CHAPTER 191: 191 SAVING PEOPLE HALFWAY

"Brother Liu, I surely learned a lot today," Qiu Mingyuan said as he climbed into the car.

"That’s why it’s important to live thoughtfully. If one can avoid falling ill, it’s best not to get sick," Liu Banxia said, laughing.

"Brother Liu, it’s not just about whether we want to get sick or not, I... Oh my god!" Qiu Mingyuan was cut off when Master Zhang suddenly slammed on the brakes, throwing him off balance.

"Sorry, a car cut in. People drive too impatiently these days," Master Zhang quickly apologized.

"Ah... it can’t be helped. Good thing I had my seatbelt on," Qiu Mingyuan said with a bitter smile.

The abrupt halt was unpleasant, but Master Zhang wasn’t to blame. Ahead, a BMW 3 Series was swerving and frequently changing lanes.

"Changing lanes so recklessly, isn’t he going to cause a rear-end collision?" Liu Banxia asked curiously.

"It’s not surprising; people these days are always in such a rush," Master Zhang said, chuckling.

BANG!

Before Master Zhang could finish his sentence, the BMW was rear-ended, sending it spinning around.

"Well, speak of the devil! Too bad for those two cars on the side," Liu Banxia said, amused.

"Serves him right for showing off. If I were behind him and he tried to cut me off, I’d have sent him for a round of bumper cars by now," Qiu Mingyuan said.

"Anyway, we can’t get through now. Let’s just watch the show. Hopefully, the driver of the car behind him has some backbone and can teach him a lesson."

The BMW driver was a trendy young man wearing sunglasses. He stepped out of the car, apparently cursing loudly, gesturing vehemently at the driver in the car behind him, and slamming the hood of his car.

"Damn, isn’t he being too arrogant?" Qiu Mingyuan said.

"What’s there to argue about? He’s entirely at fault, isn’t he? The car behind was in its proper lane the whole time, right?" Liu Banxia asked.

"The BMW driver is totally at fault, no doubt about it," Master Zhang said with a smile.

Just as they were watching, they noticed the trendy young man suddenly clutch his chest and slowly collapse.

"Damn, now I’ve seen everything! Is he trying to fake an injury? There are dashcams everywhere; what’s he trying to pull?" Qiu Mingyuan exclaimed.

Liu Banxia, however, furrowed his brow. Something seems off. Could he actually be having a heart attack?

Without a second thought, he opened the car door and ran over. The young man was clutching his chest, his eyes rolling upward, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

Liu Banxia quickly checked his pulse; it was racing. He then felt the young man’s heartbeat; it was also dangerously fast.

"Ming Yuan, help coordinate the traffic! He’s having supraventricular tachycardia, likely a heart attack. We need to get him to the hospital immediately!" Liu Banxia shouted to Qiu Mingyuan, who was approaching.

"Brother Liu, it may not be rush hour, but there are still a lot of cars. I’ll do my best," Qiu Mingyuan replied.

Liu Banxia, meanwhile, wasn’t idle. He began performing on-site first aid on the young man. The only thing he could do was massage his carotid sinus.

Massaging the carotid sinus could slow his heart rate, at least preventing shock. Right now, Liu Banxia didn’t know what specific heart condition had triggered the supraventricular tachycardia.

After more than two minutes of massage, the young man’s heart rate gradually stabilized. However, the recent episode must have been incredibly distressing; he now lay in Liu Banxia’s arms, gasping for breath.

Liu Banxia responded, "Okay," then immediately picked the young man up and placed him in Qiu Mingyuan’s car.

Master Zhang didn’t hesitate, turning on the hazard lights and driving off.

"Don’t worry, we’ll be at the hospital soon. Try to keep your breathing steady. I’m going to elevate your legs now," Liu Banxia said, squeezed into the car.

"Take deep breaths, slowly. Listen to my instructions: inhale... exhale... inhale... exhale... Good, your symptoms have improved a lot. Again, inhale... exhale..."

Without any medical equipment or medication, all he could do was try his best to keep the patient calm and delay the progression of his condition. Judging from the patient’s current symptoms, it was most likely an acute myocardial infarction.

Less than a hundred meters from the city hospital’s emergency department, they ran into trouble.

It was a private car, and even with hazard lights flashing and horn blaring, the vehicles ahead at the red light wouldn’t make way. Qiu Mingyuan anxiously got out to speak to the drivers in front, but no one paid him any attention.

Actually, it wasn’t that they were ignoring him. The city roads were only so wide, and the lanes were packed with cars. Even if they wanted to let them pass, there was simply no room.

Besides, for many, there was a calculation to make: giving way meant crossing a solid line, which would lead to points deducted from their license and a fine.

Finally, the light changed, and the car moved forward again.

Liu Banxia let out a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, the patient’s condition had stabilized somewhat. Otherwise, that seemingly insignificant delay at the traffic light could have cost him his life.

Upon reaching the city hospital’s emergency entrance, Liu Banxia carried the young man straight in. Qiu Mingyuan, who had jumped out first, had already called for emergency staff from inside.

"Chest pain during an argument, then collapsed. Suspected acute myocardial infarction. Carotid sinus massage before getting in the car provided some relief," Liu Banxia quickly explained.

The arriving emergency personnel looked at him with surprise and nodded.

They knew they had encountered a colleague; otherwise, no one would have given such a concise and accurate report. However, despite the information provided, they still needed to perform rapid diagnostics.

"Oh my god, Brother Liu... I was so scared earlier I almost wet my pants!" Qiu Mingyuan exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Now you understand how hard it is to be a doctor, right? Sometimes the patients we see are in far more critical condition than this," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"As someone once said, if you truly hate someone, encourage them to study medicine and become a surgeon. It’ll torture them to the brink, guaranteed."

Qiu Mingyuan nodded. The tension he’d felt moments ago was no joke; it was very real.

"Are you the patient’s family?" a nurse asked as she approached.

Liu Banxia shook his head. "We found him on the road. Just follow standard emergency procedures."

The nurse glanced at him and nodded.

"Brother Liu, was she implying we should prepay his medical expenses?" Qiu Mingyuan asked curiously.

Liu Banxia chuckled and shook his head. "The Emergency Department has a certain degree of discretion. In emergencies, they can treat first and bill later. If the patient’s immediate family is present, their consent can be sought. If not, saving the patient’s life is the top priority."

"So, we doctors face many difficulties too. Especially these days, people are more aware of their rights and know how to use the law to protect them. If someone dies in the hospital, many people just assume it’s the hospital’s fault, that people shouldn’t die in hospitals."

"You’re absolutely right. The patient indeed had a myocardial infarction. The ECG showed ST-segment elevation, and he’s already been sent to the operating room for a stent procedure." Just as Liu Banxia finished speaking, the attending doctor from earlier, Ma Zhiguo, came over.

DING! Emergency patient treatment completed. Gained 100 experience points and 50 diagnostic skill proficiency points.

"He should be out of danger now that he’s in the hospital. Doctor Ma, if there’s nothing else, I should head out. I need to get back to work," Liu Banxia said with a smile, glancing at the doctor’s ID badge: Ma Zhiguo, Deputy Chief Physician, Emergency Department.

"Please leave your contact information. If it weren’t for your first aid, he might not have made it," Ma Zhiguo said with a smile.

"It was nothing, really. We just gave him a ride. We should get going; we have a surgery this afternoon." With that, Liu Banxia pulled Qiu Mingyuan, and they walked out.

From his first encounter with Liang Xiaolin, he’d learned that interfering in another doctor’s treatment was unwelcome. So, after bringing the young man in today, he and Qiu Mingyuan had quietly waited.

There’s no need to leave contact information for thanks. If you encounter someone in need and can help, you just do it. Whether that help is life-saving or not isn’t important.

"Dr. Liu, how’s that young man doing?" Master Zhang asked after they got back in the car.

"He’s been taken to the operating room. At least his life is out of danger now. We committed a traffic violation on the way here, didn’t we? Should we report it to the traffic police? Will they need a witness?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Dr. Liu, we have the dashcam footage. I’ll take care of it. Haha, and we saved a life! That’s pretty good," Master Zhang said with a hearty laugh.

"Master Zhang, our composure can’t compare to Brother Liu’s. I was ecstatic just now, but he was so calm and collected," Qiu Mingyuan said with a laugh.

"You guys have to remember what I do for a living. We often encounter patients like this in the Emergency Department," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

"But we did work together as a team. Let’s have a good lunch together. The food at our Second Hospital’s cafeteria is actually really good, not as oily or salty as restaurant food."

"Sounds like a plan!" Qiu Mingyuan said happily.

After they left, Ma Zhiguo, back at the city hospital, found it rather interesting. "Think about it," he mused, "didn’t that person look somewhat familiar? Has he been to the Emergency Department before?"

"Doctor Ma, I don’t think so. We’d definitely remember if he had," said the nurse who had spoken to Liu Banxia earlier.

"But I still feel like he looks familiar," Ma Zhiguo said, frowning.

"Oh, I remember now!" he exclaimed. "The day before yesterday, wasn’t there that video circulating—the one about the patient with cirrhosis and a cyst? That was him in the video, right?"

"Oh my, I think you’re right!" the nurse replied, pausing for a moment before hastily pulling out her phone.

There were several videos of Liu Banxia online now, many of which were edited versions, with things like glasses or a cigar photoshopped onto his image. That particular video had been shot at night, so the lighting wasn’t great, and the image wasn’t very clear.

But a quick comparison confirmed it.

Even Ma Zhiguo found it amusing. When he had first seen that video, he’d actually been a bit put off, thinking Liu Banxia was too "arrogant" and not composed enough.

He hadn’t expected to meet him in person today, and he truly admired Liu Banxia’s courage in "saving someone on the street."