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

Zhang Guohua was stunned for three seconds.

"Ye Zhen, you are pregnant."

"I know."

"The surgery will take at least two hours. Can you stand it?"

"It can stand firm."

Ye Zhen took the CT scan off the light box, rolled it up, and tucked it under her arm.

"The bullet was less than a centimeter from the axillary artery." Ye Zhen unfolded the film again, her fingertip landing on the deformed metallic shadow. "Removing it could tear the blood vessel wall. There are also two bone fragments embedded next to the axillary artery, with less than three millimeters between the bone fragments and the bullet. To remove the bullet first without disturbing the bone fragments, and then remove the bone fragments one by one, requires maintaining the same hand angle for a long time."

Zhang Guohua remained silent for about ten seconds.

I'll be your helper.

"Okay." Ye Zhen was already walking towards the operating room. "Notify Director Chen of the anesthesiology department to prepare general anesthesia, and have vasopressors and vasoactive drugs ready. Also, have the blood bank order an additional four units of red blood cell suspension; I need enough."

"Operating room number three, with instruments and a microsurgical vascular repair kit, to prevent accidents."

She paused at the door of the dressing room and glanced back at the end of the corridor.

Gu Zheng lay on the trolley, already taken to the pre-operative preparation room. An IV drip was attached, the liquid dripping down. His face was turned to one side, the tourniquet on his left shoulder tightly wrapped in gauze, the seeping blood staining the white gauze a deep red.

Ye Zhen placed her hand on her lower abdomen and paused for two seconds.

Then he pushed open the door and went into the locker room.

Scrap hands.

Iodine solution dripped from my fingertips, splashing into the stainless steel trough.

The circulating nurse helped her put on a sterile surgical gown and fastened her belt.

After putting on her gloves, she flexed her fingers.

Push open the operating room door.

The operating light was already adjusted to the correct angle, its beam shining onto the sterile drape. The anesthesia machine was running steadily, and the respiratory waveform fluctuated regularly.

Zhang Guohua stood on the opposite side, having already swiped his hands.

On the electrocardiogram monitor, Gu Zheng's heart rate was 92 beats per minute, and his blood pressure was brought back to 110/70 by two bags of rapid intravenous infusion.

Ye Zhen walked to the left side of the operating table and glanced down at Gu Zheng's face.

Under anesthesia, his face lost its usual roguish air; his brows were relaxed, as if he were asleep.

She turned her gaze back to the wound on her left shoulder.

"start."

Her voice was flat.

The scalpel fell onto the skin. A precise incision was made, extending the original ballistic entry point. Subcutaneous tissue was separated, the anterior edge of the deltoid muscle was stretched open, and the surgical field of vision opened layer by layer.

The trajectory of the bullet was very clear—severe soft tissue contusion, torn muscle fibers, and scattered small hemorrhages.

Ye Zhen used an electric scalpel to stop the bleeding one by one, her movements quick and precise, with not a single unnecessary stroke.

"Attractant".

The assistant handed over the suction device, and the blood was sucked away, exposing the deep tissues.

A branch of the circumflex scapular artery had severed, and blood was still seeping from the severed end. Ye Zhen clamped the severed end with hemostats, tied it with silk thread, two neat knots.

"Dean Zhang, move the hook two degrees to the outside."

Zhang Guohua adjusted the angle of the hook, further expanding the field of vision.

The warhead is exposed.

Embedded below the beak, the metal was severely deformed with irregular edges, and the surrounding muscles had turned black and hardened due to high-temperature burns.

Just below the bullet, less than a centimeter away, the pulsation of the axillary artery was clearly visible. With each pulsation, the vessel wall moved one centimeter closer to the deformed metal.

The entire operating room fell silent.

All that remained was the regular airflow of the anesthesia machine and the steady "beep-beep-beep" from the electrocardiogram monitor.

Ye Zhen adjusted the magnifying glass to the appropriate magnification and lowered her body.

Beside the bullet, two bone fragments were embedded in the tissue, in rather peculiar positions—one was close to the side of the bullet, and the other was stuck in the gap between the bullet and the axillary artery.

Which one to choose first, which one to choose next, how to approach at what angle, how to control the force—there is zero room for error.

Ye Zhen chose to take the bullet first.

She used long-handled tissue forceps to cut into the upper edge of the bullet, bypassing the deformed metal edge, and found an angle where she could grip it.

"Prepare the hemostats and be ready to respond at any time."

The pincers gripped the bullet.

Ye Zhen began to rotate her wrist, gently and slowly, each degree of rotation calculated. Guided by the forceps, the bullet slowly loosened from the embedded bone along an arc that would not touch the axillary artery.

Zhang Guohua stared at her hand.

stable.

It was incredibly steady; there wasn't even the slightest tremor in the tips of his fingers.

The moment the bullet was ejected, the entire operating room simultaneously let out a long sigh of relief.

Ye Zhen threw the deformed bullet into the curved plate with a crisp "ding".

"The first bone fragment."

She didn't pause.

The bone fragment that was right next to the side of the bullet lost the pressure from the bullet and shifted slightly. Ye Zhen acted before it moved—she reached in with needle-nose pliers, gripped the edge of the bone fragment, and pulled it out along the same path.

"The second one."

The hardest part is coming.

The bone fragment lodged between the bullet and the axillary artery is now reduced to just the axillary artery beside it. The edges of the bone fragment are very sharp, with the tip less than two millimeters from the vessel wall.

She switched to a finer pair of micro forceps.

The forceps tip enters from the outside of the bone fragment, avoiding the blood vessel wall, and slowly clamps along the long axis of the bone fragment.

The angle was so precise it couldn't be more precise—any slight deviation and the forceps tip would have touched the axillary artery.

Zhang Guohua's palms were sweaty.

The bone fragments were trapped.

Ye Zhen began to retreat along the same path. She moved very slowly, making sure that the sharp edges of the bone fragments did not scrape against the blood vessel wall with every millimeter she retreated.

Two minutes and thirty seconds later, the second bone fragment fell into the curved plate.

"The axillary artery is intact and undamaged."

Zhang Guohua's shoulders slumped, and his glasses were fogged up.

Ye Zhen did not relax. She continued to examine the brachial plexus.

"C5 and C6 are intact, C7 has contusion and edema, but the peritoneum is continuous and does not require repair."

She straightened up and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Flush the wound, insert a drainage tube, and prepare to close the wound."

From the start of the surgery to the last stitch, it took one hour and twenty-seven minutes.

Ye Zhen stepped back a step, took off her gloves, and threw them into the trash can.

She walked to the post-operative monitor and checked Gu Zheng's vital signs.

Heart rate 78, blood pressure 118/72, blood oxygen 99.

She turned and walked out.

The corridor outside the operating room was packed with people.

Old Master Gu sat on a bench against the wall, his coat unbuttoned, hands resting on his knees, his face ashen. Next to him stood Gu Zheng's father, Gu Jianjun, leaning against the wall, smoking one cigarette after another, five or six cigarette butts already stomped on the ground.

Second Uncle Gu Jianguo sat at the other end of the bench, his back ramrod straight. Next to him, Second Aunt clutched a handkerchief, her eyes red-rimmed.

Song Sisi stood leaning against the windowsill, her face still streaked with tears.

Across the corridor, five or six of Gu Zheng's comrades in civilian clothes were huddled together. Some were pacing back and forth with their hands on their hips, while others were squatting silently against the wall.

The operating room door opened, and a white figure walked out.

Ye Zhen was still wearing her surgical gown, her mask pulled down to her chin, and there was a fine layer of sweat on her forehead.

Everyone in the corridor turned their heads at the same time.

Grandpa Gu braced himself on the armrests of the chair with both hands, leaning forward. His lips moved, but he couldn't bring himself to speak first.

Gu Jianjun stubbed out his cigarette, his eyes fixed on Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen stood at the door of the operating room, her gaze sweeping over all the faces in the corridor.

"The surgery went smoothly, the bullet has been removed, and the person is fine."

Grandpa Gu let out a long sigh. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and patted his knee twice with his right hand.

"well."

The second aunt wiped away tears in the back, muttering "May the Bodhisattva protect us," before being helped to sit down by Song Sisi.

Gu Jianjun stubbed out his cigarette and walked up to Ye Zhen.

"Zhenzhen, you've worked so hard, go and rest. You're pregnant too."

He turned his head slightly towards Gu Linlin.

Gu Linlin immediately understood, quickly walked over, and reached out to support Ye Zhen's arm.

"Sister-in-law, come on, let me help you to rest."

Ye Zhen wanted to say no.

But the real soreness in her lower back finally kicked in, and her legs felt weak. She didn't try to be strong and let Song Sisi help her sit on the bench.

Grandpa Gu sat back down in his chair and looked at Ye Zhen through Song Sisi.

From the first time he met this granddaughter-in-law, he knew she was no ordinary person. Today, she performed surgery on her own husband—more than three months pregnant—to remove a bullet from his body. An hour and a half later, her hands didn't tremble, her eyes didn't blur, and she did it cleanly and efficiently.

Anyone else would struggle with this psychologically.

But she went there anyway.

The old man opened his mouth, but said nothing.