Chapter 691: Rescue

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zuo Cidian felt like he had been on the ship forever. Finally, a long-awaited voice rang out.

“We’re almost there. Prepare to get off the ship.” The voice of the rescue team’s experienced member was rather hoarse.

Zuo Cidian passed him a bottle of water and said, “Have a drink of water. Have you been speaking throughout the journey?”

“Yeah.” The experienced rescue team member was a little bored. He drank some water and looked at the water ahead for a while before saying, “Some of the members in the team are too young, and they’re anxious.”

“It’s pretty dangerous to work in a rescue team, isn’t it?” Zuo Cidian asked with a smile.

The experienced rescue team member chuckled scornfully. He then turned to look at Zuo Cidian’s wrinkled face, and he could not help but shake his head. “You rarely go out to sea, am I right?”

“Truth be told, I have only sat on a ship a handful of times. This is probably my longest ride. I had gone on fishing trips with my friends before. I also took a cruise once, and it didn’t really feel like I was on the sea.” Zuo Cidian shrugged to loosen his muscles. After sitting in the boat for such a long time, he was tired and afraid. There was not much strength left in his body either.

The experienced rescue team member stared ahead and said slowly, “People in my industry often say that storms are blind. Just picture how it’s like on the land when it rains heavily and the wind is violent, and compare it with how it’s like if the same thing were to happen at the sea. We still have to look for boats to rescue people when storms happen at the sea…”

As he spoke, he rolled up his pants to reveal a deep and long scar on his thigh.

The scar was a little hideous, and it looked like a tree branch. There were even a few places where the scar was forked. It only took one glance for Zuo Cidian to know that the wound was a very deep tear. He reckoned that it took a very long time for the wound to recover after it was sutured.

“I got injured when I slid down the mast of somebody’s boat as my thigh got caught in a rope. If it was a wire instead, I would probably have died.” There was relief on the experienced rescue team member’s face. “It’s quite funny for a rescue team member to end up as a patient. But it’s something inevitable. Oh, by the way, you really can’t predict what would happen while you are on the sea. It’s very fortunate for me to stay alive until now.”

The experienced rescue team member took out a cigarette from his pocket and held it between his lips.

Zuo Cidian nodded. “It’s not easy indeed.”

“Hehe…” The experienced rescue team member smiled again. “It’s not easy indeed when there’s a Category 4 storm. It’s not easy making our way to the shipwreck while there’s a violent wind going around. It’s not easy for scuba divers to go under the sea with ropes attached to their bodies. And how do I describe Category 7 storms… I guess I should say that we’ll be leaving things to fate.”

Zuo Cidian was immediately at a loss for words. He did not even know what a Category 7 storm was like.

However, even though the sea ahead of them was calm right now, Zuo Cidian was terrified of a tremendous number of things.

“Those who work at our rescue center have to undergo a mandatory annual physical examination. There’re only fewer than a hundred of us, and seven of us suffer from avascular necrosis…” The experienced rescue team member gazed forward and suddenly asked, “Do you know why I counseled Young Zhang for such a long time?”

Zuo Cidian shook his head.

The experienced rescue team member suddenly chuckled. “He was supposed to get married the day after tomorrow.”

Zuo Cidian was shocked. “Then, why is he still part of the mission?”

“Everyone’s leaves were canceled since this is a major rescue mission… He’s mostly indignant. He had booked a banquet room, and the hotel won’t let him cancel his booking. The hotel refused to even give him a discount by reducing the number of tables. Even if he were to go ahead with the wedding, all the members of the rescue team wouldn’t be able to attend. His bride’s parents never agreed with the marriage to begin with. And now that this has happened, I don’t even know what to say to him…” The experienced rescue team member shook his head and blurted out the frustrations that he had harbored inside him throughout the journey to Zuo Cidian.

When Zuo Cidian heard that, he found the situation quite hopeless too. Things were naturally difficult for the hotel too. As the wedding was supposed to be held the day after tomorrow, the kitchen might have even purchased the necessary ingredients. If the hotel offered the groom a refund for such a sudden cancellation, they would have to bear the price of the ingredients themselves. This would not be reasonable either. But if a person were to look at it from another perspective, the young rescue team member had to foot the bill for a wedding where most guests would not be attending. He did not even have time for his own wedding.

Because of this, he would probably feel ashamed in front of his wife in the days to come.

Zuo Cidian could not help but recall the time his wedding ended years ago. ‘Hmm, it seems that no matter how a wedding goes, the husband would end up having no say in the marriage…’

“The hospital ship is just like a mobile hospital.” The experienced rescue team member’s voice rang out again, drifting into Zuo Cidian’s ears along with the wind. “This is a large-scale rescue mission, and you can see it just from the fact that a hospital ship was deployed. We go on almost a hundred missions every year, but it’s not often that a hospital ship is deployed. The problem is that the hospital ship stopped too far away from the site of the storm. It’s more than 80 nautical miles away, almost like it’s in the next county…”

Zuo Cidian lowered his head without being aware of it as he sized the hospital ship before him up.

To those who resided on land, the Yun Hua 893 was considered a large ship. It was modified from a container ship, and it was actually a little worn down. It did not appear cool either.

It was nothing compared to the new cargo ships at the harbor.

However, as Zuo Cidian was in the middle of the ocean right now, he could not help but feel at ease when he saw this large ship which was more than 300 feet long.

“Let’s board the ship.” The experienced rescue team member pouted a little when he saw that the dinghies were ready. He then called Doctor Zhou and the rest of the doctors over.

“Are you guys going straight to Baoyuanjiao?” Zuo Cidian asked.

“Yeah, our mission is to go to the site of the storm.” The experienced rescue team member wore a calm expression. “We just have to get the victims to the hospital ship, while you guys just have to save their lives. It’s not rocket science.”

Without any grand farewell, Zuo Cidian, Doctor Zhou, Lu Wenbin and Zhao Leyi were sent to the dinghies. They stared after the boat with the rescue team members inside as it was being steered away.

As they were in the ocean, nothing obstructed the doctors’ view of the boat, and they could see it even after it had been steered away for a long time. All of them had gone silent, though.

A health worker working at the hospital ship ran over and said to the doctors, “Since you guys are here already, do come over and help out.”

“Alright, where do we go?” Lu Wenbin was carrying some stuff, and he was the one who ran the fastest.

The health worker showed him the way. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to lead the way for the doctors.

During periods where there was no war, hospital ships mainly travel around the globe and provide medical assistance to impoverished and backward areas. When adequate preparation was made, a hospital ship could fit almost a hundred medical staff members and provide medical services that were not inferior to those of tertiary Grade A hospitals.

However, under present circumstances, the rescue center was incapable of filling up the hospital ship with enough medical staff members to be on standby. Being paid did not change the fact that the doctors working on the ship were unable to handle the workload and pressure.

After all, doctors were not soldiers. Their performance could not be guaranteed merely by staying on the ship to train and wait for orders.

Hence, there were usually only two attending physicians, two junior resident doctors, and a handful of health workers aboard the Yun Hua 893. Right then, one of the attending physicians and one of the resident doctors had tendered their resignation letters and left a long time ago, and the ship’s administration was having a hard time hiring new people. There was only Lin Honghou, a resident doctor, and a handful of health workers left on the ship.

The health workers were adept when it came to bandaging and managing minor wounds. But they were not really capable of carrying out surgeries, not even simple ones like appendectomies.

Zuo Cidian and the others had already been informed of their duties beforehand. The moment they went below the deck, the health worker immediately assisted in familiarizing them with the place. The doctors then got changed and prepared to help out in the operating theater.

“Old Zuo, after you enter the operating theater, do watch over Ling Ran.” Doctor Zhou especially reminded Zuo Cidian as he got changed. “I have dealt with doctors working on hospital ships before, and all of them were very arrogant. Some would even try to one-up you.”

“One-up?”

“All of us are from local hospitals, but they think that they are superior just because they work on a ship, even though they asked us to come here.” Doctor Zhou chuckled a few times and said, “Doctors working in local hospitals nowadays are experienced and skillful, but there are always people who refuse to admit to this fact… However, we shouldn’t make a scene since this isn’t our turf. Just watch out on Ling Ran’s behalf, as I don’t want to see him getting sued even after helping the doctors on the ship out.”

Zuo Cidian naturally hummed in agreement. He then headed to the operating theater with Lu Wenbin.

“Don’t say anything first. Follow my lead, and we’ll do whatever the situation calls for. You must not act rashly.” On their way, Zuo Cidian gave Lu Wenbin some advice too.

Lu Wenbin agreed to what Zuo Cidian said.

*Shick.*

With his hands behind his back, Zuo Cidian stepped open the automatic operating theater door.

“Doctor Ling, I’m done. Do take a look.” Lin Honghou’s voice rang out from inside the operating theater, and to Zuo Cidian and Lu Wenbin, it sounded familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

Even though they did not recognize the voice, they were used to hearing that particular type of tone and choice of words.

Lu Wenbin glanced at Zuo Cidian and asked in a hushed tone, “Is he flattering Doctor Ling?”

Zuo Cidian glanced at Lin Honghou a few times and nodded a little to confirm what Lu Wenbin had just said.

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