Card Room (Rebirth)

Yu Hanjiang’s mind stayed on the words ‘artificial respiration’ and Xiao Lou’s mind was a mess. Perhaps it was due to Yu Hanjiang’s chaotic thinking but Xiao Lou couldn’t clearly sense the other party’s thoughts. There was just the repeated replay of the ‘artificial respiration’ clip.

Group Leader Yu, why was he thinking about artificial respiration? Xiao Lou’s ears were slightly hot. After hesitating for a while, he decided to go back to the ward to explain. After all, according to the normal procedure of the hospital, the airbag should be used in first aid. Direct use of the mouth would inevitably make people suspicious.

Yu Hanjiang was leaning against the bed with a serious face, carefully reading the case information. By the time Xiao Lou opened the door and came in, his mind had already recovered its calmness. Xiao Lou almost felt that… the chaotic mind just now was his own illusion.

Yu Hanjiang found that Xiao Lou was going back and forth and looked up in a confused manner. “Why did you come back?”

Xiao Lou approached the bed and coughed softly. “Professor Zhu told you, right? I just sensed your memory.”

Yu Hanjiang found that his thoughts had almost leaked and immediately pretended to be serious and calm. “Yes, he did mention a few words about the rescue process last night.”

Xiao Lou explained softly, “I am a forensic doctor, not a professional hospital doctor. Last night, I saw you having a cardiac arrest and was in a hurry. I gave you a few artificial respirations according to the first aid knowledge in the textbook… I didn’t think about using an airbag. Do you mind?”

Yu Hanjiang put down the information in his hand and watched Xiao Lou. “You came back to explain this?”

Xiao Lou himself felt that explaining was a bit redundant but he was worried that Yu Hanjiang would hate this intimate contact and wonder, ‘Why use his mouth instead of an airbag?’ Would Group Leader Yu think he was weird? He would always feel uneasy if he didn’t explain. If he said it then he wouldn’t have to worry.

Xiao Lou was thinking wildly when there was a low laugh from Yu Hanjiang. The chuckle seemed to come from inside his chest, making Xiao Lou’s ears hot.

Xiao Lou was too embarrassed to look into the other person’s eyes and didn’t dare think anything in case of the heart channel. The next moment, his hand was gently held and Yu Hanjiang’s hoarse voice tinged with gentleness was heard. “There is no need to explain. You don’t need to be so unfamiliar and polite between us. No matter what you do, I believe you have a reason for it.”

Xiao Lou, “……”

This complete trust caused Xiao Lou’s heart to slightly warm.

Yu Hanjiang continued. “Don’t think too much. It is just artificial respiration, not more intimate contact.”

Xiao Lou couldn’t help his heart beating faster. More intimate contact? He didn’t know what Yu Hanjiang’s words meant. He wanted to ask boldly but was too embarrassed. Under his man’s gaze, Xiao Lou felt his entire face becoming hot.

Just then, his phone rang. The shrill ringing broke the silence of the ward.

Yu Hanjiang looked at his white coat pocket and spoke softly, “Answer the phone, it is probably information on a teammate. Clear the secret room first and we’ll find a suitable time to talk again.” The level of danger was beyond imagination and they had to focus on the overall situation. What would their teammates do if they talked about personal topics now?

Xiao Lou thought that his teammates might be in danger and immediately suppressed his confusion. He took out his mobile phone and pressed the answer button. The voice of a young doctor entered his ears. “Hello, can I please ask if this is the chief resident of the general surgery department, Dr Xiao?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I’m Dr Zhang from the endocrinology department. I have a patient here who needs a surgical consultation. Do you have time to come over?”

Xiao Lou glanced at Yu Hanjiang while asking, “What is the situation of the patient?”

Dr Zhang answered, “The patient is Mo Xuemin, 66 years old. He was hospitalized for diabetes. He had an intestinal anastomosis operation half a month ago. Last night, he started to have severe pain in his lower right abdomen. He got up this morning and kept vomiting. We suspect that it is an intestinal obstruction. I would like to ask the surgery department to come and check it.”

Xiao Lou felt numb. “What did you say the patient’s name is?”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Xiao Lou’s head hurt as he hung up.

Yu Hanjiang spoke softly, “Thank you for your hard work. Go first and see what’s going on with Old Mo. Keep in touch.”

Xiao Lou nodded and turned to head to the endocrine department.

He arrived at the ward and went to the nurse’s desk to inquire about Dr Zhang. A young nurse went to the doctor’s office and called Dr Zhang over. The other person’s hair was messy like a bird’s nest. He should’ve been on the night shift last night and didn’t have time to wash up. He took Xiao Lou to see the patient.

Xiao Lou entered the room and saw a gray-haired old man rolling on the bed while holding his stomach in pain.

Old Mo?!

Mo Xuemin was originally around 40 years old. He had dark hair, was tall and looked very energetic. However, the old man in front of Xiao Lou was obviously at least 60 years old and his back was slightly bent.

Xiao Lou was stunned. He looked at the wrinkles on this familiar face and couldn’t believe it for a while.

Old Mo turned his head and saw Xiao Lou. He smiled bitterly and spoke in a hoarse voice. “I don’t know what’s going on. I woke up like this. When I looked in the mirror in the bathroom this morning, I almost scared myself to death!”

His voice also sounded old. Anyone who woke up and found themselves 20 years older would be shocked.

Due to the presence of Dr Zhang, Old Mo couldn’t say too much. Xiao Lou saw him frowning in pain and immediately calmed down. He walked forward and asked, “What were your symptoms when you got up in the morning? Where do you feel sick?”

“I was nauseous and vomited several times in the bathroom. I can’t eat anything and the pain in my stomach is terrible.”

“You lie flat. I’ll check you first.”

Old Mo lay flat on the bed cooperatively. Xiao Lou took out his stethoscope and listened. Then his expression changed suddenly.

The intestinal sounds were abnormally hyperactive and there was the clear sound of passing air and water from the stethoscope. According to Dr Zhang’s description, the patient didn’t pass gas or defecate all day long. His lower right abdomen was severely swollen and painful. There was nausea and vomiting plus the previous operation history…

Xiao Lou spoke with a calm face, “It is probably an adhesive intestinal obstruction. Take him immediately to the emergency department for a plain abdominal radiograph to determine the location and severity of the intestinal obstruction.In addition, inform the chief surgeon of the gastrointestinal surgery department and arrange for a surgery after the diagnosis.”

Patients with acute intestinal obstruction had very high mortality rates. Dr Zhang realized the seriousness of the problem and hurried out to make arrangements.

Only Old Mo and Xiao Lou remained in the ward. Xiao Lou gently patted the lightly frightened Old Mo’s wrinkled hand. “Don’t worry, I will arrange for you to receive surgery as soon as possible. It’s just that… how did you suddenly become an old man in his 60s?”

Mo Xuemin helplessly lowered his voice. “The keeper changed my age. In this secret room, I am a 66 year old man who has diabetes and has undergone surgery.” He joked, “This time, I really became ‘Old’ Mo.”

Xiao Lou’s heart was surprised. “The keepers can change everyone’s age at will?”

Old Mo nodded with a calm face. “They intentionally made me grow older and sick to increase the difficulty of the secret room. The keepers are simply unscrupulous!” Old Mo cursed angrily before following up with a question. “Do you know where Group Leader Yu and the others are?”

Xiao Lou replied, “Group Leader Yu has just finished an operation and is still unable to get out of bed. The others haven’t been found yet.”

The moment he finished speaking, Dr Zhang pushed open the door and told Old Mo, “I have arranged it with the imaging department. Let a nurse push you over there. The operating rooms are full and the fastest one will finish in 30 minutes. After taking the film, the escort will send you to operating room 3. Your case information has been passed onto the gastrointestinal surgery department.”

Xiao Lou wondered, “Have you made an appointment with the chief surgeon of the gastrointestinal surgery department?”

Dr Zhang nodded. “Director Liu happened to be in the operating room today and he will do the operation personally.”

Xiao Lou got up. “I happen to be idle and can take him to get the film. Once finished, I will send him to the operating room.”

Dr Zhang spoke gratefully. “I have to trouble Dr Xiao.”

Xiao Lou was still worried about Mo Xuemin’s situation. Old Mo’s heart had been beating like a drum and there was intense pain in his abdomen. An unknown illness instinctively made people fearful. He would be a lot more assured if Xiao Lou accompanied him.

Xiao Lou found a wheelchair and pushed Old Mo to the imaging department. As a result, he had just come out after completing the registration when he saw a familiar face. It was Long Sen. He was also in a wheelchair and being pushed by a carer.

The 66 year old Old Mo in a wheelchair and Long Sen in a wheelchair with a cast on his leg met face to face in the corridor of the hospital. The two men stared at each other.

Xiao Lou suddenly had a headache. His teammates were sick one by one. The keepers were deliberately making it difficult, right?!

Long Sen’s mouth twitched. “Mo… Old Mo, how did you become an old man?”

Mo Xuemin wanted to cough up blood. “What is your situation?”

Long Sen was depressed. “I broke my right leg and the cast has just been fixed on it.”

Xiao Lou, “……”

Long Sen saw Xiao Lou wearing a white coat and nervously slid his wheelchair over. “Professor Xiao, don’t tell me that everyone is sick? Where is Group Leader Yu?”

Xiao Lou told him, “Group Leader Yu is okay. He just can’t get out of bed after an operation and is looking at information in the ward.”

The three men were silent for a moment and soon found one thing in common. Their mobility was limited. Old Mo was going to have intestinal obstruction surgery and would definitely have to rest in bed after it. Long Sen had a broken leg and had a heavy cast put on. Yu Hanjiang was also unable to move around after an operation.

Xiao Lou couldn’t help worrying about the others. He didn’t know what happened to them.

After Old Mo took the film and the results came out, Xiao Lou looked at the X-ray film and felt even more anxious. It was indeed an intestinal obstruction. He took out a pen from his white coat pocket, found a piece of paper, quickly wrote down a series of numbers and handed it to Long Sen. “This is my duty number. If you have any questions then call me. I will settle Old Mo first and then come see you in the orthopedics department.”

Long Sen nodded. “Yes, go ahead.”

Xiao Lou pushed Old Mo into the room.

Director Liu had just finished an operation. Xiao Lou handed over Old Mo’s film and gave a simple introduction. Director Liu said, “The patient’s case has been transferred and I saw it. It should be an intestinal obstruction caused by intestinal adhesion. I will do surgery immediately.”

Xiao Lou wondered, “Do you need me to be an assistant?”

“No, there are two interns in the operating room. I will ask them to help. Dr Xiao, go ahead.”

Xiao Lou couldn’t rest assured as Old Mo was pushed into the operating room. He paced anxiously back and forth in the corridor. He was afraid of what would happen to Old Mo in the operation…

Yu Hanjiang felt Xiao Lou’s anxiety through their connection and whispered in comfort, “Don’t worry, Old Mo will be fine. The keeper arranged it like this just to weaken the team’s fighting power.”

Xiao Lou’s mood calmed down a bit. He looked at the red letters ‘in operation’ at the door and took a deep breath. “It is useless to wait here. It is better to check on the whereabouts of our other teammates.”

“The hospital is so big. Do you want to go through every area?”

“I have a faster way.” Xiao Lou turned to the office of the operating area and explained, “When I received the call to rescue me last night, the Clubs keeper told me that this was a side task. If I completed it, I could unlock the authority of the chief resident.”

“What authority?’

“I can check all the cases in the hospital.”

Xiao Lou pushed open the door of the office. There were several public computers so that the surgery professors could access the case files of patients at any time. Xiao Lou found a free seat and picked up the badge on his white coat.

The badge read: General Surgery, Dr Xiao Lou.

Underneath it was a line of small letters: 724762.

There was an eye-catching ‘Hospital Staff Platform’ icon on the computer desktop. He double-clicked to open it. The login interface needed the username and password. Xiao Lou entered ‘xiaolou’ in the username field and the work number 724762 in the password field and it opened smoothly.

-Welcome to general surgery, Dr Xiao Lou.

The software’s homepage had an outpatient area, inpatient area and other interfaces.

Doctors in each department could only edit and modify the cases of their own departments but they could inquire about the cases of other departments in the hospital. Xiao Lou was a doctor of the general surgery department. After opening the inpatient department, the information of more than 40 patients in the general surgery ward automatically popped up, including Yu Hanjiang’s case. He could edit and modify the information.

There were no other teammates in the general surgery team. He had already seen it during the morning rounds. Xiao Lou found the ‘case inquiry’ button in the upper left corner and clicked on it.

There were many ways to search. He could enter the patient’s name, admission date, medical record number, date of discharge, etc.

Xiao Lou didn’t know other information but the names of his teammates wouldn’t be changed in the secret room. He quickly entered their names to search. Mo Xuemin and Long Sen’s case records matched which made him believe in his own judgment even more.

He entered ‘Qu Wanyue’ and found a case. Xiao Lou opened it and glanced quickly.

—Qu Wanyue, female, 26 years old. An inpatient of the rheumatology department, diagnosed with lupus erythematosus.

Lupus erythematosus was an immune system disease. Patients couldn’t see the light or there would be a light allergic skin butterfly erythema reaction.

—Liu Qiao, female, an 18 years old hematology patient. Admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of aplastic anemia.

Xiao Liu’s age hadn’t been changed. The doctor’s order for this case was all types of medicines used in hospitals to control the disease. Then a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was arranged for three days later.

—Ye Qi, 7 years old with acute pneumonia. Currently living in the pediatric ward.

Xiao Lou was startled. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the case record again.

7 years old, pediatric ward? Ye Qi was turned into a 7 year old child this time?!

Proofreader: Fictional Reality