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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Yiman was a good doctor, but not a good psychologist. She knew well where her inner demons came from, yet for all these years, she had been unable to take a single step forward. Whenever she saw someone on the brink of death, she couldn't help but recall events from a few years ago.
Back then, her mind was not so cluttered. Back then, she did not believe that the dead were much kinder than the living.
Everything stemmed from a patient who had been severely injured in a car accident. By the time he arrived at the hospital, he was already teetering on the edge of death. On the surface, he appeared to have only minor abrasions, seemingly one of those lucky survivors who had narrowly escaped a catastrophic crash. According to his family, after the incident, he looked completely fine; he calmly called the police and didn’t even bother to call an ambulance.
If he hadn’t suddenly collapsed to the ground and remained unresponsive ten minutes later, his family might not have even considered taking him to the hospital.
He looked fine on the outside, but internally, his organs were nearly shattered. Internal bleeding without external wounds is always a severe condition that can be fatal at any moment. Moreover, his family had delayed calling for help for a full fifteen minutes. Even if Hua Tuo were alive, he wouldn’t have been able to save him.
The surgery lasted four hours, from evening until night.
Xu Yiman fought against death six times to reclaim his life, but in the end, she lost.
It was evident to all the doctors that Xu Yiman had done her utmost during the surgery, but the patient could not see it.
“How could a healthy person die after being brought to the hospital?”
“You doctors only care about money; you don’t know how to do anything.”
“No way; we want answers.”
This was not Xu Yiman's first encounter with death, but it was her first interaction with forensic medicine.
“Dead people don’t lie,” was what the forensic doctor told her.
The Autopsy Report soon came out, clearly identifying the cause of death. In that surgery, Xu Yiman had done everything within her power. Doctors are not deities; they cannot guarantee that every patient on the brink of death can be saved; they can only do their best.
Such results were unbearable for the deceased's family. They sat daily at the hospital entrance demanding that Xu Yiman be handed over and that she and the hospital pay one million in compensation. Day after day, it was as if they never needed to work. It was as if they had never seen the Autopsy Report and believed that Xu Yiman had killed their loved one.
The hospital was tormented; Xu Yiman was tormented. That day, she finally couldn’t hold back any longer and confronted the family despite everyone’s warnings. The result was that the patient's relatives acted like rabid dogs, stripping away Xu Yiman’s dignity piece by piece in front of a bustling hospital entrance.
By the time security responded, her dignity had already been torn into shreds.
Bystanders naturally did not know what had happened but were eager to witness a woman—especially a beautiful woman—being humiliated in public. That day, the lights used for photography shone as brightly as daylight. The next day, Xu Yiman fled her hometown in disgrace and never returned.
She thought that arriving in Dragon City would allow her to start anew; however, from that moment on, she found herself unable to face dying individuals again. She lacked confidence in saving everyone and told herself that as long as she became a forensic doctor, she would never have to endure what she once faced.
Now she had to confront what she dreaded most.
Jiang He simply said, “The ambulance will take a few more minutes to arrive; right now, you are the only doctor here.”
A few minutes, for a dying person, is naturally the distance between life and death.
Xu Yiman looked at Old Shao, her body suddenly stopped trembling, for she saw tears welling up in Jiang He's eyes.
"You've found your feelings," Xu Yiman stepped closer.
"No," Jiang He replied.
Learning to speak insincerely was the second step in having emotions.
Xu Yiman suddenly felt the world had quieted down; the noisy voices in the square abruptly ceased as if they had all agreed to stop. This reminded Xu Yiman of her middle school days when, after the teacher left, the children could no longer contain their chatter, but suddenly, everyone would fall silent as if the teacher had returned.
Her deskmate told her that at such times, angels passed overhead.
She recalled her deskmate asking her what job she wanted to do when she grew up, and she had answered decisively that she wanted to be a doctor. Her mother had always been unwell, and her greatest wish was to become a doctor and cure her mother's illness.
She said doctors were like angels; both saved lives.
But when did she forget that?
Suddenly, she walked towards Jiang He and said, "Do whatever I say. Old Shao's condition is critical. How long until the ambulance arrives?"
"Maybe three minutes," Jiang He guessed.
There were less than fifteen seconds until the New Year.
At 11:57 PM on New Year's Eve, Yuan Jun ran towards the edge of the square like a mad dog. Several ambulances were parked around the square to prevent any accidents in the crowd of one hundred thousand people. But with so many people in the square, there was no room for even a bicycle to pass through.
"Get ready to save him; his throat has been cut!" Yuan Jun gasped as he spoke to the ambulance driver.
"They don't allow cars in the square, and besides, there's no way to get through with so many people here. Saving one person could crush a hundred others," said a man in his forties who leaned against the ambulance smoking a cigarette. "You can only carry him over here; there are stretchers inside."
Yuan Jun was not someone who lacked words, but at that moment he didn't want to say anything. He kicked the driver to the ground, causing a doctor inside the ambulance to exclaim repeatedly, "Aren't you a police officer? How can you just hit someone?"
Yuan Jun threw his badge on the ground. "From now on, I'm not."
Saying this, he opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat. "Turn on the siren."
The ambulance siren blared, but the crowd in the square showed no signs of dispersing. In front of them stood several round barriers spaced a meter apart; they were meant to prevent cars from entering. Yuan Jun rolled down his window and shouted at the crowd ahead, "Ambulance coming through! Make way!"
No one moved aside; less than two minutes remained until New Year’s. They had already begun to anticipate it in their hearts; soon enough, countless fireworks would explode in the sky, marking the start of a joyful and peaceful year.
"I told you, you can't drive up there."
The driver got up from the ground and teased, "Stop wasting time, hurry up and bring the injured over."
"There’s no place I can't drive to."
Yuan Jun slammed the clutch and pressed down on the gas pedal. The roaring sound was almost louder than the siren, accompanied by a burning smell. The ambulance was like a cheetah ready to sprint at any moment, as if it would bolt away in the next second.
"You’re driving dangerously! You're still a police officer, and there are so many people ahead. You could get fired for this!" the female doctor shouted.
"That's why I said earlier that from now on, I'm not a police officer anymore." Yuan Jun pulled out his gun and fired three shots into the sky. "If you don't move aside, just wait to collect bodies on New Year's Day!"
As he spoke, Yuan Jun released the clutch and floored the accelerator, sending the ambulance crashing into the barriers at the edge of the square. The stone balls rolled in the direction of the vehicle, as if giants were playing a game of bowling. The crowd, which had been reluctant to move moments ago, now scattered faster than anyone else. The round stones cleared a path ahead while Yuan Jun drove behind. Some people couldn't dodge in time and fell to the ground; the vehicle collided with the crowd several times, but under Yuan Jun's control, disaster was averted. The doctor had closed her eyes tightly, gripping the handrail with all her might, too scared to let go.
Chaos erupted in one corner of the square as people shouted and dodged, spreading like a virus until it engulfed the entire area.
The previously quiet crowd erupted once again.
They all put down their phones, confused about why they received such videos. They looked around at each other in astonishment, realizing that everyone seemed to have received similar messages. They also noticed that there were people nearby dressed exactly like those in the video, wearing masks.
"What does this mean?"
"I think I've seen this video before."
"It must be some kind of New Year celebration program."
"It's Criminal Consultant."
Those who understood and those who didn't began to discuss among themselves.
Then there were those who didn’t hesitate; they tore off their collars and threw them high into the sky. Some did it quickly while others took their time. These collars were inconspicuous in the darkness; people only noticed something flying into the air, rising and falling like some sort of ritual.
The followers of Criminal Consultant looked up at the sky, unsure of what their leader intended to do. They had been instructed to wear their collars but received this video just one minute before New Year’s Eve. As they finished watching it, they faintly heard the countdown to New Year’s approaching.
On one side, a large screen on the Department Store displayed a simulated countdown.
They heard someone starting to shout along with it.
"Ten."
"Nine."
"Eight."
They began to pull the collars from their necks.
"Seven."
"Six."
"Five."
One by one, they threw the collars into the sky.
"Four."
"Three."
"Two."
The collars soared into the air.
"One."
With the distant fireworks bursting, everyone noticed that just above their heads, small fireworks were exploding one after another. Red, white, purple, and green, it felt as if they were diving into a sea of fireworks.
Jiang He and Xu Yiman instinctively looked outside the café.
The fireworks display was indeed breathtaking.
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