Chapter 43

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Uncle Wang, who was about forty years old, was dressed in a construction worker's uniform, covered in dust and dirt, and looked somewhat tired. Seeing Gong Xueting rush over, he heaved a sigh of relief: "Xiaogong, you're finally here!"

Gong Xueting asked anxiously: "Uncle Wang, what happened to my dad? Where is he?"

"Xiaogong, don't panic. Your dad has been admitted to the hospital. Today at the construction site, your dad was busy working, and suddenly he stood up, acting like he was crazy, waving his arms and legs, and making strange noises. Everyone was shocked, thinking he was drunk, and quickly came over to hold him. Your dad was so strong that several young workers couldn't hold him down. Eventually, they managed to subdue him, but he fainted and wouldn't wake up no matter how much we called him. We rushed him to the hospital, and I used his phone to notify you. The doctor just saw him and has arranged for him to be hospitalized and for a specialist consultation."

"Xiaogong, hospitalization is expensive. A few of us coworkers have pooled some money for your dad. We just paid 3,000 yuan as a deposit to the hospital, and the rest is here..."

Uncle Wang took out a stack of RMB from his pocket. There were some hundred-yuan notes and other loose bills, totaling about a thousand yuan. He looked a bit embarrassed and turned his head away: "Uh, it's a bit less... Xiaogong, take this... Don't hesitate, take it. This isn't the time to be polite!"

Trembling, Gong Xueting took the money and bowed deeply to Uncle Wang: "Thank you, Uncle Wang, thank you, uncles and aunts! I will definitely pay this back."

"Hey, don't talk about that now. As long as Old Gong is fine, money doesn't matter. You should go see your dad first— I need to go back. I'll talk to the foreman and see if he can donate something. Even if he's a tightwad, we old buddies will find a way to get some money out of him."

Following Uncle Wang's instructions, they went to the fifth floor of the inpatient department and found the ward. Gong Xueting pushed the door open and went in, followed by Xu Yan and the other classmates.

It was a private room. A middle-aged man lay on the bed, his features somewhat resembling Gong Xueting's. Clearly, this was her father. His eyes were tightly closed, his breathing shallow, and he had an oxygen tube in his nose. A heart monitor was placed by the bed, and the atmosphere was tense. Several doctors in white coats were gathered around the bed, looking at the monitor and discussing in low voices.

Seeing her father in this state, Gong Xueting felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. She rushed over, grabbed his hand, and called out several times, but the middle-aged man on the bed showed no response. Gong Xueting was both shocked and frightened. She shouted: "Dad, Dad, don't scare me! Dad, wake up, it's Ting'er!"

Seeing Gong Xueting like this, the doctors in white coats stopped talking. A middle-aged doctor walked over and asked: "Young lady, are you the patient's family?"

"Yes, yes, I'm his daughter. He's my dad. Doctor, what's wrong with my dad? We had dinner together last night, and he was fine. What happened to him now?"

The middle-aged doctor looked troubled. He cleared his throat: "Miss, the patient has a sudden and unknown cause of rapid organ failure... When he was brought to the hospital, he had already lost consciousness. Miss, may I ask if the patient has any past medical history? Does he have high blood pressure? Heart disease? Has he had a heart attack? A stroke? Or a brain hemorrhage?"

Gong Xueting shook her head repeatedly: "No, no, my dad has always been healthy— Doctor, what exactly is this rapid organ failure? Is it hard to treat? Is it very dangerous?"

The middle-aged doctor looked hesitant and was reluctant to answer— he didn't want to tell Gong Xueting that this "rapid organ failure of unknown cause" was a disease name only invented a month ago, and the medical community had no prior knowledge of it.

He chose his words carefully: "Miss, rapid organ failure is a very dangerous condition. When it occurs, the patient quickly loses consciousness, and their organs rapidly deteriorate, losing vitality, and eventually leading to death..."

He pointed to the monitor by the bed: "Look at this. The patient's heart function has weakened, and his heartbeat has slowed significantly... We have to inject a cardiac stimulant every half hour to maintain his heartbeat. His lung function has also been affected and weakened, requiring a ventilator to sustain life... And his brain... The patient's overall vital signs are declining.

This disease is a recent occurrence, a sudden and unknown cause of illness with a high mortality rate... Currently, we are still in the research stage and have not found very effective drugs or treatments. From previous cases, the disease progresses rapidly, and your family... should be prepared mentally."

Seeing Gong Xueting's face change, the doctor quickly comforted her: "Of course, this is not absolute. We still have too few cases to draw a definitive conclusion... Uh, some patients with good physical condition or those who respond well to medication might improve... Your dad seems to be in good health, so we shouldn't give up hope. Currently, we are using cardiac stimulants and a triple therapy to maintain the patient's life and slow the progression of the disease..."

Even though Xu Yan and the others were not medical experts, they frowned deeply at the doctor's words— this was clearly saying that the hospital was at a loss and could only wait for a miracle.

Gong Xueting's face turned pale— she had braced herself for bad news, but she never expected it to be so terrifying, shattering all her hopes.

This was the worst news!

"Doctor, can't you try something? Use better, more expensive drugs, imported drugs, or... invite experts from the capital? We'll pay whatever it costs! As long as we can save Dad, even if we have to sell blood, even if— I will definitely raise the money!"

Looking at the girl with pity, the middle-aged doctor comforted her: "Young lady, don't panic. This is a new disease in the medical field, and it's the same worldwide. Not just in the capital, but even foreign hospitals are at a loss. Besides your dad, our hospital has admitted several patients with the same condition. The hospital director is organizing a team of experts to study this disease and determine its cause.

Young lady, don't panic. We will do our utmost to save him."

After saying this, as if afraid of being questioned further by Gong Xueting, the doctor nodded and left the ward. The other doctors followed, and Gong Xueting's eyes filled with despair.

She held her father's hand, feeling how much cooler his once warm hand had become. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed: "Dad, Dad! Don't die, I won't let you die! Don't leave me alone! Mom is already gone, you can't leave Xiaoting... Sob, Dad... Sob, sob..."

Seeing Gong Xueting sobbing, the classmates who came with her fell into an awkward silence. Everyone was solemn, avoiding eye contact, and staring at the floor.

Originally, Xu Yan, Zhao Tianyu, and Gong Xueting's roommates had come with the intention of helping. But no one expected to hear such news at the hospital, a death sentence-like grim message.

In the face of this unknown and incurable disease, everyone was powerless. At this moment, Xu Yan and Zhao Tianyu, along with everyone else, lost their fighting spirit and were left with only sympathy for Gong Xueting.

Seeing Gong Xueting cry so bitterly, Xu Yan took a few steps forward to comfort her. It was then that he noticed Gong Xueting's father on the bed. His face and forehead were very dark, not the normal skin color, but a deep, almost black hue.

Xu Yan was puzzled and moved closer to take a better look. He was startled to see that the blackness on Gong Xueting's father's face was not static but moving. It was like a layer of black mist slowly rolling and surging, as if it were a living thing.

Drawn by this strange phenomenon, Xu Yan took another step closer to get a clearer view. Suddenly, the bag of books in his hand became extremely hot, so hot that he couldn't hold it and it fell to the ground.

In the quiet ward, the sound of the bag hitting the floor was very noticeable. Everyone looked over, including Gong Xueting, who was in the midst of her grief.

The looks in everyone's eyes were accusatory, silently blaming Xu Yan: "At a time like this, are you still causing trouble?"

Xu Yan's face turned red with embarrassment. He apologized repeatedly and started picking up the scattered books. At this moment, Chu Yan suddenly exclaimed: "Xu Yan, your book is on fire!"

Xu Yan looked closely and saw that it was the thin book "The White Deer Clan's Code of Conduct" that Zhu Youxiang had given him last night. For some reason, the cover of the book was flickering with flames, but there was no source of fire.

"Oh no! How did it catch fire?"

This made the girls scream in fright. Xu Yan quickly used his backpack to beat out the flames, but no matter how he tried, the small red flame continued to burn, seemingly impossible to extinguish.

The flame was too close to the patient, and Xu Yan was afraid it would damage the delicate medical equipment. In a panic, he kicked the book away from the bed to the wall. When he rushed over, he was surprised to find that the fire had already gone out.

Xu Yan picked up the book in disbelief. The book was still hot, burning his hand. He flipped through it and saw that the entire book, including the cover, was intact and in perfect condition—except for a bit of dust from falling on the floor, there was no sign of burning. (For a chance to win cool prizes like smartphones, follow the 起点中文网 official WeChat account (add friends - add official account - enter qdread). Participate now and everyone wins! Follow the qdread WeChat account immediately!)

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