Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 328 Rescue 2
Amputation?

A blush immediately appeared on Pang Chen's pale face, and her weak voice suddenly rose: "I'd rather die than intercept him!"

The medic was frantic: "I don't want to either, but we don't have the right tools. You'll die if we don't amputate!"

"No!" Pang Chen pleaded with his eyes, "Brother, please, save my leg. I'm a pilot, how can I fly without a leg?"

The medic gritted his teeth and said, "It's either save your leg or save your life!"

"I want my legs!" Pang Chen said resolutely.

The medic was also anxious, but he was a soldier, while the pilot was an officer; some things could only be thought but not spoken.

Ou Yang, however, had no such scruples. With eyes burning with anger, he grabbed Pang Chen by the collar and demanded, "Did you hear the gunshots outside? Did you hear them?"

Pang Chen was already weak, and when he was pulled like that, his vision went black and he almost fainted on the spot.

Ou Yang showed no mercy: "This is all to save you. My comrades are fighting the enemy to the death. Every second that is wasted increases the danger. Do you understand?"

Pang Chen's eyes were filled with despair, yet he still refused to compromise: "You can leave, don't worry about me..."

"Bullshit!" Ou Yang cursed. "We're already here, who the hell would abandon you!"

Pang Chen's face flushed red and then turned pale, one hand pressed against his broken leg, trembling uncontrollably.

Taking advantage of Ou Yang's outburst, the medic contacted Lu Wei and quickly explained the situation.

Lu Wei asked in a deep voice, "If we can get the leg out, can we save it?"

The medic thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say. The blood loss isn't much; we can only say there's a chance."

Lu Wei then said, "We currently have the upper hand and can buy a little more time. Can we think of a way to rescue them?"

The medic almost burst into tears: "We have nothing, how can we save them?"

Firefighters rely on hydraulic equipment to rescue people, but who carries that thing around in a war?
What was said in jest was taken seriously by Ou Yang, who suddenly asked, "Where's the jack? Such a big ship can't possibly be without a jack, can it?"

The medic pointed to Pang Chen's feet and said, "Even if we had them, they would be useless. Where would we put them?"

Ouyang was at his wit's end. He even started to think about whether he could use a grenade to blow up the deformed area, but he immediately dismissed the idea.

He had seen videos of explosive processing, but that was for processing metal parts. If it were used in the present situation, there would be no need to worry about saving lives or legs; the person would be sent to their death immediately.

Pang Chen was utterly desperate: "Just intercept it..."

The medic felt sorry for her, but had no better solution.

Moreover, although he had learned how to amputate, he had never actually done it, so he was somewhat unsure of himself when it came to actually doing it.

But there was only one medic in the team, leaving him no room for hesitation.

Gritting his teeth, the medic braced himself and began preparations, first putting on gloves and then taking out a bottle of disinfectant and spraying it vigorously.

On the battlefield, conditions are limited; disinfection is the limit, and sterility is simply a luxury.

The medic took out an anesthetic needle and injected it into Pang Chen's leg. He swallowed hard, holding the scalpel, and repeatedly recalled the amputation process and key points in his mind.

The skin and muscle must be preserved to a sufficient length to cover the stump, and the broken bone must be smoothed to prevent compression of nerves or soft tissue...

Pang Chen closed his eyes tightly, his heart was ashen, and he didn't even feel the pain of his broken leg.

The medic took several deep breaths, finally mustering his mental strength. Just as he was about to make the incision, Ouyang suddenly grabbed his wrist: "Wait!"

The medic's carefully built-up spirits vanished instantly: "What's wrong?"

Ouyang looked at the medic seriously: "Why are your hands shaking?"

"Am I shaking?" The medic then realized that his hand holding the knife was shaking like Wu Lao Er, who had Parkinson's disease.

Ouyang asked solemnly, "To be honest, have you had surgery?"

The medic nodded, but immediately shook his head: "He's had it done, but he's never had an amputation!"

Pang Chen's eyes widened suddenly: "You've never had an amputation? Are you using me as practice?

The medic retorted angrily, "Your life can't be saved without amputation. Do you think I want that?"

His practical skills may be a bit rough, but his judgment of injuries is very professional and he is by no means making baseless accusations.

Ou Yang was on the verge of collapse when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something swaying outside the window out of the corner of his eye. His eyes lit up immediately: "I have an idea!"

Pang Chen and the medic both looked at Ou Yang, and even Lu Wei's attention was focused on the radio: "Ou Yang, what idea have you come up with?"

Ou Yang pointed out the window: "Isn't there a crane on the ship? Hook it onto the boom and pull hard, maybe we can get the leg out."

"Great idea!" Lu Wei slapped his thigh excitedly. "Medic, can you keep the wounded from deteriorating?"

"I'll do my best!" How could the medic dare to agree so readily?

However, his medical kit did contain many medicines that are rarely seen by ordinary people. These things would be illegal for ordinary people, but in this situation, they are life-saving medicines.

As for side effects like addiction... well, that's a question only the living can afford to consider!
Lu Wei immediately set about making arrangements, demanding that the soldiers suppress or even eliminate the enemy in the shortest possible time to buy time for their trapped comrades.

The soldiers retrieved their spare equipment in the cabin and immediately launched a new counterattack.

At this point, guns were no longer very useful. The main force for reconnaissance was drones, the main force for attack was flying grenades, the main force for clearing out the remaining enemy was robotic dogs, and for tough targets, there were also 202mm man-portable missiles.

With the enemy's jamming equipment destroyed, all kinds of technical equipment were fully operational, allowing soldiers to operate the equipment from a safe location without ever having to face the enemy.

However, the enemy is not so easy to wipe out.

The Silver Bay is not a container ship, but a mixed-use ship that has been modified to transport containers.

Compared to supercargo ships that can carry tens of thousands of containers, the Silver Bay is a mere junior in terms of size and displacement—the same type of transport ships operate on the route from secondary transshipment points to the United States.

Because the ship was not carrying many containers, which only occupied half of the deck space and were stacked in only three layers with many gaps in between.

Even so, the ship was loaded with thousands of containers, and the enemy was hiding in many gaps and inside the containers, so it would take a considerable amount of time to search all the containers.

This is just a container; who knows how many enemies are hidden in the cargo hold.

Given the specific circumstances on the ship, eliminating the enemy in a short time was simply unrealistic. Lu Wei had no choice but to change his strategy, ordering his soldiers to hold key positions and suppress the enemy's range of activity.

As long as the enemy cannot fire at the aircraft, a rescue operation can be launched immediately!

Lu Wei's adjustments were very timely, and the soldiers quickly occupied several key points, initially halting the enemy's offensive.

During this period, the rescued crew members actively participated, using the ship's surveillance system to locate the enemy, providing strong support for the suppression operation!

Once he was certain that the enemy could not launch an attack in the short term, Lu Wei immediately shouted, "Hurry, hurry, hurry, let's get moving!"

Pulling someone out with a crane is simple, but it requires a safe environment to operate; otherwise, not only will Pang Chen not be rescued, but others might also be killed.

Pang Chen was also lucky. Before the pandemic, cargo ships used cranes on the dock to unload cargo after they docked. After the pandemic broke out, contactless transportation was adopted, and Dongda University installed cranes on the cargo ships.

The two rescued crew members immediately rushed out and steered the crane toward the front. Ouyang climbed out of the cockpit and caught the hook that the crew members threw at him.

However, with the machine head hanging outside the ship's side, although the crane can also move outside the ship's side, it cannot reach that far, and without a suitable angle, the trapped people cannot be rescued.

This is how to do?
Can a living person suffocate urine?

Ouyang immediately thought of the enemy's small cargo ship: "Old Ya, let's skip the crane and use the cargo ship directly, what do you think?"

“We can give it a try!” Lu Wei was not a dogmatic person and immediately agreed to the new plan.

However, the new plan also has its problems. The plane was already teetering on the edge, and if it were towed directly by boat, it might fall into the river.

Therefore, the aircraft must first be secured with a crane, and then the nose of the aircraft must be pulled by a small cargo ship.

This plan was rather complicated, but fortunately the equipment was readily available. Two soldiers escorted the crew onto the small cargo ship, drove it to the vicinity of the aircraft, and without using any cables, simply attached the anchor to the damaged part of the nose of the aircraft, then drove at full speed to the left front.

The medic helped Pang Chen up and worriedly reminded him, "Bear with it!"

Pang Chen rolled her eyes: "Don't worry, I'm fine!"

The anesthesia has all been administered, and his legs are completely numb by now, so it would be strange if there was a problem!
As the small cargo ship sailed further and further away, the cable gradually taut. Suddenly, the dented nose of the aircraft emitted a piercing metallic creaking sound. The already unstable plane suddenly slid forward, its fuselage bobbing up and down like a seesaw on the edge of the ship's side, threatening to fall into the river at any moment.

Tightening the crane's slings caused the tail of the crane to rise, further exacerbating the situation.

But at this point, no one wanted to call a halt. Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and half of the engine was torn apart by the small cargo ship, which then surged forward.

The bridge, which was pressing on Pang Chen's left leg, deformed slightly, but then pulled back down because the anchor came loose.

Ou Yang reacted quickly, grabbing Pang Chen and pulling her back forcefully. Taking advantage of the moment of deformation, he pulled Pang Chen out of the driver's seat like a chicken before the dashboard could collapse back.

The plane shook even more violently, and Ouyang simply hoisted Pang Chen onto his shoulder: "Let's go!"

After saying that, he took off running.

The medic carried the IV bag and followed closely behind Ou Yang.

Lu Wei wasn't idle either, shouting repeatedly, "Feng Yan! Feng Yan!"

Better safe than sorry. No one cared whether the enemy could see them or not. They threw out several smoke grenades in one go, completely blocking the evacuation route. As a result, after Ou Yang and the others rushed out of the plane, they couldn't even see the direction clearly. They could only try to move forward by relying on the direction of friendly forces indicated on their tactical glasses. It was not easy for them to return to the cockpit of the Silver Bay.

The bumpy ride severely aggravated Pang Chen's leg injury. After entering the cockpit, Ou Yang was about to put Pang Chen down when he was sternly stopped by the medic.

Next, a sterile mat was laid down, and the person was carefully placed down. Then, under the supervision of the sanitation worker, Pang Chen's pants were cut open, revealing broken bones that had pierced the flesh.

The medic immediately disinfected the wound, and with the help of others, reset the broken bone. Finally, after checking the wound and confirming that no blood vessels were damaged, he carefully bandaged it.

He was still only providing emergency treatment. Once they returned to the Hua Tuo ship, a professional doctor would need to examine and treat them again.

Fortunately, Pang Chen's condition is relatively stable, and there shouldn't be any problems for at least a few hours.

Thus, the rescue operation can be considered a partial victory, but the only drawback is that the missing persons have not yet been found.

Lu Wei and Liu Yongzhi were reviewing the surveillance footage from the time of the incident, searching for traces of the missing persons, and they quickly made progress.

Of the eight men, three were captured by the enemy, two were hidden in a concealed spot in the engine room, and the whereabouts of the other three are unknown.

"Bring what we found back first!" Lu Wei said.

"I'll take you there!" Liu Yongzhi volunteered.

Lu Wei hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "I need you to continue checking the surveillance footage. If we still can't find the missing personnel, then we need to determine the enemy's location first!"

“Anyone can see the surveillance footage,” Liu Yongzhi insisted. “They don’t know who you are, so I think it’s better to have someone you know follow you.”

Lu Wei thought it made sense and agreed with Liu Yongsheng's idea.

After handing the cockpit over to Zhang Cheng for command, Lu Wei led his team to set off and, with the support of drones and surveillance, successfully arrived at the engine room.

Upon entering, everyone was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of engine oil, but otherwise, there was nothing else to notice.

Liu Yongzhi was different; he was an old sailor and knew very well that the engine room was not a good place.

In summer, the deck temperature is over 30 degrees Celsius, the engine room temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius, and the temperature near the main engine exhaust pipe is close to 60 degrees Celsius. You can wring out half a pound of sweat from your soaked clothes. It's practically like hell.

In winter, the cabin temperature can reach over 30 degrees Celsius, but stepping outside is met with biting cold winds—a stark contrast between the extremes of heat and cold.

What's even more unbearable is the noise, which reaches almost 100 decibels. You have to shout to talk, and over time, hearing loss, hearing impairment, and tinnitus become common.

But today was different from usual. There was no sweltering heat, no annoying noise, only the lingering smell of engine oil remained unchanged.

Liu Yongzhi went directly to where the two were hiding, shouted a few words, and successfully called them out.

The two hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day, and they were even closer to Liu Yongzhi than to their own mother, constantly asking how everyone was doing.

Lu Wei didn't rush back; instead, he gave the two some food and drink to help them recover their strength.

Before he could even put the food in his mouth, Lu Wei received a message from Zhang Cheng: "Worm Fang, enemy spotted outside the engine room!"

The shouts must have attracted the enemy's attention. Lu Wei glanced at Liu Yongzhi but said nothing: "Which direction? How many?"

"At the bow, there are seven...nine...fourteen in total!"

"Where's the equipment?"

"All I saw were rifles."

"Understood!" Lu Wei hung up the line, clapped his hands, and said, "There are enemies outside, prepare for battle!"

There wasn't much to prepare; the group simply pulled out flying grenades, set them up, and launched them.

Several grenades lined up and detached from the engine room, flying towards the direction the enemy was coming from.

Just over ten seconds later, several explosions were heard outside the cabin.

From beginning to end, the enemy didn't even see a shadow of Ou Yang and his men!
A battle where you have a technological advantage is that simple and brutal.

Lu Wei immediately received Zhang Cheng's report: "Six dead and eight injured..."

Before he could finish speaking, another explosion occurred.

"Now it's nine dead and five injured," Zhang Cheng said.

"Should we get two more?"

"My suggestion is not to. Wouldn't it be better to leave the wounded to the enemy?"

For the enemy, corpses are easy to dispose of, or even left unattended, but the wounded cannot be left unattended. Otherwise, if others see this and think, "Oh, no one cares about the wounded, who would be willing to fight to the death?"

However, treatment is not so simple. It requires professional medical staff and the consumption of medicines and food. If the injury is not serious and can be fully recovered, it is better. But if there is disability or other serious injuries, resources can only be used to keep the injured alive.

No matter how you look at it, preserving the wounded is more advantageous!
(End of this chapter)