When Duan Jingzhu shouted, although no one believed him, everyone instinctively turned their attention to the television. The muted screen showed a chaotic scene; amidst the throng of people, a handsome young man—the kind of man every man would envy—lay peacefully motionless on a hospital bed. Was this the person Duan Jingzhu was referring to? He couldn't possibly be talking about the pretty girl crying so bitterly next to him, could he?
I glanced at the TV and then back at the heroes, and suddenly realized they had all frozen in place. I understood; even if the young man on TV wasn't Hua Rong, he at least looked exactly like him. I couldn't help but turn my gaze back to the TV. The young man was still lying motionless on the bed with his eyes closed. What was wrong?
A hero's act? A migrant worker demanding unpaid wages?
It was only then that I realized what was happening, and I yelled at Duan Jingzhu, "Turn on the sound!"
It's true what they say, those involved are often blinded by their own perspective. Only after I shouted did everyone else chime in, "Yes, yes, yes, turn on the sound!"
Duan Jingzhu suddenly turned the volume up to the maximum. With a "buzz," we only heard the last sentence: "...the family members have signed a waiver agreement with the hospital today, and the hospital will cut off all supplies in 24 hours... Now, please listen to a brief news report: the city's steel plant has achieved record-breaking performance..." It turned out to be a rebroadcast of yesterday's local news.
The heroes looked at each other in surprise as Hua Rong flashed past, and asked at the same time, "What happened?"
At first, I was also confused, but after slowly analyzing it: the disclaimer, the interruption of supplies... combined with the news Baozi told me last night, I suddenly slammed my hand on the table: "I get it, Hua Rong is that vegetable!"
The heroes asked in unison, "What does that mean?"
I jumped onto the stool and said, "Dr. An, do you remember you said there was a kind of medicine that would make people only know how to breathe and nothing else after taking it? Brother Hua Rong is like that now."
An Daoquan said, "People back then were like dead people."
I said, "Yes."
The heroes asked together again, "Then what should we do?"
I said confidently, "Don't rush. The news just showed the Central Hospital, right? Let me ask Old Zhang, who is hospitalized there, about his condition."
I called and greeted Lao Zhang first, then asked about the vegetative state patient at their hospital. Lao Zhang told me the whole story; it was already common knowledge at the Central Hospital.
It turned out the young man's name was Ran Dongye, a postman who enjoyed raising pigeons. His brain injury was caused by a fall while inspecting the pigeon coop on the second floor. At this point, Old Zhang, true to his scholarly nature, launched into a long explanation of the professional knowledge he'd gathered from the doctor. He said Ran Dongye's brain injury was different from what we usually call a vegetative state. A vegetative state is actually called decorticate state, also known as persistent vegetative state. A vegetative state refers to someone who can still sustain life through instinctive reflexes and metabolism—in other words, completely like a plant; you only need to water and fertilize them to keep them alive. But Ran Dongye was special; he was somewhere between a vegetative state and brain death. Brain death is much more serious than a vegetative state; it means a person can no longer breathe or have their heart beat, and even the finest ginseng soup won't work.
Therefore, if Ran Dongye wants to stay alive, it will require more complex equipment and money than for a typical vegetative patient. He is their only child, and their family is relatively well-off, but in just six months he has exhausted all their savings, and now they have no choice but to give up.
This was originally an ordinary story, somewhat tragic but without any major twists or turns. Old Zhang himself was also terminally ill, and he recounted it all calmly. Unexpectedly, he changed the subject, saying with deep emotion, "It's such a pity about that guy's girlfriend. What a wonderful girl. Even his family had long wanted to give up, but this girl stopped them, threatening suicide and pouring all her savings into this mess, and in the end, it still ended like this." As he said this, I thought of the girl who had been leaning over Hua Rong's bedside. Old Zhang was saddened for a while, then suddenly asked, "Why are you asking about this?"
I said, "I'll stop here for now, you should take good care of yourself." Although he knew the heroes' background, I didn't have time to explain it to him in detail.
I hung up the phone, took another step up, and said loudly, "Now, our brother Hua Rong is waiting for us to rescue him."
Zhang Shun rolled his eyes at me: "Why do you seem so happy that Hua Rong has become a vegetable?"
I pulled a small object from my pocket, tossed it high into the air, and caught it. As I released it, the blue pill spun around on the table, emitting a mysterious glow…
Wu Yong wiped his glasses, stared at it for a long time, and hesitated before saying, "This is..." When he saw the pill clearly, he finally became a little excited, "This is the kind of medicine that can restore memories!"
The heroes were stunned for a moment, but when they understood the meaning of those words, they burst into cheers. Lin Chong laughed and said, "Since Hua Rong has forgotten everything in his life, it saves us a lot of trouble. Let's go and call him back!"
I smiled slightly: "No rush. Didn't the news say we still have 24 hours..." As soon as I said that, I vaguely sensed that something was wrong. The moment I realized it, my face changed instantly. I yelled, "Run!" and couldn't say another word. I ran frantically towards the door.
That's because I realized: the news was from yesterday, and 24 hours have probably already passed.
As I ran to the car, I quickly explained the situation. The heroes were so shocked that their hair stood on end. Dai Zong swiftly put on his leg armor and said, "I'll go take a look first."
Lu Junyi said, "As long as they haven't made a move, you must keep the situation under control."
Wu Yong said, "With such a sensational event, there must be a lot of idle people in the hospital now. How can we get close to Hua Rong? It seems we need to think about this carefully."
As I got into the car, I shouted, "If all else fails, just kidnap them. As long as no one dies, you can decide what to do."
At this moment, Zhang Qing, Dong Ping, and a few others had already gotten into my car. Duan Jingzhu, limping, tried to get in, but I pushed him out and shouted, "Get a few strong guys!" If we get into a fight, we need to finish quickly. Hua Rong's family must think they've run into the gangsters who harvest kidneys.
I led Lu Junyi and several of Liangshan's strongest warriors, rushing towards the hospital. Before we even reached the gate, we saw a large crowd gathered, presumably there to watch the spectacle. Afraid of attracting attention, I parked the car across the street and, along with Zhang Qing and the others, pretended to be family members visiting a patient before heading inside.
As I passed through the crowd, I vaguely saw a pretty girl at the very back, crying so hard she looked like a shrunken doll. She seemed somewhat delirious, half-paralyzed in her father's arms, occasionally struggling towards the hospital building before sobbing for a long time. Her father kept patting her back and gently comforting her.
Suddenly, Dai Zong emerged from the crowd, and we all asked him, "What are you doing here? Where's Hua Rong?"
Dai Zong wiped his eyes and said, "Hua Rong is in the observation room on the 5th floor, it's so damn touching... sob..."
We were all completely confused. Then Dai Zong continued, "That girl is Hua Rong's girlfriend. Knowing that the tubes were to be removed today, she waited outside Hua Rong's ward in the middle of the night, saying that anyone who went in would be stepped on by her dead body. The tubes were supposed to be removed at 8 a.m., but she kept making a scene until now and just went into shock."
We didn't have time to worry about that right now, and asked, "How is Hua Rong now?"
Dai Zong composed himself and said, "He's alright, and he's all alone right now. You should go quickly."
We rushed up to the 5th floor. There were no wards on this floor, so it was very quiet. I quickly found the observation room, pushed open the door, and saw Hua Rong, who was in a vegetative state, lying on the bed, wearing a ventilator and with a glucose drip in her arm. There was no one else there.
I took the pill out of my pocket, but looking at Hua Rong, who was "fully armed," I didn't know where to start. I didn't know if removing his oxygen mask would be dangerous, or if he could swallow the pill smoothly in his current state. Remembering what Li Tianrun had told me, I pointed at Zhang Qing and said, "Go get a glass of water."
Zhang Qing grabbed a cup and went outside. A little while later, he came back with a cup of cold water. I threw the medicine into the water, and with a "whoosh," a beautiful blue mist rose from the cup, then returned to normal.
Holding the cup, I solemnly asked Lu Junyi and the others, "Look carefully, is this Brother Hua Rong? Once this cup of water is down, it will be too late if anything else happens!"
Dong Ping said, "Brother Hua Rong used to say, 'The arrow is on the bowstring, and it must be released...'"
Li Kui said, "Hurry up, what are you saying when you've already shit yourself on the spot?"
Lin Chong said, "Xiao Qiang, let's do it. Even if he's nobody, at least we'll save his life, right?"
I removed the messy things from Hua Rong's head, picked up the cup, and poured it into his mouth...
At that moment, Dai Zong suddenly pushed the door open and said, "Are you done yet? A whole bunch of reporters and doctors are coming up from downstairs."
Chapter Seventy-Five: Arrow
I pinched Hua Rong's mouth shut, tilted the cup to his lips, and let a small stream of water go down. It slowly disappeared, indicating that he could still perform at least a swallowing reflex. But at this rate, it would take me at least 10 minutes.
Just then, I heard a commotion downstairs. I shouted, "A few people go out and stop them. Don't let anyone get close."