Li Yue looked at Xu Ze, who had just removed his mask, and was momentarily stunned before suddenly breaking into a smile. “No wonder I felt a sense of familiarity when I saw you. It turns out… we look somewhat alike…”
Hearing this, Xu Ze was also taken aback. He studied Li Yue carefully and then smiled as well. “Hmm… it does seem that way…”
At this, both of them laughed. Li Yue nodded and said, “Alright… if you ever have time to visit Beijing, give me a call. I’ll definitely make time for you.”
Xu Ze also felt a strong rapport with this cheerful young man, a sense of mutual admiration. He nodded with a smile and said, “Sure, absolutely… I’ll call you when I come! Let me walk you out now… there are still patients waiting outside…”
With that, he put his mask back on and escorted Li Yue out. Seeing a nurse nearby, he said, “Alright, take him to the ward and start him on a Ringer’s lactate drip… keep him under observation…”
The nurse was extremely busy and didn’t pay attention to which doctor was speaking. Hearing the instructions, she quickly acknowledged and, along with a middle-aged man who had been waiting outside, pushed the gurney toward the ward.
There were several other injured patients nearby, their family members anxiously pacing. Seeing that the current procedure was finished, they hurriedly pushed another patient over…
Xu Ze didn’t hesitate and took on the next patient, wheeling them into the operating room.
This patient was a young woman, softly crying. She seemed to have injured her arm, with her left forearm visibly deformed. At a glance, Xu Ze recognized it as a dislocated left elbow joint, though he wasn’t yet sure if there was a fracture.
For other doctors, this might have been a complicated case requiring an X-ray to confirm the absence of minor fractures before attempting manual reduction.
But for Xu Ze, it was straightforward. Activating the glasses’ X-ray perspective function, he carefully examined the patient’s left elbow joint. Confirming there were no fractures, he reassured her with a smile, “Don’t worry… this will be over in a moment.”
Before the patient could react, he supported her left arm with his left hand, gently held her left palm with his right hand, and with a slight push, pull, and twist—accompanied by the patient’s soft gasp—a faint “click” signaled a successful reduction.
Surprised by Xu Ze’s swift actions, the patient stopped crying. She looked at her seemingly restored arm and tentatively moved it, astonished that the doctor had fixed it so quickly.
Xu Ze’s technique, though appearing simple, required highly skilled hands to perform a reduction so effortlessly. Typically, only experienced orthopedic specialists could achieve such success with ease.
Seeing the patient already moving her arm, Xu Ze quickly stopped her. He secured her arm against her chest with a sling and instructed, “Keep this arm immobilized for two weeks… only then can you start moving it. Understood?”
The patient nodded hurriedly to show she understood.
Xu Ze checked the rest of her body for injuries, then used several iodine swabs to disinfect a few bleeding abrasions. After a brief examination confirmed no other issues, he sent her out.
As this patient was wheeled out, other family members and patients quickly pushed or supported their loved ones forward, murmuring about how skilled the doctor inside must be. The first patient, who had been severely injured, was treated in just over ten minutes. The second was even faster, taking only two or three minutes, and the seemingly broken arm had been fixed.
Everyone had noticed that the doctor in the left operating room had been in with a nurse for nearly twenty minutes without emerging, while the doctor on the right had already sent out one patient in just over ten minutes. Observing that the first patient on the right didn’t seem as critical as the one on the left, they were all impressed with the doctor in the right operating room.
Soon, a line formed outside the right operating room as everyone waited for Xu Ze to take their turn.
After sending out the patient with the dislocated elbow, Xu Ze took in the third patient. This one’s condition seemed serious. Though there wasn’t much visible blood, the patient was pale and lethargic, which immediately alarmed Xu Ze.
He quickly grabbed a blood pressure cuff and measured the patient’s pressure: 70/40 mmHg. This is bad, he thought. The patient must be bleeding internally. Otherwise, the blood pressure wouldn’t be this low.
Despite his concern, Xu Ze remained calm and gently asked, “Where were you injured?”
The patient, mustering strength, opened their eyes and replied with difficulty, “Just… my abdomen was hit… everywhere else is just scraped…”
“Abdomen hit…” Xu Ze frowned and commanded the system, “Activate B-mode ultrasound scan.”
As the B-mode ultrasound activated, Xu Ze swiftly scanned the patient’s abdominal cavity. Based on his experience, if internal bleeding was caused by abdominal trauma, the spleen was the most likely source.
So, he first scanned the area he was most worried about—the spleen. Only spleen damage could lead to such hypovolemic shock.
A quick glance confirmed his fears: a large dark area indicating fluid accumulation around the spleen. It was indeed a splenic rupture with significant bleeding. Without hesitation, he pressed the ring on his finger against the patient’s arm.
“Blood type identification.”
Following Xu Ze’s command, the ring swiftly extended a hair-thin needle, piercing the patient’s skin, and reported, “O型Rh阳性… (O型Rh-positive…)”
Once the blood type was confirmed, Xu Ze quickly wheeled the patient out. Those waiting outside, seeing him emerge so soon, hurriedly brought another patient forward.
But Xu Ze had no time for other cases now. Spotting Hu Xia at the nursing station—she seemed to have just arrived for support—he called out urgently, “Hu Xia… come here!”
Hearing her name, Hu Xia looked over and saw a masked and capped doctor beckoning her from the operating room doorway. Puzzled, she thought, Didn’t that sound like Xu Ze? Why is it a surgical doctor?
But she didn’t hesitate. Whoever it was, she had to respond quickly.
She rushed over, eyeing the masked doctor suspiciously. Recognizing his warm, familiar eyes, she was stunned and asked incredulously, “Dr. Xu? What are you doing here?”
Xu Ze knew what she was thinking but had no time to explain. He said urgently, “Take this patient to the abdominal surgery department immediately. Inform them the patient has a splenic rupture with major internal bleeding and needs surgery right away…”
“Notify the blood bank to prepare ten units of blood… O型Rh阴性… (O型Rh-negative…)”
“Huh?” Hu Xia was baffled. The patient had just been wheeled in, and no ultrasound had been performed. How could Xu Ze know? The blood type might have been provided by the patient, which wasn’t unusual.
Seeing her hesitation, Xu Ze frowned and snapped, “What are you waiting for? Go now!”
“Ah… yes!” Startled by his urgency, Hu Xia quickly acknowledged. She, along with the anxious family members, rushed the patient toward the abdominal surgery department while pulling out her phone to call both the department and the blood bank, urging them to prepare.
As Hu Xia wheeled the patient away, Director Qu, who had just stepped out of his office, saw them. Anxious about the delayed arrival of surgical doctors, he called out curiously, “Hu Xia, where are you taking the patient?”
“Director… splenic rupture… to surgery…” Hu Xia replied without slowing down.
“Oh… splenic rupture? Hurry, then… get going!” Director Qu urged, waving them on.
Only after Hu Xia had left did he suddenly wonder, How did they confirm it so quickly? Did Dr. Li already perform an ultrasound?
But there was no time to dwell on it. He had just made several calls for backup, and three surgical doctors were on their way—they should arrive soon…
With that thought, Director Qu grabbed his stethoscope and hurried over to the remaining patients. While he couldn’t handle severe surgical cases, he could still manage general care.
To his surprise, only one patient was left waiting outside the operating room. Alarmed, he asked a nurse who was checking the patient’s blood pressure, “Where are the other patients?”
The nurse quickly replied, “Director, three have already been sent to the wards… one was taken by Hu Xia, and two are still in the emergency operating room…”
“What? So fast?” Director Qu checked his watch. Less than twenty minutes, and six patients have been handled? He couldn’t help asking, “Have the surgical doctors arrived?”
“Um… I think there are two inside…” the nurse answered after a moment’s thought.
“Two? Who’s here? So soon? Weren’t they all on their way just now?” Director Qu was puzzled but didn’t overthink it. Handling six trauma patients in twenty minutes was remarkably efficient. He silently praised his department’s surgical team for their growing proficiency.
With most patients already treated, he felt relieved that no major issues had arisen.
Seeing only one patient left, he performed a quick check. The vital signs were stable, putting his mind at ease. He returned to his office to wait for the surgical doctors to finish and report back.
