Chapter 76 Clinical Surgery
Lin Xi woke up from a nightmare.
In her dream, she escaped the zombies' bites and hid in a secret room filled with mirrors, but she could never reach the end.
The mirror reflects countless images of her in a panic, each with different pursuers behind her.
The menacing Yang Xin, the sharp-eyed Yang Yicheng, the obsequious Lin Jie beside him, and... Lu Wei.
His appearance was already blurry; he walked slowly at the back of the group, watching as Lin Xi was chased and killed by the persecutors.
Lin Xi woke up with a scream, or rather a groan of pain.
The motion sensor light immediately turned on, and Lin Xi realized her predicament—
She lay among stacks of storage boxes, the bright red bloodstains on the ground reflecting the motion-activated lights on the ceiling.
The clothes wrapped around his arms were soaked in blood.
Lin Xi belatedly realized that the excruciating pain finally pulled her back to reality—
She was shot by Yang Yicheng, who then used artillery in an attempt to breach the fortress's defenses. Despite her serious injuries, she managed to hide in this basement.
She then fell into a coma due to excessive bleeding or severe pain.
Fortunately, she woke up on her own.
Lin Xi had no time to worry about the situation outside; all she knew was that Yang Yicheng couldn't find the secret room for the time being, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to open its valve.
The most urgent thing is to save yourself and avoid dying from infection caused by the gunshot wound.
Having lived in peacetime for so many years, even experiencing a zombie apocalypse, Lin Xi never imagined that one day she would be shot.
She wanted to take out her phone to search for treatment methods, but in the heat of the moment, her only free hand, her left hand, was carrying a first-aid kit.
I should have brought my phone. The underground secret room was not only for storing supplies, but also to have a third place to escape to in case the yard and house were breached one day.
This place not only has the food and water needed for survival, but also a tiny bedroom and a toilet.
Chargers, medications, and everyday clothes were also provided.
Even the suitcases used for their escape are here.
The tools for treating the wound should be available, but Lin Xi is not a medical professional and does not know how to treat gunshot wounds. Without a mobile phone to search for information, she not only cannot accurately locate the wound and cut into the vein, but also risks infection.
Lin Xi forced herself to move to the cramped 0.8-meter bed and pulled up the quilt that hadn't been aired in ages to cover herself.
She is now feeling cold all over due to excessive blood loss, and the excruciating pain in her arm makes it difficult for her to concentrate.
If she hadn't seen with her own eyes that her arm was still there, the tearing, sharp pain would have made her feel as if she had been amputated.
Amputation...
If the bullet is not removed, there is a risk of infection, and the limbs may ulcerate, leading to either immediate death or amputation.
Even if she could bring herself to amputate her own limb, without professional technical and experience support, she could very well die from a secondary infection caused by the amputation.
It seemed that every path led to death, and only by risking everything to retrieve the bullet could there be a glimmer of hope.
Lin Xi took a deep breath, finding it hard to imagine what it would look like to cut her own arm with a knife.
Every time I think about it, my scalp tingles.
But there is absolutely no way she can be saved by doctors; her only option now is to save herself.
After deciding to retrieve the bullet himself, Lin Xi made some preparations.
The clothes wrapped around her wrist to stop the bleeding were soaked through, almost dripping with water. Lin Xi hesitated for a moment before untying them.
It was just soaked, but it could still be tied up to temporarily stop the bleeding.
If I take my clothes off, it will be a waste of clothes, and there aren't enough clothes in the basement, so I can't just throw them away.
Moreover, there's the risk of infection if you untie the mask.
Although they may already be infected.
Lin Xi gritted her teeth and supported herself as she rummaged through drawers and cabinets under the dim light.
She had to stop and take deep breaths every few turns because of the pain, afraid that she would faint again.
But that's just the kind of person she is. To put it nicely, she's gentle; to put it bluntly, she's useless and incompetent.
Not smart enough, not strong enough, not brave enough, and can't endure any pain.
But now is not the time to reflect on ourselves.
Lin Xi picked out chocolate bread and purified water from the supplies, then found a bowl and rummaged through some bottles and jars.
Without a cell phone, she didn't know how long she had been unconscious; all her senses were overwhelmed by pain, and she didn't even know if she was hungry.
Her body was sending signals of weakness, so she decided to replenish her energy before treating her wounds to avoid further dangers caused by exhaustion.
A piece of chocolate bread, a bowl of protein powder, two vitamin tablets, two glucose packets, and two ibuprofen tablets.
Without anesthesia, Lin Xi could only hope that ibuprofen could relieve the pain. Although the hope was slim, something was better than nothing.
Out of fear of pain, Lin Xi ate very slowly, as if she could postpone the upcoming surgery, but even if she ate slowly, she would eventually finish.
The moment has finally arrived.
Lin Xi laid out the items that might be needed from the first aid kit—
Medical alcohol, iodine solution, gauze, and a knife.
With everything prepared, Lin Xi took a deep breath, slowly removed the restraints from her arms, and tossed the soaking wet, blood-red garment into the basket.
The smell of blood suddenly became stronger.
"Hiss—" Lin Xi forced herself to look at her arm while suppressing her nausea.
Fortunately, there was no gushing blood, only liquid blood on the wound covering the dark red hole.
It was a very small hole, but it terrified Lin Xi like a black hole.
She didn't have time to dawdle; the longer the wound was exposed, the greater the risk of infection.
Lin Xi stuffed the folded towel into her mouth and bit it down, then used a cotton swab to apply iodine to the wound for disinfection.
Perhaps because she was used to gunshot wounds, the pain from disinfection was less than Lin Xi had imagined.
She just bit her scarf tightly, forcing herself to endure the discomfort as she applied iodine to the wound.
Then disinfect the knife.
As he raised the knife, the light reflected from the blade flashed into Lin Xi's eyes.
For a moment, she had that thought—
Perhaps it's better not to remove the bullet and just end it all.
The thought flashed through her mind for only a moment before vanishing; it wasn't unheard of for her to do such a thing before the apocalypse. Choosing a pleasant way to die before the end of the world out of fear of future suffering.
But she has already died eight times.
Death was not a relief for her; besides fear, it also brought her boredom.
Tired of death, tired of rebirth.
If she were reborn, she would still build a safe house to hide in. Yu Shiyun has already used all the technology she has, and she has tried her best to summarize all her experiences in this life to prepare for the apocalypse.
If I don't survive this time, even if I'm reborn, it will still be an endless cycle of death.
Lin Xi's eyes suddenly darkened, and his left hand moved with lightning speed—
The blade pierced the wound with perfect precision.
"—!!"
With her screams muffled by a towel in her throat, Lin Xi felt as if a white light flashed before her eyes, her brain crackled, and all her consciousness was overwhelmed by the pain.
She bit the towel tightly, forcibly withdrawing a bit of consciousness to drive her left hand to move.
Lin Xi slowly slid his left hand, which was gripping the hilt of the knife, and seemed to see a double image of the knife.
The wound felt as if it had been sliced into a thousand pieces.
Don't faint... don't faint...
The bullet, dripping with blood and flesh, landed on the table, and the knife in Lin Xi's hand clattered to the ground.
She was in excruciating pain; if the towel hadn't been stuffed in her mouth, she doesn't know how horribly she would have screamed.
The room was soundproof, but she would be overwhelmed by her own screams.
Her consciousness was already blurred. Lin Xi trembled as she tightly wrapped the wound with gauze. Bloodstains immediately soaked the gauze, revealing its red color. Lin Xi pressed a towel tightly against it.
Before she lost consciousness, she placed her right hand on the table with the wound facing up to reduce blood flow to her arm.
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