When I'm on the night shift, all the department heads can't sleep.

At 4:51 a.m., the lights in the emergency room lobby were still brightly lit.

It was still dark outside.

The whiteboard at the nurses' station was filled with writing first.

Nurse Zhao stood on a stool and used a tissue to wipe away the top line of old text.

Liu Zhenhua was holding onto the stool below.

Be careful.

Nurse Zhao glanced down at him.

"First, figure out the seating chart."

The tour group list in Liu Zhenhua's hand was so crumpled it was no longer like paper.

Red circles, blue circles, arrows, and time points are crammed together, like a map crumpled up by an emergency room night shift.

Qin Hai came out of the emergency room, his voice a little hoarse.

"One last roll call."

Nobody asked who to call.

Too many people were tagged that night.

Jiang Lei.

Yuan Guilan.

Tao Xiuzhen.

Gu Jianguo.

And then there was that child who finally cried out that he was hungry.

Lin Ye placed the medical record folder on the nurses' station table.

The corners of the paper are curled up and cannot be flattened.

Qin Hai tapped the paper with his pen.

"Let's start with the most uncertain one."

Han Qing just came out of the red zone.

She hadn't changed her coat all night, and there was a little glucose solution on her cuffs.

"Gu Jianguo, the blood sugar has been monitored continuously until now, at 4.2, 4.5, and 4.3, and it has not dropped any further."

She placed the record sheet on the table.

Each time a test was repeated on the paper, Nurse Zhao's signature was on the back.

It's not pretty handwriting.

But every stroke is solid.

"What about consciousness?" Qin Hai asked.

"He can recognize his daughter and can tell that he is in the hospital, but he is still confused."

Han Qing rubbed his temples.

"There's a high possibility that old and new medications will be taken together. Endocrinology monitoring beds have been allocated."

She pushed the medicine box into Gu Jianguo's daughter's arms.

"Continue glucose maintenance, discontinue the original glibenclamide, and readjust the blood sugar control regimen accordingly."

Gu Jianguo's daughter stood at the entrance of the red zone, holding a plastic storage box in her hands.

The lid was secured this time.

Her eyes were red, and when she heard "get off the bed," she immediately took a step forward.

"Doctor, can I go up with you?"

Han Qing looked at her.

"Yes. Don't let the elderly take medicine boxes by themselves anymore. Keep old and new medications separate, and have the attending physician check them again later."

The woman nodded vigorously.

Halfway through the meal, tears started falling again.

Gu Jianguo called her from the bed.

"Don't cry, little one."

The voice was still weak.

But at least this time, he called the right person.

Lin Ye wrote down the time in the record.

4:56.

Gu Jianguo's blood sugar remained stable and his consciousness improved. He was transferred to an endocrinology intensive care unit for continued treatment.

The pen had barely left the paper when Tang Zhendong called.

Qin Hai immediately put the call on speakerphone.

It was very noisy on Tang Zhendong's end, like he had just come out of the intensive care unit.

"Jiang Lei's family has arrived. He has been transferred to the cardiology intensive care unit. His chest pain has subsided, his blood pressure is a little better than before, the vasopressors have not been completely discontinued, and his heart rhythm is temporarily stable."

Qin Hai asked, "Can we consider this a safe escape?"

Tang Zhendong gave a cold laugh.

"Is your emergency room chief so fond of hearing compliments now?"

Qin Hai didn't respond.

Tang Zhendong took a breath.

"It's not that we escaped unharmed. What we can say is that we didn't die in those crucial twenty minutes."

That's an unpleasant way to put it.

The tour guide, who was listening nearby, turned even paler.

Qin Hai hummed in agreement.

"I wrote 'Continue Guardianship'."

"Write it clearly." Tang Zhendong's voice turned serious. "The right coronary artery is open, but heart rate and blood pressure monitoring are still required. Don't think that opening the coronary artery is the end of the matter."

The phone hangs up.

Nurse Zhao moved Jiang Lei's entry down a bit.

Jiang Lei: Cardiology Intensive Care Unit.

Pain relief.

Continue to monitor blood pressure and heart rate.

After she finished writing, she looked up and asked, "Is this okay?"

Liu Zhenhua was about to reply.

Qin Hai looked over first.

"Don't have a relapse."

Liu Zhenhua shut his mouth.

In the red zone, Yuan Guilan's daughter finally arrived.

She was still wearing her pajamas and a slipper when she came in, one of them a darker shade and the other a lighter shade.

Nurse Zhao stopped her at the bedside.

"Listen to the doctor first, don't start feeding water right away."

The woman froze.

The thermos in my hand stopped in mid-air.

The on-call doctor in the gastroenterology department showed Yuan Guilan her lab results.

"Your mother was clearly dehydrated. After rehydration, her blood pressure went up, and she started urinating again."

The gastroenterologist turned to the next page of the lab report.

"Electrolytes need to be corrected, and kidney function needs to be rechecked. He will be admitted to the gastroenterology department for observation tonight, and the infectious disease department will also be monitoring him."

Yuan Guilan's eyes were half-open.

"I told you not to eat that cold dish..."

Her daughter's eyes reddened.

"Mom, you're still bringing this up."

Yuan Guilan's lips were chapped, and her voice was so soft it was almost ethereal.

"It tastes awful."

Nurse Zhao bent down to apply the tape, and couldn't help but laugh.

The smile was brief.

Everyone in the emergency room heard it.

Tao Xiuzhen's situation is not as good as Yuan Guilan's.

Her blood pressure stopped at 98.60, but her heart rate was still over 110.

I have fewer bouts of diarrhea, but I feel extremely weak.

Her son finally called via video from out of town.

The phone was propped up beside the bed, and the man on the screen was apologizing while putting on his coat.

"Mom, I'll be right back."

Tao Xiuzhen stared at the screen, her eyes taking a long time to focus.

Don't speed.

Qin Hai, standing at the foot of the bed, swallowed back half of the reprimand he was about to deliver upon hearing this.

The gastroenterologist took over the conversation.

"She can't be transferred to another hospital right now; she needs to be monitored until her blood pressure, heart rate, and electrolytes stabilize. You came back to complete the formalities, not to urge a transfer."

The man on the screen repeatedly said "yes".

Qin Hai then lowered his head and signed the medical record.

Tao Xiuzhen: Admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology for observation, continued fluid and electrolyte replacement, and followed up by the Department of Infectious Diseases.

As for the child, Liang Xiulan had just received the follow-up examination report.

The child was awake, leaning against the headboard, clutching his father's coat.

He stared at the nurses' station.

"Can I eat porridge?"

The child's father immediately looked at Liang Xiulan.

This time he didn't rush to ask.

After checking the potassium level, Liang Xiulan checked the electrocardiogram monitor.

"Your blood sugar is stable. Your potassium level has risen a little, but it's not completely normal yet. Start with small amounts of warm water, and if you can stop vomiting, then you can eat small amounts of liquids."

The child's father breathed a sigh of relief.

"Does that mean I need to be hospitalized?"

Liang Xiulan slapped the order form into his hand.

"Pediatric observation. Given the amount of vomiting tonight, it's not something that can be resolved simply by waking up and complaining of hunger."

The child muttered to himself.

I'm really hungry.

Nurse Zhao walked by.

"Hunger is a good thing, eating indiscriminately is a bad thing."

The child shrank his neck.

The glass at the emergency room entrance was starting to turn a little gray.

A cleaning truck was pushed past outside, its wheels making a slight sound as they rolled over the floor tiles.

The night finally began to look like dawn was breaking.

But Qin Hai did not order anyone to leave.

He stood in front of the nurses' station and looked at the list again.

"Have all 27 people on the bus arrived at the hospital for confirmation?"

Liu Zhenhua lowered his head.

"All have been confirmed upon arrival at the hospital. Those under observation and admitted are listed separately. There are still eight mild cases remaining in the observation area, and their vital signs are currently stable."

"Eating together?"

Xu Mingzhe walked back from the observation area.

"The boxed lunches and cold dishes at the service area are suspicious. The specimen has been sent for testing. There is no bloody stool or new onset of mental impairment. The two feverish patients have stopped experiencing elevated temperatures."

"Jiang Lei's family?"

"We're in the cardiology department now," Nurse Zhao said. "I just called the tour guide and yelled at him."

The tour guide stood by the wall, his head almost buried in his chest.

Qin Hai looked at him.

"It's normal for them to scold you."

The tour guide had a hoarse voice.

"I know."

Qin Hai handed the seating chart back.

"When leading senior citizen groups in the future, don't just count heads. Ask in advance who is sick, who is taking medication, and who is coming alone. Even if you can't find out, you should at least know that you couldn't find out."

The tour guide took the paper; his fingertips were white.

"I've got it."

Nurse Zhao added quietly.

"You'd better really remember that."

Lin Ye stood next to the nurses' station, looking at the sticky notes on the wall.

The earliest one was already wrinkled from being taped together.

What do you see?

Don't do anything yet.

Who are you calling?

Each line is very short.

Behind every line lies the story of someone who almost had a "minor ailment".

The system interface then lights up.

It's not gray.

It's a very pale blue.

[Final Night Main Storyline High Risk: Effective Loop Closure Completed.]

[A group of passengers on a bus contracted gastroenteritis, with a risk of dehydration among the elderly: The group is now in the observation/admission process.]

[Non-homogeneous acute coronary syndrome: Admitted to cardiology monitoring protocol.]

[High risk of hypoglycemia without triage: Proceed to endocrine monitoring protocol.]

[Risk of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance in children: Proceed to pediatric observation protocol.]

Lin Ye's finger stopped at the edge of the medical record folder.

The next line remained dark for a long time.

He didn't urge him.

Qin Hai didn't urge him.

Until the printer at the nurses' station suddenly clicked.

A new sheet of paper was expelled.

Nurse Zhao was startled.

"Who's placing the order again?"

Nobody paid her any attention.

Lin Ye looked down and saw the last line of the system interface pop up.

[Zero-death ER week: 7/7]

[Phase 1 Completed.]

[In-hospital deaths: 0.]

He stared at the system notification, his heart not as light as he had imagined.

This week is too long.

Behind every single number lies a person's breathing, blood pressure, phone calls, signed forms, and unspoken words.

Seeing that he didn't move, Nurse Zhao poked the medical record folder with her pen.

"Lin Ye, are you out of your mind?"

Lin Ye snapped out of his daze.

"without."

Qin Hai glanced at him.

Don't laugh too soon.

Lin Ye nodded.

"Know."

Qin Hai unscrewed the thermos in his hand.

The water had already cooled down.

He took a sip, his brow furrowing as if he had swallowed medicine.

Just because someone didn't die in the emergency room doesn't mean they're okay.

He screwed the lid back on.

"The person hasn't died in our hands yet."

The noise around the nurses' station subsided.

Someone put the pen they had just picked up back down, and the pen cap hit the table.

That's an unpleasant statement.

But no one refuted it.

Liu Zhenhua took a picture of the note from last night.

"I'll use it as material for the morning meeting."

Qin Hai glanced at him.

"Stop writing fancy words."

Liu Zhenhua put his phone back in his pocket.

"I'll make this one look worse."

Nurse Zhao peeked out from the treatment room.

"Even if your writing is ugly, don't make any mistakes."

Liu Zhenhua paused.

"Your emergency department is becoming increasingly demanding."

The sky outside is gradually getting brighter.

The early shift nurse pushed open the door and saw the wall covered with sticky notes and a row of monitoring lines that hadn't been removed, so she slowed her pace.

Sun Zhiqiang came out of the duty room, his hair leaving a mark.

He stared at the whiteboard, his fingers gripping the edge of the medical record folder, his knuckles turning white little by little.

In the end, I only asked one question.

"Are they all alive?"

Qin Hai handed him the medical record folder.

"temporary."

Sun Zhiqiang took it.

Those two words were spoken very softly.

But it weighs more than any celebration.

Lin Ye lowered his head and finished the last record.

5:28.

Last night, all high-risk patients were placed under observation or monitoring in their respective specialties.

There were zero deaths within the hospital.

After he finished writing the record, his phone vibrated.

Tang Zhendong sent a message in the directors' group chat.

Jiang Lei's family said they wanted to present a banner to the emergency room.

Han Qing followed behind.

Gu Jianguo's family also said they wanted to send a gift.

Liang Xiulan: [The child's family just asked if they could write a thank-you letter to the emergency room.]

Nurse Zhao glanced at the group chat and immediately started typing.

Don't send anyone off yet, listen to the doctor's orders first.

There was a brief pause in the group chat.

The screen light shone on Qin Hai's eyelids, which he hadn't had time to close.

Zhou Mingyuan suddenly appeared.

Did they hold up last night too?

Qin Hai looked at the screen but didn't reply.

He placed his phone face down on the nurses' station.

"Let's hand over the shift first."

Lin Ye looked up.

The early shift workers had already gathered around.

The list on the wall is still there.

The sticky note that had been pushed back in had its corners curled up a little more.

The morning light shone in through the doorway and fell on the last line written in red ink.

Don't just push the sugar through and then let it go.

Lin Ye reached out and pressed that corner flat again.

Before I could even let go, a new series of footsteps came from outside the emergency room.

It's not an ambulance.

It is Dean Chen Shouyi.

He was followed by the medical affairs department, the quality control office, and two people carrying notebooks.

Chen Shouyi walked to the nurses' station without looking at Lin Ye first.

He looked at the wall first.

Look at those sticky notes that are stuck together crookedly with tape.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"The morning meeting will be held earlier than scheduled."