Under normal circ.u.mstances, medical staff would usually joke around before receiving patients.
However, the nurse could clearly feel that something was not right.
Old Chief Physician Pan's unnatural orders and Zheng Ren jumping on board were signs of a serious emergency.
Zheng Ren did not slack and continued checking the equipment and supplies.
It was as the nurse had told him: everything was in order, from emergency medication to machines like aspirators and ECG monitors.
The caterwauling siren sent Zheng Ren's heart rate over 100 beats per minute.
After a few minutes, he had checked through everything and finally relaxed a little, sitting down and closing his eyes to conserve energy.
He was like a soldier resting during an intermission, cautiously waiting to return to the front.
Suddenly, the ambulance turned abruptly, causing Zheng Ren to stumble.
He frowned. Could there possibly be traffic obstructions ahead? Every minute, every second was crucial. It would be disastrous if they were held up in such a situation.
He stood up, trying to look out of the small window, but the ambulance made another sharp turn and almost sent him flying.
What was happening?
After altering course twice, the ambulance gradually slowed to a halt.
…
…
[This incident was a mashup of two current events.]
Chapter 323 - Run Over
"What happened?" Zheng Ren yelled, opening the window between the rear compartment and the driver seat.
How could he be calm when the ambulance was not at full speed during an emergency?
"Chief Zheng, there's a vehicle in front of us blocking our path," the driver said helplessly. He had tried to change lanes several times, but a sports car in front of them had continually gotten in their way. It was impossible to outrun it, too.
Furthermore, it was approaching the evening rush hour and traffic was already building up.
Most private cars and taxis were more considerate and would usually move aside for the ambulance when they heard its siren.
This was a life and death situation. Most people understood its urgency; reaching home slightly later or having a late dinner were nothing in comparison. If they were able to, they made way for the paramedics.
However, this sports car was blatantly obstructing them. They could even hear its roaring engine from inside the ambulance even though it was not accelerating.
In fact, the car was actually slowing to a crawl of 30 to 40 miles per hour.
Normally, they would simply overtake it by changing lanes.
No matter how they tried to, however, it immediately moved to cut them off.
Sh*t! Zheng Ren was fuming in anger.
That bastard had to be drunk driving!
Since it was not dinner time yet, the driver had probably not sobered up from lunch drinks. Otherwise, no one in their right mind would publicly provoke an ambulance.
This was not the first time Zheng Ren had encountered such a situation, but right now, they were on the way to an emergency rescue in No. 9 Elementary school!
After several attempts to change lanes, the ambulance was still beholden to the more agile sports car. A few other drivers were also outraged on their behalf and honked their horns, those with shorter tempers even winding down their windows to shout at the offending driver.
The ambulance driver was frustrated. Their stretcher-bearer in the passenger seat had already called the police.
However… doing so would not help in such a situation.
If they waited for traffic officers to resolve this, it would be too late for No. 9 Elementary School.
Every second was crucial in an emergency rescue! Why was this happening to them?
Surprisingly, traffic officers reached them quickly. A police car was there within a minute.
Its siren began wailing as it pulled up next to the sports car.
By loudspeaker, the officers instructed the sports car to pull over, but its driver continued to ignore them and kept idling.
The ambulance driver swore. "Damn it!"
Zheng Ren knew that verbal abuse would not solve the problem, despite being so furious that his jaws were clenched together like a vice, his teeth gnashing audibly.
He was normally a mellow person, but this was one of the rare times his anger was stoked.
"Pull over and let me take the wheel," Zheng Ren said, his expression wrathful.
His tone surprised the ambulance driver, who knew the chief resident to have a good temper and unfaltering smile. The security guard, Fan Yianshui had praised Chief Zheng for performing a surgery on him for free and even followed it up with a job offer.
Was this the spark that had finally set off such a well-mannered man?
Was he planning to drive? Would he be able to overtake the car in front of them? Impossible! The ambulance driver was himself a trained professional, not a standard car owner.
The ambulance was a mid-sized vehicle. Despite being a Mercedes-Benz, it was more known for its stability and interior equipment, while its other performance metrics were incomparable to that of a sports car.
Was Chief Zheng losing his mind in desperation… the ambulance driver felt helpless. He wanted nothing more than to run over the sports car, but the thought of it costing as much as his annual salary if he so much as made a scratch stayed his hand.
"Stop the vehicle! I'll drive!" Zheng Ren roared again as the ambulance driver hesitated.
Left with no choice, the driver obeyed.
In front of them was a Porsche 911, its black frame glistening under the rays of sunset.
Its first impression on those who saw it was how expensive it was. A second look only drove the point even further.
The car seemed satisfied as the ambulance stopped, coasting slowly alongside the police with nary a care in the world for doctors nor traffic officers.
Another order came through the loudspeaker on the police car demanding the driver pull over, but the only response it got was a window rolling down, followed by a rude gesture.
How arrogant!
How ridiculous!
However, the driver had not expected Zheng Ren; the man did not care for the cost of the Porsche 911 before him or the financial background needed to afford such a grandiose car in the first place. To him, these things were meaningless.
Zheng Ren quickly slid into the driver's seat and told the nurse to fasten her seatbelt before ramming on the accelerator. The ambulance began to charge like a beast baying for blood.
Its engine revved and kicked its massive bulk into gear.
The wind was howling!
The ambulance was roaring!
Its driver was screaming!
The ambulance bellowed and thundered forward!
The driver of the Porsche 911 was stunned by the sight of the ambulance charging at him in the rearview mirror.
Both vehicles were very close to each other, but although Zheng Ren owned a driving license, he had no actual experience and the ambulance did not pick up immediately when he floored it.
Nevertheless, it was like a giant in comparison to the sports car.
The police were also shocked by his move, immediately braking to avoid colliding into the other two vehicles.
Bang! There was a thunderous crash, but the ambulance only rocked a little with no serious damage.
Since the Porsche 911 had a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout with its trunk in front, it had no buffer for the impact. Its driver scrambled to control his car after the collision, but the engine died.
Zheng Ren braked, backed up and stepped on the accelerator again. The ambulance charged at the Porsche 911 once more and rammed it off the street completely, sparks flying as the two vehicles ground against each other.
The driver of the Porsche was already stupefied; he could only raise his hands and stare blankly at the ambulance grating against his car with a piercin
g screech.
After running over the Porsche 911, Zheng Ren pulled over.
"Back to you," he said calmly, no sign of anger on his expression.
The ambulance driver was still in shock from the decimation of car before them, which cost anywhere between one to two million yuan
Chief Zheng's composed demeanour, like someone who had done such a thing before, sealed his lips. He returned to the driver's seat and pumped the siren to maximum volume.
Zheng Ren alighted from the ambulance and turned to see two traffic officers in front of him.
"Dr. Zheng?" they said at the same time.
He frowned. The two seemed familiar, but he had forgotten where he met them.
"Dr. Zheng, where are you heading to?" the older officer asked.
"No. 9 Elementary."
"I'll handle this; you escort them and clear a path for Dr. Zheng," the older one informed his compatriot.
The latter officer ran back to his car and began to maneuver into traffic.
Without another word, Zheng Ren jumped right back into the ambulance.
The ambulance driver followed, his foot unrelenting on the accelerator.
Police and ambulance sirens blared together, tearing apart Sea City's peaceful evening.
As they sped by, every other vehicle made way for them. No one had seen a police car escorting an ambulance before, their wailing sirens bearing a grim banner.
Something major had to have happened!
If not, they would not have both their sirens on at the same time!
With their path clear, they reached No. 9 Elementary School of Sea City within minutes.
Chapter 324 - Blood Runs Cold
Sea City's winter fog was thick and oppressive.
Beyond several meters, visibility was reduced to layers of white mist.
In the field of the No. 9 Elementary School, children were trembling in fear. Their crying and shouting could be heard through the fog like shrieks of demons.
There was a pool of blood on the path between the teaching building and the main entrance.
Only ten minutes ago, a man in his forties armed with a sharp blade had appeared like an evil spirit just as students finished their classes.
Their happy chatter dissipated instantly, leaving only horrifying reality.
A class teacher, Yang Lili, had been 24 this year. She had just graduated from a teacher's university with a heart full of aspirations and passion.
She had the habit of seeing the children off at the main gate. The smiles on their faces kept her dreams happy and positive.
It was foggy as usual, but the man's sudden presence had broken the normal routine.
Yang Lili responded quickly, almost instinctively.
She yelled at the top of her lungs when the attacker appeared, throwing the books in her hand like weapons to attract his attention.
However, it was a futile attempt. He did not dare face an a.d.u.l.t; his only targets were harmless children who could not fight back.
Despite being terrified as well, the children's screams instantly pushed her fears aside.
She faced the attacker head-on and was stabbed twice in the c.h.e.s.t as she used her body as a shield.
As life faded from her in agony, she remained determined to continue fighting, using her last breath to wrap herself around the attacker's knife hand and blocking his way with her body.
She had then been stabbed multiple times in the abdomen.
The young woman had been powerless to fight back, but she had given it her all.
As if by ritual sacrifice, Yang Lili had given her life in exchange for the safety of the children.
The attacker had been scared off by other teachers arriving. His knife lay abandoned in the snowy ground nearby, covered in blood.
It had turned cold, the blood on it frozen to ice.
In the face of such a bloody scene, the male teachers were also shocked and paralyzed. After calling 110 and 120, they notified the principal.
They did not know how to deal with the situation. Yang Lili's face was pale like white paper smudged with red ink.
Her youth pooled underneath her, leaving her a cooling husk.
They dared not move her body for fear that it would worsen the injuries.
A female teacher close to Yang Lili knelt beside her, frantically trying to stop the bleeding. Both her hands were covered in fresh blood.
However, there was nothing she could do.
A male teacher gathered the courage to tear some fabric from his shirt and tried his best to put pressure on Yang Lili's wound to stop the bleeding.
Alas, it was pointless.
Soon, the cloth was soaked in blood that flowed like a winding stream and froze solid not far away.
Some of the children she had saved were still dazed and confused. A few were wailing loudly while others were catatonic. They were like a helpless flock of sheep.
Ten minutes later, police and ambulance sirens began to approach.
They pierced through thick layers of fog like a beam of light, bringing them a glimpse of hope and the future.
The ambulance skidded to a halt near Yang Lili's body.
Zheng Ren leapt out with a first-aid kit in hand before the vehicle had even come to a stop.
"Move aside!" he roared at the crowd, shooing them away so that he could reach Yang Lili.
The System's monitor at the upper right corner of his vision was blinking with a glaring red.
Hemorrhagic shock, punctured lungs and mediastinal, traumatic hemopneumothorax, punctured superior mesenteric artery, punctured intestines and over ten other diagnoses were flashing a ghastly red like a devil's grin.
Zheng Ren's ears rang with the chime of a System mission.
[Sudden Mission: Hope in Darkness.
[Mission: Save teacher Yang Lili who had been brutally injured protecting her students.
[Mission Rewards: 500 skill points, 100,000 experience points.
[Mission Time: 6 hours.
There will always be darkness in the world, but no matter when and where it appears, there will be hope, of which you are its light.]
It did not register. His mind was working at full capacity to process the patient's situation.
With more than ten injuries present,, they naturally differed in urgency and significance.
Since time was running out, any misjudgment would result in a delay in rescue and cost the patient her life.
"Load her up; prepare the surgical tray, suture kit and infusion set," Zheng Ren said hurriedly.
Already waiting for Zheng Ren's orders, the stretcher-bearer lifted Yang Lili onto the stretcher.
The nurse did not know what Zheng Ren was planning but followed standard procedure and efficiently prepared the things he would need.
"Open a bottle of saline!" Zheng Ren hastened his instruction when he saw Yang Lili's already weakened breathing starting to accelerate.
The stretcher-bearer loaded Yang Lili onto the ambulance and folded up the stretcher before shutting the door.
The ambulance whizzed away, leaving only a bloody floor and a crowd of ashen-faced, terrified people.
Unable to detect any blood pressure, the first thing the nurse did was to cut open Yang Lili's clothes, exposing the surgical field for Zheng Ren to prepare for subclavian vein catheterization.
When Zheng Ren got into the ambulance, he ignored the catheterization set the nurse passed to him and instead ripped open the first layer of the suture set, pouring its contents into a surgical tray.
"Iodophor," he said as he put on sterile gloves.
The nurse opened the jar of iodophor cotton balls for Zheng Ren.
He pinched the cotton balls between his fingers and began disinfecting the right section of Yang Lili's c.h.e.s.t.
It was the second intercostal space along the midclavicular line.
After disinfection he picked up a surgical blade. He did not have the time to attach it to its handle and simply made an incisi
on with the b.a.r.e blade between his fingers.
There was no blood. It was currently all over the school grounds.
Zheng Ren then used the blade to cut open the infusion set and grabbed the infusion tube.
"Saline."
After blunt dissection, he used hemostatic clamps to insert the tube into Yang Lili's c.h.e.s.t cavity through the incision he had made.
The other end of the tube was connected to the bag of saline.
The saline gurgled, and fresh blood began to flow.
Zheng Ren unpacked the suture set, used the needle holder to secure the reverse cutting needle and started stitching the infusion tube in place.
"Disinfect the subclavian artery," he said as he did so.
He was slightly disappointed that it was not Xie Yiren beside him. There would be no need for words if she were.
In less than twenty seconds, he completed the suture and secured the infusion tube in its position. Then, he opened the central venous catheterization set and changed into a new pair of gloves before performing the procedure.
He punctured the subclavian vein and hooked the patient up to low molecular weight dextran. The nurse also added a pressured infusion set to increase the rate of infusion into the patient's circulation, hoping to buy them more time.
The young police officer escorting them was aware of the urgency of the situation, speeding up and anxiously ordering traffic to make way for them via loudspeaker, fighting for as much time as he could for the ambulance.
Every second mattered.
…
…
Chapter 325 - The Body Shield (Bonus for Wuhu 37 Chairman Yi Lifei)
An ambulance was just a mobile emergency treatment facility.
The procedures that could be performed in it were limited.
Zheng Ren had set up a simplified version of a closed c.h.e.s.t drainage system to ensure the patient's breathing was unobstructed and that she would not die of pneumothorax. He then used the suction tube to remove blood from her upper airway to prevent it from clotting, which would result in blockage of her airway.
On top of that, he applied pressure onto Yang Lili's stab wounds on her abdomen to reduce bleeding.
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