Chapter 24 Rescue

Watching the thugs run away in a panic, Song Zhao gently squeezed Gu Yanzhi's hand, then quietly left the group.

Uncle Zhang noticed his movements, looked up at him knowingly, moved his lips but ultimately didn't say anything.

The others used blankets collected by Zhong Junfeng and Yin Meng to cover the cart, carefully securing the blankets to ensure there were no gaps and that they wouldn't fall off. This also helped to keep out some prying eyes.

Including the handcart that Uncle Zhuang made, there were a total of 9 carts, one for each family. Uncle Zhang and Uncle Zhuang's families also took one more, and then the group headed back.

On the way back, the young people got playful and asked Zhuang Nanyang to teach them how to ice skate.

The ice sled was easy to control, and Zhuang Nanyang gave everyone a brief explanation and demonstration. Squatting on the wooden plank, with two sharpened sticks stuck into the ice, a push backward propelled the sled forward.

It's quite simple, there are no special skills involved, and everyone can learn it at a glance.

Several young people took turns riding on ice sleds, speeding along the ice, laughing and playing around. However, they were all very restrained and didn't go far, staying close to the main group so they could provide immediate assistance in case of an emergency.

Gu Yanzhi hadn't originally planned to participate; she found it difficult to let her guard down in front of outsiders and enjoy playing like this. However, after being coaxed by Gu Yanlin and Zhang Qian, she joined in their fun.

Feeling the wind whistling past his ears, Gu Yanzhi gradually lowered his guard and began to enjoy the feeling of freedom, experiencing the thrill and joy brought by speed.

The tension that had been building since returning from the apocalypse began to ease.

Several adults watched their joyful, carefree figures from behind, and smiles of relief appeared on their faces. Having been cooped up at home for so long, even the adults, let alone the children, were getting restless.

Just as everyone was having fun, Liu Sisi and Zhang Qian's shouts instantly shattered the joyful atmosphere.

"dad"

"Old Gao"

The two were playfully racing to see who could skate faster, and before they knew it, they had skated a little further.

Hearing the two shouts, everyone quickened their pace, and those who didn't have carts in their hands ran forward.

"What's going on?" Gu Yanlin, a young man, ran fast and quickly reached their side. He was also stunned by the scene in front of him.

A man lay on the ground, covered in blood, pale-faced, with purple lips. The blood flowing from his body stained his clothes and the surrounding ice.

"Help...help me," the man's lips barely opened, his voice so soft it was barely audible.

Upon seeing this, everyone panicked and rushed over. Zhong Junfeng was a medical student, and although he was only a sophomore and didn't have a medical license, there was no one more suitable than him at this moment. He immediately knelt down to examine the man's condition.

"He is seriously injured and needs immediate first aid." Zhong Junfeng's voice trembled slightly. The man was badly injured, and the weather was too cold, so Zhong Junfeng did not completely remove the man's clothes. He simply loosened them to check the wounds before putting the man's clothes back on.

He had at least five stab wounds on his body, with short cuts that looked like they were inflicted with a dagger.

The most fatal stab wound was to the left side of his chest. Whether the man was lucky or unlucky was debatable; his heart happened to be on the right side, avoiding the stab, but the knife had pierced a major artery. The massive bleeding, combined with the freezing weather, meant the man was barely breathing.

If it's not treated now, there's no way to save it.

"What should we do? We have neither disinfectant alcohol nor hemostatic bandages," Yin Meng said anxiously, pacing back and forth. She and Zhong Junfeng were junior classmates at the same school, studying nursing, so she had some experience with this.

"We have no choice but to try anything," Zhong Junfeng said resolutely.

The man had already lost consciousness. If they didn't save him, he would definitely die. But if they did, there might be a sliver of hope for his survival.

The two of them presented the banner they had found. Gu Yanlin used an axe to grind a small hole in the banner, and then tore it into small strips of cloth by hand.

At this point, there was no time to consider the possibility of infection, so Zhong Junfeng simply tied the banner tightly to the man's wound to stop the bleeding.

After bandaging the wound, Zhong Junfeng put the man's clothes back on. In just that short time, he felt the man's body temperature drop several degrees. If this continued, he wouldn't die from excessive blood loss, but from freezing to death. Yin Meng quickly wrapped blankets around the man to keep him warm.

"It would be best to get him to the hospital as soon as possible," Zhong Junfeng said casually as he stood up. However, he immediately realized that wasn't very realistic. Their neighborhood was new, located in a newly developed economic zone, and many of the surrounding facilities were still under construction and incomplete.

The nearest hospital is more than a 40-minute drive away, and now they have to walk there manually, which will take an unknown amount of time.

Moreover, the hospital is located in a low-lying area of ​​City C, and the continuous torrential rains have definitely caused more severe flooding than in their area. It's uncertain whether the hospital can even remain open.

Song Zhao suddenly appeared out of nowhere, cut into the line, and squeezed Gu Yanzhi's hand again, just like before he left.

Song Zhao's little actions were noticed by Gu Yanlin, who stared at Gu Yanzhi with a mocking look, which earned him a threatening look in return.

"I have some medicine I just found here, Junfeng, see if you can use it."

In a corner unseen by others, Gu Yanzhi secretly put the medicine into Song Zhao's backpack, patted Song Zhao's shoulder, and gestured to him.

Song Zhao understood immediately and took some medicine out of his backpack.

"That's great, this is exactly what's needed. I hope this person can survive," Zhong Junfeng said excitedly, taking the medicine from Gu Yanzhi and checking it. Gu Yanzhi had not only put in disinfectant alcohol bandages but also anti-inflammatory drugs. This increased the man's chances of survival.

In fact, Gu Yanzhi could have simply taken out the medicine, but she couldn't explain its origin, which easily led to speculation.

Faced with the choice between protecting himself and saving others, Gu Yanzhi chose to protect himself and his family.

Just then, Song Zhao returned from outside. Since no one knew what he had been doing, taking out the medicine at this time would not arouse suspicion from others.

With everyone's help, Zhong Junfeng dressed the man again and carefully disinfected his wounds with alcohol. He patiently dressed him and wrapped him in a blanket.

"What do we do now?" After doing all this, Zhong Junfeng asked, looking at the man lying on the ground who seemed to be dead.

Bringing a stranger home without knowing anyone could pose a huge risk.

"Let's take him with us for now. If he wakes up, we can let him walk on his own. After all, he's a human being," Uncle Zhang finally decided.

"Let's go back quickly, it'll be dark if we dawdle any longer." The sky was already starting to darken. They put the man on the roller skate and had Zhong Junfeng and Yin Meng push the skate from behind to keep an eye on him.

The journey home was no longer filled with laughter and chatter; everyone walked home in silence.