"Qingjiao, you're making things a bit difficult for me."
"This…"
Brrrring, brrrring, brrrring~
The sound of a den den mushi interrupted Qingjiao's attempt to explain.
"One moment, personal call. What is it, Lyley?"
"Dad, Frankenstein is acting strange. I can't wake her up. Can you come take a look?"
Oran currently had several den den mushi, and he gave out different numbers depending on the contact. For instance, only Lyliana knew the number for this particular den den mushi.
Recently, Oran had also been researching a caller ID plugin, planning to equip the den den mushi with a feature that would let him know who was calling before answering, so he wouldn't have to rely solely on the den den mushi's image mimicry.
"Qingjiao, I need to handle a personal matter first. Please explain your situation to my assistant for now; it will then take you to the treatment room."
"Alright, I'm not in a hurry, Doctor Sidilier."
Saying he wasn't in a hurry was certainly a lie, but this time Oran's reply was that it could be cured, and he seemed confident. Since that was the case, he could certainly wait.
"Patient Qingjiao, head sustained unknown damage due to external impact.
Basic medical fees are being calculated.
Head surgery for external visitors will incur additional charges… Surgeon's fee… totaling fifty million Berries. Please pay in advance."
A bionic human, speaking without any emotion, walked over. This was Oran's robot assistant; it wasn't very flexible and simply followed its programmed instructions.
It considered Qingjiao's head treatment and craniotomy to be the same type of problem.
If it were just surgery, the cost wouldn't be so high. According to Piltover's new regulations, its own citizens could also enjoy certain medical exemptions.
Qingjiao, as an external patient seeking medical attention, incurred additional charges. What was even more expensive was Oran's fee; whether for guidance or teaching at Marineford, Oran's personal fees were not low.
From this perspective, Mite, as the first person to experience prosthetic surgery on the sea, actually made a huge profit.
"Fifty million is fine, even one hundred million Berries is fine, even a billion Berries will do! But I need to sign an IOU."
Qingjiao was also a bit embarrassed. He was a person who cared about his reputation and knew that his behavior was a bit unusual, but he had no choice.
Qingjiao was not without money; a billion Berries was not a large sum to him. The wealth buried beneath the glaciers was enough to rival a nation.
Qingjiao's problem now was that he had money but couldn't access it.
Although the Eight Treasure Navy and Flower Country had a close relationship, even attending the World Conference with the Flower Country's royalty as escorts, the Eight Treasure Navy would not blindly obey the Flower Country's commands.
Their relationship was more like a friendly symbiosis, and this private voyage for the purpose of his own treatment was not covered by Flower Country's reimbursement policy.
"No, according to Piltover's new regulations, external visitors must pay medical fees first."
"To be honest, my treasure is stored in a special place. If I don't heal this head first, I won't be able to get those treasures myself."
"Please pay first."
"I can only get the money after my injury is healed."
"We can only treat your injury after payment."
"…"
Unbeknownst to him, the conversation seemed to have returned to its starting point, and Qingjiao also discovered a problem: the assistant Oran mentioned was stubborn and completely inflexible.
At present, swearing on one's honor still held some credibility on the seas, especially for people from major powers. Swearing by a pirate flag or their own faction's flag was a significant commitment.
After all, there was no River Styx on the seas, nor anyone speaking nonsense to it, ruining their reputation, or even affecting future generations.
But such words didn't work with bionic humans; the word 'oath' wasn't in their programming code.
In the end, Qingjiao used the Eight Treasure Navy's ship as collateral to get past the bionic human.
At this moment, he even reasonably suspected that this was Oran giving him a warning after hearing that he didn't want to pay upfront.
In fact, Qingjiao was only half right. Oran had no intention of giving a warning, but he was using Qingjiao, an external visitor, to test his bionic humans.
Since Piltover was established, Qingjiao was the first member from an official Allied Nation to arrive here. Oran was testing how this level of intelligent bionic human would behave when receiving foreign guests.
Currently, it seemed there were no issues with the logical program.
As Qingjiao headed to the treatment area, Oran also located Frankenstein and understood why Lyliana had said Frankenstein was acting strange.
At this moment, Frankenstein sat beneath a giant windmill, her war hammer standing beside her.
The hydroelectric power station was still in the planning stage, but the windmills for wind power had already been built in the plains of Firefly Island.
In terms of construction time, these windmills were built second only to the permanent fortifications by the sea.
Frankenstein's eyes were closed, letting the monsoon winds from the ocean caress her hair. She held a flower in her hand, and a butterfly rested on the sharp horn on her head.
It gave off a strong feeling of a game ending, with an NPC returning to their homeland after fulfilling their long-cherished wish.
"Dad, what's wrong with Frankenstein?"
"Nothing serious. She just shut herself down. To be precise, she's in sleep mode."
After checking Frankenstein's condition, Oran confirmed her state. The wires extending from her to the large windmill showed that she was accumulating energy again.
The war hammer absorbed wind energy on one side, while she absorbed the electricity generated by the windmill herself, simultaneously entering a minimum consumption mode, truly a master of energy conservation.
"But I can't wake Frankenstein up."
"She's in do-not-disturb mode. Ordinary sounds won't affect her."
Oran picked up a small stone and pressed it on Frankenstein's arm, triggering her internal alarm system, waking her from her dormant state. He then led her towards the hospital.
"Doctor Sidilier, I suggest you get a new assistant. Your current assistant is a bit too rigid."
"Is that so? It's a newcomer, after all, still not very familiar with many things. It should get better later.
Collateralizing the ship isn't necessary; post-payment is also acceptable, but upfront and post-payment have different fee standards."
This 'but' almost sent Qingjiao's blood pressure soaring. Heaven knew how many times he had gone in circles talking to that bionic human. If Oran did it again, Qingjiao might actually explode on the spot.
Fortunately, Oran, the main person in charge, chose to trust his credit, which was a good thing.
In fact, this was a form of political investment. Although Qingjiao was not royalty, he held influence with the Flower Country's royal family.
Establishing a connection with Flower Country through Qingjiao would be much easier.
The World Government would not interfere in matters between Allied Nations and non-Allied Nations. Given Piltover's current situation, establishing connections could only rely on some special methods.
"Alright, let me confirm again: as long as your head returns to its original shape, you'll be satisfied, right?"
"That's right. As long as my cone-shaped head is restored, any treatment is fine, but can you answer one question first?"
"The treatment plan? That's confidential for now. I think it's better if you don't know."
The method to restore his head was not conventional. Oran was still calculating the angle and force needed, and theoretically, Qingjiao would be hit many times.
So Oran didn't directly explain how he would treat him, but Qingjiao's focus was on a sign.
"Right now, I'm more interested in what 'No Unprovoked Assaults on Patients' means."
This was originally the old royal family's vacation castle by the sea, later turned into a decadent banquet hall by pirates, and now it had been converted into a hospital by Oran.
In the most prominent center of the main hall, a strangely styled sign was hung.
"Oh, that? Don't mind it. This is a non-Allied Nation, and we have quite a lot of trouble usually.
Some people passing through who need treatment don't follow the rules and make things difficult for the doctors here, leading to fists being thrown in the end. Some doctors even developed stress reactions, so this is a reminder for them."
Violence isn't good, but violence is the quickest way to establish rules. Without military backing, even the best rules would be difficult to enforce.
The strange sign made Qingjiao more doubtful, but he still entered the treatment room. However, Qingjiao didn't quite understand why this special treatment room was in a small warehouse outside the hospital, with walls even reinforced with steel plates.
"Well then, Qingjiao, are you ready to sleep? When you wake up, all of this should be over."
"No, I want to stay awake. Anesthesia isn't necessary."
Qingjiao refused this step. Although he was here for treatment, he still had some reservations. He wouldn't have any say in what happened after he fell asleep.
"That's going to hurt a lot."
"It's fine, I can endure it. It's just mere pain. Compared to the mental torment that bastard Garp brought me, this is nothing at all."
At Qingjiao's insistence, Oran let him have his way. After Qingjiao lay down, Oran covered him so Qingjiao couldn't see the specific treatment process, and also prepared earplugs for him, blocking his hearing.
Then he began to calculate the formula based on the X-ray images.
"Roughly… this angle, Lyley, give it a punch."
"Dad, are you serious?"
"Yes, this uncle needs your help. This is the best way."
"Alright, then I'll do it."
Lyliana raised her right hand, swung it a few times in the air, then aimed at the target Oran had marked and punched it.
Boom!
With a muffled thud, Qingjiao, along with the window, was slammed to the ground.
"What are you doing… I'm sorry, I was too loud, did I disturb you? Please continue."
Qingjiao was also a seasoned veteran; he could still feel the impact of the hit. But when he stood up, he saw in the mirror that his sunken head had reappeared.
Although it wasn't a perfect cone-shaped head, it was a good sign.
Joy surged in his heart. Qingjiao himself dragged the spare operating bed over and lay back down.
Overly excited, he didn't realize that it wasn't his cone-shaped head, but a lump that had appeared after being swollen from the impact.
Lyliana's punch was still slightly off, failing to achieve the healing goal.
"Dad, is this not working?"
"Hmm, it's a bit off, but it's okay. Failure is very normal.
Fran, it's your turn this time. Don't use electricity, just brute force."
Oran had found several helpers precisely to deal with uncertain situations. After Lyliana failed, the baton naturally passed to Frankenstein.
"Hmm."
With her legs slightly apart, Frankenstein found a better stance to exert force, raising her war hammer above her head.
Lyliana's punch was still in the 'small hammer' stage. Since tapping failed, it was time for the 'big hammer' to forcibly dismantle.
Boom!
With a single smash, a similar situation to before occurred again, and Qingjiao's head changed shape once more. A somewhat bent cone-shaped head was smashed out by Frankenstein, making Qingjiao look like a crooked-horned dragon king.
This time, even the ground was left with a large hole by Qingjiao. If the angle had been a bit more off, Qingjiao might have created a ground fissure effect here.
"Very good, that was right this time, but still a bit off. Kuma, you go next. Your control over power should be stronger now."
The demolition team completed its work, and the baton was passed to Kuma, the cleanup crew.
"Big Brother Oran… How should this be handled?"
Kuma originally thought Oran was asking him to pat the pain out of the patient's body, which was what Kuma did most often. But this treatment plan was a bit hard for Kuma to understand.
He could pat out pain, but he hadn't learned how to pat a crooked head back into place.
"Didn't Lyley and Fran already demonstrate? Just hit it."
Oran recalculated the angle and picked up a marker pen to make a new mark on Qingjiao's head.
"This angle, begin. This is for his treatment, so don't hold back."
"Okay, I understand."
Kuma took a deep breath, then raised his arm overhead and swung out a powerful slap.
This time, Qingjiao didn't fall to the ground. Instead, a large hole appeared in the nearby wall. Qingjiao, who had just been lying on the ground, had already flown out, now face-down in the hospital's adjacent garden.
"Leader Qingjiao!"
"Pillar! You bastards, what are you doing?!"
The Eight Treasure Navy members waiting outside already felt that the commotion inside was unusual. Now seeing Qingjiao fly directly out, they all looked indignant, as if ready to fight Oran to the death.
"You brat, who are you calling a bastard?!"
At this moment, Qingjiao crawled out from the dust behind, grabbed the subordinate who had just shouted the loudest, and pressed his head down to bow towards Oran.
"I am terribly sorry. My subordinate was too impatient. Please don't take it to heart."
"L-Leader, your cone-shaped head is back!"
The subordinates nearby all saw Qingjiao's change and even pulled out a mirror to show him.
Seeing his complete self in the mirror, Qingjiao could no longer control his smile.
"Yes! It's finally back, Doctor Sidilier, you truly are as skilled in medicine as the rumors say!"
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