"Ash Heath, if you're awake, walk out by yourself; otherwise, you'll miss dinner. They don't serve patient meals here."
Bathed in the heat from the glaring white light, Ash swiftly sat up, touching his face and abdomen, feeling neither swelling nor pain, as if the beating from Igula had been just a dream.
It wasn't the first time he'd witnessed this world's medical technology, but every time it left him amazed. The wound from the Blood Frenzy Hunter's sword, which in his past life would have meant weeks in intensive care, had been healed here before the interrogation even began.
It made Ash think they wanted to heal him first before administering a full set of interrogation "therapy."
He glanced around, noticing this treatment room was unlike what he imagined. There was no smell of disinfectant. The environment, though clean and free of any clutter or bloodstains, had a predominant grayscale palette of gray, black, and brown, giving a 'dirty chaos' impression visually.
Not to mention the medical practitioner here, dressed in a full-body black robe, wearing an intimidating crow mask, holding a gleaming short knife.
It looked less like a doctor and more like a cultist about to sacrifice Ash.
The one speaking to Ash was a slightly short medical practitioner, indistinguishable by voice, as if the mask distorted the sound, making it more eerie.
Noticing Ash staring, she asked, "Is there a problem?"
Ash replied casually, "I think there's still something wrong with my face."
"Hmm? I've already healed all your injuries." The medical practitioner seemed puzzled, "Could it be a broken blood vessel inside?"
"I feel like I'm not as handsome as before. Did you not fix that? By the way, do you offer cosmetic services here?"
Originally, Ash was just making small talk to build goodwill, hoping for a fruit treat next time during treatment, but unexpectedly, the crow medical practitioner got excited, moving closer and saying, "Of course we do! Eye corner expansion, nasal bone adjustment, bone shaving, chin fillers, any technique you want, even changing to another race is possible! I highly recommend the Kazlan-Dai technique, which effectively enlarges your eyes..."
Ash, looking displeased, pushed the medical practitioner away, "Your crow mouth is poking me!"
"Ah, sorry, if you're considering mouth-related cosmetic surgery, I also have the latest White Rabbit Candy technique, which can naturally sweeten your lips..."
Seeing the medical practitioner's insurance sales-like enthusiasm, Ash became a bit frightened, "I don't have money!"
"I don't want your money, I just want you!"
Ash's body shivered, "That quick? We barely know each other! Wait, are you male or female? Wait, what's your race..."
Realizing her misspeaking, the medical practitioner waved her hands, "I mean, if you're willing for me to perform surgery, that's enough, no payment needed, completely free!"
"Hmm..." Ash asked, "What if I want you to pay me?"
Seeing the medical practitioner really taking out a wallet, Ash hurriedly stopped her, "Stop, stop, I was just asking casually, I didn't really intend to go under the knife. Are all medical practitioners this kind-hearted, doing surgery for free without asking for anything in return? Seeing you dressed , I thought you'd be the type to suddenly upcharge in the middle of a surgery."
Medical practitioner: "Ah, isn't that kind of thing normal?"
For a moment, Ash couldn't tell if she meant 'free' or 'mid-surgery upcharge.'
"So you really don't plan to have cosmetic surgery?" The medical practitioner urged, "I'm a Silver-ranked practitioner with three Technique Spirits. Outside, you wouldn't find another practitioner as capable and free as me. You're lucky to meet one!"
"What if you suddenly charge halfway during the surgery?"
"Then what are you worrying about!?"
That made a lot of sense, as long as I'm broke, you can't scam me out of money... Ash still shook his head, "In my line of work, they say 'the most expensive things are free.' If I take this freebie, there must be a catch somewhere."
Seeing Ash not take the bait, the medical practitioner admitted, "Well, if you're willing to let me perform surgery, there might be a bit of risk."
"Yes, a bit." The medical practitioner gestured with her fingers, "After all, I'm not particularly skilled in this technique, so I need more surgeries to improve, but I have three Technique Spirits, enough to ensure your life isn't in danger..."
From the medical practitioner's explanation, Ash finally understood why they allowed patients free treatment: because the healing efficiency of Silver practitioners wasn't guaranteed.
Unlike the empirical medicine of his previous world, the medicine here evolved from Technique Spirits, with the most commonly used being the Water Technique Faction's 'Water Therapy.'
As long as the patient had moisture in their body, this Technique Spirit could be activated to rapidly regenerate wounds.
By bleeding and scraping flesh, then activating the Technique Spirit to quickly regenerate the body, was the most common treatment method.
Needless to say, this method had many flaws. Yet, all Technique Spirits had evolutionary traits, and this was most evident in the 'Water Therapy' Technique Spirit: illnesses treated with 'Water Therapy' would be remembered and optimized, allowing faster treatment of similar conditions next time.
Moreover, if a medical practitioner treated enough cases, the 'Water Therapy' Technique Spirit could even evolve into a Two-winged Technique Spirit!
Therefore, Silver medical practitioners were eager for patients but couldn't find them, while patients were willing to pay more for better Gold practitioners, avoiding Silver ones—since the weaker the practitioner, the less effective the 'Water Therapy,' increasing the chance of patient complications.
Shattered Lake Prison was a goldmine for medical practitioners—inmates on the brink of death needed treatment daily, letting them gain experience rapidly, with a stable doctor-patient relationship; even if a patient died, there'd be no repercussions!
The practitioner speaking to Ash wouldn't have had a chance to gain experience here if not for her connections!
Ash thought cleverly; the Death Battle Society was not only about encouraging inmates to outdo each other but also turning them into regenerable resources for practitioners to exploit for experience. This prison was quite the enterprising setup, completely favored by the prison's management.
However, treatment being free without consuming death row inmates' contributions, showed the prison's limited scope, falling short compared to Ash's company—his company not only sold him sudden death insurance but also deducted his malicious overtime electricity bill from his paycheck, utterly destroying Ash's mining-for-cryptos get-rich plan.