Chapter 64 Make a Deal with You
"Doctor Ouyang, fifty-four people died in the intensive care unit today."
"All the vacant beds have been filled, and there are still hundreds of critically ill patients waiting to be admitted."
"The emergency medicines that volunteers found in the ruins today have run out and need to be replenished urgently."
"The number of survivors rushing to the hospital has increased by about three to four hundred today."
"as well as……"
"Okay, I know everything."
The young attending physician waved his hand to stop the head nurse from continuing her report.
The continued deterioration of the situation at Renhe Hospital made him frown.
He took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead, but the headache caused by staying up late to treat the disease did not ease.
"Doctor Ouyang, you need to rest."
The head nurse reminded, "Your eyes are severely bloodshot and you urgently need sleep. If you continue like this, you will..."
Will die suddenly.
"the same as you."
The doctor looked at the head nurse's equally bloodshot eyes.
No one has slept for several days.
An emergency building and an inpatient building of Renhe Hospital managed to survive the strong wind. Dr. Ouyang and some other surviving medical staff overcame numerous difficulties to keep the hospital running after the disaster.
Survivors from nearby blocks flocked in.
The hospital was quickly overcrowded.
The building was full of people, the outside of the building was full of people, and the surrounding streets were full of people.
There were wounded people and wailing everywhere.
Fights broke out from time to time among the crowd in order to compete for ward beds, causing greater casualties.
There were also excited crowds who attacked medical staff, resulting in multiple injuries.
There's not enough medicine! Not enough food! Not enough water! Electricity is only provided by two small generators, and I don't know how long they can last!
Ouyang Mo, who was originally just a small doctor in the emergency department, became the team leader after the disaster. He was busy and exhausted.
"Doctor Ouyang..."
The head nurse hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Doctor Liu from the Anesthesiology Department passed away an hour ago..."
Ouyang Mo was shocked, "Why not..."
He swallowed the words back.
Why didn't you tell me earlier? What's the point of telling me earlier?
Dr. Liu was beaten into a deep coma by the crowd that stormed the ward and needed emergency surgery, but there were not enough instruments and medicines, so a craniotomy was impossible.
With only a small amount of medicine to maintain vital signs, the condition is unstable and it is only a matter of time before he collapses.
"Also, Nurse Xiaoyun... committed suicide." The head nurse choked up. "She was found on a broken tree behind the inpatient department... with a belt... she was already... dead."
Ouyang Mo closed his eyes.
This is the fifth colleague who has committed suicide in recent days.
Some people commit suicide because their loved ones have died and they are alone and don't want to live.
Some people commit suicide because they feel hopeless about the world and have no strength to live anymore.
Some people can't stand the non-stop treatment day and night, the endless number of injuries, the hellish screaming wards, the patients' constant complaints, insults, and even beatings, and they commit suicide.
"Doctor Ouyang, I, I want to say——"
"say what?"
The head nurse lowered her head.
After a long time, he finally looked up with tears in his eyes.
There was a poignant determination on his face.
"let's go."
"I want to say, let's go..."
"We can't hold on here any longer. We have no food, no medicine, and we haven't slept for days. We're going to die of exhaustion! Even if we die of exhaustion, we can't save so many people!"
"Look outside! Look at the streets full of people waiting to be hospitalized! Hundreds and thousands, as far as the eye can see!"
"There will be no official follow-up support. The whole world is suffering. No one cares about us. We can't hold on."
"And why should we hold on?"
"I heard from survivors rushing in from afar that some hospitals in other parts of the city didn't collapse like this one, but the medical staff inside are guarding the doors tightly and won't let anyone in. If we hadn't admitted so many injured and sick, our internal storage of water, medicine, and other supplies would be more than sufficient. We wouldn't have to work so hard, and no one would have committed suicide out of despair!"
"Doctor Ouyang, wake up! The world is destroyed and everyone is busy taking care of themselves. Why should we care about others?"
"My husband died at home, and my daughter and son-in-law are missing in other provinces. I'm the only one here. I was on duty here before the storm, and I've been saving lives non-stop..."
"I saved them, but who will save me? Who can tell me about my daughter and son-in-law? Who can bring my husband back to life?"
“No one cares about me, no one…”
The head nurse's long-held anguish finally burst out in one gulp. Her voice grew louder and louder as she spoke, tears streaming down her face, until she finally burst into tears.
Ouyang Mo looked at his colleague steadily.
The head nurse, who was originally a bit plump, had become so thin after days of exhaustion and hunger that her cheekbones became prominent and the fine lines around her eyes turned into deep lines.
She squatted down, held her face and cried.
She was crying so hard that she was out of breath and shaking all over.
"Head Nurse Chen."
After a long while, Ouyang Mo slowly spoke.
"Why should we care about others when we can't even take care of ourselves? Because I'm a doctor, you're a nurse, and we're still alive."
The head nurse burst into laughter while crying: "You are kind-hearted and skilled, and I am an angel in white? Hahahaha! It's just work, really just work! Don't talk big, don't say such nice things, hahaha! If I hadn't applied for nursing major when I was studying, I wouldn't be here today! Maybe I would be a teacher? An accountant? A supermarket cashier? A small shop owner who runs a clothing store? It's just work, don't blackmail me morally, I don't want to care about it anymore, I really don't want to care anymore..."
"Doctor Ouyang, what's the point of caring about them? How did Doctor Liu die? He was beaten to death by them!"
"They don't thank us for working day and night without even sleeping. They just complain that we are too slow and that we are too tired!"
"Who knows, the next one to die won't be me? Or you?"
"Doctor Ouyang, let's go, let's go! Let's get out of here!"
"You're not leaving? Then you can stay and I'll go."
"I need to stay alive to find my daughter and son-in-law. I can't die here..."
The head nurse got up from the ground, stumbled, and walked towards the door.
But he stumbled and fell.
Days of fatigue and hunger, coupled with the dizziness from crying, made her vision go black and she couldn't stand up for a while.
"Head Nurse Chen!"
Ouyang Mo left the desk piled with injury records and came over to help her up.
Hold her shoulders tightly.
Grit your teeth.
"I also want to find my relatives," he said.
"My parents, brother, and sister are far away in my hometown. I watched our house collapse during a video call on the first night of the typhoon. I haven't been able to contact them since then. I don't know if they are dead or alive."
"As soon as the wind dies down, I want to go back home. If I'm alive, I want to see the person. If I'm dead... I want to see the body. Even if the traffic is cut off, I can walk back. It's over a thousand kilometers. If I walk 20 kilometers a day, I can get home in two months."
"If they are truly...unfortunate, I will collect their bodies, build their graves, and stay with them."
Tears welled up in Ouyang Mo's eyes.
"But the wounded came one after another, with broken legs, shattered heads, ribs pierced through lungs. So many victims, so miserable, bloodied and begging for help right in front of me. I couldn't just stand there and watch them die!"
"I'll leave after I save this one, and I'll leave after I save that one. One, two, many, many more, and I can't leave anymore."
"Why am I working so hard? Why am I not sleeping? Why am I racing against time and refusing to rest for a moment? Because if I rest for a moment, someone might die."
"I'm working so hard here, hoping that God will see my efforts and bless my family. If they get hurt back home, I hope there's a doctor there who works as hard as I do, racing against time to save their lives!"
"It'll take two months to walk back... If they're intact, there's no point in me going back. If they're in danger, two months won't be enough. If I go back, I'll really only be collecting their bodies..."
"So I stayed."
"Head Nurse Chen, the world is destroyed, but we are still alive."
"You are not a teacher, accountant or cashier, you are a nurse."
"I don't care what others do, whether they rob or kill, or even stand by and watch someone in need. I just want to do what I can and shoulder my responsibilities."
“If there were more people in the world who worked hard like us, the ruined world would be restored to better shape more quickly.”
"Medical personnel are going to rescue people, power workers are going to repair the system, traffic officials are going to clear the roads, and communications personnel are going to restore communications..."
"We are desperately racing against time to make the world a better place so we can see our loved ones again soon."
“That’s what we should do.”
"Instead of rushing into the ruins, searching for lost relatives and friends in a vast sea of people, thousands of miles away, the hope is too slim!"
Ouyang Mo raised his head and forced the tears back in his eyes.
He loosened his grip on the head nurse's hand.
"If you want to leave, I won't stop you."
"In the lounge downstairs, there's a locked iron cabinet in the corner. I've hidden some food. Take it, but don't let anyone see it."
"I hope you find your loved ones soon."
He turned around and returned to his desk.
There was a mountain of patient records and treatment forms. He picked up a pen and modified them one by one.
The head nurse sat on the ground in a daze.
Didn't move, didn't walk, and didn't speak.
The room was very quiet.
At the end of the corridor, even the locked door could not block out the howling and cursing of the wounded, and the noisy sounds could be heard from afar.
Time seemed to stand still.
Squeak——
I don’t know how long it took.
The door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
The head nurse looked up blankly. Wasn't the door locked? She wanted to talk to her supervisor about leaving, so she locked the door and didn't want outsiders to come in.
But, it was easily opened. Could it be that someone forgot to lock it?
She looked at the person who entered the room in confusion.
A fat, short person wearing a mask and a baseball cap, is he a man or a woman?
How did a stranger, not a medical colleague, get in through the locked door of the medical area?
"I listened outside for a long time."
The visitor spoke.
The voice is clear, belonging to a young girl.
She took off her hat and mask, revealing a white, tender and chubby face.
With a smile on his face.
A long-lost, inappropriate smile in the hospital.
"You're all good," she said.
"Head Nurse Chen, don't leave. Let me make a deal with you."
"I can provide food, clean drinking water, medicine, basic medical equipment, and even electricity."
"Bring enough people with you and follow me to rescue them."
"My companion is injured and in critical condition. If you go and rescue him, I will provide you with the supplies I just mentioned."
"And maybe I can contact distant places and help you get news about your relatives."
The two people in the room were shocked at the same time.
Incredibly, he stared at the girl.
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