-term use of ipecac syrup has caused her muscle damage, leg pain, and heart failure."
After hearing David's diagnosis, House frowned deeply.
No wonder David didn't say a word during the team meeting just now.
Because such matters involve patient privacy.
The fewer people who know such privacy, the better.
In America, bulimia is taken as seriously as suicidal ideation.
And to cure this female CEO Carly, she must have a heart transplant.
But the transplant committee will not agree to a heart transplant for a patient with active bulimia.
Unless he conceals this critical information.
But if this critical information is revealed later, he is very likely to lose his medical license.
This matter carries considerable risk. Even House had to sit back in his chair, lean his head back, and carefully consider the pros and cons.
On one side is a human life, and on the other is his most beloved medical career. Either side makes it difficult to choose.
Just then, David's voice sounded at the right time:
"I have a way. Let her invest in the hospital, join the board of directors, and become the new Chairman.
I think she will choose to compromise when faced with only days to live.
I understand this is not your usual approach to medicine, so leave this matter to me.
You just need to conceal this information when the transplant committee reviews the case."
House narrowed his eyes:
"Then how do I know I can trust you?"
David smiled and tossed over a voice recorder.
"What good would it do me to go down with you?
I think you've also learned about the new boss's attitude towards us from Cuddy, right?
He wants to dismantle the diagnostics department and fire all of us.
He even wants to apply for a practice ban against us from the State Medical Board under the guise of incompetence.
By helping you, I am also helping myself.
May I ask, since we're in the same boat, what reason do I have to betray you?"
House had always distrusted what patients said, so he didn't believe anything anyone said easily.
But David not only spoke, he also provided 'evidence'—a voice recorder—to House.
This sincerity was substantial.
In this situation, House had no choice but to believe him.
Moreover, he had already felt the pressure from the new boss through Cuddy.
The new boss was quite dissatisfied with his existence.
This meant that if someone had to go, he was very likely to be first.
"Alright, go ahead and do it. As long as you can convince her, you don't have to worry about the transplant committee.
I can guarantee that most of them will be on my side."
With House's assurance, it became much simpler for David to persuade Carly, this female CEO.
After all, compared to a potentially unprofitable investment, life is definitely more important.
People in power understand this truth even more—just like ancient emperors searching for elixirs of immortality.
Besides, this investment won't necessarily lose money. After all, 'cosmeceuticals' have the word 'ceutical' in them.
It's also very reasonable for a cosmetics company to invest in a hospital, as the hospital can have a specialized dermatology research division to combat various issues like acne, dull skin, and aging.
Moreover, with the endorsement of a hospital, the efficacy of cosmetics is obviously more credible.
This is a win-win-win strategy: the hospital wins, Carly wins, and the company gains legitimacy.
Of course, the biggest winner is still David.
Kicking out that corporate raider who had a terrible first impression and was very likely here for retaliation was David's ultimate goal.
He certainly didn't want someone constantly targeting his position.
Feeling threatened, David only wanted to eliminate all threats before they materialized.
He couldn't do it before, but now he can, so of course he will do it with everything he has!
Subsequently, under House's influence, the transplant committee quickly approved the heart transplant application.
Carly, who was not short of money, quickly found a matching heart.
The surgery was immediately scheduled.
As an intern, David was arranged by House to scrub in, observe, and covertly learn.
With his enhanced cognition, David's speed in absorbing new knowledge was quite fast.
This complex, high-risk orthotopic heart transplant surgery was quickly understood and memorized by David.
First, a median sternotomy is performed to expose the mediastinum, open the pericardium, and cannulate the great vessels, followed by cardiopulmonary bypass.
Next, the great vessels around the failing heart and part of the left atrium are divided.
Then, it is removed from Carly's chest cavity, with the remaining left atrial tissue preserving the pulmonary veins.
Following that, the donor heart is trimmed and implanted in the native heart position, anastomosed with Carly's blood vessels and the remaining left atrial tissue.
Finally, after the donor heart resumes beating, the cardiopulmonary bypass is discontinued, and the chest is closed.
Thus, a heart transplant surgery is completed.
When Carly woke up from anesthesia, David, as expected, received a life extension notification, which just offset the lifespan consumed during the surgical learning.
As agreed, Carly's obligations weren't over yet.
She slowly turned her eyes to look at David, then weakly said to her assistant:
"Help me contact the board members, I have a new investment proposal to present..."
Seeing that Carly had kept her promise, David could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The annoying person was finally leaving, and that felt too good.
However, the funds from Carly wouldn't arrive that quickly, so he had to endure Edward for a few more days.
But this didn't matter. The more Edward pressured him now, the more spectacular his expression would be when he was forced to leave.
David glanced at the time—it was almost the end of his shift.
It was time to contact his team members to see their progress.
According to the information sent back by Finch, the Machine had recently flagged the social security numbers of many gang leaders and street bosses.
Based on analysis of their information, all threats originated from an organized crime network led by a man named Elias.
They were investigating who this Elias was.
In addition, McCall had returned to the secret library as promised and officially joined Finch's team, starting the rescue of 'irrelevant numbers.'
Walter had already started using the two million dollars Finch had transferred to purchase various instruments needed for the lab, but some high-precision equipment was not sold to private individuals.
So he needed a little assistance.
In response, David said he would arrange it through the Continental Hotel's channels and told him to wait a few days.
As for Eddie, he seemed to be the most problematic of the group.
Probably because of his overconfidence after taking NZT-48, after finishing the Breaking Bad novel, Eddie, having nothing else to do, actually borrowed from loan sharks to demonstrate the superiority of his intelligence at casinos!!!
His abnormal behavior naturally attracted attention.
So the core message sent back from Eddie was only two words: Help me!
David couldn't help but feel a headache. He could completely imagine the whole process of Eddie being caught.
He had clearly warned Eddie to keep a low profile, yet somehow he still borrowed from loan sharks just like in the original timeline.
However, this time, his investment wasn't in stocks, and he didn't cause a commotion on Wall Street.
But the abnormality of his winning streak still attracted the attention of the street thug who lent him the money.
Therefore, when he was repaying the loan, the thug directly brought his crew and detained Eddie.
Eddie, relying only on the martial arts movies he had watched, couldn't fight against street thugs like these.
What's more, they had guns.
Then, the thugs not only robbed him of all his winnings but also found an NZT pill he was carrying.
Thinking it was a party drug, the thug leader naturally took it without hesitation.
The thug leader, whose brain had been enhanced, immediately realized that Eddie had more pills. After some enhanced reasoning, he quickly detained Eddie.
Then he made him send a message asking for help.
This means that to save Eddie, you either bring NZT to exchange for him or eliminate everyone.
Of course, David chose the latter.
After thinking for a moment, David concluded that the other party was an NZT user, so it was prudent to be extra careful.
He immediately sent a message to Finch, telling him that he had identified Elias on the Machine's surveillance footage.
He would send him a sketch of Elias shortly.
Thus, with Elias's portrait, Reese and McCall, who were investigating, became available.
David asked the two who had free time tonight to bring weapons and meet up with him.
They had something more important to do.
At the same time, he asked Finch to review the footage of Eddie being captured, to determine how many people there were, what weapons they had, and where they ultimately took him.
Under David's coordination, this nascent rescue team quickly began to operate.
With the information provided by David, Finch prioritized finding the video of Eddie being captured and transmitted it to everyone's phones.
Things developed pretty much as David had expected.
The people in the video were friendly at first, until the NZT effect was about to wear off, and Eddie, whose judgment was getting impaired, accidentally revealed that he had more money.
These unscrupulous thugs naturally became greedier.
Then the subsequent development was the same as what David had imagined, the only difference being that Eddie was knocked to the ground before he even attempted any martial arts moves.
The scene of him being dragged away like a rag doll was truly pathetic.
This only proves that the current Eddie is still too inexperienced.
NZT cannot make a person perfect from the start—the current Eddie is still full of character flaws.
This was something David hadn't fully anticipated.
After Eddie learned not to question his decisions, David had thought this guy had matured.
So subsequent assessments were based on this premise.
This is why the current situation has arisen.
Even Finch, after seeing Eddie's actions, couldn't help but complain:
"Is this NZT really that miraculous? This guy looks pretty foolish even after taking NZT."
In response, David could only explain truthfully:
"You can see NZT as a cognitive enhancement drug.
But some people's baseline intelligence is lower and requires NZT to continuously boost their cognition before they can slowly become extraordinary.
Don't worry, this lesson is valuable—at least he won't be so reckless anymore after this."
Finch had seen the side where Eddie displayed his intelligence, and he also knew that NZT indeed had cognitive enhancement effects.
But this Eddie doesn't seem to have developed good judgment yet.
Borrowing money to gamble?
What was he thinking?
Shouldn't he have used NZT to climb to the peak of success?
He could actually be threatened by small-time thugs?
If a novel was written like this, readers would send hate mail!
"I hope so, otherwise, working with him, I always worry about problems."
While the two were chatting, a dusty old pickup truck stopped in front of David.
McCall in the passenger seat reached out through the missing window and patted the door, making a metallic sound that drew David's attention away from his phone.
David glanced at the shattered window frame.
Okay, no need to think—this truck must be stolen.
Then he definitely didn't want to sit in the back cargo bed. David opened the passenger door and unceremoniously squeezed himself in:
"Scoot over, scoot over.
By the way, can't you guys get a better vehicle?
Does Finch not have money, or can't he buy a car?"
Reese shrugged and gave a reasonable explanation:
"Taking a random car from the street is both convenient and prevents people from tracking our movements. It's much less troublesome than driving our own vehicle."
David rolled his eyes. It seemed Reese hadn't heard the stories of highway killers.
If he had the chance, he would definitely tell them in detail how stealing someone else's car could lead to bloody consequences.
"By the way, how are we going to handle them later? Hand them over to the cops?"
David chuckled and pointed to the black duffel bag placed in the back.
"If the cops were effective, then why would we need these?
These guys usually prey on people, and which one doesn't have blood on their hands?
Don't feel burdened when you act later—just aim for vital areas.
You should learn more from McCall on this point. Those who oppose us are definitely dangerous criminals.
Sending them to prison is showing them mercy.
When they come out, that's cruelty to us!
Will criminals with their mentality not seek revenge on us after being released from prison?
You also don't want your potential future family to live under the shadow of threats.
So listen to me—don't hesitate, eliminate threats completely to ensure safety!"
There was no change in Reese's expression, and David didn't know if Reese had taken his words to heart.
But it didn't matter. If Reese couldn't do it, he would finish the job.
Then David took out three black tactical balaclavas and threw one to each of them.
"Put on the balaclavas, and also reduce the burden on the Machine, so it doesn't complain to me every time that removing entire people from surveillance wastes too much of its computing power."
Reese looked at the mask in front of him, which still had a designer label, and was quite puzzled:
"Are you sure this is a tactical balaclava?"
"Why wouldn't it be? A mask that prevents the enemy from seeing your face is tactical. I said so."
After hearing David's words, Reese and McCall silently took out actual tactical balaclavas from their pockets and placed them in front of them, then tacitly remained silent.
"Ah, we're here, let's get out and work, guys."
David, who got out of the truck, casually took McCall's mask. Anyway, McCall's skin tone was dark enough—it didn't matter if he didn't wear a mask, right?
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