The sky above Chen He was a swirling canvas of emerald and deep violet, quite unlike the familiar blue of Earth. Here, on Xylos, even the air felt different—thicker, carrying the scent of strange, sweet-smelling plants and a faint hum that was always present. His clinic, a simple structure of smooth, curved walls, sat on a plateau overlooking a city of gleaming spires that seemed to grow naturally from the ground.
He'd been here for months now, operating under a new identity, in a new world. The "Modifier" system was still his only companion, his silent guide in this alien landscape. It had adapted, just as he had. His patients here were not human. They were Xylans, beings with shimmering, crystalline skin, multiple delicate limbs, and eyes that glowed softly. Their biology was vastly different, yet the core principles of life, injury, and healing remained.
Just hours ago, a frantic Xylan mother had rushed in, carrying her child. The young one, no bigger than Chen He's arm, was barely conscious, its crystalline skin dulled, and its delicate limbs twitching oddly. Its small, soft glow was dimming.
"The... the Energy Bloom" the mother whispered, her voice a series of melodic clicks. "Near the edge of the Mirewood. It… it pulsed."
Chen He understood. Energy Blooms were native Xylan plants, beautiful but dangerous. When disturbed, they released a wave of concentrated energy that could cause severe internal damage to Xylan physiology. On a human, it might be a nasty burn. On a Xylan, it was systemic chaos.
As he gently laid the child on his examination table, the Modifier System flared to life. [Trauma Triage Mastery] instantly assessed the tiny Xylan. It was in critical condition. The energy pulse had disrupted its internal bioluminescence regulators, the core of a Xylan's life force, causing cellular breakdown. Blood substitutes – not blood, but a glowing, viscous fluid unique to Xylans – seeped from its crystalline joints.
His [Absolute Precision] trait allowed him to use his adapted instruments – not scalpels now, but fine, energy-based tools the system had helped him design – to carefully examine the damage without causing further harm. He could see the intricate network of the bioluminescence regulators, like delicate fiber optic cables, frayed and short-circuiting.
Then, the new trait, [Pediatric Vulnerability Assessment - Level 1], surged forward. It wasn't just telling him the child was dying; it was showing him why this Xylan child was reacting differently than an adult Xylan would. An adult Xylan's regulators were tougher, more developed, able to withstand minor energy pulses. But the child's, still growing, were far more delicate. The system highlighted the unique pathways in the child's tiny body, showing how the energy pulse was causing a domino effect of failures that wouldn't happen in a larger, older Xylan.
"The main regulators are failing," he muttered, mostly to himself, but the Xylan mother leaned in, her glowing eyes fixed on him. "But the secondary ones… they're trying to compensate, but they're being overloaded."
The system projected a complex diagram in his vision, showing how the child's still-forming skeletal structure, made of a softer, more flexible crystal, was also a factor, allowing the energy to spread faster. It was a race against time, not just against cellular death, but against a complete system collapse unique to young Xylans.
Chen He took a deep breath. He needed to repair the primary regulators, but he couldn't just "patch" them. The secondary regulators, critical for the child's long-term health, needed to be temporarily isolated, then reconnected, in a precise sequence that would bypass the damaged areas while they healed. This was a technique that had never been attempted, even by the most advanced Xylan healers.
"I need micro-fusion emitters," he told his Xylan assistant, a young, curious healer named Kael, who had been studying his methods with awe. "And prepare a low-frequency sonic bath for post-op. A very precise one."
Kael's eyes widened, but he didn't question. He moved with swift, fluid grace, preparing the strange, shimmering tools. Chen He focused, his hands hovering over the child. The emerald-violet sky outside his clinic window seemed to watch, silent and unblinking, as the disgraced surgeon from Earth prepared to perform a miracle on a world not his own, guided by a secret system up only he could see.