Chapter 327: Stockholm Syndrome

Wash and close.

Zheng Ren operated skillfully. Even though every step was in order, each was so fast that it became a blur to observers.

Chief Sun had arrived and watched with wide eyes. He was aware that Zheng Ren was superior to him in surgery. However, Zheng Ren seemed a little rushed today and was going at full speed.

He had already given up trying to compete with these two from the emergency department, but when he saw Su Yun and Chief Zhang working on thoracic surgery together, he could not resist being a spectator.

Chief Zhang was an idiot, a poser. He had no idea what he was going up against this time.

Even though Chief Sun from the second general surgery department was unaware of both Su Yun’s past and Zheng Ren’s use of a Master level skill book, all that had happened thus far were as obvious a hint as morning bells.

He was perceptive enough to know that there would be quite a show today.

“Where are you at?” Zheng Ren closed the abdomen with his head lowered. The light of the surgical lamps was slightly dimmer than usual as one had been adjusted to illuminate the surgical field on the chest.

“I’ve sutured the punctured lungs and bronchial artery, currently checking other regions,” Su Yun said, “Boss, come take a look when you’re done. Something’s not right with the mediastinum.”

Zheng Ren acknowledged him.

They successfully closed the abdominal cavity. All procedures were completed under an hour.

“Dr. Zheng has exceptional skill,” Director Xiao said, “Old Chief Physician Pan, you have a strong team.”

“It’s all from Zheng Ren. I didn’t teach him much,” Old Chief Physician Pan said seriously.

By then, the external surgeries on the abdomen had already been dealt with, but the chest surgery was still in progress and he was not yet in the mood for casual banter.

Blood began leaking slowly from the stab wounds on the abdominal wall.

Zheng Ren recognized it as a sign of increased blood volume due to heavy blood and fluid infusions.

He let Yang Lei suture the skin and a few other stab wounds before going to Su Yun.

Zheng Ren was unfamiliar with thoracic surgery. When he was an intern, he had only helped with the retractor while his teacher performed the operation proper.

Even though he had achieved the Master level in thoracic surgery, he was still cautious.

The patient had only a single functioning lung; her right lung tissues were like a deflated balloon, collapsed into a ball of mass.

Its middle and lower lobe had two punctures.

They had finished repairing the wounds and the chest cavity was filled with warm saline.

Chu Yanran turned on single lung ventilation and increased pressure to inflate the lung tissues, allowing them to check for any missed punctures that would lead to gas leakage.

Repair of the lungs was similar to that of the intestines. The skill it required was… basic.

Zheng Ren was very confident that Su Yun could complete it alone without Chief Zhang.

How would he call himself the rising star of cardiothoracic surgery if he could not do this?

“Boss, how long was the attacker’s knife?” Su Yun asked.

“Approximately 30 cm,” Zheng Ren said, his mind taking him back to the glaring red pool on a snowy ground.

“There’s a slight possibility that her mediastinum was injured,” Su Yun said immediately.

“Suction, with cover.” Zheng Ren reached out a hand and an aspirator was placed in it.

“That should be it.” Chief Zhang saw only a little red in the rinsing solution with no air bubbles and assumed the surgery was complete. “The punctured lung was successfully repaired. We can close up.”

“We still need to check,” Su Yun said.

“Who’s the one doing the surgery!” Chief Zhang said in a low voice, “The longer the patient is under anesthesia, the less likely she will recover.”

“I’m the one who’ll be taking care of her in the ICU after surgery,” Su Yun said nonchalantly, “Would you like to take over that, Chief Zhang?”

That was f*cking arrogant.

Chief Zhang was furious.

Nevertheless… he could not start a fight with Su Yun on the operating table, could he?

Winning the argument was one thing. Even if he did, did he really want to go to the ICU for the patient’s postoperative care?

He knew that Su Yun excelled in intensive care medicine. Him, not so much.

Chief Zhang lifted his head angrily and looked at Director Xiao.

Director Xiao was also curious. What had given Su Yun the confidence to question the decision of a department chief during a surgery?

Under normal circumstances, they would close the chest even without absolute certainty.

“Let them try.” Old Chief Physician Pan settled the matter.

Chief Zhang was fuming. He slammed the hemostatic clamps he had been holding onto the sterile sheets, turned around and left.

“You go over,” Zheng Ren said.

Su Yun nodded. He raised his hands to chest level and walked around the operating table to stand where Chief Zhang did.

“Single lung ventilation,” Zheng Ren said.

Chu Yanran followed the order immediately and the patient’s right lung instantly deflated.

The two of them searched carefully around the pleura. A few minutes later, they found an open wound smaller than 1 cm on it, right beside the mediastinum.

The wound was small, almost like a scratch, a non-issue.

Had they not been careful enough, they would not even have noticed it.

Su Yun groaned. Zheng Ren saw the diagnosis on the System monitor on the upper right corner of his vision blinking red—esophageal rupture.

This wound was clearly much deeper than it looked. After the lung had been punctured, the knife had pierced through the mediastinal pleura and injured the esophagus.

“Time to open up and check on it.” Zheng Ren reached out and received a scalpel.

Whether in general or thoracic surgery, Xie Yiren could gently pass the tools Zheng Ren needed into his hand.

This,

Maybe,

Was life.

No drinking or flirting, no obsession over money, no sweet-talking, no overflowing passions.

She knew what he needed right away when he opened his palm.

A life like this would be great.

There was no joy in Zheng Ren’s heart. He was paying full attention to the patient.

The blade glided along the wound on the mediastinal pleura and opened it up.

Chief Sun’s eyes lit up. He had a hunch that they were about to reach the highlight of the day.

Zheng Ren was truly remarkable. The man was dabbling even in thoracic surgery and was still so confident in such a situation.

Did monsters really exist?

He had never believed in such things. Anything could be improved through practice, and even an average person could perform surgery after practicing a hundred times.

However, since meeting Zheng Ren, he had begun to believe.

Both the first and second division of the general surgery department would never live down how emergency general surgeries had been “taken over” in this hospital.

Chief Sun was used to being careful throughout his entire career. Before this, he had been suffering under the oppression of Chief Liu, but only to a tolerable extent.

It looked like it was the thoracic surgery department’s turn today.

Under the face mask, Chief Sun’s mouth curled into a smirk. He was thrilled to see how the snobbish Chief Zhang would embarrass himself.

As long as there was company, even the most embarrassing thing was bearable.

He was not only the one who had failed to compete with the whelp, not out of incompetence, but because the whelp was a true monster.

The thoughts did not leave his lips.

He was more confident in Zheng Ren than in Old Chief Physician Pan.

Perhaps this was a different embodiment of Stockholm Syndrome.

Zheng Ren was unaware of Chief Sun’s thoughts, having already entered the System to practice thoracic surgery in bulk.

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