“Mr. Xu… I’ve put you through the trouble of traveling all the way to Japan… I truly apologize for the inconvenience!” The chairman of Akita Corporation spoke fluent Chinese, which caught Xu Ze off guard. He was genuinely startled—how was it that every Japanese person he met here could speak Chinese? It was truly astonishing to him.
“Mr. Akita, you’re too kind…” Xu Ze suppressed his surprise, gave a slight bow, then stepped forward and sat down.
“Mr. Xu must be wondering why I speak Chinese, right…” Chairman Akita smiled. “Because my mother is from China. She taught me Chinese from a young age, and for the past decade or so, I’ve frequently traveled to your country for business and investment. That’s why many people around me can speak Chinese too.”
“Oh… I see…” Hearing Akita’s explanation, Xu Ze suddenly understood, and he felt a bit more favorably disposed toward this man.
Akita nodded to the two kimono-clad girls beside him. The girls then pushed open a small door and brought out dishes one by one, carefully setting them on the table. They also brought a small porcelain flask of sake, placed it on the table, bowed, and quietly withdrew.
Akita picked up the small porcelain flask, gently poured sake for Xu Ze, then raised his own cup and smiled at Xu Ze. “Welcome to Japan, Mr. Xu…”
Xu Ze smiled and nodded, raising his cup. “Mr. Akita, you’re too kind…”
Akita took a sip, set down his cup, refilled both of them, then raised his chopsticks. “Mr. Xu… these are some of our country’s specialty seafood. Please, try them…”
Since Xu Ze still had to examine and treat Akita, the two only drank one small flask of sake and ate some food before finishing.
After the servants brought tea, Akita smiled at Xu Ze. “I heard that two esteemed gentlemen from your country strongly recommended Mr. Xu to come treat me. I’ve truly put you to great trouble…”
“Those two gentlemen are my elders. When elders give an order, I naturally comply…” Xu Ze showed no modesty on his face, speaking with a faint smile.
Seeing Xu Ze’s somewhat reluctant expression, the smile in Akita’s eyes deepened. Originally, he had been a bit worried—although this doctor came highly recommended by two famous old physicians from China, he was so young that it was hard to feel reassured.
But now, seeing that although Xu Ze was modest and polite, when it came to traveling thousands of miles to Japan to treat him, he clearly looked somewhat unwilling—this must mean he had great confidence in his own abilities, which was why he behaved this way.
Akita’s confidence grew a few more notches. The two chatted for a while, and after finishing their tea, Xu Ze began examining Akita.
Xu Ze had come prepared. Since he was here, he naturally had to show some skill—otherwise, not only would it reflect poorly on China’s dignity, but he also feared exposing himself.
Although before coming, experts from the Third Bureau of General Staff Intelligence had already helped Xu Ze slightly alter his appearance, trimming his eyebrows, and suggested he wear a pair of black-framed glasses. Combined with Xu Ze slightly adjusting his posture, his appearance and bearing were now quite different from usual. Unless someone extremely familiar like Old Director Guo met him face to face and looked carefully, no one else could recognize him. But Xu Ze still had to play the part of a doctor properly.
Otherwise, not to mention the Defense Agency’s Intelligence Division, even Chairman Akita himself would probably become suspicious of a quack.
Xu Ze carefully examined Akita’s somewhat obviously weak leg muscles and found that it was only weakness in both lower limbs—not severe paralysis—and there were no abnormal neurological signs, which set his mind at ease.
If it were neurological damage or something similar, that would be truly troublesome. As long as there were no major neurological problems, then curing it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Then he looked at the relevant materials. These were all examination records from Japanese hospitals. Akita had originally prepared a translated version, but Xu Ze discarded it—because translated materials often contained inaccuracies, and the original Japanese documents were more reliable.
Seeing Xu Ze actually pick up the original documents and flip through them page by page, Mr. Akita was stunned. This Mr. Xu actually understood Japanese, and seemed quite proficient at it. That was truly surprising.
Xu Ze flipped through a few pages and roughly understood the situation. Although Mr. Akita hadn’t sought treatment abroad, he had been examined at all the major hospitals in Japan. Japanese neurology research was already at world-class level, so for this kind of illness, there was naturally no need to seek treatment in Western countries.
However, although multiple large Japanese hospitals had basically completed everything from the newest ultra-micro spiral resonance scans to various detailed blood tests, they had unanimously given a diagnosis: “Progressive Muscle Weakness Syndrome.”
Seeing this illness, Xu Ze actually smiled. This diagnosis was essentially no diagnosis at all—because anyone could see the diagnosis wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t truly confirm what was causing the disease. Naturally, such treatment would have no effect…
Xu Ze also couldn’t determine the specific cause of Chairman Akita’s leg weakness, but through his earlier bioelectric energy scan, he discovered that there was delay and weakening when the muscle neurons conducted electrical signals.
Therefore, he could confirm that Chairman Akita’s leg weakness was mainly due to problems with signal transmission in the muscle cell neurons. As for what specifically caused it, that was hard to say.
In Western medicine terms, one would really need to find the cause, and there truly were no specific effective medications for treatment. But in traditional Chinese medicine terms, this was much easier to explain—simply “Bi syndrome” caused by blocked meridians…
The treatment for “Bi syndrome” was indeed to clear the meridians and activate the collaterals. So Xu Ze, with a serious expression, gently explained to Chairman Akita with a smile, “Mr. Akita, your illness is what our Chinese medicine calls Bi syndrome. Treatment is not difficult… With my acupuncture skills, most patients see definite results within a few days of treatment.”
Hearing Xu Ze’s confident words, Chairman Akita became excited. He had been examined throughout all of Japan, and no hospital or doctor dared say that his illness would have definite therapeutic effects after treatment. Moreover, over the past year, he had taken countless medications and received countless injections with absolutely no effect. And if not for a dedicated person massaging his legs daily, the muscles would have already atrophied.
Out of desperation, he had thought of neighboring China, with its thousands of years of history and miraculous acupuncture techniques, said to have remarkable effects on treating paralysis.
So he had specifically sent people to China to find famous doctors, and finally found two old gentlemen at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute.
But instead, the two old gentlemen recommended this young doctor. At the time, Chairman Akita was extremely dissatisfied that his two assistants had brought back a young doctor. However, according to his assistants’ explanation, the two old gentlemen had claimed that this young doctor’s acupuncture skills were far superior to both of theirs—a rare genius in the world. Only then did Chairman Akita feel somewhat reassured and decided to have this young doctor take a look first…
Little did he expect that after a brief examination and reviewing some materials, this doctor would actually say he was so confident. Naturally, this made him excited. Although this doctor was young, judging by his demeanor and conduct, he seemed like someone of measured behavior who wouldn’t speak recklessly. Chairman Akita immediately smiled excitedly and said, “Since Mr. Xu is so confident, please do take great care. As long as I can recover the use of my legs, I will certainly not be stingy with the consultation fee…”
Regarding Chairman Akita’s promise, Xu Ze didn’t even raise an eyelid. He had come to treat Akita not for any consultation fee. If it was about money, the box of diamonds General Zuma had given him last time had already made him quite wealthy. Even with a luxurious lifestyle, it would take more than a decade to spend it all. Naturally, he didn’t care much about the consultation fee Chairman Akita promised.
But Japanese money was easy money—no reason not to earn it. Xu Ze naturally wouldn’t refuse the consultation fee either.
Seeing that Xu Ze seemed completely unconcerned about the consultation fee he had promised, Akita became even more courteous. As the chairman of one of Japan’s top corporations, the amount he promised would certainly not be small. But this doctor was so indifferent to it, which meant he must be quite wealthy himself and definitely wasn’t here for the consultation fee.
At that moment, Akita noticed the other man’s attire. He was dressed head to toe in Givenchy, and the black-framed glasses on his face were exquisitely made with what seemed like special materials. The style looked somewhat like Lotos…
Only then did Akita truly feel reassured. Someone with this kind of wealth would certainly not travel all the way to Japan for a consultation fee. It was most likely as he had said—he came because of his elders’ orders and had no choice…
Watching the other man’s gaze inadvertently sweep over him, Xu Ze laughed inwardly. He had deliberately dressed luxuriously mainly to avoid the attention of the Defense Agency’s Intelligence Division.
This outfit cost no less than several hundred thousand. Most intelligence agents kept a low profile, and Chinese intelligence personnel couldn’t possibly have such enormous funding to be so luxurious. So Xu Ze positioned himself as a doctor from a wealthy family. That way, even if the Defense Agency noticed him, they wouldn’t be too suspicious.
“Mr. Xu… when can we begin treatment?” Akita’s attitude was now even more respectful, completely unlike the chairman of a super corporation.
Xu Ze felt the same urgency as Akita. He had to treat this old man as quickly as possible so he could have the opportunity to move around freely without arousing suspicion. The intelligence liaison from the Third Bureau had already arrived outside this courtyard and was waiting.
He had to find an opportunity to make contact with them as soon as possible, get the specific intelligence, and discuss the action plan quickly. So he nodded. “Let’s begin now…”
