21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 471 - 467: The Ringing (5th update, seeking monthly tickets)

Due to Professor Kube asking Chen Yu before going to the meeting to take care of the work of General Surgery, Chen Yu’s workload today was obviously much more than usual, to the extent that he stayed busy until after 10 p.m. before he managed to finish handling all the matters at hand.

While Professor Kube normally did not work overtime so late and the work of General Surgery that Chen Yu needed to handle was not particularly urgent, it was the first time that Professor Kube had entrusted these matters to him, and Chen Yu still hoped to perform them perfectly instead of waiting for Professor Kube to return and find many issues unaddressed.

"Ah~ Mr. Chen Yu, have you finally finished your work? You have so much to do now and you’re not even a professor yet. If you really become a professor in the future, won’t you be working overtime till late every day?" Seeing that Chen Yu had finally finished his tasks, Hiromi Jounouchi teased him.

Hearing Hiromi Jounouchi’s teasing, Chen Yu couldn’t help but laugh and say to her, "Have you ever seen a professor from a university hospital working overtime at night? I just wanted to get these things done today. After all, this is the first time that Professor Kube has entrusted these matters to me, and if I didn’t do well, it would obviously be disappointing to the professor."

"Hehe, Mr. Chen Yu, you’re becoming more and more like a professor at the university hospital. Have you learned to flatter too?" Hiromi Jounouchi said with an even more teasing tone upon hearing Chen Yu’s explanation.

"What are you talking about? This isn’t flattery, is it?" Chen Yu helplessly shook his head, while taking off his white coat, and continued, "I just want to be responsible for my work. Moreover, Professor Kube has talked to me before, saying that the hospital is considering promoting me to full professor. It’s better not to make any mistakes at this time."

Upon hearing Chen Yu’s words, Jounouchi couldn’t help showing a surprised expression, "Are they really going to promote you to full professor, Mr. Chen Yu? I thought it was just a rumor, but I didn’t expect it to be true! What did Professor Kube say about it? Is he going to make you the head professor of General Surgery?"

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"Becoming the head professor is still a long way off. Even if Professor Kube is willing to vacate the position, there would have to be an election to determine the new head professor. What Professor Kube meant when he spoke to me was that the hospital intends to promote me to full professor only," Chen Yu replied, hanging his white coat on the rack and putting back on his jacket. Then he and Hiromi Jounouchi together headed out of the office.

Chen Yu’s secretary, Shirai Reina, had already left the office to go home. As his secretary, she would normally have stayed and worked overtime with him, but Chen Yu didn’t need her to stay so late. Besides, with Hiromi Jounouchi present, keeping Shirai Reina around might have caused unnecessary suspicion, so she left the office after receiving Chen Yu’s permission.

Waiting for Chen Yu to lock the office door, Hiromi Jounouchi asked him, "Mr. Chen Yu, are we going to the boss’s place tonight again? Why do you like that little restaurant so much? Could it be that the boss’s steamed clams with wine is really that delicious? I can cook too, you know. I could make it for you at home next time!"

"Haha, it’s not that the boss’s food is delicious, but I like the atmosphere of that little store. Hiromi, don’t you think dining there makes one feel really good?" Chen Yu locked the office door before wrapping an arm around Hiromi Jounouchi and leaving the hospital together. They planned to dine at the little restaurant tonight rather than going home to cook.

As they walked towards the small store, Chen Yu and Hiromi Jounouchi once again discussed the matter of the artificial womb. With the live broadcasts and television program promotions, this issue had now garnered widespread national attention. In no time at all, Hiromi Jounouchi had become a household name, her fame even surpassing that of many celebrities. This was also why the Obasan today had thought of introducing her own son to her.

"Hiromi, the issue of the artificial womb is receiving a lot of attention now. Director Shimura told me before that the hospital is very pleased with the attention and popularity this has brought. They might consider promoting you to Associate Professor soon, so it’s best if you take extra care during this time, to avoid any problems. After all, not all the attention this matter has brought is positive—there are some negative voices too. If there are any loopholes or problems, people will seize upon them," Chen Yu cautioned Hiromi Jounouchi, his words brimming with concern for her.

The social response to the artificial womb issue had far exceeded Chen Yu’s expectations. If it weren’t for the recent infectious disease outbreak, which led the Ministry of Health and Welfare to ban large gatherings, there might be a large group of so-called Morality Enforcers protesting outside the hospital by now, wouldn’t there?

After all, this sort of challenge to human morals and ethics isn’t something that the general public can easily accept, even if Hiromi Jounouchi previously stated that this technology would temporarily not be used in areas other than medical research and healing.

Hiromi Jounouchi was also prepared for this. Although she had not directly faced pressure from public opinion during this time, the negative voices were continuous and clamorous, as seen in various news media, so she was mentally prepared for these issues.

The two of them chatted about work as they continued towards the store. The weather had gradually warmed up this season, and normally the number of pedestrians on the streets would increase, but due to the infectious disease outbreak, the number of passersby was still impacted and had not increased much.

"...I’m telling you, that sound was just like the Mototsu Bell in a shrine, unforgettable once you’ve heard it! There’s no way I misheard it!" As Chen Yu and Hiromi Jounouchi arrived at the small store, a few customers who had just finished their night shifts were having a heated argument about something.

Chen Yu and Hiromi Jounouchi were somewhat surprised; such scenes were rare in the small store, prompting Chen Yu to take a closer look with interest.

"They’re arguing about urban legends. That Xiao Yan over there says he heard bell sounds near a cemetery the night before last, similar to the bells used for prayer at shrines. But that cemetery only has a very small shrine and doesn’t have the Mototsu Bell used for prayers, so no one believes what he says," the store owner explained to Chen Yu, noticing his interest, and elaborated on what had happened.

"Oh? Heard strange bell sounds in a cemetery? That’s quite interesting! Which cemetery did he hear the sounds from?" Chen Yu asked curiously. He considered such urban legends to be nothing more than drunk banter, not caring whether they were true or false.

However, the people who were having the argument were clearly very serious about it. When Xiao Yan, who had heard the bell sounds, heard Chen Yu’s question, he replied, "It’s a place called Kawakami Cemetery. I went there for work. There’s a very small shrine there dedicated to the Inari God."