The Price of a Life

The chubby Old Bai tossed a stack of documents across the table and asked abruptly, "Can you do it?"

Looking at the scattered medical records, X-ray films, and other materials, the Tinkerer picked one up, flipped through it, and said, "Hilar cholangiocarcinoma?"

This is stage II cancer progressing to stage III. In addition to removing the bile duct, it is also necessary to remove part of the liver and surrounding tissues where cancer cells have spread. Due to the large number of blood vessels and nerves nearby, the surgery is very difficult.

What If...? the patient were the obese person in front of you, then clearing out the obese person from the fat deposits would require considerable effort.

However, such a disease is not considered a problem in some of the top medical centers in the United States. There are plenty of skilled doctors who can cure it, and some may even find it too difficult and pass it on to junior doctors.

Therefore, having such wealth but not daring to go to a major hospital only means that this person has considerable trouble that cannot be brought to light.

The Tinkerer didn't answer the Old Bai, fat man's question directly. Instead, he tossed the exact same documents back onto the table and asked, "Who is the patient?"

"Just tell me directly whether it can be cured."

"No, goodbye." As soon as he finished speaking, the Tinkerer was about to get up and leave. But he was pressed back down by the person standing behind the sofa.

The Tinkerer, cigar in mouth, glanced warily at the young white man behind him who had "invited" him, but said nothing more.

Instead, the person being watched said, "You can't afford to offend the boss. You'd better think carefully about what you're doing."

Instead, he explained to the disgruntled Old Bai, "The exact cause of Hilar cholangiocarcinoma has not yet been determined."

Therefore, it's impossible to find effective prevention methods. So most people's advice is to quit smoking, reduce excessive drinking, and maintain a normal weight.

Simply put, it's about maintaining a healthy body to avoid developing liver disease, thereby reducing the risk of bile duct cancer. But you...

Leaving aside the cigar in the Old Bai, fat man's hand, his belly alone probably weighed seventy or eighty kilograms, and his entire body weighed over two hundred kilograms. He also had women on his left and right, and several empty liquor bottles were scattered on the table.

Red wine, whiskey, vodka. In the Tinkerer's knowledge, there's no cheap mixed liquor here. But mixing them? Even a magic pill can turn into poison.

"If Yi-yi continues with this lifestyle, even if I save her this time, she'll relapse sooner or later. Rather than have you complain about my medical skills later and ruin my reputation, I'd rather give up now."

What the Tinkerer didn't say was that, although it wasn't written in the patient's medical record, based on his observations of the tongue coating, skin condition, and some abnormal symptoms, the patient probably also had venereal disease.

It might even be AIDS, the infectious disease of the century.

These sexually transmitted diseases are mainly spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, and blood is certainly one of the mediums.

Performing surgery on such a person would be tantamount to doctors risking infection. Therefore, many hospitals do not accept such patients and, of course, will not perform any medical procedures on them.

In reality, you won't get infected through skin contact alone, unless there are any open wounds. The problem arises from touching your face indiscriminately or rubbing your eyes, picking your teeth, or eating without proper hygiene, thus ingesting the virus. In such cases, you'll likely become infected even if you weren't initially intending to.

The problem is whether it's been washed properly, which isn't something you can tell with the naked eye, especially for a normal person. Therefore, hospitals that don't have full protective gear and corresponding isolation and cleaning measures would rather not take on such a patient.

However, this Old Bai man hadn't brought the man here to hear these things. He said impatiently, "I'm just asking, can you perform this surgery? You don't need to worry about anything else."

"Yes," the Tinkerer replied honestly.

The Old Bai man pointed to the side, and the lights came on, illuminating a portable, inflatable, sterile operating room in the direction he was pointing. Several men and women, who appeared to be doctors and nurses, stood nearby with relatively calm expressions.

He continued, "Besides those, what else do you need?"

Seated imposingly in an expensive antique sofa, the Tinkerer exhaled another puff of cigar smoke before casually stating, "Your life-saving fee is one million."

The Tinkerer's asking price stunned everyone present. Those standing near the inflatable operating room probably couldn't hear it.

Everyone else had a dumbfounded expression.

The Old Bai man, as expected of a worldly man, recovered the fastest and laughed heartily, "I like you very much. You're good at telling funny jokes. And you even have the guts to say them in front of me. Not bad, that's very good."

"I'm serious, one million, or forget it," the Tinkerer emphasized again.

He met the gaze of the suddenly quiet, chubby Old Bai with a changed expression. The Tinkerer, though lacking the same imposing manner, wore an air of nonchalance.

In contrast, the Old Bai, fat man was so angry he couldn't speak, his forehead veins bulging. "I've never heard of you charging such a large medical fee. You don't think I'm easy to bully, do you?"

"How could that be, sir?" The Tinkerer explained his actions, "I've always charged for lives. Some lives are precious, some are cheap."

"Like those two bitches next to you, for the same surgery, I'd charge them between one and two hundred, depending on my mood. But if it's this guy..."

-"

The Tinkerer pointed to the man standing behind him, the one who had invited him.

"This guy's life-saving fee is only twenty-three and seventy-five cents. If I charge him even a penny more, I'm giving him too much credit."

The patients I treated before were all poor people who couldn't get enough to eat. Their lives were cheap, so the price for saving their lives couldn't be high.

"But you're different, sir. You seem to be well-educated, live a luxurious life, and have a close female friend; you certainly don't want to die too soon. So the question is, how much money are you willing to spend for your health, or just to live a few more years?"

As it turns out, there are some people in this world who cannot be swayed by words alone. The Old Bai, chubby man completely ignored the Tinkerer's logic and instead gave his subordinate a wink.

Immediately, a gun was pressed against the Tinkerer's forehead. He didn't respond, only saying, "I'll ask you one more time, can the surgery be done?"

Is this a case of being confused about the situation, or is there some other motive?

He took another puff of his cigar and exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke. The Tinkerer simply said, "Yes."

Pointing to the mobile operating room beside him, the Old Bai, chubby man said, "Go and prepare. And the money I paid to save your life is your life."

What If...? you want to survive, it would be best if I could survive too.

Looks like this guy doesn't understand the situation.

Thinking about this, the Tinkerer felt a little bored. Somewhat listlessly, he sipped his cigar and walked towards the inflatable mobile operating room, not even bothering to pick up his briefcase.

Upon getting closer, he simply asked the others, "Are all the surgical tools complete?"