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Chapter 53: 53

Chapter 53: The thing in the Banyan Tree

“It’s you! The thing inside the Banyan Tree… Please… Let me go…”

The patient on the stretcher bed screamed in a hoarse and pained tone . Suddenly, he broke out in a loud uncontrollable cry . All of the fury and puzzlement had disappeared from his face in an instant . In place of the twisted anger, the horrors of death and a certain sense of mediocrity as he pleaded for a chance to live had gushed out, “I’m begging you… I don’t wanna die… Please! Let me go…”

Gu Jun’s brows puckered as his teeth bit on his lower lip .

Has this man seen me before? Could he be the one that I spoke with on the phone? Impossible, Gurong Village had long been cleared out and isolated . They don’t have these many villagers either .

“Move aside please . ” A nurse rushed over and expertly pushed the patient away . On every nurse, a wireless communication device was connected to an earpiece . As she pushed the patient away, she reported to the command centre, “Orthopaedics, patient No . 128 is showing signs of delirium . He might be exacerbating towards the bereavement stage . ”

“Oh shucks…” Zhou Jiaqiang muttered to himself . Immediately, he turned and explained to the trainees, “This patient needs immediate medical treatment . If he really enters the bereavement stage, there is no saving him . Speaking gibberish is a tell-tale sign of deterioration . For some reason, they all speak of the “thing in the Banyan Tree” . Till now, we don’t know what it is . ”

Those words made Gu Jun recall a memory . He quickly recalled the words that the person on the phone told him . While that man also mentioned, “the thing in the Banyan Tree”, he did not mention “you” . He turned to Brother Qiang and asked, “Brother Qiang, do they also single out others and say, “it’s you!”?”

“Hmm, this is also the first time I’ve seen this . ” Zhou Jiaqiang remained nonchalant about the situation . “Delirium is due to an abrupt change in the brain that causes mental confusion and emotional disruption . It’s normal . Come on . Let’s go . ”

As they moved on, Gu Jun followed behind Zhou Jiaqiang and asked again, “Brother Qiang, where did these patients come from? Is it a different place from the Banyan Malformation Disease patient we saw at the competition?”

“You know I can’t tell you anything . Not that I know the answers too,” Zhou Jiaqiang sternly replied . “We just need to do our job as clinical medicine practitioners and save people . ”

Before the corridor ended, another patient’s condition took a sudden downturn and entered delirium . He lost all control mentally and howled loudly, “The thing in the Banyan Tree . No, don’t come closer! Let … Let me go… No… . the thing… in the Banyan Tree…”

Without delay, another nurse rushed over and yelled into the earpiece, “Patient 143 is showing signs of delirium!”

“That’s odd . ” Perplexed, Zhou Jiaqiang scratched his head . “This batch of patients just entered the 2nd stage . Logically, the progression should not be this quick . We should have another few days…”

The hair-raising shrieks had everyone’s expression turned sullen . Looking at the patient, Gu Jun’s heart raced . He hoped he was wrong, but it seemed like Patient 143 only exacerbated after their gazes met . Furthermore, it was as if they had met before and “the thing in the Banyan Tree” was him .

Needles of pain repeatedly nailed into his brains, sending waves after waves of pulsating pain . Gu Jun clutched his head as he winced . This sense of annoyance and anxiety was intensifying . He could feel it; a vision was coming .

Would the vision be directly linked to the Banyan Malformation Disease patients? He still lacked a related venue . .

“Gu Jun, are you alright?” in an undertone, Wang Ruoxiang whispered to Gu Jun . She had noticed the pale frail expression on Gu Jun . This was unexpected, the Gu Jun she knew in her mind was not this timid .

“I’m… fine . ” in a somewhat trembling voice, Gu Jun forced out a response . “Seeing them like this, I just feel a little uncomfortable . ” It was his genuine emotions .

“Me too…” Wang Ruoxiang’s face was flushed with a mixture of horror, anxiety, and sorrow . Her lips attempted a smile, but her eyes could not hide the churning worries .

Zhou Jiaqiang gestured, urging them to keep up . As they walked on, they soon arrived at a spacious office . Within it, a cacophony of hurried discussions could be heard . Evidently, the sudden deterioration of the 2 patients had thrown everyone off course . Two extra teams had to be used immediately .

Of course, such unanticipated circumstances had to be left to the veteran teams .

Zhou Jiaqiang gave some final words of advice and left the 5 trainees to an errand nurse . Bidding goodbye to his students, he rushed off to settle his own work .

Only at this time did Gu Jun hear that he was selected to be part of Doctor Zhu Ruiwen’s team . Following the errand nurse, he toured the common areas of the group; resting room, changing room, and operating theater .

The final destination was the team’s office . As Gu Jun entered, he saw a middle-aged gentleman smiling warmly at him . This man was the primary surgeon, Doctor Zhu Ruiwen . With him were the anaesthetist, Yan Haizhe, and 1st assistant, Zen Jianguo . All of them were amicable and welcoming towards their newest member . Lastly, the third assistant was a newly promoted G-Level member of his age, Li Hualong .

Unlike Gu Jun, Li Hualong had gone to a hospital for an internship . Just like Brother Qiang, he was selected into the Phecda from there . Surprisingly, Li Hualong was also very polite to Gu Jun; a little too polite even . It’s not tricky for Gu Jun to guess the reason . He had entered the team late, yet he became the second assistant first . It was only natural that Li Hualong was a little unhappy yet had to hide his dissatisfaction .

However, there were more pressing emergencies at the moment . Both of them had set aside any unpleasant thoughts and were focused on listening to the operation brief for patient No . 25 from Team Leader Zhu . This would be the first operation in the afternoon .

It was also at this time that a detail yanked up Gu Jun’s heart, “We are using local anaesthesia?!”

“Yes,” Zhu Ruiwen’s said expressionlessly . His stern response clearly indicated that this was not a tease for the newcomer . “The amputation surgery of patients with Banyan Malformation Disease cannot be done with general anaesthesia . Otherwise, the chances of acute heart failure during the operation is high . In that case, the rate of failure will be higher . Not only that, but more than 80% of patients with general anaesthesia also lost a majority of their cognitive senses when they woke up . For their sake, we are only left with the option of local anaesthesia . ”

Within the office, he was the only one who was unaware and stumped speechless .

During the competition, the medical department only played a silent video of the operation . The only information given to them was that 2nd Stage patients still had chances of treatment . However, further details like the success rates were withheld . All of the students present had presumed and given themselves a false sense of 100% recovery .

A forequarter amputation, or in layman terms, sawing off the entire hand together with the shoulder . This was major surgery and would take at least 3 hours .

Yet, they were using local anaesthesia…

“It would be the biggest test of the patient’s mental resilience,” Zhu Ruiwen’s words were somewhat inspirational . “But it would be an even bigger test for our mental strength . ”

Silently, Gu Jun nodded . His listless eyes and pale face stared at his toes . Li Hualong did not take the chance to mock or tease him . Instead, he sent a firm pat onto Gu Jun’s shoulders and gave him an encouraging smile . “No worries . With Local Anaesthesia, the success rate is as high as 76% . ”

Feeling the firm grip on his shoulders, Gu Jun was wholly grateful .

Looks like he isn’t a bad guy . Well, no surprises since he did pass that harsh, gruelling interview .

Within a short time before the operation, Gu Jun familiarised himself with the team and the plan for the afternoon . By the time he finished his lunchbox, the first operation was already due to begin .

Following Zhu Ruiwen and the others, Gu Jun donned the sterilised clothes and disinfected himself . After suiting himself with a surgical gown and gloves, he headed to the operating theater .

It was very similar to regular operation until a screeching cry, like nails clawing at a chalkboard, shattered the silence in the operating theatre . “AHH! AHH!”

“Phoo . . ” Taking a deep breath, Gu Jun followed the team out of the changing room and strode through the doors of the operating theatre . The air was distinctively denser . Through his mask, he could catch a whiff of the distinct pungent smell from the malformed limb . This scent fumed his nostrils, up to his head . The familiar pounding then rocked his head again .

The spacious and bright operating room was fully equipped with an operating bed, shadowless lamp, medical utility columns, and instrument table . A male patient had been laid on the operating bed in a lateral position . The nurses had connected him to various ventilators, anaesthesia monitors, and other monitoring equipment . His torso and healthy limbs were completely secured onto the operating bed by a customised leather body protector . Only the left upper arm was exposed, clearly malformed and twisted .

Zhu Ruiwen took the lead and took his position as the primary surgeon . Anaesthetist Yan Haizhe sat at the anaesthesia machine and kept his eyes fixated at the index data .

“Help me…” The patient kept struggling and screaming unceasingly .

As the cries reverberated with the beeping of the equipment, Gu Jun could feel his heartbeat and psychological pressure surging . Even if he had countless nightmarish encounters and the Hands of Dexterity at his disposal, he could still feel his muscles tightening and even fossilising . Despite being surrounded by the cutting edge equipment, the atmosphere of the room was chillingly identical to a scene from the stone age when anaesthesia was unheard of .

When juxtaposed to this scene, the canine thoracotomy surgery he led an hour ago was just like a child’s play .

“Everyone, in your positions please . ” Zhu Ruiwen readied himself by the left side of the patient . The 1st assistant, Zen Jianguo, and Gu Jun immediately stood at the opposite and by the left of the primary surgeon respectively . The 3rd assistant, Li Hualong, stood opposite Gu Jun . As they did the final preparations, the scrub nurse and circulating nurses were all busy ensuring the readiness of the equipment .

“You…” The patient on the operating table turned to look at them . When something entered his eye, he suddenly panicked and wriggled uncontrollably “The thing in the banyan tree! No, don’t…”

Gu Jun’s heart clenched tightly . This time, he was very sure . The patient made contact with his eyes and…

No . 128, No . 143, No . 25 . Three patients . Why, why does it seem that I will speed up the development of their disease? Why?!

Gu Jun’s mind felt blank . A suffocating sensation appeared as if something blocked his throat . His face winced in pain as he gasped for air . It was extremely uncomfortable . Then, he felt nails repeatedly hammering into his head, as if his brains were being split apart .

In front of him, a blinding light shone into his eyes . The vision had appeared again after half a month . The operating theater zoomed away . In a few moments, he could not hear the screams of the patient as his surroundings fell into silence . The vision and the strange lights and shadows gradually became real .

An ancient giant banyan tree materialised beside him . All around him, silhouettes were on the ground kneeling and paying their worship to the banyan tree .