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Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Orthopedic Expert
Han Jiaojiao heard this and managed to muster a forced smile, for she was anything but relaxed at the moment.
Yan Xiao’s condition was different from Hong Yun’s. Hong Yun’s eye injury had already been treated cleanly, and it was merely a superficial cut. If it hadn’t been located in such a crucial area as the eye, it could have been considered a minor wound. However, Yan Xiao’s entire wrist was fractured, skin, flesh, tendons, and bone, completely severed! Han Jiaojiao had to maintain the cellular activity of the two cross sections and also control the blood flow, which naturally increased the consumption of her ability.
In any case, Han Jiaojiao’s actions were like giving Zhou Yan a dose of reassurance.
For doctors, running out of time is what they fear the most. Debridement, disinfection, treatment, repair, suturing, etc., all require time, and not a single step can be rushed or mistaken. As long as Han Jiaojiao could ensure the injury didn’t worsen, it was already a godsend for Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan became even more composed and started using the electrocautery to stem the bleeding from Zhao Wei’s damaged blood vessels.
Lu Changyuan returned quickly, accompanied by a woman carrying a child. The woman entered the main room with her head bowed subserviently. Her little daughter in her arms seemed to have no clue what was going on, her big, clear, black and white eyes looking left and right, finally settling on the spiced melon seeds on the coffee table.
Han Jiaojiao’s heart softened at the sight. Despite knowing that it might be somewhat despicable, for Yan Xiao’s sake...
"Don’t worry, we’ll send you back once the surgery is done," Han Jiaojiao said softly and then added to Lu Changyuan, "Brother Lu, there are some snacks in the cabinet. Take some out for the child."
Lu Changyuan nodded, bent down to open the cabinet door, and handed several packets of milk biscuits and banana chips to the little girl. The child took the snacks without hesitation, eagerly cradling them in her arms—clearly, she was famished. It wasn’t hard to guess that the child probably hadn’t had much in the way of snacks since entering the base. Even with the high points doctors received each month, when exchanging them priority would inevitably go to essential living supplies, and luxuries like snacks were out of the question.
Standing at the medical room door, Lu Changyuan looked at Zhao Wei and Yan Xiao and, seeing the situation was relatively stable, said, "There’s blood everywhere here; I’ll take them to the second floor next door to avoid scaring the child."
It wasn’t out of tenderness, but simply because he didn’t want to upset the child and interfere with Zhou Yan’s medical work.
Han Jiaojiao nodded in agreement.
In the meantime, Hao Boming’s wife only looked up once. At a glance, she saw the tattoo on Zhu Changfu’s arm and immediately recoiled, clutching the little girl tightly, afraid to breathe too loudly.
Han Jiaojiao understood her fear and unease, but she had no way to comfort her at the moment because, if Hao Boming refused to treat Yan Xiao upon arrival, they might have to resort to intimidation, threats, and even harm against the mother and daughter.
She didn’t want to witness such a scene.
Now all she could hope for was... that Hao Boming would be sensible enough...
Before long, the screeching of a car’s brakes sounded from outside, followed by the cursing voice of a man— 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
"Is there no law in your eyes?! Do you know who I am?! Huh?! In broad daylight..."
"Daddy!" The little girl, perched on the second-floor window, waved to Hao Boming.
"Tiantian?! Why are you taking my daughter?! I warn you! If a single hair on my daughter’s head is harmed, I won’t let you off!"
"Husband..." The woman stood by the window, her eyes brimming with tears, calling out to him.
Hao Boming, furious, bellowed, "Xiaojing?! Damn! You can’t even keep an eye on the child at home! And you’re crying? Cry, cry, cry! That’s all you know how to do!—" Agitated, Hao Boming was heading upstairs when Yang Qi and Zhou Xiaoliang stopped him at the doorway.
Zhu Changfu stepped forward, grabbed Hao Boming by the collar, and dragged him toward the medical room.
"Cure him and get lost, fail to cure him... and your family of three can go have a reunion in the Underworld," Zhu Changfu said with a vicious edge.
Hao Boming knew he couldn’t escape once he saw the show of force, internally cursing Han Yi and the others vehemently, yet he didn’t dare to be too reckless on the surface. Reluctantly, he walked over to Yan Xiao, glanced at him, and with drooping brows said, "Such severe wounds... they need to be treated in a hospital..."
Zhu Changfu spit and cursed, "Damn it! If the hospital would treat him, would we need to capture you?! Stop playing tricks, you little bastard, and get to work! Stop dawdling!"
Zhu Changfu, unlike the restraint of Han Yi and Lu Changyuan, would shake all over with tensed muscles when he grew angry, making the tattoos on his arms look particularly intimidating.
Hao Boming’s legs went soft, and his voice weakened by a notch as he said, "I really can’t treat him, I will be punished... Besides, I don’t have the equipment I need here."
"What do you need? Just tell us," Han Yi said, eyeing him coldly.
Hao Boming shrank back and said, "A set of microsurgical equipment is a must—microforceps, vascular dilators, microsurgical scissors, curved microsurgical scissors, microsurgical needle holders..."
He intentionally listed a bunch of specialized medical equipment terms, hoping Han Yi and the others would give up due to the difficulty.
Unexpectedly, Han Yi didn’t hesitate for a moment and simply instructed, "Heizi, accompany Doctor Zhou to fetch them." They didn’t lack medical equipment, but the only person who recognized these tools was Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan, having almost finished suturing Zhao Wei, hurried off after removing his gloves, and soon he and Heizi brought back a large heap of medical equipment from another building.
Zhou Yan looked deeply at Hao Boming and said, "Please, Doctor Hao."
Yu Wanxi held a mask, gloves, and sterilized surgical gowns in her hands.
Hao Boming’s eyes widened in astonishment at the various medical instruments in front of him, "You even have a vascular anastomosis device?!"
Lu Changyuan watched him coldly, "Doctor Hao, the patient is waiting. Can we start now?"
Hao Boming felt like crying but had no tears, anxiously saying, "This really isn’t proper, I’ll be punished by the base!..."
Han Yi said indifferently, "You don’t have to treat him."
Hao Boming’s expression brightened.
"I will have someone chop off your hands and throw you out. At that time, I wonder which doctor in the base hospital could reattach your hands?"
Hao Boming: "..."
"A surgeon without hands, I wonder if you could still live in the house in the East District? How about moving to the South District? It’s become quite spacious there after being cleaned out by the Mutant Birds."
Hao Boming turned pale, took a deep breath, walked over to Yu Wanxi, picked up a disposable mask she was handing out, and put it on with a heavy voice, "... You can’t blame me if it can’t be reattached, the limb reattachment surgery is very complicated to begin with, and the length of time the limb has been severed directly affects the success rate of the surgery... Tell me, how long has it been since it was severed?"
Han Jiaojiao looked at him through gritted teeth, her dislike for the hesitant doctor apparent, and replied on the spot, "Don’t worry, it’s still fresh!"
Seeing this, Hao Boming glanced at Yan Xiao’s hand – it indeed looked very fresh and ruddy. He couldn’t help but give Han Jiaojiao a double-take, thinking to himself: Could it have been chopped off just a minute ago?
With Hao Boming taking over, Han Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief, got up to check on Zhao Wei’s wound. Zhou Yan had already started treating the other wounds on Zhao Wei’s body, and Yu Wanxi was also busy, disinfecting and cleaning the wounds on Xiao Jian and Cheng Cheng’s bodies.
It was unclear what kind of dangerous situation the four of them had encountered on their mission; their wounds were caked with mud, mixed with blood that had coagulated, making them very difficult to clean.
