Chapter 17

On the cold ground, a small, thin girl lay.

She was about four or five years old, wearing a dark blue dress. Her coat had been removed, and the hat on her head had been washed away by the lake water, revealing a head of dirty chestnut hair that was scattered haphazardly on the ground. Her small face had turned blue and purple from the cold, her eyes tightly closed, and her chest no longer rose and fell.

The child's mother, a middle-aged woman in elaborate clothing, had collapsed on the ground, sobbing.

Seeing this scene, John's anger flared up, and he shouted loudly, "What are you all standing around for? Why didn't you save her?"

"Very sorry, but she is already gone."

A middle-aged man, around fifty, mistook John for the girl's family and stepped forward, seemingly to comfort him, with a very regretful expression on his face.

"Nonsense!"

John, in a panic, took a few steps forward and bent down, extending his right hand to touch the girl.

"John!"

At that moment, a loud voice came from behind John, and a hand grabbed his collar and pulled him back forcefully. The strength was so great that it was impossible for his small body to resist, causing John to stagger backward several steps.

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Old Hunter's face was dark as he grabbed John's arm and whispered sternly, "The child is indeed gone. What do you want to do?"

"How can that be?! It's only been a few minutes; how can you so rashly conclude that she is dead?"

John quickly shouted.

If it weren't for Old Hunter holding him back, John would have definitely gone to save the girl. From the time the mother started calling for help to now, it had only been about four or five minutes, and from the time the child was brought up to now, it had been no more than half a minute. How could she be dead? Even if the child was weak, it shouldn't be like this!

"Really sorry, sir."

The middle-aged man, who seemed to have a good temper, did not get angry at John's questioning but instead patiently explained, "Please believe me, I am a doctor. I have already examined her, and her heartbeat and breathing have stopped, so... I am very sorry!"

"No heartbeat and breathing means she's dead? What kind of... nonsense!"

Just as he was speaking, John Hunter was as if doused with a bucket of cold water from head to toe, shivering and suddenly stunned.

"This damned era!"

After a moment of flickering thoughts, John cursed the damned year 1880 in his heart, finally understanding why, despite the presence of a doctor, no one had tried to save the girl whose breathing and heartbeat had stopped.

CPR wouldn't be invented for several decades!

Although people had long used methods like horseback and barrels to save drowning victims, and even tried bizarre methods like burying them in soil or whipping them, before medical experts truly understood the relationship and rules of oxygen supply to the heart, lungs, and brain, most people still believed that the cessation of breathing and heartbeat meant death!

In other words, the doctor's statement wasn't wrong, at least not in this era.

But...

Looking at the blue and purple face of the girl on the ground and the middle-aged woman crying her heart out, John's mouth hung open, and his hands began to tremble involuntarily.

"Save her, or not?"

Reason told John that he had already shown too much beyond his age. If he could say that he learned about light bulbs and batteries from books, how could he explain this medical knowledge? But after hesitating for only a second or two, he clenched his fists tightly, calming his trembling.

If it had been an adult who was drowning, John might have hesitated longer, but now the one lying on the ground was a child of only four or five years old! No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't allow himself to stand by and do nothing for such a cute little thing!

"Phew..."

He exhaled softly, and his expression quickly calmed down.

Every minute of delay in rescue could cause irreversible damage to the child's brain. There was no time to waste!

"Let me go."

John gently patted his grandfather's arm and said solemnly, "I'm not being ridiculous; I just want to save this child."

"Save her? She is already gone!"

Old Hunter's face was extremely dark, and he said angrily.

As John's grandfather, he naturally didn't want to see his grandson causing trouble, especially when it involved a life and a body. He didn't want John to get involved in this matter.

However, it was clear that John didn't understand Old Hunter's meaning. He opened his eyes wide and said firmly, "No! She is not dead yet!"

"Hum..."

The two of them spoke loudly, and many people around them began to whisper. The doctor who had just declared the girl dead finally showed a hint of anger and shouted, "Young man, you must take responsibility for what you say. Are you sure you know what you're talking about?"

"Of course!"

Ignoring his grandfather's extremely stern gaze, John immediately straightened his chest and said loudly, "I know exactly what I'm talking about. And if you follow my method, I guarantee that the chances of saving this child are at least fifty percent!"

"Wow..."

This time, when the crowd clearly heard John's words, there was a commotion, and many people looked at him with strange expressions.

What a joke?!

The girl has no breathing or heartbeat, and he still dares to say there's a fifty percent chance of saving her. Who does this kid think he is? God?

"You, what did you say?!"

Just as the doctor's face turned extremely ugly and he was about to scold John, the mother, who was crying, heard John's words and, as if grabbing a lifeline, crawled over to him, "Sir, can you really save Lucy?"

"Yes!"

John waved his hand and said decisively, "If you follow my method, there's a very good chance of bringing her back from the brink of death! But we don't have much time; we need to act quickly, or else..."

"Ah!"

Sighing heavily, Old Hunter's grip on John's arm loosened.

Although he was extremely reluctant, it was too late to say anything now. He had no doubt that if he tried to stop John, the child's mother would probably pounce and bite him!

However, before completely letting go of John's arm, Old Hunter whispered urgently in his ear, "John, think carefully. This is a child, but she is a girl. If you can't save her with your method, someone might accuse you of desecrating a body..."

"Um... I understand."

John hesitated for a moment, then pulled the half-collapsed mother up and said loudly, "Listen to me, ma'am! I need your help, do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand, I'll do anything to save Lucy!"

The middle-aged woman wiped the tears from her face and nodded hurriedly.

"Great!"

John didn't hesitate any longer. He pulled the mother to the girl's side and said urgently, "You must listen carefully to me and follow my instructions step by step..."

...

Since I couldn't find out if there were any methods to save people in that era, I'll write as if there weren't any.

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