Chapter 149 High-Energy Wave Manipulation!

A large number of tuberculosis patients presented an extremely thorny problem. Such a high infection rate proved that tuberculosis here could already be called an epidemic. Zhang Wenhao unloaded a box of medical face masks from his car and distributed them to every tuberculosis patient. Since the supply of masks was limited and not everyone could have one, he had to tackle the issue starting from the source of the pathogen.

As a result, the tuberculosis patients wearing masks were much easier to identify. Zhang Wenhao asked Tian Fugui to organize the masked individuals, temporarily lead them away from the crowd, and have them gather at the other end of the hillside to wait. After conducting physical examinations for everyone else and dispensing medicine to those with minor ailments like headaches and fevers, Zhang Wenhao dispersed the crowd.

Next, Zhang Wenhao unloaded the brought medicines from the car, gathered all the tuberculosis patients, and instructed Tian Fugui to have people prepare numerous wooden poles and bamboo sticks to make makeshift infusion stands. The family members of each patient brought a chair, and around forty people sat under the sun on the hillside, waiting for Zhang Wenhao to administer intravenous drips to them one by one.

Zhang Wenhao had brought a car full of medicines, mostly antibiotics, along with a certain amount of isoniazid, a targeted drug specifically for treating tuberculosis. Isoniazid was a first-line medication used to inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis and was quite expensive. Zhang Wenhao had not anticipated encountering so many tuberculosis patients beforehand, so he was insufficiently prepared with this specific medicine. The supply for about forty people would last at most two to three days, and infusion solutions were also in acute shortage, as each person required several hundred milliliters. Given the heavy demand, it seemed he would need to find a way to procure more isoniazid and infusion solutions.

After setting up the intravenous drips for everyone, Zhang Wenhao instructed the crowd: "Do not get too close to your healthy family members, and try to avoid talking face-to-face. If you must speak, wear a mask and keep a distance. When coughing or sneezing, never face anyone, and do not spit at will anywhere. Every household has a stove; you can spit into the burning firewood to prevent the spread of germs. In addition, bowls, chopsticks, and teacups must be strictly for individual use. The tableware and cups you use must never be used by anyone else."

Most of them were somewhat baffled. Zhang Wenhao's demands seemed far too harsh to them.

Knowing that they did not understand the causes and severity of tuberculosis, Zhang Wenhao said with a solemn expression: "If you do not do this, it will be very easy to transmit your illness to your family members. Think about the physical discomforts you have recently felt—would you really want your own loved ones to suffer just like you?"

When Tian Fugui translated these words into the local dialect, the crowd began to panic. Until then, they had only known that their bodies felt somewhat unwell, never imagining that this illness could actually be transmitted to others.

After finishing the infusions for these people, Zhang Wenhao drove back to Wanshan Township with Tian Fugui. On the way, Zhang Wenhao felt deeply worried. Tuberculosis had always been extremely difficult to cure. Even if he had enough isoniazid, it would require a large dosage and a long period of treatment. Such a stubborn disease could not be cured like a common cold or fever with just a few bottles of IV fluids.

However, his journey to the Southwest could not possibly remain bogged down in Wanshan Township alone. Through Wanshan Township, Zhang Wenhao had gained a certain understanding of the conditions in the impoverished areas of the Southwest. What they lacked was the most basic medical security. Many villagers contracted stubborn and terminal illnesses because minor ailments were left to develop into severe ones. To give the simplest example, if a common cold and fever were not treated in a timely manner, they could lead to respiratory infections, and in severe cases, pneumonia. If pneumonia worsened further, it could easily prove fatal!

Zhang Wenhao searched his mind constantly for high-efficiency treatments for tuberculosis, only to find that the best treatment for tuberculosis in the top-tier medical skill package was targeted antibiotics developed in later eras. However, these things had not been manufactured at all yet, nor did he possess the capability to produce them. How could he possibly use such methods?

There were indeed a few traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions that could cure the disease, but that took too long and lacked immediate results. If he chose this route, he feared he would have to stay here for at least three to five months. In those three to five months, although he could cure about forty tuberculosis patients, during the exact same three to five months, he could likely cure nearly ten thousand ordinary patients, saving them from deteriorating conditions and ultimately fatal misfortunes.

A conflict inevitably arose in Zhang Wenhao's mind: should he quickly treat more ordinary patients, or should he dedicate all his efforts to healing the few severely ill patients?

Suddenly, an ancient saying flashed through his mind: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime!

The veteran folk doctor Han Ru was precisely a candidate worth cultivating. Lacking a foundation in Western medicine, he probably could not be taught too many deep Western medical concepts in a short period. But at the very least, he could be taught how to prepare medications and how to administer injections to patients. As long as Han Ru mastered these methods and was left with a certain amount of medicine, he could act on Zhang Wenhao's behalf to cure these patients suffering from chronic illnesses. Good traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions could also be left to him so that he could better utilize his strengths to treat patients here on a regular basis.

If he were to cure a batch of patients in every place he visited and then turn around and leave, more patients would continue to appear there in the future, and what should he do then? He had his own life and could not possibly root himself in the deep mountains forever. Even if he truly anchored himself here for life, what he could accomplish through his own solitary strength would be exceedingly meager. Instead, it was far better to find a way to cultivate a batch of local medical personnel and enhance their professional skills. That way, after he left, the local medical situation could undergo a certain degree of improvement.

Having made up his mind, Zhang Wenhao felt a sense of relief. It would take Han Ru another day or two to return from the mountains. During these couple of days, he would first conduct physical examinations for all the villagers in Wanshan Township, record the patients who could not be cured in a short time, and then prepare the medicines and treatment methods. The rest of the work would be left to Han Ru.

When Han Ru returned from the mountains, Zhang Wenhao had already completed two trips back and forth, bringing back a large quantity of medicine both times, almost filling the entire health clinic to the brim with various pharmaceuticals and simple medical instruments.

As soon as Han Ru returned, he said to Zhang Wenhao with great excitement: "Doctor Zhang, I have found all the medicines you were lacking, and I even found quite a few extra."

Zhang Wenhao nodded and said to Han Ru: "I have prepared a significant amount of medicine, and I will leave all of it with you. During the few days I am here, I will teach you as much as possible how to give injections and intravenous drips to patients. You must study carefully. After I leave, you will be able to continue providing better treatment to the villagers here."

Knowing that Zhang Wenhao could not stay here forever, and having resolved to spend his entire life in this place, Han Ru felt deeply stirred and nodded, saying, "Doctor Zhang, I will do my best to learn!"

From this day on, whenever Zhang Wenhao treated any patient, he would bring Han Ru along by his side, teaching him first how to dispense different medicines according to various symptoms, and then how to use injection syringes and infusion sets. Han Ru studied with extreme diligence. Every single point Zhang Wenhao explained was jotted down by him on paper with a pen.

Intramuscular injections were relatively straightforward. Zhang Wenhao merely reminded Han Ru that the speed at which the medication was pushed had to be properly controlled—neither too fast nor too slow, and definitely not fluctuating erratically. A balanced speed and a balanced dosage yielded the best results while minimizing the patient's pain.

Intravenous injections were slightly more difficult, but Han Ru studied with intense concentration, watching how Zhang Wenhao used a rubber band to make the veins bulge and how to effortlessly pierce the skin with the needle at just the right angle and depth. After Han Ru grasped the theoretical calculations, Zhang Wenhao guided him hands-on to try it out. After a few attempts, Han Ru mastered the technique. Although he was still slightly unpracticed, such a skill inevitably required a vast amount of practice to become proficient; as long as he grasped the method, mastery was merely a matter of time.

Zhang Wenhao personally prepared the medicinal herbs for the dampness-dispelling decoction. Once brewed, the medicinal liquid was mixed with a specific proportion of hot water so that patients could soak their joints in it. The cause of rheumatoid arthritis was largely due to a lack of proper care, so Zhang Wenhao gave the villagers a popular science lecture, teaching them how to avoid contracting such ailments, and then set about curing the existing arthritis patients.

Fortunately, the effect of the dampness-dispelling decoction was exceptionally remarkable. To these villagers, Zhang Wenhao was nothing short of a divine physician. The arthritis that had plagued them for half their lives showed immediate results after the very first day of treatment, combining a few doses of the decoction with acupuncture. With continued treatment, they would be able to fully recover before long.

After Zhang Wenhao finished examining all the villagers in Wanshan Township, he obtained a total of 3,290 system reward points from the physical examinations. His available points reached 6,340, and his cumulative points reached 9,630.

Zhang Wenhao immediately exchanged them for High-Energy Wave Manipulation. The system notified him that 6,000 available points had been deducted, and subsequently, the system copied the entire skill of High-Energy Wave Manipulation directly into Zhang Wenhao's brain.

Only then was Zhang Wenhao able to truly understand the specifics of High-Energy Wave Manipulation, which was divided into three stages: Stage One: Powerless; Stage Two: Powerful; Stage Three: Hyper-powered.

The so-called "Powerless" stage meant that high-energy waves could only be emitted from the body like radar waves, yet possessed no force to influence any matter. In other words, high-energy waves at this juncture acted as radar or X-rays, capable of probing the surrounding environment and even perceiving the internal structure and conditions of objects, but lacking any actual capacity to exert an influence on anything.

The so-called "Powerful" stage meant that the high-energy waves themselves already possessed a certain amount of energy—such as radiation, capable of generating heat, energy waves, radiation, and rays, much like lasers and gamma knives. By utilizing high-energy waves, one could affect all sorts of things, ranging from heating small objects to using rays to impact objects on a larger scale. If high-energy waves were used to treat cancer, coupled with conscious control, a person could become a 100% side-effect-free radiotherapy instrument, eradicating all tumors and cancer cells without harming a single normal cell.

The so-called "Hyper-powered" stage was when high-energy waves reached an unfathomable realm, possessing the inherent capacity to alter the essence of things. In other words, through one's own high-energy waves, objects—especially living organisms—could undergo mutations. Necrotic cells could regain vitality, while normal cells could mutate to become even more robust. The protagonist in the sci-fi work *The Hulk* mutated after being radiated by massive amounts of gamma rays. However, the hyper-powered state of high-energy waves differed from the rays in sci-fi works; hyper-powered energy could fundamentally modify and reconstruct the essence of biological organisms. For instance, if human cells underwent transformation via hyper-powered energy, the intrinsic strength of every single cell would become several times stronger than before. If every cell throughout the entire body were transformed by hyper-powered energy, one's personal potential would be amplified exponentially.