The fact that her Medical Ethics Points are now negative is already set in stone. No matter how much Serena wants to change it, she’s powerless to do so. All she can do now is save as many people as possible, pay off the deficit as soon as she can, and keep the Smart Med‑Pack from acting up again.
After telling Simon Sun that everything was fine, Serena skillfully took the necessary equipment from the medicine shelf and supply room. These devices would be left in the operating room and no longer kept in the Smart Med‑Pack.
Serena worried the Smart Med‑Pack might malfunction again. After all, it was still in clinical trial phase, and who knew how many bugs were left? Even if she found a problem, she couldn’t ask the research institute for help; she could only be extra cautious herself to avoid being trapped by the Smart Med‑Pack again.
Still, after the Smart Med‑Pack docked her a huge chunk of Medical Ethics Points for killing with medicine, Serena’s anxiety and guilt eased a little.
She’s already been punished, and the system will keep supervising her in the future. Even just for the sake of that astronomical Medical Ethics debt, Serena will never use medicine to kill so recklessly again—the price is simply too high.
On the day of Ling Mo’s surgery, Serena couldn’t enter the operating room, but she waited outside the whole time in case Simon Sun needed her. Bella Qin, under the pretense of caring about Simon and Ling Mo, also waited in the outer cabin.
Bella Qin didn’t realize the cabin had both an inner and outer room. When she saw Serena and Simon Sun go in together, her eyes filled with grievance and blame, making Serena’s hair stand on end. Luckily, Simon was a bit nervous before the operation and kept talking to Serena, so he didn’t notice Bella’s unhappiness.
Normally, before surgery, the doctor should be comforting the patient. But this time it was completely reversed—Ling Mo wasn’t the least bit nervous, and Simon Sun was anxious to death.
Of course, Serena knew Simon wasn’t nervous about performing the surgery itself, but because Ling Mo was going through the whole operation awake and without anesthesia.
This was Simon Sun’s first time cutting open a patient’s throat while they were fully conscious. It’s easy to imagine how tense he was. In fact, not just Simon—even Serena was deeply worried, afraid something might happen to Ling Mo.
Although Ling Mo had already signed the preoperative consent form, meaning that even if he died on the operating table Simon Sun wouldn’t be held legally responsible, this was still a human life—how could they treat it lightly? Besides, the consent form only protects the doctor; it doesn’t mean the doctor can treat life as a trivial matter.
Serena waited outside the cabin, unable to see what was happening inside. She could only estimate the progress of the surgery by tracking the time.
Inside, apart from the sound of instruments clinking, there was no other noise. The heavy atmosphere made Serena feel suffocated, but she didn’t dare pace back and forth for fear of making noise and disturbing the two inside, nor did she dare peek in at the door.
Both people inside were fully awake. If Serena went in, she’d be noticed immediately, and interrupting the surgery at that point would be disastrous.
Serena’s mood right now was even more anxious than a family member waiting for surgical results. Relatives only worry about the patient; she had to worry about both the patient and the lead surgeon.
Because of Serena’s tension, the mood across all of Feng Manor was heavy. The Eighteen Riders stood guard outside the cabin, not letting anyone approach, including Bella Qin.
When Serena ordered the Eighteen Riders to guard the area, Zuo An thought she was making a fuss over nothing. With Serena’s current status in Eastlyn, who would dare break into Feng Manor? Only when Lord Liancastle stormed in with a Taishang Emperor edict and troops did Zuo An realize Serena’s caution was wise—there’s never a shortage of people willing to court disaster.
Lord Liancastle had tried again and again to see Serena, but she kept refusing him. With Ninth Royal Uncle personally leading a campaign against Night City, Lord Liancastle worried that the longer he waited, the more unpredictable things would get. So he secretly contacted the Taishang Emperor, made some concessions, and got imperial backing to bring troops into Feng Manor and force Serena to meet him.
With the Taishang Emperor’s edict in hand, even Feng Manor’s guards didn’t dare stop him. Butler Wu personally opened the gates and welcomed Lord Liancastle and his entourage: “Please wait here, my lord, I’ll go inform our young mistress.”
Butler Wu had served at Feng Manor for so long that he was used to scenes like this and wasn’t intimidated at all.
“I’ll wait right here.” Lord Liancastle sat down in the main seat without ceremony, trying to suppress Serena’s momentum. Butler Wu’s brow twitched but pretended not to notice. After ordering tea to be served, he headed off to the cabin to find Serena.
The cabin was in the most remote corner of Feng Manor, and Butler Wu, being elderly, walked slowly. After waiting a quarter of an hour without seeing anyone return, Lord Liancastle led his men deeper into Feng Manor. The house guards drew their blades, but Liancastle’s men produced the Taishang Emperor’s edict. Besides, the people he’d brought were Eastlyn soldiers, all highly skilled. Feng Manor’s guards were at a serious disadvantage.
Halfway there, Lord Liancastle ran into Butler Wu. Butler Wu stopped and asked, "May I ask what your intentions are, my lord?"
“I should be asking why Miss Feng refuses to see me. I’m here on imperial orders, yet she keeps turning me away?” Lord Liancastle had lingered in the Eastlyn Capital for months with no news, and his frustration was mounting.
If it were Ninth Royal Uncle snubbing him, he’d let it go—after all, they were in the wrong, and Ninth Royal Uncle had every right to treat them harshly. But who was Serena Feng to act this way?
She was just a woman relying on Ninth Royal Uncle’s influence, yet she dared to repeatedly disregard him. If Serena really became their mistress, the consequences for his people would be dire.
Both for public and private reasons, Lord Liancastle would never easily bow to Serena.
Lord Liancastle’s anger seemed to come out of nowhere. Butler Wu frowned inwardly but refused to yield, standing firmly in front of Liancastle and politely saying, “My young mistress is treating a patient. Please wait a moment, my lord.”
“I’m waiting for Miss Feng to save me, too.” Lord Liancastle didn’t believe it, assuming Serena was making excuses to avoid him. He gestured to his guards, and they stepped forward to seize Butler Wu.
“How dare you!” The Feng Manor guards stopped retreating and confronted Liancastle’s men head-on. The two sides clashed right then and there.
Butler Wu frowned deeply, wanting to stop the fight, but Liancastle’s men ignored him. Luckily, a quick-witted junior servant at Butler Wu’s side slipped away and ran for the cabin as fast as he could.
Lord Liancastle saw him go but didn’t stop him—he actually wanted someone to fetch Serena. Battlefield situations change in an instant, and Liancastle was worried he’d hear news of Night City’s defeat and Ninth Royal Uncle’s victory by tomorrow.
If that happened, Liancastle would lose any leverage over Eastlyn. So today, no matter what, he couldn’t let Serena avoid him—he had to make her agree not to pursue Jingyang’s abduction of her brother, so Eastlyn would release their people.
"Miss, miss, they’re fighting—there’s a fight!" The junior servant shouted from afar. The Eighteen Riders all frowned and turned to look at an inconspicuous corner.
Zuo An, hidden in the shadows, had no choice but to reveal himself and block the servant’s way: “Your young mistress is busy—do not disturb her.”
“M-Master Zuo, there’s a fight! Lord Liancastle’s men have seized Butler Wu and are fighting their way here.” The junior servant dared not go further, hurriedly explaining the situation. At that moment, Lord Liancastle, surrounded by a small guard, was already heading toward the cabin…