Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 386 A Last Resort

In the emergency room, Zhou Jimin and two unfamiliar experts surrounded the hospital bed, examining and questioning the patient. But each conversation ended with them shaking their heads, their furrowed brows never relaxing.

Zhu Yiming couldn't help but ask, "Sister Wei, can you go in and listen to what they're saying?"
Jiang Yuwei shook her head: "No, this is an emergency room, not a place you can just walk into."

Zhu Yiming asked in confusion, "Aren't you Professor Zhou's student?"

"It's just a nominal title." Jiang Yuwei lowered her gaze. "Professor Zhou is one of the top medical experts in the country. He rarely even supervises doctoral students. I didn't even have the chance to take his doctoral program. We just call him by that title because we're closer."

She leaned against the wall, hugging her knees, her profile showing loneliness and helplessness.

Zhu Yiming felt a lump in his throat, unsure of what to say.

Is this Jiang Yuwei's fault?
Definitely not!

If she weren't immune, if she weren't a medical student, and if the three of them hadn't happened to be on the Hua Tuo ship, they probably wouldn't even have been able to get close to Professor Zhou. It's already quite remarkable that they've become somewhat familiar with him.

But Zhu Yiming felt stifled, as if a huge stone was weighing on his heart.

Jiang Yuwei stared blankly at the cracks in the bricks beneath her feet, her pupils long since unfocused.

She clearly remembered that the last time she felt so helpless was when her mentor jumped out of the window. It was also on that day that she met Ou Yang. In order to survive, she shamelessly clung to his side and even said things like she could warm his bed.

From brown bear to Sanwa, there were plenty of opportunities over the course of a year, but Ouyang never crossed any lines. Now, thinking back, I feel a strange sense of loss.

Since then, they have crossed half of the United States together and experienced all kinds of dangers. She has long been used to having Ouyang by her side.

Jiang Yuwei's mind was filled with every little thing she had experienced in the past year; each scene seemed as if it had happened just yesterday.

During this time, one of them was on Saint-Va Island and the other on Belling Island. She couldn't get used to it and wanted to quit the research institute several times, but Ouyang persuaded her to stay.

But now, with Ouyang lying in the emergency room, she could do nothing, a deep sense of powerlessness enveloping her.

Jiang Yuwei buried her face in her knees, her heart filled with sorrow.

On the other side, Zhu Yiming paced back and forth, his eyes always unconsciously drifting towards the emergency room.

Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he rushed to Jiang Yuwei's side and whispered furtively, "Can you think of a way to hear what they're saying?"

Jiang Yuwei snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head: "Not now."

When will it be possible?

Jiang Yuwei watched Zhou Jimin's retreating figure through the glass: "Wait for them to come out."

Zhu Yiming scratched his head in despair, but there was nothing else he could do but wait.

If he hadn't been worried about disturbing Professor Zhou's discussion of the illness, he would have knocked on the door long ago.

But no one came out, and no one made a sound. Zhu Yiming was so anxious that he paced around in circles, like an ant on a hot pan.

He wasn't as sentimental as Jiang Yuwei, nor did he have so many thoughts. He just wanted to know what method Zhou Jimin planned to use to treat Ou Yang, and whether he could cure him.

Zhu Yiming, who was running around wildly, made Jiang Yuwei dizzy. She wanted to make him go somewhere else to wear out his shoes, but then she thought that he was only doing this because of Ou Yang, and all her dissatisfaction vanished instantly.

Behind the glass, Professor Zhou hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

Zhu Yiming immediately stopped in his tracks, a glimmer of expectation appearing in his eyes: Is there a turning point?

Next, he continued to shake his head, but he nodded more and more often. After more than half an hour, the group finally walked out of the emergency room.

Zhu Yiming quickly went up to him: "Professor, how is Ou Yang?"

Jiang Yuwei didn't speak, but the anxiety in her eyes was undisguised.

Zhou Jimin took off his mask: "Ouyang's condition is not very good, but it is relatively stable. Considering his current situation, this is a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune."

Zhu Yiming hesitated before asking, "Stabilize the situation first, then treat the patient?"

Zhou Jimin nodded appreciatively: "Yes!"

"What's the treatment plan?" Zhu Yiming pressed, "What method will be used?"

Zhou Jimin said, "We don't know what method to use either. We can only prepare for two possibilities: conservative treatment while cloning a new lung, and see how it goes..."

"Can't it be transplanted directly?"

“No.” Zhou Jimin shook his head. “Cloning technology itself is not problematic, but we lack long-term observation experiments and are not clear about the long-term effects of cloned organ transplantation. Unless absolutely necessary, we do not recommend transplantation.”

"Long-term impact?"

"Yes, the concern is whether there will be adverse effects five, ten, or even twenty or thirty years after the transplant. You are all young people with a long life ahead of you. If you don't need a transplant to save your life, it's best not to use this method."

Zhu Yiming understood: "A replacement can't be as good as the original, right?"

"Yes, that's the truth."

Zhu Yiming hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can it be cured?"

Zhou Jimin was a little tired, but understanding his relatives' feelings, he explained, "We're not sure, we can only try. I hope he has a strong enough will."

"Willpower?" Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei said in unison, exchanged a glance, and then looked at Zhou Jimin together.

"Teacher, I don't understand what you mean," Jiang Yuwei asked.

"Yes, isn't treatment based on medication and therapy? What does it have to do with willpower? He wouldn't lose the will to live just because he has a cold and fever, would he?" Zhu Yiming asked in surprise.

“Even if you hadn’t asked, I still wanted to talk to you about this,” Zhou Jimin said. “It might not be appropriate for me to say this, but medicine and therapy are external, while willpower is internal…”

"Wait a minute!" Zhu Yiming quickly stopped him. "Professor, you're not trying to tell me about the 'spiritual victory method,' are you? I don't deny the decisive role that the spirit plays in some areas, but this is for treating illness!"

“You misunderstood me,” Zhou Jimin explained. “I handled a case before where a non-immune person inhaled spores, but he managed to withstand the hallucinations with extremely high doses of inhibitors and eventually developed immunity!”

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei were both dumbfounded, their eyes widening as if they had heard a fairy tale.

"Are you sure this is true?" Zhu Yiming asked, somewhat exasperated. "I had my doubts too, but it turns out to be true in the end," Zhou Jimin said with great emotion.

"How is this possible?" Jiang Yuwei still couldn't believe it.

“The human body has unlimited potential, but we don’t understand it yet.” Zhou Jimin smiled. “Many people are misdiagnosed with cancer and die from it not long afterward. But there are also many cases where doctors kindly deceive patients into thinking they are fine, only to find that the tumor has actually disappeared when they are examined again. These are living examples.”

Zhu Yiming wanted to interrupt, but felt it would be impolite.

Jiang Yuwei glanced at the glass wall: "Teacher, are you saying that Ouyang can also defeat the phantom lung bacteria through willpower?"

“Yes!” Zhou Jimin nodded. “I know you probably think the probability of doing this is very small, but the case I mentioned was of an ordinary person. For ordinary people, it is indeed very rare to overcome phantom lung bacteria through willpower alone. But Ouyang is different. He has a very strong resistance to phantom lung bacteria. With the combined effect of medication and willpower, his chances of overcoming phantom lung disease are much greater than those of ordinary people!”

"This is too surreal!" Zhu Yiming still couldn't believe it.

“No,” Zhou Jimin said. “After inhaling the spores, Pneumocystis pneumoniae continues to grow, destroying the body’s original systems. However, the human body also adapts to Pneumocystis pneumoniae. The two have a parasitic relationship. In nature, there are countless similar relationships. According to our research, this parasitism is more inclined towards symbiosis…”

Zhu Yiming awkwardly raised his hand: "Excuse me, Professor, could you explain it in simpler terms? I really don't understand."

Zhou Jimin choked on his words, "Let me put it this way: after a person is infected with Pneumococcus, they are in a relatively balanced state. When the person is strong, the bacteria are weak, and vice versa. Do you understand what I mean?"

Zhu Yiming seemed to understand, yet also seemed not to understand anything: "Are you saying that ordinary people get infected because they are relatively weak, while we are immune because we are relatively strong?"

“That’s basically the idea.” Zhou Jimin nodded with satisfaction. “Although the person I mentioned was just an isolated case, it is a very important research direction. We all agree that as long as we suppress the phantom lung bacteria with medication, combined with Ouyang’s own willpower, there is a very high chance that he can pull through.”

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei finally understood Zhou Jimin's idea, but they still had doubts: Will this method work?

"But teacher, Ouyang is still unconscious. How can we motivate him to fight the infection?"

"Well, we can only wait until the situation stabilizes before trying to wake him up and see how strong his willpower is. If that doesn't work, we'll have to try psychological suggestion or even hypnosis!"

"Hypnosis?" Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei were stunned again. This was really unscrupulous. Was this really not using Ou Yang as a guinea pig for experiments?

“Yes, it’s hypnosis.” Zhou Jimin nodded frankly. “Don’t you believe me?”

Zhu Yiming countered, "Does hypnosis really exist?"

“I didn’t believe it before, but hypnotized people can do a lot of things that defy common sense. I’ve seen an ordinary person who was hypnotized with his head and feet on a stool, his body suspended in the air, and then someone stood on him. No matter how he stepped on him, he didn’t move at all. He didn’t move his waist at all from head to toe, just like a human-shaped wooden board.”

Zhu Yiming asked in a low voice, "Isn't it a plant?"

“Impossible!” Zhou Jimin denied it categorically. “I’m a medical professional, and I know very well the physiological limits of the human body. A normal person can only last for a short while at most. It’s impossible for someone to stand still, let alone stand for such a long time.”

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei looked at each other again, their minds a little confused.

Zhou Jimin continued, "Although he is in a coma, his brain is not inactive. His hearing and touch are constantly sending signals to his brain. You can talk to him, or contact his family, use his favorite music, his favorite food, or any other means to stimulate his senses and encourage him to wake up sooner..."

Zhu Yiming suddenly said, "If we're talking about music, I think using music he doesn't like might be more effective!"

Zhou Jimin paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, you're right. Using things we don't like might be more effective!"

When people hear soothing music, they instinctively relax; conversely, when they hear music they dislike, especially music they find extremely disliked, they become irritable and restless.

The former emotion is too soothing and not conducive to awakening; while the latter is more stimulating to the mind and more likely to awaken one's own consciousness.

Jiang Yuwei's gaze toward Zhu Yiming gradually became strange: How could you come up with such a terrible idea?

She could already imagine the scene of Ouyang chasing after Zhu Yiming everywhere once he woke up.

“That’s the basic situation. Do you have any other questions?” Zhou Jimin asked.

"I don't have any left." Zhu Yiming shook his head.

Jiang Yuwei looked at Ou Yang behind the glass: "Can we go in now?"

“Okay, but I don’t recommend going in now. You two should go back and rest for a bit, and come back when you’re fully rested and prepared… Also, you must take proper precautions before going in.” Zhou Jimin looked at Jiang Yuwei. “I don’t need to tell you how, do I?”

Jiang Yuwei nodded: "Don't worry, I know what to do."

"Very good!" Zhou Jimin smiled with satisfaction and gestured to Zhu Yiming, "Give your little friend a good talking-to, and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble."

After saying that, Zhou Jimin left, secretly letting out a sigh of relief the moment he turned around.

Watching Zhou Jimin walk away, Zhu Yiming asked suspiciously, "What do you mean by 'don't cause trouble'?"

"It's nothing, just that you have to wear protective clothing and be strictly disinfected when you go in and out, that's basically it," Jiang Yuwei explained. "The process is a bit complicated, involving washing, putting on protective clothing, and disinfection, and you have to follow the steps strictly."

"Is it that troublesome?" Zhu Yiming was a little reluctant. "If it doesn't work out, I'll just keep watch outside, and you can go in by yourself."

Jiang Yuwei twitched the corner of her mouth: "Whatever you want... By the way, do you know what kind of music he hates?"

"This!" Zhu Yiming scratched the back of his head in exasperation. "Let's do something a bit more reactionary."

"Huh?" Jiang Yuwei opened her mouth wide, her eyes full of confusion.

Zhu Yiming sighed: "He never mentioned this to me, but he's the kind of person who doesn't say anything on the surface, but deep down he's a very patriotic person, like an angry young man, you know what an angry young man is?"

“I’ve heard of it.” Jiang Yuwei nodded thoughtfully. “I think I understand what you mean.”

I understand it, but I still have no clue how to do it.

To be honest, Zhu Yiming was also confused, feeling like he had gotten himself into big trouble: "Forget it, let's go back first, and think about it carefully when we get back."

"Okay!" Jiang Yuwei agreed.

Zhu Yiming was about to leave, but after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped: "Hey, something feels off. Does Professor Zhou usually talk this much?"

"Oh no, what's wrong?" Jiang Yuwei asked curiously.

"Then why did he tell us all this?" Zhu Yiming suddenly seized on the key point. "Do you think it's because they really couldn't think of a reliable solution, so they came up with this bizarre and inefficient plan?"

Jiang Yuwei froze, turned to look in the direction Zhou Jimin had left, and muttered to herself, "No way?"

(End of this chapter)