Huang Youdao, sensing something amiss, did not expose the neurosurgeon Duan Shan. Instead, he meticulously reviewed the case files once more, confirming the direction of Duan Shan's experiments. It turned out that all of Duan Shan's experiments were aimed at treating epilepsy.
Epilepsy was a congenital disease that was notoriously difficult to cure, with some individuals suffering for decades. As a doctor, Duan Shan's affliction was a source of deep shame. Huang Youdao sympathized with Duan Shan but could not condone using patients for experiments.
Huang Youdao decided to deal with Duan Shan without revealing his secret. He devised a plan. As a professor, Huang Youdao deliberately chose an epileptic patient during a clinical exchange.
There were few doctors involved in the consultation at the hospital. Huang Youdao knew Duan Shan would find a way to secure a spot. As expected, he saw Duan Shan's name on the consultation list. Duan Shan appeared as he had predicted, reminding him of the prescient child prodigy Tao Yue from his childhood. He had envied Tao Yue for twenty years, and now, he could finally achieve something similar.
During the presentation, Huang Youdao employed his superior medical knowledge to deliberately mislead Duan Shan. He knew Duan Shan would privately attempt self-treatment based on his professor's methods. To this end, Huang Youdao made a new prediction based on the hospital's on-call schedule: Duan Shan would collapse in his office within three days.
At that point, everyone would know Duan Shan had epilepsy and had been secretly trying to conceal and treat it. His successful first prediction filled Huang Youdao with immense confidence. He arranged to meet with the hospital's leadership again in three days, this time choosing an ordinary heart patient. In Huang Youdao's plan, he did not need to treat the heart patient; he would simultaneously prove his prediction of Duan Shan's collapse and prepare for his next move.
…
Everything unfolded precisely according to Huang Youdao's plan. On that day, while Huang Youdao was conferring with the leadership at the hospital, a nurse rushed in, panicking, and announced that Duan Shan had suffered an epileptic seizure and was suffocating, with the situation being critical.
Everyone felt fortunate for Duan Shan, as the country's leading neurologist happened to be present that day.
However, this was not luck. Huang Youdao's second plan was to completely end Duan Shan's medical career.
A person who loses tactile sensation in their right hand could no longer perform surgery. An associate chief physician who could not operate was unthinkable.
…
When Duan Shan woke up, he saw Huang Youdao. Huang Youdao's expression was stern as he said seriously, "Dr. Duan, you should not have hidden your history of epilepsy."
"I'm sorry, I..."
Epilepsy affected one's social standing, and even more so for a doctor. Who would dare seek treatment from a doctor who might suddenly convulse, turning pale and purple?
Huang Youdao understood this, but he firmly believed that Duan Shan should not have used patients for secret experiments due to his medical history. This was Duan Shan's just punishment.
"You must have made a mistake during your treatment."
"A mistake? What… what happened to me?" Duan Shan asked, bewildered.
Huang Youdao blindfolded Duan Shan and handed him a ball. "Dr. Duan, tell me, what are you holding?"
The ball was an easily identifiable object. Anyone could feel they were holding a ball. But Duan Shan could not. He clearly knew he was holding something, but he couldn't describe what it was or its shape. He had lost his most basic sense of touch.
Duan Shan tore off the blindfold and looked at Huang Youdao in horror. "My… what happened to my right hand?"
Huang Youdao inwardly rejoiced, finding it hard to suppress his excitement. He thought: I succeeded, I truly succeeded! I've dealt with a bad person. I've become that demon and eaten his right hand.
However, Huang Youdao maintained a stern expression. "Dr. Duan, as a doctor, you must have a deep understanding of the human brain. You should know that with our current diagnostic methods, we cannot determine the extent of the damage your mistake has caused to your brain."
Duan Shan was completely panicked. He grabbed Huang Youdao and pleaded, "Professor Huang, you are the country's foremost expert in neurology. You must save me."
Huang Youdao continued his act, sighing, looking helpless, and shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Dr. Duan. I've done my best. Being able to save your life is the extent of my abilities. I am a doctor, not a god."
…
At the hospital, Huang Youdao behaved with extreme composure and normality. Upon returning home, he could no longer contain his excitement. He acted like a child, crying, laughing, and jumping. Finally, with tears in his eyes, he looked up at the ceiling and said with conviction, "Tao Yue, do you see? I did it. I've become a prescient demon like you. Every step of this world's development is within my grasp. I can see the future."
To celebrate this historic moment, Huang Youdao opened a bottle of red wine he had brought from abroad and even administered an IQ test. His IQ had increased again, reaching 145. This made him one of the most exceptional individuals in the world, no longer an ordinary person.
Fueled by excitement, Huang Youdao drank the entire bottle of wine and fell asleep.
The knocking on the door jolted Huang Youdao awake. He opened the door to find two security guards. "Who are you?"
Huang Youdao was living in a high-end residential complex, one of the few in that era with security guards. However, he had never interacted with them before and was somewhat puzzled.
"What time did you get home yesterday?" a security guard asked.
"Around the time I usually get off work, not much different."
"What's wrong?"
"We don't know which ill-mannered person defecated in the elevator."
"What?" Huang Youdao was stunned. He remembered a dream from the previous night where he and Tao Yue were begging and were driven away. Feeling resentful, he had secretly gone to someone's doorstep and defecated.
"Sorry to have disturbed you."
The guards knew Huang Youdao's identity as a renowned medical professor. They were only asking questions as instructed by their superiors and did not believe a man who had achieved success in his career by the age of forty would do something so childish.
…
However, this incident did not end there. After the guards increased their patrol frequency, someone urinated on the security desk and then scribbled "The Great Sage is Here" in the logbook.
Holding a pen and paper, the guards went door-to-door to compare handwriting. Huang Youdao frowned as he looked at the words "The Great Sage is Here." He recognized it as a cursive script he had seen at a calligraphy exhibition a few days prior, somehow imprinted in his memory.
Feeling a sense of unease, Huang Youdao picked up a pen to write the characters for comparison, fearing he might uncontrollably replicate the same style. However, this did not happen. Huang Youdao's handwriting remained his own, neat and strong, reflecting his character.
…
"This kind of thing cannot be allowed to continue!"
Huang Youdao's security door could be locked from the inside with a key. He locked the door and hid the key.
The security increased their efforts and deployed more personnel.
But one night, their late-night snacks were poured out and replaced with stones and frogs. This time, even the police were involved, determined to find this bored and mysterious "prankster"!
Huang Youdao knew he was responsible because when he woke up, the key he had hidden was by his pillow, and the locked door was no longer secured.
…
"Why is this happening?"
Huang Youdao pondered the entire sequence of events. These pranks seemed childish, but executing them was not simple. Moreover, phrases like "The Great Sage is Here" and food turning into frogs and stones were stories he had heard from Tao Yue when they were listening to storytellers by the overpass with Tao Xiaoniu in their childhood.
These were things a "demon" could do.
Could it be true, as the foreign professor suggested, that there were actually two people within one body?
But that person was clearly himself. How could he accomplish such things?
Huang Youdao, with an IQ of 145, could not comprehend these pranks. It made no sense. Had his IQ test been wrong? He administered another IQ test to himself, and a astonishing number appeared: 155!
Good heavens, Huang Youdao could not believe his IQ was still increasing. At this rate, he would soon rival legendary figures. He heard Mozart had an IQ of 165, Galileo 185, and Newton 190…
…
"No, something is wrong."
Regardless, such prankster behavior could not be allowed to happen again. That evening, Huang Youdao made complete preparations. He locked the door with the key from the inside and then opened the window, tossing the key out from the tenth floor.
Huang Youdao believed it was impossible for anyone to retrieve the key from downstairs; it was not something a single person could achieve.
If there were no pranks the next day, Huang Youdao planned to have his assistant retrieve the key daily to let him in.
…
Upon waking up the next morning, Huang Youdao was astonished to find the key by his pillow, and the lock was not re-secured.
However, this time there were no pranks targeting the security guards. In the afternoon, Huang Youdao heard news: someone had died near the complex, and the killer had severed the victim's right hand.