Surgery Godfather
Chapter 790 - 708: Competing with the Dragon King for Treasures

Chapter 790: Chapter 708: Competing with the Dragon King for Treasures

The surgery concluded, and the patient was moved back to the ward.

August and Robert sat with Ivan in the changing room for a rest, all three of them forming a line on a long bench.

Dr. Ivan was clearly still confused, or perhaps he was already mired in his thoughts.

Merely by reading his book, someone was capable of performing surgery so flawlessly, at a level comparable to his own.

His skills were far from ordinary; they represented the peak within his profession.

Could the world’s top level of expertise be so easily attained? No matter how Dr. Ivan thought about it, he couldn’t comprehend it.

Even a cross-disciplinary heavy-hitter like Manstein needed time to achieve success. It took time to make strides in a new field.

"Are you still pondering over the same problem?" August, noticing Ivan’s bewildered look, was worried.

Ivan nodded, "How is it possible? He merely read my book, yet he can perform as well as I do? How can that possibly be?"

August shook his head helplessly, "He’s not just performing as well as you, he could do better than you. As Robert said, you’re human, and he’s half-human, half-god. You can’t compare. The gap between you and him is like---yes, it’s like the gap between Tyson and the Hulk."

The gap between Tyson and the Hulk---this was Takahashi’s statement, which August felt was most appropriate to use here for explanation.

Tyson was already the world’s strongest, but how did his strength matter? He couldn’t possibly compare to the Hulk. This was not about effort; the gap was determined by natural talent.

Dr. Ivan muttered to himself, repeating August’s words, then recalled his encounters with Professor Yang in recent times.

At their first meeting, Professor Yang readily agreed to share the technology of in-vitro skin expansion. It was a very generous offer considering they had just met.

The second time, during a morning handover, Professor Yang drew medical illustrations on the whiteboard that were comparable to his own.

The third time was when he managed to shape a skin graft at once, the size fitted perfectly.

The fourth time was today’s surgery. Even though it was just the shaping of an ear and nostrils, his expertise was clearly visible---incredibly high!

You could only wonder how far he would outshine him if only Professor Yang was interested in plastic surgery.

"If Professor Yang wasn’t interested in plastic surgery, how could he have devoted so much effort to developing skin expansion technology?" Ivan couldn’t help asking.

August had no choice but to tell the truth: "Devote effort? To him, how could in-vitro skin expansion technology be a big effort? He achieved this result effortlessly; it hardly took much time. His main focus is not on this."

"You’re saying this topic is not his primary research field?" Ivan didn’t believe it.

This in-vitro skin expansion technology couldn’t possibly be successful without sustained research over five to ten years. Even a genius like Manstein took several years, and Professor Yang’s technology which was completely different and relatively more advanced, was even more complex.

"The Professor originally planned to have me facilitate learning Manstein’s research technology, but later he found it too cumbersome. Therefore, he simply started anew to study in-vitro skin expansion technology. In less than a month, he came up with this new technology, and then taught it to Tang Shun, who had just returned from Japan. In Professor’s eyes, this technology is barely worth a nickel, so he didn’t hesitate to give it to you when you needed it. Because to him, it’s just a nickel, giving it to you meant nothing."

A nickel, this comparison stings.

Dr. Ivan felt a chill in his heart. So the technology he’d been striving for was only worth a nickel. He couldn’t help but reveal a forced smile on his face.

"Ivan? Are you alright? You don’t need to take it to heart. What I meant to say was---" August felt he’d gone too far. Ivan hadn’t been prepared enough to accept some things.

Robert said to Ivan sternly, "He’s being too exaggerated. To Professor Yang, how could this technology worth only a nickel? I really hate when others use such hyperbole to create a shocking effect."

That unreliable August, describing such precious technology as worth only fifty cents, if that’s true, many technologies in the world are only worth fifty cents.

Ivan felt relieved and then looked at Robert expectantly, waiting for him to requote.

Robert thought for a while: "Ivan, this kind of technology can’t be this cheap in the professor’s mind, it’s at least worth---"

"How much is it worth?" Ivan asked urgently.

"Ten dollars!" Robert held up a finger.

Ten dollars? Is there any difference from fifty cents?

Ivan was disappointed again, ten dollars and fifty cents, there was no significant difference in essence.

"Ivan, don’t be discouraged. There is a saying in China, ’a beggar compares treasures with the Dragon King’. Do you know what it means?" Robert’s Chinese was getting deeper.

Ivan shook his head: No.

"The Dragon King is the god with the most treasures, and the beggar has nothing. The Dragon King casually takes out something he thinks is worthless, and it might be a priceless treasure that the beggar can’t get in his lifetime. Do you understand what I mean?" Robert asked.

After Robert’s explanation, Ivan was a bit clear: "Are you saying that Professor Yang is the one who owns the most treasures, and I’m the beggar?"

"Not just you, we all are. It’s just a metaphor, I didn’t mean to insult you at all. I just wanted to tell you the truth, that when the beggar meets the Dragon King, he doesn’t have to compare the treasures, or think about why the Dragon King has so many treasures. The smartest thing to do is to befriend the Dragon King, work for him, even sweeping the floor is fine, and then naturally get a few treasures for free." Robert advised Ivan.

Ivan is a smart guy, he thought about what Robert said, and then had a sudden realization.

"You really are a philosopher!" Ivan couldn’t help but praise Robert, this American really has deep thoughts.

"Listen to him, old fellow, I’m doing the same now. Now the question is, if you want to join us and become one of us, you must show some sincerity." August patted Ivan on the shoulder.

"Sincerity? I am very sincere, I came here because I admire the professor, and then my book was given to Professor Yang even though it was still a draft." Ivan felt he was full of sincerity.

August shook his head: "Far from enough."

"So what should I do?" Ivan was very puzzled.

Robert said mysteriously: "You must present a token of your sincerity."

Robert really didn’t know how to translate ’token of sincerity’ into English, so he used ’blood oath’ as a substitute.

"Blood oath?" Ivan was even more confused.

August leaned in: "Don’t be frightened, it’s just a token of sincerity, a gift to show your commitment. The gift must have enough weight. This is how it is, the professor has a paper about treating scoliosis with spinal external fixation technique, which is to be submitted to the Science magazine. Professor Manstein is the reviewer. My point is if you want to stay and work for the Dragon King, you should persuade that stubborn fellow to review the paper early and let the paper pass. I’ve already talked to Manstein, but he didn’t budge, so I found Charité to help but he still wouldn’t budge, although he seems a bit flexible now. If you act as a lobbyist this time, he will definitely change his mind and review the paper early."

"Is this really important? It’s just a paper? With Professor Yang’s current technology, would he care about this manuscript?" Ivan didn’t understand.

"It’s important, very important. If Professor Yang’s paper is published early, he can graduate with his doctorate early." August emphasized the importance and urgency of the matter.

Ivan was utterly confused now, Professor Yang hasn’t graduated with his doctorate yet? He is still a student? And then he is also a professor? And then---

Oh gosh, it’s so frustrating and messy, gives a headache.