After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Ye Zhen stepped out of the main room, and a cold wind blew in along her collar.

Two square tables were placed together in the courtyard, the cups and plates were in disarray, and several drunk old comrades-in-arms were singing "Returning from Target Practice" with their arms around each other, the tune completely off-key.

Instead of walking into the crowd, she went around the screen wall and headed towards the courtyard gate.

I had only taken a few steps when I heard the sounds of arguing coming from outside the door.

"Wei Peng, this is a private party. You can't come in without an invitation."

The speaker was the host's nephew, who worked in the neighborhood office after retiring from the military and was guarding the gate tonight.

Wei Peng stood outside the door, the cuffs of his black cotton-padded jacket frayed, and there were a few patches of white paint on his collar.

He was much thinner than in the newspaper photos, his face was sallow, his stubble was unkempt, his lips were chapped, and his cough could be heard even through the door.

"I'm here to find someone."

"You need an invitation to invite anyone."

"Is Gu Zheng inside?"

Whether you're here or not is none of your business.

Wei Peng tried to squeeze through the door, but the gatekeeper blocked him from entering.

"We won't be seeing you today. Go back."

"I'll just say a few words."

"no."

Wei Peng kept his right hand in his cotton-padded jacket pocket the whole time, and he didn't take it out even after his body was blocked.

Ye Zhen stopped beside the screen wall and recognized his voice.

Hoarse, tight.

Wei Peng looked into the courtyard under the light from the doorway and saw her.

He twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Ye Zhen, you refused to go back to the Lin family for the New Year, but instead came here to enjoy yourself."

"What are you trying to say?"

The gatekeeper quickly stepped between the two.

"Dr. Ye, please stand back."

Hearing the commotion, Gu Zheng came out of the main room, followed by Song Sisi and several old comrades.

He stood half a step in front of Ye Zhen, blocking Wei Peng's way in.

"Who sent you?"

Wei Peng chuckled twice.

"Gu Zheng, what's wrong? Can't I come?"

"This is a private party."

Gu Zheng glanced at the snow outside the door.

"You are not on the invitation list."

"A list?" Wei Peng's jaw twitched. "You people are eating and drinking, talking about your future, of course you don't remember someone like me."

He pointed at his own nose and shouted hysterically, "Gu Zheng, do you know? I've fallen to this state because of you two!"

Before he finished speaking, Wei Peng had already pulled out a gun from his pocket and aimed it at Ye Zhen.

Everyone was shocked.

"Be careful!"

Gu Zheng rushed down the steps, grabbed Ye Zhen's arm, and slammed her to the ground.

He turned around to shield her, his back to the door.

"Bang!"

The smoke from the gunpowder mixed with the smell of alcohol in the courtyard.

Gu Zheng's body jolted violently, and a large patch of dark red quickly spread across the back of his left shoulder.

The blood fell onto Ye Zhen's face, so hot that it made her catch her breath for a moment.

Gu Zheng pressed down on her side, his body sinking down.

"Brother Zheng!"

"Hold him down!"

The crowd rushed forward, and someone hugged Wei Peng.

Wei Peng struggled, and the gun barrel was raised halfway again.

Gu Zheng braced himself on the ground with his right hand and touched a broken enamel plate.

He grabbed one of the fragments and flung it at Wei Peng's wrist.

As the fragment struck the bone, Wei Peng's wrist swerved, and the gun slipped from his hand, bouncing twice on the blue brick.

Three veterans pounced on Wei Peng at the same time and pinned him to the ground.

His forehead hit the brick, and blood flowed down his nose.

Song Sisi emerged from behind the screen wall, her face pale.

"Call the police immediately!"

Then he hurriedly went to help Ye Zhen and the other person.

Ye Zhen asked from below, "Gu Zheng?"

"Um……"

Where are you hurt?

"Left shoulder, it's fine... no broken bones..." His voice was muffled and his breathing was unsteady, but he was still speaking.

Ye Zhen pushed him off her and turned him over to check his wounds.

There was a thumb-sized opening behind my left shoulder, and blood was gushing out, but not spurting out—it wasn't an artery.

She pressed her hand against the wound to stop the bleeding.

Gu Zheng was lifted up by several people, his head tilted to one side, where he saw the water stains on Ye Zhen's face.

He froze for a moment.

Then, the man who had been shot smiled.

"This is the first time... I've seen you cry."

He laboriously raised his right hand and touched her face.

"It was because I dropped it... I'm quite happy."

Ye Zhen didn't reply. She pressed his hand back down, pressing it against the wound, her voice strained.

"Shut up, save your energy."

"Oh... then I'll shut up..." Gu Zheng's voice grew weaker and weaker, "Don't cry... it breaks my heart to see you like this..."

After he finished speaking, his eyelids closed.

Ye Zhen wiped away her tears and pressed down on his shoulder.

"Gu Zheng, don't sleep."

"Sister-in-law, the car is outside."

Ye Zhen got into the car.

The military jeep drove out of the courtyard, the driver honking the horn repeatedly, and headed along the street towards the North City Military Region General Hospital.

In the back seat, Ye Zhen knelt beside the seat, one hand pressing on Gu Zheng's left shoulder wound, the other hand resting on his neck.

My pulse is 108 beats per minute, which is a bit fast, but the beat is strong.

The amount of exposed blood is already considerable, and the hematoma in front of the shoulder is still expanding, so the actual blood loss will only be greater.

The most dangerous aspect is that the warhead's location is unknown.

Damage to any of the subclavian artery, axillary artery, or brachial plexus can cause the condition to deteriorate rapidly.

Gu Zheng's brow twitched as the car drove over the road seam.

Ye Zhen immediately used her hands to protect his shoulders and back.

"Bear with it for a moment, we'll be at the hospital soon."

Gu Zheng did not answer.

"hurry up."

"That's the fastest we can go, sister-in-law." The driver's hands were pressed against the steering wheel, his knuckles white from the pressure. "We'll be at the main hospital soon."

The lights in the emergency room lobby were so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

As the stretcher rushed into the emergency lane, the on-duty surgeon recognized Ye Zhen and immediately called a nurse to take over.

"Gunshot wound, penetrating wound to the left shoulder."

Ye Zhen followed the stretcher, speaking very quickly.

"Establish two intravenous access lines, draw blood for blood typing, coagulation, and crossmatching. Notify the radiology department to perform an emergency contrast-enhanced CT scan, focusing on the subclavian artery, axillary artery, and brachial plexus. Prepare the operating room for debridement and exploration, and repair blood vessels if necessary. The anesthesiology department should prepare for general anesthesia."

Ten minutes later, Dean Zhang Guohua's car stopped in front of the main hospital.

He was wearing pajama bottoms with a military overcoat over them, and slippers on his feet. When he arrived at the CT room, his forehead was already sweating.

Where are they?

"Inside," the nurse replied.

Through the glass, Zhang Guohua saw Gu Zheng lying on the examination bed, while Ye Zhen stood beside the control panel, staring at the images.

After the CT results came out, Ye Zhen fixed the film onto the light box.

The deformed bullet stopped below the left coracoid process, deep to the pectoralis minor muscle.

Several small metal fragments were scattered around the warhead, and a piece of bone had also broken off from the outer edge of the scapula.

The subsequent enhanced CT scan was affected by metal artifacts, but it was still possible to see that the warhead was very close to the axillary artery and that a hematoma had formed around it.

The angiography results were delivered shortly afterward.

Ye Zhen arranged the films in order.

"The subclavian artery and axillary artery are continuous and there is no rupture."

"There is contrast agent leakage here, which should have damaged the circumflex scapular artery branch."

"Whether the brachial plexus is contused cannot be ruled out by imaging; it can only be determined during surgery."

Zhang Guohua reviewed the scope of the surgery again.

"Debride the wound, control bleeding from the branches, remove the bullet and bone fragments, and then explore the brachial plexus."

"Even though the axillary artery wasn't ruptured, we still need to prepare vascular repair instruments to prevent tearing during bullet removal."

He closed the bag after he finished speaking.

"I will be the surgeon."

Ye Zhen did not leave the lightbox.

"Dean Zhang, the bullet was less than one centimeter away from the axillary artery, and there were bone fragments nearby."

"If the angle at which it is removed is slightly off, it could damage the main trunk. I will be the lead surgeon for this operation."