45 Order Amidst the Frozen Wilderness

Saline solution?

Hou Dongfeng was momentarily stunned.

He had never imagined that there would be no saline solution on the 120 emergency ambulance.

Wasn’t that stuff as common as air?

Wasn’t it something you could get just by reaching out your hand? (Note)

“Brother Hou, where’s the saline?” Luo Hao’s sunny smile vanished, replaced by a grim expression.

“It’s here.” Hou Dongfeng wiped off his smile and hurried over to the cabinet where the saline was kept.

But then, to his shock, he saw the cabinet was completely empty, as if a major rescue had just consumed every last bottle.

“That can’t be. There were dozens of bottles on the ambulance. How could they all be gone?” Hou Dongfeng searched around in disbelief.

He checked every hidden corner but found nothing.

“Is this how you’re prepared?” Luo Hao asked sternly.

In the past, if Luo Hao had encountered this, he might have just warned Hou Dongfeng to be more careful next time.

But after the incident with the patient vomiting blood, consulting his seniors in the capital, and the enlightening advice from Director Qian Guangming, Luo Hao had undergone a subtle transformation.

He was part of the medical affairs office; it was his duty to inspect the implementation of clinical work.

And the fact that there was no saline on the 120 ambulance was something almost no one dared to admit. Even the medical staff found it hard to believe it was true.

Hou Dongfeng stammered, unsure how to explain.

After an awkward silence, he blurted out, “I’ll ask the nurse.”

Without waiting, he fled. As soon as he got off the ambulance, he slipped on the ice and nearly fell.

But he didn’t dare linger; scrambling, he went to find the nurse to ask what had happened.

Luo Hao watched Hou Dongfeng’s retreating back without any sense of triumph, instead focusing his thoughts.

He had once thought his elder cousin Lin Yuming was a bit harsh, but now, just as Hou Dongfeng said, every industry was filled with countless slackers, with a few clear-minded people having to navigate endless shirking and passing-the-buck.

If no one kept watch, even a 120 ambulance might end up without saline—an absurd situation.

Should he report this to Lin Yuming? Luo Hao pondered.

“Xiao Luo, Xiao Luo, sorry!” Soon, the nurse came rushing over.

In her haste, she slipped halfway and fell on the ice.

Luo Hao’s heart softened; forget it.

In clinical practice, Director Lin Yuming was a fearsome figure. If things escalated, docking bonuses was the least of it; the on-duty nurse might be scolded by the nursing department for years.

Luo Hao knew exactly how petty and troublesome the nursing department could be.

The ones who could torment women the most were women themselves.

“Careful, are you okay?” Luo Hao asked.

“No, no, I’m fine.” The nurse rolled and scrambled up but slipped and fell again.

Luo Hao sighed, got out of the car, and helped her up.

The nurse was about thirty, already an experienced nurse.

“Today we were checking the rescue medications’ expiration dates. We only finished half before going to eat. Sorry, really sorry,” she apologized quickly.

“Apologies are the least meaningful thing,” Luo Hao said seriously, scolding her with a stern face.

His acting skills came into play here, vividly embodying Lin Yuming’s strictness, with a touch of Director Qian Guangming’s ruthless style.

The nurse trembled in fear, and Hou Dongfeng, like a scared monkey, hid silently nearby, not daring to make a sound.

Though Luo Hao was young, his words nearly brought them to tears.

“Hurry up and check the rescue medications—immediately! Right now!” Luo Hao ordered in a deep voice.

“Okay, okay.”

“Stock up on all kinds of rescue drugs. Something’s not right today. Don’t let a 120 ambulance get stuck outside with nothing on board.”

“Okay, okay.”

The nurse didn’t know what else to say to get out of trouble and kept agreeing hastily.

Luo Hao returned to the emergency department with a stern face and began inspecting the emergency rescue medications.

There were strict clinical protocols for checking rescue drugs—it was of utmost importance.

The issue with the 120 ambulance was just an accident; the emergency room’s medication supplies were well stocked.

That was a relief. Luo Hao then contacted the operating room; the anesthesiologists were on standby, ready to intubate patients in the emergency department at any moment.

“Ding ding ding~”

Before Luo Hao could finish preparations, the 120 emergency call sounded in the emergency department.

The sharp, piercing sound seemed to trigger adrenaline release, filling everyone with energy and... anxiety.

The attending internal and external medicine doctors peeked out, watching the nurses tensely.

Seconds later, a nurse shouted, “Internal medicine!”

Hou Dongfeng smiled with relief and headed back to the lounge, while the internal medicine doctor grimly donned a military coat and dashed toward the 120 ambulance.

Luo Hao was slightly surprised; logically, it should have been a surgical case first. In such dreadful weather, he hadn’t expected the first 120 dispatch to be for an internal medicine patient.

Hou Dongfeng felt a bit happy but hadn’t even sat down when the “ding ding ding” sounded again.

This time it was for surgery; Hou Dongfeng had to grab his coat and brave the wind and snow to receive the patient.

Luo Hao didn’t pay attention to Hou Dongfeng; instead, he thought about what else the emergency department might need.

He picked up the phone and called the education management center.

“Director Liu, hello, this is Luo Hao from the medical affairs office,” Luo Hao said politely. “I’d like to borrow some students.”

“Borrow students for what?”

“Today the emergency department will probably be very busy. I want to borrow some manpower to help with guiding patients and transporting them.”

“...”

“I won’t make it difficult for you. I’ll arrange it myself but wanted to inform you first.”

“Alright, as long as they’re in the hospital, no problem.”

Luo Hao hung up and began “recruiting” people.

This skill wasn’t digitally displayed, but if it were, it might even surpass Luo Hao’s surgical rank.

From academicians and national treasures to residents and interns, Luo Hao could gather them all.

Because of system tasks, he knew they might face extreme situations, so he prepared as thoroughly as possible.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he prepared, he couldn’t please everyone, not even himself.

After finishing these tasks, Luo Hao stood by the entrance, looking at the courtyard’s mirrored ice, pondering what else he could do.

The streets and courtyard were deserted, as if some great ice mage had frozen the entire world.

The world was barren, devoid of warmth and life.

In the misty distance, a few staggering figures moved stiffly, inching across the ice.

Luo Hao noticed their knees couldn’t bend, and their feet had to land flat; walking faster risked falling.

Judging by their awkward movements, Luo Hao thought it might be better if they came straight to the hospital.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared at the hospital gate — a vehicle!

Page 2

On the mirror-like ice, that car sped at 40 miles per hour, a blazing streak in the sea of white.

It drifted, carving an arc on the ice, then careened wildly toward Luo Hao standing at the gate.

“!!!”

This was... truly unable to stop.

Luo Hao saw the car’s four wheels no longer turning, yet its speed did not lessen.

The friction on the ice was shockingly weak; Luo Hao even suspected the car could slide all the way out of Donglian City on the ice.

He dodged into the emergency hall as the car finally crashed into the large stone lion at the emergency department’s entrance.

The speed wasn’t high; the car looked battered, but Luo Hao guessed the occupant was probably fine.

“Doctor! Help!” a man shouted as he flung open the car door.

The next moment, he slipped on the ice.

His right elbow struck the ground with a loud “bang” Luo Hao heard from afar.

A fracture—an ulnar olecranon fracture—Luo Hao judged from his fall.

“Someone help!” Luo Hao shouted.

The students hadn’t arrived yet, but stretcher bearers quickly came running with a gurney.

Luo Hao stepped outside; the man lay on the ground, shouting anxiously, “Doctor, my mother’s not doing well!”

“...”

Luo Hao silently opened the rear door. An elderly woman, about seventy, was curled up in the back seat.

Due to the collision’s inertia, half her body was caught between the front and back seats in an awkward position.

She lay motionless, only her occasional chest movements proving she was still alive.

Luo Hao called the stretcher bearers, and together they carefully moved the patient out.

The bearers were about to rush her inside, but Luo Hao sensed something wrong and stopped them.

In the hall, Luo Hao took out a blue Yuwell stethoscope and began auscultation, asking the bearers to bring the patient’s family over.

The heartbeat was dull and faint, very distant!

The diagnostic AI suggested a 64-slice aortic CT scan.

“What’s wrong with the patient?” Luo Hao asked as the bearers helped the man stagger in.

“I don’t know. My mother was fine, then suddenly complained of chest tightness and shortness of breath, couldn’t breathe. Before I could call 120, she fainted,” the man said anxiously, clutching his right elbow.

“Any past illnesses?”

“High blood pressure, nothing else.”

Looking at the AI’s suggestion, Luo Hao decided to send the patient straight to the emergency rescue room.

Thanks to the earlier inspection, everyone in the emergency department was ready. As the first patient arrived, the nurse rushed over to measure blood pressure with a mercury sphygmomanometer, while someone attached ECG leads.

“Doctor Luo, we can’t get a blood pressure reading!” the nurse said after several seconds.

The internal medicine doctor issued orders to administer dopamine and norepinephrine; the patient’s blood pressure gradually rose to a measurable level.

Luo Hao wheeled in the emergency ultrasound machine for a cardiac color Doppler.

As suspected from the auscultation, there was a large pericardial effusion with right pleural effusion.

This patient could be handed over to cardiology, but Luo Hao knew it was dangerous to treat such a tricky case without a confirmed diagnosis.

Though the AI hadn’t given a definitive diagnosis, it hinted at a 64-slice aortic CT.

Possibly an aortic dissection—this diagnosis lingered in Luo Hao’s mind, though with some doubts.

“You,” Luo Hao said to the family member, “find a surgeon to order an X-ray and leave your phone number. I’ll contact you if anything comes up.”

“How is my mother? Will she survive?” the man asked, seemingly ignoring Luo Hao’s words.

He gripped Luo Hao’s coat tightly, his face full of anxiety.

Luo Hao was tense too, worried the man’s fracture might worsen.

“First raise her blood pressure, then I’ll take her for tests and admit her. There’s still some time, but you should treat the fracture first.”

After some persuasion, the man went for the X-ray.

At that moment, several young, energetic junior doctors arrived.

“Over here,” Luo Hao waved. “I’m Luo Hao from the medical affairs office. Director Lin asked you to help.”

The interns nodded repeatedly, but Luo Hao’s heightened awareness detected their reluctance.

Understandable—outside the snowstorm, it was far more comfortable to stay in the dormitory under the covers scrolling their phones. No one wanted to come to the emergency department, not even interns.

“Everyone’s seen the situation today. There will probably be many trauma cases. Work hard; I’ll take responsibility for your credits.”

Hearing the word “credits,” the interns’ eyes lit up.

“Teacher, is it okay to come now?” one asked earnestly.

“Sure. You help me tonight, and if I have trouble later, you can always come to me,” Luo Hao smiled slightly.

Several of them immediately began making calls.

A few years ago, an intern had gone clubbing late at night, got into a car accident on the way back, and died. The education department took the blame, so since then, the medical affairs office managed these matters.

It was just a few credits; Luo Hao could handle it himself, no need for Lin Yuming’s involvement.

Luo Hao quietly watched the interns finish their calls and asked, “Everyone knows where the hospital departments are, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“You,” Luo Hao pointed at a male student, “take this patient for an X-ray. If there’s a fracture...”

“Don’t worry, Teacher. After the X-ray, I’ll ask the radiology doctor for the results. If there’s a fracture, I’ll send the patient to orthopedics. Bone ward 4 is on emergency duty today,” the intern replied promptly.

Luo Hao was pleased and nodded.

Young people really perk up when credits are involved!

After assigning tasks to the interns, the first real patient arrived.

He clutched his right arm, grimacing in pain, clearly with a fracture.

The terrible weather had slowed vehicles to a crawl, causing delays.

Luo Hao stood aside watching as an alert intern quickly went to guide the patient.

After a brief inquiry, the intern led the patient to the surgical consultation room, returning within three minutes.

It seemed they had gone for an X-ray.

As the intern passed Luo Hao, they winked reassuringly, signaling they could complete the task smoothly.

“Ding dong~”

Fifteen minutes later, the system notification sounded.

[Successfully admitted one patient; patient well managed; task points +0.2.]

Indeed, that worked. Luo Hao felt relieved.

With the interns’ help, manpower instantly increased, and the emergency department became orderly.

As for the emergency tasks, Luo Hao monitored them but wasn’t overly concerned.

Getting through this cursed night of freezing snow was the priority.

Watching the interns standing at the triage desk, Luo Hao felt secure and at ease.

Time ticked by; as the emergency room patient’s blood pressure stabilized, more trauma patients arrived.

This icy snowstorm had a far greater impact on Donglian City than in previous years.

Because the ground was like a mirror, all vehicles moved at a snail’s pace. Driving at 20 miles per hour was considered speeding; even 10–15 mph was hard to stop, causing nearly an hour’s delay.

Page 3

Fractures, fractures, fractures—patients arrived one after another.

Luo Hao contacted Lin Yuming to have the orthopedic department’s ward 5 also accept emergency cases.

In less than half an hour, the two wards handled 26 fracture patients.

Most could go home with a cast, but eight needed surgery and admission.

With people guiding patients and treating them, and both 120 ambulances still out, no critical patients yet, everything was orderly.

Luo Hao focused on the emergency rescue patient.

After dopamine and norepinephrine stimulated adrenal medulla catecholamine release, acting directly on α-receptors to constrict peripheral vessels and increase myocardial contractility and cardiac output, the patient’s previously unmeasurable blood pressure rose to 60/30 mmHg.

Things were gradually improving.

...

Lin Yuming was driving to the mining hospital.

Such freezing snowstorms were disaster weather, occurring on average every three to five years.

But this was the worst he could recall.

During evening rush hour, traffic was heavy, and though speeds were slow, they weren’t too slow.

Suddenly encountering freezing snow inevitably meant countless trauma patients—no doubt about it.

When Luo Hao called to ask the orthopedic department to accept slow-admission patients, Lin Yuming could already imagine how hectic the hospital was.

He must be anxious at home, with endless matters requiring his attention as medical affairs director, answering calls every five minutes.

So he decided to drive out to the hospital.

On the way, he encountered more than twenty traffic accidents.

That was just the ones he saw; surely many more went unseen.

He even saw ambulances from district hospitals dispatched.

These district hospitals were former small local clinics, later incorporated into the medical alliance, with average personnel and technical levels.

The 120 emergency center barely sent them out, mostly treating the mining hospital like beasts of burden.

Lin Yuming already had a rough picture in his mind: the mining hospital emergency department must be overwhelmed.

The emergency corridor was crowded with people, everyone restless, sometimes even violent incidents against medical staff.

Lin Yuming wanted to hurry, but once the car exceeded 20 mph, he lost control and nearly crashed.

He had to crawl along at 5–10 mph.

What a cursed weather.

Parking, Lin Yuming moved stiff-legged toward the hospital entrance.

He took nearly three minutes to cover less than ten meters, sweating profusely.

Stepping onto the marble outside the hospital gate, he finally relaxed and hurried inside.

But something was wrong.

His subconscious sensed it.

The imagined bustling noise—like boiling water bubbling—was absent.

The emergency corridor around the corner was strangely quiet, no chaotic sounds.

Impossible. Had no patients arrived yet?

Rather than relaxing, Lin Yuming grew more alert.

Minor fractures delayed an hour or two weren’t serious—at worst, more swelling.

He’d seen patients with tibial fractures ride motorbikes all the way back from the provincial capital for treatment.

But if a critical emergency patient was delayed hours, then faced with a crowded hospital, that was a disaster.

Such patients were the most prone to medical disputes.

Quickening his pace, Lin Yuming rounded the corner and shrank his pupils as if seeing a ghost.

A line of young people in white coats stood solemnly at the emergency triage desk, waiting seriously.

Seeing him, a young doctor jogged over.

“Are you feeling unwell? Or did you bring a patient?” the young doctor asked.

Though not professionally phrased, it was reassuring to have someone caring and asking in this icy, desolate environment.

“Who are you?” Lin Yuming asked.

“Huh?!” The young doctor was a little annoyed but calmed down, frowning at Lin Yuming.

“Where you feel bad, I’ll take you there. Does it matter who I am? Can I treat patients?”

Ha!

An intern! Lin Yuming immediately understood the origin of this young doctor.

Anyone with clinical experience wouldn’t speak so bluntly to patients or their families.

There was no such thing as equality now; clinical staff were expected not to fight back or respond rudely, with low pay, sustained only by a saintly dedication to healing.

Doctors who spoke like this were already reported to the medical affairs office and were undergoing training.

“An intern, right? I’m Lin Yuming, medical affairs director of the mining hospital.”

“You... huh? The legendary Director Lin?!” The intern realized their mistake but was too proud to grovel, awkwardly at a loss for words.

“Which teacher are you with? Why are there so many interns here?” Lin Yuming asked without concern.

“I’m rotating in endocrinology. Doctor Luo from medical affairs called us to help in emergency, said there were credits.”

Damn!

Lin Yuming cursed inwardly.

That Luo Hao always had tricks, using credits to get interns to help.

But it was a good idea.

Interns lived in the hospital, making them the closest reinforcements. Plus, they were familiar with the hospital and young and strong—best suited for the job.

Even after careful consideration, Lin Yuming found no fault with Luo Hao.

Of course, credits were serious; they couldn’t be handed out casually. Saying so to interns might cause problems.

Lin Yuming scolded Luo Hao silently in his mind.

“How many patients admitted?”

“Fifty or sixty,” the intern said. “We take patients for tests and then send them to wards. A few classmates haven’t returned yet.”

Fifty or sixty!

The emergency department’s peak overnight could see over a hundred patients; this was just a few hours with so many!

In an instant, Lin Yuming grasped the severity.

Though he had taken this storm seriously, he had still underestimated it.

Fortunately, Luo Hao was here, he thought.

...

Note: On one 120 dispatch during a major criminal case, the injured patient’s blood pressure was nearly zero. After getting in, they found no saline… At that time, I wanted to curse but wasn’t used to it, yelling at the 120 driver to speed back to the hospital in four minutes.

Thankfully, nothing happened.

That’s why obsessive-compulsive tendencies gradually develop.