21st Century Necromancer

"Move faster! Hurry up!" A group of doctors rushed through the stairwell, climbing the stairs as if their backsides were on fire.

"The Director is making his rounds today! Move quickly!" Even though everyone was running at top speed, there were still calls for urgency: "The new Director is making his first rounds today; don't drop the ball, everyone!"

"Yes!" Although they were still desperately climbing the stairs, the group of doctors responded energetically.

Despite being worn out from running, this group of people seemed to be well accustomed to the rhythm and the drill, for when they arrived at the designated spot, most of them weren't even out of breath and still had enough energy to adjust their appearance and straighten their slightly askew ties.

Chen Yu turned to look at the group of doctors who had hurriedly lined up behind him, feeling somewhat puzzled and helpless. When the department heads made their rounds before, he had never seen this kind of reaction. This made him curiously turn to the Glasses Doctor beside him and ask, "Glasses Doctor, what exactly is going on?"

The Glasses Doctor seemed to have given up on Chen Yu getting his name right, resigned to being called by that name, and explained with a slightly dejected tone, "Today the Director is making his rounds. They just don't want to embarrass themselves in front of the new Director and are trying to make a good impression."

"The new Director?" Chen Yu raised his eyebrows, recalling that since he had arrived at Eastern University Affiliated Hospital, he had yet to meet the hospital's Director.

"Professor Chen, you're new to the hospital and probably aren't aware of the situation," said Doctor Higashiyama, who stood beside Chen Yu with a smile.

Remembering that they were awaiting the new Director, he quickly suppressed the smile and explained, "The previous Director Kubo resigned along with the deputy director after causing the Eastern University Affiliated Hospital to fall out of the top ten in the national hospital rankings during his tenure, which displeased the board of trustees.

Because of this situation, the position of Director of Eastern University Affiliated Hospital has become a 'hot potato.' Some people want it but fail to get the trustees' approval; those whom the trustees approve do not want to take over this mess. Hence, the Director's position has been vacant for some time now.

The period during which you joined the hospital coincidentally coincided with the vacancy of the Director's position. Most of the hospital affairs have been managed by Surgery Chief Kube and Director Yamamoto of the Department of Internal Medicine. This is also one of the reasons why your associate professor title was approved so quickly."

"So there's that reason, huh?" Chen Yu raised his eyebrows, amused, but straightened his expression, taking a keener interest in the new Director.

After all, if the new Director turned out to be an old-fashioned stickler who disapproved of someone as young as him holding the position of associate professor and had many rules and a high stature, it wouldn't be a big problem but certainly troublesome to deal with.

Although he was thinking this way, Chen Yu still asked the two people beside him, "Do you have any news about this new Director?"

The moment Chen Yu spoke up, he noticed that everyone around him perked up their ears, clearly very interested in any intelligence regarding the new Director.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"I hear she's a woman," Doctor Higashiyama revealed what he had heard. The new Director's gender clearly surprised those around them, and they started speculating whether the new director had powerful connections, as a mere woman had become the Director of Eastern University Affiliated Hospital.

Seeming to feel that Doctor Higashiyama's news wasn't explosive enough, the Glasses Doctor disclosed even more shocking information, "The new Director is also a graduate of University of Tokyo, and top of the Medical Department at that, securing the position of Director of Eastern University Affiliated Hospital solely through her own merits."

"Eh?!" This news was even more astonishing than the last. A woman with no apparent background had managed to secure the position of Director of Eastern University Affiliated Hospital through sheer capability, undeniably demonstrating the new Director's exceptional talent and excellence.

However, upon hearing this news, Chen Yu remembered who the new Director was: "Shimura Maru, the top graduate of the University of Tokyo Medical Department's class of '99, the leading talent of her year at the Medical Department, and the only female top graduate from the University of Tokyo in nearly thirty years."

"Eh? Doctor Chen, how do you know that?" The Glasses Doctor looked at Chen Yu with surprise, not expecting that Chen Yu would be able to name the new Director.

"I heard her speak when I was at school; she was the deputy director of... the second branch, I think." Chen Yu recalled for a moment and was about to add something more when the ding of the arriving elevator interrupted him, alerting them the new Director had arrived.

"The new Director is here!" With that shout, a second before the elevator doors opened, everyone instantly adjusted their postures as if they hadn't moved at all just moments before.

The elevator doors opened, and out stepped a female figure who looked intelligent yet stood with a notably straight spine. Although her clothes, hidden under a white lab coat, were quite ordinary, their impeccably ironed creases spoke volumes of her strict character.

One should know that during the Bakumatsu period in Japan, the famous Sakamoto Ryoma was once chided by a friend for not having creases in his trousers, saying he was impolite and lived too sloppily.

"おはようございます (Good morning)!" The waiting doctors hurriedly greeted the new Director in unison, and meanwhile, the hospital's PA system also began to announce the Director's rounds.

Watching the doctors bow before her, the new Director did not put on airs or appear hard to get along with. She simply nodded to everyone, responded with a "おはようございます" of her own, and with Professor Kube and Yamamoto Hisae accompanying her, commenced the Director's rounds. The others quickly followed, arranging themselves promptly in order according to their positions and seniority.

Because he was already an associate professor, Chen Yu naturally found himself standing just behind Professor Kube, precisely one position behind, making him third in the queue. Only Professor Niaoi, the deputy department head of internal medicine, and another professor were beside him.

For someone of Chen Yu's age to be standing in such a row at such a young age was comparable to the new female Director becoming the head of Eastern University Affiliated Hospital, and it undoubtedly made him stand out in the lineup.

However, Chen Yu wasn't concerned with his placement or the looks from others; what mattered more to him was that the new Director had started with the rounds instead of holding a meeting for a self-introduction. This made Chen Yu quite curious about what the new Director was planning to do.