47 Relentless Calls

"Blood donor cards aren't very useful these days," Luo Hao said softly.

"What?! Why aren't they useful?!" The patient's family member froze, staring blankly at Luo Hao as if he were trying to trick them.

Moreover, the words Luo Hao used to deceive him were so utterly childish that they defied description.

When he donated blood back then, it was written clearly in black and white—how could it possibly be useless?! After his initial confusion, the patient's family member grew furious.

This must be some petty young doctor trying to fish for perks, dropping hints about something.

"Please calm down first," Luo Hao said helplessly, preparing to placate the family member first and resolve things step by step once he cooled down.

"It was promised when I donated blood! As long as certain requirements are met, my immediate family can use blood for free whenever needed, no matter how much is required!"

The family member was emotionally agitated, his expression turning somewhat ferocious.

That might be what was said back then, but the rules had been changed, and there was nothing anyone could do about it, Luo Hao thought to himself.

The blood donation policies of those years felt a lot like a Ponzi scheme, and looking back now, Luo Hao truly felt it was utter bullshit.

"Luo Hao, go check on the patient first," Lin Yuming walked over, calm and steady. "I'll explain things to the family."

Luo Hao hesitated slightly, but ultimately left the matter to Lin Yuming.

"Hello, I am Lin Yuming, Director of the Medical Administration Office of the Mining General Hospital."

As Luo Hao walked away, he heard Lin Yuming start with this self-introduction.

Returning to the emergency resuscitation room, the emergency internal medicine physician began reporting the blood test results to Luo Hao.

She had run a series of tests on the patient. "Xiao Luo, maybe we should admit the patient."

"Mm," Luo Hao nodded.

"I've already filled out the admission form," the emergency physician said excitedly, seeing Luo Hao nod, having prepared the paperwork in advance.

"Which department are we admitting to?" Luo Hao asked.

"Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, of course."

"Admit them to the ICU instead. I'll notify Thoracic Surgery for a consultation," Luo Hao reached up and pressed his temples.

His temples were throbbing heavily, and a splitting headache was tearing through his head.

The emergency physician did not know the results of the 64-slice CT scan, but she did not ask too many questions. A patient like this was not something the emergency department could treat anyway.

If the Medical Administration Office hadn't intervened, she would have shipped the patient off to cardiology long ago.

Any department would do, as long as the patient was out of the emergency room.

Luo Hao gently scrolled the mouse, reviewing the patient's laboratory indicators.

Suddenly, his hand stopped.

Type O, Rh-negative.

The patient actually had panda blood—the same rare type as his own!

Luo Hao knew better than anyone how rare this blood type was. Even if the municipal central blood bank had any related stock, it would be at most 5 units.

And the most likely scenario was that there was simply no backup blood of this type available.

"Panda blood?!" The emergency physician also noticed the newly returned blood type and exclaimed in surprise.

Given that the patient was already in critical condition with a low probability of survival, adding panda blood to the mix... in a sense, a death sentence had basically been handed down.

After her initial shock, the emergency physician immediately began writing a new admission notice, eager to make sure the patient didn't die on her watch.

With the admission papers filled out and the transfer ready, Luo Hao went to brief Lin Yuming on the situation.

Entering the cramped consultation room, he saw the family member's eyes were red and swollen, and the plaster bandage on his arm had snapped, suggesting he had just been highly agitated, though he had calmed down somewhat now.

Lin Yuming sat quietly opposite him, his expression flat, revealing no emotion.

"Director Lin, the patient has panda blood," Luo Hao said directly as he walked in.

"?!?!" Lin Yuming's expression shifted slightly.

"I have an idea," Luo Hao said softly.

"What idea?"

"I'm in a panda blood mutual-aid group. I can ask in there; everyone is usually quite proactive about helping each other out. If I explain the situation, there should be a few people in surrounding cities and counties who can come donate."

"How do you happen to be in a group like that?!" After saying this, Lin Yuming suddenly fell silent, staring fixedly at Luo Hao.

Luo Hao also had panda blood!

Otherwise, there was no way he could possibly have been added to such a group.

"Director Lin, let me go donate blood first. Could you please contact the blood bank? I'll head over right now to get the red blood cells as quickly as possible."

Lin Yuming heard the formal honorific "you" once again.

Whenever he heard Luo Hao use that particular word, nothing good ever followed.

This time was especially outrageous.

However, the patient had already triggered a critical value alert and was clinging to life. Luo Hao was still young, and donating a bit of blood wouldn't hurt, so Lin Yuming thought about it and let the matter go.

He could donate 400ml first... no, 200ml, and then they would figure out the rest.

Though 200ml of blood was a mere drop in the bucket for the patient, it was still blood—and specifically the blood of a young man like Luo Hao, not normal saline—so it would definitely be of use.

The blood should be brimming with vital life force.

To buy time, Lin Yuming stationed himself in the emergency department to coordinate with the blood bank, while Luo Hao drove himself to the blood donation center.

...

Lin Yuming had a mountain of troubles on his mind.

Placating the family, sending the patient to the ward, instructing the ICU doctors and nurses, and coordinating with the blood bank.

Meanwhile, new patients kept streaming into the emergency department.

Fortunately, Luo Hao had rounded up a dozen interns early on, preventing the emergency department's manpower from being stretched to a breaking point.

Had it not been for Luo Hao's foresight, the emergency department would likely be in total chaos by now.

Luo Hao was truly reliable; both his technical skill and organizational ability were exceptional, Lin Yuming thought, giving Luo Hao a fair assessment amidst his busy work.

It was just that his heart was too soft, and he empathized far too easily—a common ailment of the youth, just like his father.

After grinding through five years of clinical practice, he would naturally grow indifferent; such things could not be forced.

Lin Yuming felt helpless toward Luo Hao's "wilfulness." Luo Hao looked so much like his late old friend, father and son sharing the same bloodline, so this was inevitable.

He just hoped Luo Hao would mature sooner.

Had he known the medical system would end up in this state, he never would have let Luo Hao choose a medical career in the first place, Lin Yuming thought with a hint of regret.

Everyone claimed to be a materialist, yet they stubbornly relied on doctors and nurses running on sheer spiritual willpower to keep things afloat.

Nowadays, medical staff were expected to give nothing but selfless dedication, with no regard for material reality...

Just as Lin Yuming was grumbling and feeling regret, the siren of a 120 ambulance echoed outside.

Sitting behind the triage desk, Lin Yuming did not stand up, merely watching the interns bustle about.

"Two stretchers, I need two! Put them side by side, be careful!" Hou Dong-feng's voice rang out.

"???" Lin Yuming paused for a moment. Was the crosstalk comedian Sun Yue visiting Donglian City and calling an ambulance? Otherwise, why would anyone ask for two stretchers side by side?

A commotion erupted at the 120 emergency entrance, but it quickly subsided, leaving only muffled sounds.

After a full three minutes, four interns and an orderly pushed two stretchers inside.

Lin Yuming glanced over, and even as seasoned as he was, he froze instantly.

Three men were lying sideways across two side-by-side stretchers, heads bowed, trying to bury their faces as deep as possible.

Though their full faces weren't visible, Lin Yuming deduced that the patients' lives were not in immediate danger.

However, their posture was bizarre; covered with blue disposable sterile sheets for warmth, it was impossible to tell what had transpired.

"What's going on here?" Lin Yuming intercepted Hou Dong-feng and asked.

"Director Lin!" Hou Dong-feng snapped to attention, but upon hearing Lin Yuming's question, he wore an expression of mixed laughter and tears. "The three of them were having fun at home, arranged themselves in the shape of the Chinese character '州' (zhou), and got stuck together. That's why they called 120."

"What?" Lin Yuming was momentarily dazed, failing to comprehend.

But as soon as the words settled, Lin Yuming understood what had happened.

The character "州"—Lin Yuming felt he would never be able to look at that Chinese character the same way again.

"Send them to Anorectal Surgery," Lin Yuming frowned, looking highly displeased.

Normally, this sort of thing would just be juicy gossip, but happening right in the middle of a severe natural disaster marked by a freezing snowstorm, this was an outright abuse of public health resources.

Ridiculous!

"Right." Hou Dong-feng was about to move, but several interns had already rushed forward to push the stretchers. They only moved a few paces before stopping, and one intern turned back to ask, "Teacher, there are two stretchers, how do we get them into the elevator?"

"!!!" Lin Yuming was left speechless.

Indeed, that was a real problem.

Yet he had no mood to deal with the three men arranged in the shape of "州"; he would leave Hou Dong-feng to figure it out.

Because Lin Yuming had no idea how to maneuver the three of them into an elevator and send them off to the anorectal department either.

Lin Yuming watched the stretchers recede into the distance, continuing to sit quietly behind the triage desk, feeling uneasy and restless.

For some reason, a lingering sense of apprehension plagued him today, as if something bad was bound to happen. Even while holding down the fort in the emergency department, this sensation refused to dissipate.

Lin Yuming knew it had nothing to do with the freezing blizzard.

No matter how many patients arrived, even if two medical malpractice incidents occurred, it wouldn't phase a seasoned and sharp medical administration director.

He was holding down the fort in the emergency department himself. Asking his conscience, which medical administration director among thousands of Grade-III Class-A hospitals across the country could do what he was doing?

His conscience was clear; if a medical accident happened, it was simply fate.

The patient and the doctor on duty had bad luck, while he himself had managed to stay out of the direct line of fire.

Yet as time dragged on, Lin Yuming's anxiety only intensified. Like an ant on a hot pan, he finally stood up, put his hands behind his back, and began patrolling the wards.

The first stop had to be Orthopedics; at least 80% of the patients admitted today were fracture cases caused by the weather.

Upon arriving at the Orthopedics department, Lin Yuming's eyes were immediately met with rows of extra beds lining the hallway.

And this was even after minor cases were sent home with casts; every single patient here required surgery.

Orthopedics was going to have a terribly busy day tomorrow, by the looks of it.

Spotting nurses running about on legs that seemed barely to touch the floor, Lin Yuming asked, "Where is the physician on duty?"

"Dir... Director Lin!" The nurse immediately pointed toward the orthopedic intensive care unit. "Inside, checking on a patient."

"What kind of patient?"

"Hemorrhagic shock. The diagnosis seems to be femoral shaft fracture and pelvic fracture."

"Carry on," Lin Yuming said, walking over with his hands clasped behind his back.

The orthopedic duty physician sat slumped in a chair beside the hospital bed, staring hollowly at the cardiac monitor.

"How is the patient?" Lin Yuming asked as he stepped inside.

"Director Lin, why are you here?" The orthopedic doctor stood up. "Is he a relative of yours..."

"No, it's a freezing snowstorm today, so I'm patrolling the hospital to see if there are any difficulties."

"Director Lin, the patient has a retroperitoneal hematoma and a pelvic fracture, and urgently needs a blood transfusion," the orthopedic doctor stated bluntly, holding nothing back.

The lack of blood supply had driven him to utter despair.

Hearing the word "transfusion" yet again, Lin Yuming furrowed his brow deeply.

"Has the patient's family organized mutual-aid blood donations?" Lin Yuming asked.

"They've organized it, but the roads are icy and snowy, and the people haven't arrived yet. Red blood cells probably won't arrive until dawn at the earliest. But look at the patient's..."

The orthopedic doctor cast a helpless glance at the cardiac monitor.

The patient's blood pressure was critically low; vasopressors were being pumped and fluids pushed, but the systolic pressure hovered stubbornly around 75 to 80 mmHg—a textbook case of hemorrhagic shock.

Lin Yuming knew what needed to be done, but he hesitated, reluctant to voice it directly.

"Director Lin, normally interventional radiology handles these operations. I feel this case belongs to vascular surgery anyway; do you think I can transfer the patient over?" Seeing Lin Yuming remain silent, the orthopedic doctor tried to pass the buck.

Lin Yuming glared at him.

What the orthopedic doctor said wasn't wrong in principle—since the condition involved ruptured blood vessels, treating it under vascular surgery was technically valid.

Yet, as the old saying went, simple interventional surgeries weren't lucrative, and the vascular surgery team was too busy handling major elective procedures to bother with emergency hemostasis surgeries of this nature.

In the past, interventional radiology handled them all, but after the interventional specialists were poached by hospitals in the south, the Mining General Hospital found itself completely crippled whenever similar cases arose.

But now...

Lin Yuming hesitated and hesitated again. After two full minutes of internal struggle, he pulled out his phone.

"Luo Hao, are you done donating blood?"

"Good, drive slowly. How are you feeling?"

"There's a patient with a pelvic fracture and hemorrhagic shock right now who needs surgery."

Learning that Luo Hao was physically fine and sounded vigorous on the phone, Lin Yuming ultimately decided to call him back.

This fell squarely into the category of a life-or-death summons.

Had it not been out of absolute desperation, Lin Yuming would never have asked a doctor to perform an interventional surgery immediately after donating blood.

Especially when that person happened to be his own nephew.

Not even beasts of burden like mules or horses were worked this hard, but human beings sometimes fell short of animals.

Yet when a crisis struck, whoever was available had to be used, and Lin Yuming felt profound helplessness.

*Just this once, never again,* Lin Yuming told himself by way of justification.

"Director Lin, can we do the interventional surgery?" The orthopedic doctor asked, a mix of surprise and relief washing over him.

"Mm," Lin Yuming grunted, in a gloomy and listless mood as he nodded.

The unease in his heart grew denser; perhaps it was because Luo Hao had to go straight into surgery after donating blood.

"Go brief the family, urge them to get the blood donations moving, and get the preoperative preparation for the interventional surgery done. Hurry up and send the patient to the interventional operating room," Lin Yuming ordered.

"You got it!" The orthopedic doctor dropped his attempt to pass the buck and hastily complied.

As long as an interventional surgery could embolize the bleeding vessels, a patient like this could be stabilized; everything else boiled down to transfusions and fluid resuscitation.

A case of S-tier difficulty instantly dropped to B-tier difficulty.

Yet after arranging everything, Lin Yuming felt no sense of relief; instead, he remained listless and fidgety.

Draped in a military-style cotton overcoat, he stood at the emergency department entrance waiting for Luo Hao to return.

After a full hour, Luo Hao's Peugeot 307 finally appeared in his field of vision.

Freezing wind chilled Lin Yuming to the bone even beneath his heavy coat, but out of a deep sense of guilt, he had refused to go back inside to warm up.

"You're back," Lin Yuming said as Luo Hao stepped out of the car, immediately taking off his heavy coat and draping it over Luo Hao's shoulders.

Luo Hao looked surprised, but instantly understood Lin Yuming's state of mind.

"Big Uncle, I'm fine," Luo Hao patted his chest, producing a dull thud. "Still young."

Youth—truly a wonderful thing.

"To go straight into surgery wearing lead armor right after donating blood, sigh..." Lin Yuming was consumed by guilt.

"I've got the lead apron! Don't worry, Big Uncle, mission guaranteed," Luo Hao smiled, offering reassurance to Lin Yuming.

Lin Yuming observed him closely; although Luo Hao's spirit seemed high, his complexion was somewhat pale, likely the result of blood loss.

"Xiao Luohao, how much blood did you donate? 200 or 400?"

"400," Luo Hao smiled.

"400 is a bit much, take good care of your health," Lin Yuming patted Luo Hao's shoulder. "If you can't finish the surgery, just drop it. Stop the bleeding and provide symptomatic treatment; the patient won't necessarily die."

"I know, Big Uncle."

Luo Hao and Lin Yuming walked straight to the interventional catheterization laboratory.

The patient had already been brought in; blood pressure sat at 70/40 mmHg, and the state of hemorrhagic shock was worsening.

Naturally so—with a blood vessel constantly hemorrhaging while only saline was being infused, hemodilution set in, bringing a cascade of negative physiological effects.

Luo Hao glanced at the patient's films, grasped the severity of the condition, and turned to put on his lead apron and scrub his hands.

Lin Yuming followed closely behind Luo Hao. As piece after heavy piece of radiation-shielding equipment was layered onto Luo Hao, Lin Yuming felt a terrible churning in his stomach.

Relying entirely on sheer spiritual willpower to keep things going—this in itself was thoroughly unmaterialist.

After helping Luo Hao strap on his lead cap and lead-glass goggles, Lin Yuming repeated his warning: if he couldn't finish the procedure, he should just stop and not push himself.

Luo Hao nodded earnestly and began scrubbing his hands.

In the system interface in the upper right corner of his vision, the task progress bar had already reached Level 2.

With interns helping transport patients and Lin Yuming holding down the fort, the Mining General Hospital's emergency reception capacity had improved by leaps and bounds, which brought Luo Hao some solace.

Since he now had an extra staff "slot" for his medical team, he really ought to add Chen Yong to it.

Chen Yong was young, after all, and had more potential than Wang Guohua.

His long-term main quest should be wrapping up soon as well, Luo Hao thought with a smile.

His body certainly felt fatigued after the blood donation, and the lead apron felt heavier than ever before. Luo Hao felt his range of movement restricted; he genuinely wished he could strip off the lead gear and properly recover his blood volume.

With Lin Yuming standing right beside him, however, that wishful thinking was out of the question.

Luo Hao bore the mountain-like weight as he stepped into the operating room.

Fresh off a blood donation, lacking an assistant, and burdened by dozens of pounds of lead gear, multiple debuffs weighed heavily on Luo Hao, making even breathing feel like a chore.

Once his long-term main quest was completed, those 15 free attribute points were definitely going into stamina, Luo Hao reminded himself.

He had mentally utilized those 15 free attribute points countless times already.

For now, Luo Hao could only draw figurative big pancakes for himself; doing so at least kept his spirits up.

Disinfection.

The simple motion left Luo Hao profoundly exhausted. A crushing wave of fatigue rose from the marrow of his bones, making even the sponge forceps in his hand feel remarkably heavy.

The airtight lead door clicked shut. Luo Hao glanced at the clock.

It was already 6:30.

Having tossed and turned all night, he hadn't even managed to drink a single sip of water.

He hoped to finish the surgery quickly and successfully, Luo Hao thought to himself.

Outside the lead-glass partition, Lin Yuming stood consumed by worry.

His phone suddenly rang, giving him a start.

"Director Lin, the blood you guys donated has finished processing. Send an ambulance to pick it up."

It was a call from the central blood bank.

"Alright, I'll send someone right over. Thank you!" Lin Yuming said.

"How is the young man who donated the blood? Make sure to let him lie down and rest. We told him not to donate that much, but he refused to listen."

"???" Lin Yuming blinked, Luo Hao's somewhat pale face flashing before his eyes.

Lie down, rest?

He was currently performing surgery while wearing dozens of pounds of lead gear.

"Hurry up and send someone to pick it up. Six units of red blood cells, don't mix them up."

Lin Yuming's hand stiffened, his pupils contracting sharply.

"You must be mistaken, it should be 2 units of red blood cells," Lin Yuming asked in a trembling voice.

"No mistake, it's 6 units. I told them you can't donate that much blood at once, but the young man from your unit said the patient needed a lot and he was still young, so he donated 1,200 milliliters in one go."

Lin Yuming's brain let out a loud *buzz*.

Luo Hao, you bastard, you lying piece of shit! Not a single honest word came out of your mouth!!

"Let him rest more. Even if he's young, that's 1,200 milliliters of blood. Later on, his veins even collapsed from the draw; our nurse had never drawn that much before, her hands were shaking."

By the time the other end hung up, Lin Yuming hadn't registered it. A persistent ringing echoed in his ears like a swarm of buzzing bees, rendering him unable to hear anything clearly.

Under normal circumstances, if someone else had done this, Lin Yuming would have showered them with praise and petitioned the hospital for every honor available.

But that was his own nephew!

When that bastard came back, he had sworn up and down that he only donated 400 milliliters.

Had he known he donated 1,200 milliliters, he would not have let him step foot in an operating room, come hell or high water.

Yet!

The surgery had already begun.

Lin Yuming's hands trembled slightly.

Luo Hao's hands were trembling slightly too.

The aftereffects of the blood donation were manifesting. Luo Hao glanced toward the lead-glass partition, found a blind spot, and nudged a gap open in his lead skirt.

Taking advantage of a moment spent stepping on the fluoroscopy pedal, he managed to recover a bit of his blood volume.

Only after the energy conversion took effect did Luo Hao regain some vigor and steady his hands once more.

The surgery proceeded very slowly. Normally, Luo Hao could complete an embolization for a pelvic fracture in an hour.

Because his body was in a weakened state, however, the procedure dragged on, and it took him nearly two hours just to prepare to embolize the final blood vessel.

It was a negative feedback loop.

A weakened body prolonged the surgical time, and the heavy lead armor further exhausted his body.

Compounding the problem, the patient's condition was complex, with bleeding originating from five separate vessels.

Not until he reached the final vessel did Luo Hao pause, drawing heavy breaths to restore his mental focus.

"Luo Hao, can you hold on? If not, take a break," Lin Yuming pressed the intercom button to speak with Luo Hao.

"Director Lin, I'm fine, almost done," Luo Hao turned his head and offered Lin Yuming a reassuring smile.

You scoundrel!

Though Luo Hao was smiling, the undeniable pallor beneath his lead goggles wrung Lin Yuming's heart with deep ache, and he cursed him bitterly in his mind.

"Got any sugar? Bring me a bottle, make it 10%."

"Coming." The nurse immediately retrieved a bottle of 10% glucose, snipped the end of the infusion tubing, and threaded one end through the gap in Luo Hao's mask, slipping it directly into his mouth.

The 10% glucose was cloyingly sweet and coated his throat.

Had he not felt the onset of hypoglycemia symptoms, Luo Hao would never have touched it.

After swallowing a few mouthfuls of sugar, Luo Hao clearly felt his mucous membranes absorb the glucose, quickly converting it into the energy his body required.

Spirits lifting, Luo Hao narrowed his eyes and eagerly sucked down a bit more of the liquid.

"Done." Luo Hao spat out the tubing and said softly, "By the way, please help me close the airtight lead door."

"Dr. Luo, do you need to rest for a moment?" The nurse asked, seeing that Luo Hao had clearly reached the end of his tether.

"The surgery's almost done," Luo Hao smiled.

Through the lead glass, Luo Hao caught sight of Lin Yuming's deeply furrowed brow.

The airtight lead door slowly closed. Luo Hao centered his mind and spirit, moving to embolize the final vessel.

*[They all say a man remains a boy until the day he dies...]*

Luo Hao's phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number.

Lin Yuming picked up the phone and answered.

"Are you Dr. Luo Hao? The inspection team has received a real-name report accusing you of irregular medication practices. Come to my office at once."

!!!

Lin Yuming's hand froze, and his phone slipped from his grasp, hitting the floor with a sharp *bang*.

Damn it!

No wonder he had felt so uneasy all day!