Chapter 165: Ordinary Hospital

Chapter 165: Ordinary Hospital

As soon as he finished speaking, the people opposite had already surrounded him. They were typical northerners, each over six feet tall, and obviously all psychics. There were seven of them in total, and their approach was intimidating. An ordinary person would have turned pale and fled in fear.

But Zhou Yun remained calm, lowering his eyes to look at the patient on the ground. The metal manipulator had been rolling around for a while and seemed to have lost consciousness, occasionally twitching. The exposed parts of his body, such as his neck and hands, had turned metallic, and even the stone pavement he rolled over had taken on a metallic sheen.

It was a classic case of psychic overloading—loss of control and excessive energy overflow.

Initially, motivated by his professional instincts as a doctor, he had approached to see if the patient needed help. But he quickly realized that the person was a psychic, and what he was experiencing was psychic overloading, a rare condition for low-level psychics at this stage.

The mountain breeze from Lotus Mountain gently stirred his white linen shirt. He lowered his eyes to look at the patient on the ground, a calm smile on his lips.

The others now realized that Zhou Yun was no ordinary person, even though he was just riding an old mountain bike, dressed plainly, with a basket full of fresh fish from the market.

But upon closer inspection, his skin was like cold jade, his eyebrows and hair as black as crow feathers, and his calm and composed demeanor was remarkable. He must also be a psychic.

They were all high-level psychics, at least third-tier, deliberately projecting an intimidating aura. Even a moderately skilled psychic would instinctively feel uneasy and fearful, if not retreat.

His lack of reaction wasn’t due to dullness but because his psychic level was no lower than theirs.

The woman who had earlier used wood psychic abilities looked at him with a smile and said, "You have the distinct smell of hospital disinfectant on you. You seem very professional when it comes to psychic conditions. Are you a doctor? We’ve never heard of psychic overloading as a disease."

Zhou Yun patiently explained, "Psychic overloading refers to when the energy of the crystal core exceeds the physical or mental limits that the psychic can handle."

"In the early stages, the symptoms include the inability to precisely control one’s abilities, leading to unexpected psychic effects or energy releases. That’s why you’ve dressed him in shadow hemp garments."

The metal manipulator was wearing clothes with a cotton exterior but lined with shadow hemp inside.

Given how hot it was in Guixu, no one would normally wear such clothing, so he had immediately noticed the abnormality in the patient’s attire.

The expressions on their faces changed.

Zhou Yun continued, "Fatigue, mental confusion, loss of psychic control, physiological disorders, and perceptual and cognitive errors and disorders—these should all have been his early symptoms. He probably endured them, but you must have noticed something was off, like hallucinations."

"But then comes the energy surge, with uncontrollable external movements. From the pulse, it’s strong and forceful, coming in strong but fading weakly, like a flood. The excessive yang heat overwhelms the body, and the meridians and qi-blood can’t bear the overwhelming psychic energy. The yang is excessive, and the yin is depleted—a dangerous situation, like a small pipe unable to withstand the pressure."

He slightly opened his palm, "With psychic energy overflow, the pulse pressure rises. Ordinary psychics have fragile meridians, which can rupture, leading to energy leakage until exhaustion. The internal energy reserves are depleted, and the patient is left drained."

"But this metal manipulator has strong meridians and has repeatedly tempered his body, using psychic energy to transform his body into metal, forcibly enduring and controlling this overwhelming energy. The pipe is too strong, so the energy flows back, impacting the fragile heart, rebounding against the crystal core, causing it to burst, and the psychic energy to completely lose control. The patient is in immense pain."

Everyone was stunned by his highly professional explanation filled with medical terms.

The young man anxiously stepped forward, "Can it be treated?"

Zhou Yun smiled slightly, "The crystal core energy doesn’t match the body. To recover, just remove the crystal core that doesn’t belong to him."

In grafting crystal cores of plants and animals, it’s usually better to choose high-quality, pure, and low-level crystal cores for easier grafting success. Only human crystal cores, due to their complex power sources, are related to absorbing crystal core energy, dietary intake, and the level of physical and mental cultivation. But some people believe that human crystal cores are more compatible, and there are always those who, disregarding ethics, experiment with them—whether in past lives or this one. Such people are more prone to psychic overloading.

Additionally, psychic overloading can occur when suddenly absorbing a high-grade crystal core, but this is temporary. With calm cultivation, gradually guiding and digesting that immense energy over time, the situation usually improves. But in this case, it’s clear the patient has been suffering for a long time.

The young man glared angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

The woman pressed the young man’s shoulder and smiled, "You seem to be an expert. To be honest, this patient is our captain. A year ago, he was tricked into having his crystal core removed and transplanted into someone else. Recently, we took revenge and retrieved the crystal core. Our captain is stubborn and immediately forced their doctor to transplant the crystal core back into him. We thought he would recover, but then his body started showing signs of psychic control loss and imbalance. We came to Guixu because we heard that the city is leading in psychic research, specifically to seek treatment."

The woman said earnestly, "We’ve always lived in the north, where it’s a chaotic environment, very different from the peace of Guixu. It’s a place with few resources, harsh environments, and constant betrayal. So we’re accustomed to being on guard. Our young brother here is simply worried about the captain’s condition, so he’s a bit anxious. But we’ve never stolen anyone’s crystal core."

First removed and transplanted, then transplanted back? This was the first time Zhou Yun had heard of such a case. He was slightly surprised, "Do you have any records of the crystal core transplantation?"

The woman replied, "Yes, we do."

Zhou Yun glanced at the unconscious patient on the ground and thought for a moment before saying, "Let's carry the patient on our backs and head to the hospital."

He mounted the bicycle and casually waved towards the mountain. The woman looked up at the mountain and saw a few Taoist priests in the pavilion on the mountain path, with the leading old Taoist master appearing to wave his whisk in their direction, as if he recognized the young doctor.

He led the group through the alley, turned at the market corner, and reached the road, where they saw an off-road vehicle approaching and stopping in front of them. Shen Lan rolled down the window and smiled, "Dr. Zhou, where are you heading? Need a lift?"

Zhou Yun handed him the groceries from the bike basket, "No need, I have an emergency case here. I'll return later. Could you help me take these groceries back?"

Shen Lan took the bag of wriggling fish and the strong-smelling pig liver and brain, "Sure."

He then glanced at the patient being carried by the group, "Do you need help taking the patient to the hospital?"

The woman smiled, "Thanks, but we've got enough hands. The central hospital isn't far, we'll get there quickly."

Shen Lan's sharp eyes met the woman's for a moment before he smiled at Zhou Yun, "Alright, good luck then."

Zhou Yun waved with a smile, "Thanks."

He rode ahead on his bicycle, leading the way to the hospital. They passed through the bustling outpatient building and arrived at the quieter examination building, where a sign clearly marked "Psychic Treatment Center."

Zhou Yun led them straight to the pre-examination triage desk. The nurse in charge stood up and greeted with a smile, "Hello, Dr. Zhou."

Zhou Yun nodded slightly and instructed, "Get an emergency ICU room ready for this patient. Begin with ECG monitoring. It's hot, and he's been sweating a lot. Give him some saline and hook up a ventilator. Get the team ready; I'll do acupuncture on him." After saying this, he went directly into the changing room.

The nurse swiftly guided them into an empty emergency ICU room. Soon, medical staff came out and assisted in placing the patient on the bed, removing his clothes, and fastening him to the examination table, connecting various monitoring devices and the ventilator.

The nurses frowned at the group, "Family members, please step out for a bit."

The six of them exchanged glances, but none moved.

Zhou Yun came out after washing his hands, disinfecting, changing into a white coat, and putting on a cap and mask. Seeing them, he said, "Two of you can stay."

The woman stayed, and the young man volunteered, "I'll stay." The woman said, "Bi Fang, step out. Zhu Long, stay."

Zhou Yun glanced at Zhu Long, "Light-based abilities?"

The tall man was surprised, "Doc, you can tell just by looking?" He hadn't used his psychic ability, yet the doctor could tell just by looking?

Zhou Yun said, "When Zhu Long opens his eyes, the sky lights up. Isn't that light-based abilities?"

The woman smiled, "Dr. Zhou, you know your stuff. I'm Qing Luan. Our captain is Kui Niu. We're the Shan Xiao Psychic Team."

These were, of course, code names. Zhou Yun nodded slightly, not concerned with their real names. He took out a shiny long needle from the acupuncture kit on the cart pushed by a nurse. The door opened, and Qi Shuhong arrived with a group of medical interns in white coats, "Dr. Zhou."

Zhou Yun took the silver needle and nodded slightly, addressing the interns, "Today's case is a rare example of psychic overload. The patient's crystal core energy is too abundant, exceeding the body and mind's capacity, leading to psychic overload. We currently have emergency measures and treatment plans for such cases..."

Qing Luan and Zhu Long listened intently.

The acupuncture session was brief. Zhou Yun needled the relevant acupoints for the Kui Niu captain, and the situation stabilized. He even ran a live acupuncture practice session for this case, calling a few students to perform the actual operation before sending the interns back.

He then told Qing Luan, "I'll go and prepare a treatment plan and admission form for you. You can pay the fees later and transfer directly to the inpatient department."

After saying this, he went to the doctor's office.

The members of the Shan Xiao Team gathered in the ward, watching the sleeping Kui Niu, and whispered to Qing Luan, "How is it? Does it seem under control? Can we trust these people?"

Qing Luan replied, "At least it seems like a standard hospital..." The medical equipment was complete, and the procedures looked standard. The attending physician even conducted a live class for interns. The medical staff didn't treat them with the usual awe, fear, or distance because they were psychics, afraid of an uncontrolled psychic outburst.

The doctors and medical staff were unfazed, just following procedures, doing their jobs, just like any ordinary hospital before the apocalypse. But in the apocalypse, such "normalcy" gave them an inexplicable sense of security.

Zhu Long said, "That doctor doesn't have an ID badge, but he holds a high position. I just checked; the female doctor who led the team in earlier has an ID badge that says Qi Shuhong. She is the hospital director and also the deputy head of the medical department in Guixu City. But it seems she actually takes orders from Dr. Zhou."

Qing Luan said, "He must be very authoritative in psychic treatment. The acupuncture he uses probably comes from traditional medicine."

Zhu Long added, "Also, after Dr. Zhou stopped beside us today, there wasn't a single pedestrian passing through that alley and street. When we were walking down the mountain earlier, there were many people coming and going."

Qing Luan said, "I also felt something was off. Did you see that Taoist on the mountain? That's Taoist Master Yunyin, the abbot we met at the Taoist temple when we went to see the lightning butterflies. I saw online discussions about him; this abbot is an advanced lightning psychic and is skilled in exorcism. And that driver we encountered after leaving the alley, his aura was also quite intimidating."

"Do you think if we had tried anything with Dr. Zhou, we'd have been stuck in that alley?"