Chapter 84: Thirty Thousand Days of Rewards—Permanent Abilities! (5000 words)
"...Then go to a bar, find someone attractive, and have a few rounds of pleasure that'll send you straight to heaven.
After a week of this, your pregnancy test will definitely show two pink lines."
This was the diagnostic opinion David heard House delivering as he approached the exam room door.
For House, a healthy adult woman with no fertility issues wasting his time seeking medical consultation was purely a waste of his valuable time.
So since she wanted him to give her a quick conception strategy, he naturally provided one.
As for the ethical issues it might cause—that was none of his concern.
After all, even if there really was a child, he wouldn't be the father.
House, having just opened the door, bumped into David approaching and immediately addressed him:
"David, perfect timing. That annoying jackass is back.
He wants me to choose between attending his pharmaceutical launch event and keeping you employed.
What do you think I should choose?"
David subtly exchanged glances with Sarah in the exam room, then smiled and said:
"Of course, attend his product launch and then tell the truth.
We're physicians—patient-oriented physicians—not tools for pharmaceutical executives to accumulate wealth."
Hearing David's words, House nodded in agreement.
He would not compromise with corporate interests.
The routine of a drug about to lose patent protection merely changing one insignificant ingredient, reapplying for FDA approval as a "new" drug, and regaining patent protection was disgusting.
And he'd also have to falsely claim the reformulated drug was more effective.
He couldn't do something that violated his conscience so completely.
So in fact, he'd already made his choice, and asking now was only due to his guilt toward David.
After all, he hadn't protected David last time, and obviously this time would be the same.
As long as he attended the press conference and told the truth, the consequences would inevitably be severe.
It was already difficult for pharmaceutical companies not to profit; if he told the truth, it was inevitable Vogler's company would lose money.
Blocking someone's path to wealth was equivalent to murdering their parents.
It was estimated that Vogler would have murderous intent by then, let alone the relatively minor matter of terminating David, the intern.
House stopped and thought for a moment, finally speaking again:
"But this means you'll likely be terminated, and you'll never be able to work as a physician again.
Does that not matter? If you say the word, I'm willing to robotically promote the new drug according to his prepared script."
David smiled again. He knew House would indeed do this.
However, a dry scripted presentation wouldn't be what Vogler expected.
So what would come would come, unless Vogler was incapacitated before then.
"Doesn't matter? Of course it matters—I love this profession as much as I love my life.
But when faced with my career versus the possibility of more people dying from being unable to afford medication due to inflated drug prices, I think my situation is insignificant."
House, who always enjoyed needling his subordinates, rarely showed genuine respect.
The nobility displayed in David's words was a realm many people couldn't reach in their entire lifetimes.
He said nothing, reached out and patted David's shoulder, and walked silently toward Cuddy's office.
He'd figured it out—he'd just use a standard prepared statement to handle the press conference and placate Vogler.
As for whether it would work, that would depend on fate.
In reality, David didn't share House's concerns.
Vogler wouldn't survive another twenty-four hours. Termination? He'd have to be alive for that.
After David gave Sarah in the exam room a pointed look, Sarah understood and checked her phone.
There was a text message from David using an encryption code employed by the Machine's communications system.
To ordinary people, this appeared as random garbled characters, but with Sarah's hacker-level IQ, she immediately recognized the compilation method the Machine used when outputting irrelevant numbers.
She almost instantly automatically decrypted it into coherent sentences in her mind.
"New target: Edward Vogler. Detective surveillance active. Intelligence gathering required."
Vogler? Detective surveillance?
Sarah understood David's meaning after brief consideration.
Exiting the exam room, she immediately noticed the movements of detectives nearby.
Their current surveillance focus was entirely directed toward the administrative offices.
Sarah sat back on the waiting area sofa outside the clinic, pulled out her slim laptop from her bag, and began hacking into the hospital's surveillance system.
With the backdoor she'd previously installed, she easily regained control of the ubiquitous security cameras throughout the hospital.
But before Sarah could zoom in on camera feeds near the administrative offices, her computer screen suddenly went black.
Countless lines of green code cascaded down like a waterfall—she was being counter-hacked!
A worthy opponent!
Sarah's face immediately showed an eager expression—this was the joy of encountering a matched adversary.
On the other side, David, bored and waiting to clock out in the Diagnostics Department office, suddenly felt a jolt.
After eliminating Terney and Senator Walker, the hidden mission "The Great Wish to Save the World" had reached (1/2) progress.
But now, this progress had actually increased again!
David immediately realized the corruption network's influence in the Newark-Princeton area had probably been completely eradicated.
In other words, the clean forces represented by the principled Judge Margaret Gates had filed formal charges against the corrupt network members!
And in the system's judgment, all corrupt forces were considered eliminated, so...
Before David could finish processing this, a powerful surge of life energy continuously flooded into his body.
David felt as if every pore from head to toe experienced the word 'euphoria.'
That sensation was too incredible—it was simply transcendent!
This was infinitely more intense than any climactic moment!
If you had to describe it, it would be like that peak sensation sustained indefinitely?
Unfortunately, such moments couldn't be permanent. Even though the euphoric feeling now lasted longer than any climax, there would always be an end.
When the system's notification echoed in David's mind, this celestial sensation ceased.
[Branch Mission of The Great Wish to Save the World - The Demise of the Newark-Princeton Corruption Network has been completed.]
[Completion Details (5/5)]:
Pushy Pete, leader of the Princeton organized crime faction, is deceased.
Teddy "The Fixer," the faction's specialized detective-killing enforcer, is deceased.
Raymond Terney, leader of the Newark-Princeton corrupt network, and Senator Walker, prominent member, are deceased.
The Newark-Princeton corrupt network has been prosecuted, and all personnel have been detained.
The Princeton-area criminal enterprises have been consolidated by cooperating party Elias.
[The host has successfully prevented the unnatural deaths of 30,000 people in future timelines.]
[Successfully saved lives, life extended by 30,000 days, current life time: 30,106 days 23 hours.]
[The host has reached minimum threshold for permanent ability enhancement. Currently 30,000 days of life can be used to permanently strengthen abilities.]
David was momentarily stunned by the cascade of information.
This was like a massive gift package falling from the sky!
Thirty thousand days?!
That's eighty-two years!
Although his brain tumor still existed, at least even if he deteriorated and ended up bedridden in a hospital, he could survive for eighty-two years!
Exhale—
David released a deep breath and calmed his excited state.
He wasn't rushing to make abilities permanent. Instead, he contemplated why the fifth condition appeared in the completion details.
Cooperating party Elias?
Did this mean Elias currently had intentions of cooperating with him?
Was this why the system considered the entire Princeton corruption network destroyed?
With Elias consolidating criminal enterprises, it would naturally be difficult for organized crime to infiltrate again before Elias's demise.
So it seemed there were actually two hidden objectives for The Great Wish to Save the World.
Eliminating corrupt officials wasn't enough—he also had to assist the new criminal kingpin in consolidating Princeton's underworld or negotiate a new operational framework with him.
It appeared his previous conversation with Elias had been the correct strategic choice.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be so straightforward for David to discuss cooperation with Elias, who wielded considerable power, now.
It was indeed an unexpected windfall.
However, under the previous corruption network's control of this region, would thirty thousand people have died in the future?
This number greatly exceeded David's expectations.
Although current global tensions existed, under the threat of nuclear deterrence, all parties maintained restraint.
Therefore, it definitely wasn't caused by warfare—only an outbreak similar to a pandemic would kill so many people.
Could it be that in the near future, the corruption network... no, it should be a certain force within the High Table secretly conducting viral experiments under the corruption network's cover?
The system wasn't just a machine. If it predicted thirty thousand future deaths, then the probability of this occurring on the original timeline was as high as 99.9%!
Even though the danger had been eliminated in Princeton, this didn't mean the crisis was resolved.
They simply wouldn't choose Princeton—they could select New York, Boston, Las Vegas...
David couldn't help thinking of the pharmaceutical company controlled by Vogler.
In that case, if I can prevent them from conducting the release experiment, I can gain at least thirty thousand days of lifespan?
Just as this thought occurred to David, the system's notification sounded again, perfectly timed.
[Detecting the host's grand ambition to save the world. Mission: Prevent the High Table from conducting large-scale live viral experiments has been activated.]
David, hearing this notification, was stunned. The High Table genuinely intended to conduct this inhumane experiment?
But since preventing them could grant thirty thousand days of lifespan, he needed to carefully select which ability to permanently solidify next.
In David's assessment, the ability to permanently enhance by consuming thirty thousand days of lifespan could be categorized into five components:
Strength (limbs), defense (body), intelligence (brain), perception (senses), and virility (reproductive system).
In this world with NZT-48, the optimal choice for ordinary people was actually strength.
After all, defense could be augmented by wearing Kevlar vests, intelligence could be enhanced through NZT-48, and as for virility—it wasn't needed if maintaining monogamy.
But David couldn't make this conventional choice.
With a brain tumor, he had to endure various complications periodically, including but not limited to headaches, vertigo, visual hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, and limb weakness.
However, when he consumed lifespan to enhance his brain, he could minimize the tumor's detrimental effects.
So without much hesitation, David chose to consume thirty thousand days of lifespan for the permanent effect of brain enhancement.
As the life energy was extracted, the sensation of being energized quickly dissipated from David's limbs.
At this moment, David felt like a lottery winner who'd suddenly become wealthy, spending everything lavishly within a day, left with only profound emptiness.
"It's fine, it's fine. As long as I can prevent the High Table from conducting the viral experiment, these thirty thousand days will naturally return.
Moreover, the brain tumor's impact on various body systems is now negligible, which undoubtedly improves quality of life."
David muttered to himself, comforting his emotionally bleeding heart.
To distract from this damned emptiness, David's gaze drifted toward Cameron, who was wearing glasses while processing House's correspondence nearby.
He had to admit, due to the low neckline beneath Cameron's open white coat, an enticing glimpse of cleavage was revealed periodically.
This gave David an opportunity to test his condition.
As expected.
Without the brain tumor's interference, David was delighted to discover he'd returned to normal functionality.
This was the first time David felt like a virile man since arriving in this world.
Previously, he could probably only be classified as... non-functional.
In excellent spirits, David gathered his belongings, bid farewell to Detective Carter—who'd just finished questioning personnel and stepped out for air—then directly clocked out and departed.
Just moments ago, he'd received a text from John stating that all corrupt network personnel had been detained without exception.
Simultaneously, John subtly inquired whether David had any connection to the homicide he'd heard about via police scanner at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.
David simply replied with two words: "Later."
Shortly after, he sent another message: "Contact Eddie."
Subsequently, while passing through the outpatient lobby, David saw Sarah enthusiastically typing on her keyboard.
The excited expression on her face was practically radiant.
But soon, astonishment flashed across Sarah's features. As a world-class hacker, she'd actually lost?
Sarah stared blankly at the malicious worm on her computer screen constantly consuming processing power.
Who was on the other side? How could they possibly defeat her in such brief time?
Moreover, Sarah could sense initially that her opponent's capabilities were slightly inferior to hers.
How had the opponent suddenly overwhelmed her with crushing superiority as the confrontation progressed?
Could such a formidable hacker exist in the world?
Sarah was deeply skeptical about this.
So had she somehow become weaker?
Sarah, immersed in self-doubt, suddenly heard a familiar cough. Only then did she snap back to awareness and look over with a bewildered expression.
She saw David, while clocking out, make a gathering gesture using his ID card swipe motion.
Sarah turned back expressionless, as if she didn't know David.
Then she skillfully removed the RAM, hard drive, and CPU components from her laptop and discarded the casing directly into the hospital trash receptacle.
Finally, she shouldered her backpack and departed the hospital.
In the Cold War-era fallout shelter beneath the office building, a group of currently unemployed operatives had gathered.
David, now possessing permanent brain enhancement capability, listened to John recount the corruption network's downfall.
Then, getting to the critical point, John looked at David:
"But two individuals weren't included in the court appearance plan.
One is Raymond Terney, the mastermind behind the network, who wasn't documented in the bribery ledger.
The other is Senator Walker, who collapsed during a campaign speech and was receiving treatment at the hospital.
But I have reason to suspect these two individuals are no longer alive. David, am I correct?"
"Yes, of course. I said I'd handle it.
So from today forward, they're no longer my problem."
Although John had suspected earlier, upon hearing David confirm it personally, he was still slightly taken aback.
After all, a hospital wasn't like some isolated location such as a dark alley.
Hospitals maintained extremely high foot traffic. To successfully execute an assassination and escape from there, the operation's duration must have been extraordinarily brief.
Considering this, John involuntarily directed his gaze toward Sarah, who claimed to be both an elite assassin and master hacker.
Could it be that Sarah had made the move to so smoothly eliminate Terney, the well-concealed network mastermind who couldn't even be legally prosecuted?
At this moment, Sarah's attention wasn't on the meeting whatsoever—her entire focus remained on the mysterious hacker who'd defeated her.
So she showed no reaction to John's scrutiny.
John could only reluctantly look toward Reese.
Because Reese had been concerned about David's potentially reckless actions, he and McCall had followed closely behind David for nearly the entire day.
Therefore, Reese would possess insider knowledge, both logically and practically.
Seeing John's gaze, Reese glanced at David—who was staring at the ceiling, seemingly lost in contemplation—and tossed several photographs onto the table.
Then he said with a slight smile:
"Looks like our younger colleague David has transformed into Spider-Man."
The photos showed David climbing down an exterior pipe, and based on the timestamps, it was precisely when the homicides occurred.
David also smiled, unbothered by the revelation.
He'd known earlier that Reese would follow, which was why he'd dared to climb down.
Because there were only limited vantage points from which the hospital's north side could be photographed, and since Reese was positioned there, he'd naturally ensure nobody else besides himself knew David's whereabouts.
John retrieved his brushed steel Zippo lighter and incinerated the photographs to ash.
"Alright, since they're deceased, it means we no longer need to concern ourselves with corruption network matters.
But there's another issue we must take seriously.
A new criminal organization has emerged on Princeton's streets—a force led by someone called Elias.
And Elias is actually Carl Elias, the irrelevant number the Machine once generated.
It's clear that 'Charlie' was a fabricated identity he created officially using the corruption network's resources.
We don't know how much money the network accumulated over the years or how many false identities they created for people.
This means many individuals' identities in databases are no longer trustworthy.
This is undoubtedly problematic for our operations.
Of course, currently, the criminal organization led by Elias will obviously endanger Princeton's rare stability once again.
So today we've gathered here to discuss a feasible and effective methodology."
Saying this, John looked at David again.
David had already made contact with the individual known as Charlie, who is Elias, some time ago.
If someone claimed David knew nothing, John wouldn't believe it.
But David had said nothing, which left John somewhat confused.
So now he needed an explanation from David!
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