Masterful Miracle Doctor

Chapter 1087 - 1049: The Highest Bid Wins

"Hello, Dr. Lin! I hope I'm not interrupting your rest with this call?"Hearing Ariel Skeller's very polite voice, Lin Jie chuckled softly and said, "It's not even eight o'clock here, so it's not really rest time yet."

"That's good. I always get confused with time zone conversions. There was an awkward moment before when I called someone, and it was around three or four in the morning for them."

Skeller mocked himself a bit, then continued, "Dr. Lin, I'm reaching out this time with a request."

"Oh? What's the matter? Is it about a patient?" Lin Jie replied casually.

"Dr. Lin, you guessed right. A very good friend reached out to me, and the patient is a friend of hers with a tumor in the brainstem."

"After being diagnosed by several neurosurgeons in the United Kingdom, they all found it to be beyond their capability."

"In such a situation, if there's any doctor who might have a solution, I reckon it would only be someone like you who are known for innovation and change."

In the face of Skeller's compliments, Lin Jie didn't get carried away. He humbly said, "Dr. Skeller, you're too kind. Any success I've had was just a stroke of luck and doesn't mean I can solve every problem."

"How about this, you go ahead and send the patient's tumor imaging to my email. I'll take a look at it first."

A few minutes later, a set of MRI images of the brain tumor appeared on the large screen in the study room.

Seeing the tumor near the brainstem, about the size of half an egg, Lin Jie frowned.

An Kexin, standing beside Lin Jie, pretended to study the image for a while, then asked, "Ajie, is it very serious? Is the surgery highly difficult as well?"

Pointing to a part of the image, Lin Jie explained, "This is the brainstem."

"It is located beneath our brain, situated between the spinal cord and the diencephalon. It's a small part of our central nervous system and appears as an irregular cylindrical shape."

"The brainstem is composed of three parts from bottom up: the medulla, the pons, and the midbrain..."

Noticing that An Kexin's eyes were about to drift off, Lin Jie began to simplify his explanation, "Put simply, the brainstem's main functions are to maintain vital life processes, including heartbeat, breathing, and digestion."

"This tumor has severely compressed the brainstem and might cause the patient's breathing or heartbeat to stop at any time, leading to death."

An Kexin exclaimed softly and asked, "What's the possibility of surgically removing the tumor?"

Lin Jie looked at the images again, shook his head, and analyzed, "This tumor is deeply located in the brain, tightly against the brainstem, with virtually no surgical path."

"Forcing a surgical procedure carries a significant risk of damaging the brainstem."

Weighing his words, Lin Jie said, "The probability of the patient dying during the surgery is essentially... 99%."

"Unless..."

"Unless what?"

Wrapping her arms around Lin Jie's, An Kexin, in a childlike tone, said eagerly, "I knew it, Ajie. You must have a solution. There's no problem you can't solve."

Seeing the admiration in An Kexin's eyes, Lin Jie lightly patted her rear, then couldn't resist giving it a squeeze, and said with some pride, "I'm not that amazing, it's just that I happened to have an idea from my current research project."

"Unless... we can relocate this tumor, moving it away from the high-risk area."

Lin Jie gestured on the image and said, "We could create a small access with minimal damage here, insert an inducer, and coax the tumor to grow in this direction."

"And then..."

He motioned and said, "If part of the tumor successfully passes through this passage, and continues to grow here."

"Maybe it can be..."

In Lin Jie's mind, a series of possible operations appeared and were discarded one by one, ultimately leaving the simplest and most straightforward one.

"Maybe we can use physical traction, like soft-bodied animals moving through a narrow tube, gradually pulling the entire tumor over here, and then perform surgery."

Lin Jie pondered this possibility, murmuring, "Even if only part of the tumor is relocated, it could alleviate the pressure on the brainstem, giving the patient more time."

After weighing his options several times in his mind, he chuckled softly, "There really might be some chance for this plan to succeed."

After saying this, Lin Jie picked up his phone and dialed Skeller's number.

"Dr. Skeller..."

Before he could finish, Skeller's soft sigh came through, "Dr. Lin, you don't have to say it, I understand."

"The tumor's growth location on the patient is too dangerous; there's no surgical path..."

Lin Jie knew Skeller misunderstood his meaning and smiled, "Dr. Skeller, for this patient, I think I might be able to give it a try!"

"What? You can give it a try?"

On the phone, Skeller was clearly stunned, saying, "How much time has passed? Just half an hour, right? And you've already come up with a treatment plan, Dr. Lin?"

She confidently said, "Taking just half an hour to determine that it's beyond help is very possible."

"But coming up with an appropriate treatment method? Dr. Lin, you must be joking."

"Let me ask frankly, Dr. Lin, have you treated patients with similar conditions before?"

Lin Jie smiled gently and said, "Dr. Skeller, I haven't treated similar patients before. It's just that I'm conducting an experimental therapy that has given me some insights into tumor treatment, which can be applied to this patient."

"What kind of experimental therapy? Could you introduce it briefly?"

Skeller's voice was filled with excitement and urgency, "Experimental therapy represents exploration and innovation, especially one led by you, Dr. Lin, it must be extraordinary."

"Dr. Lin, could you share some non-confidential parts of the experimental therapy?"

Over the phone, Lin Jie briefly described the concept of inducing tumor growth.

As soon as he finished, Skeller's inquiry came through his phone, "Has there been any verifiable results from using inducers and inhibitors to control tumor growth?"

Lin Jie spoke matter-of-factly, "The experimental therapy has only been underway for a short while, and there are currently no verifiable results. However, we have already confirmed that this method is effective."

Skeller let out a light "oh" and inquired, "For this patient, Dr. Lin, what is your specific treatment plan?"

Lin Jie shared his earlier idea about opening a pathway, inducing tumor growth, and then using physical means for traction. He added, "This is just a concept of mine."

"There's only a theoretical possibility of success, and I'm unsure about the odds."

"Dr. Skeller, you're an expert in the field, so I won't elaborate further. Whether the patient is willing to take the risk and try is up to them."

As soon as Lin Jie finished speaking, he heard Skeller's voice on the phone, raised an octave, "Dr. Lin, I will explain your treatment plan to the patient in detail and strongly recommend they accept this treatment plan."

"Regardless of whether he accepts the treatment, Dr. Lin, I will arrange it and fly to China as soon as possible."

"Dr. Lin, I am extremely interested in your experimental therapy."

"I'm eager to delve deeper..."

After hanging up, Lin Jie pondered for a moment and then smiled, "Kexin, it seems my experimental therapy has sparked Skeller's keen interest. Maybe she can, with her voice and her pen, let the global medical community gain greater insight into my work."

"The authority of being the editor of 'The Lancet,' one of the world's top four medical journals, is quite significant..."

The week had come back to Wednesday.

Lin Jie had two surgeries scheduled for patients in the annex, and in the evening, he still needed to go through athletes' health check information.

Busy as he was, he canceled this week's Wednesday gathering.

Around midday, Lin Jie was taking a nap in his office to prepare for the afternoon surgeries when he suddenly heard voices coming from outside.

"I want to see Dr. Lin!"

The voice was brimming with authority and brooked no defiance, and Lin Jie found it somewhat familiar.

Then he heard Jian Jia's pleasant voice, "Hello, Dr. Lin is not available for visitors right now! Please leave your name and purpose, and I will consult with Dr. Lin for an appointment!"

"An appointment? Even for a meeting with a department head, I, Li Ao'ge, don't need an appointment..."

So it was Li Ao'ge!

Lin Jie had some guesses about his intention and opened his eyes, got up from the couch, and called out, "Let him in!"

Subsequently, the door to the inner office was pushed open.

Li Ao'ge, with his short graying hair, entered accompanied by Qin Gang.

Li Ao'ge first glared angrily at Qin Gang, then turned to Lin Jie and mocked, "Dr. Lin, it seems it's harder to see you than the mayor!"

Lin Jie replied with indifference, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I dictate the rules on my turf, and I didn't even invite you here!"

Li Ao'ge, slightly choked by this, darkened his face further and took a deep breath. "Dr. Lin, I heard you plan to bid for Qushui Garden at tomorrow's auction?"

Lin Jie nodded and replied, "Yes. You backed out of Qushui Garden after paying a penalty, and since I'm interested in it, naturally I'd want to bid."

"Mr. Li came in full force, questioning in such a tone. Are you saying that having given up on Qushui Garden, others aren't allowed to bid?"

As much as Li Ao'ge was a big shot, he didn't dare outright admit such a claim.

He eased his tone a bit, saying, "Dr. Lin, I've changed my mind and want to bid for Qushui Garden."

"How about this, I ask you to withdraw from this bidding, and I, Li Ao'ge, will owe you a favor!"

Lin Jie couldn't help but laugh, "How about this, I ask you, Mr. Li, to withdraw from the bidding, and I'll owe you a favor, how about that?"

Li Ao'ge stared at Lin Jie speechless, then suddenly smiled, "Dr. Lin, are you determined to go against me?"

Lin Jie didn't flinch, "Mr. Li, you're wrong. How am I going against you?"

"This auction is hosted by the court and open to everyone. You can bid, and I can bid. The highest bid wins!"

"A fair highest bid wins!"

Li Ao'ge sneered, "2.4 billion, that's just a month's profit for one of my group's enterprises."

"But for you, Dr. Lin, all your assets might not add up to that much. You might even have to put in your income for the next ten or twenty years, right?"

"Will you really bid against me?"

At this point, there was no retreating for Lin Jie, who replied calmly, "Money can't buy my desires, can it?"

"Even if I work all my life for the bank, it's none of your business, Mr. Li, so don't worry about me."

"Fine, fine!"

Li Ao'ge wiped the smile off his face and said sternly, "Dr. Lin, to be frank, you're merely a doctor. Even if you're famous worldwide, so what? It's not like you're the number one in the world."

"With my current status, I can throw around money and meet any renowned doctor in the world."

"Don't overestimate yourself!"

"Others may flatter you, indulge you, but I won't!"

Lin Jie chuckled lightly and retorted, "Mr. Li, are you confused?"

"I never asked you to indulge me, and now you're here to ask me for indulgence!"

Li Ao'ge took a few rapid breaths, then smirked coldly and said, "Fine, fine... let's meet at the auction tomorrow..."

"So you can learn what a highest bid wins is all about!"