Chapter 26
When Qiu Shi and his team returned with a full load, the carriage was almost filled with instruments. The other members had no room to sit, so they simply lay on the roof.
The howling wind blew their hair like weeds, but it couldn't hide the excitement on their faces.
When the last piece of equipment was carefully carried into the clinic, the remaining space in the clinic was also filled.
Various instruments were neatly arranged, and there was even a complete operating table. However, these newly added equipment left no space for the camp beds originally reserved for the wounded to stay for a short period of observation.
"No, we need to make some more space." Su Su wiped the sweat off her face and looked towards the two-story building not far away. "Let's clean it up and make an inpatient department."
He called a few people, picked up the tools and got to work without saying a word.
After a few days of busy work, one simple and practical bed after another was rushed out. After piecing them together, the simple inpatient department was successfully transformed.
Ye Sheng and the sniper were the first patients in the inpatient department. Not long after, Kui Feng's leg condition worsened again, and he gloriously became the third resident in the ward.
Looking at the room filled with hospital beds, Jiang Zihan felt helpless. Wasn't there too many beds?
"It's better to be prepared." Su Su wiped the sweat off her face and said with a smile, "What if there are new people in the future? It will save trouble if we do more now."
After a pause, he joked, "Our gathering place is almost becoming a general hospital, treating both humans and animals. Doctor Jiang, are you considered a human doctor or a veterinarian now?"
Before he could finish his words, Qiu Shi covered his mouth with his hand, an embarrassed look on his face, and quickly dragged him out.
Jiang Zihan shook her head. Seeing that everything was almost ready, she decided to use the new equipment to conduct another comprehensive physical examination on the members.
At first, some people refused. After all, their health had improved a lot since she came to the gathering place, and there was no sign of worsening deformities. There was really no need to waste resources like this.
But under Jiang Zihan's insistence, everyone chose to cooperate.
When the first test report came out, the man's eyes widened: "This... this distortion value has decreased by another 5% compared to last time!"
Immediately afterwards, exclamations continued to spread throughout the room.
"Mine has dropped by 10%!"
“I also lost 8%?”
"That's weird. I haven't used any suppressants in this period... Is this machine broken?"
Everyone looked at each other, and finally, they all stole a glance at Jiang Zihan who was sorting out reports at the operating table. The girl's focused expression was gilded in the sunlight, making her look like a god.
Jiang Zihan's eyes fell on some of the reports, and his brows were furrowed.
The data for everyone else, whether increasing or decreasing, showed a steady trend, but those few people's values fluctuated somewhat abnormally. Given the same diet, it seemed those nutrients couldn't meet their daily needs.
"You three." She pointed her finger at the crowd, "Starting tonight, stay in the inpatient department."
She plans to adjust their diet and medication regimen. If the values stabilize, they can be discharged from the hospital, but if they continue to deteriorate, they will need to continue to be observed or even undergo surgery.
The person who was named was about to object, but someone next to him grabbed his arm and said, "Don't worry, Doctor Jiang, we will tie them up and bring them over."
A friend standing by quietly hit the man a few times: "Listen to Dr. Jiang. If you don't want the situation to get worse, stop talking nonsense!"
Once they were admitted to the ward, new worries arose: How much resources would this treatment cost? They had already received free treatment once when they first arrived, and they were afraid they wouldn't be able to afford it again.
"Don't worry," the companion who joined earlier comforted him, "We can use our labor to pay off our debts. The gathering place is still short of many supplies. Only when we are better can we do more to help Doctor Jiang."
Although Dr. Jiang doesn't care about these things, they must be grateful.
The man nodded solemnly: "You are right, we must go all out in the future."
Jiang Zihan comes to inspect every day to monitor changes in distortion data.
Because Kui Feng fell, the meals at the gathering place were taken over by another deformed person, Lao Wu.
He walked in with the help of crutches, pushing the dining cart. His right calf felt empty, but he looked unusually relaxed, as if he had never encountered any difficulties.
After delivering the meal, Old Wu felt bored staying alone, so he stayed in the ward for a while to chat and talk about his future plans.
Old Wu: "There's an empty room near the big kitchen. I plan to renovate it and turn it into a grocery store. I can repair your weapons on a regular basis, and if I have something to do, I can even buy some small potted plants."
He is also a person with special abilities, and his distortion can be eliminated quickly, but his awakened skills are somewhat useless and can only be used to purify a small part of the soil.
It may be difficult to transform a piece of farmland, but it is more than enough to plant some potted plants.
He is already an old man and doesn't want to go out and mess around anymore, so he plans to settle down here.
"That's a great idea!" another person chimed in. "If I get better, I can go hunting. We don't lack vegetables here, but we don't have much meat. And Doctor Jiang is too thin. It would be great if we could catch some game to nourish her."
"Or maybe we could domesticate them from a young age, just like we raise wild pheasants in captivity. That way, there would be endless meat to eat at the gathering place..."
The sniper in the corner was tied up with straps and firmly fastened to the hospital bed. He had his eyes blindfolded and could not see the surroundings clearly. He could only listen quietly.
The location of his deformity was quite dangerous, right near his eye socket. He would struggle violently every time the inhibitor was injected, and only by tying him up could we ensure that he would not bump into himself.
After two days of continuous treatment, the condition improved.
At this time, Jiang Zihan, who was the center of the topic, was busy in the clinic. Kui Feng's leg deformity worsened. If the energy was not transferred and channeled out, this foot would completely lose sensation.
She focused her attention and tried to use her mental strength to guide the distorted energy to the surface of her skin.
This plan was based on the shape of Lu Chenyuan's exoskeleton. It gathered energy and built a thick and strong bark texture protective layer. The pus would be drained and sutured only after the energy formed a smooth circulation.
Even though a lot of distortion values were harvested today, because they were not from war beasts, the points given were very low.
Jiang Zihan pouted. The system could be partial, but she couldn't. These people had helped her a lot during this period, and she had to heal them no matter what.
Kui Feng's eyes were dazed. After he was transferred to the inpatient department, she warned those around him, "He needs to stay in bed for at least a week. Don't get out of bed, or the wound will rupture, and establishing external circulation won't be so easy."
The patients stared blankly at the brown bark on Kui Feng's feet. This seemed different from the surgery they had imagined.
Is this how deformity surgery can be performed?
It was the still confused Kui Feng who first responded to the doctor's advice: "No... so many people are waiting to eat..."
Old Wu, who had just brought the meal, pushed him down and stomped his crutch hard: "Why, is the food this old man cooks so hard to swallow? You won't be satisfied unless I have my limbs amputated like mine?"
Another person chimed in, "That's right. Eating isn't as important as recuperating from your injuries! Just leave it to Old Wu. He's free anyway."
Kui Feng was a little more sober at this time and could not help but remain silent.
Old Wu's leg was deformed and amputated just to protect his teammates, otherwise with his strength he wouldn't have been relegated to the periphery.
Everyone assured him, "Don't worry, Doctor Jiang. We'll take turns watching him and won't let him get out of bed!"
…
Not long after returning to the clinic, Lu Chenyuan came back from outside, steaming hot. Without saying a word, he unbuttoned his coat and prepared to draw blood.
Jiang Zihan's movements faltered. "Did you go on patrol? Take it easy for a moment, don't let it affect the test results."
Lu Chenyuan was stunned, and silently took his coat and went to the corner to get some fresh air. He didn't start the physical examination process until the sweat stopped.
He was the last patient. After obediently accepting a series of procedures, he suddenly asked, "Why did you save that sniper?"
Jiang Zihan paused slightly, recalling the sniper's condition at that time.
Perhaps the distortion was out of control after the injury, with the whites of the eyes completely congested and the area around the eye sockets covered in granulation-like growths, and the distortion increased rapidly. If surgery had not been performed at the time, both eyes would have quickly become completely necrotic.
"During the roundup, he could have caught us if he had pointed the gun at us. But he didn't." Jiang Zihan said calmly. She had never been a kind person, but since the other party didn't hurt her, she couldn't just stand by and watch him die.
Lu Chenyuan looked at her solemnly. The situation was indeed critical this time. If he and the war beasts had arrived a step later, the situation might have been completely different.
At this moment, Su Su's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Doctor Jiang, I want to take the team out to get some firewood..." She only said half of the words when she keenly sensed that the atmosphere in the room was a little subtle.
"Go ahead." Jiang Zihan said gently, "Remember to come back before dark."
"I understand!" Su Su nodded and quickly retreated.
Lu Chenyuan looked at this scene and suddenly realized that the young girl in front of him had become the actual decision-maker of the gathering place since he didn't know when.
She used to be an object of respect from everyone, and now a heavy trust has been added to this respect.
Everyone relied on her medical skills, followed her arrangements, and even subconsciously reported to her whether they were going or staying.
The houses in the current settlement are still scattered, but they are much more orderly than the initial depressed appearance. New vitality is emerging from the decay, and there are even the prototypes of some small villages.
And all of this was brought about by Jiang Zihan.
Lu Chenyuan lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then stood up and put on his coat as if he had made a decision.
He pulled out a modified pistol from his backpack and said, "Since you've decided to follow your heart and save people, you should first learn how to protect yourself."
Jiang Zihan instinctively wanted to refuse. Guns were a rare resource, and she wasn't a combatant, so she wouldn't be able to make the most of them.
Even if she wants it, she can wait and save up some points to go to the mall to refresh it.
But the other party strode over and directly pressed the gun into her hand without question. "Hold it tight. The tranquilizer gun has too little penetration. It's suitable for paralyzing war beasts, but it's far from enough to fight against those anchors."
Lu Chenyuan pulled her out the door, stood behind her and said in a deep voice: "Those people are not easy to deal with. If necessary, we should strike first."
His palm covered the back of her hand, making her palm sweat. After adjusting her gun-holding posture, he quickly withdrew his hand.
Jiang Zihan pulled the trigger, the strong recoil made her arm numb, and the bullet shot crookedly into a tree stump in the distance.
She was about to turn around and ask if that was the case, but when she looked up she saw a pair of ears that were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
Lu Chenyuan's face remained stern: "That's it, continue."
Jiang Zihan silently withdrew his gaze and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. This person... doesn't seem so cold.
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