Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 186 - 106: The Healing Doctor

Chapter 186: Chapter 106: The Healing Doctor

Duan Mingyuan was a senior attending physician, and if he took a job at the Royal Hospital of the Imperial Court, he would become a pillar of the community, and at the very least, a chief physician of a department.

And just moments ago, Fu Ling had proposed a new type of symptom.

Highly contagious, those infected had almost no chance of recovery, and they would even actively spread the symptoms to more people, until the entire planet was overrun by this affliction.

The only silver lining, perhaps, was that this condition was not fatal.

Faced with this disease, Fu Ling’s recommendation was to imitate the practice of ancient peoples: unable to resolve the ailment, they would gather those who had fallen ill together, isolating or executing them, so as to effectively suppress the spread by extinguishing its source.

Recent events within the Imperial Court had proven that the Second Prince and his followers were of weak constitution and highly susceptible to infection.

Initially brainwashed by Qing Hua, within days of their defeat, they had quickly switched allegiances and become devotees of the Sun King.

Fu Ling hoped to use rational analysis to alleviate the guilt in the hearts of Duan Mingyuan and the others, arguing that keeping this highly susceptible group could lead to disaster sooner or later. Even if they were cured of the "Sun King’s Malady," there was no guarantee they would not succumb to other diseases afterwards.

She said, "Moreover, weren’t you planning to let the Scarlet Death spread throughout the Imperial Court and infect them all? Why are you hesitating now?"

This statement was directed at the Third Prince.

Those who achieve great deeds must dare to make decisions, even if it risks bearing a bad reputation.

Reality has proven time and again the perils of the Sun King’s faith, and those decision-makers who were too kind-hearted could only watch helplessly as their own planet was assimilated, eventually succumbing to the same faith themselves.

In the terms of their textbooks, this was degeneration.

Fu Ling argued vehemently, of course, because the matter was in her own interest, compelling her to take risks of offending the Ashen Consortium by privately contacting the Third Prince.

The Life Science Department could not afford to lose Blue Star, a vital bastion of Life Energy.

"Back then I had no other choice, but the situation now is different. I would rather hear what Mr. Mingyuan has to suggest," he said.

The Third Prince remained indecisive, for at the time he believed that undermining the foundations of the Cosmic Relations Coordination Department was the only way to start changing the planet. But now that change had arrived, deciding the fate of a group so easily could turn one into a Tyrant, step by step.

"The Third Prince is right, the practices of imprisonment and indiscriminate killing no longer fit the evolution of the times. If we only want to alleviate the symptoms, there’s no need to resort to such extreme measures."

In his view, the Sun King’s faith was a transformation of the spirit and mind of a person, and to change a person’s mind was not such a difficult task after all.

Duan Mingyuan, with his knowledge of psychology, could easily make the Second Prince and his followers believe from the bottom of their hearts that they were snails, and that the Snail King was what they truly should worship.

But this was still not the method of treating illness he idealized.

An excellent physician could often see through to the essence of a problem through its manifestations.

This was the very idea of treating both symptoms and root causes.

What really piqued Duan Mingyuan’s interest was the chanting in the hall; he was not a disciple of the Sun King, yet he saw more visions than the true believers did.

An empire rising among the stars had its moments of glory but ultimately perished in catastrophe.

This led Duan Mingyuan to suspect that these obscure phrases, as well as the Scorching Sun Energy mentioned by Fu Ling, might be symbols left by that extinct civilization.

He admitted that his curiosity as a researcher had been stirred; if the experimental treatment failed, it would still not be too late to make the Second Prince believe he was a snail.

"If that’s the case, then I wish you luck."

Far from being angry, Fu Ling, who had her proposal rejected, was somewhat excited.

Until now, no one had ever been able to challenge the faith of the Sun King. Across countless planets, countless people like Duan Mingyuan ultimately met with failure in their efforts.

But this time was different.

The Ashen Consortium was facing a Transcender, and not just any Transcender, but one who excelled in healing and support.

In fact, even though Universe Company had once discovered three Transcenders, they never made deep contact with them, so no one knew the true extent of a Transcender’s abilities or their limits. However, from the defeat of Qing Hua, it wasn’t hard to see that Transcenders were much more powerful than they had been assessed to be.

Although officially it was the Prime Monarch who severed the company flagship, the Prime Monarch’s abilities were far from capable of achieving such a feat. It was obviously Duan Mingyuan, acting as support, who had given him a buff.

This meant that as long as Duan Mingyuan was willing, he could mass-produce flagship harvesters like the Prime Monarch.

Fu Ling believed that if word of this got back to the Consortium, Duan Mingyuan would surely become a target that all four Consortia would vie to entice. A support’s strategic significance was far more important than that of combat personnel, and every Consortium needed a support like Duan Mingyuan to secure their rear and buff their combat employees.

But unfortunately, she always felt that Duan Mingyuan was without desire, especially uninterested in wealth and power.

As for beauty...

It just so happened that he had come across a Fox Demon whose beauty was ranked among the universe’s finest, perfectly self-sufficient.

Very troublesome.

However, she believed that everything in this world should progress in an orderly manner. Since Duan Mingyuan had decided to address the issue of diseases, her purpose for this trip had been achieved.

Considering the research on the Sun King’s faith, as well as Scorching Sun Power, was yet to come, Duan Mingyuan bid farewell to the Third Prince and Cai Die and made his way back home.

He also saw the urgency in the eyes of the Third Prince.

An urgency to delve deeply into the mysteries of the nun’s robe with Cai Die, which made Duan Mingyuan feel that he could no longer keep up with the interests of young people.

"It’s okay, Mr. Mingyuan."

Jiuyue was always so understanding, "I asked Cai Die for a set of nun’s robes and maid outfits, and she will have her maid deliver them to our room shortly."

The versatile Fox Demon was capable of perfectly merging into any role, the undisputed monarchs in the realm of roleplay.

After learning about the Third Prince’s preferences, Jiuyue also did some studying. Seeing Duan Mingyuan looking at her with astonishment, she wrapped her arms around his, pulled him into her embrace, and rubbed against the fabric on her chest, her voice turning coquettishly sweet as she called out in a voice that could melt bones, "Master~".

Duan Mingyuan had to emphasize that he still had many academic issues to research today.

And Jiuyue was always too distracting.

"Speak less in that tone in the future."

He took a deep breath and said.

"Why?"

"No reason."

Beauty brings disaster, the Fox Demon leads a country astray; Duan Mingyuan had thought this was an exaggeration in the texts, but now he had truly witnessed the prowess of the Fox Demon.

Only those with great willpower could maintain their true nature under the seduction of a Fox Demon.

"I now need to devote myself to solving the crisis of the planet."

"Okay, master~"