I Am Diagnosed as a Medical Titan

Chats with his wife were always a pleasure.

Shen Yu didn’t understand things like SAP or miRNA.

But in truth, the topic of their conversation didn’t matter.

’What matters is that even in the whirlwind of my busy life, I still have a heart full of thoughts I want to share with you; what matters is that no matter what obscure, uninteresting terms I throw your way, you’ll always read them carefully and give me a warm reply.’

The brief, tender moment came to an end, and the afternoon’s schedule followed close behind.

1:00 PM: Take a taxi to Affiliated Hospital No. 1.

1:30–5:30 PM: Use the access granted by the hospital director to review real patient cases and record data.

6:30 PM: Return to the university to teach a class for the guys in his project group.

9:00 PM: Return to his dorm, open his laptop again, and work until the early hours of the morning...

...

That afternoon, in a professor’s office at the Southern Medical University School of Basic Medical Sciences.

Wang Xiaoqing had just finished her work. She returned to her desk, turned on her computer, and logged into QQ.

A pleasant AHEM-AHEM sound immediately came from her speakers.

Wang Xiaoqing: "!"

’Could it be!’

She moved the mouse and clicked on the flashing little trumpet icon in the bottom-right corner.

In the verification message box that popped up, there was just a single word.

[Zhiyu.]

The profile picture was the classic Guest-Greeting Pine of Huangshan, which certainly fit the style of an old-fashioned scholar.

Wang Xiaoqing threw herself back against her chair and took a deep breath, then quickly sat bolt upright again.

She was forty-five years old and had a reputation for being strict at Southern Medical University; her students even secretly called her Master Extinction.

But at this moment, a giddy joy, like that of an eighteen-year-old, welled up in her heart. She even wanted to cover her face and scream.

’Elder Zhi agreed!’

This academic hermit—who could stir up storms on Dingxiang Garden and send the nation’s top experts into deep thought with just a few sentences—had actually deigned to join their private discussion group!

Wang Xiaoqing took a sip of warm water to calm herself.

Before accepting his request, she needed to update the others in the group.

[Gut Microbiota Clinical Translation Seminar]

The group was small, with only nine members, including herself.

But if you were to print out these nine people’s business cards and slap them on a table, it would be enough to make the academic circles of general surgery and gastroenterology across half of China tremble.

The group owner was Ma Weiguo, a Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor in the Department of General Surgery at West China Hospital of Sichuan University.

Aside from Wang Xiaoqing, the other seven were, without exception, key figures from Huaxi Hospital and several other top-ranked hospitals.

They had formed this small group specifically because they had seen the advanced theory Zhiyu proposed on Dingxiang Garden—"Gut Microbiota Intervention for the Treatment of Hepatic Encephalopathy." They planned to pool their resources to tackle the problem and be the first to produce results from animal trials.

Wang Xiaoqing (Southern Medical University Basic Medicine): [Everyone, Senior Zhiyu has accepted the invitation! He’s in the verification list now. I’m about to approve him.]

Less than ten seconds after her message went out, the previously quiet group chat instantly came to life.

Ma Weiguo (Huaxi General Surgery): [Wonderful! Thank you for your hard work, Professor Wang. I didn’t expect Elder Zhi would actually grace us with his presence.]

Chen Yunsheng (Huaxi Gastroenterology): [Professor Wang, did Elder Zhi reveal any personal information in his request?]

Wang Xiaoqing (Southern Medical University Basic Medicine): [Not at all. Just the name, Zhiyu. His personal profile is completely blank, and the avatar is a Guest-Greeting Pine.]

The group fell silent for a moment.

Then, Ma Weiguo sent a long message.

Ma Weiguo (Huaxi General Surgery): [That’s to be expected. Everyone, just think about it. For someone to understand the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy and its micro-ecological targets so thoroughly, how profound must their background be? This isn’t something you can come up with just by skimming a few articles. This requires twenty, thirty, or even more years of accumulated experience in both clinical practice and basic research.]

Ma Weiguo (Huaxi General Surgery): [I’ve privately speculated that Elder Zhi is likely a senior figure who is now semi-retired, or perhaps one of the country’s leading academicians.]

Chen Yunsheng (Huaxi Gastroenterology): [Old Ma has a point. At that level, fame often becomes a burden. Just imagine if a leading authority used their real name to post on a forum. Every word would be overanalyzed by the public, and could even get dragged into academic factionalism and disputes over national research funding.]

Li Jianping (Ruijin Hepatobiliary): [That’s right. By using the alias ’Zhiyu’ and remaining anonymous, he can bypass all the bureaucratic red tape and social politics of the academic world. The esteemed elder is purely focused on imparting his knowledge, guiding us juniors at critical junctures, and pointing the way forward for China’s medical development. That is the true spirit of a scholar, the epitome of medical excellence and integrity.]

Watching the discussion in the group, Wang Xiaoqing nodded in deep agreement.

’Yes, what other reason could explain Zhiyu’s grandmaster-like demeanor?’

’That detachment, seeking neither fame nor fortune... he had to be a living fossil of the medical world, one who has seen through all worldly concerns.’

Seeing that the discussion was winding down, Wang Xiaoqing felt it was necessary to set the tone before adding him to the group.

Wang Xiaoqing (Southern Medical University Basic Medicine): [Professors, before I bring Elder Zhi in, let’s establish a few ground rules to avoid offending our senior.]

Wang Xiaoqing (Southern Medical University Basic Medicine): [First, no one is allowed to screenshot and share any part of the chat log, especially Elder Zhi’s posts. Second, all questions must be concise and professional. No idle chatter unrelated to our academic discussion—we must not waste Elder Zhi’s time. Third, and most importantly, since Elder Zhi wishes to remain anonymous, no one is permitted to probe, even indirectly, for his real name or institution. Does everyone agree?]

Ma Weiguo (Huaxi General Surgery): [Agreed. We’ll do as Professor Wang says. Everyone, please update your group nickname to your real name, institution, and department. That will make it easier for Elder Zhi to know who is asking the questions.]

Chen Yunsheng (Huaxi Gastroenterology): [Agreed. Let’s all be sure to mind our conduct.]

Li Jianping (Ruijin Hepatobiliary): [Understood. Go ahead and add him, Professor Wang.]

After a chorus of confirmations from the members,

Wang Xiaoqing clicked "Accept" on the request to join the group.

System notification: [Zhiyu has joined the group.]

Instantly.

Ma Weiguo (Huaxi General Surgery): [Greetings, Elder Zhi.]

Chen Yunsheng (Huaxi Gastroenterology): [Greetings, Elder Zhi.]

Li Jianping (Ruijin Hepatobiliary): [Greetings, Elder Zhi. Thank you for being willing to join and guide us.]

Wang Xiaoqing (Southern Medical University Basic Medicine): [Greetings, Elder Zhi.]

...

「Meanwhile.」

Jiang He was at Affiliated Hospital No. 1, looking up some files.

A minor incident occurred while he was looking through the files. A doctor who, uncharacteristically, didn’t recognize him started ordering him around.

Not wanting to waste his time, Jiang He refused outright.

The matter caused a small commotion.

The details are omitted.

In the end, the doctor came over and sincerely apologized to Jiang He...

PING.

A notification pinged on his phone.

Jiang He took it out, and when he saw the screen filled with a uniform chorus of "Greetings, Elder Zhi," he couldn’t help but laugh.

He didn’t reply immediately, instead opening the group member list.

He had originally assumed the group Wang Xiaoqing invited him to would consist of some professors from around Southern Medical University or department heads from its affiliated hospitals.

But he never expected...

The caliber of this chat group was absurdly high.

There were ten people in total. Besides himself and Wang Xiaoqing, most of the remaining eight names were very familiar.

Ma Weiguo went without saying; he was an old friend from his past life.

And Chen Yunsheng was an even bigger heavyweight.

Although he hadn’t had much contact with him in his previous life, he had long been familiar with his esteemed reputation.

At this point in 2008, Chen Yunsheng should have been a deputy department head or had only recently been promoted to a full head, but his instincts for basic research and clinical translation were exceptionally sharp.

Jiang He remembered that in his past life, around 2019, Chen Yunsheng had been elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for his breakthrough contributions in the field of gastroenterology.

Then there was [Li Jianping (Ruijin Hepatobiliary)].

He was the face of hepatobiliary surgery at Ruijin Hospital and a future core member of the standing committee of the Chinese Medical Association’s Surgery Branch.

Jiang He was amazed.

The lowest-ranking members in this group were Chief Physicians and department heads at China’s top hospitals, and there was even a future academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences lurking among them.

It was no exaggeration to say that this small QQ group of only ten people held the reins to half of the research developments in China’s gastroenterology and hepatobiliary surgery for the next decade.

And now, these titans—who were normally surrounded by an entourage of PhDs and attending physicians in their respective hospitals—were queuing up in front of their computers like well-behaved grade schoolers, sending "Greetings, Elder Zhi."

Jiang He was amused.

After a moment’s thought, he replied:

[There’s no need for formalities; time is precious. Regarding the micro-ecological targets, where are you currently stuck? State the problem directly.]

After his message was sent, the titans in the group immediately stopped their polite greetings and began carefully composing their words to report on their experimental progress.

Jiang He couldn’t help but marvel inwardly, ’My chat group is full of titans...’

’But all these titans are treating me like a titan. It’s... a little awkward, actually.’