Discussion About Grinding Medical Ethics Points

After a passionate, uninhibited night together, both Ninth Royal Uncle and Serena Feng felt utterly relaxed—though also a little exhausted.

They lay on the bed for a long while, unmoving, simply holding each other, tightly wrapped in each other's arms, feeling the warmth between them.

Their bodies were covered in sweat, sticky and far from comfortable, but the usually fastidious Ninth Royal Uncle showed no hint of disgust. Even when Serena pushed him away in annoyance, he just pulled her back into his embrace.

"Don't move. Let me hold you for a while."

"It's hot." Her long black hair was soaked, clinging to her body and making her uncomfortable. Ninth Royal Uncle's body heat only made it worse, and Serena couldn't help but complain.

"You dislike me just because it's hot?" Ninth Royal Uncle was displeased and hugged her even tighter. Serena was too tired to struggle, and didn't dare to, afraid he'd go for another round—she really couldn't handle it.

Serena relaxed her limbs, lying on the bed and taking the opportunity to rest, closing her eyes to savor the warmth of the moment.

They embraced in silence. The night didn't bring loneliness, but rather a peaceful stillness that drew their hearts closer together.

Thump, thump, thump... Their hearts beat in sync. At some point, their heartbeats matched perfectly, almost as if they were one person, even their breaths blending together...

Time slipped quietly by. Only when their sweat had dried did Serena lazily roll over and nestle into Ninth Royal Uncle's arms.

"I have something I want to discuss with you."

This was more of a notification than a request. Ninth Royal Uncle knew the idea Serena had earlier was still on her mind. He gave a wry smile and assumed a listening posture.

"What is it?"

"I want to go out and practice medicine, to save people. Can you help me find out where there are the most patients, but is also safe?" During the day, Serena had gone with Simon Sun to treat villagers outside the city, but because most of the capital's people were well-off and Simon had been practicing there for a long time, there really weren't many patients left.

If she relied on just the capital, who knows how many years it would take to collect three thousand Medical Ethics Points.

Ninth Royal Uncle frowned, unconsciously tightening his embrace. "Why do you suddenly have this idea?" To him, anywhere outside their sphere of control was dangerous for Serena.

"You know the Assassin Alliance won’t let me go. Zuo An said he can handle one Doudou, but not five, and definitely not Doudou’s master. I have to protect myself." Under Zuo An’s influence, Serena had a soft spot for that failed assassin Doudou—just like Zuo An, she kept mentioning Doudou.

An assassin called Doudou—how cute is that? If her life wasn’t on the line, Serena would really want to meet this Doudou. What kind of adorable girl could have such a name? (Doudou: Girl, your whole family—I'm a man.)

"What does saving people have to do with protecting yourself?" Ninth Royal Uncle was proud, but not arrogant. With all six leaders of the Assassin Alliance after them, even he wasn’t sure he could protect Serena.

"Of course it matters." Serena took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. She turned and sprawled across Ninth Royal Uncle’s chest, her expression serious. "Ninth Royal Uncle, I’ve never said it out loud, but you and Wang... cough." She swallowed the words 'William Wang' under his murderous glare.

Ninth Royal Uncle was satisfied and withdrew his glare. "Go on." Hmph, daring to mention another man’s name in bed—Serena was getting bold.

"Well... I’ve never told you, but you’ve probably guessed it—I have a very, very big secret. Please forgive me, but I can’t tell you what it is. Not that I need to, since you probably know anyway." Serena muttered under her breath.

She hadn’t really hidden much from Ninth Royal Uncle. If he hadn’t figured it out by now, he’d have to be an idiot. Both of them were smart enough to pretend not to know, just to avoid another fight.

Ninth Royal Uncle wasn’t surprised at all. He nodded calmly, "I can roughly guess you have something special on you, but that’s not important."

Like that special patch of skin on her left arm.

His gaze landed precisely on the spot where the Smart Med-Pack was installed. He’d known about this secret for a long time, and Serena hadn’t bothered to hide it from him anymore.

Serena gave a small laugh and didn’t bother to hide her arm, letting him look as much as he wanted. It wasn’t like he could open it—and even if he could, only she could see what was inside.

"You’re right. I have something special that can store things and exchange them for other items. You’ve seen my handgun—there’s no way that weapon belongs to this world. To get something like that, I have to save enough people and then redeem it."

Serena explained the Medical Ethics System as best she could. Honestly, she didn’t fully understand it herself, just that the supplies in her Smart Med-Pack weren’t endless. If she wanted more, she had to save people—otherwise, she’d eventually run out.

"So you mean, if you want to redeem a stronger weapon, you have to save people—and it’ll take three thousand of them? One point per person, three thousand for a weapon. That’ll take forever."

"Not just three thousand—at least that, maybe even five thousand. Minor illnesses don’t count, and the same patient only gets recorded once."

Because it’s still in the trial stage, the Medical Ethics System isn’t perfect. Serena could sometimes find loopholes to earn points quickly, but the rules weren’t clear, and she often ended up getting nothing for her efforts. It had happened to her many times.

"Even if I could find that many patients, you wouldn’t be able to treat them all in less than three to five years. By then, it’d be too late." If she died before then, no weapon would help. Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t really agree with Serena’s approach.

It was too risky to go out—he didn’t think it was worth it.

"So what then? Am I supposed to just stay in Feng Manor and wait to die? Zuo An said the Assassin Alliance won’t let me go either." Serena lay on his chest, frustrated.

Oddly, saying part of her Smart Med-Pack secret out loud made her feel relieved. She’d always known Ninth Royal Uncle suspected, but saying it herself felt different.

"We’ll tackle it from both sides. I’ll help arrange for you to save people, and in secret, we’ll keep investigating the Assassin Alliance. We have to deal with them eventually, or we’ll never have peace."

If they wanted to move against the Assassin Alliance, they’d have to rely on Zuo An. Ninth Royal Uncle was already thinking about what he could offer Zuo An in exchange for inside information.

Serena nodded. "That’s all we can do. But even after we deal with the Assassin Alliance, I’ll still need a batch of patients. I need to earn Medical Ethics Points—my supplies are almost gone. If I don’t restock, next time you’re hurt, I won’t have any medicine."

Ugh... As soon as she said it, Serena felt a little guilty, unconsciously burrowing deeper into his arms and reflecting on herself.

What was she doing these days? Always busy, but rarely practicing medicine. She was a doctor, but mostly treated nobles and officials. Now, she suddenly wanted to save lives—and it was still just to farm Medical Ethics Points.

It’s normal to take payment for treating patients, but being so utilitarian was really troubling.

Serena silently despised her own impatient, results-driven mindset—but she was still determined to do it.

Damn, this Medical Ethics System is so stingy. If she didn’t go out and grind points, how long would it take to get enough to redeem what she needed?