211 – Sleep

“Thanks for stopping by to help,” Li Yun thanked Mo Ke as he was about to depart.

“Not a problem,” Mo Ke responded. “I was surprised when you called to request a sample of my blood and cousin’s blood.”

“I am researching genetics, and I want to understand your condition,” Li Yun was also curious about the owner of the cloth, and whether something or someone had the ability to change gene expression. 

With his ability, he was confident to uncover more secrets contained in both the cloth and his body. 

“If you didn’t mention my sight being different, I wouldn’t even realize there is something wrong with my eyes,” said Mo Ke. 

“If you and your family developed it early in your childhood, you may not be aware of it,” said Li Yun. “The fortunate thing is that it doesn’t progressively worsen.”

A person born blind wouldn’t know they were blind unless they were told by others. Mo Ke thanked Li Yun and departed from the hospital. Afterward, Li Yun attended a small internal department meeting.

“I have watched your online class,” said Chief Lim. Although only a select group was allowed in the lecture, the class was recorded for everyone to view. “You’re a better teacher than I thought.”

“You don’t have to flatter me Chief,” Li Yun didn’t think his teaching style was effective. 

He could be persuasive, but he lacked strictness. As a student, he really disliked the professors who were too strict and rigid, but looking back, some of the toughest teaching styles were also the most effective. They didn’t care about being the favorite teacher or even likeable, they simply wanted their students to succeed and do well.

“Oh ho, it looks like being a teacher is more difficult for you than being a surgeon,” Chief Zhang could sense Li Yun’s apprehension on his own teaching ability.

Li Yun didn’t think it would be difficult as he tried a similar method to help Lu Anchang, Mi Xuan and other residents in his group. However, back then, he was helping them as their peers. It was different from teaching a class where others addressed him as a teacher.

Being strict on students was difficult for Li Yun, who operated on freedom of choice. He liked to give people options and persuade them to make an informed decision, but he was never one to force anyone to make decisions.

“Why are you modest all of the sudden?” Chief Gao asked.

“I’m not being modest, just self aware,” Li Yun responded.

“I thought Dr. Li's teaching style would be more chaotic,” Dr. Chao commented. “You know, GTO style.”

“Do you know what he’s talking about?” Li Yun asked Lu Anchang, who shrugged.

“You’re showing your age Dr. Chao,” Chief Gao commented.

Meanwhile, Li Yun looked for GTO on his phone. “Why are you treating me like some great sage? I’m 25!” Not only that, he had never once tried using Zuowang on teachers.

“I quite like your teaching style, but you’re right, it’s different from the teaching style at the military academy,” said Chief Zhang. “Very rigid and formal set of teaching methods.”

“Chief Zhang, do you have connections to anyone at the Twin City Military Hospital?

“Why? Want to see how they operate?” asked Chief Zhang.

“A bit curious,” Li Yun thought it would be interesting to see how the military hospital taught their students. He imagined it was much more intense.

“I think I can get you a visiting doctor pass,” said Chief Zhang. 

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, a friend of mine from Twin City Military Hospital also wanted to meet you,” said Chief Zhang.

“Oh?”

“They are curious about you, naturally,” said Chief Zhang. “You know, after your stint at Magic City, a lot of people wanted to interview you or have you join their sleep study.”

There was plenty of sleep study and acupuncture, but Li Yun’s ability was so astonishing that many still questioned the validity of it. Scientists and researchers around the country and some from abroad had invited him for an in-depth sleep study.

“Do you know also Dr. Burton at BMJ?” Li Yun asked. Chief Zhang knew Professor Shao Shan and had worked in Imperial City, so it wasn’t unusual for him to know foreign doctors.

“I had worked with Dr. Burton briefly when I was researching ways to introduce the residency standards,” said Chief Zhang. "Not a really good doctor, but decent editor and researcher."

“Know anyone at NBJM or the Bistoury?” Li Yun jokingly asked about the top two medical journals in the world.

“I’m well connected, not a Nobel laureate, my papers wouldn’t interest them either.”

After their meeting, Li Yun wanted to perform some experiments. He asked Lu Anchang to assist him into the EEG machine.

Sleep was an important function, not just in humans, but in all animals. Many of the vital functions included the production of growth hormones and thermal regulation. Like computers, a human body could not function properly and clear away glitches until it reset during sleep.

The irony was, Li Yun hadn’t technically slept in a while. Much of the function had been replaced by Qi circulation. Once hooked up, the EEG machine read his brain waves during his qi circulation state. Lu Anchang read the report and it looked like Li Yun had fallen asleep.

For Li Yun, although his mind was seemingly shut off, he was still aware of his surroundings. He sensed that his body and mind was able to reset and maintain anabolism function like he was sleeping. He also heard Lu Anchang asking the technician to send the files to his computer.

The more he manipulated his qi, the stronger he felt and the stronger his dream lucidity. A part of him was in the hospital room, but another part of him was in a surreal Yide cityscape. 

The cityscape in the dream was weird and unusual, but it didn’t feel like the woods. In the woods, he felt the pull of gravity and the sensation of being in another world. However, in his dreams, physics did not exist.

He felt like a ghost, light and weightless, and he felt no fear or emotions. Without much thought, his body acted on its own and jumped from one high-rise building to the next. Even without any logical physics, he felt the resistance of the air, flowing through his hair like a gust of wind. It felt amazing, like being on the top loop of a rollercoaster.

His feet lightly landed on the next building, the tallest building in the cityscape with a complete view of the city. There were floating oddly shaped office towers in the sky, a hazy autumn color tones of reds and yellows cirrus clouds.

Since it was only a dream, Li Yun concentrated on one of the buildings and willed it to move. Instead of moving, it disappeared, triggering a burst of maniacal laughter from Li Yun. He knew it was only a dream, but it felt awesome playing god.

Looking down below, there were moving colored boxes, pausing at the intersection, and speeding up in random directions, whether it was right, left, or up toward the floating office. The cars weren’t discernable until he turned one into an imported race car with lines and detailed rims.

Suddenly, he dropped from above, his body jumped slightly and opened his eyes.

“Everything looks normal,” Lu Anchang said as he saw Li Yun reawaken and then showed Li Yun the EEG report. 

Li Yun shook his head to reawaken from the strange state where his consciousness seemed to have split. A part of him had always been in the hospital and aware of his surroundings, while another part of him was in the dream realm. With his awareness recentered, he took the report from Lu Anchang.

There were five main types of brain waves, and the state Li Yun was in was delta, when his brain was least active. However, it didn’t explain how he was still aware of his surroundings and his ability to navigate through his dream.

“Could it be a type of spiritual awareness?” Li Yun thought about the possibility and continued to experiment with the strange state.

chocomug

Thank you for the well wishes and comments in the previous last chapter. If I finish early, I'll release something by Christmas.